Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

Startled by the shout, Zhang Dashan frantically searched for his keys.

This wasn't an act; his hands were shaking so badly that he missed the keyhole several times.

"Stop dawdling!" The old Party Secretary shoved him aside. "Give me the keys!"

The old Party Secretary snatched the key and aimed it precisely at the keyhole.

With a click, the lock opened.

The old Party Secretary suddenly pushed open the warehouse door, and a musty smell wafted out.

Li Xiangyang quickly followed, holding up the lantern in his hand to illuminate the interior of the warehouse.

At first glance, the supplies in the warehouse were indeed all there: fertilizer was neatly piled up against the east wall, farm tools were against the west side, and grain and seeds were placed on a high platform to the north.

Seeing that the supplies were all there, the old Party Secretary's expression softened slightly.

But just then, Li Xiangyang's lantern shone on the bottom of the fertilizer bag, and a small, dark hole was clearly visible.

"Wait a minute..." Li Xiangyang squatted down and examined it carefully.

Upon inspection, it was discovered that the bottoms of the entire row of fertilizer bags had been gnawed by rats.

"Old Party Secretary, look at this..."

Before the words were even finished, a mouse darted out of the hole, followed by another.

"You bastard Zhang Dashan!" The old Party Secretary trembled. "The fertilizer and grain aren't lacking, but look at the state of things here!"

"Uncle, what place where grain is stored doesn't have rats? This really isn't...it's not my fault..." Zhang Dashan stammered, trying to justify himself.

"Bullshit!" The old Party Secretary's face turned ashen with anger. "Who's in charge of this warehouse? You come here to take things every day, can't you even spot a mouse hole?"

"I......"

"What do you mean, 'you'?! Did you deliberately let it go unchecked? Did you think that if there were mice, you could steal something and no one would find out it's missing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dashan's face turned pale instantly.

"you......"

Seeing his reaction, how could the old Party Secretary not understand?

Overwhelmed with rage, he swayed and fell straight forward.

"Old Party Secretary!" Li Xiangyang reacted quickly and caught the man.

"Quickly, call a donkey cart! Find a doctor! The old Party Secretary has fainted from anger!"

Li Xiangyang supported the old Party Secretary while shouting towards the door.

Seeing this, Zhang Dashan tried to run, but Li Xiangyang's angry shout pinned him to the spot: "If you dare to run, I guarantee the whole village won't let you get away with it!"

The crowd outside erupted in uproar.

"Be careful, slow down!" Li Xiangyang shouted, supporting the old Party Secretary's head.

Several commune members rushed over in a flurry to help lift the old Party Secretary onto the donkey cart.

"A mat! Quick, bring a mat!" someone shouted.

Immediately, someone brought out a cotton quilt from the house and spread it haphazardly on the donkey cart.

The old Party Secretary was deathly pale, his eyes were tightly closed, and large beads of sweat were seeping from his forehead.

Li Xiangyang's heart clenched even tighter.

"Go and call Dr. Qian!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"They've already gone!" someone responded.

Dr. Qian was the only traditional healer in the village, and his medical skills were superb.

Within a radius of ten miles of Xiaoliang Village, anyone suffering from a headache or fever would seek his medical attention.

He is not only skilled at pulse diagnosis and prescription, but also adept at acupuncture and massage.

Before long, Dr. Qian arrived in a hurry, carrying his worn-out medicine box.

Although he is over sixty years old, he still walks with a sprightly gait.

"Make way, make way!" Doctor Qian pushed through the crowd and quickly walked to the donkey cart.

He first checked the old Party Secretary's breathing, then carefully took his pulse, and his brows gradually furrowed.

Then he took out silver needles from his medicine box and quickly inserted them into several acupoints, including the old Party Secretary's philtrum and Neiguan acupoint.

Everyone watched with bated breath.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the old Party Secretary finally woke up slowly and gave a weak "hmm".

"Old Party Secretary!" Li Xiangyang shouted excitedly.

Dr. Qian waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then took the old Party Secretary's pulse again before letting out a long sigh: "Old Party Secretary, this is a damaged heart meridian. I can't cure this; you must go to the hospital, quickly!"

These words made the villagers who were watching even more panicked.

You have to understand, a disease that even Dr. Qian says he can't cure is no joke.

"No, everyone, stop standing there! This illness, just the hospital fees and medication costs alone will easily amount to tens of dollars. Please help us out!"

After determining the cause of the illness, Dr. Qian became somewhat anxious.

As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent.

These days, tens of dollars is no small amount; most families can't save that much money in a year.

Moreover, after something like Zhang Dashan happened, it's impossible to say that people don't feel some resentment.

"I have the money. What time is it? Everyone move aside, don't block the way, let's get this person to the hospital quickly."

Li Xiangyang was already worried that the old Party Secretary might upset him and he was carrying money, so when he heard Doctor Qian mention several dozen lines, he immediately shouted.

"etc......"

Just as the crowd dispersed, the old Party Secretary suddenly grabbed Li Xiangyang's hand and sat up.

After sitting up, he looked around and was startled to see that the villagers' angry gazes were all focused on Zhang Dashan.

He knew these farmers' tempers all too well; once a fight broke out, he would surely beat Zhang Dashan to death today.

"Fellow villagers," the old Party Secretary said, forcing himself to stand up, "I have something to say."

"Old Party Secretary, please don't say anything, let's go to the hospital first..."

"Let me finish!" The old Party Secretary's tone suddenly hardened. "Zhang Dashan's matter is my fault for not disciplining him properly; I bear responsibility. I'll compensate for the losses. His father, Yongfu, was a real man; he fought the Japanese. Before he died, Yongfu held my hand and asked me to take care of his child..."

Hearing this, the villagers' anger subsided slightly.

Some people lowered their raised fists, but their eyes remained cold.

The old Party Secretary, seeing this, added, "Folks, I admit the children haven't been raised well. I admit I'm using Yongfu as an example. But Yongfu is our only son. You can discipline him, but you can't be so rough..."

As he spoke, tears streamed down the old Party Secretary's face.

These words finally had an effect.

Although the villagers were still glaring at Zhang Dashan, no one was prepared to take action.

The old Party Secretary even brought out his father's name.

At this point, even if Zhang Dashan had done something wrong, he still had to save face for his father.

"Zhang Dashan is a bad influence of my teaching..."

The old Party Secretary was about to say something when he was interrupted by a violent cough.

"Old Party Secretary, stop talking," Li Xiangyang quickly interrupted, "We need to get to the hospital first."

"Yes, brother, you'd better not say anything. I really can't guarantee we'll get to the hospital with this injection."

Fearing something might happen to them, Dr. Qian, who was accompanying them, was on tenterhooks.

As the donkey cart slowly drove away, Li Xiangyang turned back and glared at Zhang Dashan: "If you're a man, you should clean up this mess yourself! Don't embarrass your father any further."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dashan trembled and tears welled up in his eyes.

Li Xiangyang's words were like a knife, stabbing into his heart.

His father was a hero, but what about him?

What kind of things has he been doing?

For the sake of a pack of cigarettes, they would help people from other villages bully their own; for the sake of a little profit, they would let rats ruin the entire village's grain and fertilizer.

He suddenly remembered that when he was a child, every year during the Qingming Festival, the villagers would go to burn paper money for his father.

Back then, the old Party Secretary would always hold his hand and tell him, "Your father was a hero; you should be a good person like him."

But what about him? Not only did he not act like a good person, he also made the old Party Secretary sick with anger.

"I...I'm sorry..." Zhang Dashan's voice choked with emotion as he suddenly knelt on the ground. "I'm sorry, Uncle..."