"Second Lin, get out here!"
"You have to give us all an explanation!"
"First, you harmed your own nephew, and now you want to harm everyone in our village, is that it?"
A crowd of villagers surrounded the Lin family's house and began to clamor loudly.
Lin Xiao was stunned, not knowing what had happened.
He hurried over.
"Uncle Lin, Third Uncle Lin, what's going on?"
"You have the nerve to ask us what's going on? It must have been your idea."
"Wang Tao was right. If they come here, your Lin family's business will do even better, won't it?"
"Get your father out here to talk to us."
Lin Xiao had been busy working outside all day and truly didn't know what these people were talking about.
Fortunately, Lin's father, who had been inside amusing the child, was startled by the noise. Thinking they were looking for him, he quickly handed Yaoyao back to Zhou Yueshen and went out.
Zhou Yueshen listened to the commotion, his thick brows furrowing slightly.
He thought he had already made things clear and that these people wouldn't cause trouble.
He hadn't expected them to still be so persistent.
Zhou Yueshen stroked his daughter, who was blinking her big eyes at him from his arms, and said to his two sons, who were happily exchanging gifts nearby,
"Little Dong, Little Han, take your sister to play."
At the same time, Si Nian, Lin's mother, and others in the kitchen also heard the noise and went out.
"What's all this about?" Lin's mother asked, stepping outside to see a crowd of villagers at her doorstep, looking utterly confused.
But when she saw Wang Tao gloating at the back, her face instantly darkened.
This Wang Tao had been spreading bad rumors about their Lin family lately. Her appearance here now was probably not a coincidence.
Si Nian also recognized the group.
Si Nian was somewhat puzzled. Truthfully, regarding the matter of whether or not to boost Lin Family Village's economy, she had no particular thoughts.
She didn't want to help anyone either.
After all, for Zhou Yueshen, it would all be trouble.
Especially if he felt he couldn't refuse because of her, then it was even more unnecessary.
She just wanted her own family to live better; she never had any notion of saving the world or helping others.
Zhou Yueshen had already made it very clear.
Why were these people still making a fuss?
"Second Brother, you must give us a clear answer today. On what grounds are you going to buy our village's land to build a factory?"
"Made your own fortune, and now you don't care if we live or die, is that it?"
Lin's father was utterly baffled: "What are you talking about? What factory?"
"Stop pretending. Isn't that why you invited Manager Zhou here?"
"Let me tell you, we won't agree to this. Not a chance."
Lin's father looked at Zhou Yueshen in confusion.
Zhou Yueshen's tall figure stepped out from behind him. He glanced at the agitated crowd, then looked away, his voice low and cold: "I said I will not purchase any of your land. Why are you still making trouble?"
"Hah, easy for you to say. Who knows what tricks you might pull behind our backs."
"Yeah, yeah, you think we're easy to fool?"
Lin's father: "Xiao Zhou, what exactly is this about?"
Zhou Yueshen explained patiently: "Previously, the town head held a meeting and suggested I help boost other villages' economies. The chief of Lin Family Village approached me, asking me to expand the pig farm to your village. I said I would consider it at the time."
"Sorry, Dad, for causing you trouble."
The surrounding people, hearing his admission, immediately said triumphantly, "See! He admitted it himself!"
"Pah! Our village chief isn't that kind of person. Clearly, you're the one who wants to move here."
Lin's father: "But, isn't this a good thing?"
"What good is it for us? That's our land!"
"Exactly, pig farms are smelly and dirty. How are we supposed to live afterwards?"
"Any benefits would only be for your Lin family, right?"
Lin's father quickly waved his hands: "No, no, that's not what I meant. I meant, if Xiao Zhou really opens a pig farm in our village, wouldn't everyone have a chance to get jobs?"
"Second Lin, you make it sound nice, but we're not fools."
Wang Tao stepped forward and said, "His family wouldn't even teach their own elder brother how to make braised meat. Do you think they'd let you work in the factory? They'd definitely hire people from their own village. Where would that leave us?"
"Yeah, Sister Wang makes sense."
"So they really are up to no good. Those people from Happiness Village have been flaunting their wealth over us before. If they come to our village, won't they just walk all over us?"
"Might as well not call it Lin Family Village anymore, call it Happiness Village instead."
"This matter, don't even think about it."
"Right, don't even think about it!"
...
The crowd surrounded them, arguing noisily, attracting many onlookers.
A flicker of impatience crossed Zhou Yueshen's eyes.
Lin's father was sweating profusely with anxiety. "It's really not what you think..."
"Enough, Dad."
Zhou Yueshen cut him off.
Lin's father looked apologetic.
Zhou Yueshen said, "I'll say it one more time: I will not purchase a single plot of your land!"
"Your land holds no value for me. Don't waste your effort."
Thinking he was scared, the crowd sneered, "You'd better mean what you say, or we won't let you off."
"Our Lin Family Village is not to be trifled with."
"Let's go, let's go. What a fine day, ruined by this."
The crowd, feeling triumphant, prepared to leave, eager to share the good news at home.
Turning around, they saw the village chief hurrying over. They smiled and said, "Chief, what took you so long?"
"Yeah, don't worry, we've settled it. Zhou Yueshen promised he absolutely won't touch our village. Otherwise, we won't let him get away with it!"
Hearing this, the village chief nearly coughed up blood.
He roared!
"Fools!"
Seeing his livid face, everyone froze.
The smirks faded into silence.
After all, he was the village chief and commanded some authority.
Usually, the chief was kind and gentle with everyone.
This was the first time they had seen him look so furious.
For a moment, no one knew what was wrong.
"Chief, what's wrong?"
"We were just thinking of everyone's good."
"You weren't threatened by the Zhou family, were you?"
The chief was panting heavily, his chest heaving. He slapped one of them.
"Fools! Ruined! You've ruined everything!"
The man who was slapped was stunned.
Looking up, he saw the people following the chief looking anxious, and his heart sank.
"Brother Lin, the chief says he was the one who applied to Manager Zhou. If Manager Zhou opens a factory in our village, we can get jobs there, with wages."
"Brother Lin, we... we seem to have made a mistake."
The ringleader was dumbfounded upon hearing this; the others were too.
He mumbled, "Elder Sister Wang said it was all a lie, that they'd never let our villagers work there, only people from Happiness Village..."
After saying this, he turned to look for Wang Tao.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
His face immediately changed.
The village chief shook his head repeatedly, exasperated.
"Aren't you going to apologize to Manager Zhou!"
"Chief, even if he lets us work at his factory, it's only because he'd be using our land. That's only right, isn't it? My suspicion wasn't wrong."
The man found himself an excuse.
You can farm the land for a lifetime, but I can't possibly work at his factory for a lifetime, can I?
However you think about it, it's just not worth it.
"Who said anything about using the land you depend on for food to build his factory? What does our village have plenty of? Would I be sick in the head to use your good land?"
The village chief was infuriated to the point of laughter.
The crowd fell silent.
He was right. What did their village have the most of? Barren land.
It had been left unused precisely because it couldn't yield crops.
They were the village with the most land, yet their annual grain output was the lowest.
That was why they couldn't make any money.
If they used that barren land for Zhou Yueshen's factory, everyone could keep farming their own plots and also get jobs at his factory.
As this possibility dawned on them, their expressions shifted dramatically.
"T-then what should we do, Chief? W-we didn't mean it."
"Right, we misunderstood. We thought he wanted the land for growing crops."
Before the village chief could finish, Zhou Yueshen's voice, low and cool, sounded from behind him. "It's fine."
Everyone turned stiffly.
Zhou Yueshen's expression was calm, seemingly not angry at all.
No, more accurately, it was as if he hadn't even taken them seriously.
Recalling the scene they had just made, arriving in a large, imposing group to cause trouble and make threats,
their faces flushed with a kaleidoscope of colors, a truly spectacular display.
Chief Lin hurriedly said, "Comrade Zhou, please don't be angry. This was all a misunderstanding on everyone's part."
Zhou Yueshen gave a slight nod, his voice steady. "I know. But it doesn't matter. I don't intend to take any land, whether it's your fertile fields or your barren plots."
Chief Lin's face paled.
Zhou Yueshen looked at him, his gaze profound. "You are a good village chief who thinks of others. But not everyone is worth my help."
He hadn't forgotten how Chief Lin had approached him before, his attitude entirely focused on the welfare of the villagers.
Unlike other village chiefs who only wanted a cut of the profits for themselves.
That was why Zhou Yueshen had considered it.
But he never expected the people of Lin Family Village to be like this.
Zhou Yueshen disliked trouble and had no wish to bring any to his family.
