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Chapter 20: Two-faced fat man
But at this glorious moment when everyone was paying attention, Ma Laowu couldn't ask any more questions. He could only continue to maintain his proud expression and even puffed out his chest.

"I said that although Lao Wu looks inconspicuous, he is a man with his own ideas. The harvest of Team Three this year will definitely be the best in our brigade." Someone in the crowd said enviously.

"With so much fertilizer being poured into the fields, I think we can easily take the top spot in the commune."

"Old Five is good, I didn't see that!"

"If it doesn't work next year, we'll elect you as the secretary. Can you get some for our brigade?"

Originally, when Ma Laowu said that the two young men had come on their own, no one dared to believe it.

Those two greenhorns are still so inexperienced, how could they possibly have the ability to get so much pure feces? It must be Ma Laowu who was behind it.

And there is clear evidence that the old bastard Ma Laowu was the mastermind, because he went to various production teams early in the morning to beg and plead, and said all the sweet words he could, and hired all the slightly better carts from other teams, leaving his own livestock and carts unused.

It is equivalent to the animals of other teams helping his team to carry manure and earning two dollars, but the damn Ma Laowu turned around and sent the animals of his own team to carry stones, a job that earns more than three dollars, and he still says that he is not the planner?
It is certain that Ma Laowu is a conspirator hiding among the people?
"It's too late, let's go home, Laowu." Seeing that Ma Laowu had no intention of sharing the manure with everyone else, people were ready to disperse. Seven yuan for a truckload of manure was a price they envied, but it was also high. Team Three could not have gotten a great bargain, and they could only say that they wanted to invest some money this year to compete for the first place in the team.

Everyone was thinking that even if Ma Laowu had not been used as a scapegoat, the thirty-nine truckloads of pure manure would probably have cost Team Three a lot of the team's reserved funds.

"Why go home? Wherever the manure is, that's my home. Didn't you see that the shack has been built? I have to guard this pile of manure more carefully than I guard the tomb of the old Ma family's ancestors!" Ma Laowu heard someone urging him to go home and stood still:
"All the old and young gentlemen from the outside teams, don't have any ideas. For the sake of our fellow villagers, I didn't charge you for standing by the third team's manure pit and smelling the odor for a long time. Just go home and enjoy yourself!"

A group of elders and fellow villagers laughed and cursed Ma Laowu, then gradually dispersed, leaving only Xie Hushan. Han Hongbing came over, and Xie Hushan said to Ma Laowu, "Uncle Wu, I'll pay the bill. The money left over from collecting manure is still with me."

"What do you want to hand in? We'll talk about it tomorrow. I'm busy tonight." Ma Laowu waved his hand and said, "You two have been tired all day. Go back and rest. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it when we gather at the team headquarters to start work tomorrow morning."

Ma Laowu's eyes were shining as he stared at the pit. In the eyes of Xie Hushan and Han Hongbing, his expression was like that of a giant maggot that had grown into a human form and was reluctant to leave its nest after crawling out of the pit.

The two of them rode on Accountant Zhao's bicycle and prepared to leave. Ma Laowu came to his senses and said, "Hey, I forgot to ask, why do you think I am getting all the credit? What on earth are you two up to?"

"What can we two do? Thirty-nine carts of manure have all gone into the pit. What else can happen? We are just trying to make you look good in front of everyone. If everyone knows that it was us two who did it and it has nothing to do with you, then you won't be able to stand tall wherever you go. If it's your credit, people will look up to you wherever you go." Xie Hushan sat on the back seat and said to Ma Laowu while urging Han Hongbing to pedal faster.

Ma Laowu faced the complex smell of the night wind, watched the two calves leave quickly, and said with emotion: "The two little brats have grown up and know how to care for others."

Xie Hushan slept until the third singing of "The East is Red" when his grandmother came in to wake him up. He washed up, had breakfast, and rode his bicycle to the Yaowang Temple to gather.

Today, there were more people standing in front of the Yaowang Temple than usual. In addition to the members of their own team 3, there were also a dozen female comrades from other teams. They gathered together with unfriendly faces and stood in the open space.

Seeing Xie Hushan appear, some of these aunties and grandmas wanted to say something, but other women pulled on their clothes and whispered to them to shut up: "Why are you talking to a stupid boy who knows nothing? Wait for him to be fat!"

Xie Hushan found a brick to cushion his buttocks, and leaned against the wall of Yaowang Temple to bask in the sun. After a while, Han Hongbing also slid over along the wall and sat next to him, whispering excitedly:
"Ermianfei is coming, coming. I saw him washing his face and walking towards this side, so I ran over here first."

Sure enough, as soon as Ma Laowu appeared in the open field, he was surrounded by the women comrades from other teams and was caught in a vast sea of ​​people.

The women pointed at Ma Laowu and cursed, "Ermianfei! You are so wicked! You tricked my child into going to the county town and making him look disgraceful!"

"That's right. My child came back and said that the manure was free! It was you, Ermianfei, who used our child as a cover and swindled it from the county!"

"Ma Yougen! For a little bit of shit, you even fooled your own nephew. The kid thought he was going to a military camp party, but he ended up asking you to go to the county town to fool the leaders!"

Ma Laowu was suddenly attacked by a group of old women. He didn't react for a while. He stared with his mouth open, looking around at these women. They were all fierce women from other teams. His voice became weak:

"What did I lie about? The school arranged for the children to do good deeds in the military camp. It's not my responsibility. Why did you blame me? Why did the children go to the county town again? What's going on?" "Still playing dumb! The principal said that it was you who asked the second son of the Han family to notify the school to organize a social event and do good deeds! All these good deeds belong to your team three!"

"Yes, if you don't give me an explanation, today won't end!"

Ma Laowu subconsciously looked for Han Hongbing: "Hongbing? Is Han Hongbing here? The school went to the military camp to do good deeds, how does it have anything to do with our third team?"

"I'm here!" Han Hongbing stood up, cleared his throat, looked at everyone present, and said to Ma Laowu righteously:

"You are right, so why are you afraid, Uncle Wu? Don't be afraid. Just ask them if the children did good deeds. Where did Team Three get the manure from? Whether it was arranged by the principal or my Uncle Wu, just make sure your children get a letter of praise!"

There was no way a group of women could get involved with a grown man like Han Hongbing. After hearing Han Hongbing's words of acquiescence, they became even more excited. They stretched out their hands to pull Ma Laowu and shouted, "Let our children go with us. Our team will have a share of the manure!"

"Yes, you can't cheat our kids in vain! Our team also has a share of the manure!"

"Let's go! Let's go to the brigade and seek justice!"

When Ma Laowu heard this, he understood immediately. This was because the other team leaders knew that their manure was not bought at seven yuan a truckload but was transported back for free, so they wanted to take advantage of Team 3 by claiming that their children were also involved. So they found the women in the team who were good at making trouble and made a scene. Needless to say, their ultimate goal was definitely to take a portion of the manure at a fair price.

Seeing Xie Hushan leaning against the wall and grinning at him, Ma Laowu wanted to curse him to the heavens in his heart. Xie Hushan's parents were such kind people, how could they give birth to such a wicked person? No wonder he boasted in front of everyone last night that he was the good commander and that he was the first to do the work, and he was just waiting to be blamed early this morning!

He always walks with his back held high, looking down on me. These old women are almost scratching their arms!
But now is not the time to scold the kids in your team or ask what’s going on in the county.

He has a kind personality and likes to smooth things over. He doesn't like to get really angry with people and always likes to give in when things happen. But today, the members of Team 3 are all watching him, and Xie Hushan and Han Hongbing, two young men who do everything they can to collect manure for the team, are also watching him. If he is soft and gives in again, he will be sorry for the two kids who have worked so hard.

"You're all making so much noise!" Ma Laowu took a deep breath, his face darkened, and he swung the pipe in his hand around his body, forcing the women to retreat. Then he pointed at the group of women and started to curse:
"You're still trying to fool me! How could I have fooled you? Was the letter of commendation fake? Didn't I pay for the truck?"

"Team Three is here to fight the local tyrants? Team Three's harvest was not good, why didn't you share some of your team's food with us? There's also a share for you! What's the matter? Your team's faces are all fucking pot lids, why are they so big!"

"What? It was me, Ma Laowu, who did it! I broke the law and the police shot me! Even if it wasn't illegal, I should just do whatever the fuck I want to do! This is Team Three! This is not your kang!"

"We didn't spend a penny on 39 truckloads of manure. That's because our team 3 is capable! We have capable people! If you have the ability, go and collect the manure! If you don't have the ability, just stay at home and cry. Don't come to our team 3 to mourn! No one will tolerate you!"

Ma Laowu's words shocked the women from other teams present so much that they dared not say a word. The reason why these women dared to make a scene at Ma Laowu was that he was usually too soft-hearted and too concerned about his reputation. When others made a scene, he would feel ashamed and give in. In the previous team meetings, when others made a scene, Ma Laowu would usually choose to show his style and take a step back and suffer a loss. That's how he got his nickname, Fat-Man.

Unexpectedly, Ma Laowu suddenly acted like he had eaten dynamite today, which made the women a little overwhelmed. They were not really shrews, but were shouldering secret missions arranged by the captains of each team. They deliberately made exaggerated accusations and made trouble.

When the members of Team 3 saw their captain was so arrogant, they immediately became alert and slowly moved behind Ma Laowu. The brave ones also spoke up:
"What? Team Three did it. Is it illegal? If it's illegal, arrest Lao Wu and us! If it's not illegal, just do what you should do. Don't affect our production. Otherwise, we won't be able to harvest food and you'll have to eat on your kang!"

One said something, two said something, and finally the members of the three teams stood behind Ma Laowu and said something to the women from other teams:

"Team Three did it. There's a way to get there, but there's no way to endure it!"

Han Hongbing leaned against the wall and whispered to Xie Hushan next to him, "Hey, Leader Xie, why did you have to bully Ermianfei and act so aggressively today?"

"If he is not arrogant or ruthless in the eyes of outsiders, the third team's sideline group will not have the confidence to move forward in big strides."

Over there, Ma Laowu, who had managed to get rid of the women from the outside team by being a bit arrogant, walked up to Xie Hushan and Han Hongbing with his hands behind his back and said through gritted teeth:
"You two really are good kids who care about your fifth uncle so much that I got scolded by a bunch of old women so early in the morning."

(End of this chapter)