Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 171 Grasshopper after Autumn

Wang Fucheng spoke with such sincerity and despair that those who had previously doubted him immediately lowered their heads.

The louder those people shouted before, the more they regret it now. They actually wronged such a cadre who cared about the people. They deserve to die!

Seeing that he had built up the right emotions, Wang Fucheng continued:

"However, this matter has already begun. No matter how disheartened I am, or how difficult it is to establish a village-run enterprise, I must resolutely lead everyone forward."

“I, Wang Fucheng, am not the kind of person who would abandon everyone and run away halfway!”

"Fortunately, the commune also understood and supported our Wangjia Village's plan to start a village-run enterprise, and provided 1,500 yuan in development funds."

"With this money, it will be much easier to start up Dapeng Sugar Factory."

Perhaps because what he heard was too unbelievable and too shocking, Song Zhiyuan suddenly unleashed his full potential and spat out the rag in his mouth.

Ignoring the lingering fishy and salty smell of the rag, Song Zhiyuan cursed loudly:
"Wang Fucheng, you old bastard, you had this plan but didn't tell me, were you just waiting here to set me up?"

"You just wait, this isn't over between us."

"If I don't get anything good, you'll definitely suffer the consequences."

Wang Chengpeng nodded in deep agreement. Wang Fucheng thought to himself that what Wang Chengpeng said was quite accurate. If a venomous snake like Song Zhiyuan wasn't killed directly, he feared that his poison would linger endlessly.

Unfortunately, Song Zhiyuan has no chance to turn the tide; the people from the commune are probably already on their way.

Thinking of this, Wang Fucheng said with a completely innocent look, "Song Zhiyuan, you've misunderstood me."

"You mean I should tell everyone at the beginning of the year that our Wangjia Village is planning to grow sugar beets to make sugar?"

"Sometimes I really wonder how you got the position of village chief. With this level of intelligence, even a pig would shake its head in disbelief."

"There are no secrets in the world, and besides, the beet sugar production method is no secret."

"Isn't making such an important matter public just asking for trouble?"

"I only dared to make this public after the sugar beet planting season was over, but Director Song wanted me to say it from the beginning, which is really..."

Although Wang Fucheng did not say it explicitly, the meaning behind it was self-evident.

Following Wang Fucheng's line of thought, everyone immediately understood his actions.

As the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth, and the same applies to good jobs.

Once competition intensifies, even the best job may not guarantee a good paycheck—that's an ironclad rule.

Hearing Wang Fucheng's explanation, especially the insults directed at him that made him worse than a pig, Song Zhiyuan was furious.

Before he could speak again, his mouth was stuffed with a rag again.

Just kidding, how could Wang Zhong possibly let Song Zhiyuan continue speaking?

Looking at the quiet meeting room, Wang Chengpeng shook his head almost imperceptibly, thinking to himself that although Wang Fucheng was generally fine, he was not as good as Song Zhiyuan in terms of details.

It would be a waste of all the emotions that had been built up over such a long time if we didn't arrange for a couple of people to set the mood.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengpeng pinched his throat and shouted:

"It turns out we misunderstood Captain Wang. Everything he did was for our own good and for the good of the village."

"We support Captain Wang. Captain Wang, we are sorry."

"Song Zhiyuan actually spread rumors about Wang's life and death while Wang was busy working for the village. He has ulterior motives."

"Check his background; he definitely has serious problems!"

After distorting his voice, Wang Chengpeng's voice became unrecognizable, and only two or three people nearby recognized that it was Wang Chengpeng speaking.

At this moment, they were looking at Wang Chengpeng with an extremely strange expression, after all, this behavior was completely different from Wang Chengpeng's previous upright and honest image.

Checking ingredients? In this day and age, that's a matter of life and death.

If even the slightest error is discovered, Song Zhiyuan is practically sentenced to death; even if he doesn't die, he'll be severely injured.

With a nonchalant smile, Wang Chengpeng explained, "This Song Zhiyuan actually dared to target my father. If he doesn't die, who will?"

However, Wang Chengpeng was unaware that his actions were not only seen by Wang Zidong, Wang Jianhua, and Wang Tieshan, but also by Wang Fucheng.

It wasn't that Wang Fucheng could tell that Wang Chengpeng's voice had changed; it was simply that after finishing what he had done, he was looking at Wang Chengpeng with a smug expression, wanting Wang Chengpeng to know just how well he had done.

Unexpectedly, I happened to see Wang Chengpeng pinching his nose and talking loudly.

Looking at Song Zhiyuan with sympathy, Wang Fucheng thought to himself, "You stupid pig, of all people to offend, you had to offend Wang Chengpeng, that living devil."

Even if he failed to do a good job today and didn't bring down Song Zhiyuan directly, given the momentum Wang Chengpeng just set, he won't fare much better.

At the same time, Wang Chengpeng's actions gave him some inspiration, making him realize that he still needed to support a few of his own voices among the masses.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be embarrassing if no one came out to support you at a critical moment?

The rest was much simpler. Now that things had been discussed openly, Wang Fucheng briefly recounted the story of the Dapeng Sugar Factory.

The planting and harvesting of sugar beets, the construction and operation of the factory... all these things need to be discussed in detail.

Then, they painted a picture of the vast future of Dapeng Sugar Factory, which is commonly known as "drawing a pie in the sky," and the conference came to a successful conclusion.

Just as Wang Fucheng was talking eloquently, Song Weimin had already arrived at the village entrance.

As Song Zhiyuan's trusted subordinate, he wouldn't fare much better if Song Zhiyuan fell from power.

That's why he ran out immediately, intending to go to the commune to get help for Song Zhiyuan.

However, before Song Weimin had gone far, he saw two figures rushing towards Wangjia Village.

One of them was unfamiliar, but the other, Song Weimin, was someone Liu Guodong's secretary, Zhou Ruizhe.

Upon seeing Zhou Ruizhe, Song Weimin rushed over as if he had seen a savior, wailing:

"Secretary Zhou, help!"

"Wang Fucheng has gone completely mad. He actually detained Director Song openly during the meeting. He's completely lawless."

"Go and see quickly, or Director Song might lose his life."

Wang Fucheng would never commit murder in the street. Song Weimin said that to exaggerate the facts and get Zhou Ruizhe to get there sooner.

A strange light flashed in his eyes, and Zhou Ruizhe said in an ambiguous tone, "Oh, Director Song, that's really lawless."

"I happen to have some business with Director Song, so please show me the way."

Zhou Ruizhe's words were ambiguous, but Song Weimin interpreted them as Zhou Ruizhe's intention to stand up for Song Zhiyuan. Overjoyed, Song Weimin led the two of them toward the meeting place as if he had found a savior.

About seven or eight minutes later, the two arrived at the meeting place.

At this moment, Wang Fucheng was excitedly describing the grand blueprint of Dapeng Sugar Factory to everyone, when he suddenly discovered that three people had barged into the meeting room.

As soon as he entered the venue, Song Weimin couldn't wait to shout:

"Wang Fucheng, you're dead! How dare you grab our Director Song like that? You could have hundreds of lives and still not be enough to kill yourself."

"What are you looking at? If you don't want to die, hurry up and let go of Director Song."

Wang Fucheng exchanged a subtle glance with Zhou Ruizhe, then said nonchalantly:
"I don't think there's anything wrong with me arresting someone who just randomly barged into the venue, has ulterior motives, and whose background is unclear."

"If Song Zhiyuan hadn't been brought under control in time, who knows what the meeting would have turned out like today."

Wang Fucheng's words finally had an effect.
The villagers were outraged when they thought about how Wang Fucheng had gone to great lengths for them only to be falsely accused, and how they themselves had been misled into becoming accomplices. They began to verbally and in writing condemn Song Weimin.

Because these villagers had not received much education and their vocabulary was not very large, they could only use the most sincere words to greet Song Zhiyuan and Song Weimin's parents.

Ultimately, the two elders couldn't withstand such intense damage and both perished, leaving the two children as pitiful orphans.

Unable to grasp the situation clearly, Song Weimin still believed he had the upper hand and immediately began to loudly accuse, saying:
“Secretary Zhou, look at these people. They are cursing so rudely to your face. I can’t imagine what they will be like when you’re not around.”

"The situation is clear. Arrest Wang Fucheng, this bad element who incited the masses, immediately to serve as a warning to others!"

Zhou Ruizhe glared at Song Weimin with annoyance and shouted, "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

Then he put on a smiling face and said to Wang Fucheng on the stage:

“Captain Wang, I didn’t quite believe you when you first reported it to the commune, but I never expected these people to be so arrogant that they dared to openly insult the production team leader at the meeting.”

“You’re right, there are indeed some issues with the backgrounds of these two people. We’ll take them back immediately for investigation.”

At this point, Zhou Ruizhe glanced at his deputy with some difficulty and said:
"Due to time constraints, I only brought one assistant with me, so we are severely understaffed."

"If Wang Fucheng is willing to help, please send a few militiamen to assist in taking these two people to the commune together."

Is there a problem with the ingredients?
Upon hearing his crime, Song Weimin was dumbfounded. Could a lowly henchman like him bear such a serious charge?
As for Song Zhiyuan, he sensed that the situation was hopeless and instantly lost all his strength, collapsing to the ground.

After a long pause, Song Weimin seemed to realize what was happening and burst into a tirade of curses:
"Song Zhiyuan, you're a real scoundrel."

"You shameless bastard, you actually tricked me into helping you frame Captain Wang, you are absolutely despicable."

"Leaders of the two communes, this matter really has nothing to do with me. You can arrest Song Zhiyuan, but please don't arrest me."

This person is truly shameless.

Shaking his head slightly, Zhou Ruizhe said, "Whether it has anything to do with you or not, we'll have to investigate thoroughly to find out."

“If you really didn’t know and were just instigated by Song Zhiyuan, then it’s not impossible to be treated leniently.”

Upon hearing Zhou Ruizhe's words, Song Weimin felt as if he had seen a savior and shouted:
"I'll confess, I'll confess everything."

"Don't worry, I will confess to every single bad thing that Song Zhiyuan asked me to do."

However, before Song Weimin could say a few words, he was arrested along with Song Zhiyuan by the militia.

We're still in a meeting; we can't let him continue shouting here.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Wang Fucheng, Zhou Ruizhe left without further ado, leading the two men away. The once powerful village chief had thus made his exit in such a hasty manner.

No one would have imagined that Song Zhiyuan's miserable situation was simply because he offended the seemingly insignificant Wang Chengpeng.

Therefore, it's best to keep a low profile, otherwise you might accidentally offend someone you can never afford to offend.

Watching Song Zhiyuan being escorted away, Wang Chengpeng shook his head slightly, thinking to himself:
If we had known today, why bother in the beginning?
If he hadn't caused trouble, although he might not have won the top credit, he might have been able to ride the coattails of the sugar factory and rise to prominence.

It's truly lamentable that someone who served as a village head for decades ended up in such a state.

However, now is not the time to relax. Since he has chosen to help Wang Fucheng, Wang Chengpeng naturally intends to see it through to the end. He immediately pinched his nose and spoke again:

"Great! The bad elements who were hindering the development of Wangjia Village have been arrested. As long as we work together, Dapeng Sugar Factory will definitely be able to develop."

"That's a sugar factory! Everyone in our village will be able to live a good life then."

After Wang Chengpeng's "kind" reminder, everyone immediately realized what they should do and started shouting for Song Zhiyuan to be beaten.

The more they supported Song Zhiyuan's actions back then, the more they hate him now.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. After learning the truth, they really wanted to kill Song Zhiyuan on the spot.

That is to say, Song Zhiyuan had already been taken away at this time, otherwise he would probably have been so angry with these villagers that he would have vomited blood.

In such a dire situation, even if Song Zhiyuan barely escaped disaster, there was no place for him in the village anymore. Leaving his hometown in disgrace was his only way out!
Although Wang Chengpeng's actions were discreet, they were clearly seen by Wang Fucheng on stage.

Thinking of the tragic fate that Song Zhiyuan was about to face, Wang Fucheng suddenly felt a chill run through his body and it took him a full three seconds to recover.

Ruthless, absolutely ruthless!
This method is practically a form of killing without leaving a trace.

If Wang Chengpeng was able to kill Song Zhiyuan quietly today, doesn't that mean he could kill himself quietly someday?
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Wang Fucheng realized that he and Wang Chengpeng seemed to be on the same side, which made him feel a little more at ease.

As long as I'm a little more careful in the future and don't offend this living devil, I think I shouldn't encounter such a thing again.

With that in mind, Wang Fucheng regained his previous high spirits and continued to paint a rosy picture for everyone.

……

The conference lasted much longer than Wang Chengpeng had imagined.
On stage, Wang Fucheng was energetically painting a picture of a serious illness, while the villagers below the stage were enthusiastically supporting him, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

For a time, Wang Fucheng enjoyed unparalleled prestige in Wangjia Village, making it virtually impossible for a second voice to emerge.

However, even the most inspiring meeting cannot continue indefinitely. Amidst everyone's excitement, Wang Fucheng eventually ended his impassioned speech.

After promising to lead Wangjia Village to prosperity and strength, the village-wide meeting concluded successfully.

On their way home, Wang Zidong asked curiously, "Pengzi, why is this sugar factory called Dapeng?"

“This has absolutely nothing to do with our village and doesn’t reflect any unique characteristics. In my opinion, it should be called Wangjia Village Sugar Factory.”

(End of this chapter)