I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

"Brother Chen, something's up."

Wang Dagou lowered his voice and brought his mouth close to Jiang Chen's ear.

That was the night before the year-end meeting.

Jiang Chen was sitting in the village committee office calculating the profit reports of various factories this year. There was so much data on the table that it could make a person dizzy.

Wang Dagou sneaked in from outside, his expression strange.

"You go first."

"Last night, the brothers I arranged to patrol the village heard a small meeting going on inside Jiang Jianwen's yard when they passed by his house."

Wang Dagou rubbed his hands together.

"Liu Cuifen, Sun Yumei, Jiang Jianwen, and Jiang Jianmin whispered behind closed doors for over an hour."

"What did you say?"

"They say they're going to cause trouble at tomorrow's year-end meeting. They'll team up with several other companies to put pressure on you, forcing you to agree to sell the village's residential land and collective land to a big boss from Beijing."

Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair and tapped the table with his fingers.

"Fifty million per household?"

Wang Dagou was taken aback: "Brother Chen, how did you know?"

"Just a guess."

Jiang Chen's lips twitched slightly.

That bastard Chu Tiankuo, he's quick on his feet.

He had only made those harsh remarks on the phone a few days earlier when he turned around and plunged a knife into the heart of Jiangjia Village.

"Brother Chen, should I go and drag those ingrates over here right now?" Wang Dagou clenched his fist. "I'll slap each of them, and they'll be more obedient than shoe insoles."

"Don't."

Jiang Chen stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the newly built large apartment gleamed white in the moonlight, the factory lights were bright in the distance, and a few empty freight cars were parked on the railway.

He built all of this brick by brick.

"Let them make a fuss. I'll take this opportunity at tomorrow's meeting to get all these rotten teeth pulled out at once."

Jiang Chen turned his head.

"Go tell Attorney Zhou to work overtime tonight. I need a few documents for tomorrow."

"What document?"

"Agreement to sever ties."

Wang Dagou opened his mouth, but didn't ask any more questions. He turned around and left.

……

the next day.

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The Jiang family's year-end meeting was solemnly held in the old ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall was renovated last year, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and upturned eaves. A huge plaque reading "Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall" hangs in the main hall, and the sides are filled with roasted pigs, fruits, and fine wine for sacrificial purposes.

All the hundreds of people in the village with the surname Jiang, from the oldest to the youngest, were present.

The people in the front row are highly respected elders.

Grandpa Jiang Wanshan sat in the center of the chair, wearing a faded Zhongshan suit, his back ramrod straight.

He rested his copper pipe on his knees, his gaze sharp as a knife.

Jiang Chen sat to the left of the old man. He was unusually dressed today, wearing a formal dark gray jacket, and his hair was styled.

Su Qing sat in the row of women, glancing at Jiang Chen every now and then.

The ancestral hall was bustling with noise, everyone talking at once, creating a lively atmosphere.

Jiang Jianguo, holding a wine glass, was about to stand up and say a few opening remarks.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound.

The entire room fell silent.

Jiang Jianwen slammed his wine glass heavily on the table and stood up.

He specially wore a new dark blue jacket today, and his hair was styled with cheap hair wax and combed meticulously.

He pushed up his thick-rimmed black glasses, looking like he had been preparing to unleash a powerful move for a long time.

"Wait a minute before you drink!"

Jiang Jianwen looked around and said in a pretentious tone.

"I didn't feel good about this drink today."

The ancestral hall fell silent immediately.

Hundreds of eyes turned to him at once.

Jiang Chen held his teacup without saying a word.

Jiang Jianguo frowned: "Jianwen, let's talk this out. Don't put on these empty formalities at the year-end meeting."

"I'm talking about the important matter!"

Jiang Jianwen raised his voice and slammed his hand on the table.

The voice just fell.

Liu Cuifen jumped up and immediately took over in a high-pitched voice.

"Exactly! Our Jiangjia Village is a complete mess now! There's construction and building all the time, laying railway tracks and building factories, it's so noisy that nobody can get a good night's sleep!"

Sun Yumei also jumped out, hands on her hips.

"That's right! They make so much money outside, but the majority of the profits are invested in those run-down factories and farms. What does that have to do with us? The year-end bonus is so small, it's not even enough for my son's monthly allowance!"

The two women took turns singing, their coordination was extremely perfect.

It was obvious that they had rehearsed beforehand.

Jiang Haoran, who was sitting in the back row, also joined in the fun, crossed his legs, and shouted at Jiang Chen in a nonchalant manner.

"Brother Chen, you've made a name for yourself in the village, but we folks can't even get a taste of success working for you. What kind of situation is this?"

Jiang Chen glanced at him.

Ignored them.

Jiang Jianguo was so angry that his face turned red, and he slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Are you trying to rebel? The year-end meeting is for serious business, not for you to cause trouble!"

"Brother Jianguo, don't worry."

Jiang Jianwen smiled, took out a few crumpled pieces of paper from his pocket, and waved them in his hand.

"What I'm going to talk about today is serious business. Extremely serious business!"

He cleared his throat and deliberately raised his voice a few decibels.

"We've reached an agreement. A big boss from outside is willing to pay a high price to buy our homesteads and shares of collective land!"

Jiang Jianwen slammed the flyer with the words "International Eco-Poverty Alleviation Fund" printed on it onto the table.

"Fifty million per household! Cash! Payment on the spot!"

"We only have one request—sell the land we have! Take the money and divide the assets! Everyone goes their own way!"

These words were spoken.

It looks like someone threw a grenade into the ancestral hall.

"Buzz—"

Hundreds of people were in an uproar at the same time.

"Fifty million?!"

"Selling land? Selling the land of our ancestors?"

"Isn't this just wasting money!"

"Fifty million... I've never seen so much money in my life..."

The discussions were incessant, creating complete chaos.

Jiang Jianguo was so angry that he trembled all over and pointed at Jiang Jianwen and the others, cursing them.

"You...you bunch of spendthrifts! The very roots left by our ancestors, you're going to sell them to outsiders for a few stinking dollars?!"

"Is your brain filled with mush?!"

Wang Dagou stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

He wanted nothing more than to rush up and slap each of these ungrateful wretches.

But he knew this was a family matter for the Jiang family. As an outsider, he couldn't interfere no matter how anxious he was.

Fang Cui stood beside him, watching the farce unfold with a blank expression, muttering, "These people have skin thicker than a city wall."

"Snapped!"

The copper pipe slammed heavily against the armrest of the grand master's chair.

The sound wasn't loud.

But the entire ancestral hall fell silent instantly.

All eyes were focused on the 78-year-old man in the center.

Jiang Wanshan slowly raised his head.

His cloudy old eyes were now gleaming with sharp light.

"Jianwen".

The old man's voice was deep and hoarse, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Are you really going to sell our ancestral land and bring in capital from outside the village?"

Jiang Jianwen shrank back when the old man stared at him.

But the thought of those fifty million in silver dollars made him stiffen up again.

"Third Uncle, times have changed!"

Jiang Jianwen stiffened his neck, his voice weak but his words firm.

"They're offering 50 million per household! With that money, who would want to stay stuck in this mud pit?"

He turned around and pointed his finger directly at Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Chen! You have the final say on all the land and all the people in the village. Is that fair?"

"You have to agree today, whether you like it or not!"

The ancestral hall fell silent once again.

All eyes turned from Jiang Jianwen to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen put down his teacup.

He looked at Jiang Jianwen's face, which was contorted with excitement, and then at the impatient expressions on Liu Cuifen and Sun Yumei's faces beside him.

then.

Laughed.

"OK."

Jiang Chen uttered a single word.

"You want to sell? I'll grant your wish."

Everyone was stunned.

Including Jiang Jianwen himself.

He never expected Jiang Chen to agree so readily.

Jiang Chen slowly stood up and straightened the collar of his jacket.

Then he turned around, pointed his fingers towards the entrance of the ancestral hall, and snapped his fingers.

Heavy footsteps came from outside the door.

Several burly security guards, carrying black metal boxes on their shoulders, walked in one after another.

"Bang!"

The first box was placed heavily on the ground, and the lid popped open.

Inside, neatly stacked bundles of brand-new banknotes gleamed red.

"Bang!"

the second.

"Bang!"

The third.

There were six huge iron boxes lined up in the middle of the ancestral hall.

At that moment, everyone's breathing stopped.