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

Jiang Ming's son, the seven-year-old boy named Jiang Xiaobao, was holding a turtle leg in one hand and a piece of soft, braised pork in the other, gnawing on it with oil dripping from his mouth. He was crying as he ate, and his words were indistinct.

Jiang Yaohua and his family sat at a huge mahogany round table that could seat thirty people, looking at the table full of delicacies they had never heard of or seen before, feeling as if they were in a dream.

Steamed turtle meat is tender and smooth, melts in your mouth, and has a unique fragrance.

Braised wild boar meat, fatty but not greasy, with an aroma that fills the nose and makes one's mouth water.

And that plate of vibrant green vegetables, though not heavily seasoned, had a sweet aftertaste that slid down my throat and into my stomach, leaving me feeling completely comfortable.

Jiang Ming had lived for forty years and this was the first time he had ever realized that vegetables could taste better than meat.

His wife ate in tiny bites, afraid that if she ate too fast, this sweet dream would end.

After the dinner, the family returned to the three-story villa that resembled a palace.

Jiang Xiaobao was having a great time playing with the flushing function of the smart toilet in the bathroom on the second floor, which was even bigger than his tin shack.

Jiang Ming and his wife stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the twinkling stars above the reservoir and the village's bright smart streetlights, speechless for a long time.

"Akiko, do you think... this is true?"

"I...I don't know either."

Jiang Ming pinched his thigh and hissed in pain.

it is true.

All of this is true.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

In Jiang Chen's courtyard.

Wang Xiuying is using a small stone mill to grind the soybeans that she just soaked this morning.

The rich aroma of soy milk filled the entire courtyard.

Jiang Chen, wearing a white tank top, shorts, and flip-flops, squatted on the stone stool at the entrance of the courtyard, slurping down a bowl of freshly made, steaming soy milk.

Just then.

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen! Something terrible has happened!"

Wang Dagou, like a wild boar that had been poked in the butt, rushed in from outside, his voice so loud that it shook several tiles off the eaves.

He was running so fast that he stepped on the moss on the bluestone slab and almost fell flat on his face.

Jiang Chen slowly took a sip of soy milk without even lifting his eyelids.

"What's with all the wailing so early in the morning? Did the sky fall down?"

Wang Dagou leaned against the door frame, panting heavily, sweating profusely, and slapping his thigh repeatedly.

"It's worse than the sky falling down!"

"The village entrance! The area around the village archway is so blocked that not even a fly can get through!"

"The village chiefs of Liushu Village, Zhaojialing, Wangjiatun... all seven surrounding villages have arrived with several hundred people!"

Jiang Chen blew on the scalding hot soy milk in the bowl and took another sip.

"You're here, so what's all the fuss about?"

Wang Dagou got anxious and rushed to Jiang Chen, lowering his voice.

"No, Brother Chen! Those people look like they're here to cause trouble! They're a huge crowd, blocking the road! I'm afraid they'll rush in and scare Second Grandfather and the others!"

Jiang Chen then put down the rough porcelain bowl in his hand and looked up at Wang Dagou.

"Just take some men and guard the village entrance, don't let them in."

After saying that, he picked up the bowl, finished the last sip of soy milk, and smacked his lips.

Then he slowly stood up, slipped on his flip-flops, and strolled towards the village entrance.

Wang Dagou quickly followed behind, muttering, "Brother Chen, slow down, please don't make a move. I think there are a few troublemakers among those people..."

Jiang Chen completely ignored him.

Before we even reached the village entrance, we could hear the clamor of voices.

Jiang Chen turned the corner and looked out from the corner of the village committee building.

Good guy.

Beneath the imposing white marble archway at the village entrance, a dense crowd of people stretched as far as the eye could see.

There are at least five or six hundred of them.

These people were all emaciated and dressed in patched clothes. They stared longingly into Jiangjia Village, their eyes like those of wolves that hadn't eaten for three days and had spotted meat.

At the very front of the crowd stood seven men.

Jiang Chen vaguely remembered the leader; he was the village chief of Zhaojialing next door, surnamed Wang.

Village Chief Wang wasn't carrying any farm tools or weapons; instead, he was holding a squawking old hen in his left hand and a fat duck that was laying eggs in his right.

The village chiefs next to him were all in similar situations, some carrying a basket of farm eggs, others holding two large winter melons.

They didn't look like they were there to cause trouble; they looked more like they were visiting relatives.

Wang Dagou stood there, completely stunned.

"What... what's going on here? A group fight with prizes?"

Just then, Village Chief Wang, with his sharp eyes, spotted Jiang Chen standing in the corner.

His eyes lit up instantly.

"Boss Jiang! Boss Jiang is over there!"

He shouted, grabbed the chicken and duck, and pushed through the crowd towards Jiang Chen.

The six village chiefs behind them quickly followed.

Hundreds of villagers surged forward as well, and if Wang Dagou and his security team hadn't stopped them, they probably would have rushed in on the spot.

Village Chief Wang ran up to Jiang Chen and, without saying a word, put the chicken and duck he was holding on the ground.

Then, with a "plop," he almost knelt down before Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen took a step to the side and dodged it.

Village Chief Wang wasn't embarrassed. He straightened up, his dark old face scrunched up like a bitter gourd, and he spoke almost in a sob.

"Boss Jiang! Please, give us a way to survive!"

His shout silenced all the villagers around him.

"We in Zhaojialing, and the surrounding villages, are really struggling to make ends meet!"

As he spoke, Village Chief Wang raised his sleeve and wiped the corner of his eye, which had no tears at all.

"We can't grow any crops in the fields. All the young people have left, leaving only us old bones, clinging to those few acres of barren land, barely able to fill our stomachs!"

"Last night, we smelled the delicious aroma of meat from your Jiangjia Village banquet. It smelled amazing! Several kids in our village were so hungry they rolled around in bed and cried all night!"

He spoke with such sincerity that the village chiefs behind him also sighed in agreement.

Another elderly Party Secretary with gray hair was from Liushu Village, and he was even more decisive than Village Chief Wang.

He had someone push several large baskets of farm eggs from behind him forward, right to Jiang Chen's feet.

Then he bowed deeply to Jiang Chen.

"Boss Jiang, we don't play games!"

"We have only one idea: we want to merge our Willow Tree Village into your Jiang Family Village!"

"We don't want villas or cars, we just want enough to eat and to work for you, Boss Jiang. We'll do anything!"

As soon as these words were spoken, hundreds of villagers behind him joined in the clamor.

"Yes! Boss Jiang! Take us in!"

"We can work too! We're not afraid of hardship!"

Jiang Chen looked at the group of people in front of him, then at the chickens and baskets of eggs on the ground, and understood everything perfectly.

These people are just jealous of the incredible treatment Jiangjia Village is receiving now, and they want to hitch a ride on this success and enjoy the good life.

He didn't say anything, but bent down and picked up the empty bowl he had just used to drink soy milk from the stone stool next to him.

Then he turned around and started to walk back.

Village Chief Wang panicked and stepped in front of Jiang Chen.

"Boss Jiang! If you don't agree, we'll kneel here forever!"

As he spoke, he actually began to kneel down.

Jiang Chen then stopped and placed the empty bowl in his hand into Village Chief Wang's hand.

"You can merge the villages if you want."

Jiang Chen looked at him, then glanced at the hundreds of eager faces behind him.

"But can you guys stand my rules?"