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

"I can take it! I can take it! I absolutely can!"

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's promise, Village Chief Wang's wrinkles smoothed out with excitement.

He held Jiang Chen's empty bowl with both hands as if it were a sacred decree, nodding repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Boss Jiang! As long as you're willing to take us in, we'll forgo all rules, even face mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

The six village chiefs behind him echoed his sentiments.

"Yes, Boss Jiang! We'll all listen to you!"

"Whatever you say goes! We have no objections!"

The hundreds of villagers below erupted in an uncontrollable cheer.

In their view, being able to merge with Jiangjia Village was like having one foot in heaven.

Living a life of luxury, with plenty of meat and fish every day, living in a villa, driving a luxury car, and even receiving gold bars at the end of the year—who wouldn't be envious of such a wonderful life?

Jiang Chen looked at their excited faces, his expression unchanged.

He took the large megaphone, which was about half a person's height, from Wang Dagou.

"Sizzle—"

A piercing crackling sound of electricity rang out.

Jiang Chen walked to a half-meter-high bluestone slab, stood still, and cleared his throat.

The loudspeaker clearly transmitted his voice to the ears of everyone present.

"Fellow villagers, please be quiet."

The noisy crowd fell silent instantly.

All eyes were focused on the young man, who wore a white tank top and shorts, yet seemed to rule the world like an emperor.

"If you want to merge with our Jiangjia Village, that's fine."

Jiang Chen's voice was unhurried, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"But let me make this clear from the start: in our Jiangjia Village, there are three ironclad rules that will never be broken. If you agree, stay; if you disagree, you can take your chickens and eggs and go home right now."

He paused, then raised the first finger.

Rule number one: We don't support idlers or lazybones!

"Once you enter Jiangjia Village, you have to obey our unified arrangements. If we tell you to farm, you can't feed the pigs. If we tell you to carry bricks, you can't sit and drink tea. Here, we distribute according to work; the more you work, the more you earn. Don't even think about lying at home doing nothing like before! Forget about it!"

These words immediately caused a stir among the crowd.

Most of the honest farmers, who toiled in the fields from dawn till dusk, showed joy on their faces.

They are not afraid of working, but they are afraid of not earning money even if they work.

This rule in Jiangjia Village is a great thing for them!

Jiang Chen ignored the reactions below and raised his second finger.

"Rule number two: No gamblers, no drunkards!"

"I know that some people in your village work hard to earn a little money, and then they turn around and spend it all at the gambling table. Their wives and children go hungry at home, while they lose everything outside. There are also some people who can't live without alcohol, and when they're drunk, they beat their wives, scold their children, and act crazy."

Jiang Chen's tone turned cold.

"I'm telling you this: Jiangjia Village doesn't want a single person like this! If anyone is found gambling in groups or causing trouble while drunk, not only will they be fired, but their entire family will be kicked out of the merged village! They'll never be hired again!"

This rule caused some of the subordinates' expressions to change.

Among the crowd, a few men with shifty eyes and red marks on their wrists from playing mahjong quietly shrank back.

Jiang Chen's gaze swept across the entire room like a sharp sword, and finally he raised his third finger.

Article Three: We do not accept troublemakers or scoundrels!

"There are always some people in the village who are lazy, greedy, petty thieves, and never satisfied with taking advantage of others. Today they'll steal an onion from this neighbor, tomorrow they'll steal an egg from that neighbor. If you don't let them take advantage of you, they'll lie down at your doorstep and throw a tantrum. We call these kinds of people 'troublemakers' or 'stubborn scoundrels'."

Jiang Chen's voice carried a chilling undertone.

"My approach to dealing with these kinds of people is simpler. Anyone who dares to cause trouble in the new village, anyone who dares to break the rules, I don't care who they are, I'll break their leg first, then throw them out of Jiangjia Village!"

"I've finished speaking. Who agrees with these three points, and who disagrees?"

These three ironclad rules are all harsher and more inhumane than the last.

The entire village entrance fell into a deathly silence.

A good ten seconds or so passed.

"good!"

A simple, honest farmer raised his arms and shouted, his face flushed red.

"Boss Jiang is brilliant! This is exactly the kind of rule we've been hoping for!"

"Don't support lazy people! That's absolutely right!"

"Get rid of those gamblers! We've had enough!"

More than half of the honest villagers who wanted to work hard burst into thunderous applause and cheers.

They clapped their hands with joy, feeling that Jiang Chen had perfectly expressed their thoughts.

On the other side of the crowd, the faces of the dozens of hooligans who usually idled around the village and stole chickens and dogs were all as black as the bottom of a pot.

Jiang Chen's three rules have effectively blocked all their paths to survival!

"Bullshit!"

A young man with dyed blond hair and wearing tight pants squeezed out of the crowd.

He pointed at Jiang Chen's nose and started cursing.

"Who the hell do you think you are? This is an outrageous contract! You're driving us to our deaths! You don't treat us like human beings at all!"

Jiang Chen vaguely remembered this person; he seemed to be a notorious village bully from Zhao Family Ridge, named Zhao Hu.

Behind him followed a dozen or so slovenly young men, each with a nonchalant attitude and a defiant look on their faces.

Jiang Chen stood on the bluestone slab, looking at Zhao Hu, too lazy to even say a word.

Ding Xiu had already walked out from the side of the crowd without anyone noticing.

He stepped forward, before Zhao Hu could react.

With lightning speed, his right leg rose and delivered a precise kick to the back of Zhao Hu's left knee.

The force wasn't great, but the angle was extremely tricky.

"Thump!"

Zhao Hu felt a numbness in his knee, and his entire leg instantly lost its strength, causing him to kneel on one knee uncontrollably.

A sharp pain shot through his knee, causing him to scream in agony.

The group of thugs following behind him were all stunned by this sudden scene, and they all took a step back, none of them daring to step forward.

Wang Dagou, standing to the side, yelled at the group:

"Look carefully! Within Jiangjia Village's territory, Brother Chen's word is law!"

"Anyone who dares to disagree will end up like this kid!"

"If you're not happy with that, get the hell out of here right now!"

Those hooligans were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they didn't dare to utter another word.

Village Chief Wang and the other six village chiefs quickly gathered together and discussed the matter in private.

Less than three minutes later, Village Chief Wang ran back and bowed repeatedly to Jiang Chen.

"Boss Jiang, we've reached an agreement! We'll proceed according to your rules!"

"When we get back, we'll weed out all those lazy bums, gamblers, and good-for-nothings from the village! Leave none behind! We only want honest, hardworking farmers!"

He immediately made the decision to remove all the unqualified troublemakers from the list of villages to be merged.

Zhao Hu clutched his throbbing knee and struggled to get up from the ground.

He looked at Village Chief Wang's fawning face, then at Jiang Chen on the stage with his cold eyes, and trembled with anger.

He knew that today's plan was completely hopeless.

Zhao Hu, along with the dozen or so troublemakers who had also been eliminated, walked back, cursing and swearing, amidst the villagers' disdainful gazes.

Reaching the intersection, Zhao Hu turned back, glared venomously at Jiang Chen, and uttered a harsh remark.

"You think you're so tough, Jiang? Just you wait, this isn't over!"