I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

"Knock knock knock"

A thick cowhide drum was placed in the center of the ancestral hall, and four shirtless men from the Zhongtang clan took turns striking the drum with thick wooden mallets in their hands.

The deep, powerful beat of the drums echoed throughout the entire town of Tazhai.

In less than half an hour, the courtyard outside the ancestral hall was packed with people.

The heads of all branches of the Lin family arrived, and torches were placed on the surrounding walls, illuminating the courtyard brightly.

Lin Ting sat imposingly in a grand chair, surrounded by dozens of Zhongtang disciples wielding steel pipes.

The crowd parted to make way, and two members of the Zhongtang gang twisted Lin Jian's arms behind his back and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing Lin Jian to kneel on the bluestone slab.

Lin Ting stood up, grabbed the 100,000 yuan in cash on the table, walked up to Lin Jian, and threw the money directly at Lin Jian's face.

Red 100-yuan bills were scattered all over the ground.

"Look carefully, everyone. This is the money Zhao Laosi gave us to buy our lives," Lin Ting said, pointing to the money on the ground.

"Yesterday afternoon at three o'clock, at the unfinished building in the north of the town, Lin Jian took this 100,000 yuan and drew up the path for gathering herbs in the back mountain for Zhao Laosi, which allowed the excavator to drive onto our ancestral graves."

The courtyard erupted in chaos. Cursing and swearing came from the crowd.

Lin Jian raised his head, his neck stiff, and shouted, "Don't try to fool me with this money! I didn't take any money! You're convicting me based on these few crumpled bills? I won't accept this!"

Lin Ting took Lin Jian's phone out of his pocket, turned on the screen, and pressed play.

A recording came through the phone's speaker.

"Fourth Brother, I've already marked the road. If you go up this road, the villagers will definitely not find you. That 100,000 yuan..." It was Lin Jian's voice.

"You'll get your share. I'll give you another 100,000 after it's done," another man's voice rang out.

After the recording finished playing, you could hear a pin drop in the courtyard.

Lin Jian's face turned ashen. He knew that arguing was useless, so he simply gave up and went all out.

"I did it! So what!" Lin Jian shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What's wrong with me taking the money! Look at the state of the village now! No water, no electricity, no food! Everyone will starve and die of thirst tomorrow!"

Lin Jian pointed at Lin Ting. "Why do you have to act like such a big shot and mess with the county magistrate's son!"

"Zhang Yu could just flick his finger and all 100,000 of us would die! I'm taking the money to secure my own future! Is that wrong?!"

Several people in the crowd lowered their heads; Lin Jian's words struck a nerve with their fears.

"Jianzai! Shut up!" Second Uncle rushed out from the crowd, leaning on his cane.

The second uncle walked up to Lin Ting, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

"Bang!" Second Uncle's forehead slammed heavily onto the bluestone slab, and blood flowed down his forehead.

"Grandpa! Jianzai is so foolish! He's never been to school and doesn't know any rules! He's been blinded by the allure of the outside world!" The second uncle hugged Lin Ting's leg, tears streaming down his face.

Lin Ting looked at his second uncle on the ground without saying a word.

"Grandpa, I've served the Lin family like a beast of burden for most of my life. My eldest son had his leg broken while protecting the tea plantation."

"My second son was out doing business and he died of exhaustion in his car. I only have this one youngest son left!" The second uncle cried so hard he couldn't straighten up.

"For the sake of my old bones, for the sake of our ancestors, spare his life! I'll make him return the money, I'll make him kowtow and apologize before our ancestral graves!"

Several older residents from the courtyard also came out.

"Grandpa, why don't we just let it go? Give him a beating and lock him up. The people outside are trying to drive us to our deaths. We can't let our own people kill each other anymore."

"Yes, Grandpa, Chien-tsai was terrified of being poor."

Lin Ting pushed his second uncle's hand away, turned around, and pulled out a solid iron rod from beside the armchair.

The iron rod dragged on the bluestone slab with a harsh sound.

"According to the Lin family rules, anyone who betrays their clan will be either drowned or expelled from the family register." Lin Ting walked up to Lin Jian.

Lin Jian looked at the iron rod in Lin Ting's hand and was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly.

"You dare touch me! Young Master Zhang won't let you get away with this! You'll all be buried with me!"

Lin Ting swung the iron rod, aimed it at Lin Jian's right hand, and smashed it down hard.

"Crack!" The sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the venue.

Lin Jian let out a pig-like scream and rolled on the ground, clutching his right hand.

Lin Ting did not stop. He raised the iron bar and smashed it into Lin Jian's left arm.

With another sharp crack, Lin Jian's arms went limp and fell to the ground. He convulsed in pain, foaming at the mouth.

My second uncle lay on the ground, crying so hard he passed out.

Lin Ting threw the bloodstained iron rod on the ground. "Bring me the family tree."

Several people in charge of the family came up carrying a wooden tray with a thick genealogy book and a writing brush on it.

Lin Ting picked up a calligraphy brush and dipped it in red cinnabar. He opened the family genealogy and found Lin Jian's name.

With a forceful pull of his wrist, Lin Ting drew a large red cross over Lin Jian's name.

"From today onwards, Lin Jian is no longer a member of the Lin family. Throw him out of Tazhai Town."

"Anyone who dares to help him, anyone who dares to give him a drink of water, will be punished as an accomplice." Lin Ting threw the brush back onto the tray.

Two men from Zhongtang stepped forward and dragged Lin Jian by the feet like a dead dog, pulling him out of the ancestral hall. The 100,000 yuan on the ground was taken away.

Lin Ting turned around and looked at the 100,000 clan representatives in the courtyard.

"I don't care who outside wants to kill us. In the Lin family, rules are law. Anyone who dares to betray their clan will suffer the same fate as Lin Jian," Lin Ting said.

The entire room fell silent; everyone kept their heads down, and no one dared to look Lin Ting in the eye.

No one slept that night in Tazhai Town.

The sky was turning a pale white as the morning sun shone on the dilapidated rooftops.

"Sizzle"

A street lamp flickered twice and then turned on. Immediately afterwards, all the lights on the street came on.

"The power's back on!" someone shouted from outside.

A roar came from the water pipes of the water supply station, and clear tap water gushed out.

Old Li, carrying a pig-slaughtering knife, strode into the courtyard of the ancestral hall. He ran so fast that he lost one of his shoes.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" Old Li shouted at the top of his lungs.

Lin Ting was sitting in a grand chair with his eyes closed, resting. He opened his eyes.

"The road is open! All those bulldozers at the town entrance have left! The thugs guarding the roadblocks ran away overnight!" Old Li's face was flushed, and he slapped his thigh excitedly.

"The town's loudspeaker just rang! The provincial station's morning news was on!"

Zhang Yu, the county magistrate's son, was arrested by provincial discipline inspection officials last night at a high-end club in the city! His father was also arrested!

Old Li's words instantly caused the entire audience to erupt in cheers.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, then erupted into thunderous cheers.

"Good job! Heaven has eyes!"

"We won't die! We have water to drink!"

Several old men hugged each other and wept bitterly.

The way everyone looked at Lin Ting completely changed; they knew that Lin Fei had left the village last night with an envelope.

With just an envelope and in one night, the high-ranking county magistrate's son was arrested, and the blockade collapsed on its own.

Jiang Ziya's influence was extraordinary.

Lin Ting stood up, ignoring the cheers in the courtyard, and turned to walk towards the Grandfather's study in the back hall.

The study door was pushed open, and the second uncle, with a bandage wrapped around his head, walked in, supported by two young men.

"Grandpa." The second uncle lowered his head, his voice hoarse.

"Our Lin family has made it through this time. Everyone is outside celebrating. On behalf of the entire clan, I thank our great-grandfather."

Lin Ting sat behind his desk, on which sat a yellowed old account book.

Lin Ting reached out and tapped the cover of the ledger. "You've pulled through? Take a look at these accounts."

Lin Ting pushed the ledger to the edge of the table.

"The village is out of money. Even though we won, we can't even afford to eat," Lin Ting said.

Second Uncle looked at the account book and sighed.

"Our Lin family doesn't have any cash cows. Those factories in town don't make much money."

Lin Ting turned to the last page of the account book.

"Our Lin family owns three sand quarries, which can produce 100,000 tons of river sand a year." Lin Ting looked at the ledger.

Second Uncle shook his head: "Grandpa, those three sand quarries have long been out of our control. The former village chief, Lin Daqiang, along with a few thugs from other villages, seized the quarries."

The accounts are a complete mess, and they've been owing wages to the young people in our clan for years.

Lin Ting closed the ledger.

"Those three sand quarries are the core assets of the Lin family." Lin Ting stood up and took the account book in his hand.

"Although we won, the village's accounts are already in debt. It's time to take back those shady sand mining plants."