He transformed from a fierce tiger pillar into a martial saint.

Inside the ancestral courtyard of Chujia Village.

Chu Changnian had a satisfied expression on his face.

"Alright, we've finished discussing all the matters in our village today."

"I think everyone agrees, right?"

When Chu Changnian said those words, it was really just a symbolic gesture.

He could tell that some villagers were still dissatisfied, but his son, Chu Zhe, was about to break through to the Dark Force realm and participate in the martial arts exam, so the villagers were wary of him and dared not say anything.

Lin was very anxious at this moment and said, "Village Chief..."

Chu Changnian said, "Mrs. Lin, you need to have a broader perspective. I've already made myself very clear..."

Just then.

A voice rang out, its tone firm and powerful.

"Uncle, if we're talking about having a broad perspective, you'd be the best example to set."

The person who arrived was none other than Chu Yang.

This Chu Family Village shares a common origin, but many families have already crossed the fifth degree of kinship. However, in terms of lineage, Chu Yang's family and Chu Zhe's family are only the fifth generation, belonging to a close branch that has not yet crossed the fifth degree of kinship.

Chu Changbai said coldly, "Chu Yang, stop making trouble! How dare a young man like you interfere in important village affairs!"

Chu Yang shook his head: "Uncle Changbai, you are mistaken. I am the male head of my family, and I naturally have the right to make decisions."

"Moreover, this involves the sharing of river taxes, which requires the contribution of every household. Therefore, every household has the right to participate in the discussion."

"Of course, if Uncle Changbai can represent the village chief and uncles to cancel my river tax, I won't say anything."

Chu Yang's words hit the nail on the head, directly striking Chu Changbai on the head.

Chu Changbai's face flushed crimson with rage. Pointing at Chu Yang, he shouted, "Chu Yang, shut up!"

"You're a junior who's about to be expelled from the martial arts school; you're not even a true martial artist. What right do you have to speak up!"

"It's an honor for you to have your family contribute more to the river tax so that Chu Zhe can become a military officer!"

Chu Yang said, "Uncle Changbai, you are mistaken. How many of you gentlemen here, young and old, have actually practiced martial arts and become martial artists? Don't you have any say in this matter?"

"I respected Uncle Changbai's every word, but I never expected that Uncle Changbai believed that non-martial artists had no right to speak... I don't think the village chief and my uncle had this idea."

Chu Yang remained calm, still using respectful terms in every sentence, but each word struck Chu Changbai like a thorn in his side.

Many villagers present also changed their expressions slightly, feeling that Chu Changbai's words had gone too far.

Chu Changnian's expression remained unchanged, but a flash of dissatisfaction with Chu Changbai appeared in his eyes. His words were full of loopholes and created antagonism; how could he possibly gain the support of these villagers and seize the village's benefits in the future?

Chu Changnian glared at Chu Changbai and said in a deep voice, "Chu Changbai, shut up."

Then, Chu Changnian looked at Chu Yang with a warm expression: "Nephew Chu Yang, you are right. In my heart, all of us villagers are family members and have the right to participate in discussions."

"Nephew, your vision of the big picture you just mentioned is something I should set an example for. Tell me how I should set an example."

Chu Changnian believed that no matter what Chu Yang said, he had enough control over the situation. In front of the villagers, he needed to maintain the proper demeanor.

Chu Yang cupped his hands to Chu Changnian and said, "Uncle, you truly deserve to be the head of our village. Your vision and demeanor are unmatched by others."

Upon hearing this, Chu Changbai's face darkened even further.

Chu Yang continued, "Uncle, last year our Chu Family Village suffered from floods, and most families in the village were severely affected, with huge losses in yield per mu. Many people even had to borrow grain at high prices to get through the crisis."

"This year, after two harvests and doing hard labor for others, we finally recovered."

Chu Yang's words, spoken from the perspective of the villagers' interests, made all the villagers nod in agreement.

"My uncle's land is located on the south slope, which is fortunate to have saved him from the floods. Since last year, he has also acquired more than forty acres of fertile land, so he has plenty of money. It's more than enough to support a martial artist. It's just that my uncle's family may have to lower the quality of their food, clothing and other necessities."

"If the river tax is distributed according to the acreage, it is in line with the court's original intention in collecting river taxes and land taxes, and it also reflects our uncle's consideration for us clansmen. We clansmen should naturally support our uncle even more."

Chu Changnian demanded that his family consider the big picture in everything they did. This so-called big picture was nothing more than reducing their river tax by supplying Chu Zhe with the martial arts exam.

Chu Yang's words immediately shocked many villagers.

Indeed, during last year's floods, only Chu Changnian's family escaped unscathed and even reaped a good harvest. Many people in the village borrowed grain from him at high interest rates.

Some villagers were struggling financially, so he took the opportunity to buy some of their fertile land at a low price, making a considerable profit. However, many other villagers lost some of their land.

Looking back now, even if Chu Zhe really did become a military officer and was exempted from some land taxes, military service fees, and corvée labor, it would only bring them minimal benefits, given that they had all lost their land. Only those with more land would reap greater benefits!

Some villagers had reservations, but fearing that Chu Zhe was going to challenge them for the title of martial arts champion, they dared not offend him rashly and thus remained silent.

But at this moment, their emotions were also ignited.

"Village Chief, Chu Yang is right. You are our village chief, and you should understand our difficulties. You have two or three hundred mu of fertile land, so two hundred and sixty jin of grain is nothing to you, but for us who only have two or three mu of land left, that's a real problem!"

"Uncle, the river tax should really be calculated based on acreage, not by household!"

"It's not just the river tax, but also the land tax and the military allowance. It's most appropriate for us to calculate them based on the amount of land. I've heard that Shanghe Village and Xiaoli Village have been paying these exorbitant taxes based on the amount of land they own for the past few years."

"Uncle, your family had a bountiful harvest this year, probably around seventy or eighty thousand bushels of grain. Chu Zhe is working on his breakthrough to the Inner Strength realm and his attempt to enter the martial arts examination; surely he didn't spend it all, did he?"

"Village chief, your family is also tightening their belts and reducing their consumption... For us, it's a matter of whether we can have enough to eat!"

"You've shown us compassion, and we will resolutely support you continuing as our village chief next year!"

Chu Changnian never expected that Chu Yang, at such a young age, would be so insightful about human nature, able to mobilize these villagers to stand on his side, ultimately putting him in such a passive position.

He can no longer insist on collecting river taxes from each household, otherwise he will be standing against all the villagers.

Chu Changnian remained calm and nodded: "What you all say makes sense. As for the enormous amount of money Chu Zhe needs for his martial arts breakthrough, I'll seek help from the four major families in the inner city..."

When mentioning these "four major families," Chu Changnian deliberately paused, precisely to intimidate the villagers.

In fact, when the villagers heard those words, they were indeed startled and quite intimidated.

But considering that the river tax was their real and tangible benefit, they couldn't just give up their food and drink just because Chu Changnian had some connections with the four major families, so they remained silent.

After a slight pause, Chu Changnian said, "Then this time, we will pay the river tax according to the amount of land. Our village has a total of 1,000 mu of land, and each mu will be allocated 30 jin of grain."

"We'll discuss this further when the other taxes are paid. Alright, everyone hurry back and collect the river tax!"

After all the villagers had left.

Chu Changbai gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, that brat Chu Yang is so sharp-tongued, we have to teach him a lesson!"

Chu Changnian said, "Changbai, Chu Zhe is about to break through the Dark Force barrier and attempt the Martial Arts Examination. As the father of the Martial Arts Examination and the head of the village, it is inconvenient for me to do certain things."

When he said this, Chu Changnian's face was also very gloomy.

Today, Chu Yang challenged his authority! He actually managed to manipulate the scattered public opinion of those peasants, making him spit out so much real money!

According to Chu Zhe, he will be able to break through to the Dark Force level and participate in the martial arts examination in two months at most!

At that time, Chu Zhe will be a high school graduate and will have an official position. With his connections, it will be easy for him to use some methods!

Chu Yang hasn't even reached the Ming Jin level yet, and he'll soon be kicked out of the martial arts school again. At that time, he won't have any backing for him anymore.

At that time, we must seize all the remaining twenty acres of land belonging to Chu Yang's family! We will then send him to do the most arduous and difficult corvée labor! And leave him to die in some distant land!

Upon hearing Chu Changnian's words, Chu Changbai's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said, "Brother, I understand!"

"I'll first send a message to those bandits gathered at Tulong Mountain. Those bandits are tall and strong; dealing with a nobody like Chu Yang... heh, I'm really afraid they'll just kill Chu Yang and his whole family!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, the village chief, to put in some effort to arrange their funeral."

Chu Changnian walked to the window with his hands behind his back: "Helping my own people is my duty."