Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

The area around Shimen Village, on the other hand, is peaceful and serene.

The air was exceptionally fresh after the rain, the crops were well-hydrated, and everything was so beautiful.

The situation was different in Jinjiatun. The villagers all had dark faces as they looked at Jin Mancang.

Not a drop of rain fell in their village area.

Jin Mancang stood under the old locust tree, trying to calm the villagers:

"Don't panic, everyone! It's raining upstream, and the water level in Qingba Reservoir has risen. We can still irrigate using the irrigation canals! It just takes a little more effort, right?"

The villagers' expressions softened slightly upon hearing this, but the resentment remained.

They both prayed for rain, but others got theirs, while they didn't. What does this mean?

Since Jin Mancang had already said that, they couldn't argue with it.

They all share the same surname, and every family is related by blood. They see each other all the time, so they can't afford to break off relations.

Some people sighed, turned around, and went home. Others muttered a few words and left as well.

Jin Mancang stood alone under the old locust tree, looking at the ugly and strange evil god and Buddha statue.

He worshipped this ghost Buddha not to pray for rain.

The rain-seeking ritual was just a pretense, a way to fool the villagers.

Jin Mancang's real purpose was to absorb the good fortune of others and accumulate his own wealth.

He obtained this ghost Buddha statue a few years ago from a wandering sorcerer from the south.

The sorcerer said that this Buddha could absorb people's luck; the longer it was worshipped, the more luck it absorbed, and the more prosperous the worshipper's fortune and wealth would become.

Jin Mancang believed it. He secretly enshrined the ghost Buddha under the old locust tree for three years.

Over the course of three years, he openly and secretly encouraged the villagers to come and pray, saying that it would bless Jinjiatun with a large population and abundant harvests.

The villagers didn't understand, but they still followed suit and worshipped.

But they didn't know that every time they knelt and prayed, every time they offered incense, a little bit of their luck would be sucked away by the ghost Buddha.

In the past three years, Jin Mancang's life has indeed improved, and his prestige in the village has been rising.

That excuse about using irrigation canals can only fool people for a short time.

For the next few days, everything remained the same. Chen Yongqiang was quite busy during these days.

He had to keep an eye on the finishing touches on the house, and occasionally went hunting in the mountains, leading a fulfilling life.

But he always remembered one thing: the mission given by the system, that evil god and ghost Buddha was in Jinjiatun.

But he couldn't find a suitable reason to investigate.

Go to Jinjiatun? Are you kidding me?

The conflict between Shimen Village and Jinjiatun is not just about fighting over water.

Jin Lao Da and Jin Lao Er are still in jail for illegally logging timber, and they were sentenced to several years in prison.

The people of Jinjiatun all blamed Chen Yongqiang for this.

If he dares to step into the territory of Jinjiatun, let alone investigate the evil god, the villagers of Jinjiatun will immediately start a fight if they see him.

That night, a half-moon hung in the sky, and its pale light shone on the village, casting a hazy silver veil over everything.

Liang Meie sent her son and daughter to bed early.

The two children played all day and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

She tiptoed out of the inner room, closed the wooden door of the shop, and bolted it shut.

Although the door was closed, a dim yellow light shone through the crack in the door.

Chen Yongqiang put his arm around her from behind, and the two sat on a stool by the counter, chatting enthusiastically.

Chen Yongqiang tentatively asked, "You sold wild boar meat in Jinjiatun last year, did you notice anything unusual?"

Liang Meie thought about it in a daze.

"It's been so long, how could I remember!" She shifted her body, finding a more comfortable position to lean back.

"I've only been there once or twice. I sell the meat and leave. I don't have time to look at anything else."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Liang Meie turned around and glanced at him: "Why are you asking this?"

"It's nothing, I was just asking." Chen Yongqiang thought to himself that he would have to go there himself.

After a while, Liang Meie suddenly remembered something, "That's right! I remember now, once I wanted to go to the old locust tree in Jinjiatun to sell wild boar meat, but Jin Mancang stopped me."

Chen Yongqiang's heart skipped a beat: "Under the old locust tree?"

"There's an old locust tree behind Jinjiatun Village. There's a shady spot under it where people usually rest. I was thinking of selling meat there; it'll be easier to sell if there are a lot of people."

"As soon as I got there, Jin Mancang came out, very fierce, and said that no stalls were allowed there and told me to get lost."

Although Liang Meie's description was vague, Chen Yongqiang provided clues.

Under the old locust tree, Jin Mancang wouldn't let outsiders near; there must be something wrong with that place.

"I understand." Chen Yongqiang patted Liang Meie on the back and helped her put on her clothes.

Chen Yongqiang pulled up his pants, chatted with Liang Meie for a few more words, and then got up and left.

He straightened his clothes, pushed open the wooden door of the convenience store, and walked out.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog coming from afar.

Just as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, he ran into Zhu, who was firing bricks that night, and he was walking towards the convenience store.

Seeing Chen Yongqiang come out, he chuckled twice.

"Brother Yongqiang, it's so late, are you here to buy things too?"

Chen Yongqiang simply grunted in response and continued walking forward.

Zhu Zi stood there, watching his figure disappear into the night.

Many people in the village now know that Chen Yongqiang has an ambiguous relationship with the widow Liang Meie.

Such things can be kept secret for a while, but not forever.

Some people saw Chen Yongqiang going in and out of Liang Meie's house at night, some people saw that Liang Meie looked at Chen Yongqiang strangely, and some people whispered among themselves.

But despite the murmurs, no one dared to say anything.

If it weren't for Chen Yongqiang, how could Liang Meie, a widow, have opened a small shop?

Anyone with eyes can see that this convenience store was able to open entirely thanks to Chen Yongqiang's help.

"He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated; he who eats a bribe is bound to be obligated to eat a bribe." Many people in Shimen Village have received favors from Chen Yongqiang; what more can be said?

When Zhu Zi went in to buy cigarettes, Liang Meie was standing behind the counter, head down, adjusting her collar, her face still flushed.

Hearing the door open, she looked up and saw it was Zhu Zi. Her hand paused for a moment, then resumed its normal movement.

"Zhu Zi, why are you buying cigarettes so late?" She smoothed her hair.

Zhu Zi walked to the counter, not daring to look around, but just staring at the cigarettes on the shelf.

In the past, when he passed by here, he always liked to joke with Liang Meie, being a smooth talker and daring to say anything.

But things are different now. He knows that Liang Meie is Chen Yongqiang's woman.

Although no one said it outright, he understood everything when he saw Chen Yongqiang leaving from here.

For some reason, I felt a sense of awe towards Liang Meie and dared not act as casually as before.

"Sister-in-law Mei'e, give me a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes." He placed a few cents on the counter.

Liang Meie responded, turned around, took a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from the shelf, and handed it to him.

Zhu Zi took the cigarette, turned around and left. He was only able to afford good cigarettes thanks to Chen Yongqiang, who had gotten his hands on the brick kiln.

After Liang Meie accepted the money for the cigarettes, she turned off the lights in the convenience store. If Chen Yongqiang hadn't come over that night, she would have closed up shop long ago.