Chapter 27: A Confrontation Over Line-Cutting

“The road ends here; we just turned around. Who cut in line?” Wang Dongqiu, the village chief of Guixi Village, pressed his sturdy chest against He Haiming, pushing him back step by step.

He Chunxi quickly had He Haiqiang go to help. “The village chief and the Guixi Village chief are fighting; hurry up and help.”

Zhang Meili, who was watching the commotion, tugged on Wang Shuning’s sleeve. “Is the Guixi Village chief so young? He looks only in his thirties.”

Wang Shuning frowned. Guixi Village’s men were all strong and young, while Dafeng Village’s were mostly older and lacked muscle.

He Chunxi explained to Zhang Meili, “Guixi Village has always been run by young and strong men. If you’re over forty, you can’t be village chief. Those young men are not only tall but also good fighters. Every year, someone goes to jail for fighting and brawling. As long as it’s not a serious injury, they’re released after a short time. Why did we have to run into them? We’re so unlucky today.”

He Daniu stood beside He Haiming, his face cold, pointing at the grain transport team moving forward. “We’ve been following behind Zhongzhou Village’s team. They started, and we followed. You can’t cut in line just because of a fork in the road; if you want to cut in, you have to queue behind us.”

Wang Dongqiu frowned, gesturing to the villagers standing aside. “There are several more villages behind us. If we wait, we won’t be able to deliver the grain by evening. The road is built by the government; we’re walking normally. Why didn’t you keep up?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a villager from Guixi Village driving an ox cart whipped the ox. The ox let out a muffled snort and suddenly accelerated forward a few steps, its tail almost hitting Dafeng Village’s water buffalo.

Seeing this, He Xianfeng immediately had the old man driving get down and took his place, ramming into the other cart. The sharp horns pierced the sack of rice on the other ox cart.

“What are you doing? You have to pay for the spilled grain!” Wang Dejun, a villager from Guixi Village, pointed at He Xianfeng and was about to push him, but He Daniu stepped forward to block him.

He Xianfeng stood up, looking innocent. “If your ox cart hadn’t suddenly cut in and startled my Maomao, it wouldn’t have bumped into you. It’s usually very docile. Your ox cart almost hit my Maomao; I haven’t asked you to pay yet.”

Maomao was the name of the water buffalo. Dafeng Village had two oxen, a male and a female; the male was called Maomao, and the female was called Huohuo.

Giving dogs names was one thing, but giving oxen names was because of their high status in the village; they were indispensable for plowing, showing how much they were valued.

Wang Dongqiu didn’t expect to encounter such shameless behavior; he was making things up. He saw a large space had opened up ahead; if this continued, no one would be able to move.

But Guixi Village had never yielded to anyone. Their village’s road to town was located here; they were walking normally. Why should they wait for Dafeng Village to go first?

Seeing their ox cart stop, He Xianfeng pretended he couldn’t control Maomao, shouting and swaying as if he were about to fall off the cart.

Seeing this, He Chunxi brought Wang Shuning and Zhang Meili, who had been watching the commotion, back to their senses. “Stop watching; hurry up and push.”

Zhang Meili asked in confusion, “Aren’t they still arguing up front?”

Wang Shuning noticed that He Daniu had gotten onto the second ox cart. Was he going to force his way through, not giving the Guixi Village people a chance?

He Chunxi rested his hands on the sacks, his head tilted, his eyes looking ahead. “We’re leaving soon.”

As soon as the villagers pushing the cart lifted it, He Chunxi pushed hard forward.

Maomao, as if startled, charged forward. Guixi Village’s ox cart was jolted, and the ox pulling it took a step forward.

Before Wang Dongqiu could react, He Daniu, driving Huohuo, followed closely, and the carts behind followed without hesitation.

Village chief He Haiming stood at the entrance, his hands on his hips, blocking Guixi Village’s team. Wang Dongqiu stepped forward to pull him, and he unexpectedly fell to the ground, groaning in pain. “Ah, I think I broke my leg.”

Lü Beichu, pushing a cart past, was dumbfounded. In his mind, village chief He Haiming had always been very imposing. Even if they met on the road, he would nod and greet them with a stern face. Shouting so loudly—was he faking it?

Guo Jingyi glanced a few times and immediately pushed the cart harder.

This was a deliberate attempt to extort money.

The Guixi Village chief was twice as wide as their village chief. One was standing, and one was lying on the ground. People who didn’t know the situation would really think Wang Dongqiu had beaten someone.

After Dafeng Village’s last cart passed the entrance, He Haiming, supporting his leg, stood up shakily. “I think my leg is sprained by you. After delivering the grain, you have to take me to the clinic. If there are any sequelae, it will be difficult for me to be village chief.”

Wang Dongqiu stared coldly as he slowly left.

Wang Dejun’s ox cart was sandwiched between Dafeng Village’s grain transport team. When he tried to stop, He Xianfeng used the rope for whipping the ox to hit his ox, urging him on. “If you waste more time, your village won’t be able to deliver the grain by evening. Leaving it overnight will affect the quality of the rice.”

Wang Dejun wanted to curse but looked back to see that his village’s team had already cut into the line at the entrance. It seemed the villages behind had compromised. He had no choice but to be sandwiched in the middle and continue driving.

After ten minutes, the queue stopped again. He Huiliang, the village accountant, holding his ledger, came back and said, “There are three more villages in front of us. Old Nie, who is collecting the grain, said that if it’s not our turn before eleven o’clock, we have to wait until the afternoon.”

The village chief panicked. If they waited until the afternoon, they wouldn’t start until two o’clock, wasting three hours. Things were expensive in town; he, as village chief, didn’t mind the high prices and could afford a meal, but there were so many villagers behind him; how could he eat alone? They would all have to starve together.

During the following period, He Haiming kept running to the front to check the progress of grain collection. Looking at those checking the quality of the rice, he felt a sense of urgency.

But after checking several times, he felt something was wrong. The inspection seemed stricter this year, and the expressions of people from other villages weren’t good.

So He Haiming waited aside. When Hongtaiyang Village finished delivering their grain and was leaving, he quickly went to a production team leader and asked, “Brother, what’s going on? Why did I see them checking under the sacks?”

The first production team leader of Hongtaiyang Village had an annoyed expression. “They said it rained during the harvest, and they were afraid some villages would bury low-quality rice at the bottom of the sacks. Fortunately, our village didn’t do that, but some sacks of rice were soaked in the rain and dried for a long time, so they cracked and turned slightly white. The grain station asked us to add some more.”