Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 145 Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!

The woman felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze and instinctively shrank back into the crowd, stammering, "It's...it's the Party Secretary's daughter...Li Xiaotao..."

"Li Xiaotao? Well, what a fine Li Xiaotao!"

Zhan Laosan was so angry that he laughed. He had been collecting melons and fruits in the surrounding villages for almost ten years, relying on monopolizing the supply and driving down prices.

He gives three points, and the villagers have to obediently sell for three points; no one dares to say a word.

But now, someone actually dares to bypass him and take the melon directly to town to sell it for a dime!

This isn't just taking food from his bowl, it's taking his bowl away!

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!

"Where's the Party Secretary? Where's Li Youtian? Tell him to get out here!" Zhan Laosan shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing at the village entrance, attracting more people to gather around.

As soon as Li Youtian and Li Jianshe reached the outer edge of the crowd, they heard this shouting and cursing, naming names.

Li Jianshe's face darkened. This Zhan Laosan was too arrogant, daring to curse the Party Secretary in front of the whole village.

Li Youtian's face turned extremely ugly.

What he values ​​most is his reputation as the village party secretary. Now that he's being publicly insulted, his anger flares up instantly.

"What's all the shouting about! Are you trying to startle me?" Li Youtian strode out from the crowd, hands behind his back, exuding official authority. "Boss Zhan, let's talk this out. What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket so early in the morning!"

When Zhan Laosan saw the person in charge arrive, he sneered.

"Secretary Li, I'd like to speak politely, but the people of Li Family Village are handling things in a very inhumane way!"

Zhan Laosan poked Li Youtian's chest with his finger, spitting as he spoke, "I've taken care of your village every year, giving you priority when buying melons, and always offering fair prices. But what do you do? You let your daughter steal my business in town! Selling them for one cent a pound? Huh? Why doesn't she just rob me! You, as the village secretary, are you leading the way in breaking market rules like this?"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the surrounding villagers.

"So Little Peach really does sell for one cent! My goodness!"

"One cent and three cents, that's a huge difference!"

"Boss Zhan, you're wrong about that. What do you mean by 'stealing'? They sold it based on their skills, they didn't steal or rob."

The villagers' chatter surged toward Li Youtian like a tidal wave.

His face flushed red, and he shoved Zhan Laosan's hand away, shouting sternly, "Stop spouting nonsense! That was my daughter's personal behavior, it has nothing to do with the village! Besides, buying and selling is free, the policies have been relaxed now, people can sell wherever they want, what's it to you?"

If this had happened yesterday, Li Youtian would never have said it, not even if you beat him to death.

But after being scolded by his wife all night and drinking the good wine his son-in-law offered him, his mind became a bit sharper.

Especially now that he has been publicly humiliated by Zhan Laosan, if he doesn't protect his daughter, the Party Secretary's prestige will be completely gone.

"So this is what you call freedom of trade!" Old Zhan's fat trembled with rage. "Fine! Li Youtian, you've got guts! Since there are so many capable people in your Li Family Village who look down on my little business of selling for three cents a pound, then I'm not doing this business anymore!"

He suddenly waved his hand and shouted at the whole village, "Listen up, all of you! From now on, if I, Zhan Laosan, ever take a single melon vine or a single rotten melon from your Li Family Village, I'll be your adopted grandson! I want to see if each of you has the ability to haul a melon to town and sell it for a penny!"

After saying that, he turned to get into the car.

This drastic move completely stunned all the villagers.

Everyone panicked.

"No, Mr. Zhan!"

"Mr. Zhan, please calm down. Let's talk this over!"

"We don't have that ability! We're counting on you to come and harvest the melons!"

The village has over a hundred households, and every single one of them grows melons.

If Zhan Laosan really refuses to buy them, how many households have the connections and the guts to take them to town to sell themselves?

Even if there were some, the town is so small. If dozens of truckloads of melons flooded in at once, they wouldn't sell for a penny, let alone a cent!

At that time, these tens of thousands of kilograms of watermelons will just rot in the ground!

In an instant, the villagers' gazes towards Li Youtian changed, filled with resentment and fear.

Li Fugui was so anxious he stamped his feet and yelled at Li Youtian, "Secretary! Look at the mess you've made! Now look what's happened! We've offended Boss Zhan, and everyone's melons are going to rot in the ground! You have to give us an explanation!"

"That's right! Your daughter's making money, but she can't let the whole village suffer!"

"Exactly! What kind of Party Secretary are you? I think you're driving our Li Family Village to ruin!"

Once it started, the resentment that had been building up in the crowd for years burst forth like a flood.

Everyone usually respects him as the Party Secretary because they rely on him to lead them to a better life. Even if they can't live a good life, at least he shouldn't stop them from eating.

But now, with his job in jeopardy, who cares if he's the Party Secretary or not?

Li Youtian was surrounded by villagers, sweating profusely with anxiety.

He never expected Zhan Laosan to pull such a stunt, which has now put him in a very difficult position.

"Shut up, all of you!" Li Jianshe couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to shout.

Although he was also afraid, he was even more heartbroken about the hard-earned money.

"Boss Zhan, what you're saying is unreasonable. Business is about mutual consent. You're offering three cents, which we think is too low. My daughter-in-law is capable of selling for ten cents; that's her skill. You can't cut off the entire village's livelihood because of this, can you?"

"I'll cut off your livelihood?"

Standing on the truck's running board, Zhan Laosan looked down at them and sneered, "You've ruined your own livelihood! Let me tell you, if you don't hand over Li Xiaotao today, apologize to me, and promise never to sell melons in town again, this isn't over!"

He's making an example of Li Xiaotao to completely shut her down.

Zhan Laosan's words were like a ladle of boiling oil poured into a hot pan, causing an uproar in the courtyard of Lijia Village.

For these farmers who toil in the fields, the melons in the fields are their staple food for the second half of the year, their children's school fees, and their wives' hopes for new clothes.

If Zhan Laosan refuses to accept them, what difference is there between that and taking their lives?

"Secretary Li! You have to give me an answer!"

"We can't let Boss Zhan leave! What will we do without him!"