tkworld Chapter 320 A fence-sitter with thick skin, a sack of air
Chapter 320 A fence-sitter with thick skin, a sack of air
"Make way! All of you, make way for me!"
A piercingly loud, hoarse voice shattered the frenzied yet solemn atmosphere.
Jiang Gundao, the village's number one rogue, with a shiny shaved head and half a cheap cigarette dangling from his mouth, was forcefully pushing his way through the crowd toward the towering mountain of money.
Behind him followed several village thugs who were just as irresponsible and idle as he was.
What's most eye-catching is that Jiang Gundao's rough, big hand is actually carrying an enormous empty sack!
His small eyes were now gleaming with a hungry wolf-like green light as he stared intently at the sea of red on the table.
"Hey, get out of here! Why are you pushing? You haven't done any work, what are you doing here!"
One of the villagers in the queue couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.
Jiang Gundao glared and spat a mouthful of phlegm directly at the man's feet.
"You don't know anything!"
"I didn't go to the construction site to carry bricks because Brother Chen thinks highly of me; the task he gave me is more important!"
He squeezed to the front and stood in front of the huge money table. His face instantly filled with a fawning smile, and he shouted at the top of his lungs at Jiang Chen behind the mountain of money.
"Brother Chen! My dear Brother Chen!"
"You are truly a once-in-a-century philanthropist in our Jiangjia Village! A living bodhisattva descended to earth!"
While flattering him, he recklessly slammed the sack in his hand onto the table, making a loud "clattering" sound.
The meaning couldn't be clearer.
A blond-haired accomplice behind him chimed in.
"Exactly! Brother Chen, our 'Rolling Knife Bro' hasn't been idle at all!"
"While you were away from the village, Brother Gun Dao and a few of us brothers have been patrolling the village entrance every day, helping with 'theft prevention'!"
"If we weren't watching over things, what if a thief broke in and stole your factory's machines? That contribution is no less valuable than moving a few bricks!"
These words were spoken with such self-righteousness and shamelessness.
Those farmers who were actually working under the scorching sun and sweating profusely on the construction site were so angry that their faces turned red and their fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Especially Jiang Mancang, a quiet and honest man, was so angry that his lips trembled, but he didn't know how to refute it.
They all knew that Jiang Gundao and his gang's so-called "patrol" was nothing more than gathering at the village store, drinking on credit, and harassing young women passing by!
Wang Dagou stood beside Jiang Chen, his dark face so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.
His chest muscles bulged, and he gripped the black walkie-talkie tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.
With just a glance from Jiang Chen, he was confident he could send those reckless scoundrels flying out of the courtyard in three seconds!
However, to everyone's surprise...
Jiang Chen sat behind the mountain of money, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
He seemed completely oblivious to Jiang Gundao's incessant shouting.
Jiang Chen slowly took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for himself.
He gently tapped the payroll in front of him, which was thicker than a brick and recorded all working hours and attendance.
"Accounting."
Jiang Chen exhaled a smoke ring, and his voice, though not loud, was exceptionally clear amidst the swirling smoke.
"Jiang Gundao, read out the attendance record for May."
The accountant in charge of finances is a retired teacher from the village, and he is very meticulous.
He pushed up his reading glasses, opened the thick ledger, cleared his throat, and read aloud.
"Jiang Gundao, in May, is required to attend 31 days of work."
"Of these, seven days were designated as construction site labor, but zero days were actually spent on duty."
"I applied for a three-day factory assembly line job, but only worked half a day."
"During my shift, I broke five finished product packaging baskets due to improper operation. According to regulations, I should pay 50 yuan in compensation."
"Additionally, there were 28 instances of being late and 30 instances of leaving early this month..."
With each sentence the accountant read aloud, Jiang Gundao's smile froze a little more.
When he heard the last sentence, "late and early departure," his already dark face instantly turned liver-colored.
Jiang Chen took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke toward Jiang Gundao.
As the smoke cleared, his mocking eyes were revealed.
"Jiang Ho Dao."
Jiang Chen's voice suddenly rose, booming like thunder in everyone's ears!
"With your hopeless character, you still have the nerve to bring a sack of money?"
"Do you think I'm some kind of sucker who runs a charity?!"
These words, spoken with resounding force, echoed throughout the entire village committee compound.
The villagers, who had previously dared not speak out in anger, suddenly burst into suppressed laughter.
At this moment, Jiang Gundao's face was completely stripped bare, leaving nothing behind.
He panicked!
He was completely flustered!
Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, he suddenly jumped up, pointed at Jiang Chen, and started to throw a tantrum.
"Jiang Chen! Don't you dare push your luck!"
"No matter what, I'm still your uncle or elder from the same clan!"
"We all share the same ancestor, so why can they eat meat while I can't even get a sip of soup?!"
His shouting also stirred up a commotion among several middle-aged women in the crowd who usually liked to slack off and were not eligible for money today.
"That's right, Chenzi, you can't forget your roots now that you have money!"
"Even if Gundao is wrong, he's still your elder. You should at least give him something in return, right?"
"We're all from the same village, don't go too far!"
In an instant, the entire courtyard became noisy.
These voices, attempting to use "family ties" and "morality" to blackmail Jiang Chen, are like a swarm of buzzing flies, causing him considerable annoyance.
"Bang!"
A loud bang!
Jiang Chen slammed his hand heavily on the table piled high with banknotes!
The towering mountain of money was shaken violently, and several bundles of banknotes rolled down.
The entire courtyard fell silent instantly.
All eyes were focused on the young man who stood up, his face devoid of any smile.