Doctor and His Glamorous Sister-in-Law

Er Lu shifted uncomfortably under the gazes of the crowd.

Still, he glared and said loudly, "The village chief isn't talking about me wanting to rent this land! He's saying this guy, Liu Ergou, is leasing so much wasteland that he must be up to no good!"

"If he doesn't explain his purpose for leasing the wasteland, my mind won't be at ease!"

His words immediately resonated with the others present.

"That's right! We still don't know what Liu Ergou plans to do with that wasteland!"

"Exactly! We need to know why he's leasing it before we can feel at ease!"

"Yeah, what if he does something illegal and implicates us all? That would be disastrous!"

Hearing the murmuring crowd, Liu Jingming didn't waste any time. He turned directly to Liu Ergou beside him and said, "Liu Ergou, come explain it to them yourself!"

Liu Ergou immediately stepped forward and announced, "Everyone, I'm leasing that wasteland to grow medicinal herbs!"

With these words, the crowd finally quieted down.

Many who understood his reason said nothing more. However, after learning that Liu Ergou planned to plant herbs, many others turned their gazes toward Er Lu, waiting to see what he would say next.

Er Lu stood in the crowd, glaring venomously at Liu Ergou. This is the guy who ruined my chance with Xiao Rou. I've been itching for a chance to get back at him, and now he's served it to me on a platter. Today, Liu Ergou is trying to lease the village's wasteland. I have only one thought: I will absolutely not let him succeed.

He immediately shouted at Liu Ergou, "What benefit is it to us for you to lease wasteland and grow herbs?"

"Is it just for that bit of rent money? We couldn't care less about that pittance! If there are no other benefits, we will never agree to lease the wasteland to you!"

Spurred on by Er Lu, the other villagers quickly caught on. It seemed there was quite a bit of profit to be made from this deal. In an instant, most of the villagers started making a ruckus, siding with Er Lu.

"Er Gou, Er Lu is right! What's in it for us?"

"Yeah, if there are no benefits, we can't just let you rent the wasteland for free!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

A slight, involuntary smile touched Liu Jingming's lips as he watched the villagers devolve into a chaotic mob. I've been annoyed with Liu Ergou for a long time, he thought. But since I've already been disciplined once, I can't act recklessly. I've had to restrain myself most of the time. I never expected Er Lu to play such a useful role right now. This is a pleasant surprise.

Although he was delighted internally, his expression remained calm. He turned his head toward Liu Ergou and asked, "Er Gou, it's not me who disagrees; it's the villagers. What are we to do about this?"

Listening to the clamoring villagers, Liu Ergou wasn't flustered at all. In fact, he appeared perfectly calm.

"Don't worry, Village Chief. I'm confident that everyone will agree to my proposal!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Jingming gave a massive eye-roll. Agree to his proposal without any benefits? On what grounds? Does he really think he's some kind of leader?

Just as Liu Jingming was pondering this, Liu Ergou suddenly addressed the crowd. "Don't worry, everyone! I will pay the rent for the leased wasteland directly into each of your hands!"

"This means that anyone here who owns a plot of wasteland will get paid! The money won't go through the village committee!"

Before Cui Mingming could even react to Liu Ergou's words, Liu Jingming's heart ached. He had already planned how to handle the rent money. He would just orchestrate a few token projects, and the bulk of the funds would have ended up in his own pocket. But now, with a single sentence from Liu Ergou, that money had vanished.

There was no way Liu Jingming would agree.

In stark contrast to Liu Jingming's disapproval, the villagers were thrilled.

"That's fantastic! We're getting paid, so why would we disagree?"

"Exactly! This benefits the whole village. I support this with both hands up!"

"I'm totally on board! When do we sign the papers?"

Watching the excited crowd, Liu Jingming deliberately coughed, then said, "Everyone, let's not be rash. The wasteland belongs to the village collective, not to private individuals. Therefore, the rent must be managed by the village committee and used to improve the village's infrastructure."

"Therefore, distributing the money to individuals is out of the question!"

The crowd fell silent as Liu Jingming finished speaking.

Hearing this, Liu Ergou knew exactly what Liu Jingming was up to. He couldn't help but smile, amused that the man was trying to sabotage him. If that's how it's going to be, then don't blame me for not playing nice, he thought.

Liu Ergou immediately retorted, "That's not right, Village Chief! Didn't the higher-ups just allocate funds to our village? Haven't all the necessary repairs already been made?"

"What's left to repair or maintain? Nothing! Isn't this the perfect time to distribute the money?"

With that one sentence, Liu Ergou turned the tables. The villagers, who had just been opposing him, now aimed all their criticism at Liu Jingming.

"He's right, Village Chief! Haven't all the repairs been done? What else is there to fix?"

"Liu Jingming, are you planning to embezzle the funds?"

"I think it's very likely! We all know what he's like!"

Within a few minutes of back and forth, Liu Jingming's face was as black as thunder. At that moment, he hated Liu Ergou so much that his teeth itched. This brat is definitely targeting me! He's doing it on purpose! But he's still too green to take me on.

Thinking this, Liu Jingming instantly changed his tune, adopting the tone of a concerned elder as he spoke to Liu Ergou.

"Er Gou, you're being naive about this."

"Think carefully. Once the herbs are successfully grown, more issues are bound to pop up."

"No matter how careful we are, things in the village will inevitably get damaged. Won't that cost money to repair?"

"I'm only saying this for your own good. Of course, if you still think it's better to distribute the money, I'll agree. But when problems arise later, you'll have to pay for the repairs yourself!"

Liu Jingming, ever the sly old fox, had shifted the blame to Liu Ergou with just a few sentences. Not only that, but he was also implying to everyone that Liu Ergou's herb farm would cause a host of new problems.

Hearing this, Liu Ergou had the urge to walk right over and kick him. This old scoundrel will stop at nothing to embezzle the funds. Problems? What kind of problems could there possibly be? The villagers farm every year without any issues. Why would it suddenly become a problem just because it's my turn? It's obvious that Liu Jingming is deliberately trying to sabotage me!