The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1657 Just as Liu Tingzhang rose up in rebellion after slaying the white snake, Wang Tunzhang

Chapter 1657 Just as Liu Tingzhang rose up in rebellion after slaying the white snake, Wang Tunzhang now sacrifices a white sheep to the mountain.

At Wang Meilan's command, people began to pour out of the back of the Jiefang truck like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Despite their poverty, the people of Xishantun were all quite robust. After getting off the bus, they quickly gathered around Wang Meilan. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty people had gathered behind her.

In the blink of an eye, there were sixty or seventy people.

"What are you doing?" Pang Gaosheng was almost speechless with shock, and the Pang family gang members beside him were also dumbfounded.

"Sis, what happened?" Inside the jeep, Ma Ling could no longer see Zhao Jun. Looking out the window, she saw people everywhere.

Wang Meilan glanced at Pang Gaosheng, then asked Xing San, "Brother, what did you just say? Were they the ones picking on you?"

"Ah!" Xing San nodded heavily, pointing at Pang Gaosheng and saying, "It's him! This kid was challenging me to a number just now!"

"No?" Pang Gaosheng looked at Xing San in astonishment and said, "You treated my father and my elder brother like that yesterday, can't I even ask you about it?"

In all honesty, Pang Gaosheng never intended to resolve the issue with violence today; otherwise, he would have led his men straight into Xing San Hospital just now.

"You..." Xing San was about to mention the incident yesterday when Pang Zhendong and Pang Gaoming blocked his way, but Wang Meilan grabbed his arm and sleeve.

"Huh?" Xing San was taken aback. When he turned to look at Wang Meilan, he saw Wang Meilan nodding at him.

Following Wang Meilan's lead, Xing San moved to the side, clearing out the space in the middle.

Originally, the two of them and Zhao Jun stood there, like the Chu River and Han border separating two groups of people.

As soon as they left, Pang Gaosheng keenly sensed that something was wrong.

"I'm telling you!" Pang Gaosheng raised his hand, wanting to stop Wang Meilan, but Wang Meilan waved her hand at the people of Xishantun and said, "Beat them!"

Pang Gaosheng's eyes widened instantly, he could hardly believe his ears.

While he was still in a daze, Wu Dalin was the first to rush over, grabbing Pang Gaosheng's raised arm with one hand and punching Pang Gaosheng in the face with the other.

At this moment, Wang Meilan's voice rang in everyone's ears again: "If you break it, it's on me!"

The Xishantun people, who were already charging forward, became even more excited upon hearing this, instantly overwhelming the fourteen members of the Pang family gang, including Pang Gaosheng.

"Clap clap clap..."

When Zhao Jun heard the sound, it felt like hail suddenly falling on the newly sprouted leaves of crops such as cucumbers, beans, and corn in June; the sound was crisp yet muffled.

Screams erupted from the crowd. Wang Meilan, who was always kind-hearted, watched the scene with a tense expression and pursed lips.

When Zhao Jun took Ma Ling to the Zhao family in the morning, Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu hadn't arrived yet. Zhao Jun took the opportunity to explain why the Pang family was causing trouble for Xing San, and added that if the Pang and Shao families were to cause trouble again, their side absolutely could not back down, or there would be endless trouble.

Wang Meilan listens to her son the most, and since all her subordinates are here today, she'll use the Pang family gang as a training ground.

In the blink of an eye, a fight broke out outside the car, frightening Ma Ling inside.

Holding the child in one arm and covering the child's eyes with the other, Zhao Chun asked Zhao Youcai in disbelief, "Dad, when did Mom become so powerful? She even dared to get into a group fight!"

When Zhao Jun was talking about this in the morning, Zhao Chun was seeing Zhou Jianjun off, so she didn't know the details of the matter.

At this moment, Zhao Youcai did not answer his eldest daughter's question, but muttered, "What a load of rubbish, they all know each other."

The accomplices of the Pang family gang were all from the surrounding area, and Zhao Youcai knew them all. This was why Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan wouldn't let him get off the bus.

Within seconds, several dents appeared in the crowd. Wang Meilan was inexperienced, but Zhao Jun knew from the sight that the Pang family gang members had been knocked down and were being kicked around.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun immediately shouted, "Stop fighting!"

Zhao Jun hadn't expected things to turn out this way. More than seventy people were fighting against a dozen or so. He hoped no one would die.

He shouted, and Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, Zhang Yuanmin, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai in the crowd stopped fighting, but none of the people from Xishantun listened to his command.

Zhao Jun couldn't control the people of Xishantun, but he could control Wang Meilan. At that moment, Wang Meilan raised her right hand and shouted, "That's enough! Stop hitting her!"

At Wang Meilan's command, the people of Xishantun stopped fighting and dispersed like a receding tide, leaving behind the Pang family gang members huddled on the ground with their hands covering their heads.

"Platoon Leader!" Wu Dalin approached Wang Meilan, bowing low, and said, "I was the one who lit the cannon just now!"

In a battle between two armies, the first to fire a shot is essential. In Zhao Jun's camp, the act of being the first to strike in a brawl is called "lighting the cannon."

Wang Meilan looked at Wu Dalin and nodded with satisfaction. Wang Meilan remembered clearly that as soon as she shouted for battle, Wu Dalin had charged ahead of her.

Grateful for Wu Dalin's loyalty, Wang Meilan immediately said, "Dalin, I've been thinking these past few days that our village needs a small shop to make things convenient for everyone. Go home and discuss it with your wife, and we can set up a shed in front of your house and open a small shop."

Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Wu Dalin was dumbfounded. His own home to be turned into a small shop? What would they sell?

At this moment, Wang Meilan said, "First, find someone to tidy up the shed for you. Once it's done, I'll have someone deliver the goods to you. All the profits are yours. After you've sold everything, just give me the money."

Wu Dalin knew there were benefits to following Wang Meilan, but he never expected such a huge windfall to fall into his lap. Overjoyed, Wu Dalin repeatedly bowed to Wang Meilan, saying, "Thank you, Village Chief! Thank you, Village Chief!"

If Wang Meilan were the head of Yong'an Village, she would never have done this.

But she was the head of Xishan Village. She was an outsider to Xishan Village, and in the beginning, she could only win over the villagers with benefits.

The people of Xishantun were stunned by what they saw. None of them had expected that Wang Meilan's words would turn Wu Dalin from a poor farmer into a small business owner.

"Village Chief!" Zhang Xinglong thought he could also benefit from this, so he stepped forward and said to Wang Meilan, "Just now they were all saying this and that about me, insisting that they come. See, it was the right thing to let them come, wasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan glanced at Zhang Xinglong sideways and said, "Well, okay, then you can take on the role of director of the public opinion survey for now."

"Huh?" Zhang Xinglong was taken aback, unable to understand why Wang Meilan would say that.

Wang Meilan ignored Zhang Xinglong and looked at the Pang family gang members, who were still huddled on the ground with their heads in their hands.

"Drag them all up!" With Wang Meilan's order, all seventy-five men from Xishan Village rushed over in a flurry.

Following Wang Meilan's instructions, they dragged the Pang family members up from the ground.

However, the Pang family gang only had fourteen people in total. Two people from Xishantun supported each Pang family gang member on both arms, and there were more than fifty people from Xishantun who were idle.

In an attempt to impress the village chief, the remaining villagers of Xishan Village began pulling on the legs of the Pang family members. In an instant, all fourteen members of the Pang family were lifted into the air like pigs.

"Put their legs down!" Wang Meilan immediately ordered when she saw something was wrong. "Pull them by the arms, pull them all over here."

The people of Xishantun obeyed orders and brought the fourteen people before Wang Meilan.

Wang Meilan glanced at the group and asked, "Where's the leader?"

On Zhao Jun's side, the first person in charge of the line was called the "frontrunner" or "leader." At this moment, Wang Meilan was asking about Pang Gaosheng, the leader.

It wasn't that Wang Meilan was arrogant; it was that she simply couldn't tell which one was Pang Gaosheng.

The fourteen members of the Pang family gang were all bruised and battered, their faces unrecognizable.

Their eyes were so swollen they were practically slits; to put it dramatically, they were beaten so badly their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.

At this point, Pang Gaosheng became completely obedient and dared not utter a sound.

Seeing that no one spoke, Wang Meilan scanned the Pang family members and said, "I don't care what you've come here for, just remember this: every time I see you, I'll beat you up."

Pang Gaosheng: "..."

The Pang family members: "..."

Zhao Youcai, Zhao Chun, and Ma Ling, who were in the car, could all hear what Wang Meilan said clearly.

Zhao Youcai pursed his lips, Zhao Chun looked at her mother with eyes full of admiration, while Ma Ling was somewhat surprised, never expecting that her kind-looking mother-in-law would have such a side.

"What are you doing?" Just then, a voice came from not far away. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Jinshan running over.

"Village Chief!" Wu Dalin pointed at Zhao Guofeng, then turned back to await Wang Meilan's instructions.

"What are you going to do?" Zhao Guofeng, who had run over, glared at Wu Dalin and said angrily, "Are you going to hit me again?"

Wu Dalin was intimidated by Zhao Guofeng's imposing manner and involuntarily took a step back.

Seeing Zhao Guofeng reprimanding his subordinates, Wang Meilan quickly said, "Guofeng, why did this alarm you?"

Zhao Guofeng glanced at Wang Meilan, his face full of helplessness and disdain. Almost all the fierce battles that had occurred in Yong'an Village in recent years were organized by the Zhao family.

Upon seeing Zhao Guofeng arrive, Zhao Youcai could no longer sit still. As he got out of the jeep, Zhao Guofeng sized up the fourteen members of the Pang family gang, whose heads were swollen like pigs' heads.

"What's going on? Why are you beating people like this?" Zhao Guofeng asked Wang Meilan, "Who are these people? Are they from our village?"

"Brother Zhao!" Pang Gaosheng spoke at this moment, his voice trembling with tears, "It's me, Pang Er!"

"Pang Er?" Zhao Guofeng looked at Pang Gaosheng, who was unrecognizable, and asked, "Which Pang Er?"

"I am Pang Gaosheng, the second son of Yongsheng." Pang Gaosheng introduced himself, saying, "I am Pang Gaosheng!"

"Oh my god, it's Brother Pang the Second!" Zhao Youcai's voice came from that moment. He squeezed through the crowd, glanced at Pang Gaosheng, and then turned around to loudly question Wang Meilan, "What are you doing? Why are you beating him up like this?"

The couple clearly had one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, but Zhao Youcai enjoyed the feeling of scolding Wang Meilan in front of others.

The couple was putting on an act, and Wang Meilan certainly couldn't expose Zhao Youcai's scheme. She pretended to be aggrieved and was about to speak, but Xing San beat her to it.

"Second brother, it's not our fault." Xing San stepped forward abruptly, pointed at Pang Gaosheng who had just spoken, and said, "Yesterday his father and brother intercepted me, and today he led a group of people to block my door..."

Old Mountain Dog was expressing his grievances when, due to a large movement as he stepped out, the knife tucked into his waistband flew out and fell to the ground.

Xing San felt a void in his lower back. He turned around, quickly bent down, and picked up the knife.

Zhao Guofeng: "..."

Zhao Guofeng was speechless. The Zhao family was already a handful, and now they kept bringing in weapons and ammunition. When Jie Sunshi came to Yong'an, they fought two battles in the first three days. Then Xing San came, and Zhao Guofeng was afraid the old man would cause a death.

At this moment, Zhao Jun, Zhao Youcai, Wang Meilan, and Xing San were all a little embarrassed. Zhao Youcai, after all, was thick-skinned. He coughed lightly and said to Pang Gaosheng, "Brother Pang, I apologize to you. Um... you guys go back first. Later, I'll go to your house to see you and Uncle Pang."

Pang Gaosheng: "..."

Pang Gaosheng was furious. He thought to himself, "You idiot! Your wife led people to beat us up like this, and you just sat in your car watching. And then you just turned around and went back home?"

But no matter what he thought, Pang Gaosheng dared not say anything.

Zhao Guofeng glanced at Zhao Youcai, knowing that he was someone who didn't make decisions at home, so he didn't say anything to Zhao Youcai.

At this moment, Zhao Guofeng seemed to have thought of something and looked at Wang Meilan, asking, "Why are you getting all these people together again?"

"Going to the grave, no!" Wang Meilan quickly corrected herself after mispronouncing, saying, "We're going to clear the mountain."

Offering sacrifices to the mountain god and opening the mountain are the same thing. Offering sacrifices to the mountain god is to worship the mountain god, while opening the mountain is to call on the mountain god to open the door after the sacrifice, which means urging the mountain god to release the mountain's wealth to people.

Zhao Guofeng was even more confused after hearing this, and frowned as he asked Wang Meilan, "Where are you going?"

“Um…” Wang Meilan didn’t know how to explain. She looked at Zhao Jun, who quickly stepped forward and said, “Uncle Zhao, don’t we all go to the mountains? Now that spring is here, we’re thinking of going up the mountain to make offerings to the mountain god.”

Zhao Guofeng curled his lip upon hearing this; he still couldn't understand the Zhao family's behavior.

At this moment, Zhao Guofeng recalled that when Wang Daba was at the height of his fame, his father described him with just four words: "He's got money to burn."

Zhao Guofeng was young then and didn't understand what it meant, but today he does.

"Okay, okay." Zhao Guofeng nodded, then waved his hand and said, "Then you should go up the mountain, and when you're done, send someone back quickly."

The "people" Zhao Guofeng mentioned were Pang Gaosheng and his group. Meanwhile, the people of Xishantun kept blocking the Pang family's path, and without hearing Wang Meilan's instructions, none of the fourteen people were able to leave.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Wang Meilan waved to the people of Xishantun, and the crowd parted like a tide, making way for the Pang family gang.

Although their bodies ached all over, once they saw that they could walk again, the Pang family members quickly helped each other leave.

After they left, Wang Meilan looked at Zhao Guofeng and said with a smile, "Guofeng, it's alright, we're leaving too."

Zhao Guofeng's lips moved slightly, but in the end he said nothing, only letting out a heavy sigh.

The group of people in front of Xing Sanxiao's courtyard got into jeeps or trucks, and in the blink of an eye, they were all gone, leaving only Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Jinshan staring at each other.

At this moment, Zhao Jinshan looked at Zhao Guofeng and asked, "Dad, is this all there is to it? If you don't take care of this, Aunt Zhao will only make things worse."

Zhao Guofeng's lips moved slightly, and he turned to look at Zhao Jinshan before saying, "What can I do about chicken feathers?"

After saying that, Zhao Guofeng put his hands behind his back and went back to the village headquarters.

……

The jeep drove out of Yong'an Village and into the mountain area. After traveling about two kilometers, the jeep headed towards the road and parted ways with the Jiefang truck.

The Jiefang truck headed straight for the Zhangguangcai Ridge, which divides Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, while the jeep went to the graves of Wang Changfu and his wife.

After paying respects at the graves of the elders of the Zhao and Wang families, Zhao Jun and his family will meet up with Li Baoyu and the others.

On the way to the cemetery, Zhao Youcai turned to Zhao Jun, who was driving, and said, "Are you coming with me to Yongsheng this afternoon?"

"No need, Dad," Zhao Jun said. "You don't need to get involved in this. I can handle it."

"Huh?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback upon hearing this and quickly asked, "What else do you want to do?"

"I need to get this straight with them," Zhao Jun said. "Otherwise, there will be more trouble later."

"Luolan" is a local dialect word that means troublesome.

Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Zhao Youcai asked again, "Are you still going to work with them?"

Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Ma Ling clenched her hands tightly. As a woman, she was afraid that her husband might get into a conflict and get hurt. But at this moment, Zhao Jun was talking to her father-in-law, and as the new daughter-in-law, Ma Ling dared not interrupt.

"Let's see what they think," Zhao Jun said. "If they want to do it, let them do it. This time, we'll completely subdue them and save them from endless trouble later."

"Son!" Wang Meilan agreed with Zhao Jun's words, but she was a little worried about him and said, "When are you going? Who are you taking with you? Shouldn't you take a couple more people? Or should Mom send you a few more?"

"No need, Mom," Zhao Jun said. "I'll make a call when I get back and we'll talk about it later."

After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he pulled the car over to the side of the road. After the family got out of the car, Wang Meilan led the way to the graves of Wang Dabazhang and his wife.

There are taboos associated with taking this path, and the taboo is that you cannot turn back.

Zhao Jun parked his car not far from the grave. A few minutes after arriving, everyone started working.

Zhao Youcai found a willow stick and drew circles on the ground in preparation for burning the gold nuggets.

The older generation has specific customs. For ordinary paper offerings, they would choose a place that is well-connected, like a crossroads. After finding a good spot, they would draw a circle on the ground, leaving an opening, meaning they would draw a circle but not seal it off.

Moreover, the opening should face the direction of the deceased's hometown, in order to prevent the paper money from being taken away by other wandering ghosts.

There's no need to choose a location for visiting graves, and all the other steps are the same.

Like Wang Meilan, Wang Dabazhang loved gold and silver treasures. When he passed away, he even left instructions that when people visited his grave, they were not allowed to burn yellow paper money, but only gold ingots.

A mountain breeze blew, and a large pile of golden barley instantly caught fire. Zhao Jun and Ma Ling stepped forward and bowed deeply.

When Zhao Jun was born, Wang Dabazhang had only been alive for a few years. At that time, Wang's grandmother was still alive, but Zhao Jun, who grew up, had little memory of his grandmother.

At this moment, Zhao Jun kowtowed towards the grave, mostly to please his mother. Compared to Zhao Jun, Ma Ling believed in these things more. After she respectfully finished kowtowing, she heard Wang Meilan say, "Father, Mother, this is Xiao Jun's wife. She has come to kowtow to you today."

After introducing Ma Ling, Wang Meilan introduced Zhou Dao next, since it was the child's first time visiting.

Zhao Chun believed this too. She knelt down, holding her child, and kowtowed to her elders. Then she heard Wang Meilan say, "Father, Mother, your daughter is now the village head. But not in Yong'an Village, it's the old youth settlement, now called Xishan Village. After I became the village head, the township installed telephones at home..."

"Don't forget to tell your ancestors at the family ancestral worship ceremony," Wang Meilan said, showing off at her parents' graves for a while before leaving with her family, her eyes slightly red.

Zhao Jun drove to the graves of Zhao Dazhu and his wife. After burning paper money and kowtowing to the old couple, they hurriedly headed towards Zhang Guangcai Ridge.

At 11:40 a.m., Li Baoyu parked the Jiefang truck in front of the boundary marker between the two provinces.

Everyone got out of the car and found a large red pine tree that was so thick it would take three people to hug it. Then Xing San used a knife to cut out the master's mansion from the tree. Immediately afterwards, Wang Qiang took out a red cloth he had brought from home and wrapped it around the master's mansion.

Zhang Yuanmin set up the kang table under the master's mansion, and Li Baoyu took out the incense burner and candlesticks passed down from the Wang family and placed them on the kang table.

The candles that Zhao Jun made before his wedding were as thick as a wrist and were fixed to the candlesticks on the left and right.

At this moment, Xie Chen came over carrying a burlap sack and took out a cow's head with white flesh from it.

These days, the cow's head has thawed and frozen repeatedly. Although it hasn't rotted, it has a stale smell.

Next came the wild boar's head, followed by the sheep's head.

"Hey? Ruhai, look." At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin nudged Li Ruhai, then pointed at the sheep's head and said, "That sheep has its eyes open, is that okay?"

"Oh dear!" Li Ruhai sighed upon hearing this, and said, "In ancient times, there was a village head named Liu who started a rebellion by slaying a white snake, and now my aunt is offering a white sheep as a sacrifice to the mountain!"

(End of this chapter)