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[But precisely because of this forward-thinking business acumen, the villagers couldn't keep up. They were only concerned with selling the melons quickly and securing their profits. That year, all the melon vendors were ganging up to drive down prices, refusing to buy the villagers' melons. The villagers panicked.]

[So, Secretary Lin seized this opportunity, offering even lower prices than before, and personally negotiated prices with the villagers along with the melon vendors. These villagers were quite resourceful; they sold all their melons at once, and Secretary Lin bought them all at the lowest possible price.]

The villagers were still grateful to him, unaware that in Secretary Lin's eyes they were just fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

[Secretary Lin has made a fortune. Boss Zhang gave him a hefty kickback, and he also made a large sum of money from the villagers. The entire watermelon business in Qingyuan Town is under Secretary Lin's control.]

Upon hearing Song Shiwei's words, Jiang Zhuxin, Xu Zizhen, and Xi Zining felt a surge of inexplicable anger rising within them.

That's an absolute beast.

They had just finished cursing him in their hearts Song Shiwei also began to curse aloud, "[Scumbag! He actually used the villagers' money to support his mistress! His wife is now bedridden with lung cancer and needs to take very expensive special drugs, but he refuses to pay a single penny, saying that giving up treatment is pointless and that cancer is incurable anyway, so she might as well die. Yet, he's trying every means to swindle money from the villagers to buy his mistress designer bags.]"

The villagers' faces flashed with complex emotions upon hearing this.

Everyone in Qingyuan Town knows how wonderful Secretary Lin's wife is. When Secretary Lin's family was poor, no one looked down on him and stayed with him through thick and thin. Everyone thought the couple had a very good relationship.

When they learned that she was sick, everyone in the village was very sad. When they went to see her, Secretary Lin stayed by his wife's bedside every day to take care of her. At that time, many women envied Secretary Lin's wife for having such a good husband Secretary Lin.

But the truth was completely different from what they knew. Secretary Lin, who had cultivated an image of being a loving husband, actually abandoned his wife's treatment behind the scenes. He even bought bags for his mistress instead of paying for his wife's medical care. Is he even human?!

They were so shocked they couldn't speak. What a scumbag! Embezzling, accepting bribes, and keeping a mistress—this was utterly lawless.

Song Shiwei glanced silently at Secretary Lin. She was completely dumbfounded by the string of words on the Gossip Compendium: [Ahhhhh, what a scumbag! He actually dared to plan his divorce from his wife, register a company in her name to transfer a large sum of money, and think about running away with his mistress. But the key point is that this scumbag's mistress is actually this Boss Zhang's wife?!]

Others: Huh?

Fellow villagers: Huh?

[Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter! That scoundrel Secretary Lin was completely fooled! Boss Zhang claimed he was bribing him, but all the money he extorted from the villagers ended up back in Boss Zhang's hands in another form. This cuckold is now happily supporting President Zhang's wife and kids, while all the money ends up in President Zhang's pocket. What a ridiculous joke!]

[I'm dying of laughter. It seems like Secretary Lin has Boss Zhang under his thumb, but actually Boss Zhang has Secretary Lin completely under his thumb. Secretary Lin still thinks the child in his mistress's belly is his, and that he's finally going to have a son. In reality, the child is President Zhang's.]

Fellow villagers: Huh??

Jiang Zhuxin, Xu Zizhen, and Xi Zining burst out laughing. Serves them right, they really deserve it.

It would be best if he never found out, living his whole life as a cuckold! What a scumbag.

"How about this, Boss Zhang, you can still charge the original price, and I'll cover the rest myself. I'll even sell everything I own to make up the difference. I absolutely cannot allow my villagers' interests to be harmed in the slightest." Seeing that Boss Zhang had given him a way out, and that the villagers' faces had turned somewhat grim, Secretary Lin quickly changed his tune.

Upon hearing Secretary Lin's words, the villagers' expressions softened slightly. Could it be that Secretary Lin, too, had been deceived by this so-called boss?

They were about to say something with a touching expression, but the next second their inner thoughts started shouting out loud in their heads.

[Good heavens, what a clever tactic of feigning retreat! It seems like a huge financial loss, but in reality, this bastard will definitely rip off the villagers from somewhere else!] Song Shiwei thought disdainfully to herself.

[These villagers are something else. We tell you to read more books, but you insist on raising pigs. You all hold those phones like bricks; don't you know how to use the internet?]

The villagers also forced a smile, but could no longer manage it.

These roughnecks are usually exhausted after a day's work, and they just collapse into bed as soon as they get home. They don't have time to go online or do anything else.

They are now filled with deep regret. If only they had listened to the advice of one of the village secretaries, checked the price of the melons online, and learned about their market position, instead of simply taking the easy way out and selling the melons in bulk, they wouldn't have been so easily deceived.

For five whole years, they were deceived.

The watermelons they grow have become very popular in the last two years. They are thin-skinned, thick-fleshed, and sweet, and their price has increased three or four times. Their income is not only not much, but some of them are even struggling to make ends meet. Now they are waiting for this money to sell fertilizer and buy seeds.

They genuinely believed that the watermelons they grew were worthless, never imagining that the money didn't go into their hands but instead ended up in the hands of the village secretary.

This village party secretary, already so wealthy, is still not satisfied and even wants to buy their melons at an even lower price?

[Hahahaha, those who endure hardship deserve Land Rover! These villagers have made a significant contribution to the village secretary's Land Rover; they're truly amazing!]