Chapter 484: I haven't even made a move—why are you all fighting each other?

It wasn't only Village Chief Zhou; even the prominent people from the surrounding villages, upon hearing Zhang Yongde's words, all glared angrily at Zhang Yongde.

De Ben going to their village's Mountain God Temple to sit as guardian is a first‑rate affair; it concerns not only the growth of Shizi Ling's specialty products near their village, but also favorable weather, and even the benefit of a divine‑rain baptism.

Upon hearing Zhang Yongde's words, it was obvious that this damned thing didn't want De Ben to sit as guardian of their Mountain God Temple; it wanted to monopolize all the benefits—though not exactly monopolize, it simply wanted to take the biggest share.

Zhang Yongde ignored the countless angry gazes around him; if he hadn't known, De Ben could never have left the blessings only for their Zhang Family Village.

Although De Ben hails from Zhang Family Village, he is now the Shizi Ling Mountain God and must consider the whole picture, also caring for the people near Shizi Ling.

Otherwise.

If possible, he wants Zhang Family Village to monopolize De Ben's blessings.

The benefits are shared by everyone; nothing compares to the pleasure of swallowing them all alone.

Only.

He knows that, even if not him but the entire Zhang Family Village mobilized, begging De Ben to leave the blessings only for their Zhang Family Village, De Ben still wouldn't do it.

De Ben has always been a warm‑hearted person; when he had ability before, he helped the elderly, weak, and sick of Zhang Family Village. Now he has ability again and is the Shizi Ling Mountain God—how could he possibly neglect the nearby residents?

He doesn't know why Yama King chose De Ben to become the Shizi Ling Mountain God, but he guesses it must be related to De Ben's warm heart.

"You damned beast!"

Village Chief Zhou, seeing Zhang Yongde completely ignore his angry gaze, stood up and walked toward the outside of the Mountain God Temple, knowing he was going to summon the burly men of Zhang Family Village, lifting De Ben's Mountain God Statue, preparing to parade it through Zhang Family Village, muttered low:

A village chief from another village whispered beside him: "Village Chief Zhou, what shall we do? Could we really let Zhang Yongde keep the Zhang Mountain God in their Zhang Family Village?"

"Although the Zhang Mountain God originated from Zhang Family Village, he is now our Shizi Ling Mountain God, belonging to all the people of Shizi Ling, not solely to their Zhang Family Village. We should never allow the Zhang Mountain God to stay only in their Zhang Family Village's Mountain God Temple; our village also has a Mountain God Temple!"

Village Chief Zhou let out a cold laugh, realizing that persuasion couldn't sway Zhang Yongde; he could read this damned thing's intentions at a glance. Turning his head toward Li Ping, his eyes suddenly brightened, and his weathered face showed a flattering smile as he flattered:

"Mountain God's Wife…"

"Rest assured, De Ben told me he will take turns sitting as guardian in each of your villages, listening to the villagers' opinions, and will not stay forever in Zhang Family Village!"

Li Ping spoke first, interrupting with righteous words: "But which village he goes to first will be decided by you!"

Regarding this matter, De Ben had also discussed it with her; although from the bottom of her heart she wanted to favor Zhang Family Village, after all De Ben is from Zhang Family Village.

Zhang Family Village is De Ben's core base, and cannot be abandoned under any circumstances.

But the villages surrounding Shizi Ling also fall under De Ben's jurisdiction and are sources of his incense offerings.

They too must not be slighted or ignored!

She handed over the order of taking up residence in other villages to those prominent people in her own village, naturally entrusting the decision to them.

She wanted to see what conditions each of their villages could offer.

"Mountain God's Wife, that needs no saying; aside from Zhang Family Village, the first should naturally be our Zhou Family Village…"

Before Village Chief Zhou could finish his sentence, someone beside him interrupted: "Bullshit, why should it be our Zhou Family Village? Clearly it should be our village!"

"All of you stop arguing. If you ask me, we should start with our village first!"…

For a moment, inside the Mountain God Temple it was like a vegetable market; not only was it noisy, even curses flew around.

"A bunch of hillbillies, daring to argue over such a trivial matter!"

Tong Weicai, standing out like a crane among chickens, looked disdainfully at those about to curse and even throw punches, and sneered to himself:

"If my County Magistrate hadn't sent me here, I truly wouldn't want to be here. This? Prominent people from each village? They're all dogs in a doghouse, fighting over a bit of dog food—truly not worthy of the stage!"

"My great‑aunt really has skill!"

Wang Ping'an looked at Li Ping oddly; with just a few words he sparked the surrounding crowd to argue, saying: "I just don't know whether there's my mother's handwriting in here!"

Although he didn't know why his great‑aunt allowed these people to quarrel, he guessed there must be his great‑aunt's scheme; from the smug hint at the corner of her mouth, he could infer it.

After a brief thought, he roughly understood his great‑uncle's purpose.

He made those prominent villagers argue and curse over the false order of his great‑uncle taking up residence in their village's Mountain God Temple, so that they would reveal their own price—that was the real aim.

His great‑uncle, now the Shizi Ling Mountain God, doesn't care much about wealth; likely it's incense offerings, or something that can bring incense.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping'an couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "With my great‑uncle having a capable great‑aunt like that, I'm afraid his Shizi Ling Mountain God role will achieve great deeds!"

This novel you

Not long after.

Zhang Yongde led a group of burly men, all hand‑picked from Zhang Family Village, for after all the Mountain God Temple carved for De Ben, besides inviting Qi Wenshan, they also spent a fortune to purchase a first‑rate massive stone.

The Mountain God Statue carved from that massive stone weighed at least several thousand jin.

Carrying the Mountain God Statue while touring villages requires a single breath; it cannot be set down midway, and without some strength it's impossible.

De Ben, as the Shizi Ling Mountain God, even if the village‑touring ceremony were done as a joke.

De Ben still wouldn't stoop to their level, but would make the villagers from other Shizi Ling villages who came to the ceremony look like a joke.

Carrying the Mountain God Statue around villages naturally requires careful selection.

Zhang Yongde, the moment he stepped into the Mountain God Temple, found it as noisy as a market. Watching the crowd hurling insults at each other, he wondered—if this weren't a Mountain God Temple, they might actually start fighting—he said oddly:

"Everyone, what's going on here?"

Originally.

He was very worried that, upon returning, he would face these people's reprisals, because his intentions were as clear as Sima Zhao's.

These people are prominent in their own villages; their entry into the Mountain God Temple represents the interests of their respective villages.

How could they possibly allow him alone to monopolize the new Shizi Ling Mountain God?

Who would have known.

These people actually started arguing among themselves first!

If he hadn't known, with De Ben's god‑making ceremony's auspicious time approaching, he didn't want to be the one in the spotlight; not only would it delay his fun, but also make him vulnerable to these people's sudden attacks.

(End of chapter)