While both Li Tianran and Bai Jingyan were striving to build their own kingdoms, something else was happening in the small town…

…

Zhang Jun, forty-seven years old, lived in Xiaozhai Village, Luozhuang Town, where Li Tianran's farm was located. Before the world changed, he made a living running a convenience store.

Zhang Jun was lazy, sloppy, and afraid of his wife, possessing the flaws of most middle-aged men. He was also quite cunning, often selling products that were about to expire as if they were normal.

If a customer noticed, he would exchange the item for them.

If the customer didn't notice, he would make a small profit with a clear conscience.

Over time, the people in the town knew of his dark heart, and fewer and fewer people came to his store.

But since his was the only convenience store in the town, while some young people could go to the city to buy necessities, the elderly were different. They had difficulty walking and couldn't go to the city, which was more than ten kilometers away, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and put up with Zhang Jun's store.

Thanks to these elderly customers, Zhang Jun's convenience store managed to survive and even earned him a lot of money.

Zhang Jun thought his happy life would continue like this, but he didn't expect the world to change, and overnight, the price of food soared!

He wanted to hoard a large amount of food, intending to sell it at a high price and make a fortune off the national crisis, but he didn't expect his grand plan to be crushed before it even set sail.

Seven days ago, his convenience store was attacked by a group of bandits, and all the food in his warehouse was stolen.

That was his lifeline!

Moreover, not only that, but when the bandits were looting, they discovered that some of the food in the convenience store was expired, and they gave him a beating for it…

His plan to get rich was shattered, and he was beaten up, which almost drove Zhang Jun crazy.

He thought about nothing but getting his things back.

Three days ago, he received an invitation to attend a meeting at Old Yang's warehouse to plan a counterattack against the bandits.

He was filled with enthusiasm, wanting to join the "comrades" who came to the meeting to defeat the bandits who were roaming around and reclaim his wealth.

He had made all the preparations, but when he returned home that night, he couldn't help but secretly tell his wife about the plan, and was met with fierce opposition.

Zhang Jun himself didn't have such a strong sense of revolutionary purpose, and after being rebuked by his wife, he became afraid.

The opponents were a group of vicious thugs, could he really deal with them?

If he couldn't deal with them and was instead beaten to death, it would be a losing proposition!

After thinking about it all night, Zhang Jun finally made a decision on the second day when they were supposed to gather.

He wasn't going!

He lied and said that he was unwell and couldn't go to the gathering.

But that day, Zhang Jun was constantly worried, fearing that the self-defense team would be defeated by the bandits, and then he would be exposed, leading to the bandits' merciless retaliation.

But two days had passed since then, and everything was still calm.

Zhang Jun's heart finally settled down, but at the same time, he had a new question.

Could it be that the bandits were really wiped out by the self-defense team?

Otherwise, why hadn't there been any news of the bandits' activities for two consecutive days?

"Hey, do you think Wang Bing and the others… really took care of the bandits?" Zhang Jun squatted by the windowsill, looking at the howling cold wind outside, and couldn't help rubbing his hands as he spoke.

Among those who had been robbed, Zhang Jun and Wang Bing lived very close to each other and were considered acquaintances.

Zhang Jun's wife was stout, fierce-looking, and a typical shrew. At this moment, she was cracking melon seeds and cursing resentfully, "It's all those bastards' fault, robbing my store, making me only able to crack melon seeds now, and I don't even have instant noodles to eat!"

Zhang Jun's stomach also made a "gurgling" sound.

They only had some cornmeal left, so they had been drinking thin porridge for three consecutive days, feeling weak all over, with cramping legs and seeing stars.

The melon seeds that Zhang Jun's wife was cracking at this time were still expired products from the store.

"Hey, why don't you go to Wang Bing's house and see?" Zhang Jun's wife suddenly had an idea, revealing a cunning smile: "His father just died, didn't he? You can say you're going to visit and inquire about their family's situation. If Wang Bing was also killed by those bandits, then you quickly come home! But if Wang Bing and the others took care of the bandits, then our hard days are over!"

Zhang Jun was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Are you stupid?" Zhang Jun's wife scolded with exasperation, "If Wang Bing died, the bandits would definitely investigate who was related to him, and we must distance ourselves from Wang Bing's family!"

"But if Wang Bing and the others killed those bandits, then the things that were robbed from us must have been taken back by Wang Bing and the others… Shouldn't we go to Wang Bing to get back what belongs to us?"

An extremely sinister smile appeared on Zhang Jun's wife's big, fat face.

If Li Tianran heard these words, he would sigh at how shameless some people in this world could be.

They were afraid of danger when working, but wanted to share the credit after others were done.

Calling such a person scum would be flattering them!

"That's right!" But to everyone's surprise, an extremely excited light burst out in Zhang Jun's eyes. He seemed to agree with what his wife said and gave her a thumbs up, saying, "Wife, you're too smart! I'll go check out Wang Bing's house right now!"

"Wait a minute…" The burly wife shouted, throwing the melon seeds in her hand onto the table with a clatter, "If Wang Bing's family acts foolishly, you'll easily suffer! I'll go with you."

The two put on their coats. Zhang Jun glanced at the kitchen, picked up a rolling pin, while his wife stuffed a meat cleaver into her arms. The two walked out of the house one after the other, heading towards Wang Bing's house in the distance, where a white funeral couplet hung on the door.

…

"Dad… Today is your seventh day, your son will have a drink with you." Wang Bing knelt in front of a portrait, his eyes red, holding a wine glass, "Your son has avenged you. None of those who harmed you escaped!"

In the initial battle, Wang Bing and the others captured two bandits, but they were secretly dealt with by the self-defense team.

Because what Li Tianran said about sparing those who surrendered was just a lie.

Meng Sen was right.

Even if the bandits surrendered, Li Tianran would not let them go.

In a chaotic world, mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards oneself.

"Clatter!"

Wang Bing poured the entire glass of wine in front of the memorial tablet, and was about to stand up when he suddenly heard someone shouting loudly outside the door:

"Is Brother Wang Bing home? I'm Zhang Jun, I have something urgent to talk to you about!"

At this moment, Wang Bing's wife walked out of the inner room, holding her son, and looked at Wang Bing, asking, "Husband, who is it?"

"It's Zhang Jun." Wang Bing frowned and muttered to himself, "What are they doing here?"