Chapter 217: Let Me Say a Few Words

The Li family's ancestral grave is located on Whitehead Mountain, near Chenjiawan.

At the foot of Whitehead Mountain, the area was filled with people.

Though Li Chengyuan and his brothers had been away from home for many years, Li Chengyuan frequently returned to his hometown. Additionally, many of Li Chenghui's construction workers were from Chenjiawan.

Now that Li Chenghui had passed away, and with Li Chengyuan being generous in his arrangements, many people came to help.

Li Chengyuan was talking with several elderly villagers, his expression troubled.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "They're here!"

Li Chengyuan looked up, and soon a long line of vehicles began to approach the foot of the mountain.

As the convoy got closer, some people in the crowd whispered, "Have we made a mistake? It seems like it's for someone else."

"Yeah, who's holding a funeral? I haven't heard of anyone in Chenjiawan striking it rich recently."

People in the crowd began discussing quietly, clearly not expecting this to be Li's convoy.

After all, Li Chenghui was just a contractor. Although he was relatively wealthy in Chenjiawan, his wealth wasn't significant compared to others.

While others were speculating about whose funeral this might be, Li Chengyuan had already figured out that it was indeed Li Chenghui's funeral procession.

Yesterday, his son called to request ten more tables for the banquet, saying many friends were coming. Li Chengyuan thought ten tables were excessive, but seeing so many cars now, he remained silent.

If each car had one or two people, it would be manageable, but with so many people, even ten tables might not be enough.

Li Chengyuan felt a mix of emotions. It hadn't been long, and his son had made so many connections.

While people were still guessing whose funeral it was, Li Nanming had already stepped out of the car, holding a photo of the deceased.

When people saw him, many recognized him immediately, and someone exclaimed in surprise, "It really is from Chenghui's family!"

"Who would have thought, Chenghui has done well in the city these years!"

As people were discussing, Wang Li approached Li Nanming and, seeing the unfamiliar faces in the convoy, asked with curiosity, "Nanming, did you call these people?"

Li Nanming scoffed, "Not me. I don't have money to burn. It's that Li Dong who brought them. I don't know why he hired so many people."

"Hired?"

Wang Li looked astonished, unable to believe it.

"Of course they're hired. What else could it be?"

As they were talking in low voices, Hu Sicheng and others arrived.

Seeing Hu Sicheng's attire and demeanor, Wang Li, who had been in the city for many years, immediately sensed something was off.

These people were hired? How could that be!

The demeanor of these individuals—whether Hu Sicheng, Chen Rui, or those major suppliers—was clearly not something that could be mimicked by hired help.

Although Wang Li wasn't highly educated and had seen limited worldly affairs, she had encountered some big shots and minor officials in Qingyang. She could guarantee that the presence of these people was far more imposing than anyone she had previously met.

As these people approached, Wang Li felt an invisible pressure.

Li Nanming also felt a bit overwhelmed.

He glanced back at the crowd and muttered, "This is really well staged."

Nobody paid much attention to Li Nanming's muttering. The focus was on Li Dong, not him.

Li Dong also got out of the car and introduced the people to Wang Li, saying, "These are my friends, here to pay their respects to my uncle."

Wang Li nodded at the group.

Hu Sicheng and others quickly responded, continuously offering their condolences.

When Li Dong introduced Li Chengyuan as his father, the crowd became even more courteous.

Especially the distant managers and directors, who repeatedly addressed Li Chengyuan as "Uncle."

Li Chengyuan was embarrassed. Some of these people were not much younger than he was, yet they called him uncle—it was rather awkward.

At this moment, the villagers from Whitehead Mountain finally understood.

So these people were brought by the second son of Li. With their impressive presence, none of them were ordinary.

Someone in the crowd murmured, "Isn't Dongzi in college? How does he know so many big shots?"

In their eyes, all the drivers were big bosses, especially those suppliers. It was a rare sight.

It was surprising that a student like Li Dong knew so many influential people.

But since everyone was unfamiliar with each other and time was pressing, the villagers from Chenjiawan did not ask further.

As the Chenjiawan villagers prepared to head up the mountain, a large group of people suddenly rushed over.

Seeing these people, Li Chengyuan immediately became anxious and hurriedly approached, saying, "Seventh Uncle, let's not make a scene. I promise I'll give you an explanation later!"

The "Seventh Uncle" was an elderly man in his sixties. After Li Chengyuan's words, the old man shouted angrily, "An explanation? Li Chengyuan, this isn't over! If it's not resolved today, don't even think about burying Chenghui!"

Immediately, Wang Li began to scold, "You old bastard, are you even human? The man is dead, and you're still desecrating him. Aren't you afraid of retribution!"

"You're the one who'll face retribution!"

"Your Li family deserves to be struck by lightning. You dare to bully an orphan and widow, do you have any conscience!"

Wang Li's outburst prompted those with her to also start shouting angrily.

The villagers who had come with Li Chengyuan remained silent at first, but as the shouting grew, some couldn't hold back and retorted, "How dare you speak like that! Your Chen family is shameless, and you blame it on our Li family?"

"Exactly! How dare you act like this in the same village? You should be punished and have no right to show your face!"

"Chenghui is dead. The dead should be treated with respect. If you cause trouble now, do you even have any decency?"

...

The two groups became entangled in a heated argument, and Li Dong's people were taken aback, not expecting such a scene.

While others were unaware of the cause, Li Dong had a rough idea.

Chen Jing was actually from Chenjiawan!

This was something Li Dong hadn't anticipated before. Although he had lived in Chenjiawan for a while as a child, he had not recognized Chen Jing.

Realizing that Chen Jing was from Chenjiawan and was a familiar face, Li Dong felt a headache.

Li Chenghui was quite something!

Even a rabbit doesn't eat its own burrow, but Li Chenghui had even gone after someone from the same village!

But now wasn't the time for such considerations. Li Chenghui was dead, and the burial had to proceed. With so many people watching, things couldn't be allowed to escalate further.

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly chaotic, with some people even starting to fight, Li Dong stepped forward and shouted, "Everyone, listen to me for a moment!"

At this critical moment, no one took Li Dong seriously. His shout only silenced the crowd for a moment before the shouting resumed.

Things didn't stop there. Before long, a few people from both sides began to fight.

Li Dong's eyes flashed with anger!

Despite his grievances with Li Chenghui, he was still his uncle and his father's brother.

Now that he was dead, these people causing trouble at this juncture showed no respect for the Li family.

Seeing the crowd descending into chaos, Li Dong turned and shouted, "Old Zhou!"

Zhou Haidong quickly brought seven or eight people over. This time, these individuals were acting as high-level drivers, and not only Zhou Haidong and Zheng Long had arrived, but also Wang Cheng and other veterans.

Understanding the situation from Li Dong's call, Zhou Haidong knew what needed to be done.

Li Dong glanced at Chen Rui and others and said sternly, "Get the Chen family members out of the way. There's no room for trouble now!"

Although Li Dong said so, he secretly signaled Zhou Haidong.

Having worked with Li Dong for a long time, Zhou Haidong understood his meaning.

He immediately instructed his team, "Follow Mr. Li's orders, we'll handle the situation!"

The term "handle the situation" carried a lot of weight. Zheng Long and others had cooperated with Zhou Haidong for a long time, and Wang Cheng and the veterans understood well.

Within minutes, more than twenty people from the Chen family were subdued.

The only person still standing was the old man who was arguing with Li Chengyuan.

The crowd suddenly quieted down, with only the subdued Chen family members groaning on the ground.

Seeing that everyone was stunned, Li Dong focused on the Chen family old man and said sternly, "Seventh Uncle, can you listen to me now?"

The old man's lips twitched. He looked at the formidable figures behind Li Dong and then at the long convoy of cars behind the hearse.

At that moment, Chen Old Man felt a bit intimidated and regretted his actions. He replied reluctantly, "Go ahead."

"Let's not discuss other matters for now. Today is my uncle's burial. This cannot be delayed! Anyone causing trouble will be seen as attacking the Li family, and it's an unforgivable enmity!"

Li Dong knew that talking about laws and reason with the Chen family was useless at this point.

In impoverished rural areas, people are often unreasonable and take advantage of the weak. If they're not suppressed, the Chen family would surely continue to

 cause trouble.

Chen Old Man looked displeased and glanced at the Chen family members lying on the ground. He tried to control his anger and said, "But you can't be so heavy-handed!"

Li Dong sneered, "You've misunderstood. I only had people break up the fight. It wasn't intentional."

Ignoring his reaction, Li Dong addressed the Li family members, "Let's go up the mountain first. We'll deal with this later!"

The crowd, still in shock, began to move quickly.

Once things were back on track, Li Dong turned to Chen Old Man and said, "After my uncle is buried, we can discuss other matters. Seventh Uncle, I'll see you off. Goodbye!"

Chen Old Man's face darkened. Seeing the Chen family members slowly getting up, he knew their injuries were not severe and felt slightly relieved.

Without looking at Li Dong, Chen Old Man ordered, "Let's go back!"

He turned to Li Dong and said, "Dongzi, you have skills, but the Chen family isn't easy to deal with. We will see if you can give me an explanation!"

Li Dong remained silent. Chen Old Man didn't wait for a response and led his people away.