Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

Zhou Cheng's voice wasn't loud, and it was very steady, just like his personality had always been.

However, the words he spoke made Zhou Daotian, Zhou Yuanwen, and the others feel displeased, especially Zhou Yuanwen, who felt that Zhou Cheng was mocking them.

Especially in this Ancestral Hall, in front of so many juniors of the Zhou surname, Zhou Cheng's words made them feel as if they had lost all Face.

They were all Zhou Cheng's elders; how could they accept being mocked in front of so many people by a young man in his early twenties!

They looked at Zhou Cheng with Faces full of dissatisfaction.

As for Zhou Cheng, he looked back at Zhou Yuanwen and the others without showing any weakness.

In his previous life, Zhou Cheng was from the countryside, so he knew the true Faces of these people very well; they loved Face more than anything else.

Outside, they held up concepts like the order of elders and juniors, keeping one's word, and the idea that young people should unconditionally obey them as classic virtues!

No matter what you did, they might pass judgment on you, offering a barrage of critiques under the guise of "it's for your own good."

In reality, however, they only knew how to talk and provided no actual help; their value was less than watching an abstract Douyin video.

At least those abstract videos could provide a few dozen seconds of happiness.

In conversations, they also had the "adults are talking, children shouldn't butt in" mentality!

If anything you said even slightly contradicted them, or if your tone was just a bit off, they would blow their tops!

"You! Yuanbo, is this the son you've been raising in Shanghai?" Zhou Yuanwen glared at Zhou Cheng, then turned to look at Zhou Yuanbo.

Perhaps because he knew Zhou Yuanbo had a soft temperament, or perhaps because he relied on his position as a manager of Family affairs and the fact that they were all one Family, he didn't think Zhou Yuanbo would get angry with him.

So, even though he knew Zhou Yuanbo represented the Chenyang Group and was worth trillions, he didn't show the slightest bit of respect!

To Zhou Cheng, this was extremely abnormal!

In his previous life, if Zhou Yuanbo returned to the village, let alone Zhou Yuanwen, even the oldest and most prestigious elder in the Family would have treated him with immense respect. It wouldn't be like this at all, where they even dared to criticize Zhou Yuanbo.

Had they lost their minds!

Hearing Zhou Yuanwen's words, Zhou Yuanbo's posture remained straight, and he didn't turn back with any intention of telling Zhou Cheng not to speak out of turn.

"What? Do I, Zhou Yuanbo, need you to teach me how to raise my son?" Zhou Yuanbo said in a deep voice, looking at Zhou Yuanwen.

As for Zhou Cheng, he was slightly surprised by Zhou Yuanbo's firm response.

But then he looked back at Zhou Yuanwen and the others.

If he were still like his previous life—without money or status—he wouldn't have bothered!

But things were different now.

Especially since these people actually wanted his Family to fork over fifty million; how could that be possible!

His Family was wealthy and could easily produce fifty million, but they would definitely not just give it away like that.

If it were for normal repairs, Zhou Cheng would be willing to give money, and since the Zhou Family was rich, they could even give a bit more.

But it was clearly not normal now.

This Ancestral Hall was a large one, but it was just for repairs; even a major overhaul would at most cost a few million.

He could accept his Family taking the lion's share of those few million—say, two or three million—with the rest being raised collectively by the other villagers.

But now, these old men in front of him had actually quoted a figure of fifty million to his Family, and they even had the nerve to say that since his Family was rich, they should pay for everything!

What did this mean? It was clearly an attempt to use the Ancestral Hall's renovation as an excuse to scam a sum of money from his Family.

This was simply banditry, or even worse than bandits.

After all, bandits wouldn't even scam their own people!

Furthermore, this outrageous quote was treating Zhou Chengs Family like fools.

This was the result of returning home in wealth; after Zhou Yuanbo came back, he hosted grand banquets and threw money around, making it clear to everyone that his Family had more money than sense!

So how could they not be targeted by this group!

The villagers in the Ancestral Hall, hearing the commotion, all gathered around!

"What's going on? This is Uncle Yuanbo's first time at the Ancestral Hall since he returned; why have they started arguing?"

"Weren't we supposed to come and discuss the Ancestral Hall renovation? Uncle Yuanbo just walked in, and there's already a problem?"

"It seems like Uncle Yuanwen said the renovation needs fifty million, and since Uncle Yuanbo's Family is rich, he wants them to pay for it."

"Is that all? That's not a problem. Uncle Yuanbo isn't a stingy person; he was the one who paid to build this Ancestral Hall in the first place. To be honest, since this Ancestral Hall was built, my Family has actually been a bit luckier than before."

"He wants Uncle Yuanbo's Family to pay for it all—fifty million! It's just a renovation; does it really cost fifty million? Even if they are rich, you can't just tell them to pay for everything!"

"True, that's way too much. Anyway, my Family can only give two hundred at most."

"..."

Everyone was chattering away, and some who had a bit of a say in the Family wanted to step forward as mediators.

"Elders, although this is my, Zhou Cheng's, first time at the Ancestral Hall, I also know how much things should cost."

"I don't know on what basis you've asked for fifty million, but this time, my Zhou Family will only give five thousand. Not a single penny more."

Zhou Cheng looked at Zhou Yuanwen and spoke without any politeness.

In fact, five thousand was already plenty. The renovation of the Ancestral Hall wasn't just a matter for Zhou Chengs Family; if every household contributed a little, it would be enough.

"What do you mean? Are you saying we're deliberately asking for an outrageous price to try and scam money from your Family?"

Zhou Yuanwen intentionally raised his voice, attempting to use volume to gain the upper hand.

At the same time, he wanted to use his loud voice to prove his clear conscience to everyone gathered around.

This was one of the essential tactics for an argument.

If it were anyone else, they might have been intimidated by Zhou Yuanwen's loud voice and quickly said they didn't mean it that way.

But Zhou Cheng happened not to be anyone else.

He looked at Zhou Yuanwen calmly and said directly, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean. Otherwise, I can't imagine what kind of Ancestral Hall would need fifty million for repairs!"

Zhou Cheng's words were too blunt.

They were so blunt that they were somewhat offensive, but how could Zhou Cheng be afraid of offending the person in front of him!

Right now, the person who didn't understand their place wasn't him, but them!

As his words landed.

Zhou Yuanwen had originally wanted to use his status as an elder and his loud voice to lecture Zhou Cheng.

But after hearing Zhou Cheng's words, he was stunned on the spot, his words getting stuck in his throat.

Did this young man not understand the ways of the world? Did he not understand respecting one's elders?

Even if you really suspected it in your heart, you couldn't just say it out loud!

PS: The temperature dropped suddenly. I stayed up late last night to add a chapter, and ended up catching a cold. I'll owe you one chapter and pay it back Acquired. Thank you all for the small gifts.