Chapter 571: Villagers’ Meeting
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the twilight hours, the time for the village meeting had arrived. Representatives from each household were dispatched, including Gu Zi, who arrived in Li Zhu’s ox cart. As she alighted from the cart, a throng of villagers swarmed around her. There were people from all three villages, but the majority hailed from Daqing Village. Some offered her eggs, others gifted her fresh vegetables, and a few even offered to hold her child, all while engaging her in conversation.
The events of the morning had left the villagers feeling guilty and, of course, fearful that Su Shen might actually move his factory. Thus, many rushed to make amends.
Gu Zi, no longer maintaining a stern facade, greeted them with a smile. She had made her stance clear, showing them that the Su family was not to be taken advantage of. There was no need to continually present a cold face to the villagers.
Her tone was gentle, her words soothing. “Lele is a bit shy, I’ll hold her. And we have plenty at home, so please keep these gifts for yourselves. Let’s forget any unpleasantness. Even siblings quarrel at times. In the end, you all gave justice to the Su family. Let’s turn the page on this matter.”
As Gu Zi’s words fell, a chorus of praise echoed across the village square. “Little Su’s wife is as beautiful as she is kind-hearted, just like Little Su. They are both wonderful people. Those guys from Chen Village are simply despicable! But the village head arranged additional punishment for them, making them clean the pigsty in Chen Village’s commune for a month. That’s satisfying!”
“That’s what they deserve! Our Little Su’s wife is so magnanimous, she didn’t hold any grudges against us. But let me make this clear today, anyone who dares to speak ill of the Su family or bully them, will be against our entire Daqing Village. Isn’t that right?”
“Absolutely! We’ve already wronged them. If we do it again, we’ll truly break the Su family’s heart. Wouldn’t that be like signing our own death warrant? We can’t let that happen!”
Upon hearing about the pigsty punishment, Gu Zi felt as if a beam of light had pierced her heart, lifting her spirits. She was quite satisfied with this punishment.
As the village head emerged from his office, the clamor on the square gradually subsided. He nodded at Gu Zi as he passed by, then ascended the podium and cleared his throat to begin his speech.
“As you all know, our village lost power due to the theft of the transformer. Because of some people’s ulterior motives, a significant misunderstanding occurred, causing inconvenience to the Su family. On behalf of the village committee, I apologize to Miss Gu Zi. I hope that all the villagers present here today will adopt a positive attitude and treat the Su family with gratitude.
“When I received a call from Su Shen, I informed him of the reason for the power outage. He told me that he had other matters to attend to and couldn’t return to the village as planned. However, this does not hinder our village meeting.
“We now know that the power outage was caused by the theft of the transformer. Su Shen has arranged for someone to repair it. Out of respect for Su Shen, the repairman is temporarily staying at a hotel in town, waiting to fix our power lines.
“So, we need to raise money quickly to buy a new transformer and pay for the repair costs. This is a significant expense. The main purpose of today’s meeting is to raise funds…”
As Su Ming spoke, murmurs began to rise from the crowd. Generally, there were voices resistant to contributing money, but no one was blaming Su Shen anymore, nor suggesting that the wealthy Su family should foot the bill.
The village meeting lasted nearly an hour. Most of the audible voices on the square were those unwilling to contribute money, pleading poverty to the village head. Gu Zi watched without commenting. The negotiation of funds was the responsibility of the village committee members, and she didn’t feel the need to interject.
She was waiting, planning to contribute her share before heading home to avoid making another trip.
She wasn’t worried about returning home late. The two boys had keys and were old enough to ask passersby about her whereabouts.
Moreover, Gu Zi found Su Ming’s handling of the situation quite satisfactory. The village head was a man of firm resolve, adept at dealing with those who made excuses to avoid paying.
In the end, he told everyone, “To restore power as soon as possible, we need to collect the money quickly. Those who have enough money on them should pay today, and the rest should pay by tomorrow noon at the latest. Each household needs to contribute six yuan. Those from Chen Village who were fined per person have already paid up. Are you saying you can’t even match them?”