"So what? Are we supposed to be scared of them?" Lin Caiqing said, raising her chin with an emphatic air.
Suddenly, a hand descended from above. With two fingers curled, it knocked her on the head, making a ’thud’ sound.
She hastily reached up to cover her head, looking indignantly at her own father.
"Dad, why did you hit me?"
"If I don’t hit you, you’ll forget your own surname!" Lin Baiyi replied crossly to his daughter.
Lin Caiqing was somewhat indignant, but she thought that since everyone agreed with Sister Sangsang’s decision, there must be a reason for it.
"Qing’er, it’s not that we’re afraid of others, but we also need to guard against others acting against us behind our backs. Tell me, can our few mouths compete with so many people in the village?"
Lin Changfeng reminded his younger sister.
"Now everyone needs water, naturally they will accept whatever we say. But what about after the water is used up? When it comes to paying silver, who would want their silver to go out? As soon as there’s a hint of discontent, they’ll accuse Sangsang of profiteering, claiming that she’s shamelessly robbing their silver."
"At that time, we won’t be able to clear our name even if we have a hundred mouths."
"They won’t dare to... We saved everyone..."
Lin Caiqing’s mouth hung open slightly in disbelief, but even before she finished her sentence, she felt that it really could be the case.
"It’s really possible."
"So, this amount of silver is not only not much, even if it were more, we can’t keep it for ourselves unless we want to be drowned by a torrent of criticism." Lin Changfeng said.
If it were the past when their family didn’t have silver and were going hungry along with everyone else, it would be okay to accept the silver and no one could say anything.
But now, everyone knew that Sangsang had opened a shop in the county. If they accepted this silver, those with ill intentions would surely take advantage of the situation and stir up trouble.
Moreover, like what Sangsang had explained to Clan Chief Lin before, it would be better to allocate this silver to other places - to build homes for the village elders, to repair the school, to pave a few smooth roads in the village.
With these uses, who in the village could still complain?
"I was initially worried about whether we should accept the silver or not. But with how you’ve arranged it Sangsang, nobody will dare to say anything." Lin Changfeng said to Lin Caisang.
"I naturally can’t give people a handle against me." Lin Caisang replied.
She was clear about this. Not to mention others, even the predecessor of the Ya Clan conducted himself in such a condescending and sarcastic manner that if he didn’t stir up some trouble, it would be a disservice to his surname.
"Also, Grandpa, Grandma, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Brother Changfeng, remember this: no matter who in the village begs you to waive the one penny fee for using the water for a day, don’t agree. Once there’s an exception, there will be a second, a third. If we don’t collect silver from one person, it’s unfair to others."
"You can be assured on this, Sangsang. Grandma won’t hold you back. If they don’t give silver, then they shouldn’t use the water." Lu Qiubo decisively said.
Lin Laogeng opened his mouth, trying to say something, but Lu Qiubo cut him off.
"No matter who comes request, especially the Liu Baixiao family!" Lu Qiubo insisted.
What else could he say? He could’t say anything anymore, could he?