Chapter 124: Chapter 123 Doing Bad Things Deserves Punishment
The village chief stood in front of the house, flanked by Housekeeper Tang and Hongji.
Those who needed to sell their land were all standing at the front of the crowd, right in front of the village chief and his companions.
Before the village chief could speak, the men from the two families who had been splashed with feces and urine that morning saw the village chief and, with expressions of grievance, complained to him:
“Village chief, please help investigate who was so morally bankrupt to splash feces and urine in front of our house in the middle of the night. We must find this person and fine them, or let them eat the filth.”
“Exactly, our village has such scoundrels, Village Chief, you must not ignore this! Such people should be pulled out for public critique and education. We’re all from the same village, how can they be so unprincipled? If word gets out, won’t other villages laugh at us?”
These two men actually knew that they had become a spectacle for the whole village today, and they were bottling up their anger. The village chief had convened the meeting, just in time to hold a public critique and education session here.
The village chief looked at them and then at the crowd, who were secretly laughing, and said with difficulty:
“Indeed, the person who did this in the dead of night lacked morals, but no one saw who did it, and it is difficult to investigate. Our village doesn’t have a guard team, which makes it quite difficult.”
“Village chief, our village has a fishpond leased by someone. These resources should also enable the village to organize a guard team, right?”
One of the two men expressed his dissatisfaction with the village chief’s statement first.
“Yes! Our village has some land that was sold, and the rich man provided some subsidies.”
The village chief, upon hearing their words, shook his head and said, “You only know that the village has received some money, but the annual road repairs and the digging of water channels also require money. It’s not that I used these funds from my salary; I received them from the government.”
“Village chief, every time a bridge or road collapses, you let villagers volunteer to do the work, assigning one laborer from each household, and we don’t get paid for this!”
One of the two men countered, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest.
“You only know about the labor cost, but building bridges and roads, doesn’t that require materials? Aren’t those bought with money?”
The point made by the village chief caused the two men to reconsider and they could not continue to debate this issue.
“Village chief, we’re not asking where the money went. We’re asking you to help severely punish and critically educate the person who did the mischief last night.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what we mean.”
When the village chief heard the words of the two men, he nodded and said:
“You’ve heard, it’s indecent to commit such acts in front of someone’s house at night. As elders, we should lead by moral example to educate the younger generation, to serve as role models. Here, we criticize the person who did mischief last night. Whoever did it, please inform me secretly.
“Don’t let it come to reporting, which would be too late. Our village doesn’t need such pests. Severe cases might need to be expelled from our village.”
The village chief expressed such gravity; initially, it was thought to be just a prank, but it had escalated so severely, even to expulsion from the village!
Without the root of their livelihood, they would be like rootless duckweed, and even if they moved elsewhere, without land or fields, they would be driven away by others.
The two families who had been the target of such misfortune previously even felt schadenfreude, and now some were relieved that they hadn’t impulsively committed such acts.
The villagers were quietly listening, no one daring to stand out, nor did anyone report anything, their eyes on the village chief conveying a sense of awe.
“Let’s set this matter aside for now and discuss whether you want to sell your land. Housekeeper Tang is waiting for your replies. If you decide to sell, we’ll leave now to measure the land; if not, Housekeeper Tang will have to move to the next village.”
“I’m selling my land, but I need the promise from Housekeeper Tang that, after I sell the land, the factory will prioritize hiring us for jobs.”
“I’m selling my land, and when the factory starts to build, I want to be part of the construction team.”
One by one, they stated their conditions, leaving only the men who had not agreed yesterday, still silent and without response.
In the village, men and women, young and old alike, were affected by unemployment; even those who had jobs had to travel far distances, and they too preferred to work somewhere closer to home.
Hearing that those selling their land were getting such favorable conditions, many became anxious. Those with connections tried to leverage them, while those without connections simply fretted helplessly.
The village chief saw the two men who had not yet spoken and said,
“What about you both? Still disagree with selling the land? If you don’t agree to sell, we’ll have to leave out your land and collect from the others only.”
Among those who insisted on not selling their land yesterday, one man, now hearing the excited conditions offered to those selling, seemed a bit shaken and hesitated before saying, “If I sell the land, will there really be compensation? Will there be prioritization for jobs?”
“Of course,” said the village chief. “We will sign a contract, and there will be legal bindings. Money in hand, goods in hand. The promises made will also require your diligent work; in the factory, you cannot afford to be lazy. Nobody would dare hire a Buddha to work there.”
This reassured the man somewhat, and he nodded, saying, “In that case, I’ll sell my dry land as well.”
The last person remained silent. This person also opposed the idea yesterday. Had his stance changed today, and was he in agreement or opposition now?
His resolve seemed less firm as he glanced at his wife in the crowd.
“Uncle, you’re not just listening to your wife, are you? Turns out you’re afraid of your wife.”
Some villagers began to tease him, knowing he was famously henpecked.
The crowd laughed at the comment, and when they glanced at this man’s wife, she blushed with embarrassment.
“Who said that? We are husband and wife, of course we have to discuss it. It can’t just be my decision alone.”
Teased by others, the man felt humiliated but didn’t dare to admit it. In the village, where many men cared about their pride, being ridiculed felt undignified.
“Ha ha, discuss it? Didn’t you talk it through last night? Maybe all you did last night was work hard!”
The man making the joke stopped short of adding, “Last night while you were busy, someone dumped manure at your doorstep and you didn’t even notice.”
“We had a meeting late into last night. I was so tired from working all day, I just went to sleep when I got home.”
This man, ridiculed in front of the village’s elderly women, did not dare mention some more private details. Being a subject of mockery was one thing, but no one was quite as thick-skinned.
“So, are you selling the land or not? Your family owns quite a bit of land, don’t they? Missing a little piece won’t matter much, right? Think of the money you’d make and the job you’d have; many envy you. If you sell the land and don’t want to work, just give me your spot.”
Another man from the village spoke up.
“Wishful thinking! If I sell my land, of course the spot is mine. Why should I give it to you? Are we that close?”
The man who was being mocked scoffed at the other, his pride wounded by the laughter, resolved now to sell his land and make money.