novelhk Chapter 27 Road Repair
Chapter 27 Road Repair
As the sun set, Yang Ming finally covered the well in the backyard with a shed. This way, rainwater and snow wouldn't fall into the well. In this modern society where the atmosphere is severely polluted, who knows if rainwater or snowmelt has been mixed with chemicals?
Wei Qingqing is still asleep in the room. She was very restless in the afternoon, and I guess she won't wake up until it's time to eat.
The sky is ablaze with red clouds; tomorrow will be another sunny day.
"Attention all households! There will be a meeting at the brigade headquarters at 8:30 tonight. Each household must have at least one person present... Attention all households! There will be a meeting at the brigade headquarters at 8:30 tonight. Each household must have at least one person present..." A loudspeaker announcement echoed through the mountains.
"Brigade" means "production brigade," which was the term used during the era of the "iron rice bowl" system. Now it should be called "village committee," but people still habitually refer to it as "brigade."
"Is the brigade having a meeting?"
Yang Ming was somewhat surprised, then shook his head and stopped thinking about it. It seemed that his household registration was not here, so he was not considered a local. It shouldn't be his problem.
Yang Ming reheated the leftovers from lunch, and the couple ate dinner together. After finishing and cleaning up, it was already 8 o'clock.
Wearing cartoon pajamas, Wei Qingqing sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) engrossed in watching "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf." This cartoon was quite popular; adults and children alike loved it. "Honey, are you going to the brigade meeting?" she asked.
"Where am I supposed to go? Our household registration isn't even in this village." Yang Ming leaned against the pile of blankets and watched TV with them. These past two days, he felt like he was developing into a "Wolf-like husband."
"Knock knock..." Just then, a knock came at the door. "Qingqing, my dear sister?"
"Is this Aunt Liu? Come in..." Wei Qingqing said.
Then, Aunt Liu led her daughter in. "Qingqing, aren't you going to the brigade meeting soon? I'd like to leave Bao'er with you."
"Sure!" Wei Qingqing waved to Zheng Bao'er, "Bao'er, come here, let's watch TV together."
"Mmm!" Zheng Bao'er responded obediently, then happily ran to Wei Qingqing's side to watch TV with her.
"Sister Liu, what's the meeting at the brigade meeting?" Yang Ming asked.
"Who knows? It's just some trivial stuff happening in the village..." Aunt Liu said casually.
"Knock knock..."
Liu's wife sat at Yang Ming's house for a while. It was already 8:20. Just as she was about to say goodbye and go to the brigade meeting, there was another knock on the door. "Brother Yang? The village chief asked me to tell you that someone from your family should also go to the brigade meeting in a while."
"Who is it?" Yang Ming hurriedly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on his shoes, and went outside to see who it was, but when he got outside, he found that there was no one there at all.
"They left long ago. This man is the village chief's nephew, named Wang Dafang. He knocks on people's doors whenever he needs something, shouts outside, and then leaves without ever meeting them. The Wang family moved to our village twenty years ago. Back then, there was a big flood that submerged their village. The township decided to disperse the people of Wang family village and merge them into various villages. One branch of them was merged into our village. The Wang family is a bunch of scoundrels; they do all sorts of despicable things. If they contacted you this time, it probably won't be anything good..." Aunt Liu said as she came out.
"Are they plotting against us? Honey, let me go with you..." Wei Qingqing followed behind Aunt Liu out, and said with some worry after hearing Aunt Liu's words.
When Yang Ming saw that she had run out in her pajamas, which were revealing her bare legs, he said, "Go back inside and stay with Bao'er. I'll go with Aunt Liu. I want to see what they're up to..."
"Well... alright then..." Wei Qingqing replied and went back into the house.
"Let's go! We'll walk from here and reach the brigade at 8:30..." Aunt Liu said, taking a flashlight out of her pocket, turning it on, and emitting a dim yellow light.
So the two of them walked together toward the main group. The night was pitch black, and although the flashlight beam wasn't very bright, it was enough to illuminate the road. The chirping of crickets along the way was like a quiet serenade, melodious and serene.
The two walked along the gravel road. Along the way, Aunt Liu gave Yang Ming a brief introduction to the village. Excluding Yang Ming's newly moved-in family, there were a total of 105 households in the village, with only two surnames: Zheng and Wang. There were 75 households with the surname Zheng and 30 households with the surname Wang.
The current village party secretary is a member of the Zheng family, named Zheng Dabao, who is 45 years old. He is very close to Zheng Yunqian. Zheng Yunqian and Zheng Dabao's father and grandfather were brothers. Zheng Dabao is rather honest and simple. He was able to become the village party secretary because he is capable and has the strong support of the Zheng family.
The village chief is a member of the Wang family, named Wang Quangen, who is 50 years old. He is a greedy man who likes to play tricks and flatter leaders. Back then, he was elected village chief by a single vote because he flattered the township leaders and manipulated the household registration system, opening separate households for all adult members of the Wang family. At that time, there was no such thing as election fraud, which almost led to a large-scale armed conflict between the Zheng and Wang families. It was quite a big deal, and the township leaders who helped the Wang family cheat were all taken down. However, Wang Quangen's position as village chief was firmly established and he has been in it ever since.
To this day, the relationship between the Zheng and Wang families is extremely hostile, and they often undermine each other.
The two walked and talked, and before long they arrived at the village committee. Yang Ming had a pretty good grasp of the situation in the village.
The two entered the village committee one after the other. They saw a large room already filled with people, all of whom were the heads of their respective households. On the platform sat two middle-aged men, one fat and one thin. Aunt Liu quietly pointed out to him that the fat man was the village chief, Wang Quangen, and the thin man was the village party secretary, Zheng Dabao. On the table in front of each of them was a microphone and a teacup, the teacup still steaming.
The two went to the back, found a bench together, and sat down quietly, waiting for the meeting to begin.
At 8:30, village chief Wang Quangen glanced at Yang Ming sitting in the back and spoke first, "It's 8:30 now, let's start the meeting..."
"Today, I went to a meeting in the township. The Party Secretary and the Township Head both criticized me severely. They were very dissatisfied with the development of our village. The most important point is that there isn't a single road. When the leaders come to inspect our village, their backsides get all sore from the bumpy ride..."
"Ahem, Village Chief Wang, did the township leaders tell you that their buttocks are swollen? Are they asking us for medical expenses? Stop with the nonsense, let's get down to business..." the village secretary said with a dark face.
"Hehe, the village secretary is right! Now let's get down to business..." Wang Quangen, being scolded by someone five years younger than him, didn't seem to mind. Whether he was cursing inwardly was anyone's guess. He continued, "Regarding the road construction in our village, the township leaders gave us a task: this year, we must build an asphalt road. Road construction costs money, and a considerable amount at that, but the township's finances are tight, and they can't provide financial support. However, after much pleading with the township leaders, they finally gave me the authority to lease out the mountain land on the edge of the village. The mountain land belongs to the state, and the lease fee must be handed over. But to support our road construction, the township leaders will give the lease fee to our brigade for management. If that's still not enough, everyone can pool their resources... After an afternoon of discussion with Village Secretary Zheng Dabao, we selected the mountain land to lease out: Rabbit Kidney Mountain and Cleft Lip Mountain at the village entrance, Grass Hat Mountain and Flower Drum Mountain to the north of the village, and Dragon Tiger Mountain and Flea Mountain to the west of the village..."
"As for the contracting method, let's follow the trend and use an auction system, with the highest bidder winning. The minimum price is 100 yuan per mu per year, with a contract period of 20 years. The contract fee can be paid annually, with a minimum increment of 10 yuan per mu..."
"That bastard is plotting against you. No wonder Uncle Dabao looked so grim..." As Liu Sao listened, her brows furrowed, and she whispered in Yang Ming's ear.
"How could that be? It's just six hilltops!" Yang Ming said.
"These six hills are huge. It's not just one peak; the hill behind your house has dozens of peaks, all part of Caomao Mountain, covering several hundred acres. Huagu Mountain is the hill behind our house, and it also has quite a few peaks, about a hundred acres. Your two acres of land are between these two hills. The other four hills also surround Caomao Mountain and Huagu Mountain... It's very likely that this guy surnamed Wang bypassed the Party Secretary and directly reported the contracted hills to the township," Aunt Liu explained.
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