met free Chapter 183
Chapter 183
“Yes, she had a refugee who came to our village earlier pass the message. I didn’t know her before. In the morning, someone checked on her background. Her name is Li Qiaohua. When you get a chance, see if she’s reliable.” Mu’s mother nodded.Song Nianchu, however, didn’t respond right away. She just kept staring at Mu’s mother.
Mu’s mother felt a bit uncomfortable under that gaze, her heart growing even more uneasy.
“I… everything I’ve said is true. If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself. I’m absolutely not lying to you.”
Song Nianchu had navigated the business world for many years in her past life. Though she couldn’t claim to have never misjudged anyone, she could still tell when someone was telling the truth or lying.
She believed what Mu’s mother had said. Yet, she was puzzled…
“Aren’t you the one who dotes on Mu Jingmei the most? Why are you now warning me to be more cautious around her?” Song Nianchu voiced her doubts.
Hearing this, Mu’s mother felt as if she’d been slapped in the face. A flush of shame crept over her.
“Everything before was my fault. You were right to scold me last time. I really don’t know how to raise children.” Mu’s mother’s eyes reddened.
Seeing her like this, Song Nianchu didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“That’s all I came to tell you. Since I’ve said my piece, I’ll be going now.” Not wanting to appear too pathetic in front of a younger person, Mu’s mother held back her tears and turned to leave.
Song Nianchu stood rooted to the spot, watching Mu’s mother’s figure hurry away. A glint of thought flickered in her eyes.
After Mu’s mother left, Song Nianchu went to find Wu Zhenggui and told him to have someone buy some fish bladders.
Once they finished discussing business, she also relayed what Mu’s mother had just told her.
“What? You mean people from Yang Family Village want to steal our village’s canned food recipe?!” Wu Zhenggui exploded at the news.
This was like trying to steal the very means of their village’s livelihood. How could they tolerate that?
“It must have been Yang Mingwan pulling the strings behind the scenes. He was jealous of our canned food business before, and he even refused us an electricity connection. Now that we’ve managed to get electricity despite him, he’s probably even more sour. So he sent Mu Jingmei to steal the recipe. How shameless! I’m going to find him right now and settle the score!” Wu Zhenggui slammed the table and stood up.
“And what will you say when you get there? At the time, Mu’s mother was the only one there. What if they accuse you of slander? Without catching them in the act, the most you’ll do is yell at him, and it might even spark a conflict between the two villages.” Song Nianchu stopped him.
“So we just have to swallow this humiliation?” Wu Zhenggui’s face flushed red and pale with anger.
“Who says we have to just swallow it? The refugees have been getting along well with our village lately, haven’t they?” Song Nianchu suddenly changed the subject.
Though Wu Zhenggui didn’t quite understand why she was bringing up the refugees, he nodded truthfully.
“The village has treated them fairly. By now, they’ve almost fully integrated into our village.” Wu Zhenggui nodded.
“How far is the family earning the most work points from meeting the threshold for building a house?” Song Nianchu continued.
"Not much difference now. I figure it'll take about five or six more days to get there," Wu Zhenggui said after a moment's thought.
"Then we can't wait those five or six days. Hold a village meeting right away and say that since their family has been working diligently all this time, we've decided to build their house ahead of schedule," Song Nianchu announced.
"Moving it up four or five days isn't a big deal, but why do we need to?" Wu Zhenggui was confused.
"I asked you before to keep an eye on how the refugees in other villages were faring. Did you do that?" Song Nianchu knew that if she didn't explain things clearly to Wu Zhenggui, he'd never let it go.
"I did. The refugees in those villages are barely scraping by, worse off than beggars. I've even heard many have starved to death or died of illness," Wu Zhenggui said, a hint of sorrow in his voice. Though his abilities were limited, hearing such things still pained him.
"That's exactly the point. Of all the refugees sent down together, the ones assigned to our village haven't had a single death from starvation or illness, and now we're even using village funds to build them houses. If word gets out, what do you think outsiders will think?" Song Nianchu asked pointedly.
Wu Zhenggui frowned. "That our village is rich?"
Song Nianchu laughed at this, but still nodded.
"That's not wrong."
"Ah Chu, what are you really trying to do? Just tell me straight. You know your uncle's not as sharp as you, so spare me the guessing games," Wu Zhenggui said, looking at Song Nianchu with a defeated expression.
"Actually, you're not far off; you just haven't thought it through. Yang Mingwan is the brigade leader. He assigned us so many extra refugees in the first place, hoping to cripple our village. But you know the organization issued this policy because they want us to properly handle these refugees and help them integrate into new communities, not leave them to fend for themselves."
"I'm guessing Yang Mingwan has been covering up the deaths of those refugees. Once we start building houses for our refugees, I'll find a way to spread the word."
"Then, how do you think the organization, or the entire brigade, will view Yang Mingwan?"
With Song Nianchu's guidance, Wu Zhenggui seemed to catch on.
"At that point, everyone will side with our village and see Yang Mingwan as someone who failed in his duties."
"Exactly!" Song Nianchu nodded emphatically. "As brigade leader, he disregarded human lives and couldn't even handle the task the organization assigned him. Do you think the organization will keep him on?"
"Probably not," Wu Zhenggui said.
"So if the organization wants to remove him from his post, they'll need someone to replace him, right?" Song Nianchu continued.
"Yes."
"Then what kind of person do you think is fit to be the brigade leader?" Song Nianchu stared straight at Wu Zhenggui.
Wu Zhenggui was about to answer when something clicked. He looked at her in surprise.
He opened his mouth as if to speak, but for a long time, couldn't get a full sentence out.
"Uncle Zhenggui, do you see now why I'm doing all this?" Knowing that Wu Zhenggui had guessed her intentions, Song Nianchu's smile deepened.
"Ah Chu, have you had this plan in mind since way back then?" Wu Zhenggui murmured.
"Yeah. I've long disliked Yang Mingwan's family. They've stayed in that position but never done any real work for the people, and they always make things difficult for us. We have to bring him down, or else the village's future development will just keep being held back by him." Song Nianchu no longer tried to hide his thoughts.
"But do you really think I can be the brigade leader?" Wu Zhenggui was still a bit incredulous.
He was just an ordinary farmer, and becoming village chief was only thanks to everyone's respect. Being brigade leader was a whole different matter.