60s: I have a store

Chapter 476 The Tough Fifteen
After receiving a positive answer from Director Li, Zhou Yimin and Zhou Zhiming hurried back to Zhoujiazhuang.

Without stopping for too long, Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle towards Zhoujiazhuang.

As soon as they entered the village, the two went straight to the old branch secretary's house.

If the old branch secretary was not at home, I would go look for him somewhere else. Unexpectedly, my luck was good and the old branch secretary happened to be at home.

The small courtyard of the old branch secretary's house looks particularly peaceful in the afternoon sun. The earthen walls are covered with morning glories, as if telling the story of the simplicity and tranquility of the countryside.

Zhou Yimin and Zhou Zhiming walked into the yard and saw the old branch secretary sitting under the eaves, repairing farm tools in the sunshine.

Seeing the two people coming in, the old branch secretary put down his work and greeted them with a smile: "You two are back. How are you? What was the result of your visit to Renjia Village?"

Zhou Yimin hurriedly sat down opposite the old Party Secretary and said seriously, "Old Party Secretary, this is the situation. We went to Renjia Village to discuss the sand issue. Village Chief Ren agreed to exchange it with grain, but after calculating, it would cost one thousand yuan to buy grain in exchange for sand.

Besides, the cement we use to build the road is estimated to cost nearly two thousand yuan. Fortunately, we don’t need to hire people to do the work this time, and we can save some money by transporting the stones from the mountains. Otherwise, we would have spent more money.”

The old branch secretary listened to Zhou Yimin's story, frowned slightly, gently stroked his chin, thought for a moment and asked: "Zhiming, how much do you think each household should pay, which is more appropriate?"

Zhou Zhiming didn't expect that the old branch secretary would suddenly ask him to answer, and his reaction was a little slow.

Zhou Yimin nudged Zhou Zhiming with his elbow.

Zhou Zhiming finally reacted, and then he squeaked and whimpered: "Old Party Secretary, I don't know about this either."

The old branch secretary did not say much, and then continued to ask: "Yimin, how much do you think each household in the village should contribute?"

Zhou Zhiming lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Zhou Yimin lowered his head and pondered for a while. He quickly calculated the economic conditions of each family in the village and the various expenses required for road construction in his mind, and slowly said: "Old Party Secretary, I think each household in the village should contribute 15 yuan, and then the farms and processing plants should contribute 1,500 yuan. Adding up, there will be 3,000 yuan, which should be enough for road construction."

The old branch secretary's eyes flashed with approval, and he nodded and said, "This is a good suggestion. Fifteen yuan should be within the acceptable range for the villagers."

Now that the fundraising plan has been discussed, the old branch secretary decided to convene another village meeting without further delay.

The news spread through the village like the wind. Soon, villagers came from all directions and gathered under the big locust tree in the center of the village.

The locust tree was lush and leafy, like a huge green umbrella, shielding the people from the sun. The villagers were standing or sitting, with curiosity and confusion on their faces, guessing the theme of the conference.

The old branch secretary stood on a slightly higher stone, glanced at the crowd, cleared his throat, and got straight to the point: "Fellow villagers, I called you all here today to repair the road. This time, the road repair will cost three thousand yuan in total."

As soon as these words came out, the crowd immediately exploded.

The villagers were whispering and talking among themselves.

"Three thousand dollars? That's not a small amount!"

"Yes, if we villagers were asked to pay for it, every household would have to pay at least 30 yuan!"

Concerned voices rose one after another, and even a small number of people began to back off, muttering quietly: "In fact, it doesn't matter if the road is not repaired. We have walked here for so many years."

This time, many people agreed with this statement.

The old Party secretary looked at the villagers who were talking about this, and fearing that he would be misled if he was late, he raised his hands and pressed them down, and said loudly: "Everyone, listen to me first! This time, each household only needs to pay 15 yuan, and the rest of the money will be paid from the profits of the processing plant and the breeding farm."

After hearing the news, the villagers' discussions gradually died down. Everyone thought that although fifteen yuan was not a small amount, it was still acceptable.

Moreover, building roads will benefit future generations. As long as it is within our affordability, everyone will be happy to do it.

Especially those who have been hurt by bad roads, such as Zhou Zhiming.

Seeing that everyone was calmer, the old secretary continued, "Since no one has any objections, Zhiming will go to each household and collect 15 yuan. We are building the road for the future of Zhoujia Village. Once the road is built, it will be more convenient for everyone to travel and there will be hope for the development of the village."

Zhou Zhiming stood up and said loudly: "Wait a moment, I'm going to trouble you all!"

Seeing that everything they wanted to say had been said, the villagers began to go home.

Seeing that everyone had gone home, Zhou Zhiming thought of going directly to their homes.

At this moment, Zhou Yimin stopped him and said, "Brother Zhiming, are you planning to go empty-handed?"

Zhou Zhiming was a little puzzled: "Yimin, aren't you going empty-handed? What else do you need to bring?"

Besides, he was just going there to collect money, not to do anything else, so he could go empty-handed!

Zhou Yimin explained at this time: "Brother Zhiming, if you go empty-handed, can you remember clearly which of the nearly 100 households in the village gave money and which did not?"

"Some villagers couldn't come up with 15 yuan right away, so they said they would wait a few days before paying."

After hearing this, the old branch secretary nodded. It seemed that Zhou Yimin was very thoughtful.

"Zhiming, just do as Yimin says!"

After hearing Zhou Yimin's explanation, Zhou Zhiming realized that he had not thought it through carefully enough, so he went back and got a piece of paper and a bag to hold the money.

Zhou Zhiming took a piece of paper and went door to door to collect road construction fees.

Every time he visited a household, he enthusiastically explained his purpose.

Most of the villagers cooperated and donated money to support the road construction. Every time Zhou Zhiming received a sum of money, he carefully wrote down his name on a piece of paper so that he could clearly know who had not paid.

When we arrived at Uncle Wang’s house, he was sitting in the yard weaving a bamboo basket.

Seeing Zhou Zhiming coming in, he smiled and asked, "Zhiming, can this road construction really be accomplished?"

Zhou Zhiming smiled and replied, "Uncle Wang, don't worry! With everyone working together, it will definitely work. When the road is repaired, it will be convenient for you to go out and sell bamboo baskets."

Uncle Wang nodded, took out fifteen yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Zhiming, saying, "Okay, I believe you. The road in our village really needs to be repaired."

Zhou Zhiming took the money, wrote down Uncle Wang's name on the paper, and said, "Uncle Wang, everyone will remember your support for the village."

When we arrived at Aunt Li's house, she was busy feeding the chickens.

Hearing Zhou Zhiming's intention, he showed a hint of hesitation on his face: "Zhiming, my family is a little short of money recently, can I give you this fifteen yuan in a few days?"

Zhou Zhiming said quickly: "Aunt Li, please don't be embarrassed. It's okay to wait for a few days. Just give it to me when it's convenient for you. Road construction is a big deal, and everyone can understand."
Aunt said gratefully: "Zhiming, you are a very sensible child. I will get it together for you as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)