From collapsing rooftop to poverty alleviation village chief

Before being forcibly summoned to the village committee by the old village chief, Zhang Dafu, Liu Ying, and Hou Dezhu had already discussed the matter and concluded that Lin Ye, being a celebrity, certainly wouldn't understand village affairs and was even less likely to genuinely want to help alleviate poverty.

Now, upon hearing this, it turns out that Lin Ye is actually quite familiar with the job responsibilities of the village accountant.

Hou Dezhu was a little embarrassed and also a bit guilty.

Zhang Dafu kept his eyes straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen anything.

Liu Ying kept her head down, clutching the hem of her polyester blouse.

Zhang Xiaoshan was the most enthusiastic, clapping her hands and her eyes shining, "Wow, Village Chief Lin is so amazing! Ouch, Mom, why did you pinch me again?"

Liu Ying was stunned. She glared at her daughter and lowered her head even further.

Lin Ye smiled and said to Zhang Xiaoshan, "Zhang Xiaoshan, why don't you say something too?"

Liu Ying interrupted, "The village security chief just manages fights and such in the village, there's not much to say about that, is there?"

She was afraid that her daughter would be like her, completely unaware of her job responsibilities, and would embarrass herself in the end.

"Alright!"

Zhang Xiaoshan stood up and said loudly, "The duties of the community security chief include organizing security patrols, mediating disputes, managing the floating population, fire prevention, traffic safety, and legal education."

Lin Ye nodded in satisfaction, "Zhang Xiaoshan, you have a very comprehensive understanding of your job responsibilities."

Zhang Xiaoshan's face flushed slightly, and her voice softened, "Thank you, Village Chief Lin."

Liu Ying was stunned, and Zhang Dafu looked at his daughter with some surprise.

Zhang Xiaoshan failed her college entrance exam and went to work outside. She finally started to make some progress in her work, but then she encountered that kind of thing and returned to Qiongyu Village in disgrace.

The villagers all pointed fingers at the Zhang family, and the once-promising college student became a target of ridicule.

Liu Ying, being competitive, couldn't stand this kind of treatment, so she pressured Zhang Dafu to find a way to make Zhang Xiaoshan the head of the security department.

That's how they shut up the gossip.

It could be said that the position of community security chief was merely a figurehead. The couple never expected Zhang Xiaoshan to achieve anything, and naturally they didn't expect her to take this empty position seriously.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaoshan was so familiar with the job responsibilities of the community security director.

Looking at Zhang Xiaoshan, who sat down happily with a blush on her face, Liu Ying suddenly felt that this daughter seemed a little unfamiliar.

After the four village officials finished introducing themselves, Lin Ye asked, "Is there also a forest ranger?"

Zhang Xiaoshan immediately said, "Brother Xiao Wu is at Eagle Rock, which is quite far from the village. My dad didn't notify him. Village Chief Lin, should I go and call him now?"

Zhang Dafu never expected that he would be sold out by his daughter like this. He quickly said:

"Village Chief Lin, our village is surrounded by Yunwu Ridge, Beiguo Mountain, and Laoying Rock. The forest area is large, and the forest ranger may not be at the forest post, so I did not notify him."

Lin Ye smiled and said, "It's alright, I'll meet with him another day."

Zhang Dafu could only force a smile and say, "Okay, okay."

Liu Ying was so angry that she reached out to pinch Zhang Xiaoshan again, but found that her daughter had already moved her bottom away from her, and she couldn't pinch her anymore. She could only lower her voice and curse:

"You spendthrift girl!"

Lin Ye clapped his hands. "I've invited everyone here today because there are two things I'd like to discuss with you."

All four people were looking at him. Zhang Xiaoshan had a notebook in front of her and a pen in her hand, looking serious as she prepared to take notes.

Zhang Dafu and the other two had complicated expressions, a mixture of embarrassment and wariness.

The old village chief leaned back on the bed, leisurely smoking his pipe.

Lin Ye smiled and continued:

"The first thing is that I'm new to this village and not familiar with the situation, so I want to conduct a village-wide survey to get to know the situation of each household."

"We're all from this village, so who's free these next couple of days to take me to visit each household?"

Zhang Dafu chuckled dryly, just about to find an excuse to decline, when Zhang Xiaoshan had already raised her hand.

"I'm all for Village Chief Lin!"

Zhang Dafu turned to look at his daughter, speechless.

Liu Ying was so angry that she couldn't even reach Zhang Xiaoshan anymore, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.

Lin Ye smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble at all, hehe!" Zhang Xiaoshan smiled shyly, looking very happy.

Before the deputy village chief, who also serves as the population director, women's director, and village accountant could even speak, the new village chief's first issue had already been resolved, demonstrating astonishing efficiency.

Just as Lin Ye was about to continue speaking, a line of light blue text appeared before his eyes.

[Poverty Alleviation Task 005: Complete the basic survey of the entire village. Task Reward: 300 poverty alleviation points]

Lin Ye was not surprised. Since the [Revitalization Guide] is a cheat code for poverty alleviation, naturally every task will be related to his poverty alleviation work.

This time, we'll see if we can store all the supplies from the previous poverty alleviation sites, just in case.

Lin Ye continued, "The second thing is that I want our village to carry out a comprehensive renovation of dilapidated houses."

"Renovation of dilapidated buildings?"

Zhang Dafu and the other two stared in surprise, and even Chen Yonggui put down his pipe and looked over.

Lin Ye continued, "Everyone knows about the situation at the village school this afternoon. In fact, besides the village school, several other houses in our village have cracked walls. Qiongyu Village rains frequently, and with so much rain, the houses are prone to collapse."

Lin Ye stood up, refilled the cups of several village officials with hot water, and then said:

"Therefore, for the safety of the villagers, I suggest that all the houses in the village be thoroughly inspected, and those identified as dangerous should be renovated and repaired in a concentrated manner."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dilapidated mud-brick office fell silent. A moment later, the sound of clapping and banging rang out.

Zhang Xiaoshan clapped her hands vigorously, "Yes, yes, yes! We should repair all the dilapidated houses!"

Zhang Dafu smiled wryly, "Village Chief Lin, we can inspect dilapidated houses, but we don't have the money to renovate them."

Lin Ye had already thought of this problem. "Didn't the county allocate special funds for housing renovation to each impoverished village last year?"

After saying that, he looked at Hou Dezhu, who quickly said, "Village Chief Lin, you know the situation in our county. There are more than ten impoverished villages. The little money allocated to our village is only enough to buy two pigs, let alone repair a house!"

In fact, Lin Ye had already checked the poverty alleviation department's information about the special funds for housing renovation before he came, and it was indeed not much, and there would be even less when it was allocated to Qiongyu Village.

But he brought it up on purpose to see Zhang Dafu and Hou Dezhu's reactions.

In retrospect, it seems that Zhang Dafu and Hou Dezhu did not cross any lines.

At least they didn't embezzle county funds.

He then said to Zhang Dafu, "Village Chief Zhang, the renovation of dilapidated houses cannot be delayed. At the very least, we must first inspect all the houses in the village and have the villagers move out of the dilapidated houses to avoid dangers like the collapse of the village primary school classroom."

Zhang Dafu looked troubled. "Village Chief Lin, only Shi Dazhu in our village understands construction. How can we possibly inspect all these houses?"

Liu Ying added, "Our village has a custom of 'not leaving home after birth,' so even if a house is found to be dangerous, the villagers will not be willing to move out."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Hou Dezhu said, "Village Chief Lin, why don't you ask the county government for help?"

Lin Ye looked at them; the three of them looked sincere, but no matter what they said, they were all unwilling to cooperate.

Lin Ye suddenly smiled.

In the past, historical novels always featured plots where powerful ministers controlled the court. Now, it seems that the "court" in Qiongyu Village is controlled by the Zhang and Liu families.