From collapsing rooftop to poverty alleviation village chief

"It looks pretty good."

Lin Ye answered with a smile, then continued:

Which restaurant should we go to first?

Today we're going to start a basic survey of every household in the village. This task was originally supposed to be carried out by Zhang Dafu, who also serves as the population director, in cooperation with Lin Ye.

But Zhang Dafu pretended to be deaf and dumb during yesterday's meeting, clearly indicating his unwillingness to cooperate.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaoshan is also a native of Qiongyu Village. Yesterday, she and Lin Ye rescued the children from the village school, so it's no problem for her to be a guide.

Zhang Xiaoshan tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Let's go to Aunt Qin's house first, it's the closest."

"it is good."

The two left the village committee and soon arrived at Qin Guifen's house. It was still surrounded by a fence, a small courtyard, an adobe house, and a thatched bed next to it.

Four or five chickens were strolling around in the yard, constantly pecking at the ground with their heads down.

"Aunt Guifen has three old hens. Yesterday, she killed one to make soup for Village Chief Lin. There is also a vegetable garden behind the yard, where she grows some water spinach and ferns."

As Zhang Xiaoshan introduced things to Lin Ye, she called out towards the courtyard.

"Is Aunt Guifen home? Village Chief Lin is here!"

The wooden door of the mud-brick house, which had several holes in it, opened, and Qin Guifen came out, wearing the same coarse cloth clothes she had worn the day before, holding some water spinach she had just picked from the ground.

"Hey, Village Chief Lin, what brings you here? Come in quickly!"

Widow Qin warmly opened the courtyard gate and welcomed the two in, her face showing no trace of the grief and hysteria she had displayed the previous night.

Lin Ye seemed to have forgotten about last night, and said with a smile, "I just arrived in the village and I don't know everyone well, so I'm just visiting each household."

"Welcome, welcome!" Widow Qin led the two into the house and pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket.

"There's not much at home, Village Chief Lin, Xiao Shan, have some sunflower seeds!"

Lin Ye smiled and nodded, casually glancing at the seeds as he cracked them open.

The room was about 20 square meters. There was a table in the center, a small wooden cabinet against the wall on the left, and a bed at the very back.

There were two windows, one of which was missing glass and had been covered with blue plastic sheeting.

Such a house could almost be described as bare.

Lin Ye withdrew his gaze and asked with a smile, "Xingzi isn't here?"

Qin Guifen cracked sunflower seeds. "He went out to play. Now that the classroom is gone, he doesn't have to go to class. That brat is so happy."

Lin Ye chatted with Qin Guifen for a few minutes and learned about her family situation.

Qin Guifen married into Qiongyu Village. Her parents and in-laws had passed away, and her husband was also gone. She was left with only her children and herself, and they made a living by growing vegetables and feeding chickens.

As she spoke, Qin Guifen cracked melon seeds, smiling casually, seemingly not caring at all.

He only mentioned his son Liu Yongxing once, saying, "I just want Xingzi to not end up like his father and me, trapped in the mountains for the rest of our lives, and to be able to go out and see the world."

Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't help but say, "Aunt Guifen, things aren't actually that good outside."

Qin Guifen glanced at her and said, "That's because you're a woman. It's different when men go out."

Zhang Xiaoshan paused for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.

Lin Ye noticed the sadness on Zhang Xiaoshan's face and smiled, saying, "Whether you're male or female, whether you stay in the village or go out, as long as you find your place, it's all good, right, Xiaoshan?"

Zhang Xiaoshan looked up, staring blankly at Lin Ye, "Village Chief Lin..."

Qin Guifen glanced at the two of them, then suddenly chuckled, "As expected, young people can really connect."

Zhang Xiaoshan quickly waved her hand, "No, Aunt Guifen, you're very young too!"

At this moment, information about Qin Guifen's house appeared on the small map in front of Lin Ye.

Head of Household: Qin Guifen

Member: Liu Yongxing (son)

Poverty Alleviation Index: 13

Lin Ye was not surprised by the poverty alleviation index of Qin Guifen's family.

She was a widow and orphan, raising a few chickens and growing some vegetables, with almost no income. She was probably considered poor in Qiongyu Village.

Qin Guifen was unwilling to admit defeat in front of outsiders, so she pretended to be casual and charming, so that others would only see her and not her embarrassment.

Lin Ye sighed inwardly and asked, "Sister Guifen, since you don't farm, do you usually buy rice from down the mountain?"

Before Qin Guifen could speak, Shi Dazhu's voice rang out from the courtyard, "Guifen, I've brought you rice."

Then Shi Dazhu's burly figure walked in, carrying a bag of rice on his shoulder. When he saw Lin Ye and Zhang Xiaoshan there, he was stunned.

Qin Guifen stood up and pointed to the side of the table, "Just put the rice here."

Shi Dazhu gave an "oh," his dark face flushed slightly, and placed the rice on the table with practiced ease, clearly indicating that this wasn't the first time he had delivered rice to Qin Guifen.

Zhang Xiaoshan looked at this scene with some surprise. It seemed that she did not know that Shi Dazhu had been sending rice to Qin Guifen all along.

Qin Guifen looked at Lin Ye and explained, "I traded eggs and vegetables for rice for Dazhu."

At this moment, another woman rushed in from outside, pointing aggressively at Qin Guifen and shouting loudly:

"You adulterous slut, I've caught you red-handed this time!"

Shi Dazhu quickly grabbed her, "Zhao Chunyan, what are you doing!"

Zhang Xiaoshan was a little startled, but she didn't forget her duty and whispered to Lin Ye, "This is Uncle Dazhu's wife, Zhao Chunyan. She... she might have misunderstood."

There's always gossip around a widow's door. Judging from how skillfully Shi Dazhu delivered rice to Qin Guifen, anyone could easily misunderstand.

I never expected Zhao Chunyan to be so fierce, coming to my door in broad daylight to make a scene, ignoring even the presence of Village Chief Lin.

Zhao Chunyan flung Shi Dazhu's hand away and pointed at Qin Guifen, cursing:

"You shameless slut! All you do is wiggle your ass and seduce men! You've slept with every man in the village, haven't you?"

"Let me tell you! No man would actually want a piece of trash like you! My Dazhu only let you fool him because he felt sorry for you!"

"If you ever dare to flirt with Dazhu again, I'll strip you naked and parade you through the county! Let them see what a slut you look like!"

Zhao Chunyan was a big, burly woman with a loud voice, and soon a lot of villagers stood outside Qin Guifen's courtyard looking inside.

Snapped!

Zhao Chunyan's voice stopped abruptly, and she covered her face, looking at Shi Dazhu in disbelief.

"You...you hit me? You hit me for this slut?! Shi Dazhu, I gave birth to your son! How could you treat me like this?!"

Zhao Chunyan was truly fierce, tearing at Shi Dazhu wildly, leaving several bloody scratches on the burly man's face and body.

Qin Guifen silently gathered the kettle, porcelain bowls, and other fragile items from the room onto the bed, then spoke earnestly:

"I traded eggs and vegetables with Shi Dazhu for rice. I didn't do anything wrong to my man."

But Zhao Chunyan and Shi Dazhu's voices were loud enough to drown out hers, and the villagers outside the courtyard continued to point and whisper about her.

Qin Guifen smiled, took out a handful of sunflower seeds and cracked them open, watching Shi Dazhu and his wife continue to tear at each other, while the villagers continued to point and whisper about her.

As she stammered, tears suddenly streamed down her face.