Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1155 Village Chief Zhao's Thoughts

Xiao Wei said, "Someone like him is bound to cause trouble sooner or later. No matter what, we shouldn't get involved. It's not worth it."

Xiao Hong said, "I know, it's just idle talk. We'll hardly ever see each other again, so what's the point of all this?" She reached out and shoved Xiao Wei inside. "Hiss. Hmm."

……

The next day, after having breakfast at the guesthouse, several people drove Wang Guifang to her workplace and then headed straight to the village.

Wang Guifang originally planned to go too, but seeing that Qin Xuemei had gone, she felt it wouldn't be right for her, as the "eldest," not to go, so Xiao Hong persuaded her not to.

Bringing Qin Xuemei out was to help her relax, not for her to come and pay respects. Besides, Qin Xuemei is an orphan who doesn't even know her own parents, so there are no taboos associated with her. Wang Guifang is not suitable. There are quite a few rules and customs surrounding ancestor worship.

It's okay if the baby comes in the future.

Upon entering the village, we first visited the homes of Changyuan Xinghai, Siwei, and Laizi.

Xinghai's family plans to move there next summer, while Changyuan and Siwei's families don't plan to move. They have many children and their elderly parents are also very concerned, so it's hard to persuade them otherwise. They can only take it slowly. Anyway, with Changyuan and Siwei around, the family has no worries about food and clothing, and their lives are getting better and better.

Lai Zi's father's attitude has changed quite a bit, but it's definitely impossible for him to move. I can only feel sorry for Lai Zi's brother, who is tightly bound by the old man.

After visiting several houses, Xiaowei went to the village chief's house to inquire about the village's livestock and crop farming, and to see if there were any difficulties.

The village chief, surnamed Zhao, was a man in his late forties, approaching fifty. His chin was shaved dark, and he carried a pipe at least twice the size of a typical one. His gray hair was styled in the manner of an educated youth, and his smile revealed teeth stained with tobacco.

"Our village is doing alright. We started early, and this year we've had a good harvest of chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, and eggs. We should try to grow even taller next year, as we were a bit hesitant before. Vegetables are a little less impressive, as everyone is just tending to their own land or cultivating uncultivated fields. Next year, I plan to encourage everyone to plant vegetables on at least half of the land."

Farmers are timid; they always have to observe first and be confident before taking action. There's no other way; these few acres are their lifeline. One wrong move and it's all over. Don't worry, don't fret. Next year, I'll definitely make sure everything is in order.

"It's a bit of a hassle not to allow pesticides, I'll think about it some more and see if I can come up with a solution. What brings you back here?"

Xiao Wei said, "I got married, and my dad asked me to come back to visit the graves, fix them up, and put up a tombstone. I'll have to ask you for help with this, Uncle. My grandfather, my great-grandfather, and Xiao Hong's grandfather—we need to clean them all up, build a tombstone, and put it up. How much do you think it will cost? I don't know anything about this."

Village Chief Zhao filled his pipe with tobacco, pressed it down with his hand, and put it in his mouth. He squatted down on the ground as usual, thought for a moment, and said, "It will cost at least six or seven hundred, plus labor costs, it will be a thousand yuan. What kind of repair do you want? Besides, who comes back to repair graves in the middle of winter? It will have to be spring by now."

Xiao Wei said, "It's just about building a fence with bricks and putting up a monument in front. There's no need for anything major."

Village Chief Zhao said, "That won't do. We need to at least clear a small dam, otherwise all the work will be for nothing once the grass grows up. Okay, I understand. I'll find someone for you in the spring. Leave me a message, and I'll let you know when it's done."

Xiao Wei said, "Don't make it too complicated, or it won't sound good later."

Village Chief Zhao waved his hand, lit his pipe, and said, "Don't think about those things. If anyone tells him to come to me, I'll slap him across the face. All the children in the village are in school, eating and living well, raising this and planting that. Everyone knows what's going on. If there's anyone who's not a good person, I'll tell him to get lost."

Xiao Wei said, "No, that's unnecessary. That's really what I think. Don't make it too big. Just build a half-wall around the grave, put a tombstone in front of it, and make sure the base is sturdy. Making it too big is useless; it'll just make people keep talking about it."

Village Chief Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, I'll remember. Don't worry, I'm not old yet. How are your parents? Is your dad's back still acting up?"

Xiao Wei said, "Everything's fine. My dad doesn't have to bend over anymore, and he hasn't had a relapse in the last two years. You guys should come over for a visit sometime, and we old buddies can get together."

Village Chief Zhao said, "Alright, you've made something of yourself. Your parents are finally able to enjoy life. It's just that now all the young men in the village can't stay here anymore. They all want to go to the city to make big money. I don't know what the future holds."

I've been thinking about this lately. People in our village are moving away, and I was thinking, why don't we just relocate the whole village? What do you think? We could move to a place at the crossroads, where there's a lot of traffic, and people could start some small businesses.”

Xiao Wei asked, "The one where the county road forks into our village?"

Village Chief Zhao nodded: "That's it. I've been looking for a long time. The place is flat and there's enough space to build a row of houses. If our whole village moves out, do you think it'll work?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What about the land? How do we get the land?"

Village Chief Zhao said, "The land isn't being cultivated as usual, so come and cultivate it here. When the time comes, destroy these houses here, just keep a few usable ones, and connect the land together."

Look, we can have a lot more land. We can all work together, divided into several groups: some to raise chickens and ducks, some to tend to pigs, some to grow vegetables, and some to grow grain.

If we calculate work points, and everyone gets a share at the end of the year, I feel it would be better than it is now, and we could all earn a little more.

Xiao Hong said, "I feel it can work. Centralized production is definitely better than each company doing its own thing. It's just that there needs to be a system for management and distribution, and it has to be fair."

Qin Xuemei said, "It feels like being in the old production team."

Village Chief Zhao chuckled and said, "Yes, the girl is right. I was thinking of doing it like the production teams. In the early days, the production teams were poor, that was the general trend. Everything belonged to the public, it's not that the production teams themselves were bad. Everyone pitched in and worked together, and the profits were all theirs. There was nothing wrong with that."

Xiao Hong said, "It's basically a collective system, or you could say it's like corporate management. I think it's a good idea."

Xiao Wei said, "The village chief is the manager, and the villagers are the shareholders, right?"

Xiao Hong said, "Yes, that's a fair way to understand it. But we still need to be thorough about this; we need a formal contract and regulations."

Xiao Wei said, "Then we'll have to pay foreign exchange taxes too?"

Xiao Hong said, "No need. It's collective agricultural production; just deliver according to the regulations. There haven't been any changes externally; I'm talking about internally. This isn't something that will happen overnight. Without a procedure, things will get chaotic."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Grandpa, then go ahead and do it. Anyway, as long as production goes up, everyone's income will definitely go up. I can't help with anything else. I'll go back and have a lawyer draft a contract so everyone can sign it and have some protection. Also, if we really have to relocate the village, I'll put in a good word for you with the county."

(End of this chapter)