This is definitely good news!

When the villagers heard that they didn't have to pay and could even buy electricity, what was there to complain about?

As for what Village Chief Huang said, that the money came from the pickled vegetable workshop, they didn't really care.

Although the money earned by the pickled vegetable workshop was distributed according to the work points and the number of people in the village, strictly speaking, the money from the pickled vegetable workshop was also the villagers' money.

But the villagers haven't received any money yet!

This is also why Huang Qinqin wanted Manager Gao's help to get the electricity connected between the Mid-Autumn Festival and the autumn harvest.

After the autumn harvest, the village will distribute the grain, and the pickled vegetable workshop will also distribute the money for the first time.

Although the pickled vegetables were sold to the department store for 15 cents a bottle, Huang Qinqin was well aware of the profit margin of the pickled vegetable workshop. 15 cents was not actually very cheap. If it weren't for the need to buy bottles, Huang Qinqin would not have raised the price.

In addition, the department store orders are not small; in less than half a month, several thousand bottles have already been sold.

The profits from this alone are more than enough for Huangjia Village to pay its electricity bill for a year.

Huang Qinqin actually took advantage of the time difference, taking advantage of the fact that the villagers did not know how profitable the pickled vegetable workshop was, and got them to agree to take money from the profits of the pickled vegetable workshop to pay the electricity bill.

Once the die is cast, even if the villagers are unhappy, it's too late to change anything.

"Village chief, this is great news!"

"Yes, village chief, if we don't have to pay, that's really good news!"

When the villagers agreed, Village Chief Huang explained again, "It's not that we don't have to pay, it's just that the money will come from the village's pickled vegetable workshop. Do you have any objections?"

"If you have any, bring it up now. If not, then everyone should sign this agreement to show that everyone agrees to pay for the electricity from the workshop."

"Village chief, we have no objections!"

"Yes, I have no objection. It's all for the good of the village!"

Village Chief Huang nodded in satisfaction at the villagers' reaction, and then continued, "There's one more thing. I'm planning to build a school in the village once the pickled vegetable workshop starts making money. What do you all think?"

"Of course, building a school is not something that can be decided overnight. I'm just asking for everyone's opinions first."

Build a school?

Many older villagers felt it was unnecessary, since so many people in the village went to primary and junior high school, but in the end they still came back to the village to earn work points.

Besides, aren't students in the city also being sent to the countryside? Aren't those educated youth in the villages all high school or junior high school graduates?

“Village chief, is it really necessary to build a school? The commune already has one.”

"Yes, those who want to go to school will naturally go to the commune. Building a school in the village is a waste!"

"Exactly, and what's the point of studying anyway?"

After one of the villagers said this, everyone fell silent, because the educated youth were also present at the meeting.

Although the educated youth didn't speak, they could still hear them.

After speaking, the woman realized she had misspoke and explained somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, I didn't mean to say anything bad about you, I just think building a school is a bit of a waste..."

In fact, the villagers of Huangjia Village didn't have any complaints about the educated youth. They might have had some complaints at first, but later they found that although the educated youth weren't very good at their work, their attitude was still very good.

They gradually changed their opinion of them. In addition, when the pickled vegetable workshop was established and the educated youth went to the workshop to write labels, the villagers had even less objection to them.

There were only three educated youths in Huangjia Village: Song Mincheng, Li Shun, and Xu Xiaofang. They smiled at the villagers and said, "It's okay, we know you didn't mean anything by it."

After all, although the words were harsh, they were the truth...

Song Mincheng and his team had been in Huangjia Village for some time now, and they knew that the villagers of Huangjia Village had no ill intentions towards them.

Although I might be a bit gossipy at times and say things that aren't very pleasant, I still take good care of them.

Xu Xiaofang, in particular, was the only girl among the three educated youths in the village. The village aunties took good care of her and often gave her some vegetables or something.

Although it wasn't anything valuable, it was all the villagers' goodwill, and Xu Xiaofang was very grateful to them.

Taking advantage of the quiet that everyone had calmed down, Village Chief Huang earnestly said, "I know everyone thinks that studying is useless, but what I want to say is, look at Huang Tiezhu's granddaughter, Huang Qinqin."

"Everyone knows that we sell our pickled vegetables to department stores, but why would a department store want our pickled vegetables? It's all because Qin Yatou helped us make the connection!"

"Then why was she able to help us make the connection? It's because she works as a sales clerk in a department store and is highly regarded by her superiors."

"It's all because they graduated from high school, they're educated, have lots of ideas, and are quick-witted."

“If it were you, even if there were a golden opportunity right now, with signs written on the two forks in the road to guide you, you would still miss it because you can’t read.”

“I know many of you are envious that several young people in the village can work in the department store.”

"But you need to understand, what's the most important prerequisite for them to be able to work in the city? It's because they graduated from junior high or high school!"

"Because they have this qualification, they are able to take the exam. If you can't even meet the most basic requirements, how could you possibly have the opportunity to become a worker?"

"Our generation has no hope, but our next generation, and the generation after that, still have a good chance of shaking off their peasant background, moving to the city, and getting a stable job. Isn't that much better than staying in the village?!"

"And most importantly, once this school is built, it will be free for the villagers. Our pickled vegetable workshop will pay for all the children in our village to attend school."

"This is the main reason why I want to build a school. Of course I know that most of you are unwilling to spend money to send all your children to school, and you don't have the extra money to support their education."

"So now there's an opportunity for them to study for free, aren't you going to take it?!"

After listening to Village Chief Huang's words, the villagers all lowered their heads. They had indeed envied Huang Jiancai and his colleagues for being able to work as laborers in the department store.

At the time, they all thought that Huang Qinqin had pulled strings and used her connections to get them in, but if they asked themselves honestly, was that really the case?