Chapter 172 What to Enjoy? How Long?

Just as An Songyu and his friends were getting bored and preparing to secretly find a place to chat,

A villager from Jiangcun, who lived not far from their homes, suddenly raised his voice and asked:

“Jianguo, I remember the time when your companies started, it doesn’t seem to have been much later than the village collective’s company!”

“The village collective’s company has already made a profit.”

"Your company must have made quite a bit of money too, right?"

Upon hearing this, the people nearby immediately looked over.

Even those who were originally having a lively discussion all promptly shut up.

This situation also affected other people around them.

In a very short time, the entire area around An Songyu and his group fell silent.

An Jianguo frowned slightly as he looked at the reactions of the people around him.

He knew that today's punishment would be for those spendthrift sons in the village.

The village committee repeatedly brought their family out as a positive example to learn from.

This made many people in the village feel uncomfortable.

After thinking for a moment, he didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked it in return:

"So how is your family doing now?"

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong with our family now'? What else can we be like? It's just the same as always!" The person who asked the question laughed self-deprecatingly.

Then, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the volume of his voice increased a few notches:

"Didn't everyone hear that just now? My family has produced two spendthrift sons. Not to mention them, even we elders are implicated and said to have failed to raise our children and grandchildren properly!"

“This grandson really needs to be taught!” An Jianguo nodded in agreement.

"If we don't teach them well, it won't just be a problem for our children and grandchildren."

However, his words angered many people.

Many villagers were already dissatisfied with the village committee's punishments.

But before the village committee punishes everyone.

We have already discussed it with the elders of each family.

So even if everyone is unhappy, under the pressure of their elders, they can only complain in private.

But now, An Jianguo, in front of everyone, gave everyone another dressing down.

Among everyone present, who doesn't have a spendthrift son? Can they swallow this insult?

However, before the people in the crowd could react...

An Jianguo then changed the subject: "As for my family's company..."

Upon hearing his words, several people in the crowd, whose faces were dark and who were about to stand up, couldn't help but pause slightly.

Then there were others nearby who were even more eager to hear about it, some whispering words of advice, others pulling on the person.

In an instant, the area around An Songyu's family returned to its previous state.

"Strictly speaking, although it has the name of a company, it is actually more about finding something for us brothers who have lost our way to make a living."

An Jianguo spoke with a touch of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret).

I couldn't help but think back to the initial ideas of those families when they started these companies, almost by chance.

But some people in Jiangcun believed him, while others did not.

Some people listened thoughtfully.

Some people, however, burst into laughter.

Some even said directly, "Brother Jianguo, you're too kind!"

“When the demolition took place, your family of several brothers had the most residential land in the village.”

"Putting everything else aside, the houses we get allocated in the future will be among the best in the entire village."

"With this, why would you need to worry about supporting your family?"

"With those houses, not only your generation, but also your son and grandson will not have to worry about making a living."

"So, what should we do?" An Jianguo asked, staring intently at the person who had just spoken.

He was actually one of the people punished by the village committee this time.

Among middle-aged people, it is rare that they have not been burdened by their children and grandchildren.

One of the most unworthy people in my life.

However, he did not act like those gamblers or gambling dens.

They either lose miserably themselves or they go and harm others.

It's just... a huge sum of money fell into their laps after the demolition, and they just wanted to enjoy life.

It's just that his way of enjoying himself wasn't exactly respectable.

The man was being stared at by An Jianguo.

The man not only didn't back down in the slightest, but instead said even more matter-of-factly, "Of course we're going to enjoy ourselves!"

"Think about how hard we've worked for most of our lives!"

What have you enjoyed?

"When we were young, we worked ourselves to the bone, and we couldn't even fill our own stomachs."

"Even when we were finally able to fill our stomachs, the whole family, big and small, still needed to repair and build houses, and we still didn't have a penny left in our pockets?"

"Moreover, the money was spent on myself."

"The old man has eyes! We've finally encountered this demolition compensation. Why aren't we enjoying it? What are we waiting for?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately caused a stir among many people in Jiangcun.

Even people who weren't paying attention to them before stopped chatting and looked over.

An Jianguo could not deny the other party's reasoning.

He smiled and nodded, then asked:

"So what are you planning to enjoy? And for how long?"

"Enjoy what?" The man's eyes darted around for a while, but he ultimately didn't reveal his true feelings.

After all, the village committee members had already left.

But the elders of each family are still alive!

The troubles he's been dealing with these past few months aren't too serious.

At most, it just means I participated in gambling a few more times.

What they did was a bit disorganized.

But whether he was gambling or betting on horses, he always knew exactly what he was doing.

There are wins and losses!

The village committee could only say that the atmosphere he fostered was bad.

He was fined a quarter of the village's collective income.

And the penalty for postponing the payment of the second-quarter dividend.

Among the group of people who were punished, his punishment was naturally not the most severe.

But it's not the lightest either.

Therefore, none of his current ways of enjoying life can be openly discussed in front of others.

He's not stupid.

The village collective's profits are generated through a village collective company established in the name of all the villagers.

It is a share that only the villagers of Jiangcun can enjoy!

Even according to regulations, the villagers who are punished like them will not have their share of the profits deducted directly.

Instead, it will become the village collective's income, used for further investment and redistribution.

But that is also his own right.

How could he possibly give up everything just for a little bit of enjoyment?

An Jianguo watched him for a long time without answering or urging him.

But after looking around at the villagers of Jiangcun, he sighed slightly and said:

"I don't know what everyone else thinks!"

"To be honest, even now, I'm still a bit confused about what kind of life I want to live in the future."

"Just as he just said, there are peers and elders of our age, and even older ones."

"Who hasn't gone through tough times?"

"Now that Jiangcun has been demolished, we've been compensated with houses and money. Why can't we enjoy those benefits?"

"But how should we enjoy it?"

"What should we enjoy?"

"How long will this enjoyment last?"