After dinner, each family, young and old, went to the ancestral hall together, carrying torches.

All the two or three month old babies in the family were brought over. There was no room for them to sit in the ancestral hall, so they stood outside the gate. It was more orderly than even killing wolves during the New Year.

Every family brought a torch, and the light from the flames made the ancestral hall brighter than in the daytime.

The village chief had announced in advance that all villagers aged eight and above could vote in the election for the new village chief.

This made Dalang and Erlang very excited. They took their own skewers, ate their dinner in two big mouthfuls, and stood in the yard urging everyone to hurry up.

Qin Yao hadn't eaten enough yet, so she asked Awang to take them to the ancestral hall first, and she stayed behind alone to enjoy the delicious dinner slowly before leaving.

The election at the ancestral hall has already begun.

The village chief read out the names on the list. The people whose names were called were surprised and excited, and hurriedly stood up and stood in the open space in the middle of the ancestral hall.

Each person has a tall bamboo tube in front of him. Villagers can put their signatures into the bamboo tube of the person they support, and finally choose the one with the highest number to be the next village chief.

There are five candidates on the list for village chief.

They are Liu Dafu, who has a high seniority in the village, Liu Qi, a young and promising man, Liu Yang, the eldest son of the clan leader, Liu Ji, a disciple of a great Confucian scholar who has already become a student, and Liu Bo, the general manager of the stationery factory's fleet.

When Qin Yao arrived, voting had already started for a while.

Dalang and Erlang have not cast their lots yet.

"Uncle Awang, do you think we should vote for my father or my uncle?" Dalang asked a little entangledly.

The villagers' voting criteria were very simple and crude. They were not actually very satisfied with the five candidates, so they chose to vote for the one they were closest to.

In this regard, Liu Dafu, Liu Qi, and Liu Yang from the clan leader's family have obvious advantages.

But even so, only their family members have cast lots in the bamboo tubes in front of the three people.

The remaining villagers were still hesitant, because everyone felt that these five people were missing something and were not really satisfactory.

Liu Dafu was a pretty nice person to his tenants, but he was a little too calculative and concerned about his reputation, which is commonly known as being petty.

If he becomes the village chief, he will be the boss who has the final say in the village. Most families in the village rent their land from him. If he takes advantage of his power in the future, no one will have any way to seek redress.

Liu Qi is a good kid. He has traveled far away and is more experienced than other kids in the village. He is also capable of taking on responsibilities.

The bad thing is that he is too young and energetic, a little impulsive and not steady enough.

Liu Yang, from the clan leader's family, was a steady person, even too steady, and he was quiet. He had done a lot of things for the village, and he had participated in every one of them, but few people in the village remembered him.

If he became the village chief, no one would know how to talk to him.

As for Liu Bo, he is pretty good in all aspects, except that he can't read a few words, and he doesn't have any special qualities. All I can say is that choosing him won't be wrong, but he won't be better either.

In comparison, Liu Ji, the disciple of the great Confucian scholar, is quite good.

He has a domineering wife at home. If he is chosen as the village chief, wouldn’t it be the same as choosing Qin Yao as the village chief?

Apart from anything else, at least Liujia Village will never be bullied, and it can also become a well-known village in the surrounding area!

but!

Thinking of Liu Ji's unruly character in the past and the same unruly character today, the villagers shuddered in unison.

But we dare not let him be the village chief, otherwise, who knows what kind of situation Liujia Village will be in because of him.

Looking at the hesitant villagers, Awang patted the shoulders of the two struggling teenagers and gave them a good idea, "If neither of you is satisfied, you can give up."

The two brothers heard it and said, "Yes! If you are not satisfied, you don't have to vote!"

But just as Dalang and Erlang were about to throw away the sticks, a sweet female voice suddenly sounded in the corner.

He asked, "Why is the name of Qin Yao, the chief steward, not there?"

The sound is not loud, but very penetrating.

The villagers who were still discussing in low voices about who to elect suddenly fell silent and looked towards the source of the voice in surprise.

Yin Le was lying on the top of the wall, with He who had helped her climb up the wall beside her.

Seeing everyone in the ancestral hall looking at her, He's heart skipped a beat and she really regretted not covering Yin Le's mouth.

He thought to herself: Yue Niang, you should pay more attention!

He quickly got down from the wall and ran away.

Yin Le did have a bit of a rebellious streak in him, so he simply climbed down the wall and walked in through the main entrance of the ancestral hall.

The villagers looked at her in shock and subconsciously made way for her.

Yin Le walked unimpeded to several candidates, pointed at them, and asked again:

"Since they were selected, why can't Qin Zongguan, who is better than them in every aspect, be selected?"

Faced with such sharp questioning, the ancestral hall remained silent for half a cup of tea.

Then someone said, "How can a woman be the village chief?"

Yin Le glanced over sharply and saw that the person who spoke was Liu Yang from the clan leader's family.

The way he looked at her was as if he was looking at some extremely evil traitor.

Yin Le didn't expect that this person looked younger than Liu Dafu, but his brain was more stubborn than Liu Dafu.

At least when she asked this question just now, Liu Dafu didn't have the confidence to refute.

Liu Yang was actually very nervous when facing Yin Le's scrutinizing gaze, because as soon as he said it, he realized how far-fetched the reasons he gave were when applied to Qin Yao, and he was afraid that Yin Le would retort.

However, she did not argue with him, nor did she argue about the difference between men and women. She just turned around and faced all the villagers in Liujia Village and asked loudly, "Who do you think can be the village chief?"

Erlang looked back at Uncle Awang, who nodded slightly to indicate that he would speak if he wanted to. Erlang immediately trotted over to the villagers and said:

"Whoever has the ability to lead our Liujia Village to a better future will be the village chief!"

After saying that, he quickly slipped back and raised his eyebrows proudly at his elder brother and his twin brother and sister.

After being reminded by Erlang and Yin Le, the villagers who had been hesitating finally realized why they were picking on the faults of those on the candidate list.

Because they already have the answer in their hearts!

That person was neither Liu Dafu, Liu Qi, Liu Yang, nor Liu Ji or Liu Gong, but Qin Yao.

"Village head, please add Steward Qin's name!"

The person who said this was actually Liu Qi.

Before the village chief could be shocked, another villager said, "Please add Madam Qin's name!"

"Add Qin Yao's name!"

Yunniang and Qiu, who were outside the crowd, echoed the loud shout from afar.

Afraid of being discovered, they hid back under the tree after shouting. Then the two looked at each other and laughed with their hands covering their mouths, their eyes as bright as burning fire.

Yin Le listened to Qin Yao's shouts, the corners of his mouth curved up, with a look of concealing his achievements and fame, and turned around to leave.

However, when she reached the gate of the ancestral hall, she didn't expect that a hand pressed down on her shoulder.

Yin Le was startled and looked up, seeing Qin Yao's face with a half-smile on it.

The corners of his mouth that were raised under the face mask instantly drooped.

"Benefactor! I, I..."

A finger gently touched her lips through the face towel, and Yin Le swallowed back the words of explanation.

The expected condemnation did not come.

Qin Yao patted Yin Le on the shoulder, strode past her, came to the center of the ancestral hall, and smiled brightly at the villagers who were looking at her in surprise.

She said: "Since I can't refuse your kindness, I will boldly write my name on it."

After saying this, he turned around and looked around, but couldn't find any extra tall buckets for casting lots, so he took the empty bucket that was only used for memorial services beside the table in the ancestral hall and placed it in front of him, then stood with the other five candidates.

Masters, please vote!