"But..." Shen Qiqi's voice, with a hint of worry, broke the celebratory tranquility.

Lu Qing followed her gaze and saw that the few dilapidated houses on the east end of the village looked particularly abrupt under the dazzling fireworks, like an ugly patch abruptly stitched on brocade.

Some of the poorest families in the village live there. They are usually very quiet and today they didn't even join the celebration.

The two of them felt a chill in their hearts, and the joy of the festival was gradually replaced by another emotion.

Beneath this lively scene, there seems to be something hidden, like a time bomb that may explode at any time.

The next morning, Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing came to the village's resource allocation office.

It is called a distribution office, but it is actually just an open space in front of the village committee. Several tables are put together, with some farm tools, seeds and daily necessities piled on them.

These are all the resources the village has recently acquired.

The air was filled with a tense atmosphere. The villagers gathered here early. The arrival of Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing undoubtedly gave them a reassurance, but the frowns on their faces greatly reduced the effect of this reassurance.

The distribution area was crowded with people and whispers could be heard everywhere.

"Hey, how much do you think we can get this time? My child's shoes are all broken and we need a new pair urgently." "I heard there aren't many things this time, I don't know if there will be enough to share..." "I have a big family, so we have to get more!"

These words pierced Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing's hearts like needles. They knew very well that resources were scarce and the distribution rules were chaotic. The seeds of conflict had already been planted and would burst out at any opportunity.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before a quarrel broke out among the crowd.

A burly man snatched the farm tool from the table and yelled at a skinny old man next to him, "I saw this first! Why should I give it to you?" The old man didn't show any weakness and held on to the farm tool tightly, saying, "I have a lot of land, and I need this thing more than anything else!"

Seeing that the quarrel was about to turn into a melee, Lu Qing hurried forward to stop it, but the emotions of the crowd had already been ignited and the situation was out of control for a while.

Shen Qiqi looked at the chaotic scene in front of her, her heart filled with anxiety, and the oppressive atmosphere made her breathless.

"Qiqi, what should we do?" Lu Qing's voice was particularly clear in the noisy environment.

Shen Qiqi took a deep breath, her eyes firm: "We can't follow the old rules anymore..."

Shen Qiqi cleared her throat and said loudly: "Dear fellow villagers, please be quiet! We will not follow the old rules for this distribution!" This sentence was like a stone thrown into the lake, stirring up a thousand waves.

The originally chaotic crowd instantly quieted down, and everyone's eyes were focused on Shen Qiqi, with confusion written all over their faces.

"Not following the old rules? Then what rules should we follow?" A sharp voice emerged from the crowd, with a hint of doubt and dissatisfaction.

Shen Qiqi smiled faintly, confident: "The rule is based on the combination of contribution and demand! The more you work, the more you get, and distribution is based on need!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd exploded.

"What is this? Contribution? How is contribution calculated?" "I have many children at home and the needs are great. How is this calculated?" Various questions came up one after another like a group of chirping sparrows.

Seeing this, Lu Qing stepped forward to explain, "Qiqi means that this time, the distribution will not only be based on the number of people in each family, but also on each family's contribution to the village collective. For example, whichever family participates more frequently in village construction and contributes more effort will receive more resources."

"This... seems to make sense." Someone muttered softly.

"Yes, we can't just eat and not work!" Some people agreed.

An atmosphere of curiosity and anticipation spread throughout the village, like a spring breeze blowing across the fields, bringing new vitality.

But not everyone is buying it.

"Why? My family has been here for generations. Haven't they made enough contributions? Now we want to divide it based on contribution. Isn't this bullying honest people?" A bloated woman put her hands on her hips and shouted at the top of her voice. Several relatives behind her also followed suit.

"That's right! This new rule clearly favors those who are good at talking!"

Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing looked at each other, having expected someone to jump out and object.

This group of people are usually lazy and idle, so they will naturally be furious if the new plan affects their interests.

"Aunt Wang, what you said is wrong. Everyone can see who has made the greatest contribution to the village collective. If you feel it is unfair, you can tell us about your contribution and let everyone judge it." Shen Qiqi responded neither servilely nor arrogantly, with a hint of deterrence in her tone.

"I...I..." Aunt Wang hesitated for a long time and couldn't make any sense.

Her relatives also stopped making any noise and dared not say a word.

The tense atmosphere intensified in the village, like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to explode at any moment.

The other villagers were like fence-sitters, watching this war without gunpowder.

"Since everyone has no objection..." Shen Qiqi paused and took out a thick booklet from her pocket, "Then I will talk about the specific distribution plan."

Shen Qiqi flipped open the thick booklet, and the crisp sound echoed like a string of wind chimes over the noisy village committee grounds.

"Don't worry, folks! The fun is about to begin!" She pointed to the densely packed data in the booklet and said word by word, "This is a record of everyone's contributions to the village during this period. It's written in black and white, and it's honest!"

She first threw out a set of data, comparing the income gap between hardworking households and lazy households. The data was shocking. Those lazy people were like being stripped naked, standing awkwardly in the sun, wishing they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!

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