Bai Zhiman's words reminded everyone of Bai Shiqing's husband, Li Shuxian, whose father, Li Shiqing, was a universally acknowledged good man.

Bai Shibao said, "Father, there are so many people with the surname Li, surely we can find one or two good people among them."

He didn't understand Bai Zhiman's meaning at all. Bai Zhiman breathed a long sigh of relief and didn't continue the discussion.

It's unclear how Li Lide got back, but after everyone finished dinner, the village secretary used the village loudspeaker to notify all villagers to go to the stage for a meeting.

Without a doubt, it's because of Li Lide's matter.

Zheng Xu didn't want to waste a moment. He was so angry with Li Lide that he was practically fuming. He hadn't even eaten lunch after returning in the afternoon. He immediately convened a meeting of the village cadres and called on the village's party members to join him. Everyone unanimously agreed to remove Li Lide from office.

While waiting for Li Lide to return, Zheng Xu wrote a report, detailing Li Lide's misdeeds with such force that his words seemed to penetrate the paper.

In the past, Li Lide would sit in the middle of the wooden table on the stage during meetings, but today it was just Zheng Xu and the village secretary.

The news that Li Lide had secretly sabotaged the rope factory and caused them to stop cooperating with their village had already spread when Li Shuxian distributed the ropes to everyone.

Li Lide was extremely uncomfortable in the audience, and his family members wouldn't speak to him.

"I'm sure you can all guess why I've called you all here today. Our village chief, Comrade Li Lide, secretly contacted a rope factory and cut off our village's cooperation with them, which has had a terrible impact on our village. If the women's director and I hadn't gone today, this matter would probably never have been resolved."

If they hadn't happened to be there once, they would have missed such a good opportunity.

Both village officials, Zheng Xu and Zhou Hongxia, were present at the scene. Zhou Hongxia was also a member of the Li family, so there was no question of her helping anyone. In addition, two commune members, Bai Jiaojiao and Li Shuxian, were also present. The cooperation with the rope factory had been restored, and Li Lide's evil deeds were beyond doubt.

Everyone understood that Li Lide was about to fall from power, and they all began to curse him from below.

Zheng Xu reached out to silence the commotion: "Our leadership team has collectively discussed and requested the removal of Li Lide from his position as village chief. This has also been unanimously agreed upon by the party representatives. Comrade Li Lide, will you resign voluntarily, or will you ask me to submit a report and await instructions from higher authorities?"

"I formally request to step down as village chief, hoping that capable comrades in our village can do a better job."

Li Lide, being a man of principle, stood up and calmly agreed to step down, avoiding making the matter any more ugly.

He knew that even if he disagreed, there was nothing he could do to change the situation.

This result is absolutely gratifying.

“He should have stepped down long ago. Look at what he’s done to the village these past few years.”

"If there hadn't been so many people with the surname Li back then, and if their branch hadn't been so wealthy, would Li Lide have been able to become the village chief?"

"He never takes anything seriously and only drags things down. He was the least helpful during the autumn harvest, otherwise we would definitely have been able to complete the task perfectly!"

Now everyone started saying things they hadn't dared to say before.

When Li Lide sat down, he glanced at the people sitting there, and his gaze lingered on Bai Jiaojiao for a moment.

Bai Jiaojiao smiled at him and mouthed, "Serves you right."

Li Lide clasped his hands tightly, and Bai Jiaojiao saw his shoulders tremble slightly, which made her smile even more.

Things were progressing more smoothly than Zheng Xu had imagined. He continued, "Then the village chief position will be temporarily handled by me and our village party secretary. However, the position cannot be vacant for too long, so our village will hold another election. Anyone who meets the requirements can register now, or you can go back and think about it. I will give you two days to consider. The election list will be announced at that time, and the election date is to be determined."

These words stirred up many people's interest. Li Lide had been re-elected for several terms, and previous elections were just formalities; usually, no one would be replaced. Take that old Party Secretary, for example; he had served his entire life since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Li Lide's dismissal for his offense has given everyone a sense of relief, like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Two people signed up on the spot: one was from the Li family, and the other was from the Chen family, who was related to Huang Meijuan's husband's family.

Bai Jiaojiao glanced at Li Shiqing, who sat as steady as a bell, showing no intention of running for office.

Bai Zhiman's point about eating was that the villagers would definitely trust Li Shiqing to be the village chief, and that Li Shiqing's character was impeccable.

Of the two candidates, the one surnamed Li is usually very close to Li Lide, so he's probably not a good person either. Bai Jiaojiao doesn't know much about the Chen family, but remembering the deeds of Huang Meijuan's father-in-law, she temporarily keeps her opinion of him to herself.

When Bai Shiqing went to Bai Jiaojiao's house to make pastries, Bai Jiaojiao asked Bai Shiqing, "Why didn't Uncle Qing participate in the election? He has such a good mass base. If he lets such a good opportunity slip by, he won't get another chance."

Bai Shiqing said, "My father-in-law is such a kind old man, he doesn't like to compete with others."

“You know Li Chenggong better than I do. There are many people with the surname Li in our village. If he is elected, won’t our village still be the same as before? They say that a new official takes office and the land is barren. Sigh, if he takes over, we won’t be able to live for the next two years.”

Bai Shiqing's eyes darted around: "You're right. My mother-in-law is trying to persuade him at home, but my father-in-law just won't agree no matter what. Tsk, I'll go back and talk to him about this, maybe I can convince him."

“Go back and tell Uncle Qing that his surname is Li. If he runs for office, you can at least get some votes from people with the surname Li and prevent him from being elected.”

“You’re right. He’s not even as good as Li Lide. At least Li Lide can maintain appearances. Li Chenggong is the kind of person who makes people suffer in silence.”

Bai Shiqing has lived in Shili Village for so many years that she knows every villager's temperament very well.

Bai Jiaojiao nodded: "Second sister, you have to step up your game. Dad said the same thing last night. If Uncle Qing is elected, our whole family will vote for him."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to persuade him."

Bai Shiqing went back and relayed Bai Jiaojiao's words to Li Shiqing, causing Li Shiqing's originally firm attitude to soften somewhat.

Li's mother knew Li Shiqing best, and seeing him like this, she immediately added fuel to the fire: "When Li Lide was in power, you were always at home criticizing him for everything he did wrong. Now that you have the opportunity to do it, you don't want to serve the people anymore."

"When did I say I didn't want to serve the people?" Li Shiqing straightened his back. "But I'm afraid I'm not capable enough. Do you think being a village chief is an easy job?"

"Dad, what are you afraid of? If you won't do it, I will."

"Who told you to do this, you little brat?" Li Shiqing kicked Li Shuxian.