As the village chief helped Chen Hong unload the fish boxes from the truck bed, he said to her, "It's nothing serious, I just came to ask you."

Wang Guifa, that is, Wang Qing's father, came to my door asking to borrow 50,000 yuan. Should we agree or not?

Chen Hong paused, considered for a moment, and asked, "Uncle, is he borrowing money from you personally or from our hotel?"

The village chief smiled wryly: "How could an old man like me lend him 50,000 yuan?"

He doesn't know you well and is too embarrassed to come directly to your door to borrow money. So, I don't know what he was thinking, he asked me to ask you if he could borrow money from a hotel.

Chen Hong: "Uncle, how much money do we have in our hotel's account? Is there any money we can lend out?"

Also, the hotel belongs to all three of us. Have you discussed it with Uncle Erhu? Does he agree?

The village chief has already spoken with Uncle Erhu. Although Chen Hong said it was a business partnership between the three families, it was actually Chen Hong who was taking care of them.

It wasn't just his and Erhu's families; Xiaohao's and Wang Xin's families didn't send anyone to participate in the management work, but they also hoped to sell agricultural products from the hotel!

These profits should rightfully belong to Chen Hong, and they should be receiving their monthly salaries.

The hotel received its vegetables, eggs, and poultry delivered on the spot and paid immediately; they didn't contribute a single penny to the hotel.

He and Erhu were the only two people in charge of managing the hotel's purchasing; they didn't do much else.

They should be concerned and helpful, but whether Chen Hong shares their money or not is none of their business.

With the wages of the whole family and the money from selling agricultural products, they earned quite a bit at the small hotel.

"Chen Hong, we still have about 300,000 yuan in our account, which is all our profits from the first half of the year."

Erhu and I have discussed it, and we'll listen to you on this matter.

I've already told Wang Guifa that the hotel business is a business for all of us, and you're the major shareholder. The two of us can't run it.

I told him to wait for news. Fifty thousand yuan is no small sum, and we definitely need to discuss it.

Your Uncle Erhu and I mean that our inn is doing well, and everyone in the village knows that.

When Wang Guifa encounters an emergency and asks us for help, it's really hard to refuse. Otherwise, he might end up coming to our door to borrow money.

Borrowing money would be difficult. I'm afraid that if this starts, other people in the village will ask the hotel for help with everything.

"Our small business can't withstand that; a few times and our shop will go out of business!"

Chen Hong understood this principle as well. Living in the countryside involves too many factors, and most of the difficulties and conflicts arise internally.

When outsiders cause trouble, villagers will genuinely lend a hand. However, when internal conflicts arise, they can truly become a hindrance.

This matter really can't be handled poorly. If you don't help the villagers when they need something, Chen Hong's fishing boat is moored at the village's dock, and most of his cargo is shipped out from there.

The hotel usually supplements its fish catch by fishing boats from the villagers.

Furthermore, with tourists coming and going in the village, the hotel will become increasingly prosperous. Without building good relationships with the villagers and creating a harmonious tourism environment, it won't work.

Chen Hong thought for a moment and said to the village chief, "Uncle, then let's lend it! But there has to be a proper way to say it."

Our hotel's money is considered public funds, so we can't just borrow money from the villagers privately and take it without a word.

There was no receipt, no repayment date; they just lent the money based on credit. This is a joint business involving several partners, not any one person's personal deposit.

We've worked so hard for the past six months, and we haven't even received a single penny for ourselves. We've already given money to others in their time of need.

You can lend him money, but make him write an IOU, sign it, and put his fingerprint on it. Set a repayment date so he can't overdue the repayment.

If he's really overdue, make him pay the interest. We can't let him drag his feet and make excuses to delay payment, nor can we let it interfere with our year-end settlement.

In addition, he also needs to find his clan chief to vouch for him.

We helped him, so we should at least make sure his entire clan understands what happened! In case of any subsequent economic disputes, we'll be in the right.

This will also make the villagers understand that unless it's something truly serious and requires serious intervention, they shouldn't keep asking us for help.

We're just a small, insignificant family; we don't have the ability to be their ATM.

Besides, if business goes well in the second half of the year, our hotel will need to set aside money to buy another boat.

Otherwise, when Xiaofeng and Xiaohao's father, Wang Xin's father, come back, we can't just leave them idle!

The village chief was overjoyed to hear this, as Chen Hong had arranged employment for all the male laborers from several families.

Clearly defining the procedures for borrowing money is a good approach. Anyone with a modicum of self-respect will have to find a way to pay it back as soon as the whole village knows they owe money.

"Okay, I got it. I knew you were reliable! I'll also set up a separate ledger to record all the loan procedures and IOUs."

You know what, if someone in the village encounters a major event in the future, they might actually need to borrow money. Keeping a ledger specifically for this purpose will make things more organized.

Chen Hong was relieved that the village chief had taken care of it. He'd been a village official for most of his life; he'd surely handle this matter thoroughly.

With the village chief involved, no one in the village would dare to default on their debts. Of course, everyone in the village would also know the village chief's influence, further enhancing his prestige within the village.

With the village chief gaining more prestige, the work in the village and the operation of the hotel are more secure.

Actually, Chen Hong doesn't really need the 50,000 yuan. However, she really can't lend it to the villagers.

It's not good to let the villagers get used to it. What if they start asking her for money for everything in the future? Should she lend it to them or not?

If I lend it to someone, it means we have no real relationship; if I don't lend it, I risk offending them.

Not only will no one be grateful, but they might even develop resentment towards Chen Hong.

With the village chief and the hotel in front of them, it served as the best buffer between the villagers and Chen Hong.

Chen Hong wasn't worried that the villagers would empty the hotel, since villagers were all concerned about their reputation and few would be willing to take on debt unless they were truly in trouble.

The majority of people in rural areas are still simple and honest. As long as these people approve, there will be no problem for Chen Hong to live a happy life in Yujia Village.

Regarding what happened to Wang Qing's family, Chen Hong has done everything she could, providing both manpower and financial assistance.

The village has always had a very good opinion of her, and Chen Hong is very satisfied with this result.

In rural areas, it's not enough to just have money; you also need a good reputation and prestige.

Having gained a good reputation and prestige in the village, one could not be said to be able to walk around with impunity, but at least no one would dare to provoke or bully them.

Although Chen Hong now lives alone in Yujia Village, no one in the village dares to underestimate her.

She donated half of the money for the construction of the village's dock, and she also stepped in to help villagers when they needed it.

Although we didn't need to use her this time, her fighting skills are quite intimidating and can give people courage.

When people have financial difficulties, they can borrow money from her hotel to tide them over. What more can be said? Everyone in the village thinks that Chen Hong is a really good person!

Everyone wants to befriend someone as wealthy and kind as him, especially since the village chief and his brother are also involved; they are true locals.