Seeing the expression on Qian's second son's face, Zhao Lizheng assumed that he was unwilling, so he stared at him warily and with a warning.
If anyone dares to say anything unpleasant, he, the village head, will teach them a lesson.
The second son of the Qian family snorted: "If Lian'er says that, then he is treating us like outsiders. After this heavy rain, our crops are safe and sound, and we are just waiting for a bumper harvest in half a month. It's all thanks to Lian'er."
“Right now, Lian’er needs to build a house and is waiting for materials to be transported from the county town. The road to the county town is blocked and needs to be cleared. We’ll clear it for you. What’s the cost?”
“Lian’er also said he would give us money, but I felt terrible when I heard that. We owe Lian’er so much that we could never repay him in eight lifetimes.”
“Yes, for such a small matter, Lian’er only needs to say a word, and we’ll immediately grab our shovels and spades to clear the way. If they give us money back, wouldn’t that shorten our lifespan?” a villager echoed.
Immediately, another villager said, "In the years to come, we won't have to worry about our crops being flooded. Just thinking about this makes me feel at ease. Lian'er has done a great job. How about we help Lian'er's family clear that road every year?"
"Yes, we help every year."
Seeing everyone say this, Zhao Lizheng looked pleased and nodded with a smile. These are the villagers of Datian Village.
“It’s good that everyone has this intention. That’s right, Lian’er is a hero of our Datian Village. It’s not right to ask her for money.”
However, several families were unwilling because their farmland was on higher ground and had never been flooded in previous years. Among them were the Shen family and the Song family.
Compared to the Shen family, the Song family looked even uglier.
They had been craning their necks in anticipation when the bridge was washed away by the flood.
Even if the river channel is deepened and diversion channels are created, some of the water will still overflow to both banks due to the rapid flow, affecting crops.
They will seize on this point and make the Qiao family return the divorce papers, so that Qiao Yunni will continue to bear the reputation of being abandoned by the Song family. The divorce papers will also be nullified, and Qiao Lian'er will still be the daughter of the Song family. All the money she earns will have to be handed over to the Song family.
But to my surprise, that bridge was indeed very sturdy and stood firmly in place.
Their last hope was thus extinguished.
These past two days, the whole village has been celebrating the saving of their crops, and every family is happier and more excited than the last, except for the Song family, whose faces are all long and drawn.
So when the villagers saw the Song family, they thought their faces were longer than normal.
Just as Song Laoda was about to voice his objections, Zhao Lizheng had already noticed the expressions on their faces.
His tone turned colder as he said, "Opening the road is based on the principle of voluntariness, not coercion. Those who want to go can go, and those who don't want to go don't have to."
These families breathed a sigh of relief; they definitely wouldn't go.
However, Shen's eyes lit up and she had an idea.
This is a great opportunity to make money, why not take it?
Everyone dispersed, but Madam Shen asked the Song family to stay.
"What do you want?" Old Song frowned. She was just a woman, yet she acted like she was in charge, which was practically challenging his authority.
“Oh, my husband, I only asked everyone to stay because I had a way to make money. Whether or not to do it is still up to you to decide,” Madam Shen said in a softened tone.
Boss Song's expression softened a bit: "Tell me, I want to see what kind of money-making schemes you can come up with."
The second branch of the family was also watching Shen.
After looking around and seeing that no one was around, Madam Shen said, "Other families didn't ask the Qiao family for money because they saved their crops. Our crops weren't affected either, so we'll go and work too, but we'll have to ask the Qiao family for our share of the money."
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