Chapter 483 Sharp Questions
"Xu Zhengrui!"
The village head suddenly raised his voice.
Having served as village head for so many years, this was the first time he had felt an overwhelming rage.
He wanted to explain, but he didn't want to. If he needed to explain for the villagers to believe him, then he might as well not explain at all.
Patriarch Xu took a step back after being yelled at, but the Xu family members supported him from behind, which gave him some strength.
He continued, "The village head's proposal to expand the market shouldn't cost more than 1,700 taels of silver. I'm worried that once the market is completed, our dividends will be overdrawn, and we might have to make up for it with some more money..."
"Xu Zhengrui, what you're saying is too much!" Old Mrs. Zhu's lips trembled with anger. "If your Xu family suspects that the village head is embezzling funds, then take your principal and get out!"
Old Man Zhao was also quite angry: "When your entire Xu family moved to Dahe Village, if it weren't for our Zhao family's acceptance of you, you wouldn't have the good life you have now..."
“Why bring up the past? We’re all from Dahe Village.” Zhang Wulai stepped forward, biting a blade of grass. “Actually, I think Chief Xu’s words make sense. The ledger is in Tiezhu’s hands. He can write whatever he wants. We really don’t know if it’s true or false. So what? Can’t we, people with minority surnames, raise questions?”
The main surname in Dahe Village is Zhao, but there are many other surnames as well. Later, migrants joined, and there were even more people with different surnames.
The Zhao family naturally supported their own, while among the lesser-surnamed people, only Old Lady Zhu firmly believed in the village head; the other lesser-surnamed people remained silent.
Aunt Wang and her husband originally wanted to side with the Zhao family, but a look from the clan chief put them in a difficult position, so they chose to compromise.
Standing atop a high rock, the village headman surveyed the entire village's movements, a sense of disappointment spreading across his face.
"It's a good thing that everyone is speaking their minds."
Cheng Wanwan's soft laughter suddenly rang out.
Her smile wasn't sarcastic; it was a genuine laugh.
When a village develops too quickly, problems will inevitably arise. In the face of interests, anyone can turn against you. Fortunately, the problems were exposed relatively early, allowing for timely remediation of systemic deficiencies.
She walked towards the big locust tree, and the crowd parted to make way for her.
She looked at the village head, whose face was ashen, and said in a gentle voice, "Uncle Village Head, you are the leader of our village. Because of your leadership, life in Dahe Village has been getting better and better. Uncle Village Head, you are in such a position. In most of your life, you must have heard nothing but good things, whether they are sincere or hypocritical. In short, Uncle Village Head, you must have never heard such harsh words before, right?"
The village head nodded, explaining his extreme anger, which stemmed from the fact that he had never been questioned before.
“Today, it was Chief Xu who raised the question, but it’s clear that he’s not the only one with doubts. Why do so many people have doubts, but only Chief Xu dares to raise them?” Cheng Wanwan said slowly. “Because the villagers are used to being managed by Uncle Lizheng and me. No matter what we do or what we propose, the villagers will think it’s right. Gradually, even if there are things that are wrong, everyone will become habitually blind to them.”
"Because the village head is the village head, and because I am from Sui'an, even if we are wrong, no one dares to point it out."
"If Chief Xu's questioning today is suppressed, then such sharp criticisms will likely disappear forever. One day, when Granny Zhu gently inquires whether the accounts are wrong, that gentle voice will sound harsh. Slowly, everyone in the village will fall silent, not asking questions when something is amiss, and not pointing out errors..."
"If things continue to develop to the point where even silence is not allowed, the person who praises too softly will also become the target of public criticism..."
As she listened to her gentle, soothing voice, Li was jolted awake as if struck by a sudden enlightenment.
If he hadn't controlled his emotions today and embarrassed Chief Xu in front of everyone, then from now on, who in the village would dare to raise their doubts...
So everyone kept their doubts to themselves, secretly speculating that the Zhao family had embezzled public funds. But because the Zhao family managed Dahe Village, no one dared to voice their suspicions. This growing unease would eventually erupt and become uncontrollable.
"Old Xu." The village head's anger subsided, and his tone became very calm. "Your question is indeed reasonable. It was my oversight that caused everyone to have doubts. Rest assured, I will make the village's accounts public within three days, and you can check them for yourselves."
Chief Xu looked completely bewildered.
He was prepared to have a heated argument with the village head, and had even rehearsed countless lines in his mind. However, the village head did not follow the usual rules, leaving him at a loss for how to respond.
"Fellow villagers, I've been too busy lately and neglected your feelings. I apologize for that." The village head bowed slightly. "If you have any opinions, please feel free to voice them now, whether they are agreeable or not. Put the market matters aside for now, and let's hear your opinions!"
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.
I have a feeling that the village head has been traumatized.
Moreover, most people lack independent thinking ability and have no opinions at all.
Only the Xu family had a lot of opinions, but they had already said one, and if they kept going on and on, they might offend the crowd.
Seeing everyone silent, Cheng Wanwan finally spoke up: "Asking for opinions all of abruptly might leave you wondering what to say. So, how about this: we'll post the accounts in three days, and then hold another meeting in five days. You can think in advance about what aspects of our village need improvement, what problems the village currently faces, and in what directions we can develop in the future..."
The villagers breathed a sigh of relief. They had five days to think it over and should be able to come up with an idea.
After the crowd dispersed, the village head sighed deeply: "Auntie Dashan, if you hadn't reminded me, I almost made a terrible mistake..."
The current emperor listens to the opinions of all officials. He just now actually wanted to fight with the person who offered the opinion in public. He is just a small village head. When did he become so arbitrary and domineering?
“It’s understandable that Uncle Lizheng is upset because he’s doing his best for the village but is being questioned by the villagers,” Cheng Wanwan comforted him. “The main reason is that Dahe Village has developed too quickly, but the management system hasn’t kept up, which has led to the current situation. Chief Xu is right. The money and accounts are all in the hands of the Zhao family. If the Zhao family really has bad intentions, I’m afraid no one will be able to detect it. It’s indeed time to change the current model.”
The village head nodded: "Does Aunt Dashan have some good ideas?"
Cheng Wanwan pondered and said, "My idea is not mature yet. Let's wait until tomorrow. After I have a general plan, I will go to talk to Uncle Village Head in detail. Uncle Village Head can also think about it carefully."
The village head was overjoyed; the method proposed by Aunt Dashan would surely solve the current problem.
Cheng Wanwan didn't really have any novel ideas; she could only borrow the management model of modern village committees and then apply it to this era...
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