But Zhou Shujun sneered, "Uncle Jianzhong, you wouldn't be willing to betray everyone's interests for your own position as village chief and village party secretary, would you?"
“You…” Zhou Jianzhong’s face turned bright red. The expressions of the others in the room also changed, showing a hint of suspicion.
But just then, an old man who had been sitting next to Zhou Jianzhong, smoking a pipe, stood up and walked over to Zhou Shujun.
Zhou Shujun was still somewhat afraid of the elderly, as could be seen from the people at Zhou Jianzhong's house today. Only a few people had seats, since there were too many people and most of them were standing.
The old man sat next to Zhou Jianzhong. Everyone called him Second Uncle. He was a very senior member of the Zhou family and quite old, seventy-eight this year, but in good health. Everyone respected him greatly. No one knew his real name; everyone just called him that. Of course, people of Zhou Jianzhong's generation were called "Grand Uncle."
"Second Uncle".
Snap!
A crisp slap resounded as Uncle Er's thin hand struck Zhou Shujun's face.
The scene immediately fell silent. At this moment, the second uncle slowly spoke up: "Let's get straight to the point and not talk nonsense. Li Xiuyuan is a young man, but he is the deputy mayor. Being the deputy mayor is nothing, but the changes he has brought to our Meilin Village are visible. He genuinely wants to build our Meilin Village better. I know everyone wants more money, which is only natural."
But don't insult them, even behind their backs. Show them respect. You all know what kind of mess the Tian family made last year. And can't you see how the village has changed since Li Xiuyuan came this year?
With his respected second uncle keeping him in check, Zhou Jianzhong felt a bit more relaxed and immediately said, "Second Uncle is right. Mayor Li doesn't owe us anything. On the contrary, he's wholeheartedly focused on developing our Meilin Village. Putting everything else aside, how did the Tian family's construction projects in the village fare last year? Did everyone make money? This year, with Li Xiuyuan in charge, many people have received cash from the construction sites, right?"
The room fell silent. Some people agreed with what the second uncle and Zhou Jianzhong said, because the changes brought about by Li Xiuyuan were real.
However, Zhou Shujun, who was beaten, was different. A trace of hatred flashed in his eyes. He wanted to make a quick buck from this, but he didn't dare to make a sound at this moment, for fear of being beaten again.
After a moment of silence, someone finally spoke up and asked, "Second Uncle, Uncle Jianzhong, what do you suggest we do now? Should we just agree to the demolition terms?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jianzhong wanted to nod in agreement. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and finalize the matter immediately. After all, he couldn't fight city hall. Besides the changes Li Xiuyuan brought to Meilin Village, Li Xiuyuan's methods were also quite formidable.
He had a lot of contact with Li Xiuyuan and had a deep understanding of the situation. He knew that there was no way to back down, and if things continued to stalemate, it wouldn't do any good. It might even make Li Xiuyuan have a problem with the man surnamed Zhou.
But at this moment, the second uncle spoke up: "Of course we can't agree directly. Last year, those people surnamed Tian squandered over a million. What's wrong with us asking for some compensation? We don't need much from each family, just ten or twenty thousand yuan would be a subsidy for us."
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