Chapter 19 If you offer money, we won't fix it. Go ahead and kill me if you dare!
'Ding ding ding'
Ying Xiaohu knew that the letter was sent by Xie, the county magistrate, and he could tell which was more important.
He ran upstairs in a few steps and knocked on Su Jingge's door: "Manager Su, Lord Xie has sent a letter."
Su Jingge opened the door and took the letter: "Thank you."
After looking at it, Su Jingge knew that the roster had been categorized.
Looking at Ying Xiaohu, whose clothes were stained with water and were filthy, and whose lips were swollen with traces of blood, she asked, "What happened to you? Did you get into a fight?"
Ying Xiaohu burst into tears: "Someone hit me, Chef Xu hit me. He betrayed the restaurant. He took money from Zhao Liu and deliberately cooked bad dishes. Manager Su, you must deal with him properly."
Su Jingge looked at Ying Xiaohu. Although he was small in stature, he was a righteous person.
She said, "Fine, I'll get justice for you."
She went downstairs and saw that everyone was sleeping, but she did not wake Chef Xu.
Instead, he summoned Feijian and said, "You handle the one inside, but don't kill him."
Ying Xiaohu admired Fei Jian's skills and had recently learned a few self-defense moves from him in his spare time, so he should call Fei Jian "Master".
Upon hearing that his disciple had been bullied, Fei Jian was furious and took Ying Xiaohu to the kitchen.
Su Jingge leaned against the counter, looking at Xiao Linyuan who had just been chuckling: "Little mute, what are you laughing at?"
The man shook his head.
"By the way, I'll be personally overseeing the roof these next few days. You can handle the restaurant and the supply with Qingyue. You can ask her anything you don't understand. Also, keep an eye on those two inside; the kids are too rough."
Xiao Linyuan nodded, cupping his fists in a gesture of complete obedience: "Don't worry."
Su Jingge smiled and said, "I'm leaving."
I had only taken two steps when I heard two clicks from the counter.
The man tapped the counter twice with the silver coins in his hand.
She turned around: "Is there anything else?"
Xiao Linyuan looked at her: [Be careful.]
She smiled slightly and left.
Su Jingge looked at the list of households, which included 21 households in three categories, and she visited them one by one.
The people on the street started discussing as they watched the officials following Su Jingge, including Xie Mo's men and the county magistrate's men.
"Is this really going to need fixing?"
"I thought it was just talk."
Some of the people were curious and followed them to the villagers' homes.
The first family to start building their roof was surnamed Zhang, nicknamed Old Zhang. He watched as a group of people carrying tools walked toward his house.
Frightened, he picked up his tools and ran home, closing the dilapidated wooden door behind him once inside the yard.
"Oh no, we're being robbed!"
He said this as he ran towards the house.
Su Jingge and her group arrived at Zhang Laohan's house.
The villagers had already gathered at the entrance.
"My goodness! I heard that a new assistant governor has been appointed in the county. He said he volunteered to repair Yuxiang County. I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect him to actually come!"
The people around him had a light in their eyes; they could hardly believe it was real.
"President Su, how can we possibly thank you!"
The elderly woman wept bitterly.
"It's what I should do," Su Jingge said, glancing towards Old Zhang's courtyard.
She started knocking on the door, but Old Zhang didn't open it or answer.
“They’re not bandits, they’re here to repair your roof,” the neighbor shouted.
Old Zhang became frightened after hearing that the bandits had come down from the mountain again recently.
It was only after a neighbor intervened that Old Zhang dared to believe that they had really come to repair his roof.
"Now that everyone knows about the repairs, I'll make it clear today: the roof repairs won't be done without spending a single penny. After all, it's not a year of major disasters. In order for every household to live a good life, everyone will have to contribute to the repair costs."
For a moment, everyone began to whisper among themselves.
A villager stood up and said, "Hmph! They say they'll repair our roofs, but they'll just make us pay in all sorts of ways."
"That's right, the county should pay for the roof repairs. Why should we pay for them? If we have to pay, I'd rather not pay at all!"
Su Jingge calmly looked at everyone: "Is the development of Yuxiang County a matter for the county? Yes and no. If everyone thinks this way, when will Yuxiang County make progress?"
“You are also part of this county magistrate’s family. The roof repairs benefited everyone, but I didn’t get a single benefit.”
"Therefore, everyone must participate in the roof repair."
The woman's words were firm and resolute.
Some people quit.
"Why should we? If you offer money, we won't fix it. Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"
"I'm Zhang San, the burly man, said with his hands on his hips."
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Everyone wants to get something for nothing.
Su Jingge knew that the renovation was not difficult; the difficulty lay in winning over the people's hearts.
She said calmly, “Repairing the roof only requires each family to contribute 20%. I’m sure you all know how much each piece of rubble costs. It’s not much money if each family contributes 20%. Considering everyone’s difficulties, everyone who contributes 20% can go to Yunque Tower to collect steamed buns within a month after the roof is repaired.”
The group began to discuss it.
"Getting steamed buns? That sounds pretty good."
At this moment, a villager stepped forward:
"We'll contribute 20% to the roof repairs, which means we only get 2 out of every 10 coins. Plus, we can get steamed buns from Yunque Tower. Doesn't that mean we didn't spend any money? We even get free steamed buns, and the roof is fixed? This is a win-win situation!"
The group began to calculate the costs in detail.
"Yes, if you look at it that way, we didn't lose out."
"Heh, who knows if it's true? That sounds nice!"
Zhang San stood with his hands on his hips, looking suspicious.
Su Jingge said, "The county will repair the roof of our own house. You know how much each piece of rubble costs. Repairing a roof costs at least 150 wen. This is calculated according to the three categories. If the roof collapses severely, then it will have to be completely replaced."
"The 20% you contributed didn't go into my pocket, and I even provided you with steamed buns. Everyone only makes a profit and doesn't lose money."
Some villagers nodded:
"Let's all contribute these two-tenths. Assistant Manager Su stepped forward for us, and I, Li Hu, don't want good people to not get a good reputation."
Su Jingge said, "If we don't repair it, how will everyone get through the winter after this wave?"
"If it's frostbite, the medical treatment will cost money, and it won't be as simple as just 20% of the silver."
Su Jingge's expression turned serious again: "Let me make this clear from the start: if you don't want to repair it, that's fine, I won't force you. But in the event of a disaster, I'm sure your roofs won't hold up. If something happens and you get injured, don't come to me saying the roofs weren't repaired!"
The air freezes, and the weight of each thing can still be weighed.
"I'll fix it. Why would I care about 20%? I get a bonus too. I'm making a killing."
"Manager Su, each house here needs about thirty tiles. The market price is five copper coins per tile, so thirty tiles would cost one hundred and fifty copper coins. Twenty percent would be thirty copper coins. Is this calculation correct?"
Su Jingge nodded: "That's right. Your houses are on the second ring road. I'll post a notice so everyone will know which side we'll repair first."
"So, Assistant Manager Su, how many steamed buns can we get?"
"Each family can receive thirty steamed buns, which means they can receive one every day."
Su Jingge thought the advantage of this was that everyone would smell the aroma of wine in the restaurant when they received their steamed buns, which was a way to attract business to the restaurant indirectly.
So every household started contributing money.
Without saying a word, Old Man Zhang took out 30 coins and placed them in Su Jin's hand: "I'll pay these 30 coins. As long as the roof doesn't collapse, the person is still alive. If you lose your life, what use is money?"
"I'll go too, I'll come too."
Seeing everyone's strong support, Su Jingge smiled and said, "Thank you for your cooperation, folks."
She has now successfully passed this test.
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