Chapter 63 Chapter 63 [VIP]
The man took out two packs of cigarettes from his bag and stuffed them into Baijiu's arms. "I hope the village chief can think of a solution."
Production had been suspended for more than half a year, and cigarettes had become a rare luxury.
"No, I won't be able to explain to others when they come back." Baijiu put the cigarette back into the man's hand.
"Village chief, then my family will have no way to survive." The man pushed the cigarette back with force, his shoulders trembling slightly, and his eyes were scarlet with a faint watery light.
Through the window, I could see a four or five-year-old girl huddled timidly in her mother's arms, tightly clutching a colorful Rubik's Cube. The skinny mother, holding the child, leaned wearily against the wall, her anxious gaze flickering inside. The village chief softened his heart; these days, life is tough for everyone.
He squinted his eyes and thought for a moment. "The village gravel factory moved two years ago, but the remaining factory building, while a bit dirty and messy, is still able to shelter us from the wind and rain. You and your family can live there temporarily."
"Okay, okay, thank you, village chief, thank you, village chief." The man thanked him profusely.
"You still have to find a way to rebuild your old house." The village chief couldn't help but remind him.
"Uh-huh."
The man hurried off, sharing the good news with his wife and daughter. A relieved smile crossed the woman's weary face. The little girl, sensing the joy and relief emanating from her parents, poked her head out, a pure smile on her face.
…
After these families came back, more people moved back one after another. Among them were some very promising people who only existed in the villagers' mouths.
Due to the lack of entertainment activities, people in the village are extremely concerned about any movement in the village.
One family caught quite a bit of attention. Amidst the countless returning residents, distraught or complaining, they stood out, having driven home in a car. Nowadays, cars break down easily, and energy sources like gasoline have long been harvested, making it difficult to see cars on the streets. People travel by foot, using a few ox-drawn carts, and even donkey-drawn carts.
When the car stopped in front of a rather luxurious house, the villagers looked at each other in surprise.
"This must be Zhou Zhenmin! Isn't he already an official in the provincial capital? Why is he back?" The villagers whispered.
"I can't make it! People in the city are living much worse than us now, so what's the point of being an official?" someone said sourly.
Especially when we saw the car door open and the people who came out were all fair-skinned and energetic, it was obvious that they had no worries about food and drink. There was also a truck following behind the car. It was dark and we couldn't see exactly how much stuff was in it, but looking at the high piles of stuff, everyone thought it must be a lot.
"He is the most promising person in our village. His father-in-law is a high-ranking official. He was promoted to the foot of the imperial city two years ago." The villagers did not understand the officialdom, but when they thought of how Zhou Zhenmin was courted by local officials every time he came back, they guessed that he must be doing very well outside.
There have always been many rumors about him in the village. In this village with a very ordinary economy, most people earn their money through hard work, and few children can pass the junior high school entrance examination to college, let alone become a high-ranking official. Many people want to take advantage of him, but unfortunately Zhou Zhenmin rarely interacts with the villagers.
"He hasn't been back for seven or eight years since his parents died! This official's aura is different."
"So what if he's promising? He doesn't recognize anyone." The speaker was a relative who was somewhat related to Zhou Zhenmin, with a sour and resentful look on his face.
More than a dozen villagers stood outside Zhou's house watching the excitement, pointing and talking from time to time.
The twins inside had ugly expressions on their faces. The boy couldn't help but complain, "I really don't understand why grandpa would come back to such a poor place. These are just some uncultured people."
The boy came from a privileged family and had outstanding looks. He had always been a popular figure in school, receiving nothing but praise, envy and other positive looks. However, the group of people outside looked at him as if he were a monkey. If his grandfather had not sternly warned them before getting off the bus, he would have lost his temper on the spot.
The girl didn't say anything, but her brows were furrowed, her eyes showed obvious annoyance, and her body trembled slightly from time to time, showing her dissatisfaction and irritability.
"Your grandfather must have his reasons." The twins' mother, a gentle woman with a slightly round face and light makeup, patted the two children's backs soothingly.
But when he turned around and looked at the backward and dilapidated environment around him, he couldn't help but sigh.
"I don't understand Grandpa. We're clearly living well in City M." Another girl was filled with resentment and dissatisfaction. If her father hadn't dragged her along, she wouldn't have wanted to get off the bus.
A man who looked to be in his forties behind the girl, who looked very similar to her, said in a deep voice, "We will all live here from now on. You should get along well with others, and Zihan, change your bad temper."
The girl exploded. "Why? Look at this house. No one has lived in it for decades. There is dust piled up as thick as a finger. Look at this village. It is so dirty. There are these people... I want to go back to City M." The girl slammed her bag to the ground and stomped on it to vent her anger.
The man's face suddenly darkened.
"Zi Han, stop talking. Your dad is going to be angry." A tall woman who was sorting things hurriedly hugged her.
"We'll only stay here for a few months. When the weather gets better, you can go back to school. Mom will buy you whatever you want." The woman coaxed him lovingly.
But the girl was obviously still very angry and kept shaking her head. “No, no, I want to go back. I want to go back. I can’t stay here any longer.”
When Zhou Zihan accidentally saw a pile of dried yellow-white chicken shit on the ground, her stomach churned and she felt nauseous, and tears streamed down her face.
The man took a deep breath and cautiously asked the gentle woman beside him, "Things are different now. Sister-in-law, please pay attention to the children's emotions and don't let them cause trouble."
"Our Zhou family are all good kids, how could they cause trouble? They're just not used to it for the time being. Communicate with them properly, and they'll understand."
Zhou Anzhi, the eldest son of the Zhou family, looked at the people outside, walked out of the yard, and handed a cigarette to each of them in a friendly manner. "Dear villagers, I am Zhou Anzhi, the eldest son of Zhou Zhenmin. Please take care of me in the future."
After accepting other people's things, the villagers' eyes were not so direct and naked.
Some brave and curious villagers took the opportunity to ask, "Why did you come back when the provincial capital is so good?"
"My father has retired and is not in good health. Our Sheshui Village is beautiful with green mountains and clear waters, and has many outstanding people. My father wants to go home and retire."
Hearing this, the villagers all showed their pride. "Yes, our Sheshui Village is really great. If it weren't for God's will, our village would have been developed into a tourist attraction."
"Although we can't make much money here, it's really comfortable to live here, and the feng shui is great. Look at the villages outside, where people are dying of cancer one after another, while the elderly in our village are all very capable."
Zhou Anzhi smiled with an air of pride. In reality, the Zhou family was willing to abandon their vast fortune in the provincial capital and return to this remote, ordinary village because of news they had received from their mother's maternal family.
His friendly attitude immediately broke down the barriers between him and the villagers, who were no longer so resistant to their arrival.
Afterwards, there was nothing wrong with the Zhou family's behavior. They did not have a condescending attitude and after settling in, they personally visited every household and gave them a small bag of candy.
This small bag of candy was very tempting to the child, and he lay on the ground crying and begging for it. Since he was given something, he would not give it back. No one in Murakami dared to talk about his family behind his back.
A young man from the Zhou family came to visit Bai He's house. He was very lively and when he saw the two dogs in Bai He's house, he whistled and wanted to tease them.
The two dogs were very wary of outsiders, and kept lowering their bodies and threatening with low growls. The boy was not afraid either, and took out a few strips of meat from his pocket to lure them.
"Bai He, long time no see. You've changed a lot!" The boy greeted him familiarly.
Bai He looked at the boy in front of him carefully and confirmed that he didn't know him.
The boy chuckled and said, "More than ten years ago, we were in the same class during the math competition training in the provincial capital. We were often together. Do you remember?"
"No."
The boy didn't care. "It's been a long time. It's normal for you to forget me. I'm Chow Yun-yoon. You were amazing back then."
"Oh!" Bai He had some impression. At that time, there was indeed a generous and sociable classmate in the provincial Olympiad training class. The depressing and tense atmosphere in the class was eased a lot because of his antics.
At that time, Bai and Congming also loved to play, and I had a lot of contact with him.
"You could have made it to the national competition, but it's a pity you gave up." Zhou Run sighed without digging too deep.
"We are in the same village now, so let's visit each other more often." After stuffing the things into his hands, Zhou Run blew a sharp whistle at the dog and left.
After returning to the village, the Zhou family, unlike most others, remained reclusive. The elders and adults frequently participated in village events and meetings. They were communicative and knowledgeable, and villagers loved to gather around them, asking them about their experiences. They patiently answered their questions, and the Zhou family quickly became part of the village.
…
A month had passed without anyone noticing, and the heat showed no sign of abating. Not a drop of rain fell from the sky. Even though the villagers watered the crops, they were unable to prevent some from withering.
The land in the village turned yellow in patches that had never been seen before. The tenacious grass and old trees inevitably wilted and their leaves scorched under the continuous high temperature and scorching sun.
The water level of the stream flowing through the village dropped rapidly. Fortunately, the mountain behind Sheshui Village has very rich groundwater layers and there are lakes nearby, so there is no water shortage.
However, in extremely dry conditions, once a fire breaks out, it's difficult to extinguish. Various fire prevention and disaster warnings were intensively publicized, and patrols were deployed along the edge of the forest.
Just then, a group of strangers came to the village and carried out a series of measurements and planning on the village.
The news of the resettlement center was also known to everyone. Upon hearing this news, most people in the village were excited. In this village with average economic conditions, the ultimate dream of many people was to collect a large sum of money and live a comfortable life in advance.
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