Although Baishi Island has a large population and four villages, it is actually a very small place, so small that it may not even be found on a map.
Therefore, anything new and novel spreads especially quickly.
When Feng Ye and A Can had to return early the next day due to the increased waves, they heard that the news of them bringing back the statue from the seabed had spread throughout the entire Baishi Island.
Although it is not a special day like the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, nor a traditional festival, the island's residents flocked to the Mazu Temple out of reverence and curiosity for the goddess Mazu.
Holding incense sticks and with piety on their faces, they worshipped the goddess Mazu and took the opportunity to witness the statue brought back from the seabed.
For two or three days in a row, villagers could be seen discussing the matter everywhere in Dongtou Village, and some even praised Feng Ye and A-Can for doing a good job.
In addition, from the villagers' conversations, Feng Ye also heard that the members of the Mazu Temple Council were planning to expand the Mazu Temple.
However, there is no definite news yet, and it seems that there are disagreements on the scale of the expansion, which has prevented them from reaching a consensus.
Four or five days later, as time slowly passed, the matter gradually faded from people's sight and was overshadowed by other novel things happening on the island or in the village.
During this period, the first floor slab of his and his elder brother's new house was also successfully completed.
On that day, almost all of the people who had gone to the reef last time volunteered to help.
After all, compared to the gains from the reef, helping out for a day is insignificant, and it's also a way of repaying a favor.
However, due to the large number of people, the family had to persuade most of them to go back, saying they would ask everyone to come and help when the second floor of the house was completed.
The typhoon that was expected did not arrive as anticipated; it only had a slight impact, causing two or three days of sea closures due to high winds and waves.
On this day, the Rising Sun returned from its voyage. Just as it approached the shore, someone excitedly shouted, "Ah Ye, a big shot from the county is here to see you! The village chief and the secretary are waiting for you at your house. Hurry back!"
"Huh? A big shot from the county? Who is it? What does he want with me?"
Feng Ye's heart skipped a beat, wondering if it was someone from the county cultural relics bureau.
But the result was far beyond his expectations.
The man said, "I heard they're from the Cultural Relics Bureau. Not only from our county, but also from the neighboring county, and people from the Yanshan Tianhou Temple. In total, there are seven of them."
Feng Ye was secretly astonished.
Did the news spread that fast?
In just a few days, even the neighboring county has found out, especially since there are people from the Yanshan Tianhou Palace among them.
Without a doubt, these people must have come for those three statues.
"When did they arrive? They didn't even give us a heads-up, and the sun is almost setting."
He calmly jumped off the boat and secured the mooring rope firmly to the dock.
Although the people who came were important figures, he had nothing to ask of them; on the contrary, they were the ones asking him for something. Therefore, he had nothing to worry about.
The same person replied, "They came this morning because of the Mazu statue that you and A-Can brought back a few days ago. As soon as they arrived on the island, they went straight to the Mazu Temple and stayed there for a long time. It seems that the people from Yanshan Tianhou Palace are planning to take Mazu back with them."
Another person nearby chimed in, "I heard that Old Man Lu used all his strength to stop the people from the Tianhou Temple in Yanshan from moving the statue, and he was almost beaten to death. Fortunately, the village committee arrived in time to prevent a tragedy."
"Isn't that a bit much?"
Feng Ye found it both funny and absurd.
The word "I heard" is used perfectly.
Rumors stop with the wise, but the story of "three men making a tiger" is all too common, and it is vividly demonstrated here.
He believed that the Tianhou Temple in Yanshan wanted to remove the statue of Mazu.
To say that Old Man Lu was beaten or even almost lost his life is utter nonsense; at most, there might have been some verbal altercation.
However, it wasn't long before the rumors became so outrageous.
If things continue like this, it won't be long before we hear the version that Old Man Lu was beaten to death, right?
"I heard it from someone else," the man said with an embarrassed smile.
"It might be a lie that Old Man Lu was almost beaten to death, but it's definitely true that they wanted to take Mazu away. Ah Ye, you can't let them take the goddess away!"
“Mazu is the guardian deity of our island. She protects our island and ensures good weather and safe sea voyages! Ah Ye, this is no small matter. You can’t side with outsiders.”
"Yes, yes, although you invited Mazu back, now that she's been enshrined in the Mazu Temple, she belongs to all the villagers on the island and can't be taken away by outsiders."
"That's right! Not even the Tianhou Palace in Yanshan..."
"Exactly! Let them go find someone else, just don't try to take advantage of our White Stone Island!"
"..."
For a time, everyone was talking at once, expressing their opinions and views. The scene was very lively, and the central idea was highly unified.
Feng Ye stood quietly to the side, listening attentively to everyone's remarks.
After everyone quieted down a bit, he nodded, a firm expression on his face: "I understand, everyone don't worry, I will explain it to them clearly, and I will absolutely not agree to let them take away Mazu."
After saying that, he turned to Ah-Can beside him and instructed, "Ah-Can, you sell the catch by yourself. I need to go back and check on things first. If anything happens, have someone let me know."
Ah-Can nodded and replied, "Brother Ye, don't worry about going back. I'll take care of things here."
Feng Ye patted A-Can on the shoulder and then said to everyone, "If anyone has a spare moment, please keep an eye on things. Otherwise, if I leave, A-Can won't be able to take care of everything on his own. We don't want anyone to steal the goods."
"With so many people watching, anyone who dares to steal would be courting death. You should go now; everything will be fine here."
Someone immediately answered, which was met with a chorus of agreement.
Feng Ye didn't say anything more, walked out of the crowd, and quickened his pace to go home.
As he walked, he pondered how to deal with these uninvited... well, calling them rude guests wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Perhaps we could try passing the buck and pushing the decision-making power onto the Mazu Council?
Or, why not let all the residents of the island make the decision together?
Feng Ye was secretly making plans in his mind, but his pace did not slow down at all.
Behind him followed a group of people who loved watching the spectacle. They whispered among themselves or pointed at each other, as if they were expecting a good show to unfold.
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