After wandering around the beach for nearly an hour, Feng Ye hadn't found anything of value.
Two sea urchins, two stone crabs, a small swimming crab, a stranded small sea bass, and several snails and shellfish.
These are the results of his work in just one hour.
There are actually quite a few seafood items washed ashore by the waves, but there are just too many people, so you have to be quick and nimble to snatch them up.
Especially now that it's summer vacation, children have joined the beachcombing crowd, making it even more crowded and harder to find anything.
Feng Ye decided not to pick any more; staying any longer would be a waste of time, and it was getting a bit hot.
Although it was a cloudy day, it was still the middle of summer, and the dog days of summer were approaching, so the temperature was still quite high.
I had just gotten home and hadn't even had a chance to catch my breath when Ah-chan rushed over.
"Brother Ye, I've been looking for you. Come with me right now."
Where to?
"Let's go to the Mazu Temple to see what's going on; apparently, the award has been approved."
Feng Ye exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, Jiang Dequan is here again? I've been here the whole time and haven't seen any boats dock!"
“They came ashore from Lujia Village,” A-Can said. “Uncle Hua told me. I happened to see him when he went out, so I casually asked where he was going, and he said he was going to the Mazu Temple…”
"Oh, let's go then, let's see what's interesting to see."
Feng Ye's curiosity was piqued.
The "Uncle Hua" that A-Can mentioned is Feng Jiahua, one of the village cadres, who lives next door to A-Can's house.
There weren't many people along the way, and the news hadn't spread, so everyone was kept in the dark.
In fact, this was done intentionally by the village committee. If word got out, the Mazu Temple would be overcrowded.
Today, because of the waves, many people did not go out to sea, especially the small wooden boats; not a single one went out.
There's no need for everyone to flock to the Mazu Temple; if even a small portion of it is crowded, the Mazu Temple will be bursting at the seams.
Don't forget, Baishi Island has more than just Dongtou Village; there are three other villages as well.
Before long, Feng Ye and A Can arrived at the Mazu Temple.
Sure enough, a large number of people had already gathered in the small square in front of the temple, bustling and lively.
Most of them were from Lujia Village, since they were the ones who landed there, and more people knew about it.
A small number were people from the other three villages who were well-informed.
For example, Feng Ye and A-Can.
The two squeezed into the crowd and saw a group of people standing in front of the Mazu statue. In addition to the eight members of the Mazu Temple Council, there was Jiang Dequan and some strangers they had never seen before.
Feng Ye guessed that the strangers were probably also from the Cultural Relics Bureau, and were the staff responsible for moving the cultural relics from the temple.
Having already received the rewards, they naturally wanted to take the cultural relics away and couldn't leave them in the Mazu Temple any longer.
In addition, there were two male reporters, one taking photos and the other quickly writing in a notebook.
Jiang Dequan was talking to the council members.
His voice wasn't loud, and because of the noise around him, it was hard to hear what he was saying.
At this point, someone became unhappy and shouted, "Why are you all speaking so quietly? Are you afraid we'll hear you? Is there something you're hiding that you're trying to conceal?"
These words immediately drew agreement from the crowd, who clamored for Jiang Dequan to speak louder.
Helpless, Jiang Dequan could only face the crowd and raise his voice: "Fellow villagers, please be quiet. I'm not hiding anything, and there's nothing shameful about it. I was originally planning to have the council members inform everyone."
"But since everyone wants to know now, I'll tell you."
"Regardless of how these cultural relics in the temple came about, they were all donated in the name of the Mazu Temple, and our cultural relics bureau also gave corresponding rewards."
"In addition, the county leaders also hoped that our fishermen could return safely and with a full catch. Therefore, when they learned that the Mazu Temple on the island was to be expanded, they donated a sum of money in the name of the county."
"At the same time, our cultural relics bureau will also donate another sum..."
"Huh? There are three sums of money?"
Jiang Dequan's words caused the previously quiet crowd to erupt in excitement again, while also interrupting his speech.
Everyone was overjoyed and began whispering and discussing among themselves.
Feng Ye was also surprised, not expecting such generosity.
"Quiet down, everyone, let Director Jiang finish speaking."
Party Secretary Xiao stepped forward and shouted loudly.
As a member of the council, he was recognized by quite a few people, and the crowd immediately quieted down again.
"Our cultural relics bureau offers a donation reward of 2,000 yuan..."
"What? So much stuff for only 2000? Are you kidding me?"
“I’ve inquired around, and these things are worth at least one or two hundred thousand yuan. You think you can get rid of us for 2,000 yuan? Do you think we’re beggars?”
"Exactly, what can you do with 2,000 yuan? Expanding the Mazu Temple? That's not even enough to fill a tooth gap."
"..."
The amount caused an uproar, with everyone expressing their anger and dissatisfaction.
Feng Ye was aware that the rewards for donating cultural relics were meager.
Even in later generations, the reward for an artifact is generally only a few hundred to a few thousand yuan, but most of the time it is still 500 yuan.
In this era, the rewards will only decrease.
Actually, 2,000 yuan is quite a lot. It was probably given because there are quite a few cultural relics in the temple.
Moreover, the acquisition of these cultural relics was somewhat illegitimate.
"Folks, please don't get agitated. Let Director Jiang finish speaking, okay?"
Seeing that the crowd was getting restless again, Secretary Xiao quickly spoke up to calm them down.
"Let him talk. If he can't give a clear explanation, they can forget about taking anything from the temple."
"Yes, don't let them take it away..."
"That's right, that's right..."
Amidst the crowd's agreement, someone asked, "What do 'Zi Chou Yin Mao' mean?"
Of course, no one answered.
Seeing this, Jiang Dequan broke out in a cold sweat. He really wanted to curse "troublemakers," but he didn't dare.
"The rewards for donating cultural relics are indeed limited to this amount. The rules and regulations are there, and we can't increase them."
"However, the leaders also agreed with the council's opinion that the expansion of the Mazu Temple would be publicized in the newspaper, and people from all walks of life would be encouraged to donate generously."
"Look, I even brought a reporter along, just to gather materials in advance for the newspaper advertisement..."
He stopped there, unable to continue.
Because the people at the scene started making noise again.
"Would advertising in the newspaper be effective? Would anyone be willing to donate?"
"I think it's unreliable. What does our expansion of the Mazu Temple on the island have to do with them?"
"That's right, there are Mazu temples everywhere, you can worship anywhere, so why should they donate money to us?"
"Yeah, yeah..."
"That's right, that's right..."
They were not optimistic about the outcome of the newspaper advertisement and were skeptical about whether anyone would be willing to donate money.
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