The result was quickly agreed upon.
In fact, not many people objected.
If you dare to object, the tigress at home will cause a huge uproar, and you probably won't even be able to get into bed at night.
It was Secretary Xiao who spoke up: "We had an emergency discussion, and women can also donate in their own names."
"That's great! Our names can be on the monument of merit now."
"Oh no, I didn't bring enough money, what should I do?"
“I’m going home to get the money now, and I’m determined to get my wife’s name on it too.”
"Yes, yes, I need to go back and get the money too. We can't let a man monopolize the monument of merit."
Upon hearing this, everyone cheered with joy.
The women, in particular, beamed with joy and pride.
This decision undoubtedly broke with past practices, making them feel respected and valued.
"Alright, I'll write it down for you now. You get 1000 yuan, and Aling and Anan each get 500 yuan."
As Secretary Xiao spoke with a smile, he quickly made a record in the merit book.
Feng Ye also handed the money to one of the council members who was in charge of collecting the money.
The man moistened his mouth with saliva, counted the items once, and then checked again: "Thank you for your generosity, may Goddess Mazu bless you."
Feng Ye thought for a moment and asked, "Oh, by the way, my wife and son both donated 500 yuan. Can they also bring back a statue of a deity?"
Secretary Xiao was taken aback for a moment, and asked curiously, "You only have one boat, why do you need to take so many statues back?"
Feng Ye rolled his eyes: "It's all about planning ahead. Do you think I only have this one boat in my life? Can't I buy a second or a third one?"
"Well……"
Secretary Xiao paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "That's right, how come I didn't think of that? Let's discuss it and then I'll give you an answer."
The eight people gathered together again and started whispering among themselves.
Feng Ye was utterly speechless.
Can't you consider things more comprehensively? You have to come up with a last-minute discussion instead?
The discussion ended quickly.
It was Secretary Xiao who announced the results: "Okay, no problem, your wife and son can each bring back a small statue of Mazu."
"However, although you donated 1,000 yuan in your own name, you can only take one statue back, not two."
"Of course, I never expected to be able to invite two statues of Mazu."
Secretary Xiao looked at the others and said, "You are the same. As long as you donate more than 500 yuan, regardless of age or gender, you can take the statue home."
"Not only that, the statue can be kept in the temple until the boat is bought back and then it can be put on the boat."
"This is a rare opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Everyone should think it over carefully. Otherwise, when you buy a boat later, you won't even have anywhere to invite them."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, whether they had a boat or not, they all felt that this decision was indeed good.
Some people who were previously hesitant about donating more now no longer hesitate;
Some people who had already donated were planning to add a little more to try and reach the threshold of 500 yuan.
There are also some people who don't have a boat right now who want to donate more.
Just because there are no ships now doesn't mean there won't be any in the future.
Besides, even if we don't buy a boat in the future, donating more is still a good thing, and Mazu will see our good intentions.
Although it was done with a purpose and was somewhat impious, real money was still spent, so Mazu couldn't just turn a blind eye, could she?
“That’s more like it. This way, we might be able to raise a lot more money.” Feng Ye nodded in agreement.
Such a humane decision will certainly inspire more people to donate.
Secretary Xiao said with a smile, "We have to thank you for this. If you hadn't mentioned it, we really wouldn't have thought of it."
"It seems that when we are designing, we need to prepare more palaces to enshrine these small Mazu statues, otherwise we may not be able to enshrine them all."
Another member of the council said with a smile.
Everyone burst into laughter at his words.
It's easy to imagine that once this decision is announced, it will attract donations from many people both inside and outside the island.
There will definitely be many small statues of Mazu that will not be taken back in time and will need to be enshrined in the temple for an unknown period of time.
Although it may seem like a business transaction, it's actually to raise more money to make Mazu's temple more magnificent and to make Mazu's residence more comfortable.
It's not like they're putting the money in their own pockets, so there's nothing wrong with doing so.
After all, everyone was doing this for the expansion of the Mazu Temple, and for their own beliefs.
Feng Ye smiled, secretly glad that he had said that extra sentence earlier.
Sometimes, a casual remark can bring about unexpected changes and gains.
He then asked, "Has the date for construction been set? Have you asked someone to choose an auspicious date?"
"We had someone look into it long ago, otherwise it would be difficult to advertise it in the newspapers. There isn't even a start date, so people can't believe it."
"Oh, right, we asked Master Wei from town to choose the date."
Master Wei is a feng shui master whose full name is unknown, but he is very famous.
Throughout their town, and even in the surrounding villages, whenever someone needs to build a burial site or a house, they ask him to choose the location; for weddings and funerals, they also ask him to choose the auspicious date.
Although Feng Ye chose the location of his new house himself, he also asked this person to determine its orientation and the date for construction to begin.
Secretary Xiao continued, "The construction is scheduled to begin on the sixth day of next month, giving us about half a month to raise funds."
"We'll consider how best to expand the project based on the funds we've raised, and we can start construction while continuing to raise money."
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