"Uncle Lu, what do you want to see me about?" Ye Weiwei was only slightly taken aback when she saw Lu Mingfa, but then spoke with complete composure.
Lu Mingfa acted as if he hadn't even seen the basket of things on his back, and quickly explained the purpose of his visit.
Ye Weiwei was impressed by how quickly they had chosen the school's location and how meticulously they had planned it; she couldn't find anything wrong with it, except—
“Let’s build another building at the school to serve as a dormitory for the teachers. These teachers are all quite old, and they have to walk such a long way from the back of the village to the school every day. It’s okay when the weather is good, but if it rains or snows and the road is difficult to walk, they might fall and get injured, which would be bad if they couldn’t teach the children.”
The conditions over there were terrible. The house was drafty and rarely saw sunlight; it was cold and damp. How could a person possibly be healthy living in such an environment?
Lu Mingfa sighed, "I know what you're thinking, but this is a bit difficult, I'm afraid it won't work."
Ye Weiwei understood Lu Mingfa's predicament and said, "Then how about this, we build another room to use as a storage room or a rest room. When it rains or snows, or when they can't go back for something, they'll have a place to rest temporarily. That should be alright, right?"
Lu Mingfa laughed and said, "How come your brain works so fast!"
This is clearly exploiting a loophole, but it has to be said that it's much better than letting people know directly that the village primary school is building houses for them to live in.
Moreover, with such a place, the villagers gradually got used to it, and once they were used to it, no one thought it was a big deal anymore.
Ye Weiwei's expression suddenly turned serious, and she lowered her voice to say to Lu Mingfa, "Uncle Village Chief, you're not an outsider. I'm only saying this to you. They—in just a few years, will see the light of day again. It's good for them and for our Daqingshan Village to be on good terms with them and do them a favor. Putting aside everything else, they are all talented people. The country's development cannot do without them. If you protect them now, it's equivalent to contributing to the country, and it's a great deed!"
Lu Mingfa nodded solemnly, "I understand. Don't worry, your Uncle Lu knows what to do."
Ye Weiwei smiled and said, "I knew Uncle Lu, you are the most open-minded and far-sighted village chief!"
Lu Mingfa was flattered by the praise, "It's all what I, as the village chief, should do! Serving the people!"
Ye Weiwei chimed in: "Serve the people!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
As Lu Mingfa finished discussing business and was about to leave, he saw his sister-in-law, Aunt Zhang, and his niece, Lu Xiaolan, peeking suspiciously at Ye Weiwei's door.
Lu Mingfa's face turned cold as he thought about what the two of them had been doing recently: "What are you two doing here? I'm warning you, Ye Zhiqing is now a great hero of our village. If you dare to cause trouble again, not only me, but the entire Daqingshan Village will not let you off the hook!"
Aunt Zhang shrank back in fright at Lu Mingfa's words. She had always been somewhat afraid of this brother-in-law.
Lu Xiaolan, her belly protruding, said with dissatisfaction, "Uncle, what are you saying! We didn't do anything, why are you being so rude? We just wanted to ask Ye Weiwei about something. After all, my baby is quite far along, and I need to find a chance to go back to the city to see my baby's grandparents, right?"
As Lu Xiaolan spoke, she patted her belly, as if afraid that others wouldn't know she was pregnant.
Hearing the commotion, Ye Weiwei came out and looked at the mother and daughter at the door, saying with a half-smile, "I'm quite curious, what do you want to ask?"
Aunt Zhang chuckled and said, "Ye Zhiqing, it's really nothing. We just wanted to ask you if you met my son-in-law's parents when you went back to Beijing for the New Year? How are they? Xiaolan is a filial child and has always kept them in her heart."
After Aunt Zhang finished speaking, she secretly pinched Lu Xiaolan's arm, signaling her to cooperate.
Lu Xiaolan then extended her rough, fleshy fingers and pretended to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, saying in a high-pitched voice, "You know, my brother Mingzhe is a very filial son. Although he can't go back to the countryside, he's always thinking about his parents, and he's lost weight lately. As his wife, I see it all and I'm very worried..."
Ye Weiwei felt an unbearable burning sensation in her eyes at the affected and pretentious Lu Xiaolan.
When she heard that Zhao Mingzhe had lost weight because he was worried about his parents, she couldn't help but sneer.
Seeing Ye Weiwei's mocking expression, Lu Xiaolan couldn't contain her anger and immediately flew into a rage: "Ye Weiwei, what are you laughing at! What's so funny! Don't think you can look down on people just because you're going back to the city. Let me tell you, I'm carrying the Zhao family's child in my belly right now, and I'll be going to the capital sooner or later and become a city dweller! You just wait!"
Ye Weiwei sneered: "Fine! I'll be waiting!"
Aunt Zhang knew she was in trouble as soon as she heard Lu Xiaolan's words, but she still looked at Ye Weiwei with a lingering hope and asked, "Ye Zhiqing, Xiaolan has been having severe morning sickness lately and is in a bad mood, so please don't take it to heart. Could you please pass on a message to my son-in-law's parents and tell them about their current situation? Xiaolan is carrying their grandson, so they should at least know this good news and be happy, shouldn't they?"
Ye Weiwei smiled knowingly: "Then I'm sorry, I can't help you with this!"
Aunt Zhang's face immediately turned ugly: "Why?"
Ye Weiwei: "Guess?"
Aunt Zhang: ...
I bet you're a fool!
She was so angry at Ye Weiwei that she couldn't speak. Lu Xiaolan exploded even more, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Ye Weiwei, how can you be so selfish? I just asked you to pass on a message. It's such a small favor, what's wrong with you helping me out?"
Ye Weiwei smiled faintly: "I'm not happy, and I don't want to help. What can you do about it? Besides, I'm going back to Kyoto. Even if I wanted to send this message, I couldn't!"
Lu Xiaolan asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Aren't her in-laws also from Kyoto? They're from the same place, how could they not get a message?
Ye Weiwei was too lazy to argue with them, and said, "Go ask Zhao Mingzhe what you mean. I'm an outsider and I don't want to get involved in your family's messy affairs. It's bad luck!"
After saying that, he gestured to Lu Mingfa and then closed the door directly.
Aunt Zhang was thoroughly humiliated by Lu Xiaolan and was furious.
Aunt Zhang bitterly criticized Ye Weiwei, saying, "Her uncle, look at this educated youth Ye. She doesn't unite with her comrades at all. She won't even help with such a small favor. Her ideological awareness is too low..."
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