On Ye Cheng's side, Duan Chunsheng and the others were also helping Ye Cheng persuade people. According to their feedback, the results were quite good, with several households expressing their support for Ye Cheng.
That basically means I'm almost certain I'll be chosen.
Damn it, this is the first time I've ever run an election like this. Ye Cheng suddenly feels like he's running for president of the United States. Luckily, there's no truth to this, and the election isn't dangerous.
Today is Saturday, which is also the day of the village election. Early in the morning, the village playground began to be decorated, with banners hung up and a platform set up for the leaders of the supervision team to sit on.
The election officially began at 9:30 a.m. Many villagers arrived early after breakfast, as this was a major event for the village.
Besides, it's rare to have such a lively gathering, so everyone brought their children over, and a group of kids started playing on the playground.
Ye Cheng didn't go that early. He waited until almost 9 o'clock before leisurely walking over. After all, the main character always has to appear last.
As soon as he reached the edge of the playground, he heard someone calling his name.
"Acheng, we're over here."
Ye Cheng looked up and saw his elder brother Ye Guowei. Several families had taken up a spot to sit, and they were all acquaintances, including Xiao Hu's family, Aunt Qian, and Duan Chunsheng.
"Big brother, uncles and elders, you've all arrived so early." Ye Cheng smiled and started offering cigarettes. This was how village gatherings were: a group of old smokers on the playground.
Duan Chunsheng took it and said jokingly, "What, are you so sure about it? Why are you so late?"
Ye Cheng smiled calmly, "With everyone's help, wouldn't it be embarrassing if we still couldn't get it?"
"Okay, then let's have a smoke first." The men took the cigarettes from Ye Cheng and started chatting while smoking.
As they were talking, Li the Cripple limped over from the other side, greeted Ye Cheng,
"Congratulations, second brother. You'll be the village chief soon. You'd better think of your thank-you speech."
"Yeah, make it exciting when you tell the story, and show that old bastard Chen Jinhai what he's made of."
Ye Cheng couldn't suppress a smile either, and waved his hand.
"None of these things matter; what matters is how things are done."
“Yes, the second brother is right. The village chief is supposed to do things for everyone. Only the second brother has this mindset. If it were me, I wouldn’t have this idea. I’d rather go out to sea and make money myself,” Duan Chunsheng said with a smile.
"The second brother is really thoughtful," a group of uncles chimed in.
Ye Cheng nodded his thanks.
When the time was almost up, he looked at Chen Zhangfu, who nodded to him, indicating that there was no problem.
With the Chen family able to garner so many votes, I should be fine.
At 9:15, Chen Jinhai arrived, grabbed a microphone, and said "hello" a couple of times.
"Um, everyone, please sit down. When the township leaders arrive, remember to applaud them."
"I know, you've said this before."
"After we're done, will the village provide meals?" A teasing voice rang out from the crowd, immediately eliciting a burst of laughter from everyone.
Chen Jinhai's face darkened. Holding the microphone, he pointed at the group of people who were jeering and said sternly.
“Who’s making a fuss down there? I’ll tell your parents to discipline you when you get back.”
"Also, whoever owns it, mind your own business. If the leaders come, they'll think our village is unruly."
After Chen Jinhai finished speaking, he saw a commotion start to break out outside the crowd, and a path was cleared for the old patriarch of the Chen family to arrive.
The old man was helped over, his steps unsteady. Because he was the oldest, a separate seat was specially arranged for him.
"The Chen family has really gone all out; they even called out the old master."
"They're trying to take over the village chief's position and suppress Ye Cheng, aren't they?"
"Hehe, it seems today's election is going to be interesting."
Ye Cheng narrowed his eyes, not understanding what the Chen family wanted to do by inviting the old master out.
At 9:25, a car drove into the village, and several people wearing shirts got out.
Chen Jinhai hurriedly went to greet him, led him to his seat, and after the leader was seated, Chen Jinhai picked up the microphone and raised his voice, saying...
"Fellow villagers, the election in Baiyun Village has officially begun. Let me first introduce the leaders present today. This is Deputy Township Head Li, and this is..."
Ye Cheng sat below and clapped along, even though he didn't recognize any of these people.
After the leaders finished their introductions, Deputy Township Head Li, who was sitting in the middle, made a lot of polite but meaningless remarks, the gist of which was that he would definitely guarantee the fairness of the election.
Before the official vote, Duan Chunsheng, as a representative of the election committee, read out the election rules. The rules were quite long, but in essence, they boiled down to one sentence: whoever gets the most votes wins.
After Duan Chunsheng finished reading, Chen Jinhai took the microphone and said, "Alright, let's begin the election!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several villagers came out from both sides and began handing out ballots to everyone.
The election is simple: just fill out these ballots and cast them.
There are 7 people on the ballot, and 5 people need to be elected for the village committee and the village head.
Ye Cheng took out a pen, put a checkmark over his name, and then folded it up.
"Second brother, look, we all hooked you." Several people nearby showed their tickets to Ye Cheng, and Ye Cheng thanked them one by one.
"Alright, everyone, you've hooked your votes, now you can vote." The one speaking now is Duan Chunsheng, who is from the election team. According to the procedure, Chen Jinhai is no longer the village chief.
After Duan Chunsheng finished speaking, everyone started to stand up and vote. It took almost an hour for several hundred people to finish voting, and then it was time to count the votes.
The entire process was conducted on-site. The election team brought out a blackboard, wrote the candidates' names on it, and then marked tally marks based on the ballots. It was an old but very practical method.
Ye Cheng lit a cigarette and slowly sat down to watch as the ballots were opened one by one, with more and more tally marks appearing under his name.
However, Chen Jinhai also had a lot of votes, and the gap between the two was very small, with Ye Cheng leading by about 10 votes.
Based on this trend, Ye Cheng should be elected.
"One vote for Chen Jinhai!"
"One vote for Chen Jinhai!"
...
"One vote for Chen Jinhai!"
Ye Cheng frowned as Chen Jinhai received five consecutive votes; the gap was getting too small.
Ye Cheng looked at Chen Jinhai on the stage, and Chen Jinhai looked over as well. The old fox curled up a meaningful smile, with a hint of disdain.
Ye Cheng suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked at the old master of the Chen family. The old master was not in a hurry at all and sat there calmly.
Looking at Chen Zhangfu again, Chen Zhangfu nodded vigorously and gave an OK sign.
The vote counting was getting faster and faster, and when there were still one-fifth left, Chen Jinhai overtook Ye Cheng for the first time.
Ye Cheng frowned; this was not a good sign.
"Acheng." Ye Guowei gently patted him and nodded. "Don't panic."
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