Chapter 106 Shen Qingqing: In order to convince the public, then...
Seeds aren't worth much; what's truly valuable is the labor invested afterward.
By providing some seeds, you can increase your income by 30% without doing anything. If you state this condition, I believe no one will refuse.
Therefore, when Shen Qingqing made the suggestion, she directly brought Aunt Li and a few others along.
If any of them refuse, it won't be difficult for them to withdraw on their own.
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "No problem, I agree. Let's do it this way!"
He had assumed that Shen Qingqing's condition would be something like asking him to take better care of the Shen family during the subsequent village lockdown. After all, she had taken such a great risk; it wouldn't be right for her not to reciprocate in kind for herself and her family.
To the village chief's surprise, Shen Qingqing's final condition was simply a transaction.
Those with vegetable gardens provided the seeds, and those without provided the labor. Everyone was able to persevere without deliberately making things difficult for either side. Anyone with a modicum of understanding would have no objections.
She has considered everything so thoroughly that even from the village chief's perspective, there is nothing wrong with it.
Thinking of this, the village chief was slightly moved.
He didn't even think about consulting with anyone else, and immediately made the decision: "You don't need to worry about this, I'll talk to them."
When Shen Qingqing made her demands, she was standing next to the village chief, so no one else heard her. The village chief quickly realized that it wasn't appropriate for Shen Qingqing to speak directly about this matter.
No matter how intelligent and capable Shen Qingqing is, in the eyes of the villagers she is just a young junior, and a girl at that. If they heard that Shen Qingqing was the one who led and arranged this matter, the proposal that could have passed smoothly might suddenly face some opposition.
That's just how things are in the village. He was born and raised here, and worked his way up from a migrant worker to the position of village chief. Over the past few decades, he never felt there was anything wrong with the villagers' mindset.
But now, the thought that the urgent proposal might be hindered by the villagers' ignorant prejudices suddenly made the village chief feel a nameless anger.
Leaving aside others, let's talk about Shen Qingqing's grandfather...
He let out a heavy sigh.
Shen Qingqing spoke again at this moment.
Upon hearing the village chief agree to her suggestion, the girl pursed her lips slightly, then suddenly revealed a sweet smile. Only then did she finally show some of the obedient nature she had as a child.
But looking at her smile, the village chief always felt that Shen Qingqing was up to something again.
"Then I'll have to trouble Grandpa Village Chief. But there are some things we should clarify first. It's not just about food; the village's water and electricity may also be cut off for some time to come. With insufficient troops, the army can only prioritize protecting large substations. The power distribution lines that remote villages rely on for electricity cannot be protected. If any node is damaged by zombies or left unmaintained for a long time, it could lead to a complete shutdown."
Shen Qingqing's explanation left the village chief completely bewildered. He didn't know the specifics of the situation, nor did he know where Shen Qingqing had gotten all this random knowledge from. He could only nod in agreement.
“If the water and electricity are also cut off, the village will only become more chaotic, so you are right, we must be united enough to get through this difficult time,” Shen Qingqing said. “Labor is even more valuable at times like this, so I propose that when we form labor teams, we should form individual teams instead of individual teams, not household teams.”
"This way, those who usually like to slack off will no longer be able to hide behind other laborers in the household—the current situation can no longer allow them to continue living as leisurely as before."
"In addition, I suggest that the others form a patrol team to patrol around the village every day. On the one hand, to check if any zombies are approaching, and on the other hand, to supervise the work of these people."
Shen Qingqing spoke slowly and deliberately, but the village chief immediately thought of someone.
Zhao Hailin!
If it were based on each family contributing labor, this guy might actually stay at home and let his wife and elderly mother go out and do the work for him.
After all, didn't Lao Zhao do the same thing when he was still around?
As for the other families, the fact that they'd lie around doing nothing and then pluck vegetables from their neighbor's garden when they're short on ingredients for cooking speaks volumes about their character. We definitely need to take some firm measures to prevent them from continuing to slack off.
Using the name of the patrol team is perfectly legitimate.
The village chief knew that Zhao Hailin and Shen Qingqing had some past conflicts, and he naturally assumed that Shen Qingqing's suggestion was aimed at Zhao Hailin.
“You’re right. Don’t worry, I’ll take charge of the mobilization. I guarantee that no one will be wasted.”
At a time like this, wanting to stay home and lie around is just a pipe dream!
The village chief was already mentally preparing how to make fun of Zhao Hailin, but then Shen Qingqing said with a smile, "Thank you for your help. To convince everyone, our family can also provide one person to help."
“Let’s invite my grandfather too,” she said.
village head:"?"
He thought he had misheard.
Shen Qingqing said lightly, "My dad is recovering from an injury and can't do heavy work for the time being. My mom and grandma have to take care of our own vegetable garden, so only my grandpa is left."
“He has all four limbs and is in good health. If other elderly, weak, women and children can do this kind of work, he can do it too. You can rest assured to assign him tasks.”
After listening for a while, the village chief finally managed to squeeze out a single word, "...Huh?"
His gaze then shifted to Old Man Shen, who was standing at the edge of the line, blowing smoke rings and impatiently complaining about wanting to go home. The words "an eye for an eye" popped into his mind.
It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet.
"Okay." He looked away. "I'll tell you in a bit."
*
Aunt Li could hardly believe her ears.
Just by providing some seeds, you can get 30% of the vegetables for free? Moreover, the village chief explicitly stated that they don't need to do anything in this newly developed vegetable garden; they just need to wait at home for others to harvest the vegetables and deliver them to their door.
Those like Zang Lijun and Grandma Shen, who had always tended their vegetable gardens, were one thing. But for Aunt Li and others who had stopped for a while and had just picked up their gardens again, it was like a windfall, hitting them right on the head.
"No, this pie didn't just fall from the sky, it was clearly thrown by Shen Qingqing." Someone muttered quietly from the side.
Aunt Li wholeheartedly agreed.
Given the severity of the situation outside, not only will it take a long time to clear out the zombies, but even if they are cleared out, they probably won't dare to go into the county town for the time being.
I was truly horrified by the miserable state of Lao Zhao and the others.
In this situation, having more food stored at home means having more confidence to survive.
How could they not be grateful to Shen Qingqing?
If she hadn't pulled them out at the crucial moment, they wouldn't have been able to gain such a huge advantage.
The village chief said that before the newly planted vegetables grow, he would ask others to distribute the vegetables from the fields to those who do not have vegetable plots.
We don't need much; we prioritize ensuring our own supply. And the rest won't be given away for free.
You have to pay back whatever you ate.
After you pay it all back, you get another 30%, and only then can you take the rest back home.
After these words were spoken, not only Aunt Li and the others, but even Zang Lijun and the others couldn't help but laugh.
Some of the vegetables they grow were originally intended to be sold. Now that they can't sell their produce in the county town, it's fine for them to consume it within the village; they're not losing out at all.
Some even think this method is better than before. After all, before the apocalypse, those people often went to the fields to pick vegetables at will, and since they were all neighbors, they couldn't say anything even if they saw it.
Now that there are patrol teams in the village, it's impossible to secretly pick vegetables anymore.
As for the patrol team, since their official duties are to "protect the village" and "check if any zombies are approaching," not only those with vegetable gardens but the entire village have to take turns participating.
—But since patrols are being conducted, shouldn't the village's security also be taken care of? With so many eyes watching, if someone tries to slack off or secretly pocket the harvested vegetables instead of distributing them according to the actual quantity, they'll have to think twice. They'll have to consider the shame if they're caught.
In short, they all benefited greatly.
With more things acquired, there's less to worry about.
Aunt Li was overjoyed, and the gloom brought by the apocalypse was dispelled considerably.
In stark contrast to Aunt Li and others were the group of people who didn't have vegetable gardens.
Who would be happy to have 30% of what they've worked so hard to grow given away for no reason?
Zhao Hailin was the first to jump out and oppose it.
"I disagree!" His face flushed red. "Seeds don't cost much. We'll pay for them. After we pay, how we plant and distribute the rest is our own business."
"Besides, we don't know how long the chaos outside will last, but we still have to keep growing vegetables. Are we supposed to just grow crops for free for a year while things are in chaos outside? That doesn't make sense."
His words were met with a few words of agreement.
But some people still resent Zhao Hailin, feeling that he was the one who caused all of this. If it weren't for what he said about the resettlement housing, they might be the ones receiving 30% of the vegetables for free now.
Zhao Hailin felt the angry gazes of these people, as if they were thorns in his back, and could only shout louder as he demanded an explanation from the village chief.
Little did he know that his energetic appearance would be seen as evidence of filial impiety by others.
Old Zhao had just died, and in such a gruesome manner, that Aunt Zhao's spirits visibly waned. She sat on the far side, not participating in the discussion at all, and showing no reaction to what was being said outside. Yet Zhao Hailin was still keenly aware that he had been taken advantage of, arguing so much over a small amount of profit.
Once the label of "unfilial son" is firmly attached to him, he will truly be despised by everyone in this village.
Even the most conservative and patriarchal people in the village looked at Zhao Hailin with a subtle change in their gaze.
Shen Qingqing stood at the edge, not uttering a word the entire time, keeping her presence extremely low.
She just stared blankly.
The village chief finally spoke: "Exchange with money? At a time like this, money is just a piece of paper. Nothing is more important than supplies! You won't die without money, but without food, you won't even survive this week."
The village chief didn't believe Zhao Hailin was unaware of this; he was merely taking advantage of the fact that others were in the same predicament as him, and was making unreasonable demands in the name of the group.
Thinking about it this way, the village chief was so angry at Zhao Hailin's shamelessness that he almost laughed: "You want to exchange seeds? Sure, I agree to let you exchange them, but you have to exchange them with your family's stored grain."
Upon hearing that the grain could be exchanged, Zhao Hailin's wife, who had been taking care of Aunt Zhao, was immediately shocked and rushed out, shouting, "No way!"
If there are no vegetables, you can still find a way to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, but if there is no food, you really can't survive.
The vegetables they planted will take time to grow; how will they survive without food?
Zhao Hailin, enraged, snapped, "Shut up! What business is it of yours?"
Without thinking, he tried to push his wife away. The others couldn't stand it anymore, and several of them, enraged, pointed at Zhao Hailin's nose and were about to start cursing.
Zhao Hailin's wife couldn't take it anymore. She reached out and scratched his face with her fingernails, shouting hoarsely, "You, Zhao, if you dare take the grain away, then we're getting a divorce!! I couldn't live like this anymore anyway!!"
Not long after they got married, Zhao Hailin's bad habits started to surface one after another, and since they didn't have any children, she really didn't want to put up with this anymore.
Just as the couple was about to start fighting, Shen Qingqing, who had been watching coldly with her arms crossed, noticed out of the corner of her eye that Aunt Zhao, who had been silently bowing her head like a statue, suddenly moved.
The two were standing at the edge of the line, and unknowingly they ended up next to each other.
Aunt Zhao stretched out her hand and pointed to the wood-chopping knife that Shen Qingqing had brought: "Qingqing, can I borrow this knife for a moment?"
Shen Qingqing was slightly surprised and nodded.
Aunt Zhao took the knife, pushed through the crowd, and walked to the center.
She used to be a very proud person. Shen Qingqing remembered how many times she had boasted about her son's excellence and reliability in front of her, her eyes shining with pride. But now, this Aunt Zhao—Wang Yuqin—had disheveled hair and her clothes were covered in mud when she fainted, making her almost unrecognizable.
She carried the knife, slowly walked up to her son, and reached out to help her daughter-in-law up.
The two were fighting on the ground. Zhao Hailin's wife, who was used to farm work, was no less strong in her anger and managed to pin Zhao Hailin down temporarily, scratching several bloody marks on his face.
Suddenly pulled away, still somewhat unsatisfied, she turned her head and saw the wood-chopping knife in her mother-in-law's hand, her face turning deathly pale.
But Wang Yuqin simply gestured for her to stand aside, looking down at her son who was lying on the ground covering his face, yelling and cursing, her face full of disappointment.
This is the good son she is so proud of.
Despite Zhao Hailin's lack of success, she always felt that her son would eventually make something of himself, thanks to the love and care he received from childhood.
But they didn't realize that he was rotten to the core.
Zhao Hailin was spewing profanities and cursing his wife when a woodcutter's knife was suddenly pressed against his face, the gleaming blade pointing directly at his nose.
Wang Yuqin looked exhausted, but her hand holding the knife was steady. Having done farm work for a long time, she could use these tools as easily as her own limbs: "Tomorrow you will go to work in the fields with the team. You are only allowed to be the first to go and the last to come back."
"If I find out you're lazy, late, or leaving early... well, I don't want to live anymore anyway, so you'll come down with me and keep your dad company, okay, Hailin?"
Wang Yuqin's tone was completely calm, clearly indicating that she had lost all hope, which in turn instilled a sense of fear in Zhao Hailin.
The mother before him was a stranger.
He had a premonition that if he dared not agree, Wang Yuqin might really take action.
The people who were just making a ruckus suddenly became quiet in an instant.
Zhao Hailin stared at the blade, swallowed hard, and said in a trembling voice, "...I...I understand."
Wang Yuqin nodded, sheathed her knife, and said indifferently, "Good girl."
Then she turned around, walked back to Shen Qingqing step by step, returned the wood-chopping knife to her, and fell silent again.
All eyes followed Wang Yuqin. The scene, which had been arguing fiercely after the village chief announced the formation of a labor team, suddenly fell silent.
The surroundings were completely silent; even the dissenting voices had disappeared.
Shen Qingqing and the village chief exchanged a glance.
That's how it was settled.
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