The three closed the door and walked towards the entrance of the military compound.
Before even reaching the main gate, I could hear a commotion coming from there.
"The PLA comrades cannot go back on their word. Once they have promised us, they cannot go back on their word."
"Yes, we can't back out. We've saved all our mangoes for you, but if you don't want them, the purchasing station is full. What are we going to do? Our whole family depends on this income to live. Aren't you trying to drive us to our deaths?"
Zhu Xiudan was trying to calm everyone down, "Fellow villagers, comrades, please don't get agitated. We will definitely come up with a solution to this. Please give us some time."
“We gave you time last time, and your person in charge said they would resolve it. But what did you do? You just gave us a verbal message that whoever disbanded could disband. Nobody cared about our affairs.”
"You absolutely must give us an explanation this time, or we will report you to the Guangdong provincial government."
Zhu Xiudan was also in a terrible predicament.
The mangoes from several production teams are not a small amount. If not handled properly, it will definitely bring shame to the family compound and also have a negative impact on the military.
After all, it was indeed the side business group's fault, and they definitely need to take back the money. But what to do with it and how to do it is another problem.
Zhu Xiudan could only reassure the comrades present, "Fellow villagers, don't worry, we will collect the mangoes. It's just that there are so many mangoes, so how to collect them is a question. Please give us some time to discuss it."
The villagers present listened to her words, looked at each other, and finally all looked at the middle-aged man at the front.
The middle-aged man stepped forward, looked at Zhu Xiudan, and asked, "Who are you? Can you keep your word?"
“She is the women’s director of our residential compound and also the head of the sideline group. Of course, what she says counts.” Yu Yao’s voice pierced through the crowd and reached everyone’s ears.
Zhu Xiudan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her arrive.
For some reason, seeing Yu Yao filled her with strength, as if as long as Yu Yao was there, she could find a solution.
Yu Yao walked through the crowd and stood in front of Zhu Xiudan.
The middle-aged man looked at Yu Yao and asked, "Little girl, who are you?"
Zhu Xiudan proudly announced, "Fellow villager, this is our side business team's advisor. Whatever the side business team does next, we have to listen to her."
The middle-aged man didn't understand what "advisor" meant, but he understood what came afterward.
A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Could such a young girl really make the decisions?
Yu Yao said confidently and calmly, "Fellow villagers, we are aware of your demands, and we are willing to fulfill our promise to buy your mangoes. However, as you know, this year's harvest is bumper, with mango production increasing by about 30% compared to previous years. We need some time to develop a plan on how to collect the mangoes."
I know my fellow villagers are anxious, and we understand that. We're even more anxious than they are, and we also hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Since we share the same goal, why can't we be given some time to process this?
A young man behind the middle-aged man immediately said, "You're not just making excuses, are you? Dragging things out and trying to gloss over this so that our mangoes will rot on the trees, giving you an excuse not to fulfill your promises."
Yu Yao smiled and said, "Of course not. Since we've agreed, we'll definitely accept it."
Zhu Xiudan chimed in, "That's right, I just promised that I would definitely accept it."
The young man was still a little skeptical and wanted to say something, but the middle-aged man shook his head at him and then looked at Yu Yao, "How much time do you need? Too long won't do. The weather is hot now, and the mangoes won't last long on the tree. We have to harvest them as soon as possible."
Yu Yao looked at Zhu Xiudan, who said, "I'll do whatever you say."
With Dan Jie's words in mind, Yu Yao understood the situation. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Give us two days. We will definitely come up with a plan in two days."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man remained silent for a moment before saying, "Two days it is. We'll come back in two days."
"Chieftain." Some people felt that two days was too long and didn't want to give that much time.
The middle-aged man waved his hand to stop the man, saying, "It's just two days. We Li people aren't hard to talk to, as long as you keep your word."
"Don't worry, fellow villager, we will definitely keep our word."
"We'll trust you this time for now."
With the middle-aged man in charge, those who had objections could only accept it, glared at Yu Yao and the others, and left with the middle-aged man.
After they left, the area in front of the military compound became much quieter.
Many people were watching Yu Yao and Zhu Xiudan, wondering how they would resolve this matter, since so many mangoes were no small sum.
Zhu Xiudan frowned. "Everyone, disperse. Yu Yao, let's go to the office."
Yu Yao turned to Lu Ze and said, "Lu Ze, you and Sister Meihua go back first. I'll go to the office with Sister Dan."
Upon arriving at the Women's Director's office, Zhu Xiudan's composure vanished, replaced by a look of deep worry.
"We agreed to buy mangoes back then, but we didn't expect the side business to turn out like this. We suffered from our lack of experience. If only we had been slower back then."
"Sister Dan, don't panic. Since things have come to this, all we can do is try our best to make amends. How much money is left in the side business account?"
"The army originally gave us 2,000 yuan as start-up capital. We used the money to buy bamboo mats, wire mesh, and repair the drying stove for the side business group. In addition, we also bought fruit and paid out wages. Now we only have 1,000 yuan left."
Yu Yao did the math: mangoes at the purchasing station are now two cents a pound, so one thousand yuan can only buy fifty thousand pounds of mangoes.
This year's mango harvest is bountiful; the combined harvest from several production teams must be at least tens of thousands of kilograms. This amount of money is simply not enough to pay for the mangoes.
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