After the homemade mooncakes from Canglang Village were launched online, they sold out immediately.
Loose mooncakes, in particular, sell the best.
Amidst the economic downturn, their homemade mooncakes quickly captured the market with their excellent value for money, and their outstanding reputation attracted a large number of repeat customers.
Despite the increasing orders, Yan Jie and Shen Yingyu did not blindly expand mooncake production.
Everyone in the village has some work to do in the fields, more or less.
In order to ensure the quality and quantity of mooncake production without delaying the crop harvest, they decided to start work at 2 PM, with a daily production limit of 3,000 mooncakes, and the work for the day must be completed by 10 PM at the latest.
In the morning rush to finish work, Jiang Hexi was still plowing the fields with his tractor when he heard a sharp siren blaring from the village loudspeaker. Then the village chief began to speak:
"Hello—hello—, this is the village chief. I have a few things to announce."
"According to reliable sources from above, inspectors of civilized villages and towns have begun conducting unannounced visits to various villages."
"This evaluation is crucial to the development plan of Canglang Village for the next ten years, and we cannot afford to be careless. Anyone who dares to make a mistake at this critical juncture and disgrace our village will be the first to be punished by me!"
“The village committee sent out teams of children to guard the entrances of each village. If any unfamiliar faces appear, they will report the news back to the village committee, and then the village cadres will make unified arrangements for the work.”
"Those of you with buzz cuts whose hair hasn't grown out yet, remember to wear straw hats when you go to work in the fields, and make sure your hair is completely covered..."
Jiang Hexi was listening intently, her head resting on the steering wheel, when suddenly there was a knock on the driver's door. She turned to look at Yan Jie standing outside, rolled down the window, and said:
"Prince Yan, what's wrong?"
Why did you park your tractor here?
"Listen to what they're saying on the radio. The village chief is making a big fuss, telling us what not to do and what not to do. Is this 'civilized village' competition really that important?"
Yan Jie checked the influence of the award online:
"If Canglang Village is selected, it will be promoted and publicized as a model village nationwide. Wouldn't that be a great help to the village's tourism resources that are in dire need of development?"
Jiang Hexi said knowingly, "Then we should try our best to win this competition. Is it difficult?"
There are only a little over a thousand spots available nationwide.
Yan Jie thought for a moment and then said, "It's difficult in some ways, but not difficult in others; it all depends on how the village committee performs."
The village chief was still broadcasting over the loudspeaker, "No relieving yourself in the bushes!" when a child's urgent voice came from the background of the broadcasting room:
"They're here... Village Chief... They're here—!"
After the microphone was covered, a faint buzzing sound emanated from it.
In the past ten seconds or so, everyone turned to look at the loudspeaker hanging on the utility pole.
The village chief, speaking with a heavy local accent, abandoned his previous domineering manner and began to read in the tone of a television announcer:
"The above content is excerpted from Chapter Twelve of the novella 'My Village Chief Neighbor' written by Li Youtian, a major fish farmer in the village. Edited by Song Yanan, narrated by Zhou Guangzheng."
To avoid giving himself away, the village chief continued to maintain a calm and composed demeanor, saying:
"Next, please listen to the poetry recitation, 'Remembering My Younger Brother on a Moonlit Night' by Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty: 'The garrison drums interrupt the traveler's path, a lone goose cries in the autumn air, the dew is white tonight, the moon shines brightest in my hometown...' This concludes today's afternoon cultural learning session. Thank you for listening, and we'll see you next time."
The village chief decisively cut off the broadcast.
Yan Jie gazed at the large loudspeaker on the telephone pole and remarked with a sigh:
"As expected, being a village chief is not something an ordinary person can do. If it were anyone else, their heart would have exploded long ago."
Jiang Hexi was completely on the same page as him, "So the village chief's real name is Zhou Guangzheng."
[This plot twist is hilarious!!! The village chief managed to salvage the situation even with such a loudspeaker announcement; it's incredible!]
With ten minutes left in the lecture, the students in the back row were all laughing so hard they were doubled over in their chairs. The professor had caught them red-handed watching a farming reality show.
[Village bully Li Youtian: What the hell? I'm feeding fish in the pond, when did I start writing a novel? Give me back my village chief neighbor, how disgusting!]
[The village chief was initially shouting and cursing, but when he learned that the undercover investigators were coming, he instantly switched to a literary tone, reciting a poem that gave me goosebumps!]
After handing the tractor over to Yan Jie, Jiang Hexi got out of the driver's seat.
She looked back and saw Director Chen running towards her from a great distance.
"What's wrong, Director Chen?"
"Answer the phone quickly, village chief."
Jiang Hexi took the phone from his hand and immediately answered the call:
"Village chief, did you need something from me?"
"Xi-mei, I have an urgent matter that I need your help with. It can't be delayed for even a minute. You need to go to the camphor tree at the east entrance of the village right away!"
"Don't rush, tell me slowly, I'll head to the camphor tree at the village entrance right now."
The village chief took a sip of water, caught his breath, and continued:
"The inspection team went to the camphor tree for a secret investigation. Don't be fooled by the fact that Aunt Cui is a hundred years old; she knows what she should and shouldn't say. But Granny Xiang, her mouth is so gossipy it's impossible to sew it up with a needle. All she does all day is talk nonsense about this and that!"
Jiang Hexi dared not utter a single objection. "Didn't you warn Granny Xiang when you held the mobilization meeting before?"
"If warnings were effective, would she still be the village's notorious gossip?"
The village chief's assessment of Granny Xiang was spot on:
"If you're in the old ladies' circle, you must know that every time Granny Xiang talks nonsense, Aunt Cui has tried to dissuade her, but has it worked? She just agrees on the surface, but she keeps talking anyway, and she even likes to chat endlessly with strangers. Can you believe it?"
Jiang Hexi wholeheartedly agreed. Indeed, those who understood Granny Xiang best were those who had been hurt by her in the past.
"Village chief, didn't you think of any contingency plans for this situation?"
"Yes, my plan is to lock all these troublemakers in their homes on the day of the undercover investigation and not allow them to come out."
The village chief became extremely frustrated as he spoke.
"Who knew these inspectors would come without a word? They said they were conducting an undercover investigation, and they really did come!"
Jiang Hexi deeply sensed his helplessness and hurriedly hung up the phone.
When she arrived at the camphor tree, Grandma Xiang had indeed pulled three strangers to sit on a small stool and chatted about village gossip.
Judging from the way they were talking, the conversation seemed to have only just begun.
Jiang Hexi kept reassuring herself that she had arrived early and there was still time for everything.
When she reached the base of the tree, pulled out a small stool, and sat down, she heard Granny Xiang speak in an extremely mysterious tone to the three strangers sitting around her:
“I’m telling you, you can go anywhere in the village, but you can’t go to the shallow water alone.”
"Mother-in-law, why is this?"
Grandma Xiang leaned close to them and revealed, "Years ago, many people drowned in that shallow pool, and they were all outsiders like you."
Jiang Hexi's mind went completely blank on the spot.
She prayed to heaven to send a bolt of lightning to kill her; how could this situation possibly be salvaged?!
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