Jiang Qinyu was slightly surprised. Why was she being asked about something like this?
Old Man Lu, who had the same question, asked directly, "No, Village Chief, how can you ask her about this?"
Village Chief Li waved his hand, "Don't worry about that. Quickly call everyone out so we can come up with some rules."
Before they could even call out, Jiang Qinyu had already led the two children outside.
"Uncle Village Chief, I'm not in a position to say much about this. It's best if you and the others decide."
The distribution of grain is a major event for farmers. No matter how it is distributed, there will always be people who are dissatisfied. She did not want to take the lead in such matters.
Village Chief Li naturally understood her concerns, and he didn't want Jiang Qinyu to take the blame for him. "Girl, don't refuse yet. I came to see you alone. I just want to hear your advice. No matter how this matter ends up, it has nothing to do with you. Is that alright?"
He's already said all that, so it would be unreasonable for Jiang Qinyu to refuse any longer.
She thought for a moment and said, "Then let me share my opinion. If there's anything wrong with it, Uncle Village Chief, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"Alright, speak freely." Seeing that she was willing to talk, Village Chief Li immediately sat down at the stone table in the courtyard with a smile.
Jiang Qinyu said, "First of all, each family's original grain must be returned. They need to report to Uncle Village Chief themselves and tell the truth. If it is found that someone has over-reported, they will not be able to participate in other grain distribution activities in the village in the future."
No matter how much grain each family lost, it was all food that each family had worked hard to save. Everyone would have some attachment to that share of grain. If it wasn't distributed back, it would inevitably make people feel uncomfortable. Once people were alienated, it would be difficult to lead the team in the future.
Village Chief Li had naturally thought of this as well. He had been hesitant before, but after hearing Jiang Qinyu's words, he immediately nodded and said, "You're right, that's how it should be."
In years of natural disasters, they decided not to flee famine. There would definitely be many things they would do together in the future. Even so that their own family would not be ostracized, they dared not overreport the amount of grain their family had lost.
Jiang Qinyu nodded and continued, "Secondly, the things that the aunties find on the mountain should be returned to them, but other grains should not be divided equally."
Hearing this, Village Chief Li quickly interrupted her, "Why can't it be divided equally? I saw that every family in the village sent someone up the mountain last night. If it's not divided equally..."
His brow furrowed, clearly indicating that he was still struggling with the decision.
Jiang Qinyu curled her lips, "The reason why Uncle Village Chief is hesitant is because he's afraid the villagers will be dissatisfied. But if it's divided equally, it wouldn't be fair to the families of those who sent more people, like Uncle Big Hammer's family. He and Liu Yazi both went, and he was seriously injured..."
Before she could finish speaking, Village Chief Li realized what was going on, slapped his forehead in frustration, and said, "You know what, it really is true."
Normally, if given more time to think, he could figure it out. But these past two days, he's been robbed by bandits, discussed fleeing the famine, and spent the whole night stealing grain. His mind is a complete mess. How could he possibly think of all this?
It's good that he came to ask; otherwise, if the grain distribution hadn't gone well, a good thing could have turned into a bad thing, and that would have been a huge loss.
Seeing that he understood, Jiang Qinyu continued, "In addition, the grain is more of a reward than a distribution, a reward for the uncles and brothers who fought bravely last night. Moreover, the grain cannot be distributed all at once; a portion will be left as a reward and incentive for everyone to work for the village."
"Of course, of course," Village Chief Li wiped his sweat and nodded repeatedly, "You've thought things through very well."
Jiang Qinyu smiled and said, "I was just expressing my thoughts. Uncle Village Chief can decide how to handle those things based on the specific circumstances of the village."
“Alright,” Village Chief Li stood up, “I know what to do.”
Seeing that he was about to leave, Jiang Qinyu said again, "There is one more thing, Uncle, you should prepare for it as soon as possible."
"What's wrong?" Village Chief Li paused, looking at her with confusion.
Jiang Qinyu sighed softly, "Last night we let the leader of Qinggang Mountain get away. Knowing his personality, he will definitely find a way to retaliate against us. We have to be on guard!"
Upon hearing her mention One-Eyed King, both Village Chief Li and Old Man Lu felt a chill run down their spines and shivered simultaneously.
"You're right to remind us. I need to tell everyone that we all need to be more careful from now on," Village Chief Li said quickly.
Think about that one-eyed man from last night. Although he only had one eye, the viciousness and cruelty emanating from that eye were truly terrifying. Moreover, he had the idea of massacring the entire village, so we must be even more vigilant.
“Also,” Jiang Qinyu continued, “for the next three days, we need to send people to sneak up Qinggang Mountain to check on the bandits whose tendons we cut off. We need to know whether they’ve escaped or are dead. We need to have a clear picture.”
Last night, they were so busy moving things around that they just found a random house, cut off the tendons in the hands and feet of the bandits who were still alive, and locked them up.
As the saying goes, "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze," so Jiang Qinyu thought it was better to be on guard.
"Yes, yes, yes, this also needs to be arranged." Village Chief Li felt overwhelmed, and sweat kept pouring down his forehead.
Jiang Qinyu finished speaking and stood there without moving.
Village Chief Li was still looking at her expectantly, "My dear niece, is there anything else you want to say?"
"That's all, Uncle Village Chief, hurry back and make the arrangements!" Jiang Qinyu almost burst out laughing.
How did such an honest and kind person become the village chief? And how did he manage to do it for so many years?
In fact, what Jiang Qinyu didn't know was that the village chief position in this era was also hereditary. Li, the village chief's father, was the village chief, and as the eldest son in the family, he naturally took over the position of village chief of Dingshui Village after his father stepped down.
After Village Chief Li left, Chen also came out of the kitchen and, together with Old Man Lu, looked at Jiang Qinyu with complicated expressions.
The two elders knew their eldest daughter-in-law's personality well over the years, but Jiang Qinyu's actions from yesterday to today had shocked them so much that they wanted to ask but dared not.
Seeing their expressions, Jiang Qinyu could roughly guess what they were thinking. Considering that she might be living with the two elders for a while in the future, she took the initiative to ask, "Dad, Mom, is there something you want to ask me?"
Chen and Old Man Lu exchanged a glance, then looked at Jiang Qinyu with some uncertainty, "Eldest daughter-in-law, how... how did you change..."
They've become unrecognizable. Is this eloquent and violent daughter-in-law still their eldest daughter-in-law?
Jiang Qinyu chuckled softly, then looked at them solemnly and calmly, "Father, Mother, I used to be reluctant to take the lead in everything, hoping that the family could accept Shufan and Pan'er. But now that Lu Yancai and his wife can't accept them, I can't be the same as before..."
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