But before they could figure it out, Village Chief Li spoke up again.
"Everyone, although our village does need to select people from several surrounding villages to merge into Dingshui Village, the county magistrate has given us a small right to select people from each village ourselves in order to ensure that there are no problems with the future development of Dingshui Village."
So if you've come here with the intention of bringing the entire village under our control, then I apologize in advance.
His words stunned all the village chiefs and village heads who came.
"What? They can choose for themselves? They're not going to be incorporated into our whole village?"
"Judging from what they're saying, it doesn't seem like it's about merging into one or two villages, but rather that they're actively coming to our village to select people."
"How can that be? What if they take away all the strong and capable men from our village? No, no, I can't accept that..."
Most village chiefs and village heads would not agree with this.
Seeing that they had said enough, Village Chief Li smiled and said, "Everyone has misunderstood. Although we are going to the surrounding villages to select people, we would never do anything like taking away the good families from your village."
"So how do you select people?" someone immediately asked, puzzled.
Village Chief Li said, “It’s very simple. First, this family cannot have anyone who likes to cause trouble; second, they must be someone we need for the future development of our village, and at least have a skill; third, it doesn’t matter if they are old or women, as long as they meet the first two points and are willing to walk together with our Dingshui Village.”
“We will select 120 households from those who meet these criteria; there’s no room for more than that in our village,” Liu Erleng quickly added.
He was afraid that these shameless people would claim that everyone in their village met the requirements, and then their village would become the sucker.
Several village chiefs were already unhappy when they heard that Dingshui Village was going to select its own people. Now that they heard that only 120 households were needed, some of them impulsively stood up and said goodbye.
"Our village is doing alright, so we don't need your help. Farewell." The village chief cupped his hands in farewell and walked out.
The village chief and the village head who remained looked at each other, also in a dilemma.
To be honest, they all came here hoping to live a better life, and they all wanted to be incorporated into Dingshui Village so that their descendants could also receive some protection.
Moreover, as village chiefs and village leaders, they are people with status and position. If the entire village chiefs are merged into them, they will certainly still have some status in the future. But if people are chosen from their own villages, that's a different story.
Several more village chiefs took their leave, leaving only the village heads of Xiahe Village and Guangping Village behind.
“Our village has more than 300 households, and there are quite a few trivial matters in the village every day, but there are not many people who cause trouble. If Village Chief Li is interested, why not choose someone from our village?” said the village chief of Guangping Village.
Village Chief Li knows Guangping Village quite well, but Guangping Village is far away, so it might be a bit troublesome to relocate people there.
"If that's what Village Chief Xu says, then I won't stand on ceremony. But I hope Village Chief Xu can give me a list, and we'll pick the people out in a few days," Village Chief Li said with a smile.
Without hesitation, Village Chief Xu wrote down the names of all the suitable families in Guangping Village, totaling about two hundred households.
One hundred households make up one li (里). Although their village is large, the people are not united, and he is powerless to manage it. The villagers are also living a difficult life. Now that Dingshui Village is willing to take in some of them, he should be grateful to them.
After handing over the list, Village Chief Xu took his leave.
Village Chief Li looked at Village Chief Wu of Xiahe Village and asked, "Do you also want to merge into our village?"
Village Chief Wu quickly shook his head, "I'm here today to apologize."
"Apologize?" Village Chief Li was taken aback. "That's really strange. What are you apologizing for?"
Village Chief Wu's face turned a deep purplish-red, but he still mustered his courage and said, "We were wrong before; we shouldn't have always tried to take advantage of you. Today, I'm here on behalf of the entire village to apologize..."
Village Chief Li and the rest of the village committee were stunned by what he said.
They never expected that the people of Xiahe Village would one day sincerely apologize.
Liu Erleng said sarcastically, "You're probably only apologizing because you want to be merged into our village, aren't you?"
It's no wonder he said that; the people of Xiahe Village had done so many disgusting things in the past that he didn't want to forgive them, even if they apologized.
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wu immediately shook his head, "Absolutely not! I'm just here to apologize, I never intended to merge into your village..."
He definitely thought about it, but he certainly couldn't say it right now!
Village Chief Li glanced at Liu Erleng, signaling him to stop talking, then looked at Village Chief Wu and asked, "How many people are left in your village now?"
Upon hearing this question, Village Chief Wu was overcome with grief, his voice choked with emotion. "Since I led them to flee the famine last year, our village has shrunk from over two hundred households to just over fifty, and most of the villagers are now elderly, weak, sick, or disabled..."
He became more and more upset as he spoke, and the man in his forties or fifties suddenly squatted down on the ground and began to sob.
Liu Erleng couldn't stand it and pulled him up. "Why are you crying? Wasn't it your decision to flee the famine? And then you came to our village to take advantage of us, and even tried to collude with outsiders to rob our village. Wasn't that all your own decision? You have to bear the consequences!"
Village Chief Wu sobbed uncontrollably, "I know I was wrong...we all know we were wrong..."
But he knew that even if they realized their mistake, the people of Dingshui Village would never forgive them.
"Alright, alright," Village Chief Li interrupted him with a frown, "List out who's still in your village and what they all do."
"Village Chief!" Liu Erleng looked at Village Chief Li in disbelief. "You don't still plan to take people from their village, do you?"
Village Chief Li glared at him. "Does it take my word for it? Does it require your all-around agreement?"
Liu Erleng thought about it and realized it made sense, so he stopped making a fuss.
Village Chief Wu was overjoyed. Regardless of whether it would work out or not, out of all the village chiefs, only their village had left their names besides Guangping Village. Didn't that mean they also had a chance?
Even if he can't elect most of the villagers, as long as someone can live a good life in Dingshui Village, his sins as the village chief can be lessened.
After leaving the list, Village Chief Wu quickly took his leave, as if afraid that Village Chief Li would change his mind.
“Village chief, you…” Liu Erleng was still very worried.
Village Chief Li looked at the village committee members and said, "It's not that I'm kind-hearted, but do you remember that severe drought twenty years ago? The people from Xiahe Village made our village carry ten buckets of water from their pond..."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately recalled what had happened back then.
Even though Liu Erleng was unwilling, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Okay then, but we can't pick on those who cause trouble..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com