Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Quick-witted and Resourceful
Everyone voiced their agreement with Li Guihua’s words.
"That’s right!" Big Pillar said with a grimace. "We were so focused on making them move, but we have nowhere to put them! Besides, even though we all agreed to help, not a single family wants to take them in."
Big Pillar was voicing what everyone was thinking.
Feeling sorry for them was one thing, but when it came to actually helping, everyone was afraid of the trouble it might bring.
Finally, after some thought, Accountant Dong said, "Putting them up in our homes really isn’t suitable. But we do have another empty place in the village—the Dragon King Temple!"
Li Guihua was taken aback and hesitated. "But that’s where the young folks are staying. They probably won’t agree to it, will they?"
"The youth are outsiders, and these new people are outsiders too. Their situations might be different, but none of them are from our village. Besides, the young folks are living in the front courtyard. Aren’t there a few rooms in the back? We can clean them up for people to live in. It’s much better than those shacks," Accountant Dong said. "What do you all think?"
Big Pillar nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent idea! That place is perfect. And if the higher-ups come asking questions, we villagers can distance ourselves from it."
"Besides, what responsibility could there be?" Li Guihua said with a smile, shaking her head. "We’re just finding a place for them to stay. Once they’ve recovered, we’ll put them to work. There aren’t any other empty places in the village anyway. The Dragon King Temple is the only suitable spot. Village Chief, just make the call."
Miao Dahai nodded. "Alright, then. I’ll go talk to those three young people. I’ll make sure they agree."
"What’s there to disagree with? That place is village property, so of course, they have to follow the village’s arrangements. As for those young folks, they’re all educated and have a high level of political consciousness. They should understand our predicament," Big Pillar insisted. As the director in charge of these matters, it was his inescapable duty.
Miao Dahai and Li Guihua had interacted with Zhao Nuanyue and the others more often, so they were on familiar enough terms to talk things over. They hoped they could persuade them smoothly this time.
When they reached the Dragon King Temple, Zhao Nuanyue sensed Miao Dahai and the others approaching. She quickly had her brother put away his easel, paper, and brushes, then shoved a book into his hands. She grabbed one for herself, and seeing Hua Yusen empty-handed, she fetched another one from inside the house for him.
"Read this. Raise your political consciousness," Zhao Nuanyue whispered, then opened her book and began to recite, "..."
Zhao Nuanyue’s recitation left a nearby Hua Yusen completely dumbfounded.
’It’s not that the words were wrong, but was it really necessary to recite them out loud!’
’Does this really improve one’s ideological understanding?’
Hua Yusen had just opened the book and hadn’t even had a chance to read a single word when he heard a knock. He went to get the door.
When the door swung open so quickly, Miao Dahai was taken aback. Then his eyes fell on the book in Hua Yusen’s hand, and he was even more astonished.
’Who would have thought that here, in our remote little village, we’d have people with such high political consciousness.’
And it wasn’t just Hua Yusen; Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang each had a book in their hands as well.
Seeing this, Miao Dahai was overjoyed. He praised them, saying, "You are all excellent examples! We’ll have to learn from you from now on. It’s just that many of us common folk are illiterate. In the future, we’ll need you to help us improve our ideological understanding."
"Oh!" Hua Yusen froze for a second, but then it clicked. He understood what Miao Dahai meant and couldn’t help but admire Zhao Nuanyue. ’This girl is so clever,’ he thought. ’To think of and use a tactic like this...’
Zhao Nuanyue sent her brother inside to read, then came out and asked with a smile, "Uncle Miao, Aunt Li, what brings you here? If you needed something, you could have just sent word, and we would have come to you."
"No, no, we’re the village officials. It’s our job to come to you when something is needed," Miao Dahai said with a smile. "It’s wonderful to see you all have such a high level of political awareness. That puts our minds at ease. We’ve actually come to ask for a little help."
"Huh?" Zhao Nuanyue was a bit confused. "Uncle Miao, what do you mean? We’ve been behaving ourselves. Are people spreading rumors again?"
Seeing her expression, Miao Dahai had no choice but to explain patiently. "The outsiders who arrived are sick from the cold, and the village doesn’t have any houses for them. So, we were thinking of letting them stay in the back courtyard of the Dragon King Temple."
When Hua Yusen heard this, he was secretly overjoyed. ’I can’t believe it’s going this smoothly!’
On the surface, however, Hua Yusen put on a reluctant expression. "If those people are moved here, won’t the villagers misunderstand us? We’re far from home. We wouldn’t be able to handle any nasty rumors."
Li Guihua and Miao Dahai exchanged a glance. They knew this would happen. It looked like they’d have to offer some kind of benefit.
"Mr. Hua, Mr. Zhao, you are both fine examples for the people," Li Guihua praised. "The village won’t misunderstand you. This was a decision made by the village committee and all the villagers together. We also trust that as young men with firm convictions, you will be able to handle this task well."
Zhao Nuanyue saw the hopeful look in Li Guihua’s eyes. Besides, Li Guihua had looked out for her before. Even if that special treatment had been the result of her own gift-giving, it had still been a help.
"Since Uncle Miao and Aunt Li have put it that way, we accept the task the village has given us," Zhao Nuanyue replied. She then turned to Hua Yusen. "Mr. Hua, although we may be outsiders, we are here to support Nianqiao Village. That makes us part of this community, and we should help shoulder its burdens and solve its problems!"
Hua Yusen listened to Zhao Nuanyue’s eloquent, politically-correct speech and was secretly amazed. ’She’s a natural at this sort of rhetoric,’ he thought. ’She’s even smoother at it than I am!’
"Mr. Hua, what do you think?" Miao Dahai asked, looking at Hua Yusen, hoping he would show the same high level of awareness as Zhao Nuanyue.
Even he hadn’t dared to take these people into his own home for fear of stirring up trouble, to say nothing of the other villagers.
