Chapter 405: Chapter 401: Ridiculed
The contracts were signed.
Every village participating in the pig-raising venture received an agreement.
The county magistrate was the witness. He kept one copy, and another was filed for the record.
And just like that, the matter was settled.
The county magistrate was still full of doubt. He believed Leng Yuan wasn’t one to make baseless claims, but with this particular matter, he truly couldn’t see a solution.
So, he decided to just wait and see.
He would see what exactly Qingshan Team was going to do.
The county magistrate declared the meeting adjourned and left with his people. The representatives from the commune didn’t linger either and followed them out.
The remaining team captains, however, weren’t in a hurry to leave.
There were over thirty villages in the county. For many, their only connection was attending meetings together; they weren’t actually well-acquainted.
Among them were those on good terms with Qingshan Team, and naturally, those who were not.
Take Wang Aiguo, the captain of Wangjiazhuang, for example. In the past, his village had always received a good number of piglets. This time, however, due to their significant grain losses, the higher-ups had directly revoked their eligibility.
He had also gone to Qingshan Team to borrow their thresher before, but unfortunately, it had already been loaned out. Wang Aiguo had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Because of this, he’d come to resent Chen Beiguo.
The two already had bad blood between them. He believed Chen Beiguo had intentionally refused to lend him the thresher and blamed him for Wangjiazhuang’s grain losses.
He was already unhappy that Qingshan Team was allowed to raise pigs.
But when Leng Yuan stood up and laid out his plan—instantly turning Qingshan Team’s advantage into a weakness—a smile finally broke through on his gloomy face.
He had deliberately stayed behind, ostensibly to offer Chen Beiguo some comfort.
"Captain Chen, next time you go looking for help, you should first check if there’s something wrong with them up here."
Wang Aiguo said, tapping his own head.
Then he added with a grin, "Otherwise, you’ll end up losing the shirt off your back."
"Raising pigs for other people... I have no idea what you all were thinking. Don’t tell me you felt so bad about our grain losses that you came up with this plan specifically to help us!"
"If that’s the case, then you’re just too noble, Captain Chen. We should all give you an award."
Wang Aiguo’s voice was dripping with undisguised schadenfreude. He raised it considerably, drawing the eyes of many other team captains nearby.
Hearing his words, they let out contemptuous snickers.
"He’s right, you know. Such selflessness certainly deserves an award."
The speaker was from a village on friendly terms with Wangjiazhuang.
Chen Beiguo frowned. He truly disliked Wang Aiguo.
’What a petty man.’
’If you have a problem, why not just say it to my face? Always resorting to these petty tricks, even giving gifts to the leaders... Don’t think for a second I don’t know about it.’
In previous years, Qingshan Team should have been allocated pigs, but because of Wang Aiguo’s under-the-table dealings, their village ended up with none, year after year.
Wangjiazhuang, on the other hand, despite its consistently mediocre ranking, always managed to get more pigs.
In truth, everyone knew what was going on, but what could they do? The man had powerful connections; no one dared to cross him.
Though Chen Beiguo was uncertain himself, he knew he had to defend his own.
"What’s wrong with being selfless? Isn’t dedication what’s being promoted right now?"
"Our actions are a show of that dedicated spirit. All Wangjiazhuang has to do is enjoy the benefits."
After speaking, he put on a look of sudden realization.
"Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Wangjiazhuang doesn’t even have a quota for pigs this time. So you won’t get to take part in this free ride. What a shame."
Wang Aiguo’s face instantly turned ashen. His previously smug expression was now so dark it looked like it could drip ink.
His tone turned grim.
"That’s still better than your Qingshan Team. We’ll just have to see if, six months from now, Qingshan Team will have a new captain."
