Chapter 352: Chapter 352: Running for Village Chief?
So when Liu Zheng really speaks out, essentially, nobody can truly refuse him.
After sharing an intimate moment, Li Yanling finally pushed him away from her embrace.
"Enough with the nonsense," she said. "I told you, I missed you. Did you really think I missed you in that way? I’ve been watching you. You’ve been running around nonstop these past days, busy with so many things in the village. I bet you haven’t had a decent meal, so I specially made you some dumplings to improve your life, okay?"
"How could I not say it? My sister-in-law is the best to me. Hey, speaking of which, that guy of yours, he hasn’t come back yet, has he?"
"Come back my ass. I bet he’s gone wild by now. It’s been a month or two, and he hasn’t even called home. But it’s okay, with or without him, it’s all the same. This really doesn’t bother me."
"Hey, what’s the filling for these dumplings? Is it chives? How did you know I love pork and chives? Also, do you know that chives have a very special effect?"
"What, are you trying to tell me that chives have a yang-strengthening effect? You’re already full of vim and vigor; do you really need to use this to boost your yang? I really don’t think that’s necessary."
"So what you’re implying is that you’re quite satisfied with your own capabilities, right? Since you’re satisfied, then I won’t say anything more."
"Let’s stop talking about this nonsense. I came to help you out with another matter today. By the way, did you hear? The village chief’s term is supposed to end this year."
"Of course, everyone in the village already knows that. It’s public knowledge now, there’s nothing secret about it. So what? Is there something to discuss?"
"Don’t you want to try for the position?"
"Say what? Me go for it? Are you joking? What do I have to compete with? Besides, although I’m a local born and bred here, when it comes to qualifications and other aspects, I truly can’t compare with others. What merits or abilities do I have? It’s impossible for me to take such a position. No, definitely not."
"I’ve noticed, you just don’t have any ambition, do you? So many people would kill for such an opportunity. Plus, right now, your prestige in the village is quite high. If all the villagers vote for you, then it would be a sure thing."
"That, I really can’t decide on my own, and frankly, I’m not interested in that. Besides, once you become village chief, there are so many responsibilities inside and out. How could I possibly manage all alone? Also, there’s another thing - what about my clinic? Should I just ignore it? If there are patients, how am I supposed to handle everything else in the village?"
"Why are you so inflexible? Can’t you adapt? Plus, once you take office, won’t you have a bunch of people to help share the workload? You can focus on your clinic as your main business and leave the rest to others, right?"
"Let others do it? What do you mean? I don’t quite understand. Those people in the village, are any of them capable of doing the job? I feel that leaving it to them might be worse than not doing it at all. Then, if the village turns into a mess, what am I supposed to do?"
"You could ask for my help. I’m sitting idle, right? The women’s affairs director position in the village has been vacant for a long time. Once you take office, you could promote me. I could manage the big and small matters for you. However, the title of village chief has to be yours."
At this point, Liu Zheng suddenly froze, realizing why she was so enthusiastic in making such a proposal to him. It turned out she had her own interests in mind.
"Oh, so it’s not for me but for yourself, huh? Have you been longing to be in charge for a while now?"
"Whether I get it or not isn’t that important, but you know what? Our village is facing a big problem right now. The neighboring Chenhe Village, they’ve been wanting to engulf our village. If we don’t fight back, the merger of the two villages could become a reality."
Hearing this, Liu Zheng was momentarily stunned and frowned slightly. Indeed, this issue had been going on for a while.
The two villages were separated only by a small river; by all accounts, they should be one village, but for some historical reason, they had become two distinct ones.
If they really merged, they would become one of the larger villages in the region. Otherwise, they seemed somewhat weak and isolated.
"This matter has been rumored for a long time. It’s said that the two villages will merge. But the key issue is, after the merger, who will manage the villages? This is a complicated problem."
"Right, that’s why the higher-ups have been deliberating on this. But if you take office, you’re quite well-known and capable across the region. People would likely lean towards you. If the villages merge, the administrative structure will become bigger. If you can take on the role of village chief for both, no, it would be one village by then, and the current village chief of the other would naturally become your deputy. You could leave everything to him to handle. Wouldn’t that be better?"
"You do make it sound logical and seem to have some reasons, but in practice, it might not be as simple as you imagine."
"But if you don’t even try, how do you know it won’t work? Do you realize why I suddenly made this proposal to you? It’s because I overheard them talking about it yesterday."
"What did you say? Overheard by chance? What do you mean by chance? Sigh, just explain to me clearly."
"Yesterday, I went to the village committee to fill out a form. Then, I stayed there for a while, preparing to leave when I saw the village chief walk in. Eventually, he and another person went into the room next door and discussed the issue of the next village chief’s candidacy."
