Chapter 367: Chapter 367 Stand Aside
As they were talking, the two of them walked up to this spot without realizing it. He noticed that the gate was closed. Finally, he walked up and gently knocked on the door.
"I’m here, who is it?"
An elderly voice came from inside. He turned to look at the old village chief, who just nodded to him lightly. In the end, Liu Zhengbie stepped back, and then Liu Zheng took a few more steps back.
"You old thing, what are you doing here? I thought you were dead already."
As soon as the door opened, Village Chief Yang saw that it was the old village chief. Immediately, the expression on his face changed obviously, and his words were indeed very unpleasant.
"You old immortal, if you’re not dead, how could I afford to die? I must at least outlive you."
"Outlive me? That will depend on whether you have such fate. With that body of yours, I reckon you won’t last many more days."
"Old immortal, if you keep talking like that, then there’s no point anymore. I’m here today for serious business. Put our grievances aside for now."
"Oh, you old thing, what serious business could you possibly have? What’s this, term expired, dishes gone cold, and now you’re being snubbed by others?"
"I don’t want to hear this. Come here, Liu Zheng. Let me introduce you. This is Old Yang Head, the so-called village chief here. Liu Zheng, this is our new elected village chief. Let me tell you, he’s been sent down wearing a cap, which is quite different from you as village chief."
"What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that my role as village chief counts for nothing? What have you done as a village chief, who gave you that cap, is it useful?"
"The two of you, please, can we stop arguing for a moment? I’ve come today because I have something very important to discuss with you, Uncle Yang. You must know who I am, right?"
"Of course, Liu Zheng, I certainly know who you are. You’re quite famous not only in your village but also in ours—a well-known young doctor. My son even came to you for treatment before."
Indeed, as long as Liu Zheng came here, then all past grievances could likely be set aside since he was quite familiar with everyone.
"Village Chief Yang, I actually don’t have any other intentions with my visit today. Plus, I believe you must have heard some rumors by now. Yes, I have indeed taken office as the new village chief. Today is my first day in office, and I specially asked my uncle to bring me here to pay our respects."
"Your visit is probably like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—with no good intentions, right?"
"Old Yang, look at you now, comparing yourself to a chicken? What’s the matter, really came looking for a chicken?"
The old village chief on the side really enjoyed stirring the pot and took every opportunity to take shots at him.
Sure enough, Village Chief Yang turned his head, then glared at him fiercely.
"You old thing, if you keep spouting nonsense, I will knock all your teeth out."
"Go on, then. Knock them out. My teeth are no good anyway. I’ll get some dentures, which will be more convenient for me, right?"
"Village Chief Yang, yes, I’ve indeed come with a purpose today. And I believe some matters should not be hidden from each other. I feel that some things should be discussed openly."
Actually, Liu Zheng didn’t want to waste time here. Since he had come, it was necessary to express his true thoughts, as this was an issue that both sides had to confront directly, with no place to hide.
"Alright, then if that’s the case, I’m eager to hear what medicine you’re selling in your gourd. Go ahead, of course, I have one condition before we start. If you’re thinking about merging the two villages, that’s no problem, but there’s just one condition: After the merger, I call the shots, and you stand aside."
It seemed that he wasn’t foolish at all and was aware of the true intentions behind their visit, just as the old village chief had explained before. His attitude would certainly make everything clear.
So, after hearing this, Liu Zheng just smirked. He knew that broaching this issue would result in failure and that it wasn’t going to be simple.
If everything could be taken over with just a few words, then the old village chief wouldn’t have struggled for so many years without fulfilling his wish.
"Uncle Yang, technically speaking, you serving as chief of both villages is not excessive in the least. Currently, younger cadres are being advocated, moreover, there are documents from above favoring the management by younger officials. After all, their ideas and approaches in various aspects are likely to be more prominent and superior."
"Whether it’s prominent or superior has nothing to do with me. What is this about promoting younger officials? So, what, just after graduating from university, before even growing a full beard, they come to boss me around? Do they even understand what it means to build a village? Do they know how to maintain the development of a village?"
"Uncle Yang, does that mean you’re acknowledging you have extensive experience in this area?"
"Naturally. I’ve been village chief for so many more years than him. It should be, let’s see, yes, 16 years already."
"That’s true. But now, looking at it, it doesn’t seem like Chenghe Village’s development is that great. It’s not like other villages that have already moved towards prosperity. Your village seems to have a significant number of poor households, doesn’t it?"
"Every village has these kinds of people. How could a village not have any poor households? That’s a common point among all villages. Don’t use this to pressure me. I’m telling you, the management and development I’m doing are very normal."
"Heh, Uncle Yang, you probably haven’t seen the development of other villages, right? So, you shouldn’t limit your perspective to just this level. If you really confine your vision to this level, then the villagers are truly doomed. They’ll never be able to leave this mountain."
