?46: Chapter 46 Saved the Mayor 46: Chapter 46 Saved the Mayor Liu Hun saw Xie Heguo looking at him without speaking and didn’t understand what trick he was playing, so he said to him, “Mayor Xie, these four people are not from our Wanbao Village, but have come to our Wanbao Village deliberately to cause trouble.”

    “Who says!

    Stop yapping nonsense, have your dog eyes gone blind?

    I’m from Wanbao Village, I grew up here!”

    “That’s right!

    I’m from Wanbao Village too!

    My house was destroyed by a flash flood, and the town has to solve it for me!”

    “Don’t be fooled by this kid!

    Let’s keep making noise!

    We’ll only get subsidies if we cause a commotion!

    Otherwise, what are we going to eat and drink?”

    “...”

    “You dare incite my villagers when you’re witnessing your own funeral, planting peonies in a fire pit?

    You really don’t know whether you’re alive or dead.

    Gaga, bring me your socks!” Liu Hun waved his hand at Gaga, who reluctantly brought over his smelly socks.

    “Stuff these people’s mouths for me, don’t let them spew shit!” Liu Hun ordered Gaga, who immediately stuffed his socks into the mouths of the four men.

    Afterward, Liu Hun said to Xie Heguo, “Mayor Xie, whether these people are from our Wanbao Village or not, you listen to what the villagers have to say.” Having said that, Liu Hun asked the surrounding villagers, “Everyone speak up, have you seen these four losers?”

    “Who are these guys?

    How come I’ve never seen these people?

    Are they relatives of someone from here or what?”

    “Yeah!

    How come I haven’t seen these folks in the village before?

    If they’re not from Wanbao Village, what are they doing in our temple?”

    “Hey!

    I remember now, that kid was standing right next to me just now, he was hollering so loud he nearly gave me a heart attack.”

    “...”

    Listening to what the villagers had to say, Xie Heguo was pretty convinced by Liu Hun, and he actually admired Liu Hun’s methods quite a bit, they were decisive and fierce, showing true talent.

    “Stirring up the villagers to besiege the Mayor, you’re being used as pawns in someone’s game; this is serious business!

    I’m telling you now, if you confess in front of the Mayor who put you up to this, you might suffer less as accomplices.

    If you stay silent like gagged starlings here, just wait for the Mayor to warm you up!” After Liu Hun finished speaking, he pulled out the stinky socks from the mouths of the four, had the Mayor not been there, he would have taken real action, not wasted so much breath.

    “My dear mother...

    It reeks to death...

    I’ll tell!

    I’ll tell!

    It was the bald guy from the neighboring village...”

    “I’ll tell too!

    A bald thug from the next village paid us to make trouble.”

    “Yes, yes, it was the bald thug who told us to come, said that if there was trouble when the Mayor was inspecting, Wanbao Village would look bad, and Qingshui Gully would get the advantage.”

    People who were paid to do a job didn’t have any sense of loyalty, and they would spill everything when frightened or intimidated.

    Hearing these words, the villagers around immediately erupted, spitting saliva and cursing, while Liu Hun also said to Xie Heguo, “Mayor Xie, it’s true that our villagers have made mistakes in this matter.

    But, as you have seen the actual situation, I hope you can overlook this incident.”

    A debt has its debtor, and even if Xie Heguo was confused, he couldn’t be so unclear as to not know whom to confront, he nodded in appreciation at Liu Hun and asked, “Now that the matter has been clarified, I as the official of Wanbao Village, can certainly discern right from wrong.

    And...

    what’s your name?”

    “My name is Liu Hun.” Liu Hun answered Xie Heguo with neither servility nor overbearingness.

    “Ling...

    Fei!

    Good lad!

    I’ll remember you!

    Calm in crisis, clear-cut in action, you hold the fort well!

    Very good!” Xie Heguo patted Liu Hun’s shoulder admiringly, still a bit concerned that the villagers might remember to ask for help and assistance then waved his hand to the people around and said, “Take these four away, send them to the Town Police Station.”

    “Mayor Xie, are you leaving?

    Would you like to come to my house for a while?

    I have good tea...

    This way, please.” Ye Canghai diligently followed Xie Heguo out of the temple.

    At this time, Ren Peiling also followed to the temple entrance, turned back to Fen Ran and smiled, “Thank you just now...

    That person, that was Liu Hun?”

    Fen Ran smiled back and responded, “Yes, that’s our village’s capable man, Liu Hun.

    Don’t be fooled by his age, he’s quite skilled.”

    Ren Peiling’s gaze lingered on Liu Hun, exchanged a few polite words with Fen Ran, then left Wanbao Village.

    “Tsk tsk, the wife of an official really is something else, she looks like...umm...what’s her name...” Bai Lian’er walked up to Fen Ran and said, “Oh, right!

    Like Mu Guiying!

    Not only does she have a handsome face, but she also looks young.”

    “Let’s go, we still need to discuss how to rebuild our houses.” Fen Ran felt an odd taste in her heart as if women meeting other women never end up eyeing each other rightly.

    The farce seemed to be resolved, but with nearly half of the people left without homes or land, the tens of thousands of yuan in Liu Hun’s hands could only help for so long.

    “We need to think of a way; so many people staying and eating in this temple can’t go on forever.” Qin Yue furrowed her brows and said to Liu Hun.

    What was originally intended to be a temple for teaching had now become a chaotic mess like frying chicken feathers with garlic shoots.

    Liu Hun nodded and said, “Mmhmm, the weather has been clearing up these past few days.

    We need to get the villagers organized and mobilized.

    The mud that needs clearing has to be cleared, and anything that can be salvaged should be used for the time being.

    We can’t just keep waiting here forever!”

    “Great!

    I agree with Hunzi’s decision.

    I’ll go find Canghai right away and have him call a mobilization meeting to get all the villagers moving.” Fen Ran, who was always quick to act, said her piece and immediately left the temple.

    Du Yueling, who had been sitting aside, felt that the matter certainly wouldn’t be so easily resolved.

    First and foremost, building houses isn’t a small sum; add in the cost of food and drink, and it’s another big expense.

    Even if some materials could be salvaged, it would only save a bit of money, but the major costs would still need to be paid.

    Thus, either someone had to step forward with the money, or the Township Government had to provide financial support.

    Although she thought this, Du Yueling never spoke out, not wanting to pour cold water on Liu Hun’s efforts.

    More importantly, she felt that since her arrival in Wanbao Village, she had encountered various difficulties, but it seemed that every tough situation would be smoothly resolved with Liu Hun.

    This time, she wanted to see how this man would handle it.

    After the mobilization meeting was called, Liu Hun led the villagers in a flurry of activity.

    It wasn’t long before the entire Wanbao Village was cleaned up of mud and debris, but the issues Du Yueling was worried about immediately surfaced.

    “Village Chief!

    What do we do now?

    We’ve done all we can do.

    The stuff we dug out of the mud at my place is only enough to build half a house, and we still haven’t solved the problem!”

    “Yeah!

    I’m telling you, Qiangzi, after we’ve been busy these past few days, I thought we were digging up gold bricks.

    Instead, we end up with this.

    How are we supposed to solve the problems of eating and drinking, and aren’t we going to have to squeeze in with others at Hunzi’s place at night?”

    “I’m saying!

    That day we shouldn’t have let that what’s-his-name, the Mayor, go.

    We must make him give us an answer!

    If the higher-ups don’t give us money, where are we going to get food and drink?”

    “...”

    Originally, Ye Canghai, who was busy organizing a meeting for all the villagers on the platform in front of the temple gates, had planned to take the opportunity to show his worth.

    However, before he could even begin his speech, the villagers started firing questions at him like hot beans popping in a pan.

    With no other choice, Ye Canghai had to pull Liu Hun aside and ask in a low voice, “Hunzi, take a look at this mess.

    This was your idea, and now it looks like I’m taking all the blame.”

    “Shut your mouth!

    Hunzi has come up with a solution while you still throw all the blame on others.

    If we didn’t have the villagers clean up that mud and waste, our Wanbao Village would become a landfill, wouldn’t it?

    Always blaming others, you really are something!” Fen Ran crisply scolded Ye Canghai like a deep-fried twisted dough stick.

    Liu Hun smiled slightly and said, “Let’s not argue anymore.

    Since I came up with this idea, I’ve already thought of a solution.”

    “What solution?” Ye Canghai asked, not really believing that Liu Hun could resolve this situation without money.

    Liu Hun didn’t answer Ye Canghai, but instead addressed the villagers, “Please listen to me for a moment.”

    The surrounding villagers, hearing Liu Hun speak, immediately stopped their murmuring, listening intently, curious to hear what kind of “Spirit Pill” Liu Hun might have to offer in this emergency.

    Seeing the villagers quiet down, Liu Hun began, “Listen to me, everyone.

    I know everyone is in a hurry, and I, Liu Hun, am just as anxious as all of you.

    We’ve cleaned up what needs to be cleaned up in our village, and what is it that we lack the most?

    Money!

    We need money to build houses, we need money to start farming again!”

    “That’s for sure!

    After all, it’s about the money, isn’t it?

    With vegetables like cabbage and radishes unsellable, now we don’t even have land—what do we do?” A villager couldn’t help blurting out, his words tinged with some resentment towards Liu Hun, since the first group of villagers who had planted vegetables managed to sell, but those who followed couldn’t find buyers.

    Of course, Liu Hun was aware of this, so this time he had already scouted out the possibilities before making a decision.

    This time he was like Zhuge Liang prepared for the East Wind, seeing the villagers all eagerly waiting, he didn’t keep them guessing and spoke directly, “The good opportunity lies within our Qi Mountain.”

    “Are we going to chop down trees again?

    That’s not going to work!

    If we keep cutting, there’ll be no village left!” a villager anxiously interjected.

    “No!

    I firmly oppose cutting down trees!

    This time we’re not going into the mountains to chop trees, but to go—mushroom picking!” Liu Hun said, emphasizing his words to the villagers around him.

    “What?

    Picking mushrooms?

    Hunzi, you really don’t know business—selling ice pops in cold weather.

    Even if those mushrooms can sell at a price, how many can there be in the mountains?

    Could it really sustain half of Wanbao Village?”

    “This definitely won’t work!

    It’s as sure as nails on a board!

    Mushroom picking is even less likely than tree chopping.

    Where are we supposed to pick them?

    Are they supposed to grow right under your eyelids?

    That’s kid’s play.”