Chapter 9: The People of Tazhai Are Truly Remarkably Kind-Hearted!
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“...”
“This...”
Inside the ancestral hall of Tazhai Village, Lin Yaodong wore a face full of hesitation after hearing Lin Wendong’s plan.
“Uncle Dong, I’ve already spread the word. The folks from Mang Village will definitely come. When that happens, we’ll do exactly as I said!”
Uncle Dong looked somewhat stunned and awkwardly said, “If we do it that way, wouldn’t we be a bit heartless?”
Lin Yaodong had never considered himself a good man; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been contemplating leading the entire village of Tazhai into the illegal production of ‘ice’ (methamphetamine).
But...!
He always believed he was a man of principle. Even if producing ‘ice’, he would never sell it domestically!
Yet today, Lin Yaodong suddenly realized that Lin Wendong was the exact opposite of himself!
The latter was a law-abiding good man, but... had no principles at all!
Not only was he exploiting online lending companies, but he was even planning to squeeze the neighboring Mang Village dry!
Lin Yaodong sighed deeply, “Fine, let’s do it your way.”
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After receiving the news, Li Youtian immediately called his son Li Hongwei.
The two headed toward Tazhai together.
“Dad, did those people mishear? We know Tazhai well—it’s dirt poor!” Li Hongwei grumbled in disbelief as they walked.
He was happily playing games at home, yet his father dragged him to Tazhai, claiming the other side had found a path to wealth?
Li Youtian shot him a stern look. “When we get to Tazhai, don’t say a word. Watch my cues and act accordingly.”
“Tch, we have a toy gun factory in Mang Village. What does Tazhai have? No industries at all,” Li Hongwei sneered dismissively.
Soon, the two entered Tazhai and arrived at the village committee behind the ancestral hall.
Seeing villagers lined up in front of the ancestral hall plaza, Li Youtian and his son exchanged puzzled glances.
“Uncle Dong, just yesterday our public account received over ten million!” An excited voice came from inside the village committee, causing the father and son outside to suddenly halt in their tracks.
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Li Hongwei’s expression changed drastically; his earlier contempt for Tazhai vanished instantly!
Over ten million?
In just one day, they made over ten million! What kind of incredibly profitable business was this?!
The father and son exchanged a glance and swallowed hard.
The voice continued, “Tell all villagers to stay low-key. Although our actions are legal, being too flashy will arouse jealousy!”
Li Youtian recognized the speaker as Lin Yaodong, the village party secretary of Tazhai.
“What exactly is going on that’s so secretive?!” Li Youtian was puzzled but secretly pleased.
“This is just the right time to come; otherwise, we wouldn’t have heard any of this!” He rolled his eyes and gave his son a signal to act as if they hadn’t heard anything, calling out, “Secretary Lin, are you here?”
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As soon as he spoke, the village committee fell silent.
“Sure enough, they don’t know we’re here!” Li Youtian nodded to himself.
The door opened, and Lin Yaodong and Lin Wendong emerged.
“Director Li? What brings you to our village so suddenly?”
“I have some matters I’d like to discuss with Secretary Lin,” Li Youtian said with a smile.
“Very well... come in and have a seat,” they were invited inside.
“Secretary Lin, I notice there’s a lot of activity in Tazhai recently. So many villagers lined up in the plaza—what’s going on?” Li Youtian asked directly.
Lin Yaodong waved his hand dismissively, unwilling to answer, “Nothing, nothing.”
The more he denied it, the more Li Youtian suspected a cover-up! Especially after hearing those words outside, he was convinced Tazhai was hiding something!
“Secretary Lin, we’ve known each other for a long time; there’s no need to hide things from us,” Li Youtian pressed on.
Then he gave his son Li Hongwei a meaningful glance.
His son immediately understood and said, “Our two villages could cooperate. Mang Village has thousands of people!”
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The father and son played their part, thinking they had gained the upper hand.
Little did they know, this was exactly what Lin Wendong wanted to hear!
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Seeing the moment was right, Lin Wendong cleared his throat and advised, “Uncle Dong, Tazhai alone can’t handle such a big operation. Why not cooperate with Mang Village?”
Uncle Dong showed reluctance. “As the saying goes, ‘Don’t let fertile water flow to outsiders.’ We can slowly handle this within Tazhai. If we cooperate with them, we’ll lose out!”
Li Youtian and his son listened carefully to their conversation.
Seeing Uncle Dong about to waver, Li Youtian’s eyes flicked, and he quickly said, “How about this: we cooperate, and Tazhai takes the larger share, while Mang Village earns just a modest cut for the hard work!”
Lin Wendong and Lin Yaodong played the good cop and bad cop roles, and after a long struggle, their goal was achieved—the cooperation was finally agreed upon!
“Now, can you tell us what business this is?” Li Hongwei asked impatiently.
Lin Wendong shook his head. “That will have to wait until after we finish the cooperation. But rest assured, I guarantee it will not break any laws!”
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The faces of Li Youtian and his son darkened.
After all that hesitation, they still wouldn’t say what business it was?
Are they playing us?
Seeing their expressions, Lin Wendong added, “But you can rest assured that every adult in Mang Village will take home tens of thousands!”
“If you’re ready, tomorrow eligible villagers can come to our Tazhai plaza to line up!”
“Oh, and as agreed, twenty percent of the earnings will go to Tazhai!”
Li Youtian thought it over and finally nodded firmly, “Alright, I’ll bring people tomorrow!”
He believed that since all the villagers in Tazhai were involved, it couldn’t be illegal, especially since they only asked for twenty percent!
He had expected them to demand a lion’s share, but instead it was an 80-20 split—with his side taking 80%!
He couldn’t help but admit, Tazhai was surprisingly fair!
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