Chapter 37: Donating Money to Repair the Road

  In another bedroom, Cheng Shigui and Han Zhikui couldn't sleep either.

  "Matthew, I feel like I'm dreaming. This place and the people are not quite what I imagined, apart from their clothes being out of date and not stylish, they're no worse than anyone we've ever met."

  Cheng Shigui pinched him hard, "Ah, you're really cruel." Han Zhiqian rubbed the pinched area with a painful expression.

  "It's not a dream, is it?" Cheng Shigui said, looking at him sideways in the darkness. "Apart from her age, her knowledge, experience and means are all enough to convince me."

  "I'm the same, this vast red land is really mysterious and unpredictable, it's really come true." Han Zhiqian said with a smile. "At that time, Grandpa Cheng didn't expect you to have such an opportunity either."

  "Who was it, I should have been designed to come here from the beginning. Now I should thank them." Cheng Shigui said indifferently, "Still calculating? In fact, this place is not bad either, breathing in fresh air and eating delicious food. Unlike our place where we breathe in car exhaust."

  "You didn't say much, but this place really is underrated. The food is the best I've ever had." Han Zhiqian smacked his lips, still savoring the taste.

  "Alright, stop being greedy and go to sleep! Aren't you tired?"

  The next morning, Fang Mo Nan woke up Mo Bei and Xiao Yi to exercise. They got up as usual, but Grandma had gotten up an hour earlier to steam buns. This obviously disturbed Cheng Shi Gui and Han Zhi Qian, who also got up. Rubbing their eyes in curiosity, they watched the women busily rushing around before dawn.

  Fang Mo Nan was just about to go out when he saw them two inviting him "Since you're up, want to come jogging with us?"

  "Ah, never mind, it's too cold." Han Zhiqian took a sip of the cold air, wrapped his clothes tightly around him, rubbed his hands together, and refused.

  "What about you?" She looked at Cheng Shigui and raised her chin slightly.

  "Good," said Cheng Shigui, buttoning up his clothes. "Let's go." Han Zhijian watched them leave and then took a nap.

  Xiao Yi is now exercising purely because of Mo Bei, so the two of them are the slowest and slowly fell to the last. Lin Lao Ye Zi and Fang Mo Nan, Cheng Shi Gui jogged for two kilometers, the air here is obviously better than Hong Kong's, with fewer cars and horses, the morning air is fresh and clean, running makes you feel refreshed and warm.

  Fang Mo Nan and the others went to the backyard, first taking a look at today's 'greenhouse vegetables' which were growing well, then they started practicing boxing. When Old Man Lin was in high spirits, he would practice some military boxing techniques, simple yet ruthless, each move full of killing intent.

  Cheng Shigui, with a spirited look on his face, was eager to try and began to spar with Old Master Lin. The outcome was predictable: Cheng Shigui lost miserably.

  "Good boy, you haven't practiced before." Old Man Lin said with excitement, rarely did anyone receive his move, this time it was the most enjoyable fight he had in a long while. Nannan could only accompany him to play Tai Chi, and that was just barely enough, she was too short after all.

  "Hmm" Cheng Shigui was depressed, people can't be judged by appearance, he couldn't even beat the young one, and now he couldn't even beat the old man. He had learned judo and taekwondo at home and had also practiced with the bodyguards in his household, but unexpectedly he still couldn't beat the old master.

  "Cheng, don't be discouraged. The old master has been through battles and has a presence that you can't match. Just his aura of killing intent is something you'll never be able to catch up with." Fang Mo Nan said as he walked away, comforting Cheng with a pat on the shoulder.

  "Ah," Cheng Shigui looked at Old Man Lin, this old man suspiciously staring back at him.

  "No need," said Fang Mo-nan, "if we were to recount his great achievements, it would take three days and three nights to finish."

  Old Master Lin mentioned the past, and his eyes lit up. He grabbed him and pulled him towards the house, starting to boast about his glorious years.

  Fang Mo Nan watched them chat enthusiastically, it was time to make breakfast. He looked at Grandma busy finishing up, then they went into the kitchen together. Soon, breakfast was ready. There were millet porridge, steamed buns, pickled small yellow cucumbers, sour white cabbage, smoked rabbit meat, and cured meat, all delicious and refreshing.

  After dinner, Cheng Shigui unpacked the TV and moved it out with Han Zhiqian. Liangzi climbed a ladder to install an outdoor antenna and adjusted it. At that time, there was only one channel, CCTV.

  Grandma and the helper were staring at the TV with a rare look of excitement, overjoyed. Fang Mengnan showed no interest in what could be called an 'antique' TV.

  The helper who came asked in a low voice who the two new handsome young men were, and Grandma explained to them one by one what had happened at home.

  Fang Mo Nan looked at the deposit slip in his hand and then looked up as Cheng Shi Gui and the others arrived, deciding to discuss it with Lao Ye Zi first.

  As the year-end approached, Mother was busy and went to work overtime. Little Aunt returned to her room to study for the exam next year. Fang Mo Nan and others sat in Old Man Lin's house. Fang Mo Nan made a gesture with his eyes, and Grandma handed over the passbook in her hand to him. "This is..." Old Man opened it, the account holder was Fang Mo Nan, a tempting 1 million, his eyes narrowed and then returned to normal, "Big sister, what does this mean..."

  "Cheng Shigui gave it to me, I think we should donate this money and fix the dirt road leading to Dashizi's house, which is also the feed factory. That road becomes muddy and impassable every time it rains, now we can pave it with cement. It will be more convenient for cars to travel on. 'To get rich, first build roads', even if it's just for the future development of the feed factory, we should fix the road." Grandma said, following what she had previously discussed with her granddaughter.

  Fang Mo Nan said after finishing, looking at Cheng Shi Gui: "This has to be entrusted to you two to take the lead."

  "You're really generous." Han Zhiqian muttered.

  "Line up and get along with local government, it's what we should do." said Cheng Shigui, they have a deep understanding of this in the special zone.

  It's estimated that by now the news has already spread far and wide at the speed of Chinese gossip, and soon everyone will know about Fang Merng's family.

  Mr. Lin looked at Xiaoren with a profound gaze after understanding the implication, "Nanyan, this passbook is in your name and it's in US dollars, deposited in HSBC Hong Kong." "I think you couldn't withdraw it, that's why you had to do this, now be honest with me, who were they really after? Don't try to fool Daxian and Xiaoyan again, just tell the truth." His face showed that he didn't believe her.

  "Hehe... Old Master is wise. They came to me, Grandpa remembers, the coat designs I made for you and Grandma? I sent those drawings to the Special Zone, and by chance they fell into their hands, fortunately they were appreciated, and more were sent over, this money was earned." Fang Mo Nan said with some reserve.

  Cheng Shigui exchanged a glance with him, listening to her words without exposing her. He also echoed in agreement, "Yes, Nannan's designed clothes are selling well."

  "You're really a little money enthusiast, indeed a newborn calf not afraid of tigers." Old Master Lin tapped her small nose and said, "Speak up, you little money enthusiast, don't do business at a loss."

  "Grandpa, am I really that petty? Can't I make a contribution to the village for Da Chengzi's uncle and give back to society?" Fang Mengnan said with a serious face, "Of course, if they can improve our living conditions, it would be welcome." She added with a playful tone.

  "Nan Ya Tou, this is one million US dollars, not RMB. You should know that the country is currently lacking in foreign exchange. This is worth 10 million on the black market." Old Man Lin continued to say in detail.

  Upon hearing one million, Grandma took a deep breath, opened her eyes wide and stared at her, "This... Nang... Nang, isn't this RMB? When did it become USD?"

  "What's the difference anyway? I was going to donate it all along. Still hesitating?" Fang Mo Nan said.

  "Nan Ya Tou, your abacus is calculating strangely. Now that the road is open, we can increase production and the feed factory will make more money, which means you'll also make more money. Moreover, with Ah Kui's donated funds, considering the current situation, the country encourages foreign investment and overseas Chinese to return home to invest. It can be said that in the future, it will be more convenient for them or us to do business in the county. You will get more benefits." Old Master Lin objectively analyzed these obvious points, but at a deeper level, their country is an official-led country, although it's socialist, the long-term feudal system cannot change people's inherent thinking habits, and having good relations with officials is necessary.

  "Grandpa, can't you just not say it so clearly? Can't we just have an unspoken understanding? Fang Mengnan pouted in dissatisfaction."

  "Humans are like this, of course they would say that outsiders are patriotic, loving the people, the party and the government."

  "Hmph!" "Grandfather, if I follow your reasoning, then I've become a Nationalist Party member." Fang Mo-nan heard his words and thought of a joke.

  "Haha......" Cheng Shigui and the others also burst out laughing.

  "Hush, hush, children's words are innocent, but you can't talk nonsense." Grandma was so scared that she covered her mouth with her hand and her body trembled.

  "Alright, I won't say it again." Fang Mo Nan promised, prying open his grandmother's hand.

  "You'd better not be like this in the future, we're all scared of being beaten." Old Master Lin had a pang of distress.

  "Alright, how can they improve our lives?" Old Man Lin changed the subject.

  Cheng Shigui said first that we must install a department, so it's also convenient for us to contact each other. Han Zhijian also nodded desperately.

  "There's also installing running water at home, so Grandma won't have to fetch water from the well or go to the cultural center. I think that's all for now." Fang Mengnan thought to himself.

  "These are all trivial matters." Old Master Lin reminded them, implying that they could bring up something else.

  "It's a small matter for them, but it's a big deal for us ordinary people." Fang Mengnan has always stood on the side of the grassroots to look at problems.

  "Still can mention it?" Grandma looked at him with a puzzled face and asked.

  "Alas," Old Master Lin sighed, then perked up, "We can take on the contract for the wasteland and barren hills on the west mountain side, with this in hand." He waved his passbook, "Everything is not a problem, after contracting we can also enjoy policy support and preferential treatment, isn't this what Nannan wants?"

  "I'm really curious, when did Grandpa Lin have this idea?" Fang Monan thinks that the prospects for domestic reform are bright now, but the road is bumpy and repetitive, with no solid connections, who knows what unexpected things might happen. She remembers reading materials, some people handed over their hard-earned companies to the state when policy directions changed, and some even ran away. Now she really hasn't made a decision about contracting wasteland, and the feed factory is in the name of Dachengzi Village villagers are all shareholders, and the enterprise is also collectively owned. The feed factory's business is good, and the villagers work extra hard.

  "The big shed vegetable plan you gave me made a plan in my heart, and when I went to the mountain to worship Buddha, I saw the wasteland in front of Lingshan and had a real blueprint." Old Man Lin said with a smile.

  "It will be easier if we take the lead in this matter," said Cheng Shigui.

  Fang Mo Nan heard his proposal, thought about it carefully and found it feasible. Of course, the purpose of contracting a barren mountain was not to grow vegetables, but to have a source for the fruits and vegetables in space, and also to raise some animals that were multiplying rapidly in space.

  Since everyone agrees, there's no need to delay, let's go now.

  Cheng Shigui and Han Zhikuan drove their car directly into the county party committee compound.

  As soon as their car drove in, it attracted a large crowd of onlookers. Old Master Lin led Cheng Shigui and others to find County Magistrate Wang, who happened to be there too. He was flipping through the newspaper at his desk, having nothing to do at home on Sunday. There was a teacup on the table, with wisps of smoke rising from it.

  "Come in." He wondered, today no one, even his secretary had told him he didn't need to accompany anyone, who would come looking for him at this time.

  He stood up and walked over with a smile, saying "Ah, it's you, old sir." He was an air-dropped official from the capital, and had thought that coming here would just be a temporary arrangement. This county was located on a plain, with grain as its main product; as long as there were no major problems in agriculture, everything would be fine. There was nothing special about it, it was just an extremely ordinary county.

  So I had nothing to do and wandered around, rummaging through books. Unexpectedly, I got to know Old Man Lin because he also loved reading books. The two of us met while browsing through books and became book friends after chatting. This clear-minded old man was a person with depth in his heart, possibly due to the many blows dealt by the times, and his advanced age made him only want to live out his remaining days peacefully. However, this did not prevent Old Man Lin from making contributions to his hometown.

  Mr. Lin gave him a big gift, last year's greenhouse vegetables and aquaculture industry had a bumper harvest, not only did the farmers under his jurisdiction increase their income, but also the county's finances increased. He was praised by both the province and the city, and when he returned home, he was unusually praised by his own father, with just one word, "good".

  Mr. Lin looked around the county magistrate's office, which was old-fashioned, with some of the varnish peeling off the furniture, but all the office supplies were complete, and the books on the bookshelf behind him were neatly arranged. The whole office gave a feeling of cleanliness and simplicity, just like him, practical.

  County Magistrate Wang looked at the two strangers behind him, dressed in a stylish and elegant manner, with an air of nobility that was not from around here.

  "These two are..." County Magistrate Wang led them to the reception area, and after the four of them sat down, he personally poured tea for them.

  Mr. Lin introduced them as relatives of Mo's sister, Cheng Shigui and Han Zhikai from Hong Kong.

  "Welcome, welcome overseas children back home for a visit." County Chief Wang stood up and stretched out his hand, but was puzzled as to what they were here for.

  Cheng Shigui and he both stood up, shook hands, and then sat down again.

  Cheng Shigui and Han Zhikui exchanged a glance, this county magistrate is not an ordinary person. Hearing their accent from afar, they were enthusiastic yet reserved, without the flattering expression on their face.

  "I heard that the county's finances have become more prosperous, but your office is still so simple." Old Man Lin said with a pleased smile.

  County Magistrate Wang said with a sigh, "These can be made do with for now, no need to rush." He smiled wryly and continued, "Nowadays, there are more places where money is spent. Even wanting to repair the rural highway, we can't scrape together enough money. You also know how difficult it is to transport vegetables from the village outwards. Repairing roads is a costly affair, many people are holding back, just saying that there's not enough money, and even if we wait until there's enough, it won't be too late."

  "Haha... it seems I'm really right today." Old Man Lin laughed, "'To get rich, first build roads' - this must be your idea."

  "Ah, 'to get rich, first build roads', this slogan is not bad. Unfortunately, others always think of waiting until they have enough money to talk about it, but time waits for no one." County Magistrate Wang said helplessly.

  Mr. Lin directly stated their intention: "The two of them have come to donate money for road repairs."

  "Ah, I don't know which of you two is taller." County Magistrate Wang asked calmly.

  Cheng Shigui thought to himself, "I guess they think it's just a small amount so they're being so calm." "We opened a small garment factory in the special zone, Yiren Garment Co., Ltd."

  "Is this Beijing Yi Ren specialty store yours? No, it's not a typo." Wang County Magistrate suddenly thought of and casually asked.

  "Yes," Han Zhiqian replied.

  County Magistrate Wang was surprised that their company's big shot had an unexpected connection with the Mo family. He suppressed his excitement and asked calmly, "Those two..."

  "In order to support the construction of our hometown, we plan to donate $10 million." said Cheng Shigui directly.

  "How much?" County Magistrate Wang asked again, despite having already been overjoyed by the number in his heart. They had long wanted to repair the road from the county seat to the countryside, but unfortunately, the county was poor and he could only get a small portion of funding from above, which was just a drop in the bucket. The main thing still relied on self-raised funds. There was no way out, everywhere lacked money.

  Mr. Lin said solemnly, "One million US dollars."

  "This... is real. Wait, you're talking about US dollars." He muttered to himself, hastily suppressing his excitement. "This way, if he works hard, he can get even more funding."

  "But there's a problem, the money is in HSBC Hong Kong, you'll have to figure out a way to get someone to pick it up." Old Man Lin said with a smile, thinking that for this young man and his family, it should be a small matter.

  When Old Man Lin wanted to take out the deposit slip, he was blocked by Cheng Shigui, "This is a check." He wrote a check on the spot and handed it to County Magistrate Wang. The account holder's name on the deposit slip was Nannan's, which was hard to explain.

  "Turns out it's not a big deal after all," said County Chief Wang with a relaxed tone. "We're really grateful for your support in our hometown construction." He stood up and shook hands with the two men again, this time more solemnly.

  "No, our roots are here, aren't they? We can't just jump ship." Cheng Shigui said emotionally.

  County Magistrate Wang heard this and said, "That's really something to thank Old Lady Mo for."

  "This doesn't need to be the case, as long as the right person is involved, she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it and disturb her life." Old Man Lin's words are reasonable, the right person can just help them ward off the little ghost.

  County Chief Wang nodded and also understood the destructive power of rumors.

  County Magistrate Wang asked: Is Madam Mo having difficulties in her life?

  "This is really good, her family wants to install one." Cheng Shigui said it's more convenient for us to contact each other.

  "That's easy."

  Mr. Lin was very pleased with him and took the opportunity to bring it up. "In addition, Ah Kui and others also want to contract out nearly 1,000 mu of barren mountains and wasteland near Xiling Mountain in the west, excluding Xiling Mountain itself. The contracting fee for 1,000 mu of barren mountains is calculated at 4 yuan per mu per year, and for a contracting period of 50 years, it would require 200,000 yuan in funds. The 200,000 yuan contract deposit will be paid to the county all at once by them to show their sincerity."

  "Of course, the barren mountain is for building a farm and will not destroy the local environment." Cheng Shigui said immediately after.

  "This is true. Good, afforestation of barren mountains, good." County Mayor Wang didn't expect that the new year would come so soon, but it's really one good thing after another, a good start. As for what they proposed, "The installation is simple, I can take charge, but the contracting business still needs to be studied by our county committee." He paused and comforted them, saying there shouldn't be any major problems, and that they would have to wait two days."

  Cheng Shigui hesitated, looking at him, "This came too suddenly, the company still has a lot of things to deal with, let's leave this matter of contracting the barren mountain to my aunt and them." "Right, here is a membership card for the exclusive store in Beijing, you'll get discounts when you go shopping." Cheng Shigui took out a membership card from his breast pocket and handed it to County Magistrate Wang.

  "This...no need" County Magistrate Wang said with a wave of his hand, politely declining.

  Han Zhiqian said this is just a business promotion and there's nothing improper about it.

  "Alright then." County Chief Wang said with a nod.

  After finishing their business, Cheng Shigui and his party were about to bid farewell and leave. County Magistrate Wang tried his best to persuade them to stay, but Cheng Shigui said that taking good care of his aunt's family was the greatest gratitude he could show them.

  Back home, Fang Mo Nan informed Lin Laoyezi of the outcome. Cheng Shigui asked in surprise, "Laoyezi, that county magistrate's family background shouldn't be ordinary, right?"

  "Ah, how can you ask this?" Old Man Lin said in surprise.

  "Intuition." Cheng Shigui furrowed his brow, "Because the feeling he gave me is not quite the same as that of ordinary officials I've met, especially his demeanor and movements, which have a noble family's steadiness and grandeur."

  Mr. Lin thought to himself, "This young man's eyes are quite poisonous, but the Wang family's upbringing is very strict." Pretending to be crazy and foolish, this I don't understand, but his learning is great. The two of us are book friends.

  "No wonder you gave him a membership card."

  Cheng Shigui no longer dwelled on this issue, looking at the county magistrate's upright and just eyes, doing business emphasizes harmony and wealth, and besides, he is the parent official of this county, so it won't hurt to make more connections.

  Is it?