Wu Tao Wen Guan

Chapter 701 Xia Xue Elected Village Chief

During Lin Fan's trip to Spiritual Mountain, Wu Lei's old illness relapsed, and he died in the hospital.

The village chief of Luofeng Village was gone, and a new one needed to be elected.

The election of the village chief was primarily conducted through voting.

The voting process was organized by the village committee, with two leaders from the town coming to supervise.

The town began preparations the day after Wu Lei's death.

"Xiao Fan, the village is going to elect a new village chief."

"I know, why are you telling me specifically?"

"Xiao Fan, don't you want to be the village chief? It comes with an official position."

The village director, Liu Feng, believed Lin Fan was the most suitable candidate.

Lin Fan shook his head, "I'm busy to death every day, where would I find the time to manage the village's major and minor affairs?"

"There aren't many capable people in our village, as you know, and many people want you to be the village chief," Liu Feng persuaded.

"No, no!"

Lin Fan flatly refused. He was already busy with practicing medicine, farming, and handling official duties; he probably wouldn't have a moment of leisure even if he had twenty-four hours.

"Sigh~"

Liu Feng left with a sigh.

Three days later, the village chief election officially began, with all villagers gathered at the village committee.

Everyone held their ballots.

Standing on the high platform in front were Village Director Liu Feng, several village cadres, and two leaders from the town. One was a stern-looking man in his forties.

The other appeared to be only in her twenties, a woman.

She was dressed modestly, much like a countrywoman.

Her appearance was above average, though significantly less so than Xia Xue.

However, compared to ordinary women, she was quite beautiful.

Her appearance made the villagers of Luofeng Village, especially the men, excited.

"I've seen so many beautiful women recently."

"Indeed, Chu Zi and Gao Lu before, and then the big star Mi Mi later."

"Thanks to Xiao Fan, even the leaders from the town are beautiful now."

"Hahaha…"

The crowd chatted and laughed.

"Ahem!"

Liu Feng cleared his throat, "Quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"

"Today, our Luofeng Village will hold a village chief election."

He introduced, "These two are leaders from the town, Secretary Qin and Mayor Wang."

"Let's give them a round of applause!"

* * *

Liu Feng led the applause, and the villagers followed suit.

"Regarding this village chief election, if anyone has any thoughts, you can express them directly or nominate yourselves."

"…"

The scene was silent.

The villagers looked left and right. Logically, being village chief should be a good thing, bringing many benefits and prestige.

However, the situation in Luofeng Village was abnormal; it was practically a hot potato.

The village committee's accounts were in a terrible state, and no one could sort them out.

Thinking about this, no villager spoke.

Liu Feng looked troubled, and the leaders from the town were also frowning.

Town Party Secretary Qin Yuyan frowned deeply, "What's going on? Is there no one who wants to be the village chief?"

"Liu Feng, why don't you just get promoted from village director to village chief?" Mayor Wang suggested.

"No, no, I don't have that ability."

"Although I'm literate and educated, there are too many affairs in Luofeng Village. I have the will but not the strength!"

If the village director felt this way, then others were even less likely to volunteer.

Liu Feng was worried. If no suitable candidate was found, he would have to step up, as it was reasonable for the village director to be promoted to village chief.

He racked his brain and suddenly had an idea. He announced loudly, "I believe the most suitable candidate for the new village chief of Luofeng Village is Xia Xue!"

Xia Xue was connected to Lin Fan, so it didn't matter who was the village chief.

Moreover, she was wealthy, and the village committee's messy accounts could be resolved immediately.

Xia Xue panicked.

"I… how can I do it?"

"I'm a woman, what do I know about national affairs?"

She backed away, shaking her head and waving her hands in refusal.

Qin Yuyan said loudly, "Women can also hold up half the sky!"

"There are plenty of strong women in the city!"

"I've decided, you're the one for this village chief election!"

In the past, men had looked down on Qin Yuyan because she was a woman, so she was very sensitive to words that belittled women, leading her to directly appoint Xia Xue as village chief.

With Qin Yuyan's insistence, Xia Xue reluctantly became the village chief.

As expected, everyone expressed their support.

Lin Fan certainly played a small role in this, but very small.

Everyone knew Xia Xue's character; she was the kindest person in ten surrounding villages, so there was no reason not to support her.

"Leader, I… I really can't do it!"

Xia Xue was very uneasy and lacked confidence.

She never dreamed that she would become an official one day.

Qin Yuyan smiled kindly, "You don't need to call me leader, just call me by my name, Yuyan."

"It's normal to feel unaccustomed to suddenly becoming an official, but it's okay, you can ask me for help. Please write down my phone number."

After exchanging contact information, Qin Yuyan turned to the crowd and said loudly, "Being village chief is something that anyone with a good heart can do well."

"Next, I will let Xia Xue lead you out of poverty, and you will not regret electing her as the village chief today!"

After these words, the crowd applauded, but the applause was scattered, indicating that they had no hope for Qin Yuyan.

They all believed that Qin Yuyan was just saying polite words.

"Leader, the election has concluded. Can we leave now?"

Someone wanted to leave, and others followed.

Qin Yuyan said nothing, just nodded.

On their way home, the villagers discussed.

"This leader is really messing around, appointing Xue'er as village chief."

"Yes, Xue'er is so kind, she's not suited to be an official at all."

Village Committee, Conference Hall.

Qin Yuyan took out the prepared materials and handed them to Xia Xue, "Can you read?"

Xia Xue nodded, "I can recognize some characters, but not many, about high school level."

"That's enough. I'll explain, and you can digest it slowly."

Holding the materials, Xia Xue began to read carefully.

"Luofeng Village's economy is indeed dire. The town provided quite a bit of subsidy before, averaging about one hundred yuan per person per month per household."

"But you haven't received this subsidy, have you?"

Hearing this, Xia Xue instinctively glanced at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng's expression changed immediately, "I didn't know about this. Old dog Cao previously set up a category, but didn't tell me what the policy was."

"Wu Lei should have known, but both he and Old dog Cao are dead."

"Wang Yulin, you're in charge of the accounts, you couldn't possibly not know, right?"

Liu Feng shifted the blame to the accountant, Wang Yulin.

"I… I knew about this, but I was forced. They threatened to find someone to deal with me if I didn't help them cook the books."

"I was truly scared, and I didn't intentionally break the law."

"I didn't take a single cent of benefit from it, honestly!"

With no one left to testify, Wang Yulin could say whatever he wanted.