On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Village Chief Li handed over all matters to Deputy Village Chief Ou and Branch Secretary Yang.
After instructing the part-time accountant Zhang Shitou and Zhou Chengbin to complete their work handover, he took Zhou Chengbin, who was carrying a large suitcase, into the deeper mountains.
Deputy Village Chief Ou cautioned Zhang Shitou, "You must be careful. Village Chief Li is already dissatisfied with Accountant Zhou. The fact that he didn't take you to the mountains shows he has a good impression of you."
Zhang Shitou nodded and meticulously reviewed the accounting statements, realizing there were many things he didn't understand.
He then took the statements and asked Treasurer Yang for clarification on the points he didn't grasp.
Branch Secretary Yang and Deputy Village Chief Ou exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
...
Li Weihao and his two brothers stayed at home until the eighth day of the lunar month. After eating spring pancakes, they prepared to return to their posts.
Before leaving, they gave the betrothal gifts to their cousin (older cousin). Their missions were becoming more frequent, and they might not be able to make it back for the wedding.
Chen Fu accepted them without reservation, "This is a good omen, foretelling that my matters will proceed smoothly. Thank you, brothers."
The three brothers playfully punched him, then, carrying the food prepared by their family, they departed.
Mother Li reluctantly saw her three grandsons off from the village.
Upon returning, she urged her daughter to quickly prepare gifts for the proposal. Spring plowing would begin in less than a month, and they would be busy.
Li Min grumbled, "Didn't you say I didn't need to worry about it?"
Mother Li threw a broom at her, "If you don't care whether Little Fu's child calls you Grandma, then you don't need to manage even a little bit, and I'll worry about it."
Li Min squatted down, dodging the 'hidden weapon' her mother threw:
"No way! If Little Fu's child doesn't call me Grandma, Lin Er's first wife and second wife will both laugh at me. I'll start preparing right away."
The thirteenth day of the first lunar month was a good day. Li Min and Chen Suozhu, along with the matchmaker Sister Niu, went to Lin Guangde's house to propose.
The process was, naturally, very smooth.
Finally, they agreed to set the engagement date for the twentieth day of the first lunar month. The wedding was scheduled for November 28th, the tenth day of the tenth lunar month.
Although the busy season would be over after November, they still needed to leave time for both families to arrange other matters.
Indeed, everything went smoothly, and Chen Fu was very happy. Upon returning to the courtyard house, he thanked his mother.
His mother had chattered for half her life and hadn't paid much attention to him and his brother. However, the freedom she gave him regarding his marriage moved him deeply.
Li Min waved her hand, "You're thanking the wrong person. If it were in the past, I definitely wouldn't have let it go so easily. It was your aunt who advised me to be a tolerant mother-in-law."
"In the future, I won't force you to hand over your grandchild to me to raise. But when I don't want to, don't force it on me."
"Otherwise, I might just throw him into the breeding farm for Little Black to take care of."
Chen Fu was speechless.
Mother Li picked up another 'hidden weapon' and threw it again, "Can't you say two nice words? Praise you once and you get carried away, talking nonsense again."
Li Min deftly dodged the 'hidden weapon', "Mom, when did I talk nonsense? Little Sister-in-law said exactly that."
Mother Li casually launched another 'hidden weapon', "Your Little Sister-in-law told you to give your grandchild to Little Black?"
"She didn't say that, I added it myself." Li Min ducked again to avoid the second 'hidden weapon'.
"Slap!"
The 'hidden weapon' hit Branch Secretary Yang, who was just walking in.
Li Min, seeing this, quickly scurried into the living room.
Mother Li apologized with embarrassment, "Branch Secretary Yang, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was throwing something at my disobedient daughter."
"It's alright." Branch Secretary Yang bent down to pick up both the large and small brooms.
"What's wrong with her this time? I heard that Little Fu and Hua'er are getting engaged, and I didn't see her babbling all over the village. Isn't that good?"
Seeing her grandson take the brooms from Branch Secretary Yang, Mother Li waved her hand, "It's nothing. She speaks without thinking, and I just wanted to teach her a lesson."
Branch Secretary Yang glanced in the direction of the living room, "Where is Team Leader Tian?"
"She went to the nursery and will be back shortly. Why don't you sit in the living room and wait?"
Mother Li was about to usher Branch Secretary Yang into the living room, but he waved her off, "I'll go find her at the nursery."
Just as he turned, he saw Tian Jing walking in. Branch Secretary Yang smiled, "Team Leader Tian is back. I was just saying I was going to look for you."
"Let's go into the living room to talk," Tian Jing said, leading Branch Secretary Yang into the living room.
Li Min quickly popped out, "Mom, don't hit me anymore, I'll boil water."
In the living room, after hearing Branch Secretary Yang's request, Tian Jing was both amused and exasperated, "You can just turn on the switch and speak!"
"That's not the issue," Branch Secretary Yang also felt his words weren't quite right.
"The villagers are afraid of Zhengguo because he might fine them. And they're afraid of you because you're just as decisive as Zhengguo.
If you make this announcement, they'll definitely sign up obediently."
"Alright! I'll go to the broadcast room in a bit."
Tian Jing knew that Branch Secretary Yang and Deputy Village Chief Ou had been playing the good cop for too long, and sometimes the villagers didn't take their words seriously.
Li Min brought over a pot of tea. Only her older sister-in-law remained in the living room. "Why did Branch Secretary Yang come to find you?"
Tian Jing was being mysterious, "You'll know in a moment. Pour me a cup of tea first."
After slowly sipping a cup of tea, Tian Jing went to the broadcast room.
Soon, Tian Jing's voice sounded over the village loudspeakers:
"Attention, all villagers: The village has several plans this year. We are here to inform you.
First, during spring plowing, the speed must be fast. As soon as spring plowing is over, arrange the renovation of your new village buildings and then send people to help build the new primary school at the south end of the new village.
Second, although our villagers don't hold much money, Kshan Village is already considered a prosperous village within a hundred-mile radius.
Regardless of whether your family has bought a television, cable TV lines must be installed.
You can choose not to install cable TV, but the cable TV lines must be averaged to each household.
Villagers who absolutely refuse to pay can also do so. When you wish to install cable TV later, you can contact the TV station yourself for a separate line installation; we won't connect our lines to yours.
Third, concerning tourists' concerns about the quality of the Ku River water as drinking water, the village has decided to install tap water.
Similar to cable TV, this is not mandatory. However, we are not responsible if your B&Bs and restaurants are looked down upon by tourists because of this.
Fourth, in the Hot Spring Valley, fetching water is very difficult, especially for the B&Bs. Although tourists rarely request to bathe in clean water again, the amount of water needed for flushing toilets is considerable.
Therefore, the village has decided to build a large reservoir on the mountain north of the lake.
The cost of the reservoir will be borne by the village, as it is considered equipment for the scenic area.
The cost of laying tap water pipes from the reservoir to the wooden buildings will also be borne by the village.
However, it will only reach the back of the wooden buildings. The pipes, faucets, and accessories from the back of the wooden buildings into the first floor and up to the second floor will be the responsibility of each household. Villagers, prepare your money.
As soon as the announcement ended, villagers scrambled to be first in line.
They knew that when Team Leader Tian made an announcement, they had to respond actively.
They all knew that Team Leader Tian was different.
Everything in the village relied on Team Leader Tian's seedling development.
Within a month, seedlings could be cultivated and sold to impoverished areas nationwide.
Kushan Village had become an important mountain village in the country thanks to Team Leader Tian.
Last year, why was the scenic area's business so good? It wasn't just because of the reputation they built in the first year.
It was more because Kshan Village was featured on Xinwen Lianbo (News Broadcast).
The village's ten years of development were condensed into a few seconds of news and broadcast to the entire country.
Those who didn't have a TV didn't see it, but tourists told them, which made them deeply regret it.
They had missed witnessing Kshan Village's most glorious moment.
Before the New Year, a few families had bought televisions, but they received few channels and a lot of static.
Watching the villagers lined up, Deputy Village Chief Ou chuckled. He knew that an announcement from Team Leader Tian was no less effective than one from Village Chief Li.