But now, she could finally hold her head up high and stand tall.
"Are you really willing?" the Village Chief asked unbelievingly once more.
The road construction was a major undertaking. For such a large village, if all the roads were to be turned into concrete, it would indeed require a considerable sum of money.
"We're willing," Qin Xiangyang said, "Our brother and sister were raised by the village, and we are certainly mindful of the village's kindness. The roads in the village have always been inconvenient, and we grew up seeing that. Now that we have the ans, we want to do sothing for the village. Please, Village Chief, grant us this opportunity. Otherwise, we will always have it on our minds."
Qin Xiangnuan was quite surprised by her brother's eloquence. Huh, when did he beco so articulate?
Qin Xiangyang cleared his throat slightly, still standing upright. The years of military academy really weren't in vain, as he managed to command presence wherever he went.
Hearing this, the Village Chief was genuinely pleased. He also reflected that the Qin Family had not raised their children in vain. In fact, what Qin Xiangyang had said was true. Initially, Qin Guohua treated the two children poorly, and they were practically starved each day. Qin Xiangnuan was especially pitiful back then, as thin as a little monkey. Seeing the two children in such a sorry state, anyone in the village who had so food would secretly give it to them, for fear that the children might starve to death. Now, at last, their kindness was paying off. Although the Qin siblings' household registration had been transferred out early, they still had their roots in the village.
And if the village road was really fixed, it would be much more convenient for the children to go to school in the future.
That evening, the Village Chief had a dinner prepared for the Qin siblings, who ate a bit before heading back to Shenjia Village.
The Village Chief probably calculated with soone about the costs, and for the road construction, there would be no need to hire people. If everyone in the village ca together to help, they could save so money, and the road could extend to the edge of the village, making it easier for the school-going children.
The cost of the road was estimated to be around fifty thousand yuan.
Such an amount might not seem like much in the future, but for the people now, a family might not even make five thousand yuan from a year's hard labor in the fields.
Therefore, fifty thousand yuan was really a lot for the people of Dadao Village.
So little? Qin Xiangnuan was truly astonished by the Village Chief's honesty. That fifty thousand yuan didn't even amount to a month's revenue from one of her shops, not to ntion sothing like an internet café.
In the end, Qin Xiangnuan contemplated and decided to take out two hundred thousand yuan. She would fix the road, and why not build a new school in the village as well? Yes, no matter who suffered, the children should not. In the nearby area, each village had a primary school, albeit the conditions were sowhat lacking.
The value of money is significant now. With one hundred thousand yuan, a lot could be done, and it was enough to build a decent school. So, with two hundred thousand yuan, in addition to the road, the school could be built, and the village could also have running water installed, so that everyone wouldn't have to fetch water from the old-fashioned wells anymore.
If that wasn't sufficient, they could always contribute more.
When she handed over two hundred thousand yuan in cash to the Village Chief, tears fell from his eyes.
But Qin Xiangnuan felt a pang of sourness in her heart. The Village Chief uncle too had aged; silver strands had made their ho in his temples. She still rembered, when she was very small, every ti the Village Chief saw her, he would touch her head and sneak her a few candies, urging her to eat them herself and not to let others see. But now, she had grown up, while the Village Chief's back was bent.
Ti is always rciless, to your heart, to your body.
It slices through so fiercely.
And when you look back, you realize, you can never find it again.
The news that the village was going to fix the roads and build a primary school spread rapidly throughout the village; they were even going to erect a big water tower so that every household could have running water. Just like city folks, they would be able to drink from taps, making washing clothes and cooking much more convenient.
And astonishingly, all this money was put forth by the Qin siblings. Everyone said that the Qin siblings had beco successful, and having made so money, they thought about the villagers. This was nothing like that other Qin, who they say flew out of the village like a golden phoenix, and it's a wonder how Hu Li could raise that kind of daughter.
Look at how fair and clean Qin Xiangnuan is and with such a good temperant to boot; she's the real golden phoenix.
While others envied, they didn't forget to sneer at Qin Guohua and his wife. The children they abandoned in the past, for re tens of yuan, heartlessly refusing to rescue, are now well and will never acknowledge Qin Guohua again. It's funny how people are; if you show them kindness, they will be loyal to you, but they will also dig out sothing against those they hold a grudge. The deeds Qin Guohua did were brought up again by villagers after over twenty years.
It's unclear who started the rumor, but they said Qin Guohua was shaless. Before Du Ping died, he'd already hooked up with Hu Li; actually, everyone knew about it but never spoke openly. Now, who cares? The circulated gossip is harsher than anything else, with even a simple stepping out of the house leading to finger-pointing and whispers directed at Qin Guohua.
Not raising his children, leaving them in the mountains, not seeking dical treatnt for them, and then coveting their inheritance - with such a father, Qin Xiangyang and Qin Xiangnuan really were unlucky. It was a blessing they severed ties with Qin Guohua, otherwise who knows if they would've even survived.
Hu Li was so mortified she couldn't face anyone, and went straight to Qin Pengfei in the city. However, she and Guan Xiaojie were like oil and water, especially since Guan Xiaojie had finally given birth to a son and was brimming with confidence. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bickered daily, escalating to major argunts every couple of days until Qin Pengfei couldn't stand it anymore.
"Mom, please go back, I'm begging you."
Qin Pengfei, pushing Hu Li out, said, "Do you want my whole family to live without peace? We have a house, food, and drink, why co here to create chaos every day? I need to work, my son needs to go to school; are you trying to drive to divorce?"
"If we divorce, so be it, you can find other won, but this house belongs to Xiang i, with her na on the property certificate. Why can you live here and not ?" Hu Li, enraged, slapped Qin Pengfei across the face – an ungrateful white-eyed wolf raised in vain, all of them; didn't they want to support her?
Fine, she would move out, this was Xiang i's house.
Qin Pengfei, touching his face, slamd the door shut. Behind the closed door, Hu Li continued to pound and curse, but he wouldn't open. Who knew how long Hu Li cursed, her words exceedingly vulgar, enough to make anyone want to crawl into a hole.
With Hu Li cursing her throat dry, Qin Pengfei resolutely kept the door closed while people around pointed and whispered. Hu Li knew she couldn't show her face, and slunk back to the village. But as soon as she arrived, the aunties and grandmas pointed at her and muttered, "Slutty fox," "shaless," and the like. To think that in her old age, people would point fingers and curse her like this. She couldn't stand living in the village anymore.
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