"Granny... what are you doing?"
The old woman’s sudden kneeling left Lin Fan bewildered.
He hurried to help the elderly lady who kept bowing, while her tears flowed freely.
"County magistrate... I finally see you, the Lord Qingtian... benefactor... I bow to you..."
Her heartfelt cries made Lin Fan even more flustered. After he helped her up, she continued to mumble words of gratitude incoherently.
"Lord Qingtian... you brought light to our village... gave us a ans to live... Today, I finally get to see you..."
The crying old woman was a stark contrast to her previous deanor. Lin Fan didn’t know how to comfort her, but at least her attitude had undergone a significant change.
"Granny, I’ve co to cooperate with the staff from the education bureau, wanting to take the girls from our village to the county town for schooling, then find good jobs. When they earn money, they can help their families with expenses. The inco is quite substantial, much better than marrying her off for a bride price. Besides, the governnt now forbids exorbitant bride prices, that’s illegal!"
Seated in the dilapidated house, Lin Fan tried hard to explain the purpose of his visit in a language the woman could understand.
The crying old woman just kept nodding, as if understanding, but clearly not fully comprehending, which made Lin Fan have to turn to the village mayor for help.
"The county magistrate wants my granddaughter... just take her away... just give her so food... you’re our great benefactor... if my granddaughter can work for you... that’s our blessing... Zhaodi... co here quickly!"
Before the village mayor could explain, the half-deaf granny had already called her granddaughter to her side, pushing her in front of Lin Fan. This wasn’t about sending her out for study and work; it was more like handing her over to Lin Fan.
"Alright, let’s just go with that!"
Looking at the rundown interior, Lin Fan sighed, took out one thousand yuan from his pocket, and directly handed it to the old lady, who held the money excitedly, pulling her granddaughter, seemingly saying to take good care of the county magistrate, like it’s her fortune or sothing.
"I feel like the old lady didn’t understand at all, should we explain again that you’re not here to take her granddaughter?"
Nie Yinghong looked at Lin Fan; it was clear the granny misunderstood, thinking Lin Fan wanted her granddaughter as a maid.
"No need to explain, as long as we can take the girl, it’s fine."
Lin Fan waved his hand; explaining household by household would take forever. But the woman’s change in attitude suggested sothing was up, so he turned to Mayor Ma, "Mayor, what’s going on here?"
"She probably mistook you for County Magistrate Zhao."
Mayor Ma’s words stunned Lin Fan: "You an County Magistrate Zhao is her benefactor?"
"Not just in her heart; County Magistrate Zhao is practically everyone’s benefactor in Red Flag County. You should know, twenty years ago, Red Flag County was a nationally recognized impoverished county, with millions of people struggling for subsistence. It was County Magistrate Zhao’s bold reforms that led the entire county onto the path to prosperity."
Mayor Ma spoke with familiarity: "Not to ntion the distant past, just take Huanglan Village, which was notoriously poor. It was County Magistrate Zhao who brought in foreign capital to develop coal mines in the town, filling people’s pockets with money. This very road in Team Four, the household solar panels and water storage tanks, even the water catchnt net atop the mountain, were all sponsored out of County Magistrate Zhao’s pocket. Without him, not to ntion roads, Team Four wouldn’t even have electricity, and for drinking water, they’d have to go fetch it from the mountain."
"No wonder!"
Hearing this, Lin Fan lit a cigarette, recalling the ten million sent to the girls’ high school, which he had acquired from others. It seed County Magistrate Zhao had already taken the step to protect every Red Flag County resident, hence the preferential treatnt.
"What’s the story with this family’s son?"
As they walked out of the low-built house, curiously watching the old woman, Lin Fan thought that appearing as the county magistrate made him a benefactor in her eyes.
"Her son and husband both worked in the county mines. During one collapse, her husband got buried inside, and her son’s leg was crushed. It was County Magistrate Zhao who arranged a job for him at the town governnt canteen and gave the family a substantial sum of money. They lack for nothing; provisions and cooking oil during holidays and other occasions are plentiful. Moreover, this is only part of it; County Magistrate Zhao sends countless things out of his pocket each year."
Mayor Ma’s words indirectly confird all of Lin Fan’s previous suspicions. Behind County Magistrate Zhao’s seemingly ruthless deanor must be so secrets. While outwardly one might think it’s extraordinary wealth hiding beneath, there’s likely sothing far more dangerous involved.
"No wonder Grandpa gave a year; this is quite interesting."
After listening to all this, Lin Fan had an idea. But now was not the ti to marvel at Zhao Chuanchun’s hardships. He needed to figure out how to carry on, so he beckoned to Nie Yinghong nearby, knowing it was ti to lay so cards on the table.
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