Chapter 906: Road Construction!

Nianzi Mountain Village. Village Committee Office!

With the support of Village Party Secretary Feng Kai and Village Chief Zhang Tongfu, and despite the county-wide push for the Household Contract Responsibility System, Nianzi Mountain Village—the only village in the county to retain its production brigade—had begun distributing dividends ahead of schedule.

Before the dividend distribution ceremony began, Brigade Leader Zhang Tongfu announced this year’s distribution principles to all villagers and cooperative members: after deducting the share allocated to Li Yi, the major shareholder, the remaining funds would be distributed according to the “50-50” principle.

The “50-50” principle refers to dividing the total income equally between per-capita dividends and labor-based dividends.

Generally speaking, the “50-50” distribution principle is only suitable for years with good harvests.

This is because during poor harvests, priority must be given to ensuring food rations for the working population, which inevitably reduces the share allocated to per capita rations.

Of course, the same applies to cash dividends.

Clearly, in the view of the village officials, the village’s earnings this year were strong, allowing for a larger share to be allocated to those unable to work.

After announcing the distribution principle, the accountant, Chen Mengying, immediately presented the village’s total income and various expenditures for the first half of the year.

According to the figures released by Chen Mengying, the village’s total revenue for the first half of the year reached 572,700 yuan, with the main sources being cattle, sheep, and pig farming.

After deducting the corresponding costs and the debt of over 700 yuan, the funds available for dividends amounted to 454,000 yuan, while the remaining few hundred yuan in change was set aside for tomorrow’s celebration.

According to the agreement between the village and Li Yi, in addition to repaying his 100,000 yuan investment, the village was to give him half of the profits—that is, 227,000 yuan.

The remaining 227,000 yuan was also to be split in two: one portion was to be distributed to all villagers, with each person receiving 320 yuan.

The other half was to be distributed among the 272 working-age residents, though not equally; instead, it was calculated based on the number of work points they had earned in the first half of the year.

The entire dividend distribution began in the evening and didn’t conclude until 10:30 p.m.!

After handing out the money to the last villager, Feng Kai, Zhang Tongfu, and the others breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Afterward, Feng Kai lit a pipe of dry tobacco and looked at Li Yi with a smile, saying, “We’ve finally distributed this money. Now we don’t have to live in constant fear anymore.”

Zhang Tongfu took a sip of tea and agreed, “You’re right. These past few days, Old Chen and the others have been guarding this money with their guns holstered, taking turns even to go to the bathroom. Now we can finally get a good night’s sleep!”

Chen Mengying grinned and said, “It was a bit tiring, but it was worth it.”

“Hahaha, of course it was worth it. Your Chen family has thirteen members, young and old. Just the per-capita share is over four thousand yuan, and with the labor dividend, each of you will end up with around seven thousand yuan,” Feng Kai said with a smile.

“No, it’s a little over six thousand six hundred yuan—not quite seven thousand!” Chen Mengying said with a laugh.

“That’s still a lot. By the end of the year, with the money from selling grain, your Chen family might just become a ‘ten-thousand-yuan household’!” Zhang Tongfu teased with a laugh.

“Don’t go saying things like that… don’t go saying things like that!” Chen Mengying said in a low voice.

Seeing how cautious he was, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

After the laughter died down, Feng Kai pointed to the half-bag of money packed in a burlap sack on the table and said to Li Yi, “Little Yi, this is your family’s share. Go ahead and take it home!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No rush. I’ve got a few things I’d like to chat about with Uncle Feng and Uncle Zhang!”

“Yi, just tell us what’s on your mind!” Feng Kai said with a smile.

“Uncle, I think the existing road leading out of our village is in really bad shape. Could we fix it up?” Li Yi asked.

“Hmm, that road does need fixing. It gets so muddy and impassable whenever it rains.”

Then Feng Kai changed the subject and added, “But the autumn harvest is about to begin. Once it’s over, I’ll organize the villagers to haul some sand and gravel to fill in that road!”

At that moment, Zhang Tongfu chimed in, “That road isn’t just used by our village. We could talk to the commune and ask the other villages to contribute some labor so we can all work on it together!”

“I think that’s a good idea. In past years, whenever we’ve had road or bridge construction projects, the whole commune has worked together!” Feng Kai said.

Li Yi immediately chimed in, “Uncle Feng, here’s what I’m thinking: could we build a proper asphalt or concrete road? Gravel roads just don’t last. I remember this road was just repaired last year, and look how bad it’s already gotten this year!”

Hearing this, Feng Kai immediately frowned and said, “Yi, our village is nearly 30 li (15 kilometers) from the county seat. If we were to pave the entire road with asphalt or concrete, it would cost a fortune. Given our village’s circumstances, we simply can’t afford such a huge expense!”

“Uncle Feng, don’t worry about the money. I’ll cover the cost of the road repairs!” Li Yi said.

“You’ll pay for it?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s right. I’ve done a rough estimate. If we’re talking about an asphalt road, we’ll need to hire a professional road and bridge construction company—I’m not entirely sure of the exact cost!”

“But if we go with a concrete road, excluding labor costs, it’ll cost about 3,000 yuan per li. For over 30 li, it’ll be no more than 100,000 yuan!”

“But Uncle Feng, you know I can’t stay home for long. I definitely won’t have time to handle this…”

Before he could finish, Feng Kai spoke up: “Yi, you’d better think this through. We’re talking about 100,000 yuan here!”

“I’ve thought it through!” Li Yi said firmly.

Feng Kai took a few puffs on his pipe, then turned to Li Shankui, who had been sitting silently nearby, and asked, “Brother Shankui, what do you think?”

Li Shankui glanced at Li Yi, then said in a deep, booming voice, “Building a road is a good thing. Since Little Yi has his heart set on it, let him do it!”

“Tang… Xue, what do you think?” Feng Kai asked again.

Jiang Xue smiled and said, “Uncle, I support him!”

Back when they were in Hong Kong, she had heard her husband talk about doing charity work, and he’d said it was a social responsibility that entrepreneurs should shoulder.

Plus, she really admired the way Huang Lixing and Chen Chuhong donated to schools all over the place, so naturally she wouldn’t stand in Li Yi’s way.

Of course, the main reason was that Jiang Xue knew Li Yi’s net worth—a hundred thousand or so was truly a drop in the bucket for her husband, and his “bucket” was a yak’s, the kind with a ton of fur!

At that moment, Li Yi spoke up: “Uncle Feng, I understand your concerns. Don’t worry—100,000 yuan won’t break the bank for me!”

“Hmm, since you’re such a kind-hearted fellow, you don’t need to worry about this. Tomorrow I’ll go to the commune and talk to Director Hao about it, and have him organize some support from the villagers in the other villages!” Feng Kai said.

“Alright, but could you grant me one small favor?” Li Yi asked again.

“What’s the request?”

“Don’t say I paid for this road—just say it was funded by our village collective!” Li Yi said.

“Why’s that? Building roads and bridges is a tremendous act of kindness. Most people would love to erect a monument at every bridge and intersection to promote themselves. Why would you, you silly boy, give that good reputation to the village instead?” Feng Kai asked, puzzled.

“Uncle Feng, I’m already pretty out there in our county. If I keep promoting myself like this, it might not be such a good thing. It’s better to keep a low profile!” Li Yi spoke his mind.

“But…”

“Uncle, just let me do this. I just want to fix up this stretch of road so I can get home faster and more comfortably. There’s no need for all that frivolous nonsense, don’t you think?” Li Yi said.

Seeing how determined Li Yi was, Feng Kai sighed and said, “Since you’re set on doing this, then let’s do it your way!”

“Great!”

With that, Li Yi counted out 100,000 yuan from a plastic bag and handed it directly to Feng Kai.

“Uncle Feng, go ahead and get it done. If you run short on money, just let me know!” Li Yi said.

“Alright…”

After taking care of these matters, Li Yi picked up the burlap sack and, accompanied by Jiang Xue, his father, and the others, left the village committee office.

But when he reached the entrance of his new house, he spotted a familiar figure standing at his doorstep from a distance…

……….