Chapter 2078

Zhu Yanyi remembered a saying from her past life: "Leave an inch of land for your descendants." This wisdom arose because fertile land had been seized too aggressively back then. She hadn’t recalled this issue before, but now, seeing it here, she realized it needed fixing. Solving this was part of a healer’s great duty.

"You sold all your land. No wonder you’re doing this scamming now," Zhu Yanyi said, feeling speechless. With no income and no idea how to work elsewhere, they turned to such tricks. It was understandable, in a sad way.

"Most of us who finished middle school left to work. Those staying are mostly primary school graduates. Some can’t even write their names. Without literacy, you can’t go far. So we’re stuck here, surviving with these shameless acts," Wu Qiong sighed, full of worry.

Indeed, "knowledge changes destiny" was no empty phrase. It held true. With knowledge, one wouldn’t get lost traveling, miss a bus, or board the wrong train. Knowledge was vital. Without it, people were trapped at home, unable to travel far.

"You could have someone educated lead you out to work," Yu Qingyun suggested.

"That sounds good. But even if led out, we wouldn’t all work in the same factory. Signing up is hard. I heard you need to fill forms and sign for wages. If you can’t do that, you can’t work," Wu Qiong explained seriously. "Also, we have many elderly people. If everyone left, who would care for them and the children? So, only those with potential left. We, the half-educated, stayed behind."

"Since you know your flaws, you shouldn’t have sold your fertile land," Zhu Yanyi said, still displeased.

"We didn’t think that far ahead. We thought having twenty thousand yuan made us rich families," Wu Qiong replied. But being a "ten-thousand-yuan household" wasn’t easy. As the economy grew, ten thousand yuan became a small sum. They hadn’t realized this yet, but time would show.

Zhu Yanyi had experienced this in her past life. When she first graduated, she interned at a real estate company. Her fixed salary was only four hundred yuan, with bonuses from sales. That was lucky; many interns got nothing. Later, she worked for a group company through family connections.

She started as a technical clerk, earning eight hundred yuan. Becoming Quality Control Manager, she earned twelve hundred. But new hires with bachelor’s degrees earned more than her, despite her lower education. Angry, she left. She then became Director of the General Manager’s practice chamber, earning two thousand five hundred.

At the time, that was high pay, as most earned one thousand five to eighteen hundred. Later, she wrote online. Her income grew from free public posts to hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands. Selling publishing and film rights brought over two million yuan.

That marked her golden years, though she was middle-aged. Still, success later in life was good.

Regardless, Zhu Yanyi knew selling land for twenty thousand was little. Even with average wages of eight hundred to fifteen hundred, one could earn that in two or three years. It wasn’t enough for long-term use.

"If you lack long-term planning, you face immediate worries." This truth was undeniable. These people, chasing small profits, caused their current plight. Zhu Yanyi felt only pity and sighs.

"I don’t require high education for the promotion task. But you must obey the managers I send. They will teach you. If you fail, you return. This is your job. Poor performance means dismissal. Remember this," Zhu Yanyi stated firmly.

She decided to let Yan Aohan handle the rest. Arguing further was pointless. Sometimes, arguing only hurts oneself. Zhu Yanyi wasn’t one to dwell on things unnecessarily.

"Of course, rest assured. Our villagers are honest," Wu Qiong said, seemingly without shame.

"Honest? And you scam?" Yu Qingyun asked, amused.

Wu Qiong looked embarrassed. "Few outsiders come here. We count them yearly. We had no choice. Money runs out. Children need school. We don’t want them illiterate like us, ruining their lives. With conditions to study, we let them. But fees are needed. So we tried this method to earn money. We didn’t know it was illegal. If we had, we never would have done it."

She nodded earnestly, insisting she spoke the truth.

"You’re the village chief. Don’t you read newspapers or books on law?" Yu Qingyun asked curiously.

"I do read, but I don’t understand much. I’m lucky to have one year of middle school. I still don’t know some characters, so I skip them," Wu Qiong admitted shyly.

Zhu Yanyi was truly speechless for the first time. They really lacked legal knowledge, which explained their boldness.