Chapter 905: Dividing the Money Again!
The Li family’s dinner was simple: noodles with chili oil, sliced cucumber, and tomatoes tossed in sugar!
Although there was no meat, thanks to Li Yi’s amazing cooking skills, the whole family ate to their hearts’ content.
But before they had even finished eating, the village loudspeaker suddenly blared: “Ahem… Attention, villagers and cooperative members! Everyone, listen up! Each household should send one representative to assemble at the village office immediately—it’s time to distribute the money!”
“Attention, villagers and cooperative members…”
The announcement over the loudspeaker repeated three times before ending. Upon hearing Secretary Feng’s notice, the entire village of Nianzishan was instantly abuzz. Everyone rushed out of their homes and hurried excitedly toward the village committee office.
Ever since the village sold those cattle and sheep two months ago, everyone had been eagerly awaiting the distribution of the proceeds.
It wasn’t that the villagers were so poor they couldn’t make ends meet and were counting on that money to save their lives; it was just that seeing such a large sum sitting there made everyone unable to stop thinking about it!
They had assumed they’d have to wait at least until after the autumn harvest, when it would be distributed along with the village’s other earnings, so they were naturally overjoyed to learn the money was being distributed now.
Upon hearing the news of the village’s distribution, the Li family was naturally overjoyed as well, especially Jiang Xue.
She handed the two clingy little ones over to her older sister and mother, then grabbed Li Yi’s hand and headed out the door.
Seeing this, her father, Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and the others had no choice but to follow closely behind.
Perhaps it was seeing familiar faces, but Jiang Xue was particularly cheerful today, skipping and jumping all the way, as if she were back in her teens!
Seeing her like this, Li Yi was also very happy.
Perhaps this was how she was meant to be, but alas, life is unpredictable; after going through so much, it was rare to see this carefree side of her anymore.
By the time Li Yi and the others arrived at the village committee office, a large crowd of villagers had already gathered there, surrounding the low, dilapidated building in layers upon layers until it was completely packed.
The crowd included not only young adults but also the elderly and children.
The adults were all focused on what was happening inside the brigade headquarters, while the children were just there to watch the commotion.
They roamed around the village office in small groups, playing and laughing, their shrill shrieks and boisterous laughter audible from a great distance.
Low-roofed mountain cottages, the setting sun, mischievous children, birds chirping and cicadas singing…
Seeing these scenes, that unique atmosphere of the village suddenly washed over me.
Someone shouted, “Xiao Yi is here!” and in an instant, the villagers in the courtyard all turned around and gathered around to greet the young couple.
At the same time, the villagers even made way for them to pass!
Li Yi and Jiang Xue exchanged greetings with the villagers as they made their way toward the village committee office.
Inside, Feng Kai, Zhang Tongfu, and the others had heard the commotion outside. When they saw Li Yi, Jiang Xue, and the others push open the door, they all stood up to greet them.
“Xiao Yi, Xiao Xue, and Brother Shanwei, please sit down—we’ve been waiting just for you!” Feng Kai tapped his clay pipe against the weathered leg of a worn-out table as he spoke.
Li Yi knew his father wasn’t one for many words, so he immediately smiled and said, “We just finished eating. Sorry to keep everyone waiting!”
Feng Kai smiled and said, “No problem. Actually, there aren’t many people in our village—only about seventy or eighty households in total. It wouldn’t take much time to sort things out, but there are a few matters I’d like to discuss with you first, Yi!”
“What kind of advice, Uncle Feng? Go ahead.”
“As you know, every village in Qing Shan County except for our Nianzi Mountain Village has already implemented that household contract responsibility system. Ever since word got out that our village hasn’t split up yet, there’s been no shortage of gossip. I don’t know how many people are just waiting to see us fail.”
Feng Kai continued, “So, I think we should be generous when we distribute the money this time. Once we’re done today, tomorrow our brigade will treat everyone to a special meal—we’ll slaughter a pig and a sheep to let everyone really indulge their appetites. What do you think?”
“Great! We’ve just gotten back and already hit the jackpot. Xiao Xue and I really hit the jackpot here!” Li Yi said with a smile.
He knew Feng Kai wasn’t doing this just to entertain everyone; more than anything, it was to show off their strength to people from other villages, so that Nanzishan Village wouldn’t become the butt of everyone’s jokes.
Naturally, Li Yi was all for it!
At that moment, Feng Kai spoke again: “Also, we want to clear out the village’s food shortage before distributing the money. It’s just that this might put you at a bit of a disadvantage, Xiao Yi!”
Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “Does our village have a famine? Where do we owe money?”
“These debts aren’t the village’s collective debts, but ones the villagers themselves have incurred…”
Before Feng Kai could finish, Li Yi frowned and said, “Since the villagers incurred these debts themselves, why shouldn’t they be the ones to repay them, rather than the village?”
Li Yi wasn’t saying this because he cared about the money. From what he knew of the villagers, they were all honest, hardworking farmers who wouldn’t have accumulated much debt even if they had any.
But the problem was that this wasn’t how things were supposed to be done. It made no sense for the collective to pay off personal debts. If this were to be approved, it would only lead to chaos in the future.
After all, with the collective acting as a safety net, some people would inevitably become reckless!
Just as Feng Kai was about to explain, Zhang Tongfu, the brigade leader, cut in: “Let me handle this. Most of these debts are owed by our village members and educated youths to the health clinic and the county hospital. Logically, they should repay them themselves, but some of the debtors are in their seventies or eighties and have long since lost their ability to work, while others have simply passed away!”
“As for the educated youth, some have returned to the city, while others are in prison—we certainly can’t count on them. But those famine-related debts are all listed under our village’s name. Until they’re paid off, we won’t have a moment’s peace!”
Hearing this, Li Yi suddenly understood—so this was what Uncle Feng and the others had meant by “the famine.”
In fact, this kind of debt wasn’t unique to Nianzi Mountain Village; every production team in the county had it. After all, droughts had plagued the region for years, and with meager harvests barely enough to feed a family, they were helpless when faced with childbirth or illness.
At times like these, the production team would step in, allowing members to run a tab at the hospital and pay it off later when they had the money.
That’s why, in the past, the hospital would send people down every year, carrying ledgers to collect debts village by village.
But in recent years, everyone has been living hand-to-mouth. So while some people have paid off these debts, others have carried them for half their lives—or even their entire lives—never repaying them until their deaths.
Clearly, these village officials didn’t want to carry this moral debt. After all, the hospital was willing to let villagers receive treatment on credit—they were saving people’s lives, and that kindness had to be remembered.
When they had no money, there was little to be said, but now that they have money, what kind of people would they be if they didn’t pay it back!
Most importantly, their Nianzishan Brigade hadn’t simply disbanded on the spot like other production teams. As expected, the stigma of the famine would continue to hang over their village.
Realizing this, Li Yi immediately said, “Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, I understand what you’re saying. I wonder how much these debts total?”
“763 yuan, 80 jiao, and 8 fen!” replied Chen Mengying, the accountant.
Li Yi nodded and said again, “Since it’s this kind of debt, the village will help pay it off. But we need to make it clear to everyone: from now on, for debts like this, you’ll have to figure it out on your own—you can’t rely on the collective anymore.”
Although Li Yi knew that in a few years the state would implement new healthcare reforms, and that with the dissolution of the collective, the state would eventually assume this portion of the debt, he thought that since it was a matter of conscience, they might as well pay it off if they could.
Besides, it wasn’t that much money anyway!
Hearing Li Yi’s response, Feng Kai smiled and said, “Since you agree, Xiao Yi, the Banbanhaobang team will pay this off on behalf of the famine-stricken households. Once we deduct this amount, we can proceed with the distribution!”
“Alright, let’s split it!”
Feng Kai gave a hearty laugh and immediately began organizing the distribution of the funds…
……..