Li Zhengguo's words immediately caused a stir of discussion among the audience.
On the stage, Secretary Yang and Deputy Village Chief Ou both gave Li Zhengguo a thumbs up.
Bribing while threatening, it was so clever.
Li Zhengguo waved his hand and said to the two, "If I don't play mind games, it won't work. I've secured a two million loan."
"How much?"
"How much?"
Secretary Yang and Deputy Village Chief Ou's voices sharpened in astonishment.
"Two million, otherwise, where would the money come from to buy steel bars, cement, plastic sheeting, and large trucks?"
"Even if they were stupid enough to only earn five or six thousand yuan per season from watermelons, if I collect half first, that's nearly two hundred thousand yuan from sixty-eight households."
"And next year's plans..."
"In short, you can rest assured, with a five-year interest-free loan, we can definitely repay it."
Interest-free.
Old Yang and Old Ou breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the pressure on their shoulders lessen.
Thinking of the abandoned hillsides that were about to be contracted out, it seemed the village could still make money.
Then thinking of the future, and the humiliation suffered by the four villages ahead, the two looked at each other and smiled.
After a period of discussion, the audience quieted down again.
Li Zhengguo also stopped his whispers and asked the crowd, "Do you have any questions?"
Immediately, someone raised their hand.
Li Zhengguo nodded. Good, it was necessary to push them. Civilization was forced out this way.
He pointed to one of the hand-raisers.
The person stood up and asked, "Village Chief Li, what is the proportion for repayment? For the unified housing, will it be built together or separately? Will it be on credit or will we buy materials ourselves?"
Li Zhengguo asked him to sit down and answered his questions.
"The proportion is half of your current season's income. For unified housing, I plan to build them together because purchasing materials and hiring machinery together to build them will save money and effort."
"It will save your time and energy to continue earning money. And it will prevent neighbors from comparing the height of their eaves, leading to a lack of uniformity."
Another villager asked, "Are the steel bar, cement, and greenhouses also built uniformly?"
Li Zhengguo nodded, "Yes, we will hire experts to build them, with professional insulation designs. Moreover, I will teach you watermelon cultivation methods and greenhouse space-saving techniques individually."
"I am investing so much, staking all my reputation and honor, to get you things you lack from outside on credit."
"If you dare to disobey the arrangements, as I said before, please leave."
"In the past, you always said I didn't lead you to prosperity. Now, I'm leading you to prosperity together. If you drag your feet, what does that mean?"
"It means you are useless like A Dou, it means you are rotten mud."
"Do you believe it? If I were to support the four villages ahead with these things, they would immediately invite me back with great fanfare."
"And you? Doubts and worries, what are you worried about? Can I sell you? How much are you worth?"
"Alright, meeting adjourned. Hurry up and start working. It's April, the earlier you sow the seeds, the earlier you plant, the earlier you earn money, and the earlier you repay the loans."
All the questions were about worries, which made Li Zhengguo impatient. It was better to just get started. Once they saw the income, they would all be obedient.
The villagers got busy, and the village committee became lively.
The hills in the west of the village also became lively.
The seedling group, the sanitation group, and the civilization group, the three groups immediately recruited members.
Tian Jing directly recruited the daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law from Brother Wang's family, plus the three sisters-in-law of Ma Changying, six people were enough.
Sister-in-law Niu recruited her close girlfriends, of course.
Sister Guihua was troubled. She recited the "Three Character Classic" every day, how could she supervise others?
She had reason to suspect that Village Chief Li was retaliating for her once calling his family cowards.
Finally, she went back and pulled her mother-in-law, her sisters-in-law, her daughters-in-law, and her nieces to join.
"Work hard, and you'll have face if you do well. If you don't, and we receive complaints, we'll all miss out on planting seedlings."
The women in the family couldn't do anything about Sister Guihua, so they had to work together to support her.
Mother Li and her grandsons carried their stools back home. Before they could even drink water, they saw their daughter rush in.
"Mom, Mom, Mom, my little brother is the village chief, my little brother is the village chief. Haha, this time, let's see who dares to laugh behind my back."
"Slap."
She immediately received a cane on her back, and her face contorted in pain. "Mom?"
Mother Li pointed at her daughter, "So what if your little brother is the village chief? Is he your protective umbrella?"
"Didn't you say you were going to see Zhang Fangcao to remind yourself? Is this how you remind yourself?"
Li Min quickly shook her head, "Mom, I'm not being arrogant. I'm just venting my disdain for them. They're all people with eyes like donkeys, looking down on others."
Mother Li gave her a stern look, "Then why do you still care what they say? Can't you just live your own life?"
"If you dare to act up again, I'll have your sister-in-law send you to the mountains and lock you up."
"If you hadn't changed so much in the past two years, your little brother probably wouldn't have been willing to take over as village chief. Having a sister like you who drags him down is his misfortune."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Li Min paced in the yard, "Little brother said the town had planned to make him village chief years ago. Yes, yes, Mom is right, I am dragging my little brother down."
"I'll change, I'll diligently do housework, diligently earn money, I won't fight or curse, and strive to be a Three Eight Red Flag Winner, that's the image a village chief's sister should have."
Mother Li breathed a sigh of relief, truly afraid her younger daughter would revert to her old ways. "You continue to go see Zhang Fangcao."
Li Min nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I must go. Thinking of her miserable state makes me afraid. If I break the law, my little brother and sister-in-law will definitely send me in too."
Before returning to the county town, Mother Li still reminded her daughter to be vigilant.
"Yes, yes, Mom, don't worry. I still want to see Xiao Fu and An An get married, and I want to hold my grandchildren."
The literacy class started.
The seedling room was built overnight.
The sanitation group began its work.
The civilization group started roaming the village.
A sign was placed on Old Yang's desk, which read: Answering Questions.
The village was in a state of enthusiastic activity.
Mobilize the villagers' enthusiasm?
No need. From the moment they saw the Li family earning money, they had been looking forward to this day.
Who knew that even better things were waiting for them, making them fearful, afraid they were dreaming.
They were afraid that their many questions would make the new village chief impatient.
On the third day, the seedling room began to sow seeds.
On the fourth day, two new trucks arrived with steel bars, cement, and plastic sheeting.
Then, for several consecutive days, it was steel bars, cement, and plastic sheeting.
Some people and tools were also transported across the river.
Not to mention the nearby Wang'er Village, even Lishi Village, Zhangshan Village, and Zhonghe Village came to hear the news.
The movements in Kueshan were too significant.
Especially Zhonghe Village, Kueshan used to be under their jurisdiction. After the production team became a village, they became equals.
Now, with such big actions, it was truly different from before.
Li Zhengguo raised his eyebrows, "Everyone, I secured a two million loan, and that's why I'm making such a fuss. You can do it too."
The four village chiefs' eyes widened. "Two, a two million loan?"
Li Zhengguo nodded, "Yes, two million. Either don't do it, or do it big."
Village Chief Ou Yang of Zhonghe Village looked at Li Zhengguo and sighed, "Back then, I also became the team leader in my thirties."
Was he implying that he was trying to suppress him?
Li Zhengguo secretly shook his head. What era was this? Still living in the past, relying on seniority.
"Village Chief Ou Yang's demeanor has not diminished in the slightest. By the way, next year, I plan to repair the village road. How much can each of your four villages contribute?"