Deputy town mayor breathed a sigh of relief as Mayor Li returned to work:
"Mayor Li, although Zhonghe Village has a new spring, the news that cow dung was thrown into it has already spread."
"As soon as we started work on the sixth, we received many calls. Some were from superiors inquiring about the matter, while others were from tourists asking about the hygiene of the wine."
"The Municipal Health Bureau even sent people down to inspect. They confirmed that the spring water from the new spring is clean and uncontaminated, and the water quality is good."
"But it didn't help. Customers buying wine didn't care and didn't recognize it. All pre-ordered shipments were canceled."
Li Zhengguo nodded: "I understand. Ask the assistant to notify the village cadres of Zhonghe Village and Zhangshan Village to attend a meeting this afternoon."
Li Zhengguo spent the morning dealing with the stacked documents on his desk.
At noon, he returned home and asked his wife about the feasibility of a picking garden using grapes from Zhonghe Village and Zhangshan Village.
Tian Jing pursed her lips and said seriously: "Taking advantage of the cow dung spring water gimmick, it should achieve a certain effect."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh: "Cow dung spring water can't be used for brewing, but it's very nutritious for irrigation."
Li Zhengguo also found it amusing: "Alright, I'll tell these two villages to definitely use spring water for irrigation and cow dung for fertilization."
So, at the afternoon meeting, Wang Zhongfei, the acting village head of Zhangshan Village, was troubled. Their village had no spring, and therefore no spring water.
The village head of Zhonghe Village sneered and said that they wouldn't bully others. They would charge Zhangshan Village only one jiao per bucket of 40 jin of spring water.
Wang Zhongfei disagreed. One jiao per bucket didn't sound expensive, but was irrigation calculated by the bucket?
Furthermore, although the two villages were only two to three miles apart, the labor cost of carrying water would exhaust the villagers.
Therefore, he asked Mayor Li to approve their request to survey for underground springs in Zhangshan Village.
Zhonghe Village and Zhangshan Village were so close; perhaps Zhangshan Village also had a spring.
Li Zhengguo nodded in secret. He had appointed Wang Zhongfei to Zhangshan Village precisely because he valued his cleverness.
Therefore, he approved it.
The village head of Zhonghe Village's face fell. He had seen the wine becoming a village enterprise, but not only was it ruined by Zhangshan Village, but the grape picking revenue also went to Zhangshan Village.
What was the use of confiscating that 100,000 yuan? For over 300 households, each would only get two to three hundred yuan, which was meaningless.
A good industry was ruined, and even a fine of 100,000 yuan per household wouldn't quell his anger.
Li Zhengguo was also helpless. Zhonghe Village's only advantage had been ruined by the Tian brothers. He really couldn't find any other suitable development projects for these two villages.
Moreover, the capital invested in building the greenhouses had not yet been recovered, and he was annoyed: "Meeting adjourned, meeting adjourned."
The meeting was adjourned, but the attendees didn't leave.
Li Zhengguo didn't care. He returned to his office with his assistant.
Facing the acting village head of Zhangshan Village, the village head of Zhonghe Village wanted to get angry but could only sigh. Village Head Wang had only taken office after the incident.
Wang Zhongfei smiled at the village head of Zhonghe Village: "Don't worry, let's see the picking income for this year first."
"I will allocate 20% of our income as compensation to Zhonghe Village for the breach of contract."
"How can the villagers of Zhangshan Village be rewarded instead of punished?"
"Of course, this is the situation while I am in office. If a different village head takes over, I can't make the decision, which is why I didn't say this in front of the mayor."
"It's better than nothing," the village head of Zhonghe Village sighed and stood up to leave first.
After the people from Zhonghe Village had left, the deputy village head of Zhangshan Village asked Wang Zhongfei why he did that.
Wang Zhongfei turned to him and asked: "If the villagers' income increases, will they thank Tian Maojin and Tian Maoyin?"
Seeing that the deputy village head remained silent, Wang Zhongfei snorted and said:
"They made mistakes, yet they are thanked? Heh, they will definitely appeal from prison. How can the villagers' quality improve?"
"After compensating Zhonghe Village with 20%, if the income is still higher than last year, I will find an excuse to withhold some of it."
"The villagers' income must be less than two-thirds of last year's. The villagers must hate the Tian brothers to the point of grinding their teeth."
After speaking, Wang Zhongfei tidied up his notebook and left the conference room, ignoring the deputy village head who was still stunned in his seat.
...
When Xiaomai heard from her husband that her uncle and aunt had returned, she moved back to Kufeng Mountain with her in-laws, who were reluctant to leave their grandson.
After settling down, she took her son to the courtyard house and found that her aunt was also there with Jiqing and Jixiang. It was perfect, so she pushed her son to play with the two children.
She complained to her aunt: "You don't know how pampered Yulin's grandparents are. If I say it lightly, the two elders don't listen. If I say it too harshly, they get upset and put on a show. I'm really at my wit's end."
Tian Jing smiled: "I have a way."
"What way?" Xiaomai asked quickly.
Tian Jing raised her eyebrows at her: "Have another child. Whether it's a boy or a girl, your in-laws' love will be divided."
"Yulin is still young and can accept a second child. He can also learn to be considerate because he has a younger sibling, so he won't be spoiled."
"Moreover, for you, more children mean more options for your old age."
Xiaomai hadn't expected her aunt's solution to be this: "I'm already 35."
Tian Jing shook her head: "It's not too late. You can give birth before menopause. Medical technology is so advanced now, it's very safe."
"Think about it carefully and discuss it with Chengbin."
After finishing this matter, Tian Jing started talking about Xiaobo's wedding.
Xiaomai would definitely attend the wedding. As for Zhou Chengbin, if he could get away, she would ask her husband to take leave and go together.
Once Xiaomai had decided, Tian Jing sent a text message to Shen Jianrong to confirm the number of people.
Shen Jianrong immediately called her and asked Tian Jing to buy some local specialties for her, as her pantry was almost emptied by her sisters.
Tian Jing agreed to buy them for her and would call her when she had collected enough.
Shen Jianrong thanked her happily and said that the villa renovation was progressing quickly, as she had hired four renovation teams.
Tian Jing expressed her apologies and gratitude. The two in-laws exchanged pleasantries before hanging up.
Xiaomai and Li Min listened with their ears pricked up on either side of Tian Jing.
As soon as Tian Jing hung up, Li Min said: "Listening to Ziyu's mother's voice makes me feel happy."
Xiaomai smiled: "It's rare. This is the first time I've found someone my aunt accepted at first hearing. No, she hasn't even seen her yet. She accepted her after just one hearing."
Tian Jing agreed with Xiaomai: "Your aunt's surname is 'Picking thorns' and her name is 'Finding fault', yet Ziyu's mother's surname is 'Wan' and her name is 'Wan Ren Mi' (Ten Thousand People Charm)."
Li Min glanced at Tian Jing: "Little sister-in-law, you're always teasing me."
Then, she retorted to her niece: "Juniors shouldn't speak ill of elders. I am your aunt."
Xiaomai did not admit it: "You're mistaken. I'm praising you."
"Hmph!" Li Min snorted heavily: "Don't try to play word games with me. I know my personality is not likable, but I have no malicious intent. I am better than some people."
Tian Jing and Xiaomai burst into laughter. What she said was true, but it wasn't suitable for self-praise.
Besides, most people were ordinary people without malicious intent, weren't they?
Li Min glanced at the two of them and turned to go watch the children.