Chapter 319 - The Reason
Chapter 319: The Reason
Translator: Lonelytree
The young couple was being lovey-dovey. He was an old man, so he didn’t want to get involved. ‘Speaking of, why has Gong Tianhao gotten so much more shameless recently? He flirted so openly with my daughter when I was standing right there.
“That’s right. I’m Yu’Er’s father. Why should I leave? He should be the one to leave.
Xiao Zhengyang walked out of the courtyard and saw that the villagers were all rushing towards the village committee. He sighed lightly and followed the crowd.
At the village committee, the villagers crowded around the village chief, “Village chief, What’s going on? Why is there suddenly a demolition team?”
“That’s right. After they tear down our houses, where are we going to stay? Even if there’s compensation, we won’t be able to find a new place so soon.”
“But why would people come to demolish our houses in the first place?”
The questions flew everywhere.
The village chief held the megaphone and said loudly, “Alright, everyone, let’s be quiet for a while. You have too many questions. Do you want me to answer them again and again? Please find a seat and sit down. When everyone is here, I’ll answer everything all at once, okay?”
The villagers dispersed and found a place to sit. Some stood. They were discussing the matters that happened earlier.
It happened too unexpectedly. If not for Young Master Gong, their houses would be crushed already. They were working the fields and were thus not home. When they returned, their houses might be gone already. This was too terrifying.
After waiting for a while, all 186 households arrived. Most meetings happened in split groups. This was one of the few times where every household was present.
The village chief held a megaphone and said, “Everyone, quiet down. Listen to me.”
“village chief, hurry up. We’re dying of anxiety.”
“You people need to shut up! You’re shouting so loudly! How do you expect the village chief to speak?” Someone immediately shouted in dissatisfaction.
The venue quieted down. After that, the village chief held the megaphone and continued speaking, “Actually, I was also very surprised when I saw the demolition team. This was because I had just received the notice from the county this morning.
“When I received the demolition notice, I was very shocked too.
“But even more shocking was when someone told me the demolition team was already heading to the village. Therefore, I quickly rushed back. But when I was rushing back, I saw the demolition team leaving.”
There was a moment of silence. Then someone asked, “Village chief, does that mean that you didn’t know about the demolition at all?”
The village chief nodded and then shook his head.
This made the villagers very puzzled.
“village chief, what do you mean?” Someone asked loudly.
The village chief smiled bitterly and said, “How should I say it? I heard that a big boss has taken a fancy to Taoyuan Village and plan to develop it into a tourist destination.”
village chief, why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Someone immediately complained, “If you had told us before, we would have been mentally prepared. We wouldn’t have known about this until someone came knocking on our door with a forklift.”
Many people agreed.
The village chief said, “Because it was only hearsay. I didn’t know it was true or not. I didn’t want to make people worry. It would have affected everyone’s work. Do you think I’d do that?”
“But how is that better than having someone suddenly coming to demolish our house?” A villager began to complain.
‘The village chief laughed bitterly again and continued, “I didn’t tell everyone about this because I thought the developer would inform us first before they started any demolition. Normally, they would have to get our agreement before they can do any demolition.
“How would I now this company would come like a bandit and force the demolition?”
Most villagers started to empathize with the village chief.
However, at this moment, someone asked, “Village chief, it sounds like we’ll be compensated for the demolition, right?”
The village chief turned to Xiao Chengcai, who asked the question, and his face was a little angry.
The village chief asked with a sullen face, “Yes, there will be compensation. Are you willing to sell your house for a measly 5000 RMB per household member?”
Xiao Chengcai said with a sullen face, “Why not? After all, my house is so old already.” There were five members in his family. So he could get 25,000. With the 40,000 RMB from before, he could move out of Taoyuan Village and live a better life.
The village chief was furious when he heard this.
He pointed at Xiao Chengcai and cursed, “Xiao Chengcai, this is all your fault! If you hadn’t sold the outsiders news of the Little Cattle King, would this have happened?”
Everyone was shocked.
“village chief, what do you mean by this?”
“That’s right, village chief. Tell us, what exactly is going on? How did this have anything to do with Xiao Chengcai and the Little Cattle King?”
The village chief couldn’t hide his anger as he said, “Do you think that the owner of the developer really likes Taoyuan Village and wants to turn it into a tourist destination? That’s all bullshit! What they want is our land that can grow good strawberries and vegetables.”
“What?”
Everyone immediately felt that it was unbelievable.
“But the reason why the land is so fertile is because of Xiao Lingyu’s Little Cattle King!”
As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood what was going on.
“village chief, so the big boss actually wanted Taoyuan Village for the Little Cattle King?”
The village chief nodded and replied, “That’s right!”
“But if they are really here for Little Cattle King, then they can just come and snatch it. Why are they making such a big fuss about tearing down our house?”
Some people immediately blamed Xiao Lingyu’s family.
“That’s right. Since their target is the Little Cattle King, why should the rest of us suffer?”
‘When the village chief heard this, his face was full of black lines. He sternly shouted, “Shut up. What nonsense are you talking about? So you don’t mind the Little Cattle King being targeted? Is it because the Little Cattle King doesn’t belong to your family? You don’t feel sorry for him so he could be sold
like that?
“Do you people have a conscience? Have you not benefitted from the Little Cattle King’s manure? Have your crops not grown better with the fertilizer made from his manure?”
‘The village chief’s words were sharp, making those who wanted to blame the Xiao family look embarrassed.
They argued, “We were just telling the truth. Village chief, why do you have to use such harsh words?”
Village chief said coldly, “If I didn’t use these harsh words, your words would be harsher.”
Immediately, those people fell silent. These people had benefitted from the Little Cattle King, but they didn’t hesitate to sell him out. It was unreasonable.
Village chief looked at the small group of villagers with their heads lowered. He harrumphed and didn’t say anything else.
“Village chief, what does the demolition have to do with Xiao Chengcai and the Little Cattle King?” Someone asked. Everyone picked up their interest.
‘The village chief answered, “The two are intrinsically connected. It was Xiao Chengcai who sold the news of the Little Cattle King to the boss who sent people over to demolish our village.”
‘When Xiao Chengcai heard this, his expression suddenly changed.
He immediately defended himself, “Village chief, I didn’t do such a thing. Don’t accuse me.”
‘The village chief said very angrily, “Accuse you? Xiao Chengcai, do you think I would say these things without evidence?”
‘When Xiao Chengcai heard that there was evidence, his pupils constricted. He felt that it was very unbelievable.
He said loudly, “Impossible. I clearly didn’t…”
But he didn’t continue and stopped abruptly…