After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

No one knows how the news reached the old principal's ears.

Some say that when Ye Zhu, who worked at the quarry, came home for dinner, he muttered something to his mother. His mother then told Aunt Zhao next door, and Aunt Zhao muttered something while drawing water from the well, which was overheard by the old principal who happened to be passing by.

Some say that when the village chief was on the phone at the brigade headquarters, the door wasn't closed properly, and Grandpa Zhang, a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), who was sitting opposite him sunbathing, overheard him.

Regardless of how the story spread, the next morning, the old principal appeared at the gate of village chief Wang Laocai's house, leaning on his cane.

Old Wang was squatting next to the stove, tending the fire to cook corn porridge, when he heard the sound of the courtyard gate. He turned around, quickly wiped his hands on his apron, and stood up.

"Principal Li, it's so early in the morning, have you eaten yet?"

"I haven't eaten." The old principal slammed his cane on the threshold, his voice louder than usual, "Old Wang, I have a question for you."

Old Wang noticed that his expression was off, so he quickly pulled two pieces of firewood out of the stove and came over, rubbing his hands together.

"Please speak."

"The money from Ye Cheng's establishment was withheld by Bei Chen. Did you know that?"

Old Wang blinked.

"Well... I overheard someone mentioning it yesterday evening, saying that the settlement funds were frozen, but I don't know the specifics."

The old headmaster tapped the ground twice with his cane.

"You're the village chief, how could you not be aware of something this important?"

Old Wang shrank his neck.

"Principal Li, this is a matter between the quarry and Beicheng. I'm just a village head, and I can't get involved."

"Can't get involved?" The old headmaster slammed his cane heavily on the stone steps. "You, Old Wang, should think about it: who paid for the renovation of this school? Who led the construction of that bridge? The quarry hired over twenty people from our village, paying them twenty yuan a month—whose credit is that?"

Old Wang stood there, his lips moved twice, but he didn't dare to say anything.

The old principal pointed at his nose and said.

"Ye Cheng led a team to repair the school without asking for a single penny. When they repaired that bridge, they provided the stones and labor, without asking our village for anything. Now that they're facing difficulties and can't be paid, are we just going to stand by and watch?"

Old Wang rubbed his hands together.

"Principal Li, it's not that I don't want to help. But this is a matter of money, and I can't let everyone work for free. Every household is counting on those few dollars at the end of the month."

"Working for free?" The old headmaster sneered. "Old Wang, think about it honestly. What was our Black Mountain Village like this time last year? How many ten-yuan bills did your family see throughout the year? And what happened after Ye Cheng started the quarry? Which of the young men in the village didn't have fatter wallets than before? Weren't the stones for your two newly built east wing rooms hauled from the quarry? Did they charge you for them?"

Old Wang blushed.

Ye Cheng did indeed send a cartload of broken stones to those two east wing rooms, saying that the scraps were worthless and that he didn't charge them.

The old principal continued.

"In this life, you can't just look at the few measly things in front of you. Don't you know what kind of person Ye Cheng is? He doesn't chase after what others owe him, but he can't sleep at night because he owes others. The money will come sooner or later, it's just a matter of a few days. If we pressure him at this critical juncture, what is that called? That's called crossing the river and burning the bridge."

Old Wang was sweating profusely from what he was being said.

"Principal Li, what should we do?"

The old headmaster switched his cane to his left hand and pointed with his right hand to the large loudspeaker tied to the utility pole at the village entrance.

"Turn on the loudspeaker and shout that Ye Cheng is in trouble and his payment has been frozen. It's not that he's refusing to pay. Ask everyone to be understanding and let's hold off on the wages for now. Once the money arrives, it will be paid in full. You, Old Wang, are the village chief. If you say this, everyone will believe you."

Old Wang stood by the stove, rubbing the ashes off his hands, and remained silent for a long time.

The old principal stared at him for a good ten seconds.

"Old Wang, that girl Ye Zhen and Chief Gu are holding our village back in Beicheng. Ye Cheng is guarding the land at home. These two siblings have given their all for Heishan Village. As the village chief, don't you have any sense of responsibility?"

Old Wang took off his apron and threw it on the stove.

"Okay. I'll go call them."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the loudspeaker in Heishan Village blared.

Old Wang cleared his throat, holding the draft that the former principal had helped him with, and began to read into the tin microphone.

"Fellow villagers, fellow commune members. Well, I need to take a few minutes of your time today to talk about something. Our quarry has run into a bit of trouble. The settlement payment for the building to be constructed by the General Hospital in Beicheng has been temporarily frozen due to an audit. It's not that they're renegeing on our debt; it's just that the paperwork is a bit stuck. The money will be available in a while."

The loudspeaker's blast echoed through the village, and the women feeding chickens in their yards stopped what they were doing and looked up to listen.

"Everyone knows what kind of person Ye Cheng is. He didn't take a single penny to repair the school, and he didn't ask our village for money when he provided stones and labor for the bridge repair. Now that he's in trouble, I, Old Wang, am swallowing my pride to say a few words to everyone—brothers working on the site, your wages will be delayed for now. It's not that we won't pay you, it's just a few days later. Once the money arrives in the account, every penny will be paid to you."

He paused and looked at the old principal standing beside him. The old principal nodded to him.

Old Wang then continued reading.

"Ye Cheng is from our Heishan Village. His stones are for building a new hospital building, a life-saving building. This work can't stop. We people from Heishan Village don't kick people after they've served their purpose. I, Old Wang, will take the lead. My wife cooks at the site, so we won't ask for her wages this month. That's all for now, everyone go about your business."

The loudspeaker went off with a whistle.

The village was quiet for a while, then small groups of people started talking.

"Ye Cheng's money was confiscated? Who did it?"

"I don't know, anyway, it's about what happened in the north of the city."

"You don't want your wages? Then what about my husband's twenty yuan this month...?"

"The village chief said to wait a bit, it's not that he won't give it to us."

"Sigh, Ye Cheng is truly a man of few words. Last winter, my roof was leaking, and without saying a word, he carried over a bundle of tarpaulin to help me fix it."

"That's right. Our Black Mountain Village owes its current status entirely to him and his sister."

The news reached Dahe Village across the river that afternoon.

Zhao Dahai heard about it from Zhao Shanhe, who had just returned from working at the quarry. The father and son were eating dinner by the stone mill in the yard when Zhao Shanhe slammed his bowl on the ground.

"Dad, they've called out over the loudspeaker from Heishan Village. They're saying they don't need the wages for now."

Zhao Dahai picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with his chopsticks and chewed it twice.

"I know. People were talking about it at the venue today."

"Then what do we do?" Zhao Shanhe shoved his chopsticks into his bowl. "Dad, I'm telling you, I'm not doing this. We agreed on wages, and now the stones have been delivered, but they're not paying us? Why should we?"

Zhao Dahai didn't say anything and shoveled two mouthfuls of corn into his mouth.

Zhao Shanhe raised his voice.

"Let those people from Heishan Village do whatever they want, that's their village's business. Why should we from Dahe Village follow suit and not get paid? Those fifteen strong laborers work from dawn till dusk every day, their hands are covered in blisters and calluses. Twenty yuan a month, and they just want to postpone their wages like that?"

"Keep your voice down." Zhao Dahai frowned.

"What are you humming about?" Zhao Shanhe stood up. "Dad, you said you'd be guaranteed to make a profit by working with Ye Cheng. And now? With that auditing freeze, we don't dare utter a sound. I think Ye Cheng was just dragged down by his sister. What does Chief Gu or the General Hospital of the Military Region have to do with our Dahe Village?"

A crisp sound rang out at the kitchen doorway.

Zhao Xiuxiu came out carrying a basin of dishwater, but the bottom of the basin hit the door frame, spilling water all over the floor.

She glanced at Zhao Shanhe.

"Brother, say that again."