Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

To appease Qin Laishun and Zheng Zhongyi, Lao Chengxi poured each of them a cup of tea: "Warm your throats first, then we'll get down to business."

After the two finished their tea, he turned his face toward Qin Laishun and said, "Uncle, you are the head of the brigade, and you have to take the lead in village affairs. Every day the mine stops working, we lose money. We can't just sit and watch our gold mine, can we?"

Qin Laishun knew the other party was openly warning him, so he laid his cards on the table. "I'm also eager to resume work, but we need to clarify this arson incident. The whole village is saying our mine started the fire. People aren't stupid. You're making money, and you're trying to drive them to their deaths. Of course they'll protest! I don't think we can resume work until this mess is cleaned up!"

After saying that, Secretary Qin glared at Zheng Zhongyi, as if to say, "It's all your fault, and I'm cleaning up your mess now!"

Zheng the butcher understood Qin Laishun's meaning perfectly well, and immediately exploded again, "Hey! You old sly fox! You're quite the smooth talker, but where were you when the fire was started? Why didn't you stop it? Now that things have gone awry, you're pretending you know nothing. You think you're such a good actor?"

Butcher Zheng is no good, and he talks a lot of nonsense, but what he said is the absolute truth. Qin Laishun knew about the plan to burn the forest all along, and since he chose to turn a blind eye at the time, his current airs of officialdom seem rather hypocritical.

Now that he's become an official, he's become increasingly adept at shifting blame and labeling people.

"What good is it if I know? The key is whether the authorities know! Let me give you a friendly reminder: don't underestimate my second uncle. If he finds out you were the one causing trouble on the mountain, you might not be able to leave Qin Family Village!"

Is Qin Laishun part of Lao Chengxi's camp? Yes, but at crucial moments, he always subconsciously brings up Qin Yunhai. He knows perfectly well that clan power is his biggest backer and his bargaining chip.

"You son of a bitch, you dare scare me?" Butcher Zheng yelled, about to strike again, but Qin Laishun replied indifferently, "Save your energy. Instead of yelling here, you should send your precious son out to lay low for a while. Now that the forest has burned down and people have died, if the higher-ups really investigate, do you think you can get away with it?"

A threat, this was a blatant threat. Zheng the butcher's eyes were bloodshot, and he was about to pounce when the kettle on the coffee table suddenly started whistling, its lid rattling and popping from the steam.

Lao Chengxi unplugged the electric kettle and refilled their teacups. "Alright, it's fine for family members to bicker, let's not talk about stabbing each other in the back. Uncle, just tell me, how can we appease the villagers?"

The ball was in Qin Laishun's court, but he was prepared and said calmly, "Give me another 300,000, distribute it according to the number of people, and this matter can be put to rest."

After a few seconds of silence, Butcher Zheng slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You bastard Qin Laishun! Do you think we're a money printing factory? You embezzled a fortune from the land expropriation compensation last time, and now you want to make another killing?"

Qin Laishun didn't rush to refute. He took a sip of tea, stared at Lao Chengxi, and said, "Lao Xi, this money is just for winning people's hearts. Don't worry, I won't keep a penny of this money, nor will it go into the brigade's public account. I've thought it all out for you; the rest is enough to repair an ancestral hall..."

"What the hell? An ancestral hall?" Butcher Zheng nearly spat out his tea, paused for a moment, and then started cursing, "Build your mother's ancestral hall! Why don't you just say build a palace?"

Zheng the butcher was a street ruffian who had no idea of ​​the significance of the ancestral hall in the village. But Lao Chengxi was different; he was a native of Laojiapo. If he were to oversee the reconstruction of the Lao family ancestral hall, his name would surely be engraved on the merit stele, and perhaps even dedicate a page to the family genealogy.

This deal was worth it!

At this moment, Lao Chengxi's eyes had lost some of their coldness. He waved his hand to signal Zheng the butcher to shut up, then looked at Qin Laishun and said, "I'll have Hongjuan transfer the money to you. But this time, in addition to the ancestral hall, I'll also add a mountain god temple."

One minute it's an ancestral hall, the next it's a mountain god temple, leaving Butcher Zheng completely bewildered. Of course, he had no idea what Lao Chengxi was referring to as the mountain god temple.

"Old Xi really knows his stuff!" Qin Laishun chuckled, patting his belly. "The repairs to the Lao Family Ancestral Hall and the Xiling Mountain God Temple will come from your funds. As for the Qin Family Ancestral Hall and the Dongling Dragon King Temple, I'll raise the money myself. As long as we handle these matters well, anyone who dares to gossip will be dealt with personally!"

As a village official, Qin Laishun still cares about his reputation. Now that the road is repaired and the mining project is about to be implemented, he is focused on political development. What is political development? Winning people's hearts, or rather, strengthening the cohesion of the villagers. This is not just a vanity project, but a political achievement that can "leave a mark on history".

Lao Chengxi was just a businessman. He didn't have Qin Laishun's political awareness, but he was very shrewd in his calculations.

This fire in Xiling not only burned down the cypress forest, but also destroyed the mountain god temple. He knew perfectly well that a large mineral vein lay buried beneath the entire ridge. To monopolize these ores, he had to get the "mountain god" to move. How? It was actually quite simple: just build a new temple for the mountain god, and wherever the temple was, the "mountain god" would naturally be there.

"My mother is getting old, and she has to go all the way up the mountain to burn incense every day. I'm thinking of moving the mountain god temple behind the newly built Lao family ancestral hall. What do you think, Uncle?"

Lao Chengxi spoke in a grand and dignified manner, but in reality, he was devising a clever plan to kill two birds with one stone.

Zheng the Butcher could burn down the cypress grove, but moving the mountain god temple was an absolute taboo. Not only would the villagers criticize him, but even his mother wouldn't approve.

At this point, he volunteered to repair the ancestral hall and then stuff the dilapidated mountain god temple into it, which ironically became a meritorious deed. This silenced public criticism and allowed him to retain control of the mineral vein—a win-win situation!

"Great idea! Great idea indeed! Everyone says Chengxi is a very filial son, and today we've finally seen the truth! Haha!"

Qin Laishun clapped his hands and laughed, while Zheng the butcher looked at them with disdain, as if they were idiots.

"Since it's settled, Secretary Qin, you should do me a favor and allocate another piece of land next to the Lao Clan Ancestral Hall for the Mountain God to live in," Lao Chengxi added, squinting his eyes.

"Leave it to me! I'll hire a geomancer to choose an auspicious day, bring the mountain god statue down from the mountain, gild it, and put it in the new temple. Wouldn't that be more impressive than anything else?"

After saying this, Qin Laishun and Lao Chengxi exchanged a smile, while Butcher Zheng remained silent with a cold face. He had finally understood that in front of these two "brilliant" men, he would always just be someone who did the dirty work and took the blame...