I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

1:50 PM.

Jiangjia Village, the village committee compound.

This place has become a sea of ​​people.

The large crowd packed the small courtyard to the point of being impassable.

Those who couldn't fit in the yard would climb over the wall or stand on the roof of their own bungalow, craning their necks to look inside.

Almost the entire village, young and old, men and women, came out to participate.

Even from neighboring Lijiazhuang and Wangjiazhai, many people who loved watching the drama came over after hearing the news, and they lay on the outside of the village committee's courtyard wall, whispering among themselves.

The scene was a hundred times more lively than a traditional opera performance during the Chinese New Year!

Everyone's face wore a complex expression that mixed anticipation, excitement, doubt, and curiosity.

"Have you heard? Jiang Jianjun's son is going to pay for the road repairs in our village out of his own pocket!"

"Road repairs? Really? That's no small sum!"

"I heard it's true! The village chief has been shouting through the loudspeaker all afternoon, asking every household to send a representative to a meeting!"

"My goodness! How much money has Jiang Chen made? My third uncle's second son-in-law said that it would cost at least this much to repair that road!"

A man stretched out five thick fingers.

"Five hundred thousand?!" The person next to him gasped.

"Five hundred thousand my foot!" The man looked at him with disdain. "I said five million!"

A gasp of surprise immediately erupted from the crowd.

A makeshift platform was temporarily erected in the center of the courtyard.

Village head Jiang Shunde was holding a rag and personally wiping the peeling paint off the table on the platform until it shone brightly.

On the table were several enamel mugs and a thermos.

The very middle position is empty.

Jiang Jianjun was sitting in the seat next to me.

Today, Jiang Jianjun specially changed into that black cashmere coat again, and his hair was combed up and shiny.

He sat there, his back straight as a javelin, his hands on his knees, his expression serious, his eyes fixed straight ahead, looking exactly like a retired cadre attending an important meeting.

That pride and self-satisfaction almost overflowed from every pore of his body.

In the crowd not far from him, his uncle Jiang Jianguo and aunt Liu Cuifen had faces so gloomy they could drip water.

Uncle Jiang Jianmin and Aunt Sun Yumei were whispering to each other, their eyes filled with calculation and jealousy.

"He's here! He's here! Jiang Chen is here!"

I don't know who shouted it.

All eyes immediately turned to the entrance of the village committee compound.

Jiang Chen, dressed in casual sportswear and carrying a black briefcase about half his height, walked in unhurriedly, surrounded by a group of village officials.

He remained calm and walked steadily, showing no sign of unease or nervousness in the face of hundreds of intense gazes.

That calm and composed aura sent a chill down everyone's spine.

The crowd automatically parted to make way for them.

Jiang Chen carried the black box, walked up to the stage, and placed the box at his feet.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on that mysterious black briefcase!

Everyone's gone mad!

What's in this box?

Could it be...could it be cash?!

Jiang Chen ignored everyone's speculations. He took a microphone from the village chief, patted it gently, and tested the sound.

Not a single word wasted.

He looked at the simple yet eager faces below the stage and spoke directly.

"Fellow villagers, uncles and elders, grandpas and grandmas."

His voice, transmitted clearly through the old stereo, echoed throughout the entire compound.

"I've invited everyone here today for only one thing."

"I won't go into details about how many years the road at the entrance of our village has been in disrepair. Everyone here knows the answer to that."

"On sunny days you're covered in dust, on rainy days you're covered in mud. It's inconvenient for children to go to school, unsafe for the elderly to go out, girls feel ashamed to marry into the family, and young men lose face when they get married."

"We've had enough!"

"I want to make this clear today: children, you can't continue to suffer like this with us!"

These few words, though simple and unadorned, resonated deeply with all the villagers!

A thunderous chorus of agreement erupted from the audience!

"You're right! That lousy road should have been fixed a long time ago!"

"Last time I was riding my bike with my grandson, I fell into that ditch and almost broke my leg!"

"It must be repaired! It absolutely must be repaired!"

But despite their shouts, everyone fell silent when money was mentioned.

Just then.

A sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd.

"You talk a good game but you sing a good game!"

It was my second uncle, Jiang Jianmin.

He crossed his arms, squeezed through the crowd, stood below the platform, and glanced sideways at Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Chen, it's not that your second uncle is criticizing you, but building roads is a good thing. But where will the money come from?"

"Are you making such confident statements today to trick everyone into pooling money so you can skim some profit in the process?"

"I've heard there are a lot of tricks involved in these kinds of projects! You're so young, don't go astray and ruin the villagers!"

These words are extremely hurtful!

Jiang Chen was immediately labeled as a swindler with ulterior motives who attempted to harm his fellow villagers!

Below the stage, some villagers who already harbored doubts began to change their expressions and started whispering among themselves.

Jiang Jianjun was so angry that he suddenly stood up and pointed at Jiang Jianmin, about to start cursing.

Jiang Chen reached out and shook his hand.

He looked at his second uncle, Jiang Jianmin, below the stage, and instead of being angry, he showed a faint smile.

He didn't say anything.

He simply bent down and used both hands to lift the huge black briefcase at his feet.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he placed the box heavily on the table of the podium!

"Snapped!"

Jiang Chen's slender fingers rested on the lock of the box.

"Click, click."

Two crisp unlocking sounds were like two heavy hammer blows, striking everyone's hearts.

Jiang Chen raised his head, his gaze sweeping over his second uncle Jiang Jianmin's bewildered face, and then over the hundreds of pairs of eyes in the room filled with greed, curiosity and shock.

He smiled slightly.

Suddenly, the lid of the box was flung open!

Everyone's brains exploded in that instant!

Empty...empty? !

There was nothing in the box!

Not even a single piece of paper!

"Hahaha……"

Second Uncle Jiang Jianmin was the first to react. He pointed at the empty box and burst into a shrill, maniacal laugh.

"I knew it! It was all a charade! It was just an empty box!"

"Jiang Chen, are you trying to make a fool of the whole village?!"

The crowd erupted in chaos, with various jeers, doubts, and curses merging into a massive wave that nearly overturned the stage!

"What are you doing! Are you playing us for a fool?"

"I knew it wouldn't be that good!"

"Let's call it a day, this is a waste of time!"

Liu Cuifen and Sun Yumei wore gloating and extremely happy smiles!

however.

Amidst this chaos.

Jiang Chen, however, remained standing there, as steady as Mount Tai.

He looked at the angry and disappointed faces below the stage and held up two fingers.

His voice wasn't loud.

Two million.

Everyone was looking at him.

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a disdainful smile.

He pointed to the empty box, then to his phone.

"The money is here."

"I'll pay for it myself, two million!"

"We don't need to pool a single penny from everyone! Nor do we need the village to contribute a single bit of effort!"

"I not only want to fix this road, I want to make it a four-lane, paved road that leads directly to the county seat and can accommodate two large trucks side by side!"

"I also want to install solar streetlights along this entire road, from the village entrance to the town gate!"

"Let our Jiangjia Village be brighter at night than during the day!"

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

next second.

The applause, cheers, and screams were deafening, like a volcanic eruption, soaring into the sky!

"good!!!"

"Jiang Chen is awesome!!!"

"My God! Two million! Asphalt road!"

Villager Jiang Shunde was so excited that he trembled all over. The enamel teacup in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and was deformed.

He grabbed Jiang Chen's arm, his lips trembling, tears streaming down his face.

"Good...good boy! You...you are a great hero of our Jiangjia Village!"