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墨書 Inktalez
It really is a turn of fate. Song Jianguo never expected to run into Song Pearl at this moment. Just a short while ago, he was forcing Song Shiting to move, and now, in just a few months, all the villagers are going to have to move like Song Shiting's family.
Song Jianguo awkwardly looked at Song Pearl and said, "What a coincidence, Pearl..."
Song Pearl nodded and let go of the arm she was holding onto, turning to head downstairs.
The village chief had become an annoying old fox in Song Pearl's eyes because he wanted to demolish her house, but now he looked somewhat pitiful.
As Song Jianguo watched Song Pearl leave, a thought suddenly struck him: on the night they planned to forcibly demolish Song Shiting's house, Song Pearl had brought along a very impressive young man who was an official from the Land Bureau and had an ID badge. Although he was skeptical about that person's identity, the young man ultimately helped resolve the issue for Song Shiting's family. Their house was not demolished, and if they didn't voluntarily move out, no one could force them to leave.
If he asked Song Pearl to let that young man help, would there be a chance for things to turn around?
"Pearl..." Song Jianguo forced a smile and hurried after her as she headed for the elevator.
"Pearl, I feel dizzy taking the elevator. How about we take the stairs together?" he suggested.
Song Pearl gave him a puzzled look but, unable to refuse him due to her nature, walked towards the stairs with him.
The stairwell was somewhat dark; the motion-sensor lights only illuminated when footsteps were heard.
Song Jianguo held onto the handrail and took each step carefully, while Song Pearl matched his pace and didn't walk too quickly.
"You should know that our village plans to undergo redevelopment, right?" The village chief continued speaking as he walked.
Song Pearl nodded slightly, thinking that since the village chief was focused on walking, he wouldn't see her gesture. "I know," she replied.
She had heard Liu Cuiying rambling about it before.
Once when she returned home, Liu Cuiying had said enviously: "I heard that all the households in the village are moving up to live in apartments! Sigh! With everyone moving away, it's just our family left living in this stone house out here in the wilderness. It's really pitiful! Next time Aunt Liu's grandson comes over, I want to discuss with him. If he agrees to give us an apartment, we'll move right away; we won't even need the Fish Pond anymore or feed the fish..."
Song Pearl smiled; if she could use that smile to make Liu Cuiying keep an eye on the Fish Pond for her, she wouldn't want to say much more.
But Liu Cuiying seemed oblivious and continued with boundless dreams: "That apartment should be close to the main street. We can open a restaurant then; there will definitely be many guests coming from the Resort... Oh dear, opening a restaurant will require capital. If we have our own Yard and basement, we won't need so much money... Pearl, I'm counting on you for this. Once you get your salary, don't spend it; you'll need money for many things in the future..."
Song Pearl interrupted Liu Cuiying's daydreaming and asked, "Mom, is Hongqing going to give each family in our village a villa?"
Song Shiting laughed and said, "What villa? Hongqing is just giving us a pie."
"Pie?" Song Pearl recalled the tall, upright planning billboards she had seen along the way and curled her lips, "Hasn't the building been constructed yet?"
"Isn't it fast to build? By then, everyone will definitely have their own villa to live in..." Liu Cuiying pouted, "Our house is really at a disadvantage. I think that Qing Wenyu's child is polite and speaks well. Next time, I must have a good talk with her!"
"It's nice to think about, but where does one find such good fortune as falling pies from the sky!" Song Shiting lowered his head and twisted the rope. After recovering from his illness, he had been making brooms at home, which Liu Cuiying would then take to sell.
Listening to their conversation, Song Pearl felt that her future was precarious. However, seeing the unchanged Fish Pond at her doorstep calmed her heart a bit; her body should still be quietly lying in some corner at the bottom of the water...
Seeing that Song Pearl had gone silent after hearing her name, the village chief had no choice but to continue, "The people in our village are going to be driven out of their homes and become homeless. It's really distressing!"
Song Pearl's gaze fell on the village chief's white-haired nape as she pressed her lips together without saying anything.
She could imagine how the villagers felt; it should be a kind of psychology similar to her reluctance to part with Fish Pond.
She also admired the village chief for standing up for the villagers at this time. Moving to an upper floor, which didn't even have a shadow yet, how could the native villagers believe such unreliable promises?
Song Jianguo walked to the stairway but hadn't heard Song Pearl respond to him, feeling slightly uncomfortable. This girl was obviously pretending not to understand and unwilling to help. She had been very articulate when something happened at her home.
"Pearl, don't you have a friend in Provincial Capital?" Song Jianguo said straightforwardly, "It's the person who got Hongqing Group to sign the contract for our land but reserved your family's house. Can you ask him for help and let Hongqing spare our village?"
After finishing his sentence, the village chief looked hopefully at the approaching Song Pearl.
So that's what the village chief meant after all that circling around. He never expected that person was just there for fun; perhaps he was just a mischievous child trying to skip class and helped her create some momentum. Keeping Fish Pond would have nothing to do with that person.
Song Pearl stopped and looked up at Song Jianguo, saying, "Village Chief, I really want to help, but I don't know how to contact that person. I'm sorry!"
Song Jianguo sighed; it's better to rely on oneself than on others. They should go back and discuss it again.
At the entrance of Hongqing Group, a tractor was parked there. Although the Gatekeeper had urged them several times, four or five farmers sitting in the vehicle refused to leave and almost got into a fight.
"If you keep driving us away, do you believe we will hang a banner at your factory gate!" Song Jiantao threatened while waving a cloth with words written on it.
The Gatekeeper had no choice but to consult above and then told them to move the tractor further away without saying anything more.
Song Jianguo walked out of the gate feeling dejected. A few farmers gathered around and asked, "How is it? What happened?"
"Sigh! What can be done? This Qing Yuansheng doesn't listen to me at all and even pushed me down, almost causing me serious injury!" Song Jianguo said with a dark face and sighed deeply. "Let's go back first. After we return, we'll think of another way. If it really doesn't work out, let's have those young people working at Hongqing come back to the village and strike to protect our homeland!"
"Yes, go back and discuss it again," the village chief said.
Several villagers felt that the village chief was right and echoed his sentiment.
"Hey, isn't that Song Pearl?"
A few villagers saw the lagging Song Pearl and hurriedly waved at her, calling out, "Pearl, are you working?"
Song Pearl intended to bypass them, but since they were from the same village and greeted her, she had no choice but to follow behind the village chief.
She still remembered these faces; they were the ones who had come to her house to cause trouble last time. Now, with their enthusiasm, Song Pearl felt embarrassed to hold a grudge against them. She wanted to smile slightly but was afraid it might give them the wrong impression, so she merely pursed her lips and nodded.
Her indifferent expression made the villagers in the vehicle feel a bit awkward. They waved their hands somewhat uncomfortably, while Song Jiantao in the driver's seat started the vehicle, and the tractor sputtered out black smoke as it turned onto the main road.
"This girl has no sense of human feelings at all!" The village chief's disgruntled complaint was drowned out by the noise of the tractor.
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