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墨書 Inktalez
"Let's go back to the company, I'm really tired right now!"
Qing Yuansheng rubbed his forehead and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.
After a while, Liu Cuiying came to the Fish Pond as usual to catch fish, but noticed something was off. With her already poor eyesight, she rubbed her eyes and suddenly her expression changed as she shouted, "Come quick, these fish seem to be sick!"
Song Pearl, who was washing dishes, threw the bowl into the basin and ran to the door. From a distance, she could see various fish in the Fish Pond floating on the surface and thrashing about.
Some fish jumped high and splashed down, revealing their white bellies after creating sparkling water droplets. Some fish jumped directly onto the shore, rolled a few times, and then lay still.
"These fish seem to be poisoned!" Song Pearl assessed as she watched the thrashing fish.
"Who is so heartless and has put poison in our Fish Pond?!" Liu Cuiying cursed in pain, her loud voice attracting villagers who rushed over to see what was happening.
"The fish are dead? This has never happened before; what's going on now? Trouble after trouble!" someone remarked.
"Did your family offend someone?"
"It couldn't have been done by Hongqing, could it?"
Song Shiting's family had no time to speculate or discuss; they spent the entire morning busy catching the dead fish, with curious villagers also helping out.
Although they hadn't stocked many Fish Fry, they would still incur significant losses this time.
"Anyway, these fish can't be sold anymore. Everyone has worked hard all morning; if you don't mind, take a few home to eat!" Liu Cuiying said, pointing at the large pile of dead fish on the shore to the surrounding villagers.
"No way, these fish have been contaminated; they're toxic and can't be eaten," Song Pearl stopped several women who were carrying baskets and about to pick up fish.
"How can we not eat? Didn't we often eat fish that died before?"
"Yeah, Pearl, don't be upset. If we don't handle these dead fish, they'll rot and lose value. Every family will take some, but how much can we really get!"
"I'm not unwilling to let you eat; it's just that the water in the pond has been contaminated, and the fish are poisoned, so we can't eat them!" Song Pearl insisted.
"Let's listen to Pearl!" Village Chief Song Jianguo stepped forward in the crowd and addressed everyone around him. "The Fish Pond is very close to that garbage. With the southeast wind, every time a garbage truck unloads, a lot of dust flies out. Have any of you been coughing from it often?"
"Yes, I've been coughing a lot lately," someone nodded.
"Me too; sometimes it feels suffocating," another person added.
"But that smell isn't too bad. I even took a whiff of the last truck that unloaded; it smelled quite nice!"
"The two types of waste dumped here are industrial waste. Some may contain organic materials with toxic substances. Sometimes the more pleasant the smell, the more toxic it is." Song Pearl's voice was soft as she examined the fish they had caught, her eyes filled with sorrow. "The village chief is right; since the Fish Pond is closest, the fish are most sensitive to contamination, which is why this happened."
The villagers were startled by Song Pearl's words. Although over the years the Song Shiting family had been overlooked, Song Pearl was a university student with knowledge and education; if she said so, it could very well be true... Moreover, the village chief was known for his wisdom.
Everyone's gaze turned toward the Landfill not far from the Fish Pond, where heaps of garbage stood out starkly.
Since long ago, large trucks loaded with garbage had come in and dumped massive amounts of waste on a plot of land not far from the Fish Pond. According to those transporting the garbage, more waste would continuously arrive here in the future; this land would be used specifically for waste disposal.
The villagers had never taken it seriously; since the Landfill was outside the village and had been sold to Hongqing Group, what they did was their business as long as they didn't force them to relocate.
Now that the fish in the Fish Pond were dead, it could potentially affect people next.
"I never expected they would use such poisonous methods against us!" The village chief said with deep sorrow. "No! I must go to Hongqing and demand justice!"
"Yes, yes, seek justice!"
"But this is their land now, not ours. How can you seek justice there?"
"That's right, this isn't our land anymore!"
"What should we do then? Should we move away, beg for food, or work?"
The villagers began to discuss among themselves. Someone said, "This matter was caused by Pearl. If she hadn't gone to Hongqing, how could our land have been sold?"
Another person responded, "Why blame Pearl? We all wanted to sell the land back then, and because of this many people have gone to work in factories. The first ones to suffer are still her family; we can't blame her!"
At this moment, the one who regretted the most was the village chief. If he hadn't listened to Qing Yuansheng and organized the sale of the land, how could so much trouble have arisen?
"Pearl!" He walked over to Song Pearl, who was busy packing fish. "Let everyone help with this; we need to discuss some matters."
The village chief was surprisingly polite to her, which made Song Pearl feel a bit flattered.
She followed the village chief to a quieter place. The village chief sighed and said, "I have many things I owe your family; please don't take offense."
Song Pearl stared at the village chief, unsure of how to respond.
The village chief didn't dwell on those matters as he had before and continued, "Although you may not seem very clever, I know you actually have great potential. No matter what obstacles you face now, you will surely succeed in the future. So I want to ask you, is moving away really our only option?"
The usually robust village chief now appeared somewhat dejected as he looked expectantly at Song Pearl.
"This old fox of a village chief has finally gained some insight; he never even looked at me properly before!" A voice whispered in Song Pearl's ear; it was the demon. Its communication with Song Pearl was inaudible to others.
"Because back then the village chief was the boss, everyone flattered him, of course, he wouldn't look at anyone with respect! But now," Song Pearl looked into the village chief's eyes, her gaze somewhat melancholic yet still unable to hide her sharpness, "it seems the village chief is not having an easy time either..."
Song Pearl said to the village chief, "The events happening now indicate that Hongqing has changed its initial decision and may be planning to give up."
"I believe there should be a way to achieve both sides," the village chief rested his chin on his hand, his beard neatly trimmed.
"I once asked Qing Yuansheng, but unfortunately he acted all high and mighty, looking down on discussing much with a rough farmer like me. Pearl, do you have a way to persuade them? To protect the village's houses while also allowing them to build the Resort here?"
"I don't know," Song Pearl pursed her lips and shook her head. She felt somewhat lacking in confidence after the setbacks in Hongqing.
"Pearl, you must help us. Right now we can only unite and work together to find a way to protect the village. Can you bear to see this clear and beautiful Fish Pond turn into a place of black water in the future?" The village chief's last words struck at what mattered most to Song Pearl.
"You have the ability because when you first entered Hongqing, Qing Yuansheng specifically arranged for you to be in the toughest workshop, intending for you to suffer. Yet in just a few months, you managed to move from the workshop to the office building... Even without Qing Yuansheng deliberately obstructing you, your rapid promotion shows your exceptional ability. Therefore, I have high hopes for you!"
Song Pearl smiled slightly, "Thank you for valuing me so much, Uncle. I will go to Hongqing again and strive to get them to change this approach."
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