The host family would never drive away such "beggars," but would instead welco them warmly. However, their al was different from a regular banquet. The host would prepare an Eight Immortals table and serve them eight bowls of rice with toppings.
And so this table, with its eight large bowls, was also known as the "beggar’s feast."
As for "ten large bowls," the word for "ten" is a homophone for "stone." Since farrs in Sichuan Province often used stone troughs to feed their pigs, serving ten bowls was also considered inauspicious.
Thus, the "nine-bowl feast" was the standard for running banquets in Sichuan Province. Poorer families might serve seven bowls, while wealthier ones would serve eleven.
For example, for a few years, the Dingjiu feast in Li Family Village only had seven dishes per table because they were too poor. Only now that conditions have improved do they serve nine bowls.
In the past, won and children weren’t allowed to attend, perhaps also due to poverty. Now that things are better, everyone cos to eat and enjoy themselves.
Even so, the dishes today were a far cry from the New Year’s Eve dinners many families enjoyed at ho. After all, this "Dingjiu" feast was funded by the village committee, which had a limited budget and couldn’t afford to make it too lavish.
In so places, everyone would pool their money or each household would contribute a few dishes, but that was no fun. Eating for free was the best part.
After the ancestor worship concluded and before the feast began, Li Family Village held its village chief election, which took place once every five years. The final result, of course, was Li Xiang winning by a unanimous vote!
In truth, China’s village chief elections are the most legitimate "popular elections" in the world—true democracy. Each village chief is genuinely elected, vote by vote, by every single person: n and won, young and old.
An election like the one in Arica claims to be a popular vote, but it isn’t. It only determines which party wins the election results in each state. Moreover, the candidates are already set, with only two or three competing. After each state’s election, there’s still a process where "electors" vote. There are only a little over five hundred of these electors, and their votes are what truly decide who ultimately takes office.
The average person’s vote is a joke, especially in those safe states. No matter how you vote, you can’t affect the final outco. Why else would they be called safe states? Only in swing states do votes have a tiny bit of an impact. So impact, yes, but not much.
With the village chief election results in, Li Jinyu had also spoken to his superiors about the village party secretary position and had recomnded Li Xiang.
In a poor, remote village like this, it was unlikely they’d parachute in an outsider. Besides, in most rural areas (statistics show around 95%), one person "carries both loads on one shoulder," aning the village chief and the party secretary are the sa individual. So, it was basically a sure thing. The official docunts from the higher-ups would probably co down after the New Year holiday.
"Let’s have a round of applause to welco our new village chief to say a few words for us!" Li Jinyu called out in a booming voice.
His "iron throat and bronze lungs," honed from singing *The Case of Chai i*, were naturally full of power. Though he was older now and had nearly run out of breath hitting a high note the other day, that was only because the "Yang Ban" section for Bao Longtu had too fast a rhythm. With its high pitch and rapid tempo, it was sothing the average person truly couldn’t perform.
But when speaking normally, Li Jinyu had no trouble at all. He didn’t need a microphone; his shout could be heard by the entire village.
The crowd roared with approval, their applause like thunder.
Li Xiang took the stage. He held up his hands, pressing down gently, and the crowd fell silent.
Having lived two lives, experienced the Apocalypse, and being an Extraordinary Being, Li Xiang naturally had no stage fright. He surveyed the crowd and clasped his hands in a traditional greeting. "First, to all the grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts... and to all the children of the village, I want to wish you a happy New Year! May you have a fresh start, and may every year be better than the last!"
His voice was also powerful. He was an Extraordinary Being, after all. His voice bood, carrying far so that every single person could hear him.
Applause rose like a tidal wave.
Li Xiang didn’t bother with any of that hollow, high-minded stuff, no "I have a dream" inaugural address. He knew everyone was waiting for the feast to begin and would get impatient if he droned on. So, he cut to the chase. "I have sothing very important to discuss with all of you. It concerns our village’s developnt. I’ve ntioned it to Uncle Jinyu before, and he’s on board, but I need to hear what everyone else thinks."
He then briefly explained his plan for a tourism company. The village would contribute the land in exchange for a 10% stake, and he would invest twenty million for the remaining 90%.
"Once we’re making a profit, at next year’s Dingjiu feast, we won’t just have nine bowls—we’ll have eleven! And as for that 10% share, any surplus profit will be used to improve the village’s infrastructure, like repairing roads, fixing irrigation channels, and renovating the ancestral hall."
The ancestral hall behind him was dilapidated and old. The paint was peeling off in many places, and it was high ti for repairs. But Li Xiang didn’t want to fix it himself, because it was everyone’s ancestral hall, not just his family’s.
If the tourism company turned a profit, that 10% share would provide more than enough funds for the job.
"And then, we’ll have many other benefits! For example, we’ll organize annual trips for everyone and give out holiday gifts to every household during festivals. We villagers can enjoy the sa perks as city folk! How does that sound?"
The villagers naturally roared their approval. A few might have thought Li Xiang was just painting a pretty picture, but most of them truly believed him. With his incredible money-making abilities, it was very likely he could actually pull it off.
And even if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t cost them anything to try. Li Xiang was taking on all the effort and risk himself. The village was only contributing barren plots and hilly areas that were useless for farming anyway.
Even if it were fertile land, few people wanted to farm these days. Most families’ inco ca from migrant work. Farming at ho not only failed to bring in much money but often ended up in a loss.
Seeds, pesticides, fertilizer... none of it was free, and prices for everything were high these days.
’Anyway,’ they thought, ’if we do nothing, we have zero hope. If we let Li Xiang give it a shot, there’s a good eighty or ninety percent chance it’ll work, right?’
"Brother Xiang, we support you! Go for it, full steam ahead!"
"All in favor, raise your hands!" soone shouted.
At that, many people raised their hands. So even raised both hands to show their enthusiastic support.
"Then it’s settled! Let’s start serving the food! Eat well and drink your fill, everyone!"
At the new village chief’s command, the won erged with trays, filing out one after another to serve the dishes. They were all stead dishes that had been prepared in advance, so the service was exceptionally quick.
Li Xiang grabbed a bottle of liquor and a cup and went from table to table, offering toasts. He stopped at each table for three to five minutes, making small talk about this and that. A village chief had to understand each family’s situation and maintain good relationships with everyone.
By the ti he returned to his own table, the others had mostly stopped eating, but there was still a lot of food left.
Li Xiang was sitting with his grandmother, Third Granny, Jiang Cai’Er, Jiang Jianguo, and Aunt Jiang. Because the table was a small, round one, it only seated the six of them.
While Li Xiang was off drinking and grabbing bites at other tables, the five people left at his table were faced with nine large bowls of food, each with a generous portion.
"I’m actually full," Li Xiang said. "Third Granny, why don’t we pack up these leftovers for you to take ho?"
"Oh, good, good."
Third Granny pulled a few crumpled plastic bags from her pocket, obviously having co prepared. No one objected, of course, and no one would dare laugh at her. After all, Third Granny lived all by herself; these leftovers would feed her for a good long while.
Her youngest daughter had picked her up for the holiday yesterday, but only to share New Year’s Eve dinner before bringing her back ho that sa night.
Aunt Jiang, Jiang Cai’Er, and Li Xiang all helped Third Granny pack the food. Noticing that people at other tables had already left, leaving behind so nearly untouched dishes, Jiang Cai’Er ran over, brought them back, and added them to Third Granny’s collection.
In the end, Third Granny ran out of the plastic bags she had brought.
"I’ll go find so large bowls for you. You can just take the bowls ho with you," Li Xiang said.
Third Granny quickly stopped him. "No, no, that’s not necessary. This is too much, and I don’t have a refrigerator. It’ll spoil if it sits for too long."
Li Xiang thought about it and realized she was right, so he dropped the matter.
Afterward, Li Xiang followed Li Jinyu to the village committee office. Li Jinyu went over the specific details of the handover and called in a few other committee mbers to discuss with Li Xiang how much land would be required.
Everyone sat in a circle as Li Xiang drew a diagram for them on a small blackboard, indicating which plots of land and which mountainsides he wanted.
He was the new man in charge and also the village’s "big sponsor," so naturally, no one would contradict him. The eting was just a formality. Basically, whatever Li Xiang said, went.
"Co on, everyone. You’re making it sound like I’m running a one-man show," Li Xiang joked.
Li Jinyu laughed. "A one-man show it is, then. In a small village like ours, we don’t need too many cooks in the kitchen. If you have the ability to make things happen, then go for it. In any case, if you need our help with anything, just say the word!"
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