Because a few days ago, she led the trouble to Huang ngqi's house, now when the wife of La Huang sees Lin Chuan and the Huang family, she acts like a mouse seeing a cat. Let alone now asking her to go to Huang ngqi's house to ask for money; she has witnessed Lin Chuan's skills.
Although extrely reluctant in her heart, the wife of La Huang stopped and slowly turned around, offering a bitter smile as Lin Chuan walked up to her.
"Hehe, Sister-in-law Huang, let's be straightforward. I know that the incident a few days ago was instigated by soone behind the scenes, so neither ng Qi nor I will hold it against you." Lin Chuan first offered Sister-in-law Huang so reassurance; after all, the Huang family still lives here, and it's better to resolve conflicts than let them fester.
"Uh... I..." For a mont, the wife of La Huang didn't know what to say. A few days ago, whenever she tried to say sothing bad, she couldn't speak, which rendered her quite anxious. Now, she's cautious even about normal speech, fearing saying sothing wrong that might really render her mute.
Lin Chuan smiled and waved his hand generously and said, "Okay, let bygones be bygones. The Shi family has faced enough, so let's just let it go."
"Ah, thank you, thank you!" The wife of La Huang kept saying thank you, truly not knowing what else to say at this mont.
"Sister-in-law Huang, have you heard?" Lin Chuan suddenly said mysteriously in a low voice, "I heard the Shi family's troubles are because the Earth Spirit which was burned beca angry."
The wife of La Huang's expression changed. She had heard this rumor before, but having experienced strange occurrences herself, she just listened and dared not speak recklessly.
"I was thinking, if it is indeed the gods' wrath, although the Shi family has been punished, the temple of Earth Spirit on the mountain has been burned. As a result, the Earth Spirit has no place to stay. If our village doesn't hurry to rebuild the temple, perhaps the Earth Spirit will vent its anger on other villagers!"
What Lin Chuan said sounded so convincing that it left the wife of La Huang sowhat dumbfounded. Finally, she asked blankly, "Then what should we do?"
"Easy!" Lin Chuan thought mischievously with a smile: "You tell a few respected elders in the village about this; the villagers could chip in to build a new Earth Spirit temple. Also, a Mountain God temple should be built because no mountain should be without one. Then, by offering more tributes, the deities will protect our Stone Village."
The wife of La Huang asked disbelief, "Is that all it takes? Are you sure?"
Lin Chuan shook his head, smiled bitterly, and said, "I can't guarantee it, and who knows if it will work, but I do know that if you don't, your village will surely face more misfortune. As for which family will be next, that's hard to say."
Half-convinced by Lin Chuan's persuasion, the wife of La Huang felt uncertain. Shi Rongguang's death was too bizarre; never before had a villager been struck down by lightning in all these years. The fact that the one hundred thousand yuan turned into white paper only adds to the mystery. If Shi Houcai hadn't taken the money, how could it have turned into paper?
All these things seem to suggest the workings of so divine force.
After parting with the wife of La Huang, Lin Chuan felt confident the plan was mostly in place, since he had given soone a good bottle of wine and intended to keep his promise.
By noon, news spread in the village. After scrutinizing all of Shi Houcai's assets and bank deposits, the authorities found no trace of the so-called hundred thousand yuan, but they did uncover evidence of previous embezzlents.
Under direct county supervision, a case was quickly opened against Shi Houcai, during which the entire village leadership was dismissed for investigation. The county temporarily appointed the forr village head, Huang Guiguo, ngqi's fourth uncle, as acting village head to handle various village affairs.
Hearing Lin Chuan's friend decided against initiating mining operations here and knowing their lands were covered, villagers gave little regard to prior contracts and ceased to demand money from the village committee.
Though Lin Chuan had a confrontation with a county leader last night, nobody summoned him nor picked a fight with him all day. It seed that, despite the bald head's resentnt, the presence of senior leaders prevented further trouble.
As dusk approached, Huang ngqi's fourth uncle, Huang Guiguo, entered rrily, shouting as soon as he arrived, "Sis, get two dishes and a bottle of wine, I'm having a good drink with Lin Chuan tonight."
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Huang ngqi's mother, aware of so issues in Shi Houcai's household, felt relieved, and her spirits naturally lifted, so she asked with a smile.
"Hehe, I'm going back to my old job," Huang Guiguo grinned broadly, laughing, "When fortune smiles, everything feels great!"
"Mind your language, there are children in the house." Huang ngqi's mother gave Huang Guiguo a stern look, but she was pleased to hear he regained the position of village head, albeit temporarily.
Huang ngqi and her mother quickly prepared a few dishes, and after bringing out a bottle of wine, Lin Chuan and Huang Guiguo chatted for a while. Once the food and drink were served, they ate and talked.
"Lin Chuan, if you consider close, tell honestly, did you know about the hundred thousand turning into white paper?" After a few drinks, Huang Guiguo couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked Lin Chuan.
Huang ngqi's younger brother, Huang Tianyi, also at the table with a few drinks, listened intently and turned towards Lin Chuan, saying, "Yes, Brother Lin, I've been puzzled about how that money turned into white paper. It had nothing to do with you, did it?"
Lin Chuan offered a wry smile. It seed soone suspected him, which wasn't surprising; considering the bizarre nature of the events, anyone could fall under suspicion.
After downing a glass, Lin Chuan frowned slightly, smacked his lips, and replied with a smile, "Uncle, you think too highly of . If I had that kind of capability, I'd have gone around making money long ago and wouldn't have stayed here."
Huang Guiguo thought about it and agreed. Truly, soone aiming to make big money wouldn't set their sights on this rural backwater!
Given the recent bizarre occurrences, they chose not to delve deeper into such matters; rural folks hold many superstitions after all.
"Shi Houcai getting removed worked in my favor. Thinking back to how smug he was when he offed , it still angers today. However, with today's role reversal, it really is that fortunes change over ti!" Huang Guiguo sighed deeply with a drink, adding layers of aning to his statent.
"By the way, Lin Chuan, about your friend's investnt here..." As if suddenly recalling a detail, Huang Guiguo turned to Lin Chuan with a question.
Lin Chuan frowned slightly and chuckled, "To be honest, my friend got upset after hearing about the situation here and decided against investing. The money for the contract will just be our compensation for tearing it up."
Checking the surroundings to ensure no outsiders were present, Lin Chuan whispered, "Actually, my friend felt the area was restless after hearing what happened here and feared sothing might happen if they started mining. You know, businesspeople are superstitious."
Huang Guiguo nodded without further comnt. Investnt decisions were for others to make, and he couldn't force them to invest. Stone Village had been impoverished for years and could endure a few more.
The duo idly chatted further; Lin Chuan gleaned that most villagers agreed to rebuild the Earth Spirit temple and construct a new Mountain God temple, thus repaying Lin Chuan's favors to both deities.
Throughout, Huang ngqi's mother and her daughter stayed busy in the kitchen, not sitting down, while Huang Tianyi mostly listened, contributing little to the discussion.
"Lin Chuan, do you and ngqi plan to stay in the village or go out for work? If you decide to stay, I can find you suitable jobs." With the al nearly finished, Huang Guiguo expressed concern for Lin Chuan and Huang ngqi's future. The Huang family faced considerable debt, which required them to find work or job opportunities to repay.
Lin Chuan pondered a mont, realizing his business here was nearly done and departure seed apt. As for Huang ngqi, he'd let her decide.
"Tomorrow, Tianyi returns to the city for school. I'll leave with him and, as for where to, I haven't figured it all out yet. I'll ponder it on the road," Lin Chuan stated honestly.
"Brother Lin, are you really leaving? Spending these days together, I find it hard to let you go!" Hearing that Lin Chuan would depart with him the next day, Huang Tianyi felt a wave of sadness.
Lin Chuan patted Huang Tianyi's shoulder reassuringly, "Even if I stayed, we'd still part ways when you leave for school tomorrow. Today's goodbye is for a better reunion, and we'll et again eventually."
"Yeah!" Huang Tianyi nodded, raising his glass, "To you, Brother Lin! May you prosper soon!"
"Cheers to you too, may you graduate soon and gain admission to a great school," Lin Chuan lifted his glass to et Huang Tianyi's.
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