Chapter 1411: Things Are Different Now

Gu Zhihao coldly brushed the hand off his shoulder, glanced at him askance, and responded indifferently: "Don't be too arrogant; it's not yet certain who will have the last laugh."

Ergouzi shivered.

Uh...

What is going on?

Why does he feel that this "outsider" is different today?

It has only been two days since they last met, but he seems to have changed.

Ergouzi looked at him again, but this time he didn't notice any changes; Gu Zhihao was wearing a white T-shirt and navy blue cropped trousers, and for such an important occasion today, he had even come wearing flip-flops.

The T-shirt was pure cotton but not a brand name, and although it was white, it had turned slightly yellow from being worn for too long; the cropped trousers had a cartoon patch on the knee, presumably to cover a hole.

It was one thing to dress like that, but what Ergouzi looked down on most was that his wrists were bare—he didn't even have a watch!

A man, how could he not even have a designer watch?

Ergouzi had been away for many years and had seen many wealthy and influential men; basically, every man with any status had a watch on his wrist that could blind others.

Omega.

Louis Vuitton.

At the very least, it should be a Longines.

If you can't afford the real thing, a high-quality replica would do, but Gu Zhihao's wrists were as dark as his arms; let alone a famous watch, there wasn't even a tan line from one.

Gu Zhihao's entire outfit, from head to toe, wasn't worth a hundred yuan; it must have been something his wife picked up online.

Ergouzi sneered, and his mysterious confidence flooded back onto his face.

It must have been an illusion just now; yes, just an illusion!

How could he have actually felt an aura of royalty from Gu Zhihao just now? How is that possible?

Someone like him is more suited to being a turtle; royalty, that doesn't exist.

Gu Zhihao was completely unaware of Ergouzi's internal monologue; he was silently reciting the speech he was about to give in his heart.

It was already memorized by heart; it couldn't go wrong.

The time for the election had arrived, but the leader had not yet, so everyone continued to wait at the village committee office.

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan were mixed in with the villagers; Shi Youxuan felt a bit dizzy from the smell of mixed cigarettes and sweat.

She wasn't used to this kind of environment, but she couldn't leave; she had to persist until the end.

"Take these, put them on."

Shi Yuke took two disposable masks out of her bag and smiled apologetically at her sister: "I'm sorry, making you come here to suffer."

"We're all family, don't be so polite."

Shi Youxuan took the masks and handed one to her husband; Sheng Hanyu took it but didn't put it on.

Although he had grown up in a privileged family, he hadn't been without his share of hardships; back when Sheng Group first started doing real estate projects, he had lived and eaten on construction sites with the workers.

When he was mining in L Country, he had also lived in the wild with the workers, eating food cooked in a large pot and sleeping in a large tent with dozens of people!

That smell... was much more pungent than it was now.

Sheng Hanyu and his wife were dressed very plainly today; standing among the villagers, they still looked quite different.

Ergouzi noticed, and he also knew that this couple were relatives of Gu Zhihao, but he didn't pay much attention to them; all his focus was now on the leader who was about to arrive—why hadn't they come yet?

They were here.

Ergouzi's phone rang; he had sent people to wait five kilometers outside the village, and seeing the leader's car approaching, they called him immediately: "Brother Gouzi, the car is here."

Hanging up the phone, he took off running.

Gu Zhihao was less than three meters away from him, but he seemed to have forgotten to call him, instead giving a wink to the people beside him before heading out.

Gu Zhihao didn't react in time, but the Old Village Chief did.

The Old Village Chief tugged at him: "Quick, it must be the big leader; let's go over to welcome them too."

"No need to go, we can just wait here." Gu Zhihao didn't want to go.

It was raining outside; if he followed, the Old Village Chief would have to go, and the villagers would all have to follow as well.

Basically the whole village had come today, including many elderly people; if the elderly got caught in the rain and caught a cold, it wouldn't be a laughing matter.

"Oh, you silly boy, Ergouzi has gone and you aren't; the leader won't have a good impression of you..."

The Old Village Chief insisted that he go, so he followed.

Although he followed, he was still a step too slow; by the time they arrived, Ergouzi and his people were already surrounding the leader as they walked toward them.

They hadn't left any room at all beside the leader.

The leader arrived and sat in the center seat of the podium, and the election officially began.

First was the leader's opening remarks.

Regarding the fact that the leader was late, not a word was said; they introduced the qualifications of the two candidates separately, then asked the two candidates to deliver their campaign speeches.

First was Ergouzi.

Ergouzi stood up, took a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, flattened it out, and began to read: "Respected leader, hello, fellow villagers, hello, my name is Chen Jinyin..."

"Whoosh—"

"Hahahaha..."

The villagers began to laugh, and some even started jeering.

"Oh, so Ergouzi's name is Chen Jinyin?"

"Exactly, I only ever knew him as Ergouzi; I never knew his real name..."

"That's an impressive name, sounds like he's got money..."

Ergouzi was interrupted and felt a bit angry; he waited for a while, but the villagers' discussion didn't stop, and it even seemed to be getting more spirited.

"I never saw his father or grandfather have any money, but he actually turned out successful; a name is really important. My daughter-in-law is giving birth next month, I'll name the baby Jinyin too."

"Old White, that person's surname is Chen and his name is Jinyin; he has saved up both gold and silver, so why are you, with the surname White, joining in the fun? White Gold and Silver? Wouldn't that mean having nothing left?"

The village was accustomed to calling being penniless "being White," and once it was explained this way, the villagers laughed even more boisterously.

"Hahahaha, exactly, your family is already poor, and if you were called White Gold and Silver, then there would be even less left..."

"Old White, why don't you let your grandson take my surname? I also have the surname Chen!"

"Get lost, get lost, all of you get lost to the side; even if my grandson were called White Dog, he wouldn't take your surname..."

Old White's words brought the atmosphere to a climax; the people were so joyful and busy cracking jokes that, surprisingly, no one noticed the people on the podium.

The leader was displeased and frowned.

Ergouzi grew anxious and shouted into the microphone: "Quiet, everyone be quiet! I am giving a speech; this is a very serious matter, everyone be serious!"

As he spoke, he glared fiercely at the group of people laughing the most boisterously.

There was a threat and a warning in his eyes.

Soon, someone was prompted and hurriedly reminded those around them: "Stop talking, stop talking, listen to Ergouzi read; after he finishes reading the election, there will be money after the election."

Ergouzi was not stupid; he would not give the money to the villagers first, promising that every villager who voted for him would be given two hundred as a deposit first.

The remaining eight hundred would be paid in full after it was confirmed that the villagers had voted for him.

For the sake of the money, the meeting site quickly quieted down.

Ergouzi continued reading: "After I become Village Chief, I will actively respond to the instructions of the higher-level leaders, listen to the leaders, follow the leaders, and do whatever the leaders tell us to do!"

"I will lead everyone to love labor, leave early and return late, work at sunrise and rest at sunset, farm the land, plant trees..."