Chapter 319: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 319: Birth, Aging, Illness, and Death — Human Nature

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Ever since Liang Yuanchao resigned as Village Committee Secretary, his home had grown much quieter; over all these years, he had long grown accustomed to having few visitors.

But today, unusually, it became lively, and for a time the courtyard was bustling like a marketplace.

Even Zhang Zhongtian, the current Village Committee Secretary, took time out of his busy schedule to visit him.

Everyone was so kind to him, and everything they said was well-intentioned.

Grateful as he was, Liang Yuanchao knew clearly in his heart that they had come to bid him farewell.

"Zhongtian, there's something I've never understood, and I'd like to ask your advice."

Liang Yuanchao pulled Zhang Zhongtian into the room and asked him privately.

"Brother Liang, just say whatever you want to say."

Zhang Zhongtian felt sincere gratitude toward Liang Yuanchao; back when he was the village accountant, Liang Yuanchao had helped and supported him a great deal, laying a solid foundation for his later becoming Village Committee Secretary.

"Zhongtian, you say that when I was in charge of Shanggou Village, I was so clean and honest, strictly following the rules, not taking a single thread or needle from the villagers, always thinking of the village collective—so why did the village never develop? But under you, you took everything you should and shouldn't, yet you made the village beautiful, and the villagers of Shanggou Village all respect you so much. Why do you think that is?"

Liang Yuanchao had pondered this question for a long time, but he still couldn't understand it; it had almost become a knot in his heart.

In his worldview, shouldn't one earn the villagers' trust and develop the village by serving them wholeheartedly?

Yet why was it that Zhang Zhongtian, a man with unclean hands, did better than him, an honest man, and won even greater respect from the villagers?

He couldn't understand it, and he refused to accept it.

"Brother Liang, don't think about such nonsense. The most important thing is to recover from your illness. If it's not better in two days, I'll have my sister-in-law take you to the big hospital in Guangzhou. Don't worry, I'll cover the medical expenses. Anyway, cooperative medical care reimburses most of it, and the rest is probably just tens of thousands, at most over a hundred thousand. You don't need to worry about money."

Zhang Zhongtian said this with a face full of sincerity.

Hearing this, Liang Yuanchao showed surprise on his face.

At the same time, in that instant, he suddenly understood why Zhang Zhongtian did better than him and won the people's hearts more than he did.

Actually, so-called following the rules and so-called impartial law enforcement could not truly win people's hearts. The common people needed a management approach with warmth, and Zhang Zhongtian had always been kind to people. For example, when he previously handled the conflict between Li Xiulan and Yang Xiaocai, he tried his best to make both sides feel comfortable psychologically, rather than applying the law without mercy and giving no leeway.

Think back to how he, Liang Yuanchao, had handled Li Xiulan's cassava field, which caused him and Li Xiulan to tear their relationship apart. This also led to his being forced to resign because he couldn't handle Li Xiulan's demolition matter.

By comparison, who was better and who was worse was clear at a glance.

Actually, Liang Yuanchao had written many report letters to complain about Zhang Zhongtian's corruption, and Zhang Zhongtian knew about this, but he had never exposed Liang Yuanchao's behavior. Instead, he used connections to have people in town intercept Liang Yuanchao's report letters.

An ordinary person encountering this situation would probably have long hated Liang Yuanchao to death, and even long since torn their relationship apart with Liang Yuanchao.

But Zhang Zhongtian pretended not to know anything.

Not only did he pretend not to know, but now that Liang Yuanchao had liver cancer, Zhang Zhongtian even voluntarily offered to pay his medical expenses!

With Zhang Zhongtian's broad-mindedness and his way of handling things, no wonder he had the support of so many villagers.

Now it even made Liang Yuanchao feel deeply ashamed in his heart.

"Zhongtian, you are a good village official. I was wrong to you before."

Liang Yuanchao's eyes were red as he grabbed Zhang Zhongtian's hand:

"Zhongtian, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Zhang Zhongtian quickly said:

"Brother Liang, what are you talking about? You've never done anything to wrong me. There's nothing I need to forgive you for."

Even now, Zhang Zhongtian still chose to pretend not to know.

But the more he did this, the more Liang Yuanchao blamed himself in his heart.

"Zhongtian, I wrote many report letters to complain about you before. I was truly muddled. Just because you did better than me, I went and complained about you. Fortunately, those people above didn't listen to my one-sided words and didn't remove such a good village cadre as you from office."

Liang Yuanchao spoke out the secret he had buried in his heart.

Because he knew that if he didn't say it now, he might never have another chance.

"Brother Liang, how can that be called reporting? You were supervising me. I should be thanking you... Don't think about such nonsense. Listen to me: rest well and recover. In a few days, my sister-in-law and I will take you to Guangzhou to see the best doctor. You will definitely get better. There's still work to do at the village committee, so I won't disturb your rest any longer."

From beginning to end, Zhang Zhongtian behaved very politely, very kindly, and very generously.

Seeing Liang Yuanchao see him laugh it off and not hold anything against him, the guilt in his heart was reduced by more than half. At the same time, his attitude toward Zhang Zhongtian underwent a huge change, turning from previous resentment and jealousy into gratitude and admiration.

"Zhongtian, I'll see you out."

Liang Yuanchao stood up on his own initiative to see Zhang Zhongtian out.

Zhang Zhongtian hurriedly stopped him:

"Brother Liang, rest. You don't need to see me out!"

But Liang Yuanchao insisted on seeing him out.

Finally, Liang Yuanchao, supporting his trembling body, insisted on seeing Zhang Zhongtian out to the courtyard gate. Seeing Zhang Zhongtian off into the distance, he finally felt reassured.

After Zhang Zhongtian left Liang Yuanchao's home, he sincerely let out a big sigh of relief and couldn't help but show a joyful smile.

"This old thing is finally going to die. From now on, no one will complain about me anymore."

Zhang Zhongtian muttered to himself, saying this.

This was his true thought in his heart.

No one would truly be magnanimous enough to completely forgive an enemy who had been stabbing him in the dark all along.

Liang Yuanchao had always written report letters to complain about him, exhausting him mentally and physically. And he didn't dare to directly tear his relationship apart with Liang Yuanchao, fearing that Liang Yuanchao might, in a fit of anger, go directly to the county, or even the city or province, to report him. So he had always endured it, trying his best to minimize the impact of this matter.

Zhang Zhongtian was not a saint; he was also an ordinary man, so it was impossible for him not to hate Liang Yuanchao at all.

However, he understood human relations very well. He knew clearly what should be done and what should not be done.

Now that Liang Yuanchao had liver cancer and was beyond cure, the last thing he should do was kick him when he was down.

Although kicking someone when they're down feels good, if other villagers saw it, what would they think?

So he not only didn't kick Liang Yuanchao when he was down, but instead brought a red envelope and gifts to express his condolences and concern to Liang Yuanchao.

He wasn't trying to forgive Liang Yuanchao; he was doing this for all the villagers to see.

As for his promise to take Liang Yuanchao to Guangzhou for treatment and pay Liang Yuanchao's medical expenses, based on his understanding of Liang Yuanchao, he felt that after Liang Yuanchao thought it over carefully, he would definitely refuse his kindness.

Liang Yuanchao had never taken so much as a needle or thread from the villagers in his entire life; now that he was near death, he definitely wouldn't take money from someone who repaid his grudge with kindness.

If Liang Yuanchao didn't refuse his kindness, he would pay Liang Yuanchao's medical expenses as promised, just spending a few tens of thousands of yuan to win over the hearts of the villagers of Shanggou Village — that wouldn't be too much of a loss either.

Sure enough, that very evening, Liang Yuanchao's wife Zhou Aidi came to Zhang Zhongtian's home to convey Liang Yuanchao's meaning to Zhang Zhongtian.

"Party Secretary Zhang, my man says he accepts your kindness, but he firmly refuses to let you pay his medical expenses. He also said he knows liver cancer is a terminal illness and will die no matter how it's treated, so he doesn't want to waste your money. Anyway, no matter what, he still wants to thank you for your kindness. You're a good village official."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhongtian hurriedly advised:

"Sister-in-law Aidi, the money doesn't matter; life is most important. Go back and properly persuade Brother Liang to get treated — there might still be a chance. If he doesn't get treated, then there really won't be any chance at all."

Hearing this, Zhou Aidi also thought it reasonable, and said:

"Fine, then I'll go back and persuade him again. But you know, he's very stubborn."

Saying this, Zhou Aidi couldn't help but cry out:

"I don't want him to die either. If he dies, I'll be all alone in the world — how am I supposed to live?"

Zhang Zhongtian hurriedly comforted her:

"Sister-in-law Aidi, birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural way of things. Try to see it more openly. Don't you still have a son? With him around, you won't be lonely."

The moment her son was mentioned, Zhou Aidi cried even harder:

"He's working away from home to make a living, and I still haven't dared to tell him about the situation at home, for fear it would affect his work..."