Chapter 413

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Wang Changgen looked at the small electric pulley hoist Wang Xiaohua had bought back, his face dark as coal.

"I said not to buy it, so what did you buy it for! You just know how to waste money!"

Wang Xiaohua read the instruction manual while replying expressionlessly:

"It's not your money, I bought it with my own money, why are you giving me that look?"

After reading the manual once through, he went to find a wrench, pliers, and screwdriver, preparing to install the small pulley on the rooftop.

Although Wang Changgen didn't give Wang Xiaohua a good look, he still helped install it.

Father and son finished installing the small electric pulley hoist, and it could be used that very morning.

This small electric pulley hoist was electric-powered; press the switch and it could hoist two to three hundred catties of stuff. After Li Xiulan learned to use it, her labor intensity was directly cut by more than half compared to before.

Although her mouth kept shouting about saving money, her body was honest; using this small electric pulley hoist, her face was full of smiles.

"Xiaohua, how much did you spend buying this hoist?"

At noon when work ended, Li Xiulan suddenly asked Wang Xiaohua this one sentence.

"Not much, just seven hundred something."

Li Xiulan hurriedly said:

"Later I'll give you back eight hundred, you mustn't tell your dad."

Wang Xiaohua didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"No need to give it back, I can earn money myself now."

"You must, you can't earn much money right now, these several hundred yuan are practically all your assets, right? Mom knows, you're heartbroken for Mom, that's why you specially ran to town to buy the hoist. Mom accepts this sentiment of yours, but the money can't be spent by a child like you."

Li Xiulan took out a small stack of wrinkled hundred-yuan bills from the room, counted eight for Wang Xiaohua, then counted two more:

"I'll give you a thousand then; the extra two hundred counts as your living expenses. The day after tomorrow you go to the county town, you must take good care of yourself. If money isn't enough, remember to call home and Mom will remit it to you in town then."

"Got it Mom, I'll take good care of myself." Wang Xiaohua felt a bit moved inside.

Although Mother is an uneducated rural person, with this and that shortcoming.

From childhood to adulthood, Mother never once spoke of her love for her children.

But one by one, each and every small matter, all without exception embodied her love for her children.

The three children were the reason she could still grit her teeth and persist living through the bitter days; her love for her children even surpassed herself.

All this Wang Xiaohua saw in his eyes.

"Your dad's back, hurry up and put the money away, or he'll get angry again if he sees it!"

Seeing Wang Changgen return from outside, Li Xiulan hurriedly urged Wang Xiaohua.

Wang Xiaohua hurriedly put the money away.

Wang Changgen returned to the room, turned on the TV, then sat on the sofa smoking, watching TV while waiting to eat lunch.

Li Xiulan busily went out to cook lunch.

Wang Xiaohua followed out to help.

At this time Zhang Zhongtian came.

He came to find Wang Changgen, to discuss the tap water maintenance matter with Wang Changgen.

Because Shanggou Village's tap water is channeled down from the mountain, the tap water's purification pool and water storage pool need maintenance every year, and maintenance requires a sum of funds. Although this sum isn't much, it cannot be absent. But now the tap water is already opened, and they promised the villagers that water would be free afterward. If they now bring up charging fees, all villagers of Shanggou Village certainly won't agree.

But this maintenance cost can't all be made Zhang Zhongtian pay, right?

Although a year's maintenance cost is only several thousand, less than ten thousand.

But this cost isn't just for one year; it's every year onward that it must be paid.

Zhang Zhongtian's family has a lot of money, but he also doesn't want to be this unfair burden.

So he came to discuss with Wang Changgen, to see how to solve this problem.

"I don't know what to do either. How about later when the tap water needs the pool cleaned, we ask idle people in the village to help clean it, provide them one lunch and that's it. No money spent, there should be people willing to go."

Wang Changgen said so.

This matter actually isn't within his job responsibility scope.

He saw Zhang Zhongtian's meaning, guessing he just wants to collect a certain maintenance fee from every household every year.

Actually collecting several dozen yuan a year, everyone can still afford it.

But how to open this head is a difficult matter.

Because this will make villagers unhappy.

Before they said free, now they charge, isn't that insatiable greed?

Initially when they did the tap water, every household contributed labor to do it.

"Actually cleaning the pool and such, that's a small matter. Just afraid of pipe aging, or blockage, or pipe burst, needing to replace pipes. That costs quite a bit of material cost. Who pays this money, that's the key point. It shouldn't all be on me, right."

Zhang Zhongtian said so.

Wang Changgen's inner thought was that it really should be Zhang Zhongtian who bears it.

These years Zhang Zhongtian served as Village Committee Secretary, using his position to make quite a lot of money. Not only did his family build a villa, he also went to the county town and bought a new house.

Recently he also took over the town's New Era Restaurant, business booming. Doing a bit of good for Shanggou Village, what's the problem?

But these words, even if Wang Changgen's EQ is low, he couldn't possibly say them to Zhang Zhongtian's face.

At this moment, Wang Xiaohua carried a plate of dishes and walked in.

"Uncle Grandpa Zhang, have you eaten?"

Wang Xiaohua greeted him politely.

"I've eaten. Xiaohua, have you finished the college entrance exam?"

"Yeah, I've finished."

"Time flies. Didn't expect you've already graduated high school..." Zhang Zhongtian couldn't help but sigh. He now had white hair at the temples, visibly aged, while his old partner Liang Yuanchao had already passed away several months ago.

"Xiaohua, your mind is comparatively clever. I have a matter I really can't think of a good way to handle. Let's see if you can help me brainstorm!"

Zhang Zhongtian suddenly asked Wang Xiaohua at this moment.

Wang Zhanggen at the side said in surprise:

"He's just a little brat. Why ask him? He doesn't understand anything."

Zhang Zhongtian, however, laughed heartily and said:

"Just asking. Brainstorming, listening to more different suggestions is always good."

"Uncle Grandpa Zhang, what problem do you have?"

Zhang Zhongtian then said:

"It's like this. The village has tap water now, and the tap water is free. Free is a good thing, but it brings a problem: maintenance will need funds in the future. What to do about that?"

Wang Xiaohua's face showed a trace of inconceivability:

"When doing the mountain spring water project, didn't you think of this problem?"

He felt this kind of matter shouldn't have had a response plan thought out before construction started?

So many people doing the mountain spring water project together, all didn't realize this problem — that's a bit inconceivable.

Zhang Zhongtian laughed hehe:

"Really didn't think of it. Initially rushed to finish the new rural construction project, tight schedule, not thorough. I now plan to have each household pay fifty yuan per year from now on. This money used as a maintenance fund should handle the maintenance matter."

Speaking here, Zhang Zhongtian yet turned the conversation:

"However, although this money is not much, I know the villagers will definitely dislike it. Whether it can be collected is still hard to say. Even if collected, it will definitely provoke many villagers' dissatisfaction with me. Help me think — besides this method, is there any other better method?"