Chapter 475: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 475: Amidst Laughter and Talk, Scheming and Strife

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Was Xiao Hua's childhood really that tragic?"

Niu Lin Xin, down in the audience, listened to Wang Changgen's remarks and was dumbfounded; she couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at Wang Xiaohua:

"No wonder his build is so short and slight — his dad probably broke his legs when he was little, so he never grew tall, and his teeth were probably knocked crooked by his dad too, it's terrifying……"

Niu Lin Xin glanced at Niu Chunsheng beside her:

"Dad, you wouldn't hit me too just to improve my grades, would you?"

Niu Chunsheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry; he couldn't bear to hit Niu Lin Xin — after all, Niu Lin Xin was the apple of his eye.

But for the sake of making Niu Lin Xin study hard, he still threatened her:

"If you don't take the initiative to study hard, one of these days I really might break your legs."

Niu Lin Xin hurriedly turned to Lin Xiaofang for support:

"Mom, look at Dad — what kind of talk is that? If I become a cripple, who'll take care of you two in your old age!"

Lin Xiaofang shot Niu Chunsheng a glare:

"Why are you threatening her? Our Xiaofang has other paths even if her studies aren't good."

Lin Xiaofang was already mentally planning to have her daughter take the art-exam route.

Studies depend heavily on aptitude — she understood that principle.

She knew her own daughter's level perfectly well; forcing her to study would likely still make it hard to test into a good university — better to find her another way out early.

Niu Chunsheng was quite speechless:

"You just spoil her. It's true there are other paths if studies go badly, but doing well in school can raise the ceiling of your life and secure the floor — the life of a top-university graduate and that of a vocational-school graduate are definitely worlds apart; you should understand that."

Lin Xiaofang couldn't refute it, yet she still shielded her own daughter:

"I don't care — bottom line, you can't lay a hand on Lin Xin."

Seeing her birth mother protecting her like this, Niu Lin Xin grinned ear to ear, looking completely fearless.

She hadn't listened to a single word of Niu Chunsheng's speech.

Wang Xiaoqian on the side, however, not only took Niu Chunsheng's words to heart but also committed them to memory.

"The life of a top-university graduate and that of a vocational-school graduate are definitely worlds apart……"

That sentence was like a nail driven straight into Wang Xiaoqian's heart, making her secretly resolve to study hard.

She didn't have Niu Lin Xin's luck — her parents were both ordinary.

Although not so poor as Wang Xiaohua's parents, in this small county town her family was definitely lower-middle tier.

Just then, Huangsheng's boss Zhang Sheng walked over and sat down beside Niu Chunsheng.

He said in a low voice:

"What the hell — it's pitch black tonight, isn't it? I personally donated one million, so how come Wang Xiaohua only got three hundred thousand?"

Niu Chunsheng chuckled and didn't dare interject, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

Lin Xiaofang on the side hurriedly chimed in:

"Right, General Manager Zhang, I also think their table manners are too ugly."

Niu Chunsheng hurriedly glared at Lin Xiaofang:

"General Manager Zhang is talking to me, not to you — can you please keep quiet?"

Lin Xiaofang's face showed displeasure, but she obediently fell silent and didn't say anything more.

After all, at home she calls the shots; outside, Niu Chunsheng calls the shots — that's the unwritten rule.

"General Manager Niu, how much did you donate this time?"

Zhang Sheng started inquiring about Niu Chunsheng's donation amount.

Niu Chunsheng didn't hide it and answered truthfully:

"Originally only three hundred thousand; later County Magistrate Xiao personally called, so I added another two hundred thousand."

Zhang Sheng immediately spoke up for Niu Chunsheng:

"Your five hundred thousand — compared to my one million, it's an even bigger loss; my Huangsheng Real Estate at least got the most prominent big banner, your Spring City Real Estate's little banner — I searched for ages before I found it."

Niu Chunsheng gave a wry chuckle and said politely:

"No matter — just treat it as doing charity and making a contribution."

But Zhang Sheng said:

"If the charity actually reached the ground I'd have no complaint, but the problem is everyone donated so much together, yet what landed in Wang Xiaohua's hands is only this little — middlemen taking a cut aren't even this ruthless."

Zhang Sheng also said:

"If they pull this kind of thing again next time, I definitely won't donate again."

Niu Chunsheng looked Zhang Sheng up and down, puzzled — logically, for Zhang Sheng to have built such a big, strong company he should be an old fox who doesn't easily show joy or anger, so why did he come to his ear and say things like this now?

You have to understand, he and Niu Chunshen aren't close enough to speak without reserve.

Niu Chunsheng suddenly thought of those employees at the company who shout all day that they're quitting but never actually quit — then he understood; maybe what Zhang Sheng is saying to him now is the same nature, the same purpose as those people who shout about quitting every day.

Once he saw through this layer, Niu Chunsheng laughed and echoed Zhang Sheng:

"I'll follow General Manager Zhang's lead — if you don't donate in the future, I won't either; if you do, I'll just chip in a token amount — after all, General Manager Zhang, you're about to buy into my Spring City Real Estate, so I have to stay in step with you."

These were polite words.

If the county government really held another similar fundraiser, then regardless of whether Zhang Sheng donated or not, he would definitely donate.

What's that phrase again?

Political donations!

Doing business in a small county town, if you don't give some political donations, you won't be able to get your business off the ground.

Niu Chunsheng knew this perfectly well in his heart.

Zhang Sheng also knew this perfectly well in his heart.

And the reason Zhang Sheng came to Niu Chunsheng to complain wasn't because he was unwilling to donate anymore; in the future, when leaders organize such events again, he'll be more active than anyone. Saying these words in front of Niu Chunsheng this time was purely to set the pace for Niu Chunsheng, with the purpose of making Niu Chunsheng dissatisfied with Xiao Xueqing and the others' actions, even to the point of resistance.

As long as Niu Chunsheng falls into this trap of his, gets led by his pace, then swallowing up the entire Cheng Cheng Real Estate in the future will only be a matter of time.

The scheming struggle between two merchants lies only within polite conversation and laughter.

And at this time, on the stage, the next event was proceeding.

"To encourage the multitude of students to achieve new glory in the future college entrance exams, our county government has joined with major enterprises to put forward one million, establishing a scholarship. This scholarship is named after Wang Xiaohua's name, called the 'Xiao Hua Scholarship'. This scholarship will reward every student who scores above 650 in the future; the higher the score, the higher the reward!"

The host on the stage rattled off a whole bunch.

Then said:

"Next, we invite our County Party Secretary, County Magistrate, and various major leaders to come on stage for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the establishment of the Xiao Hua Scholarship!"

The county's leaders went on stage one after another, and warm applause rang out below.

When the County Magistrate went on stage, he quietly asked Deputy County Magistrate Xiao Xueqing beside him:

"Is everything arranged?"

Xiao Xueqing quietly replied:

"Everything is arranged."

The County Magistrate asked again:

"Is everyone satisfied?"

Xiao Xueqing said:

"Everyone's quite satisfied."

The County Magistrate asked again:

"Those treacherous merchants won't have any objections, right?"

Xiao Xueqing said with a laugh:

"What objections could they have? You can rest assured; I'll call them one by one later and soothe their emotions."

The County Magistrate nodded with satisfaction:

"Good, good..."