Chapter 447: Can you issue us wives?

Su Yang said, "Naturally. We still have two or three villages left to visit. The purpose of this baseline survey is to thoroughly understand the situation in every location and identify who is most in need of our assistance."

"Only then can we be targeted and effective in our upcoming work."

Xie Siyang agreed, then went to tidy up and set off with Su Yang. Compared to last week, they were much better prepared this time, equipped with parasols, sun hats, and durable athletic shoes.

Their attire last week, while athletic, had given the impression that they were out for a vacation.

Seeing Su Yang and the others leave, Cui Mingjiu let out a cold laugh. "They're quite enthusiastic about their work. Perfect, this time we'll increase the difficulty for them. Since they want to carry out poverty alleviation, they must do it thoroughly."

Bai Yutang, holding his teacup, said, "What if something happens? You know the Liu brothers are hotheaded youths. Sometimes when they go crazy, they'd even pounce on the village's wild dogs, let alone two delicate beauties."

"If something were to happen, we'd be held responsible. If the higher-ups investigate, how are we supposed to explain it?"

Gao Haisheng looked at Gao Peixia's retreating figure, swallowed his saliva, and said, "What responsibility could we have? At most, we'll get scolded by the higher-ups. It wasn't us who told them to go door-to-door for the survey, nor did we set their route."

"They walked right into it themselves. Objectively speaking, we have zero responsibility."

Only then did Cui Mingjiu say calmly, "Old Gao is right. If something happens, it's their own doing. They insisted on alleviating poverty; as government staff, we can't stop them from going down to survey."

"Alright, it's almost 10 o'clock. Let's go to the usual place to play mahjong. Oh, right, arrange for someone to follow them from a distance. If anything happens, come back and tell us immediately so we can go over and join the fun."

"Otherwise, staying here all day is quite boring."

Gao Haisheng chuckled lecherously, "Brother Cui, can't we have some other entertainment besides mahjong? Didn't you say that the daughter-in-law who just married into so-and-so's family is very pretty? Should we go visit their house?"

Cui Mingjiu said, "You really have no scruples. Even though Su Yang is just from the Poverty Alleviation Office, he is still representing the county. We should keep a low profile when necessary."

"It's fine if we handle a newlywed bride well, but if something goes wrong, we could be caught by the handle."

Bai Yutang also licked his lips. "Hey, why aren't there any good-looking, well-built young women in our township? Otherwise, Township Mayor Cui, why don't we find a few wives to talk work with? It's better than nothing."

Cui Mingjiu said, "The few flirtatious women in the township are all the same old thing. They aren't as tasty as the restaurant owner's wife."

"I'm tired of them too. Let's find something fresh another time. For today, let's just go play mahjong."

If Su Yang had heard this, he would certainly have slapped these people a few times. This was the Township Government, and they were government officials, yet they spent all day thinking about nothing but what was in their pants instead of doing their jobs.

Su Yang, Gao Peixia, and the others drove Su Yang's Santana for a full hour, then hiked for another half hour to reach a village on the very edge of Shuishui Township.

Past this village was another county; it could be said that this village was the boundary of Shuishui.

They started by visiting a few households to ask about the situation. It was basically the same as the previous villages; they had never even heard of relief grain or relief funds.

Some people, as soon as the topic was raised, would retort, "That goes without saying. The Village Party Secretary must have taken it home. It would be a miracle if we ever saw any of it."

Su Yang patiently explained that they were staff from the county, here to investigate the township's work and potentially bring some relief supplies for the villagers. Instead, they were mocked.

"None of you government workers are any good. Besides trying to cheat us common folk and squeeze benefits out of us, what else can you do?"

"Are you thinking of trading a bag or two of flour for someone's young wife to sleep with you? Let me tell you, keep dreaming. Our village may be poor, but we have backbone. We aren't like other places. Don't try any crooked ideas here; we don't do such shameful things."

Gao Peixia was shocked. "So, you mean to say that in other places, people use this kind of relationship to get relief grain and clothes?"

The villager replied directly, "Of course. First, you sleep with the Village Party Secretary, then you sleep with the township officials. Not only can you get flour, but you can get two bags of white flour. This kind of thing hasn't been a secret for a long time. How could you not know?"

"Or maybe you're just pretending. I don't have time to chat with you; I'm going to the fields to work."

With that, the villager left. The three of them looked at each other in embarrassment, especially Xie Siyang and Gao Peixia. They had actually known about this, but they hadn't expected it to be such a widespread phenomenon.

"Don't think too much about it. When people are truly starving, they'll do anything. Of course, their moral character is also problematic."

"Fundamentally, this is the fault of these officials. If they didn't mess around and distributed these things fairly and justly, these messy situations wouldn't happen."

As they were talking, they saw a household ahead with only two cave dwellings, and a disheveled person squatting at the entrance.

In Xie Siyang's mind, this was definitely the standard for a poverty-stricken household, so the two of them walked over immediately.

"Hello, we are from the township. May we come in and take a look?"

Liu Da, who was squatting at the entrance picking lice, looked up at Xie Siyang and Gao Peixia and said, "Sure, look if you want."

He shouted inside, "Old Er, someone's here."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Xie Siyang and the others could enter, a man wearing only underwear crawled out, covered in dirt and emitting a foul stench.

However, when he saw Xie Siyang and the other woman, a green light flashed in his eyes.

"What are you here for? What do you want with us?"

Xie Siyang said, "We are poverty alleviation cadres from the township. We want to understand your situation and see if we can help you with anything. Are there only the two of you in the family?"

Liu Da, who was squatting at the entrance picking lice, said, "Of course, just the two of us. What about it? Our parents died early, and we grew up eating from a hundred families. Our family is poor, we have no skills, and we don't have much land, so this is the state of things. You've seen what there is to see."

Gao Peixia asked, "Since you have hands and feet, why don't you go out and work? It's better than staying at home all the time. You could support yourselves."

"Although we are here for poverty alleviation, we mainly target those elderly who are alone and those who have lost the ability to work. For people in your condition, the policy doesn't allow it, and there's nothing we can do to help."

Liu Er, wearing only underwear, said, "How can you not help us? Aren't you here for poverty alleviation? Doesn't poverty alleviation mean issuing whatever is lacking?"

"The two of us lack two wives. Why don't you issue us two? I think you two are quite suitable. Why don't we go into the bridal chamber now..."