Chapter 14: We want you to be our village head

  The two brothers had a fight at noon and called Dad, but it was an out-of-service prompt, so they could only give up.

  It was not yet four o'clock in the afternoon, and Hua Xue Mei personally ordered two bowls of Angelica Stew with Black Chicken and a dish of braised pork belly on the menu at the high-end restaurant. She never counted the cost for her son.

  "Da Qiang, Xiao Gang, money is just a means to an end. As long as it's earned honestly, spend it when you need to. A person with integrity can hold their head high even in poverty. Eat up, eat up! Mom can't cook for nothing, it's all thanks to the two of you."

  "No! Mom, you eat first..."

  "Xiao Gang, you still need to review, eat a bit more."

  "Brother, you should eat more, look at how thin you've become. After you got sick, you haven't been eating well..."

  Hua Xue Mei was delighted at what she saw and felt joyful in her heart.

  ……

  At night, his younger brother stayed in the hospital to keep watch, Zhao Zhiqiang took the part of the money that was still owed back home, and left the rest at the hospital.

  Late at night, Zhao Zhiqiang took advantage of the spiritual energy to blast open the copper shell and obtained a bit more information.

  This thing that had taken his life gave him a new lease on life, called Tongtian Copper Coin.

  This process of producing gas is called refining essence into gas.

  The process of circulating Qi around the body is called "washing the marrow and pounding the bones".

  Every time he walks a circle, his life is guaranteed for one more day. The day he stops turning is when his life comes to an end.

  What left Zhao Zhiqiang speechless was that these two strange processes, one required constant blood sucking and spiritualization, while the other was refining essence to spiritualize and transform into Qi, fixed at noon and midnight would circulate once, at this time if the body's spiritual energy is insufficient, it will suck blood and refine essence to spiritualize as Qi!

  Drinking blood is fine, eating might be able to make up for it, but the source of this essence...

  It's been over ten days since I've had morning wood, today I must make sure my spirit is full!

  "I'll keep eating!" Zhao Zhiqiang took out the cooked food he had bought from a roadside supermarket and swallowed it down with two packets of blood tonic medicine he had brought back from the hospital.

  ……

  The next day.

  A small tent that men have seen before stands proudly upright!

  The body seems to have recovered from its usual morning lethargy!

  "Haha! The sky of Liberation Zone is a bright sky..."

  Zhao Zhiqiang turned over and got out of bed, lit a fire to cook rice, cleaned up the house, swept the floor...

  Finally back to normal, my body.

  Zhao Zhiqiang was excited to an excessive degree, especially with the revival of a certain important part, which solved a major problem that had been weighing on his mind!

  This feeling is just indescribable.

  Even more comfortable than throwing a box of cash on the kang!

  The hospital is not in a hurry to get the money, they have to find a kidney source first. My mother firmly disagrees with two sons donating kidneys, she would rather die!

  However, Zhao Zhiqiang had already discussed it with his brother and they quietly underwent a compatibility test.

  Mom doesn't have a kidney and can't survive, but we have one kidney that can keep us alive. We've already contacted the hospital and will do it tomorrow.

  Today, Zhao Zhiqiang is going to repay the debts one by one. Yesterday, his mother wrote down the relatives and friends who owed money and the amount, totaling 156,400 yuan, from 15 families. The most was owed to Second Uncle and Third Aunt. Although it's convenient to ask for their card numbers to transfer the money directly, that's not how a person should behave.

  So he got up early, rented the old Santana from Er Gua's brother in the village, and first visited the relatives' homes in the nearby villages and towns within dozens of miles, sending a few hundred yuan worth of goods to each family as a thank you.

  Every household is grateful and pays respects, sends New Year's gifts, and wishes an early new year...

  Tang Huan from the same village was surprised, "Qiangzi, I told you not to force it, my five or six thousand is not urgent, you use it, I'm not in a hurry!"

  Zhao Zhiqiang looked at his childhood friend and smiled, "Rouzi, you can keep it, I'm not around to thank you for taking care of my mother. This money is what I earned, there's still more. My mother's surgery fees are all taken care of, don't worry! I have something else to attend to, let's catch up in two days and I'll treat you to a drink!"

  "No way, I'm treating you instead. You've been sick for days and can't drink, haha, just wait and see, I'll get you drunk tonight!" Tang Juan looked at Zhiqiang, who had grown up with him since childhood, and felt relieved to see that he was in good health.

  In the afternoon, went to several relatives' homes in Bincheng Huajia.

  It's actually not too far away, a few dozen miles from the seaside, another small town called Hou Shi.

  Grandfather was a high-ranking official back then, but among his children, only the eldest uncle had any success.

  Actually, my uncle also relied on his own efforts and was admitted to Peking University in 1977 after re-taking the college entrance exam. He worked in a certain department in Beijing, but because of his relationship with his wife's family, he rarely contacted his own family. When Zhao Zhiqiang's mother fell ill, they didn't even let them know.

  It's just that the few families living nearby are more active.

  "Da Qiang, where did you get this money from? Don't worry about paying me back first, what's urgent is for your mom to see a doctor."

  His second uncle held more than 30,000 yuan in his hand, thinking of his sister's sickly appearance and their extremely poor family, he really didn't want this money anymore.

  "Uncle, this money is what I've earned back, don't worry, the money for mom's medical treatment has been taken care of..."

  Watching his nephew leave, Second Uncle was stunned.

  How did this kid get so much money today?

  Third Aunt was stunned when she received the 50,000 yuan from her nephew.

  "This, this, and you're giving me an extra 20,000? Where did Zhao Zhiqiang get this money from......" Holding the money and watching Zhao Zhiqiang drive away, she had a face full of confusion, but that little guy was so stubborn he almost cried, and she could only accept it.

  "How strange?"

  Many relatives were just as perplexed as they were.

  Yesterday was so miserable, everyone couldn't bear to stay any longer, but today he came to the door and returned the money, this kid...

  Zhao Zhiqiang almost didn't stop running and paying back money.

  It's also because of the end of the year, who doesn't need money urgently?

  Pay your debts on time, don't delay other people's business.

  By dinner time, I finally paid off all the debts owed to everyone.

  "Debt-free is a light body!" Zhao Zhiqiang finally understood this feeling!

  Zhao Zhiqiang was also exhausted, but his heart felt really relieved.

  No more carrying such a heavy burden, no more feeling inferior by three points when meeting people!

  He went to return the car to Er Gou Ge, but was pulled back by him instead.

  "Zhiqiang, I know you're going to your aunt's place and have a lot of things to attend to. But we went there today, and Xiaogang is taking care of things well. It's so late already, don't you need to eat too? Come on, it just so happens that all the brothers are here, and you haven't had a gathering since you came back from the army!"

  The two men dragged Zhao Zhiqiang into a nearby fast food restaurant run by their neighbor Liu Yishui.

  "Today you're the guest, come on up and take a seat!"

  They entered a private room and put Zhao Zhiqiang in the main seat again.

  "Today, brother doesn't count as a welcoming party, your aunt is still ill, and she didn't refuse your wine. Haha, it's been so long since we've seen each other, from childhood to adulthood, we've never sat together for a meal. Today is just right, sit down casually, and I'll tell you about the situation in the village over the past few years while you were away..." Er Gua finally revealed his true intention.

  Zhao Zhiqiang no longer declined, smiling and sat down. These were all companions who were a few years older or younger than themselves, known since childhood, and pushing again would be a bit pretentious. Listening to Er Gazi's words, there must be something going on here.

  Those sitting around the round table were all young people from Guomu Gou Village, roughly the same age as Zhao Zhiqiang. Er Gezi was the oldest, and in their eyes, Zhao Zhiqiang was the most capable of fighting.

  When he was in school, he was a bully. Not only that, but he also served as a soldier for three years, and yesterday he beat up that four-eyed toad again. His skills are unmatched - the military training really paid off. I already looked up to him before, now I have even more admiration for him.

  Everyone started chatting, mostly about which year Zhao Zhiqiang beat up whom, which year he secretly let the donkey from their home run away, and which year he led them to fight with that group of bastards from Zhangjiayuan village...

  It's as if time has turned back ten years, and emotions have quickly risen again.

  The dishes were cooked quickly.

  Zhao Zhiqiang didn't drink, the remaining five people opened two bottles of wine and three dishes. Zhao Zhiqiang sat with them, sipping tea and water, looking at his pale face. No one had the nerve to persuade him, they quickly finished a round, after drinking three cups, Er Gouzi put down his wine glass and opened his mouth.

  "There was originally only one thing, but I just heard the news that our team leader, Zhao Guangming, who is also the village director of Chang'an Village, has been accused by people from two streets below the mountain for corruption. Unexpectedly, he somehow got wind of it and hasn't been caught yet. So now there are two things."

  Huh?

  Except for Zhao Zhiqiang, everyone was surprised.

  Zhao Zhiqiang was completely unimpressed, this matter had nothing to do with him, and he continued eating his half chicken leg with relish.

  Even if Su Fengrong helped out yesterday, but he heard his brother say that he was disgusted with her and their family, so he also joined in the disgust.

  After talking for a while, seeing Zhao Zhiqiang not even making sense in his words, he continued to say, "Zhiqiang, we were all impressed by you yesterday! In this Chang'an Village, only you can tame that four-eyed toad!"

  "Right, right, I was so angry when I saw the truth yesterday!"

  "Huh? How come - Zhao Laosan is so unwelcome?" Zhao Zhiqiang raised his head, used a toothpick to pick up the stuck meat threads, and took a look at this group of little friends who hadn't eaten much and didn't move around much on ordinary days. He knew they were looking for him to eat this meal, but it wasn't free. The real matter had arrived.

  "Big Strong, are you a party member?"

  "No."

  "Oh... it doesn't matter anyway... We heard that the town sent a working group overnight and set up a temporary election committee to elect a village director after the festival."

  "What does this have to do with me?" Zhao Zhiqiang asked, puzzled, as he threw down the chicken bones.

  Er Gua took a sip of white wine and stared at Zhao Zhiqiang's slightly pale face, saying, "Daqiang, we want to support you as the village head!"

  Hmph...

  Zhao Zhiqiang had just taken a sip of chicken soup and almost spat it out.

  "Haha, look at me, I'm not cut out for being an official..."

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