NCCnovel Chapter 108 The Color of Pride
Chapter 108 The Color of Pride
"Village Chief Chen, what methods does your village have for paying taxes?"
Li Qiang asked eagerly.
Chen He, however, smiled smugly without saying a word, quite pleased to see Li Qiang's anxious expression.
Seeing that Chen He remained silent, Li Qiang became even more anxious: "Village Chief Chen, stop keeping us in suspense and tell us quickly."
"Yes, Village Chief Chen, tell us about it!" Li Mu asked expectantly from the side. They were really eager to know how Chenjia Village would survive this tax increase.
"I can't say for sure about this."
Chen He didn't keep you in suspense for long, simply saying, "If you want to know, you can ask Li Ping."
It's an open secret in Chenjia Village that Chen Dao helped the whole village pay taxes. Li Qiang and his companion could find out if they wanted to, but they couldn't let Li Qiang know, otherwise... it would inevitably make Chen Dao resentful.
"Li Ping?"
Li Qiang and Li Mu exchanged a glance, racked their brains, and finally remembered who Li Ping was.
In fact, Li Ping married into Chenjia Village from Xiaohe Village. Li Ping used to frequently visit relatives in Xiaohe Village, but after her parents passed away a few years ago, she visited Xiaohe Village much less often.
Speaking of which, Li Qiang, Li Mu, and Li Ping are actually distant relatives. After all, they live in the same village and share the same surname, so they are inevitably related by blood. When Li Ping was in the village, she had to call Li Qiang "Uncle".
"Li Ping can pay taxes for your village? Village Chief Chen, you're not kidding me, are you?"
Li Qiang said with a face full of suspicion, "Li Ping is just an ordinary rural woman. How could she have such great ability to help Chenjia Village solve the problem of tax increases?"
"Believe it or not!"
Chen He didn't bother to explain and walked into the field to check on the villagers' work.
Li Qiang and Li Mu exchanged a glance, pondered for a while, and then headed directly towards Chenjia Village, intending to find Li Ping.
The two of them naturally didn't know where Li Ping lived. Fortunately, there were many children playing by the roadside in the village. After asking these children for directions, the two of them arrived at Chen Dao's house without any problems.
The door to Chen Dao's house was open. Since the family had enough power to protect themselves, the door no longer needed to be kept tightly closed as before.
As Li Qiang and Li Mu entered the gate, they saw two children playing, and Li Ping watching them with a smile not far away.
Upon seeing someone enter, Li Ping turned around and asked in surprise, "Village Chief Li, what brings you here?"
Li Ping, who came from Xiahe Village, was quite familiar with Li Qiang. When she was young, Li Qiang was already the village chief's son, and after she grew up, Li Qiang became the village chief, a prominent figure in Xiahe Village. Naturally, Li Ping remembered what he looked like.
"Xiaoping".
Li Qiang nodded with a smile, and Li Mu also smiled broadly and said, "Sister Ping."
"Village chief, and... Xiao Mu, please have a seat!"
Because there were no men in the house, Li Ping felt awkward inviting the two men inside, so she brought out two stools for Li Qiang and Li Mu to sit down.
Then, Li Ping called out to the kitchen, "Xiao Hua, bring out some food!"
"Come on!"
Soon after, Ding Xiaohua came out carrying a rice bucket, placed it in front of Li Qiang and the other man, and then ran back to the kitchen to busy herself.
Li Ping then greeted Li Qiang and the other man, saying, "Village Chief Li, please have something to eat first!"
Li Qiang and Li Mu stared intently at the steamed buns in the rice bucket, their expressions of shock particularly evident.
In these times of year, even Li Qiang, the village head, is having a hard time. While they don't eat bran every day, they can only afford to eat sorghum flour occasionally. As for Li Ping's family...
Yet they easily produced so many white steamed buns to serve their guests…
This left Li Qiang and his companion with an extremely unbelievable feeling. They knew something about Li Ping's family situation, since Li Ping would occasionally return to Xiahe Village a few years ago and tell them about her family situation. Therefore, they knew that Li Ping's husband had passed away long ago and she had become a widow.
These days, the importance of able-bodied adults to a family is self-evident. Li Qiang and his wife had thought that Li Ping would have a very difficult time after losing her husband, but...
The large bucket of steamed buns in front of them undoubtedly overturned their expectations.
Li Mu reached out and grabbed a steamed bun, taking a bite of half of it. He savored the fragrant aroma and sweet taste of the bun in his mouth, his eyes narrowing slightly, a look of enjoyment on his face.
Li Qiang couldn't resist either, grabbing a steamed bun and stuffing it into his mouth, then revealing an expression similar to Li Mu's.
The white flour steamed buns tasted so much better than the grains they usually ate. After each eating one, the two couldn't help but grab another and stuff it into their mouths.
After eating three or four in a row, the two stopped. Li Mu couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister Ping, you're living such a good life! You can even serve white steamed buns to your guests."
Even in times of peace and prosperity, very few villages in Chenjia Village and Xiaohe Village could afford to offer steamed buns to their guests!
"Not bad!"
Li Ping said with a smile, "My family's life has been a bit better than before recently."
After saying that, Li Ping asked again, "By the way, Village Chief Li, how have my brother and the others been lately?"
Li Ping's two older brothers treated her very well. When her husband had just passed away, her two brothers helped her a lot. However, Li Ping was ultimately too embarrassed to burden her two brothers too much, so she has had less contact with them in the past two years.
"not good!"
Li Qiang shook his head and said, "It's not just your brothers; the whole Xiahe Village is having a hard time right now. Everyone is struggling to get enough to eat."
Upon hearing the word "bad," Li Ping's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was thinking about how to help her two older brothers, Li Qiang continued, "Xiao Ping, I heard that your Chenjia Village has a way to cope with this tax increase?"
"what?"
Li Ping, whose train of thought was suddenly interrupted, paused for a moment, then said, "There is a way!"
Li Qiang and Li Mu's eyes lit up, and they pressed for an answer: "What method?"
Li Ping thought for a moment. Chen Dao didn't seem to have said that this matter couldn't be told to others, so she replied, "You know my son, Dao-ge'er, right?"
"know."
Li Qiang and Li Mu nodded in unison. When Chen Dao was a child, Li Ping had taken him to Xiahe Village, so both Li Qiang and Li Mu had met Chen Dao.
"Brother Dao is more capable."
When talking about her son, Li Ping's face was full of pride: "He has made a lot of money in business. This time, the tax increase in Chenjia Village was paid by Daoge'er on behalf of the villagers. The condition was that the villagers would rent their land to Daoge'er for half a year and then help Daoge'er farm the land."