Chapter 108: This Is Just Too 'Fat'

It was hard to say whether it was because Zhang Xiue had arrived, but Shan Xiu had become somewhat quiet, no longer as lively as before. Sitting there, he mostly listened to Tang Long and Zhang Xiue discuss matters. Perhaps he was usually like this, and today was just an exception.

After all, Tang Long now had a bit of leverage over him, didn’t he?

Speaking of the incident at Ghost King Cave today, Zhang Xiue had come to terms with it — that leg was definitely owed a beating from those three little bastards. They had no one to blame but themselves for being disobedient!

“Xiuejie, where do the village children usually go to school?” Shan Xiu suddenly asked.

Zhang Xiue was slightly taken aback. Where did the kids in the village attend school? Instinctively, she glanced at Tang Long.

Tang Long shrugged helplessly. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea either!”

Zhang Xiue thought for a moment. “They probably go to school in Donghe Town.”

There was no elementary school in Yutou Village, let alone any early childhood education. If the parents worked elsewhere and lived well, they’d bring their children out to nearby schools. If not, the children became left-behind kids.

“Donghe Town is so far from Yutou Village!” Shan Xiu frowned, muttering softly. She was now the acknowledged 'children’s leader' of Yutou Village; apart from Zhao Xiaoyue, no one else could really compare.

But Zhao Xiaoyue wasn’t fond of playing with the children; she merely acted as the big sister out of habit. Shan Xiu genuinely loved the kids from the bottom of her heart.

She felt happy being with them. Perhaps, deep down, Shan Xiu still saw herself as that eight-year-old girl who had never truly grown up.

“I think we should build an elementary school and a kindergarten right here in Yutou Village!” Shan Xiu proposed.

She wasn’t very interested in the things Zhang Xiue and Tang Long had just spoken about, whether it was the situation at Ghost King Cave or the suggestion from the Longshan Spring Mineral Water Company.

Kindergarten? Elementary school?

How many preschool children were there in Yutou Village? At most, just a dozen or so. Building a kindergarten for so few seemed somewhat extravagant.

An elementary school made sense, though. For the young children, traveling back and forth to town wasn’t safe.

“Yes, a kindergarten too. Think about it — when Yutou Village develops, there will definitely be people coming from outside to work. If they bring their wives and children, having a kindergarten nearby would be very convenient,” Shan Xiu said with a gleam in her eyes.

Zhang Xiue smiled and nodded in agreement. “That is very convenient. If we’re talking about kindergartens, we should also build a hospital!”

“That’s doable! I’ll fund it, and let Xiao Qiu, our village doctor, become the director!” Shan Xiu said excitedly.

She acted as if money was no object.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Tang Long smiled. Since she had already offered to fund it, why not?

No equipment? We can buy them! No doctors? We can hire them! As long as the money’s there, nothing’s impossible!

“So it’s settled — a kindergarten, an elementary school, and a hospital in Yutou Village. I’ll fund it!” Shan Xiu smiled at Tang Long. She truly had little concept of money and was not short of it.

Tang Long was more straightforward, counting on his fingers. “A kindergarten, budget two million; an elementary school, at least three million. The hospital needs to be better: building, equipment, hiring medical staff — at least five million as a baseline.”

Just by his estimate, over ten million would be spent!

Yet she sat there, nodding nonchalantly. “Fine, do it at those prices. If the budget’s not enough, I’ll add another five million.”

Zhang Xiue looked at the two of them exchanging words and was speechless. She didn’t know what to say.

One was a young wealthy woman who didn’t care about money. The other? If you dared to invest money, he’d get things done. Forget whether it was feasible — as long as the money was in place, nothing was impossible!

Zhang Xiue sighed helplessly. “You two are about the same. Can’t you at least consider my feelings as a poor little business owner?”

“Xiuejie, you’re not a poor little business owner!” Shan Xiu smiled brightly at Zhang Xiue.

Zhang Xiue rolled her eyes and teased, “You’re laughing, but compared to you, the ‘little rich lady,’ what does that make me if not a poor commoner?”

“I’m not a rich lady!” Shan Xiu stopped smiling, speaking seriously. “I’m also poor.”

To Zhang Xiue, this sounded more like a joke.

Even in a summer mountain village, evenings weren’t much cooler; only after nightfall, when the mountain breeze blew, did it become comfortable.

Although many things had happened today, everyone remained calm overall.

At night, during Yutou Village’s regular meeting, Zhang Xiue reviewed everything from the beginning.

She corrected shortcomings and praised the good points. Her style was a bit different from Tang Long’s — softer, after all, she was a woman!

But their approaches complemented each other well.

After Zhang Xiue finished speaking, Tang Long stood up.

“Today, I want to highlight Zhang Guang!”

The villagers, who had been chatting and laughing earlier, gradually quieted down and turned to look at Tang Long. Everyone knew about the Ghost King Cave incident on the back mountain.

“At this year’s Yutou Village talent selection, villager Zhang Guang has made ‘outstanding contributions’ to our village. I propose promoting him to ‘Level One Talent’ of Yutou Village, with a special monthly subsidy of 2,500 yuan.”

He paused briefly, then continued solemnly: “If Zhang Guang must serve prison time due to the Ghost King Cave incident, the village committee will provide a one-time compensation based on the term. Under three years, 200,000 yuan; over three years, an additional 200,000 yuan for each extra year.

“During imprisonment, he will receive a fixed monthly salary of 8,000 yuan. His mother at home will receive a monthly living subsidy of 5,000 yuan from the village committee.

“Furthermore, I represent the village committee in promising that upon Zhang Guang’s return, he will at least secure a managerial position in Yutou Village’s industries.”

The crowd was stunned, even shocked; some nearly popped their eyes out. Damn, this was way too generous!

If Zhang Guang served ten or eight years in prison, he’d come back a millionaire without doing a thing!

If only they had known, they would have volunteered!

Zhang Guang couldn’t help but grin after hearing Tang Long’s words. It was worth it.

Zhang Xiue kept a stern face, saying nothing. She understood Tang Long’s intention — he was buying loyalty.

If he slighted Zhang Guang, who would be willing to stand up and fight for the village in the future? Now that Zhang Guang was the precedent, villagers would surely rush to take on any future tasks.

Of course, Zhang Xiue hoped no more incidents would happen. She did not want anyone to go to prison because of village disputes. Money wasn’t everything — it was youth that was exchanged for it!

Tang Long waved to disperse the talking crowd and calmly said, “Alright, stop being jealous. Our village will never treat anyone who contributes to the collective unfairly. Even if Zhang Guang doesn’t go to prison, he will receive a special subsidy of 100,000 yuan. We’ll hire the best lawyers to fight this lawsuit and ensure Zhang Guang is safe.”

Tang Long didn’t want Zhang Guang to go to prison over the village’s affairs; that was the worst-case scenario.

“Next, let’s shift focus.”

After a pause, Tang Long continued, “First, concerning Ghost King Cave — from tomorrow, we will limit the number of visitors. The campsite will be reorganized and planned. Anyone caught urinating or defecating anywhere they shouldn’t won’t just be fined — they’ll have their legs broken!”

Someone was doing this at night despite things being fine during the day, leaving feces everywhere.

Zhang Xiue could only laugh bitterly. “There aren’t enough restrooms overall. Sometimes tourists just can’t hold it.”

Tang Long frowned. “Weren’t several public toilets built recently?”

“Too many people!” Zhang Xiue replied helplessly.

But these weren’t major issues; if it weren’t urgent, no one would choose to do that.

“The boss, limiting visitors at Ghost King Cave will reduce our income drastically,” Lian Sheng couldn’t help but say.

Tang Long looked at him calmly. “Can you guarantee that nothing like today will happen again? If yes, then we don’t need to limit visitors.”

Lian Sheng chuckled in frustration and shook his head. “I can’t guarantee it. Even if we limit visitors, I still can’t guarantee it! Who knows what kind of crap is in the heads of those idiots!”

Today’s incident was truly unforeseeable, and Lian Sheng felt somewhat wronged.

“The fewer people, the lower the chance of extraordinary incidents. Too many visitors also ruin the experience.”

After hesitating, Tang Long added, “As for how much to limit, you can decide. We’d rather earn less than face incidents like today.”

“Understood!” Lian Sheng got Tang Long’s meaning. He wasn’t reprimanding but expressing a stance.

“Village chief, maybe we should limit the street food stalls too. Ten people collapsed today; my arms are so sore I can’t lift them. I want to take a day off tomorrow!” Liu Yishou said helplessly.

He wasn’t being dramatic; his arms were genuinely sore and weak, probably unable to stir the big pot tomorrow.

There were so many people that everyone was exhausted and stunned.

Many villagers thought Tang Long would object, but he nodded directly: “Fine, you rest tomorrow. The street stalls will only serve steamed buns and pickled vegetables.”

Zhang Xiue suddenly said, “I’ve contacted the county pastry factory. They can provide two trucks of bread tomorrow.”

Tang Long looked at her and smiled. “Alright, steamed buns, pickles, plus bread and bottled water!”

Liu Yishou thought for a moment and chuckled, “Village chief, let’s also cook some tea, steam potatoes and sweet potatoes — these are easy to prepare in large quantities! And porridge... our villagers need to eat too!”

Tang Long laughed, “Okay, add steamed sweet potatoes, steamed potatoes, and porridge. If fish soup isn’t troublesome, we can make more.”

“Great!”

Problem solved. There’s no such thing as an unsolvable problem — only a matter of finding a way!

Tang Long looked at the others. “Does anyone else have anything? Speak up!”

“I do!” Li Ergou raised his hand.

Tang Long looked over. “Go ahead!”

“About parking fees — two yuan is too little. There are too many cars. How about five yuan? There are free spots anyway, and the paid ones need seven or eight people to manage. More vehicles mean higher costs.”

Before Tang Long could respond, Li Ergou hurried on, “Of course, I’m not talking about overcharging. Paid users should receive the best service, and those who don’t want to pay can use the free lots, which have plenty of space.”

Tang Long frowned. “Whether paid or free, someone has to watch the cars. Everyone who visits Yutou Village comes for enjoyment; no one wants trouble.”

Whether paid or free parking, the best outcome is for nothing to go wrong.

“Tomorrow, go to the county and bring people to install surveillance cameras at both parking lots!”

Surveillance cameras? That would cost quite a bit, Li Ergou thought quietly but didn’t dare say aloud.

“Alright! I’ll go to the county tomorrow to arrange it.”