Village head election

Author: Si Jing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: "The Long River, you carry Grandma to my house, the aunt has already made the bed for Grandma." Wu Jianguo straightened the raincoat draped over the elderly widow Chen Xiang'e, saying, "After putting Grandma down, you should hurry to the senior activity center to see if everything's okay. I'll go to the meeting first."
"Understood." Guo Changhe replied, then rolled up his pants legs, barefoot, and rushed into the rain with Grandma.
Wu Jianguo turned to close the door of Chen Xiang'e's room, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and pulled out his phone to dial.
"Long, how are things on your end? Are you done? That's good. Let's check if the windows are closed tightly. Did the glass break? Just find a piece of wood and nail it in place for now. Okay, okay. I'll go over there first and ask Maolin to attend the meeting quickly. Long will be there soon, you should go help him. Alright, then. Everyone just has to work a bit harder. Good, hang up."
Wu Jianguo put away his phone and opened an umbrella. Holding the umbrella handle with one hand and gripping the ribs with the other, his head almost touching the umbrella surface, he struggled toward the village committee office.
"Long, this senior activity center is as old as the people in it. How can such a building withstand a typhoon? It might collapse!" Jiang Long, while struggling to prop up a beam with a piece of wood, said to Guo Changhe, who was driving a stake.
"Sigh, raising children is easy, but raising the elderly is hard." Guo Changhe, after driving the stake, looked up and smiled bitterly at Jiang Long.
"The senior activity center was required by the town to be run by the village. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered with it at all."
"Everyone gets old eventually. In reality, respecting the elderly is also a way of teaching the younger generation." Jiang Long, looking at the old tables and chairs in the dilapidated building, reflected.
"You haven't seen it, but those who respect their parents will have their children respect them too. But those who don't have elderly people in their hearts will face greater loneliness in old age. This is called 'what goes around comes around.'"
"Jiang Long, I think you should come back." Guo Changhe said softly.
Guo Changhe's words came as a surprise. Jiang Long stared at him in astonishment.
"Come back? Is this village a good place to stay? I even wanted you to leave, and now you're asking me to come back?"
"I know you don't want to stay in the village." Guo Changhe sat down and took out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one for himself first, then offering the pack and lighter to Jiang Long.
Jiang Long took them and lit one, sitting down opposite Guo Changhe. Outside, the wind howled, the rain raged, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Inside, the two men smoked, their expressions serious.
"There's something I want to say, but it might sound old-fashioned." Guo Changhe took a long drag from his cigarette, glanced at Jiang Long, and continued,
"A person lives for a sense of dignity! If that sense of dignity is blocked or stifled, life isn't much fun. This was what your father said. Your father was a remarkable man, and even after his death, people wouldn't dare to look down on him. But no matter what, he died of suffocation, choked to death. As his son, you can't let him breathe in the afterlife, can you? Besides, if the big dog [referring to Jiang Long] were to stir up trouble, that would be one thing. But look at them—they're not fit for anything! Over the years, they've ruined the village beyond recognition. Your father built up so much wealth when he was alive, and they've spent it all. Hmph!"
"Jiang Long, I know your intentions." After a long pause, Jiang Long finally said this much. As the vice president of a billion-yuan tax revenue company, with a promising future for the company and Yi Nan there, he couldn't just stand by when he was back home during the typhoon.
"To be honest, Jiang Long, these people aren't worth your concern."
"What? Not worth your concern?" Guo Changhe grew agitated.
"I'm sure there are things your mother hasn't told you. Uncle Jianguo wanted to talk to you, but he never got the chance."
"Talk about what?" Jiang Long wanted to know more.
"Turns out, they've turned more than half of the village housing projects your father planned into villa areas, selling them to city officials at a loss of three thousand for two thousand. They say it's to secure more investment from the city. But who knows what kind of deal they're making. The village hasn't seen any benefits from it—only the main road in the village center was paved when your father was in power. Now, they turn around and blame your father."
"What are you talking about?" Jiang Long lit another cigarette, speaking casually.
"You sound like you're listening to a story!" Guo Changhe grew annoyed at Jiang Long's indifferent attitude.
"I am, I am." Jiang Long patted Guo Changhe's shoulder.
"The villas sold to government officials were said to be what your father promised. They took the best ones first. The rest were distributed based on actual need. They're all gone now. Some families got two or even three units. Those are prime Jiang View villas! Prices on the other side of the river are already over ten thousand!" Guo Changhe grew angrier.
"Plus, all the land near the bridge has been expropriated. I hear the compensation money was used for their investments, and they haven't paid a single cent in interest. They've taken all the good deals for themselves. Everyone who worked with your father has been taking it in the ear ever since. They say conditions aren't met for housing; they refuse to approve land for self-built homes; they block everything you try to do. You say, what are we to them? Just eggs in their hands! You wouldn't hear such things or see such heartbreak in Shenzhen. But your mother, Uncle Jianguo, and I have to face it every day. We've reached our limit."
Guo Changhe paused, lighting another cigarette.
"Let me tell you, Uncle Jianguo is running for the village party branch election this year. The problem is, he lacks a suitable running mate—the position of village head. Maolin and I could run too, but with us, how could we stand up to them? The only one who could is you, Jiang Long!"
"Me?" Jiang Long felt overwhelmed. This wasn't about ability—it was about the heavy trust people placed in him.
"What does Uncle Jianguo think?"
"How do you think he'd think?" Guo Changhe stood up and said,
"He dreams of your return. He's afraid you won't want to leave your money behind. A real village head doesn't earn much. But you're fighting for a sense of dignity!"
Yes, people live for that kind of dignity. It's about ideals, beliefs, life's value, face, and dignity! Jiang Long knew how precious that sense of dignity was, but weighing the pros and cons, he still found it hard to make a choice.
"Jiang Long, I got what you said today. For now, don't mention anything to Uncle Jianguo. Let me think about it. I can't leave the company right now."
In truth, what he was really thinking about was Yi Nan. If he left Shenzhen and returned to the village, Yi Nan would surely call him crazy. A village head is nothing—no official position at all. Just a bunch of uneducated people who only care about petty matters. A bird that flew out has fallen back into the well as a frog. No matter how he explained it, Yi Nan couldn't understand or imagine it.
P5-P6