Chapter 410 How to Be a Leader
The old lady looked at her daughter-in-law's eyes asking for help, and she was also annoyed at her daughter-in-law's brain capacity. She put down her chopsticks and said with finality:
"How can we just give them a chicken? Xingwang, just listen to grandma. Grandma knows you care about your aunt. You have eggs, which are good stuff. Just give them a few eggs. If we bring chickens back, people will think we are extorting money."
"Grandma, it has to be you. Let's make it a deal. Each family should get two more kilograms of eggs. That's more reasonable. Otherwise, people will think that I look down on my relatives because I have been a leader for a few days. This is a question of moral character. The same goes for you, grandma. I have to treat everyone equally. Otherwise, I will be in big trouble if people ask about it..."
The old lady was so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time. What about bringing two more pounds of eggs? She stomped on the old man's foot, and her meaning was very clear, asking him to quickly persuade this prodigal...
The old man looked up for a long time but couldn't utter a word. He simply gritted his teeth, put on an old and confused look, shook his head and said that he didn't like eating eggs.
The old lady was almost mad with anger. She looked at Wang Xiulan's disobedient look and said madly:
"I don't like eating eggs, let alone chickens. When you leave, bring me a bunch of grapes..."
The fourth sister had disappeared since she heard that a chicken was going to be sent to her aunt. Suddenly, she emerged from Zhang Xingwang's room with a serious expression, looked at her brother unwillingly, and then she didn't even bother to eat, saying that she had a stomachache and was in a hurry to go to the toilet.
When the fourth sister came back, she said she met a few children at the door. They must have smelled meat and were rushing her eldest sister to get married, so she explained that her grandmother brought them from the village.
These words made the air in the house quiet for a moment, and the old lady looked even more worried. Looking at the few people who were forcing themselves to smile, Zhang Xingwang felt that he had to add fuel to the fire in order to achieve his goal of lying down.
"You don't have to hide it from me. I know everything. The crops were damaged by floods this year. You know better than me how the food in the village cafeteria is and whether it can last until next autumn harvest.
Both of my cousins’ wives are pregnant, and my cousins are old enough to eat. If things continue like this, something bad will happen sooner or later.”
The old man, who didn't know how to speak for a long time, was stunned. These were the words he had just thought of. His grandson's position was too outrageous. But what did he mean by half of what he said? You know that my aunt's family is in such a difficult situation, why don't you mention relief or something like that?
Seeing his grandson act as if nothing had happened after he finished speaking, the old man, who had waited for a long time but still received no follow-up, could only bite the bullet and speak:
"Xingwang, what you just said is right. Grandpa is thinking that if your aunt's family really can't make ends meet, you can lend a hand if you have the ability. Send them some food. Grandpa will give you an explanation after the New Year comes."
Except for the old man, no one in the family said a word for a long time. Wang Xiulan wanted to take the initiative to bring it up, but she really didn't know how much surplus food the family had to provide for relief. After all, her life was so confusing now, and she still didn't know where her son hid the things.
The eldest cousin spoke up at this time, saying that his family did not need it and that they had not paid off all the debts. He now had a job and did not need any assistance. He awkwardly said that the repayment time would be postponed. He imitated the old man and said that he would give an explanation to his cousin after the money was paid off.
Zhang Xingwang rolled his eyes when he heard his cousin's words. This cousin was not only straightforward in his actions, but also in his words. He guessed that what he meant by explanation was the interest or something like that. But according to the way he paid it back, the basket he used for running away would be enough to pay the interest.
“Cousin, we’ll have to talk about your family’s affairs in detail later, but let’s first talk about what Grandpa mentioned.
Grandpa, I don't agree with what you just said. According to you, I will have to provide relief if there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster in the future. I don't have that much energy.
I am a leader now, and I would do what my eldest aunt did. I would find a job for my second cousin and my youngest aunt, and let them move to the city and be self-sufficient. If we solve the problem once and for all, there won’t be so many troubles.”
Zhang Xingwang thought that it would not be difficult to find a job. If several aunts and cousins all lived in this courtyard, there would be no need to hold a general meeting in the future. It would be called a family meeting of the Zhang family.
I know my own character. I can't just watch them starve every day in the village for three years. Even if I send food back, who knows what the hungry villagers will do.
No matter how you think about it, it's better to solve the problem once and for all. If he does something extraordinary when the wind blows, his aunts can help him. At least he has a visible income, which is also a kind of advance planning.
But the old man almost didn't react to his words. He and the two aunts immediately shook their heads and replied firmly:
"Two jobs in the city are not two carrots in the field. How big of a leader are you to have this power? You still have to use favors to buy them. How much does it cost?"
"Grandpa, why are you so anxious? We should have a bigger picture. Don't just focus on our food. You should focus on our money.
We are all honest people in our family. It would be embarrassing for everyone if we give relief twice. You should listen to me and borrow money to buy a job like my eldest cousin did. You can pay me back slowly when you get paid. I will start looking for jobs tomorrow."
After hearing these threatening words, the two aunts were so scared that they wanted to go home immediately, saying that they couldn't stay here anymore. They were living well in the village, so why would they force others to borrow money to go to the city? They came here to send their nieces to marry, not to fight against the local tyrants...
After seeing off his two aunts and uncle who were jogging out, Zhang Xingwang came back and saw that his eldest aunt and eldest cousin were also about to leave. So he shook the big rooster in his hand, grabbed his cousin and casually stuffed it into his backpack.
I gave my cousin three chickens, one for each family, and asked him to take over my delivery job. I smiled and said that my cousin was young and could run fast, so I asked him to catch up and deliver the chickens to my two aunts.
The cousin was so unhappy that he even put down the basket after chasing him back. It seemed that he didn't want the basket anymore. Zhang Xingwang saw this opportunity and put the eggs he carried on his back into the basket. He asked his cousin who had just run out:
"Cousin, why haven't you paid me back this month? If you're short of money, don't pay me back. Think of it as me buying snacks for my nephew."
My cousin suddenly braked, turned around and replied awkwardly:
"Xingwang, stop making a fuss. Your nephew won't be born until next year. I bought some food for your sister-in-law this month and it's expensive. I will definitely pay it back on time next month."
A minute later, the eldest cousin reluctantly prepared a basket and chased after the two aunts. As he walked, he muttered that it was too uncomfortable to owe money to others, and as an older brother, he had to listen to his younger brother's instructions. After he finished speaking, he burped...
The old couple didn't know whether to laugh or cry when watching this farce. When they saw that all the eggs were gone, they smiled knowingly and breathed a sigh of relief together.
The old grandmother whispered to the old man, saying that her grandson's brain seemed to be both well and not well, and what he said was a mess. With this level of ability, she didn't know how he could be a leader.
However, Zhang Xingwang was afraid that the old couple could not bear the hassle of going back and forth like this, so he persuaded them to stay and reported it to Yan Bugui.
