Chapter 383: Captain of the Village Next Door

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Shen Mo originally intended to head to the commune, but halfway there he remembered he needed to make a trip to town, so he got off and went to the village entrance to catch the bus.

Jiang Chuan rode to the commune without parking his bicycle in the commune’s bike shed, fearing it would draw too much attention and provoke discussions, so he left it by the roadside not far from the commune.

As he walked into the courtyard of the commune, he immediately noticed that there were more than twice as many people as usual. He found it odd; he hadn’t heard of any events happening at the commune, so why were there so many people today? Moreover, there were many unfamiliar faces that Jiang Chuan had never seen before, not seeming like villagers.

While Jiang Chuan was pondering how to navigate through the crowd to reach his office, he spotted Captain Chen Xing striding towards the commune’s office building in the distance.

Jiang Chuan called out to him from afar and took a few steps towards him, asking, “Why are there so many people at the commune today?”

Chen Xing looked around cautiously, as if in a rush, and spoke quickly, “There’s a meeting at the commune today. The captains from the five villages managed by the commune need to attend.”

So there was a large meeting. No wonder everyone was gathering at the entrance of the commune.

A single commune managed five villages, with its headquarters in Pushan Village. Each village had positions like chief captain, vice-captain, village chief, and accountant, who all needed to attend meetings.

By that count, there were at least twenty people gathered here, making the usually spacious square feel crowded.

Seeing that Chen Xing seemed in a hurry, Jiang Chuan didn’t ask further and let him be on his way.

Chen Xing hurried off just as someone greeted Jiang Chuan. Turning around, Jiang Chuan recognized it was Xiao Wu.

Jiang Chuan asked, “What brings you to the commune?”

Xiao Wu replied, “I’m here in place of the village chief. It’s gotten colder these past few days, and the chief’s rheumatism is acting up, his knees are in such pain he can’t even get out of bed.”

Concerned, he asked, “Is the village chief’s leg condition serious?”

“It’s nothing serious, just a bit of knee pain. It’s an old issue, happens every year. A few days’ rest and he’ll be fine,” said Xiao Wu.

Jiang Chuan figured that was common with the elderly and decided to visit the chief after work with some gifts.

He then inquired of Xiao Wu, “Do you know why there’s a meeting today? I didn’t receive any notice.”

“The notice was sent out the day before yesterday. You just happened to be away that day, so it’s normal you didn’t know. Today’s meeting is to discuss the upcoming production strategy. We’re short on rainwater, and the fields are too dry, nothing will grow. So, the plan is to brainstorm and see what would be best to plant.”

With that, Jiang Chuan remembered what Jiang Xia mentioned to him during breakfast about planting rice in the canal. This meeting would be a good opportunity to bring it up—if they could plant the rice in the spring, they would be able to harvest rice in the next autumn.

As the two were talking, suddenly a burly man approached them. With his large and sturdy build, round head topped with black sideburns, he looked not to be trifled with.

Before he even got close, he started speaking anxiously in a gruff voice that boomed loudly, “Is this Jiang Chuan?”

Jiang Chuan thought hard, but he had no impression of the man; he must not be from their village. So he replied politely, “Yes, that’s me. May I ask who you are?”

The man’s laugh was hearty as he said, “I’m Lao Zheng, the captain of the village next door. I heard that your village’s one thousand kilos of corn seed was all thanks to you. Impressive!”

Jiang Chuan modestly responded, “Oh no, it was just good luck that I happened to come across it.”

Lao Zheng patted Jiang Chuan’s shoulder with his robust hand, “Luck is part of your strength too, don’t be too humble. I’ve heard about your accomplishments these past months. Both your village chief and Chen Xing can’t stop singing your praises; it’s clear you’re really capable.”

“What capabilities? He’s just a slick operator,” interjected Wang Xing snidely.

It was a large-scale meeting. Although only the officials were allowed to participate, if the villagers were curious, they could also come and listen. After all, this meeting was about the vital matters concerning the livelihood of the villagers, and it was only reasonable to allow them to attend..