Chapter 14: We Want to Support You as Village Chief

The brothers had a quick lunch, then called their father, but got a message that his phone was off, so they gave up.

It wasn't even four o'clock yet, but Hua Xuemei personally ordered two bowls of angelica stewed black chicken soup and a braised pork knuckle at a high-end restaurant. She never counted the cost when it came to spending money on her son.

"Daqiang, Xiaogang, as long as the money is earned honestly, it should be spent where it's needed. As long as one behaves properly, even in poverty, one can stand tall. Eat, eat, Mom can't cook, so I'm sorry to you both."

"No! Mom, you eat first..."

"Xiaogang, you still need to study, eat more."

"Brother, you need to eat more. Look how thin you've become. You haven't eaten well since you got sick..."

Hua Xuemei watched with joy in her heart.

...

In the evening, the younger brother stayed at the hospital to keep watch, while Zhao Zhiqiang took the money prepared to pay off the debts and returned home, leaving the rest at the hospital.

In the dead of night, when Zhao Zhiqiang used the spiritual energy to open the copper coin, he received a bit more information.

This thing that had given him a new life was called the Heavenly Copper Coin.

The process of generating qi was called refining essence into qi.

The process of qi circulating once was called cleansing the meridians and refining the marrow.

Each circulation ensured his life for one more day. The day it stopped circulating would be the day his life ended.

What left Zhao Zhiqiang speechless was that these two strange processes required constant blood absorption to transform into spirit, and the other required essence extraction to transform into spirit and then into qi, which would circulate once at midnight and noon. If the spiritual energy in his body was insufficient at these times, it would absorb blood and extract essence to transform into qi!

Absorbing blood was still manageable, as eating could replenish it, but the source of essence...

It had been over ten days without morning erections. Today, he must ensure the spiritual energy is sufficient!

"I'll keep eating!" Zhao Zhiqiang took out the ready-to-eat food he bought from a roadside supermarket, along with the two bowls of blood-nourishing soup he brought back from the hospital, and swallowed them hastily.

...

The next day.

A small tent, which any man would recognize, stood proudly!

His body no longer felt weak and listless in the morning, it was back to normal!

"Ha! The sky over the liberated area is clear and bright..."

Zhao Zhiqiang got out of bed, started a fire to cook, cleaned the house, and did the chores...

Finally, his body was back to normal.

Zhao Zhiqiang was overly excited, especially with the revival of a certain important part, which resolved a major concern for him!

This feeling of relief was indescribable.

Even more so than the box of cash lying on the bed!

The hospital wasn't in a hurry for the money; they needed to find a kidney donor first. His mother firmly refused to let her sons donate their kidneys, preferring to die rather than see them suffer.

However, Zhao Zhiqiang had already discussed with his brother, and they planned to secretly do the compatibility tests.

Without kidneys, his mother couldn't survive, but with one kidney, they could. They had already contacted the hospital and planned to do the tests the next day.

Today, Zhao Zhiqiang was going to pay off the debts to his relatives. Yesterday, his mother had written down the names and amounts of the debts, totaling 156,400 yuan, owed to 15 families. The largest debts were to his second uncle and third aunt. Although it would be easier to transfer the money directly to their bank accounts, that wasn't the right thing to do.

So he got up early, rented an old Santana from his cousin Ergazi, and started visiting the relatives in the village and nearby towns, delivering a few hundred yuan worth of New Year's gifts to each family as a token of gratitude.

At each house, he was met with heartfelt thanks, bows, and New Year's greetings as he paid off the debts.

Tang Gun, a villager, was surprised, "Qiangzi, you don't have to rush. I don't need the 5,600 yuan right away. You can use it, I'm not in a hurry!"

Zhao Zhiqiang smiled at his childhood friend, "Gunzi, keep it. I really appreciate you taking care of my mother while I was away. This money is what I earned, and I have more. My mother's surgery is covered, don't worry! I have some other things to do, but I'll treat you to a drink in a few days!"

"No, no, I'll treat you. You can't drink while you're sick, but I'll make sure to get you under the table!" Tang Gun was relieved to see his childhood friend, who had grown up with him, looking much better.

In the afternoon, he visited the relatives in Bincheng's Hua family.

It wasn't too far, just a few dozen miles away by the sea, in a town called Houshi.

Although his grandfather had held a minor position, none of his children, except for his eldest uncle, had benefited from it.

In fact, his eldest uncle had worked hard to get into Peking University in 1977 and worked in a department in Beijing, but he rarely contacted the family due to his wife's influence. Zhao Zhiqiang's mother's illness was kept from them.

However, the closer relatives visited more often.

"Daqiang, where did you get this money? Don't pay it back yet, your mother's illness is more important."

His second uncle held the 30,000 yuan, thinking of his sister's condition and the poverty of her family, and didn't want to take the money.

"Uncle, this money is what I earned. Don't worry, the money for my mother's treatment is already secured..."

Watching his nephew leave, his second uncle was stunned.

How did this kid manage to get the money in just one day?

His third aunt, holding the 50,000 yuan, was equally stunned.

"This, this, you gave me 20,000 more? Where did Daqiang get this money from..." Holding the money and watching Zhao Zhiqiang drive away, she was puzzled, but the stubborn kid was almost in tears, so she had to accept it.

"Really strange?"

Many relatives were equally puzzled.

Yesterday, they were in such a dire situation that no one could bear to stay, but today, he came to pay off the debts. This kid...

Zhao Zhiqiang almost didn't stop to rest while paying off the debts.

It was also the end of the year, and everyone needed the money urgently.

Having the money to pay off debts, he couldn't delay others' affairs.

By dinnertime, he had finally paid off all the debts.

"Being debt-free is such a relief." Zhao Zhiqiang finally understood this feeling!

He was exhausted but felt a great sense of relief.

No longer burdened by the weight of debt, no longer feeling inferior to others!

When he returned the car to Ergazi, he was stopped.

"Zhiqiang, I know you're going to your aunt's place and have many things to do. But we went there today, and Xiaogang is taking good care of her. It's late, and you need to eat too. Come on, the guys are all here, and we haven't gathered since you came back from the army!"

Without giving Zhao Zhiqiang a chance to refuse, Ergazi dragged him to a small restaurant run by their neighbor, Liu Yishui.

"Today, you're the guest, come, take a seat!"

They entered a private room and pushed Zhao Zhiqiang to the main seat.

"Today isn't a welcome party. Your aunt is still sick, so we won't force you to drink. It's just that we haven't seen you in a long time, and we've never eaten together. Today is a good opportunity to catch up, and I'll also tell you about what's been happening in the village while you were away." Ergazi finally revealed his true intentions.

Zhao Zhiqiang didn't refuse, smiling as he sat down. These were his childhood friends, and it would be pretentious to refuse. From Ergazi's words, he sensed that there was something more.

Sitting around the round table were young men from Guomugou Village, roughly Zhao Zhiqiang's age. Ergazi was the oldest, and Zhao Zhiqiang was the most skilled fighter among them.

In school, he was a troublemaker. After three years in the army, he had beaten up the four-eyed toad yesterday, and his skills were undeniable—military training was excellent. They already looked up to him, and now they admired him even more.

The conversation started, mostly about Zhao Zhiqiang's past exploits, like beating up someone, letting a donkey loose, and leading them in a fight with the kids from Zhangjiazhuang village...

It felt like time had rewound ten years, and the atmosphere quickly warmed up.

The food was served quickly.

Zhao Zhiqiang didn't drink, so the five others opened two bottles of liquor. He accompanied them with tea, and seeing his pale face, no one pressured him. After a few rounds, Ergazi put down his glass and started talking.

"Originally, there was only one matter, but I just heard that our village chief, Zhao Guangming, was reported for embezzlement by the people from the two streets below. Unexpectedly, he got wind of it and fled before they could catch him. So now there are two matters."

Ah?

Everyone except Zhao Zhiqiang was surprised.

Zhao Zhiqiang wasn't surprised at all; this matter had nothing to do with him. He was enjoying a chicken leg.

Even though Su Fengrong had helped yesterday, he was repulsed by her and her family, as his brother had told him.

After a while, seeing that Zhao Zhiqiang wasn't responding, Ergazi continued, "Zhiqiang, we were all impressed by you yesterday! In Chang'an Village, only you can handle that four-eyed toad!"

"Right, right, it was so satisfying to watch!"

"Oh? Why is Zhao Lao Si so unpopular?" Zhao Zhiqiang looked up, picked a piece of meat from his teeth with a toothpick, and glanced at his childhood friends, who weren't eating much and didn't visit often. He knew they weren't just here for a free meal; the real matter was coming.

"Daqiang, are you a party member?"

"No."

"Oh... it doesn't matter... We heard that the town has sent a work team and formed a temporary election committee to select a new village chief after the festival."

"Ah, what does this have to do with me?" Zhao Zhiqiang threw the chicken bone and asked, puzzled.

Ergazi took a sip of liquor and stared at Zhao Zhiqiang's slightly pale face, "Daqiang, we want to support you as village chief!"

Pfft...

Zhao Zhiqiang almost spat out the chicken soup he had just sipped, nearly splashing Ergazi.

"Ha, do I look like I have the makings of an official..."

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