Chapter 220

When Mu Haoxuan heard Song Nianchu’s question, he immediately stopped eating. He looked up at her, his eyes timid and uncertain.

“Big Sis, did my second sister… die?”

The moment he said this, everyone at the table froze.

“Haoxuan, what are you talking about?” Before Song Nianchu and the others could say anything, Mu Yongnian spoke up first.

“I heard people talking today. They said that Second Sis might have… died.” Mu Haoxuan’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“Big Brother, is that true?” Mu Yongnian hurriedly looked up as well.

Mu Shi’an’s expression shifted slightly, and he set down his chopsticks too.

“For now, she’s only missing.”

“Missing? Then she isn’t dead?” Mu Haoxuan’s voice rose at once.

“Right.” Mu Shi’an nodded.

Only then did Mu Haoxuan let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s great. I was so worried when I heard them say Second Sis had died. Mom likes her best. If anything happened to her, Mom would be heartbroken.” The bitter expression on Mu Haoxuan’s little face finally gave way to a faint smile.

He was still young and didn’t understand that, sometimes, there was little difference between being missing and being dead.

Mu Yongnian, however, was older and could put the pieces together more quickly.

He knew that the people who had died had all perished because the dam had collapsed. Under such circumstances, being missing was essentially the same as being dead.

But he didn’t say anything about it at the dinner table. He only glanced at Mu Shi’an several times.

“All right, let’s eat for now.” Mu Shi’an hadn’t noticed his gaze and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Mm.” Now that his question had been answered, Mu Haoxuan’s appetite returned. He picked up his chopsticks, lifted his bowl, and shoveled food into his mouth.

Seeing him like this, the look in Mu Shi’an’s eyes softened.

No one spoke for the rest of the meal. The only sounds were the clinking of chopsticks and bowls.

Just as Song Nianchu set down her bowl, Wu Daniu’s voice came from outside the courtyard.

“Chu, are you home?”

“That’s Brother Daniu. I’ll go see what he wants.” Recognizing Wu Daniu’s voice, Song Nianchu spoke to Mu Shi’an before getting up and going outside.

“Brother Daniu, is something wrong?” As soon as Song Nianchu opened the gate, she saw Wu Daniu standing outside.

“My dad is holding a meeting in the square. He sent me to call you over.” Wu Daniu had run all the way there, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

“All right.” Song Nianchu nodded. She went back inside to tell Mu Shi’an, then left with Wu Daniu.

Quite a few people had already gathered in the square. Only after Wu Zhenggui saw Song Nianchu arrive did he begin discussing the matter at hand.

He explained everything they had discussed the day before.

When everyone heard that there would be compensation—and especially that they would receive money every month afterward—the crowd erupted.

“They’re already giving us subsidies, and we can still collect money every month afterward?”

“That’s right. For those who died, their families can receive ten yuan a month. That means they’ll get one hundred and twenty yuan a year without having to do a single thing!”

“What do you mean, get it without doing anything? Someone died to earn that money.” Some people couldn’t stand listening to such talk.

“What is a human life worth in times like these? If I’d known, I would’ve signed up and gone with them too. At least I could’ve left more money behind for my family.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? How can money be more important than a human life? Our village is going to build a factory now. Life will only get better from here on out.”

“That’s true.”

“…”

The people below were discussing the matter at the top of their lungs. Wu Zhenggui, standing at the front, was getting a headache from all the noise. He hurriedly raised his hand to signal for quiet.

“Everyone, be quiet. This compensation agreement was proposed by Chu. Under her leadership, our village was able to establish a factory. And because we have a factory, the village now has income to provide these subsidies. Now, all three hundred families involved should line up at Chu’s side to register. Remember to report everything truthfully. We’ll also visit your homes to verify the information.”

As soon as they heard this, those families immediately went over to line up beside Song Nianchu.

Were the families who had lost someone grieving?

Of course they were.

But no matter how painful the loss was, they still had to go on living. Every morning when they opened their eyes, they had to worry about firewood, rice, cooking oil, and salt. The other production brigades weren’t offering them any compensation either. What else could they do?

The fact that Song Nianchu was willing to think of them at all was already something extremely rare in their eyes.

It took Song Nianchu several hours to record the details of all three hundred households.

Then, over the course of another three days, she and Wu Zhenggui visited every household to verify the information.

Almost everyone had reported their circumstances truthfully. Not a single person had tried to falsify anything. In fact, many of them had deliberately understated the severity of their injuries.

Some had several fingers crushed, yet reported only minor injuries, saying that it wouldn’t affect their future work.

Others had crippled legs, but still claimed their injuries were minor, saying that they could still walk and therefore could still work.

Song Nianchu changed all those cases of permanent disability to severe injuries. Those people were so grateful that they nearly knelt down and kowtowed to her.

On the way back, Song Nianchu remained in low spirits.

“Chu, what’s wrong? Are you tired?” Wu Zhenggui asked gently.

Song Nianchu shook her head.

“I just didn’t realize there were so many families in the brigade living under such difficult conditions.”

After visiting all those households over the past few days, she had discovered that many families could afford only one meal a day.

They lived in dilapidated old houses that let in the winter wind and summer rain.

Their circumstances were even worse than those of Qinghe Fishing Village had been at the beginning.

“Actually, it’s not just our brigade. Most places are more or less the same.” Wu Zhenggui sighed.

Song Nianchu looked at the notebook in her hands. Her mind was filled with the faces of those dark-skinned yet simple and honest villagers.

Even though life was so difficult, they still gritted their teeth and struggled on.

At that moment, the resilience of life was displayed in all its fullness.

“Uncle Zhenggui, we absolutely have to make our factory a success!” After seeing how people outside lived, Song Nianchu’s resolve became even firmer.

As long as she could ensure that her own life was comfortable, she also wanted to do something for these people.

It was much like how many wealthy people donated a large sum of money to charity every year.

She had done the same in her previous life.

“Mm! I’ll support you with everything I have.” Wu Zhenggui nodded heavily.

He knew very well that without Song Nianchu, their village would probably be no different from the others.

After the matter of the compensation payments was settled, Song Nianchu devoted herself to supervising the construction of the canning factory.

One day, while she was helping out at the construction site, she heard someone calling her from a distance.

Song Nianchu wiped the sweat from her face and turned around.

She saw Wu Zhenggui waving at her as he ran over.

Song Nianchu quickly dropped the brick in her hand and walked toward him.

“Uncle Zhenggui, what’s wrong?” Seeing him so out of breath, Song Nianchu waved a hand in front of him to cool him down.

“Chu, it’s good news! Something wonderful has happened to your family!” Wu Zhenggui’s voice trembled with excitement.

“What good news?” Song Nianchu asked, puzzled.

“People from above have arrived,” Wu Zhenggui said excitedly.

“People from above? Who came?” Song Nianchu grew even more confused.

“Oh, there’s no time to explain. Come with me.” Wu Zhenggui couldn’t make himself understood either, so he grabbed Song Nianchu’s hand and hurriedly led her toward her home.