Chapter 437: The Villagers’ Bottom Line

Chapter 437: Chapter 437: The Villagers’ Bottom Line

Ye Feng sneered. "We’ve arrested all of them. They won’t admit it, but we have a lot of documents showing that the family members of these investors are descendants of the people who originally transported these gold artifacts."

"In the end, these people probably won’t be executed, but if Japan wants them back, they’ll have to pay a price. What we lack most right now is technology. We can exchange them for a lot of useful tech. Otherwise, they can forget about going home."

Although Han Xiaorui wished these people would pay for their crimes with blood, the country’s upper leadership probably had broader considerations.

"Fine. In any case, I just need to do my part. Not only do I want to build a museum, I also want to build a martyrs’ cemetery. All of these plans need to be reported."

Ye Feng nodded. "Mm, that should be possible. Are you planning to build it in the Jinshan Bay Commercial District, or on the island?"

Han Xiaorui replied, "There’s no space left in the commercial district, so it will be on the island. A water park and a martyrs’ cemetery—that’s a great arrangement."

Ye Feng agreed, "Alright. You don’t need to worry about the martyrs’ cemetery. I’ll handle it."

"Then I’ll leave it to you," Han Xiaorui said with a smile. The infrastructure in Jinshan Bay was getting better and better, and more and more cultural buildings were appearing.

The whole of Jinshan Bay was now buzzing with heated discussion.

"My god, it was over thirty tons of gold! And Xiao Rui just handed it all over to the state!" Director Song exclaimed, deeply moved. If it had been him, even as a Party member, he wasn’t sure he could have maintained his principles.

Uncle Liu nodded eagerly. "That’s right. A couple of days ago, I was chatting with an expert who was cataloging the artifacts. That gold has a price tag; you can easily calculate how much it’s worth."

"As for the artifacts, there were over one hundred and forty boxes in total. They’re all one-of-a-kind pieces and rare treasures from various dynasties. Their value is immeasurable."

An elderly villager nearby asked, "Immeasurable, but you can still give a rough estimate, right? Is it worth tens of millions?"

Uncle Liu scoffed, "Tens of millions? You’re thinking too small. You’re seriously underestimating this stuff! It could be hundreds of millions, even billions! Anyway, that expert said the museum we’ve built here in Jinshan Bay could be rated as a very high-level museum."

"It’s a good thing Xiao Rui and the people of Jinshan Bay resisted with all their might back then! Otherwise, if this stuff had fallen back into the hands of those Japs, how could we face the soldiers who sacrificed their lives? How could we face our ancestors?"

A villager who heard this deeply agreed, spitting on the ground. "Cao Xuewen, that traitor! We need to hold a village committee meeting and remove him as village secretary. If he stays on, it’ll make my blood boil."

"Right, remove him! He’s not fit to be our village secretary! He talks a big game about increasing the villagers’ income, but who knows what shady business he was up to behind the scenes?"

"It’s only because things aren’t as strict as they used to be. Back in the day, someone like Cao Xuewen would have been dragged out for a struggle session long ago! A traitor who sells out his country for personal gain!"

A dozen or so people in the village joined with all the other villagers to write a petition demanding Cao Xuewen’s removal and a new election.

The higher-ups saw the petition and immediately approved it.

When Director Song received the reply from above, he was quite surprised. He found Uncle Liu and said, "This went way too smoothly, didn’t it?"

Uncle Liu snorted. "I heard some news. Cao Xuewen took benefits from those Japanese! Just you wait, he’ll be arrested soon."

Director Song’s heart sank. "Will he go to prison?"

Uncle Liu smiled. "If it weren’t for this whole Jinshan Bay treasure incident, even if they found out he accepted benefits from the Japanese, the punishment probably wouldn’t have been too severe."

"But things are different now. Everyone from the top down is taking the Jinshan Bay treasure very seriously; they’re even going to make a movie about it. So this matter has to be handled strictly."

Director Song knew exactly what "handled strictly" meant.

An offense that wouldn’t normally warrant detention would get a detention sentence.

An offense that warranted detention would get a prison sentence.

A one-year sentence would definitely become three years.

A four-year sentence would get the maximum of seven years.

And indeed, just as Uncle Liu had guessed, right after Cao Xuewen was removed from his position as village secretary, he was taken away by the Public Security Bureau.

This only confirmed everyone’s suspicions, and Cao Xuewen’s family couldn’t hold their heads up in Jinshan Bay anymore.

Perhaps to prevent further investigation, Cao Xuewen’s wife and children sold their house there and settled down elsewhere.

The issue with Cao Xuewen’s family wasn’t some ordinary neighborly dispute; they had incurred public outrage.

Being called a traitor all day and getting scornful looks from everyone—it was not an easy life.

Even though things were looking great in Jinshan Bay, with plenty of opportunities to make money in the future, Cao Xuewen’s family could no longer make a life for themselves there.

Leaving to start over somewhere else might be difficult, but it was still better than staying in Jinshan Bay, where the weight of public condemnation alone could crush them.

The people of Jinshan Bay cheered when Cao Xuewen’s family left.

It was just like with Director Lin before. Whether it was for money or because he was threatened by the Japanese, what he did crossed the bottom line for the people of Jinshan Bay.

There was no place for them here.

As mentioned before, the mistakes they made went beyond the line the people of Jinshan Bay were willing to accept.

That bottom line was: you don’t harm people, you don’t act as a traitor, and you don’t sell out your country.

Today was the day of Jinshan Bay’s new election. Several Party member candidates stood on a stage, speaking about their resolutions and plans.

The villagers listened carefully, then cast their votes based on their own judgment.

Han Xiaorui was a registered resident of Jinshan Bay, and as a head of household, she was eligible to vote.

She voted for Director Song. When others saw her do so, they voted for him as well.

And just like that, with 64% of the votes, Director Song received the most votes among the four candidates and was elected the new village secretary.

The results were reported upwards, and after a review by the organization, it was finalized: Director Song was the new village secretary of Jinshan Bay.

Secretary Song humbly accepted the villagers’ suggestions and even personally paid a visit to Han Xiaorui’s home.

"Xiao Rui, right now, you’re the main one leading everyone in Jinshan Bay to prosperity. If you need anything, just say the word. I’ll definitely help."

Han Xiaorui smiled. "Thank you, Secretary Song. Our goal is the same: we both want what’s best for Jinshan Bay, and we hope the people here can get rich and live good lives."

Secretary Song chuckled. "That’s right. Jinshan Bay is changing day by day. I get up early every morning to walk around, and it really looks different every single day. In one or two years, Jinshan Bay will definitely be able to attract a lot of tourists."

"Yes," Han Xiaorui agreed. "Especially after the movie about the Jinshan Bay treasure is released, Jinshan Bay will surely become famous nationwide. When that time comes, if we’ve laid a solid foundation with our infrastructure, it’ll be like building a phoenix terrace to attract the phoenix."

Secretary Song was full of ambition. "Yes! The village committee will manage things well and improve the villagers’ character—no littering, no spitting, and we’ll encourage polite language."

Secretary Song drew a lot of inspiration from Han Xiaorui, which further solidified his resolve to make a big difference.

But the tree wishes for calm, yet the wind will not cease. The development of Jinshan Bay was not all smooth sailing; many more twists and turns were yet to come.