The loudspeaker at the village entrance was broadcasting nonstop...
Everyone in the village sprang into action...
"Oh? Isn't that your village chief's voice? Do you think you can win the election?" Great God Nuwa asked with considerable interest.
"Whatever else I am, I'm still a multimillionaire. Within a radius of ten li, I'm absolutely the richest person around. If I spread the word a little, the girls looking for husbands would line up all the way to France..."
Chen Xuan proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest. With tens of millions in his pocket, even his steps seemed to carry the wind.
"Hehe... What an interesting little fellow. I wonder why I suddenly feel like twisting his dog head off." Great God Nuwa chuckled softly and followed him.
At a basketball court belonging to the village collective...
One person from every household had come. A deputy mayor from the township and several minor officials were also present, making the whole scene extremely grand. After all, Chen Family Village had not changed village chiefs in a very long time.
"Haha... Fellow villagers, Village Chief Chen Wei is getting on in years and plans to resign from his position. With the government's approval, we are holding an election for the next village chief of Chen Family Village today..."
"Under the old village chief's recommendation, Chen Xuan, Chen Wang, and Chen Haicheng are running for village chief. All three have brought benefits to the village, so I hope everyone will vote carefully. This concerns your future development..."
After the deputy mayor made the announcement, no one raised any objections.
In a poor, remote place like this, becoming the chief of an impoverished village meant earning only a few hundred yuan a year. Even a dog would shake its head at such a position, so naturally, very few people were willing to take it.
But the moment they heard Chen Xuan's name, many people became unhappy...
"What? That bastard Chen Xuan is running too? We should choose Chen Wang—or Chen Haicheng. That ungrateful bastard may be useless, but even if he became a worthless village chief, we still couldn't choose him..."
"Exactly! Didn't he just sell some watermelons? What's he so smug about? We absolutely can't choose him. He'll only bring trouble to everyone..."
"None of you choose that ingrate. I'd rather let our watermelons rot in the fields. Even if no one helped us sell them, I still wouldn't choose him. Let's see what he has to be smug about..."
A large group of villagers cursed and grumbled indignantly, as if they were looking at an enemy. Their eyes spat fire, and boundless fury seemed ready to erupt.
Faced with this scene, the old village chief, Chen Wei, shook his head. It seemed impossible to hand the position over to Chen Xuan. Since the matter had already been reported to the township, they could only proceed this way.
"Hehe... Your original ideal was to help develop the village. What a wonderful goal that was. Yet you ended up becoming the village's enemy. Do you regret it?" Great God Nuwa calmly watched everything unfold.
"An unenvied person is a mediocre person. I can see through it, so why would I regret anything?" Chen Xuan replied with a faint smile.
"You belong to this palace. Naturally, you see things differently from ordinary mortals. Otherwise, I would have slapped you to death." Great God Nuwa snorted, acting extremely haughty.
"Of course..." Chen Xuan smiled. Winning the acknowledgment of a primordial powerhouse had not been easy.
At the center of the court...
The villagers finished voting. The deputy mayor took the ballot box and counted the votes one by one. He soon reached the final result: Chen Wang had 105 votes, Chen Haicheng had 98, and Chen Xuan had only 30...
"The result of this election is clear. Chen Wang has won and will become the next village chief of Chen Family Village. Let us welcome Village Chief Chen Wang to speak..." the deputy mayor announced with a hearty laugh.
"Thank you, uncles and elders, for your votes. I, Chen Wang, will definitely lead everyone onto the road to prosperity. I know a wealthy businessman from the city who plans to lead us in growing sugar mandarins. We'll convert all the farmland. Rice doesn't make much money anyway..."
Chen Wang was in his thirties and looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
He grew sugar mandarins, Emperor tangerines, and Mashui tangerines in the village, earning tens of thousands of yuan every year. The villagers all hoped he could lead the entire village to prosperity.
"Chen Wang is great! He'll definitely lead us to prosperity. Don't be like those ingrates..."
"That's right... Just look at Chen Xuan. He looks like a decent person, but he cheated the villagers without the slightest hesitation."
"Exactly... He'd rather watch our watermelons rot than accept them. I even gave him some eggs to help him attend university back then. As expected, the more educated a person is, the more heartless and ungrateful he becomes..."
There was no shortage of sarcastic remarks. The group kept complaining that Chen Xuan had refused to help them, watching their watermelons ripen in the fields without lifting a finger. He truly had a black heart.
"You people are being completely unreasonable! Who tore up the contract first and came to make a scene? And now you're calling someone else heartless and ungrateful?" Old Village Chief Chen Wang was furious and started cursing.
"Old Village Chief... That isn't fair. Naturally, people choose whoever offers the higher price. Later, Milin Hotel tore up the contract—that was the hotel's problem..."
"Everyone watched Chen Xuan grow up. He worked hard all year, and all of it went to waste. Could he really be that heartless? As the saying goes, no parent in the world is ever entirely wrong. We're all fellow villagers. If you can help, then help a little. But he truly doesn't care about our relationship at all..."
Now that he had become village chief, Chen Wang criticized Chen Xuan with a perfectly serious expression, winning the agreement of many people. As members of the village, they had to serve the collective unconditionally.
Old Village Chief Chen Wei's face turned purple and green. His junior had contradicted him while making no sense at all, and he was just about to scold him...
"Since that's the case, why don't you take over?" Chen Xuan stepped forward.
"Chen Xuan... You're nothing but a petty man. Your problem—why should I take over?" Chen Wang immediately shot back.
"You're the one saying it's someone else's problem. Why should I take over? You bully the weak and fear the strong. If you have the guts, go sue Milin Hotel..." Chen Xuan's face darkened.
"You..." Chen Wang was momentarily rendered speechless.
Chen Xuan glanced at everyone. Their web of conflicting interests was truly complicated. He sighed and said, "What an eventful day. I originally planned to invest ten million yuan and lease land in Chen Family Village to begin developing agriculture and lead everyone to prosperity. But now, it seems some people don't need to participate..."
"Mayor... Can I bypass the village chief and ask you directly for a hundred mu of farmland?"
A sharp hiss rang out...
Everyone drew in a cold breath. A ten-million-yuan investment—how terrifying was that? In an era when even millionaires were rare, unless one lived in a first-tier city, someone suddenly investing that much was astonishing. Even the mayor was stunned...
"Impossible... Absolutely impossible... What does ten million yuan even mean? Chen Xuan, will you die if you stop bragging?" Chen Wang had seen a lot and was certain he didn't believe him.
Chen Xuan said nothing. He pulled out his phone and showed the deputy mayor the text message. It clearly showed a deposit of ten million yuan, making the deputy mayor's breathing grow hurried.
"Excellent, excellent... Comrade Chen Xuan, you're truly impressive. As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted in one's hometown, or it is like wearing fine clothes while walking in the dark. Since you're willing to invest ten million yuan in the township, I guarantee I'll give you the land, provide you with every convenience, and offer all kinds of preferential treatment..." Deputy Mayor Zhang Deming laughed heartily.
"Mayor... I have only one condition. Those who called me ungrateful don't need to lease any land. Originally, I refused to sell their watermelons so everyone would learn a lesson and respect contracts and credibility..."
"Once I had an opportunity, I would have led everyone to prosperity. Instead, I became a clown. It's hard to be a good person..."
"But anyone who follows me is guaranteed meat and soup..." Chen Xuan replied forcefully, because most of the villagers had still helped him.
Most of those who had been unhappy with Chen Xuan turned pale, not daring to meet his eyes. Only a few held their necks stiff and refused to admit they had been wrong, even unto death.
A factory owner had once said, "I can manage a factory with tens of thousands of workers, but I can't get the better of one stubborn old farmer," because their own limited understanding was the only truth they recognized.
"Uncle Chen Wei... Please help me for the time being. Ask the township for a hundred mu of farmland. I'll give the money to my parents. If it isn't enough, go ask him for more." After settling everything, Chen Xuan left with Great God Nuwa.
On the way...
"Little Xuanzi... Aren't you afraid the villagers will cause trouble for you later?" Great God Nuwa was an ancient ancestor, so she understood human greed as well.
"What is there to fear? I'll leave them hanging for now and see how they behave in the future. This is still my hometown, so I won't be too heartless..." Chen Xuan sighed.
"None of that has anything to do with this palace anyway..." Great God Nuwa smiled indifferently, once again restoring her otherworldly goddess-like bearing.
Back at home...
When his parents heard that Chen Xuan had become a nouveau riche and had leased a hundred mu of farmland in one go, they were scared half to death and hurried back to question him.
"Son... Have you gone crazy? How much would a hundred mu cost? You're throwing money into a filthy ditch."
"Exactly... What are you going to plant on a hundred mu of land? If farming could make people rich, the fields would have been plowed to pieces long ago..."
His parents had been small farmers their entire lives, and their horizons were limited accordingly. No one could grow gold in the fields.
"Don't worry. Besides watermelons and vegetables, I can handle all kinds of fruit, breeding livestock, and everything else." Chen Xuan analyzed it all for them, calming his parents down and asking them to help manage things. He also handed them his bank card.
"Our son has grown up..." Dad Chen sighed.
"Of course he has. Tomorrow is the Temple Fair. The two of you should go worship the gods and pray for us to have a grandson." Mom Chen looked toward Great God Nuwa.
The teacup nearly slipped from Chen Xuan's hand...
Great God Nuwa was dumbfounded. How had this spectacle suddenly involved her?
Before you continue