This time, before the county officials could speak, the village chief said, "Rest assured, everyone. You too, A-Dong. You've contributed so much to our village, you'll get every bit of your subsidy. Rewards are one thing, subsidies are another. We know that, and we haven't forgotten. We'll help you apply to the officials later, then deliver it to you."
Secretary Chen nodded too. "That's right, don't worry. We'll tally up the subsidies for you and your father later and deliver them to your house. Rest assured, you'll get everything you're owed."
Ye Yaodong nodded in satisfaction. "Good. These are separate matters. Giving Mazu the credit earns merit, and I have no objection to that, but my father and I still need to be paid for our extra hard work."
"We haven't forgotten. Go home and wait for word. We'll bring it over once we've finished tallying everything up."
"All right, we'll head home first, then."
With that settled, Ye Yaodong paid no more attention to the villagers still discussing it. He called his friends over to help carry everything he needed to take and headed home.
His friends kept muttering among themselves along the way.
"Who'd have thought a few days apart would make us see you in a whole new light? Since when were you so public-spirited?"
"Yeah, they gave Mazu all your credit, and all you got was some scrap metal, yet you didn't say another word. When did your temper change?"
"This doesn't seem like you! You worked for nearly half a month and only got this stuff..."
Ye Yaodong feigned helplessness. "It has nothing to do with being public-spirited. Those officials are crafty as hell. Giving Mazu the credit satisfied the villagers' demands too, so of course they were happy and had no objections. Everyone agreed.