"Come here if you dare?"
"Do you think I'm afraid? Watch me tear your mouth apart..."
As the two argued fiercely, Chen Lishu invited Yue Hongmei to the brigade office on the other side.
"My signature counts too?" Hearing Chen Lishu's words, Yue Hongmei asked uncertainly again.
Chen Lishu smiled, "Aren't you a member of the Liu family too?"
Yue Hongmei nodded vigorously, "My household registration has been moved here, and I have ten mu of land allocated to me. I am definitely part of this family."
Zhang Changhe sat behind the desk, his gaze falling on Chen Lishu. He admired her more and more. Everyone wanted the widow Liu to sign, but she thought of approaching Yue Hongmei.
This mountain contracting contract was only missing signatures from the Chen Mancang and widow Liu families. The brigade had sent people to persuade them, and he had even brought people to talk to them. Both families adamantly refused to sign, leaving everyone at a loss. Then, Chen Lishu brought Yue Hongmei over.
Although Yue Hongmei had only recently married, she was tough. Because of Liu Dabao's incompetence, the couple had fought many times, and even the widow Liu couldn't handle her tantrums.
It was obvious that if the money from the village compensation truly went to Yue Hongmei, she would eagerly sign the contract.
"Secretary, we're all on the same household registration. Doesn't her signature count?" Chen Lishu looked up and asked Zhang Changhe with a smile.
Zhang Changhe nodded, "It counts. Whoever signs receives the money."
Upon hearing that she could receive the compensation money by signing, Yue Hongmei grabbed the pen on the desk and signed and thumbprinted the contract.
After deliberation by the brigade, it was decided that each household could receive approximately three hundred yuan in compensation this time. The remaining money would be used to repair the village's gravel road, allowing vehicles to access the village sooner.
While this three hundred yuan might not seem like much to others, it was incredibly important to Yue Hongmei. If this money fell into the hands of the widow Liu and her two sons, the brothers would have squandered it all before the year was out.
...
"Whether to sign or not is my freedom. Do you really think a few stinking dollars make you important? You're still just staring blankly!"
"You shameless person, I'll let you spew nonsense and act like a hooligan here!" Li Xiulan gritted her teeth in anger and rushed towards the wall, preparing to climb over and fight with the widow Liu. However, before she could make a move, her arm was suddenly grabbed.
"Don't hold me back. If I don't beat this old hag into submission today and drag her to thumbprint..."
Li Xiulan thought Zhang Qin and Liu Yuemin were holding her back. She turned around, only to find that it was Chen Lishu who had grabbed her.
"Mom, forget it. It's not worth getting worked up over with people like that. It's so cold outside, let's hurry back inside."
"But if she doesn't sign, you can't contract this mountain. Don't all villagers need to agree?" Li Xiulan was both angry and anxious. However, the widow Liu was a бесстыдный rogue. Seeing how infuriating she was, Li Xiulan wished she could slap her across the face.
"Mom, beating someone like widow Liu is useless. It will only make her less likely to sign," Zhang Qin advised from the side.
Liu Yuemin added, "I think third sister-in-law didn't consider this thoroughly. When she wanted to contract the mountain, she should have anticipated people like widow Liu. Now she's in a bind, making both Mom and Dad anxious."
Zhang Qin sighed helplessly, "Logically, since the village agreed to third sister-in-law's contract, the ideological work should be done by the village. Besides, third sister-in-law must also be feeling bad about this situation. Who would have thought widow Liu wouldn't even want the money?"
Chen Lishu glanced at Liu Yuemin, her gaze falling on Li Xiulan and Zhang Qin, "Mom, sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about this matter anymore. The Liu family has already signed."
"Signed? Who signed?" Li Xiulan's spirits immediately lifted. "Those two brothers from the Liu family?"
Chen Lishu shook her head and smiled, "Liu Dabao's wife, Yue Hongmei, signed. The brigade regulations state that whoever signs receives the money. If that widow Liu doesn't sign, she won't get a single cent."
Hearing Chen Lishu's words, Li Xiulan's eyes lit up instantly. The stuffiness in her chest that had been building for two days seemed to dissipate all at once.
"Yes, people like her shouldn't get a single penny," Li Xiulan felt much better. She glanced at the widow Liu, and without another word, took her daughters-in-law back inside.
The widow Liu had prepared herself for a good fight with Li Xiulan, but unexpectedly, after Chen Lishu said something to her, Li Xiulan suddenly left without a word. This left the widow Liu standing there, stunned for a long time, wondering what these women from the Gu family were up to.
It wasn't that the widow Liu was being overly suspicious. In her previous encounters with Chen Lishu, she had never gained any advantage. She wondered what trick she was planning this time.
She had originally intended to have a big showdown to vent her anger, but since they had left, the widow Liu felt unhappy. As she was about to go back inside, she saw Yue Hongmei pushing open the courtyard gate and immediately pulled a long face, saying unpleasantly:
"What time is it? Where have you been showing off instead of cooking? You're never home. What if Dabao and the others come back hungry?"
"I just went to the brigade office to sign," Yue Hongmei said as she went to the woodpile beside her and pulled out a bundle of firewood. Inwardly, she was also harboring some anger. Liu Dabao was no longer a three-year-old child, and the widow Liu did nothing at home, expecting her to do all the chores. She wasn't a maid.
The widow Liu was stunned, "Sign? Sign what?"
"What else could it be? It's about the Gu family contracting the mountain land. The family is struggling to make ends meet, yet you're stubbornly refusing just to spite them. The Lunar New Year is approaching, and we can't just be stuck here. The brigade said that if we sign early, we'll get the money before the year, and everyone can have a good New Year."
"What? You went to sign?" The widow Liu realized what had happened and let out a yell, "You spendthrift woman, who told you to sign!"
She had planned to drag it out until Chen Lishu became anxious and came to her privately to demand more money. Now, all her plans were ruined!
In the evening, as everyone was busy preparing dinner, they suddenly heard that the Liu family's mother and daughter-in-law were fighting again. They all stopped what they were doing and ran to watch the spectacle.
Liu Yuemin and Li Xiulan also went out of curiosity to watch. Chen Lishu and Zhang Qin were not interested and stayed in the kitchen to prepare dinner.
"What did your paternal uncle say? Is he still refusing to sign? You're all family, why don't you discuss things properly?" Zhang Qin said with concern while chopping vegetables.
Other villagers had signed. No one expected that the hold-up would ultimately be within their own family.
"Mm." Chen Lishu sat by the stove, fanning the fire, her eyes fixed on the flickering flames, lost in thought. Her beautiful face held an inscrutable expression.
...
At Chen Mancang's house, Zhang Chunhua was still skeptical when she heard that the Liu family had signed. "We had agreed before. How could widow Liu just sign like that? Mother, did you hear correctly? Did Lishu promise her some private benefit?"