bacchusnovels Chapter 276 You are truly a great benefactor to our Li Family Village!
Chapter 276 You are truly a great benefactor to our Li Family Village!
The next day, which was the morning of the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Li Ze got out of bed very early.
After he finished washing up, he changed into a very understated but very comfortable outfit.
He held in his hand that string of beads that had been polished to a high shine.
When he arrived downstairs, Mengli and Menghan were still asleep.
Li Ze didn't call them. He ate some breakfast prepared in the kitchen and then went straight out.
He got into a very ordinary black sedan.
This car was arranged in advance by the boss. The car doesn't look very conspicuous, but it is definitely top-level in terms of bulletproof and safety performance.
"Let's go back to Lijia Village," Li Ze said to the driver in front.
The car drove smoothly out of Beichen Garden and headed towards the outskirts of Han City.
After a drive of more than an hour.
The car finally drove into the entrance of Lijia Village.
Li Ze looked out the car window.
The Lantern Festival atmosphere in the village is already very strong.
Red lanterns were hung in front of every household, and some families even put up new couplets on their doors.
Although it is still morning, many people are already walking on the main road in the village.
Everyone gathered together, chatting and laughing.
The air was filled with the wonderful aroma of fried glutinous rice balls and boiled glutinous rice balls.
This made Li Ze feel very close to her.
He hasn't spent the Lantern Festival in his hometown for eighteen years.
Returning to this place today and seeing these familiar scenes, he felt very warm inside.
However, Li Ze also noticed a phenomenon.
It is now the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Logically speaking, everyone should have already gone out to work in the city by now.
However, there were still many, many people on the main road in the village.
Moreover, most of these people are not elderly or children.
They were mostly middle-aged men in their forties or fifties.
Some of the men were squatting in the corner smoking, while others were playing cards in groups.
They all wore expressions of obvious worry.
Li Ze instructed the driver to park the car in a relatively spacious open area.
He pushed open the car door and got out.
He had only taken a few steps after getting out of the car when he heard a very familiar voice coming from the side.
"Hey! Fourth brother! You're back!"
Li Ze turned his head to look.
It was his third brother, Li Yuanping.
Today, Third Brother was wearing a slightly worn-out work uniform and a yellow safety helmet.
His hands were covered in dirt and dust.
He saw Li Ze and ran over to him with great joy.
Li Ze also greeted him with a smile.
"Third Brother, Happy New Year! Why are you wearing a helmet and running around during this holiday?"
Third Brother reached out, intending to pat Li Ze on the shoulder.
But he looked at the dust on his hands and then at the expensive-looking clothes Li Ze was wearing.
He withdrew his hand somewhat embarrassedly and wiped it vigorously on his pants twice.
"Hey, isn't this the big project you assigned me?"
"Let me tell you, ever since we finalized the plan a few days ago and you transferred the money..."
"I haven't had a single day off. I've been working day and night with my men."
Third Brother had a very excited smile on his face.
Although he was tired, it was clear that he was working with great enthusiasm.
Li Ze was very pleased to hear this news.
He said with a smile:
"Third brother, you've worked so hard. I'm really sorry to have you working so hard during the holiday."
Third Brother waved his hands repeatedly and said loudly:
"It's not hard work at all! You're giving me such a big project; that's a big favor!"
"And since you pay so readily, everyone's more motivated to work!"
At this point, Third Brother turned to look at the middle-aged men strolling around the village.
He sighed, his tone becoming somewhat helpless:
"Fourth brother, you probably don't know this."
"The market this year is really terrible."
"Look at these old men in their forties and fifties who are still in the village. They used to be bricklayers, carpenters and the like, working on construction sites outside."
"In previous years, by this time, everyone would have already gone out with big bags and small packages to find work."
Third Brother shook his head and continued:
"But it's not possible this year. Many construction sites outside have stopped work, and the bosses have run away."
"They simply can't find work outside. When they go to big cities to look for jobs, employers look down on them because they're too old."
"If they go out now, the travel and accommodation costs alone will wipe out their entire year's savings."
"So everyone had no choice but to stay in the village. They wandered around aimlessly every day, feeling extremely worried."
Third Brother looked at Li Ze and said with great emotion:
"If you hadn't come back this time, we would have been building such a large estate, which would have required a lot of manpower."
"I don't know how my old buddies are going to survive this year."
"As soon as your project started, I recruited dozens of villagers to work there. Everyone was overjoyed to hear that there was work to be done and cash pay. They didn't even take a break during the holidays; they insisted on going to the construction site to work today."
After hearing what his third brother said, Li Ze felt a little uneasy.
He also grew up in the countryside.
He knew all too well how difficult it was for these middle-aged men from rural areas.
They are the pillars of their families; if they can't earn money, the whole family will face great hardship.
Li Ze looked at his third brother and said very seriously:
"Third Brother, you did the right thing."
"Since so many people in our village can't find work, let's hire more people."
"Anyway, my manor is quite large, and I'll definitely need a lot of manpower. Just recruit all the people in our village who are willing to work."
"You don't need to worry about wages. I will definitely not treat everyone unfairly. I will pay them according to the highest standards on other construction sites, and I will settle accounts daily without any delays."
When Third Brother heard Li Ze say that, his eyes lit up immediately.
He slapped his thigh excitedly and shouted:
"Fourth brother! You are truly a great benefactor to our Li Family Village!"
"Thank you for saying that, on behalf of everyone in the village!"
"Don't worry, everyone will work incredibly hard since they've taken your money. If anyone dares to cut corners on this project, I, Li Yuanping, will be the first to object!"
Li Ze smiled and nodded.
"Alright, Third Brother. Let's go to the construction site and see how the progress is."
Third Brother quickly led the way.
The two of them walked together toward the open space on the west side of the village.
We didn't walk far before we arrived at the construction site.
Li Ze stood to the side and glanced at it.
This project is indeed very large in scale.
The old, dilapidated house has been completely demolished.
The broken bricks and tiles on the ground have been cleaned up completely.
Right now, a large group of workers are busy there.
The excavator was rumbling as it dug the soil, and the mixer was constantly turning.
Workers are pushing wheelbarrows and laying the foundation.
The whole scene looked spectacular.
According to the blueprints that Third Brother gave me before.
After the manor was built, it not only had a very luxurious Chinese-style villa.
There will also be a special ancestral hall for worshipping ancestors, as well as a large garden with artificial hills and flowing water.
This place is definitely the largest in the entire Lijia Village, and even in the surrounding towns.
Li Ze looked at the workers who were working hard.
He turned to his third brother and said:
"Third Brother, today is the Lantern Festival after all. Everyone is working, so we must make sure to arrange lunch properly."
"Go to town and buy plenty of good meat and vegetables, and a few cases of good wine. Treat everyone to a good lunch and a couple of drinks. All expenses will be included in the project cost; I'll cover them."
Third Brother couldn't stop smiling when he heard about this arrangement:
"Alright! I'll arrange for someone to buy it right away. Everyone'll definitely be even more motivated after hearing this news!"
Just as Li Ze and his third brother were checking the situation at the construction site...
Many of Li Ze's neighbors and relatives in the village also heard the news of his return.
They all ran out of their homes and came to the construction site.
These neighbors saw the huge manor under construction, and then they saw Li Ze standing next to it.
Everyone's face showed expressions of envy and ingratiation.
An elderly man, probably in his sixties, walked over with a pipe in his hand and a smile on his face.
He looked at Li Ze and said loudly:
"Oh! Zezi! You're finally back!"
"I just heard your third brother say that you funded the construction of this huge estate?"
"Wow, how much money did this cost! Zezi, you've really made something of yourself! You're making a fortune out there!"
An older woman next to her quickly squeezed in as well.
She looked at Li Ze with a big smile and said:
"Yes, yes! Zezi has always been the smartest kid in our village. I knew you'd achieve great things when you grew up!"
"Look at him now! Not only does Zezi have a big house in the city, but he's also building such a huge estate back in his hometown. That's a unique honor in all the surrounding villages!"
"Zezi, now that you're so rich, you should take good care of us old neighbors in the future."
The neighbors gathered around Li Ze, praising him one after another.
Their words were full of flattery and attempts to get close to him.
Everyone wants to make a good impression on Li Ze, the big boss.
In case of any difficulties in the future, or if the children in the family want to find a good job.
Maybe we can ask Li Ze for a favor.
Li Ze maintained a very gentle smile on his face as he faced these enthusiastic neighbors.
He didn't put on any airs of a big boss.
He greeted each elder very politely.
"Happy New Year, grandpa and grandma!"
"I just do some small business outside to make a living. I'm nothing like everyone says I'm amazing."
"This is the place where I was born and raised. No matter where I go, I will never forget our Li Family Village."
Li Ze spoke in a very approachable tone, which made people feel very comfortable.
Hearing Li Ze being so polite, the neighbors had a better impression of him.
Everyone felt that although Zezi had made a fortune, he had not forgotten his roots at all.
These are the people who truly accomplish great things.
After chatting with his neighbors for a while, Li Ze excused himself and said goodbye very politely, saying he needed to go check the engineering drawings.
Then, he followed his third brother into a makeshift shed next door.
Inside the shed was a large table covered with various architectural drawings.
Li Ze sat down.
He took out his phone and glanced at the time.
It's already past 10 a.m.
His main purpose in coming back today was to watch the dragon lantern performance in the village.
He asked his third brother about it.
His third brother told him that the dragon lantern procession was still parading in other villages.
We will probably arrive at Lijia Village around 1 p.m.
Li Ze nodded upon hearing the news.
Since it was still early, he sat in the shed and discussed the details of the manor's construction with his third brother.
He wanted to build this manor to be beautiful.
Because in the future, he will bring Ruoran and their two children to stay here often.
This is their family's roots in their hometown.
We absolutely cannot be careless.