Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Gao Mingzhu was not surprised by this.

She was a young woman with little farm experience and an outsider bride.

Stepping straight into the role of accountant, controlling the entire brigade's finances and becoming one of the village leaders, was bound to provoke dissatisfaction and doubt from many.

Moreover, she had taken the position originally intended for Lin Tianxiong of the Lin family. The Lin family was a major clan in Qingshui Brigade, and many of those present were likely surnamed Lin. It would be strange if they didn't resent her!

She didn't mind and even smiled, adding a hint of provocation: "Such enthusiastic applause? Well then, if you come to me for approval slips in the future, I'll be generous too!"

Everyone: "... " Did she mean that she held the brigade's financial power, and if they didn't show her proper respect, she wouldn't easily approve their requests?

Yes—Gao Mingzhu's eyes seemed to say.

Everyone: "..."

Coughs and throat clearings arose sporadically, and those present more or less sat up straighter.

Gao Mingzhu curled her lips. If she, as the accountant, could be so easily bullied and controlled, the brigade's money might disappear without anyone knowing.

Du Shan watched as she subdued them all with a single sentence. ... He had been worried that a young girl like her would be bullied!

It seemed she was quite formidable!

Hahahaha! That was good; he didn't need to worry about her being pushed around. Being the brigade's accountant wasn't easy, after all, managing the finances of several hundred people.

Du Shan became even more satisfied with Gao Mingzhu as the accountant and began to introduce everyone present: "... Our brigade's structure is simple. The main members are the village chief, the security director, myself as the Production Brigade Leader, with five production team leaders under me—a total of eight people. You should already know most of them. Your second brother, Huo Weicheng, you know; he's the second team leader. This is the first team leader... this is the... "

"... Now you're filling the accountant position. With you, we'll be nine people... Your job, to put it simply, is to manage the brigade's finances. All the money is to be kept and recorded by you... Originally, the previous accountant should have handed over the work to you, but since he's no longer with us, the village chief will handle the handover."

The previous accountant, Lin Suanshu, had fallen off a cliff and died last month.

At this thought, Gao Mingzhu's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

"Is everyone here?" A voice came through. Village Chief Lin had arrived.

Everyone turned to look. Not only had the village chief arrived, but a young man followed behind him.

He looked about twenty, fair-skinned and refined, wearing a clean white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, giving him a very cultured appearance.

Gao Mingzhu found the young man vaguely familiar.

The next moment, she heard Du Shan ask, "Old Lin, why did you bring Tianxiong along?"

Gao Mingzhu then realized that this was the village chief's son, Lin Tianxiong.

"Didn't I already tell you? The accountant position belongs to Mingzhu. I've reported it to the commune, and they've agreed. You..." Du Shan said, clearly displeased.

"Don't get worked up, Ah Shan." Village Chief Lin cut Du Shan off, his tone slightly authoritative, his expression showing annoyance. "I didn't bring Tianxiong here to take the accountant job. The accountant position is agreed to be for Huaichuan's wife, and it's hers. If she doesn't want to give it up, we won't force it."

"Then why did you bring him here?" Du Shan pressed, frowning.

Village Chief Lin replied: "Tianxiong is here to serve as a temporary storekeeper."

Storekeeper?

Everyone turned to look at Security Director Lin Yongxing.

Their brigade was relatively poor, so many positions were combined.

Security Director Lin Yongxing, besides being responsible for the brigade's security, also managed the brigade's supplies. The storekeeper's job was technically his.

... Wait, now that Lin Tianxiong couldn't become the accountant, was he going to take over the security director's job?

Du Shan couldn't help but ask Lin Tianxiong: "Tianxiong, are you that desperate for a job? You're a high school graduate, after all."

In this era of scarcity and deprivation, with the college entrance exam abolished, a high school diploma already counted as advanced education!

Becoming an accountant was already considered beneath his qualifications, let alone a storekeeper's job with no technical skills!

Lin Tianxiong's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

Village Chief Lin was displeased: "Ah Shan, what do you mean? What's wrong with being a high school graduate? Is it easy for high school graduates to find jobs? If it were, why would batches of educated youth from the cities be sent to the countryside?"

"..." Du Shan was stumped. That did make sense?

But he still felt something was off: "Even so, you can't just bring your Tianxiong in without a word..."

"Let me finish before you interrupt!" Village Chief Lin said, losing his patience. "It wasn't my idea to arrange for Tianxiong to come here. Yongxing himself said he was too busy and applied for it!"

Then he looked at Lin Yongxing.

So it was Lin Yongxing's own request? Everyone turned to Lin Yongxing.

Lin Yongxing, in his fifties, tall and thin, stood up and cleared his throat: "It's like this. The summer harvest is coming soon, and there will inevitably be some petty thieves sneaking in to steal grain. I'm in charge of security, and I'm afraid I won't be able to manage the storekeeping duties properly. So I went to the village chief to find someone temporary to take over. After the summer harvest is over, I'll take it back. Tianxiong is just temporarily helping with some storekeeper duties—don't get the wrong idea!"

... It sounded reasonable enough.

Du Shan asked to confirm: "So he's just a temporary worker?"

Village Chief Lin nodded: "Yes. Once this busy season is over, he'll look for a job in the county town."

Du Shan finally dropped the matter.

Village Chief Lin glanced casually at Gao Mingzhu beside him, noticing a hint of mockery on her lips?

He wasn't sure if he'd seen correctly, but it displeased him. Still, he suppressed that feeling and said formally: "Huaichuan's wife..."

"Village Chief," Gao Mingzhu interrupted him, a polite but distant smile on her face, "Just call me by my name, or Accountant Gao."

At that time, women had low status, especially in the village. The older generation habitually treated women as appendages of men, addressing them as "so-and-so's wife" or "so-and-so's daughter-in-law."

Gao Mingzhu didn't want to argue about these things. She didn't mind being called that at home, but this was a workplace, and she didn't want to be labeled as someone's property.

Village Chief Lin was taken aback by her words, a flicker of embarrassment on his face.

The other men looked at her with a range of expressions.

Whose wife wasn't called that? Why does she have to be so special?

Lin Tianxiong cast another look at Gao Mingzhu, squinting behind his glasses.

Quite a personality!

But why does she have to oppose us? Adorable and infuriating at the same time.

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