Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 569 - 552 donate money for road construction

Lu Jiaxin’s brows were tightly knitted as she asked, "If they said that the money would be allocated for building a school, then the money must have been sent to the county. Now that the county claims it doesn’t have it, the funds have likely been embezzled."

Big Uncle Lu shook his head and said, "No, it was diverted to road construction. Sigh, it’s said that to get rich, build roads first; we also understand that building roads is important, but the education of the children is just as important!"

Diverting money intended for building a school to road construction is such a shady operation. However, some people abuse their power to do whatever they want. Thankfully, I went to Hong Kong. Doing business on the Mainland would not offer such a relaxed environment; the frustration would be unbearable!

Dwelling on matters beyond one’s control is futile, so Lu Jiaxin asked, "How are the conditions in the middle school?"

"The middle school is in town, and the conditions there are better than here."

Lu Jiaxin nodded and said, "Big Uncle, how much would it cost to build a primary school and a middle school academic building? I’m talking about constructing three-story buildings, not simple shacks."

Big Uncle Lu hadn’t dealt with such things before and wasn’t sure.

There was no rush for this matter. Lu Jiaxin said, "Once you have the figures, give my older brother a call and let him tell me. I’ll have someone bring the money over when the time comes."

"All right."

The two continued their conversation as they walked back. Near the entrance of the village, they ran into Lu Jiayao, who hurriedly said, "Dad, Jiaxin, leaders from the county have arrived."

Big Uncle Lu was overjoyed, but Lu Jiaxin’s face did not show much happiness. In her previous life, she had worked in France and then a large company in Shenzhen and had never dealt with grassroots government officials. The affairs in Yi County had now made her quite averse to interacting with these local leaders. Nevertheless, since they were already here, avoiding them was not an option.

Big Uncle Lu, upon seeing the two officials, beamed with a smile as radiant as blooming chrysanthemums. Lu Jiaxin, though not fond of being disturbed, couldn’t show an unpleasant face to them with all the Lu family’s people around.

During the conversation, the officials subtly expressed their hope that Lu Jiaxin would invest back in her hometown. She couldn’t agree to this request, for one, because of the unsuitable geographical location, secondly, the lack of any advantages, and thirdly, and most importantly, the absence of a conducive business environment.

The coastal areas were developing rapidly, but here the policies had not been fully relaxed. In small places, where relationships are complex and returns are meager, she had no interest in engaging in such unrewarding endeavors. Donating money might earn her a good reputation, but investing would certainly be throwing money away.

The two officials were somewhat disappointed, and one of them even tried to invoke a sense of hometown sentiment.

Lu Jiaxin found this slightly amusing. Her original self was born and raised in the Forty-nine City and had only visited her ancestral home twice before the incident. Including this time, she herself had also only visited twice—there was not much of a ’hometown sentiment’ to speak of.

Nevertheless, since the officials had made a request, it wouldn’t be appropriate to show no response at all. On her way back, she had an idea. Lu Jiaxin said, "The road from the county town to Ma Family Village is too bumpy. I was car sick from the ride back yesterday. If the government can repair this road, I am willing to donate one million."

She was talking about donating one million in Hua currency, not Hong Kong Dollars, which even now was a substantial sum. If they could integrate resources properly, there might even be funds left over.

The two officials thought they would return empty-handed, but were pleasantly surprised by the unexpected offer, "Comrade Jiaxin, the project to construct the road from the county town to Lu Family Village has already been approved, it’s just the lack of funds that has put it on hold."

Meaning, if Lu Jiaxin’s donation was received, the project could be started immediately.

Lu Jiaxin didn’t discuss the matter of the school donation with the two officials. She would let Big Uncle manage that. When she last saw him in the Forty-nine City, he had been lacking spirit, and now here he was, his face aglow and his voice as loud as a bell. With his spirit, he could work another ten years without issue. As long as Big Uncle was well, Big Aunt would be at peace too, for he was the pillar of her spirit.

Lu Jiaguang previously wanted to bring the old couple to the Forty-nine City for their retirement, but he gave up on the idea after listening to Lu Jiaxin’s analysis. It was better to let them feel useful rather than just wait around for death, which was more effective than any medicine.

After the two leaders finished their discussion, they went back and did not stay for a meal. Big Uncle Lu sent them off with a smile at the village entrance. As for Lu Jiaxin, she was reluctant to go outside because the sun was too harsh.

Right when they were about to have lunch, Seventh Uncle arrived and told Lu Jiaxin that he had called a village meeting that morning, and the villagers had agreed to her two requests.

Lu Jiaxin was a woman of her word, and she said with a smile, "Seventh Uncle, then I’ll donate one hundred thousand pieces to make our Lu’s ancestral hall more magnificent."

Big Uncle Lu said cheerfully, "Two leaders from the county came this morning, and Jiaxin promised to donate one million for road construction, building the road from the county town to our Lu Family Village. The leaders also promised that construction would start this year."

Seventh Uncle was very delighted, considering the village roads were in terrible condition, he suggested, "Jiaxin, when the time comes, have them fix our village roads too."

Lu Jiaxin said with a smile, "When the time comes, I’ll let my secretary negotiate with the leaders; there shouldn’t be any problems. Uncle, have you had lunch? If not, eat here with us!"

Since her return was sudden and there wasn’t much time yesterday, Big Aunt only made a couple of meat dishes. Today, the meal was much more abundant. There was braised pork, four-happiness duck, lotus leaf chicken, fish head vermicelli pot, sautéed lamb with scallions, stir-fried minced meat with pickles, three seasonal vegetables, and a lamb bone soup.

Seventh Uncle hadn’t eaten yet, and as soon as he heard that the county leaders had left, he hurried over. With such joyous news, he wanted to have a few drinks: "Tie Jun, where’s the liquor? Bring out the good stuff you’ve been saving."

Lu Jiaxin didn’t stop him but was worried that drinking too much would be bad for their health, so she called Big Aunt over from the kitchen.

Big Aunt knew how they were feeling and personally poured wine for them: "The doctor said no alcohol, but today is a special occasion, so I’ll let you have half a bowl."

She knew that Big Uncle Lu and Seventh Uncle could handle their liquor, and half a bowl of homemade wine would be no problem, but more than that would be unacceptable. Especially Seventh Uncle, who was five years older than Big Uncle Lu and had many dietary restrictions on a regular basis.

After lunch, Lu Jiaxin went back to her room to rest. And she was right; staying in this cave dwelling was very comfortable. It was so hot outside, but inside it was pleasant with just a fan, no need for air conditioning.

Soon after, Second Uncle Lu and Second Aunt came looking for her. As soon as they saw Big Uncle Lu, they asked, "Big brother, I heard Jiaxin is donating one hundred thousand pieces for the ancestral hall and another one million for road construction. Is all this true?"

Big Uncle Lu didn’t expect that Seventh Uncle had spread the news so quickly, "It’s true, Jiaxin said it herself."

He was well aware of these two people’s nature and preempted any requests from them: "The money is Jiaxin’s own earnings. How much she wants to donate is her business; even if she donates it all, it has nothing to do with you. If you go to Jiaxin and talk nonsense or make a fuss, don’t blame me for no longer recognizing you as my brother."

Big Aunt also said, "Second brother, Second Son’s Wife, you better leave now! Jiaxin said yesterday she didn’t want to see you. She rarely comes back, and I want her to return home happily."

Big Uncle Lu thought about what his wife told him last night and also started to chase them away: "Second brother, you brought this upon yourself. Go back home now!"

If they hadn’t had evil thoughts in the past about taking over Jiaxin’s property, they wouldn’t have been despised by their niece, who now didn’t even want to see them.

Second Aunt didn’t want to leave and tried to shout, but Second Uncle Lu covered her mouth and dragged her out. They had already offended the girl badly. If they also annoyed Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law, no one would care for them in their old age when their children proved unfilial.

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