58: Chapter 58 Villagers long for wealth

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei's eyes brightened.

He certainly understood; this was an opportunity to get close to the Township Head and change his fate.

Having spent two years in Guantian Township, Qi Tongwei knew better than anyone that without connections or a backer, it was difficult to get ahead no matter how capable you were.

"Understood!"

Qi Tongwei stood up and gave a solemn salute: "Please rest assured, Director He, I will definitely get this done!"

Watching Qi Tongwei's upright figure disappear outside the door, Director He Guodong let out a long sigh of relief.

He knew that all this young man lacked was an opportunity.

And now, the opportunity had arrived.

Guantian Township Government, Township Head's office.

Li Dakang stood by the window, looking at the road under construction in the distance.

Sunlight streamed through the window onto his young face, outlining his resolute contours.

Li Dakang held a document in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed, as if pondering some important issue.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The knocking interrupted Li Dakang's thoughts.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and Township Credit Union Director, Director Du Cheng, walked in with a smile: "Brother, what instructions do you have for calling me here today?"

He sat on the sofa like an old friend: "Just say the word if there's anything I can help with; I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for my daughter's matter last time."

Director Du Cheng's tone was full of sincere gratitude; it turned out that under the care of Division Chief Hu Weihang, his daughter, Du Meiyan, had been assigned to work at the Mingzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League.

That was a genuinely good unit; not only was the work easy, but promotion was also fast. Many people would break their heads trying to get in.

Of course, what made Director Du Cheng feel even more awe was that shortly after that trip to Mingzhou, Mingzhou City Mayor Lv Zhihe suddenly fell from power, causing a tremor throughout the officialdom of Jiang Province.

Although he was not clear what role Li Dakang played in it, intuition told Director Du Cheng that this matter must be related to the young Township Head before him.

"Brother Du, there's no need to be so polite between us."

Li Dakang smiled and poured a cup of tea for Director Du Cheng: "I really do have something I'd like to ask for your help with today."

Director Du Cheng took the teacup and said readily: "Just speak your mind, brother!"

Li Dakang said: "It's like this, I've been thinking about developing the livestock industry in a few villages in Guantian."

Speaking of this, he sighed softly: "But brother, you also know the situation in Guantian; the villagers are short on cash and simply cannot afford to buy livestock to start farming."

Speaking of this, Li Dakang's gaze became profound: "So I was thinking, could the Township Government act as a guarantor, and let your Credit Cooperative issue some loans to the villagers to help them get their livestock farming started? What do you think?"

Director Du Cheng put down the teacup and nodded without hesitation: "That's definitely no problem! Supporting the development of 'agriculture, rural areas, and farmers' is the responsibility of our Credit Cooperative, not to mention that you are the one asking, brother."

But immediately, he showed a trace of worry: "It's just that I don't know roughly how many villagers will need loans? How much total capital will be needed?"

"If the demand is too great, relying solely on our Township Credit Union might not be enough; we would need to report to the county-level cooperative to apply for support."

Li Dakang stood up and walked to the window.

In the distance, the afterglow of the setting sun plated the road under construction with a layer of gold.

"Brother, I just had this idea."

He turned around, and the sunlight formed a silhouette behind him.

"I don't have a solid grasp on the specific data yet; I'm bringing this up with you today so you can know in advance and be prepared."

Li Dakang walked back to the desk and picked up a document: "How about this, I plan to go to the village in two days to hold an on-site meeting and talk to the villagers about livestock farming. How about you come with me then, brother?"

"No problem!" Director Du Cheng guaranteed, patting his chest.

"Just let me know when the time comes, brother."

"Good, then it's settled." Li Dakang nodded with a smile.

Two days later, Shixi Village in Guantian Township was bustling with excitement.

As the morning sun just sprinkled onto the century-old locust tree at the village entrance, the villagers had already gathered in groups of three or five on the village's grain-drying ground, discussing animatedly.

"Have you heard? The workers at the Bean Products Factory in Zhengjia Village can earn over seventy yuan a month!"

Aunt Wang, carrying a bamboo basket, said mysteriously to the neighbor beside her.

"Isn't that right!"

Grandpa Li smoked his dry tobacco, his eyes shining with envy: "My niece works there, and she received eighty-three yuan last month! That's equivalent to our income from farming for a whole year!"

In this remote, impoverished area of Guantian where the per capita annual income was less than one hundred yuan, a monthly salary of over eighty yuan was simply an astronomical figure.

Because Guantian was so poor, few girls from outside were willing to marry here; most marriages took place between local villages, so many villagers had relatives and friends in Zhengjia Village.

The news about the Bean Products Factory paying wages spread like wildfire throughout Guantian Township overnight.

"Uncle Zhang, isn't your daughter in Zhengjia Village? Can you help put in a good word and let my boy go work at the factory too?"

Aunt Zhao pulled on Old Man Zhang's sleeve, asking with a face full of expectation.

"Sigh, they are fighting tooth and nail to get hired at the factory now; I heard the waiting list goes until next year."

Old Man Zhang shook his head and sighed: "But I heard that Township Head Li is going to find a way for every one of our villages to get rich, and he's coming today to announce that."