The village chief called for a meeting, probably about repair fees or other costs that the villagers needed to chip in for.
After all, the village only had this one transformer, and in these times, such things were very expensive—certainly not something a single family could afford.
She nodded quickly and said, "Alright, I'll go along and have a look."
"Wait for me to change my clothes."
Si Nian hurried back to her room to change, only to find that all her outerwear was quite thin.
They were basically autumn clothes.
They were fine for usual wear, but on a day like today, she'd freeze to death.
She quickly rummaged through the wardrobe and spotted a man's army coat rolled up at the very top.
It looked very thick.
Si Nian reached up to take it down and found it even had a furry hood attached.
Her eyes lit up immediately. She put on the oversized coat and the hood. Although it was a bit big, it was wearable.
Once it blocked the cold wind, she felt much warmer all over.
Not wanting to keep others waiting, Si Nian went downstairs as soon as she had the coat on, grabbed a few candies for the child, and then headed with Aunt Zhang towards the village chief's house.
All along the way were people who had gotten the message and were heading over.
Everyone was discussing the matter.
They all probably knew very well that if the village chief called them, it must be because the transformer had burned out and money needed to be collected.
Their expressions didn't look too good at the moment.
Sure enough, when they arrived at the village chief's house, the large courtyard was already packed with people.
At the front were the village Party secretary and some other leading figures in the village.
The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, almost like a quarrel.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the village chief shouted, "Alright, alright, stop talking! Here's what our village committee thinks. As you all know, it rained last night and the transformer burned out. Because everyone went to bed early last night, no one noticed. When I asked Little Zhou to check it this morning, it was already unusable. Now, our village committee has decided that the households it serves need to pool money to replace it with a new one..."
Little Zhou?
Standing at the back, bundled up tightly, Si Nian raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
This morning, she had indeed vaguely heard Zhou Yueshen getting up.
So it was because of this?
The crowd finally quieted down. Hearing this, they looked at each other.
"Village Chief, how much will that cost?"
"Yeah, this year's harvest hasn't been good for anyone. We can't really spare any money."
"Can we get it on credit first?"
Village Chief Huo Beishan's face darkened. "You wish! You still owe money from the last repair fee, and now you want credit? I, Huo Beishan, am putting it straight: every household in our Xingfu Village must contribute. Any family that doesn't pay won't get any electricity. No one gets a free ride!"
Those in the crowd who originally didn't want to pay immediately fell silent upon hearing this.
Si Nian looked at this old village chief. Although he was somewhat advanced in years, his posture was upright, and he had a certain imposing manner. He still commanded authority.
"You don't have to pay much. It'll be per person, one yuan per head. The rest, our village committee will figure out a way."
"One yuan per person? My family has eight members, so that's eight yuan!"
"Exactly, how are families with lots of people supposed to manage? Having many kids is already pressure enough. With New Year's right around the corner, if we take out money for this, we won't even have a decent New Year."
"Right, shouldn't the wealthier families pay more and the poorer families pay less?"
"Our family may have many people, but we use very little electricity."
"That's right, we all use electricity for the same two hours a day. Some of us don't even use it at all. Why should we still have to pay?"
"I do remember, in terms of electricity use, Director Zhou's family uses the most. Their lights are always the brightest every day!"
"I've seen it too. When I get up at night to use the outhouse, I can still see their lights on. Shouldn't Director Zhou's family pay more?"
"Why isn't Director Zhou here? Could it be he's not even willing to pay this little bit?"
People's eyes swept around, looking somewhat displeased.
The Zhou family did indeed use the most electricity; everyone had seen it.
"Isn't that Director Zhou's wife over there? Don't you have something to say? I heard your family even uses a TV and a refrigerator!"
Someone said sharply.
Si Nian looked over. It was someone from the Zhang Family.
Zhang Qian's mother.
Si Nian had offended her before because of the incident with Sister-in-Law Zhu.
The Zhu family had the most members. She had sons and grandsons, a daughter still at home, and the elderly living with them.
The whole family added up to seven or eight people.
Just thinking about how much her family would have to pay made her furious.
Before, she had given eggs to curry favor with Si Nian, hoping to learn how to make pastries, but Si Nian took the gifts and then just brushed her off.
Naturally, she wouldn't let her off now.
Si Nian's family only had five people but used the most electricity. Why should her family pay less than the Zhangs?
So she sneered, "Maybe it was because someone used too much electricity that the transformer burned out in the first place. Whoever broke it should pay!"
Hearing this, the people around also looked at Si Nian, hoping she would make some statement.
Usually, their relations were okay, but this wasn't a small sum of money.
People worked hard all month for just about thirty yuan.
They weren't like the Zhou family, who had it so easy making money.
Their village's transformer was old and worn out. It had broken before and been repaired several times.
The Zhou family lived so lavishly, using so much electricity, keeping lights on late at night. Maybe, just as Zhang Qian's mother said, it was because they used too much that it burned out.
Considering this possibility, everyone suddenly felt that perhaps they wouldn't have to pay this money at all!
Si Nian's expression remained fairly calm. Only after everyone had spoken did she say, "It rained heavily last night. The transformer is old and poorly maintained. It's very likely it got waterlogged and then burned out. Of course, if any of you have evidence to prove it broke because our Zhou family used too much electricity, by all means, present it. I, Si Nian, won't say another word, and we'll definitely pay the money."
"But if it wasn't for that reason, what should be said about those who falsely accused our Zhou family?"
Zhang Qian's mother snorted coldly. "Easy for you to say! It's already burned out. Who knows the real reason? You're just making excuses!"
Si Nian looked at her, her gaze steady. "Generally, a repairman specializing in this can tell at a glance what caused the damage. Since you, Auntie, think it's my fault, that's fine too. I'll pay out of my own pocket to hire a technician to check the exact cause. However..."
"However what?" Everyone looked at Si Nian.
Si Nian looked at Zhang Qian's mother with a faint, mocking smile and said, "However, I have one condition. If the technician checks and proves it wasn't damaged because our Zhou family used too much electricity, then the repair fee for the transformer will be paid by the Zhang Family. How about that?"
Everyone instantly turned their eyes to Zhang Qian's mother.
Zhang Qian's mother immediately widened her beady eyes and said sharply, "What nonsense! Why should I pay? I didn't break it!"
"If you didn't break it, and I didn't break it, then Auntie Zhang, what right do you have to make our Zhou family pay?"
