The Fat Wife of the 1980s Awakens

"The neighboring village is pressing for the return of this tractor. If it cannot be repaired in time, according to the agreement, every household in our village will have to share the repair costs. This is the busy farming season, and most of everyone's money is used to buy seeds. Where is the extra money to deal with such unexpected expenses?" The tone of the branch secretary was mixed with helplessness and urgency.

He then added: "The villagers' lives are already difficult. If you can lend a hand and repair the house successfully, they will definitely remember it and be grateful to them."

Hearing this, Xu Xiufang's eyes moved and she glanced at the broken bricks and tiles on the ground, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

"Repairing that old tractor is no problem, but I also need your help to open my small business smoothly."

When the village chief heard this, the smile on his face froze instantly, and he thought to himself: Asking the villagers for help, why does this sound a bit unreasonable?

He quickly adjusted his expression and tried to ease the atmosphere with warm words: "Our village is like a big family, and we should help each other. If you can take the time to repair the tractor, it will be as simple as a piece of cake for everyone."

However, Xu Xiufang shook her head slightly, her expression serious and firm: "In this case, I still won't participate. What if I have to delay my livelihood because of repairing the tractor? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

The village chief looked embarrassed when he heard this, feeling that Xu Xiufang's words seemed to imply that he was not considerate enough to the villagers.

"Okay, okay, you go over and take a look at the situation first, and repair it if you can, how about that?" The village chief compromised with a hint of helplessness.

"Deal." Xu Xiufang was just worrying about what to do with the pile of bricks, and this proposal solved her urgent problem.

Although tractors are old machines, their internal structure is not complicated and can be seen at a glance for people who know about them.

Xu Xiufang is confident in her craftsmanship. Her only worry is whether the villagers are willing to help carry bricks, as well as the subsequent tedious preparation work such as piling, hanging signs, and even posting flyers in the city.

If she were to do these tasks alone, it would take at least a week to complete them.

But if everyone works together, all these preparations can be put in place within a day once the tractor is repaired.

Afterwards, under the leadership of the village chief, Xu Xiufang came to the next village.

As soon as we entered the village, we saw a group of villagers with sad faces gathered in front of the brigade office, and the "sick" tractor was parked in the middle.

"This iron ox is a treasure, priceless. It must be worth at least several thousand dollars." A villager said regretfully.

Another person added: "This tractor was a special reward from the higher authorities when our village was named a model village last year. Now that something has gone wrong, I'm afraid compensation is inevitable."

"Why should we pay for it? I just borrowed it, I didn't break it!" A middle-aged woman said firmly.

"That's right. My family doesn't intend to pay for it. It was clearly damaged on Old Wu's land. Let him figure it out himself!" another voice echoed.

The villagers were talking about it, each with their own reasons, and the situation was temporarily deadlocked.

Old Wu, who was being talked about by everyone, looked pale, as if he had aged a lot overnight, and seemed particularly helpless.

The village chief witnessed this and stepped forward decisively. He patiently and carefully reiterated to everyone the principle of collective responsibility for the use and maintenance of the tractor: "Please be quiet and listen to me. This tractor is the common property of our entire village. It does not belong to a single person or family. Therefore, no matter who has the problem with it, the cost of repairing it should be borne by all of us."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at everyone present.

The village chief cleared his throat slightly to calm the noisy discussions, and then continued carefully: "If this tractor cannot be repaired, we have to grit our teeth and work together as a village to raise funds to buy a new one and hand it over to the higher authorities."

When the villagers heard this, they all looked angry.

"Why should we all bear the blame?"

A middle-aged man stood up, his voice full of indignation.

"Take care of your own business, and don't drag us innocent people into this." Another person followed closely and added angrily, drawing echoes from those around him.

But more people chose to remain silent, and the atmosphere was so heavy that one could almost squeeze water out of it.

Old Wu had a simple and honest face. Seeing the accusations coming like a tide, he finally couldn't help but straighten his back and said with a bit of grievance: "I don't know how to drive that iron lump at all. It's always the driver who operates it. But it happened to break down in my field. How can this be blamed on me?"

Standing in the crowd, Xu Xiufang knew clearly in her heart that life was not easy for every family in those years. Poverty made people extremely sensitive and a small matter could lead to a dispute.

She looked at the villagers who were arguing with each other, and her brows couldn't help but frown.

At this moment, the argument seemed to be about to escalate into a physical conflict. The village chief was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He waved his hands repeatedly to try to calm them down: "Everyone calm down first! Didn't I already hire an expert to repair the tractor?"

However, the villagers were obviously not convinced, and their impatient rebuttals followed one after another: "Xie Yi? He is busy building bridges and paving roads all day long, how can he have the time to care about such a trivial matter as ours?"

The village chief came up with another plan when his first one failed. He stamped his feet in anxiety and almost shouted, "Xie Yi may be busy, but his wife is here! Let her come and see us!"

When these words were spoken, the villagers were stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.

Several villagers who loved the fun were laughing so hard that they fell over, some even held their stomachs with their hands, and tears welled up in the corners of their eyes.

Seeing this, the village chief was both angry and amused: "I sincerely want someone to solve the problem, but you are here to make trouble. If others are unwilling to help, you will still be able to laugh!"

A villager approached the village chief and said half seriously and half jokingly: "Village chief, there should be some edge to such a joke, right? Xu Xiufang, who doesn't know her reputation?"

At the other end of the crowd, a villager who was laughing so hard that he couldn't even stand up straightened his back interrupted and said, "Xu Xiufang? That woman who was always flirting and stealing? Now she has transformed herself into a master of mechanical repair? This is such a ridiculous joke!"

Another villager chimed in, jokingly: "Village chief, we know you work hard for the village, but you have to choose the right person to ask for help, right? Did you invite a living god, or did you invite a troublemaker back?"

Facing the doubts and ridicule of the crowd, Xu Xiufang, although she was disgusted by the noise, still stood up. Her voice was calm and firm: "If you really have money, you can pay it yourself. If you really have a way to find someone else, I am happy to see it happen. But if you have neither, I still advise you to restrain yourself, otherwise it will be too late to regret it."