Shen Xiaoyan finally gave Lu Taobao a look that said 'you know better', and then walked out with the others.
The group walked to the front courtyard and entered the main building. They saw Bai Yonggui sitting on a wooden chair, holding a pipe and puffing smoke.
Because it was cold, the room was tightly sealed, so any smoke would be particularly noticeable.
Bai Yonggui seemed to have been sitting there for a while, so the entire room was filled with smoke. As Yue Qingxin walked in, she couldn't help but cough.
Hearing the cough, Bai Yonggui looked up at Shen Xiaoyan and the others and said, "You're here?"
Seeing Bai Yonggui like this, Shen Xiaoyan frowned with disgust.
"You rejected me so firmly yesterday, why did you send someone to call me this morning? Have you finally seen the light?" Bai Yonggui said sarcastically, his face full of mockery.
Seeing him like this, Lu Taobao's hidden temper flared up, "What do you mean 'seen the light'? If anyone is heartless, it's probably you!"
"How am I heartless? I've been the village chief diligently for many years. As soon as the snow disaster hit, I immediately found a way, even losing face, to come and beg you." Bai Yonggui retorted, his neck stiff.
After saying this, Bai Yonggui gasped for breath and continued, "But what about you? You all eat well, wear warm clothes, and live comfortably. When asked for help, you refuse. Who is heartless?"
Although Bai Yonggui spoke with righteous indignation, Shen Xiaoyan and the others all sneered at him.
Lu Taobao said directly, "Speaking nicely, is that how you ask for help? Besides, if we agreed, wouldn't you immediately claim credit?"
"Of course I would," Bai Yonggui said stubbornly.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Bai Yonggui like this, shook her head, and sighed inwardly, "This person is truly possessed."
"I won't waste words with you. I'm looking for you today to tell you that we've discussed a plan. If you agree, do as we say. If you don't, pretend we never said anything," Shen Xiaoyan said plainly.
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's words, which seemed to imply willingness to help, Bai Yonggui nodded repeatedly, "You say, you say."
Shen Xiaoyan then explained the plan they had discussed to Bai Yonggui and finally asked, "What do you think?"
Bai Yonggui was stunned after listening.
If they did it this way, what role would he have?
"It's doable, but you all have children and are busy. You can give me the food, and I'll handle it," Bai Yonggui said after some thought.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others all rolled their eyes at his words.
Truly shameless, there's always more shamelessness.
"Are you dreaming?" Lu Taobao said.
"And a beautiful dream at that," Zheng Wei added seriously, "a dream in broad daylight."
"You don't appreciate it," Bai Yonggui said, his face flushing, but he persisted.
"Thank you very much. You're also quite old, so you should rest at home. You don't need to worry about these matters," Shen Xiaoyan said.
Bai Yonggui wanted to say something more, but seeing the impatient expressions on Shen Xiaoyan and the others' faces, he knew that further words would be useless, so he simply closed his mouth.
Seeing that Bai Yonggui had stopped speaking, no one urged him. They all sat there, lost in their own thoughts.
Time passed slowly. Just as Shen Xiaoyan's patience was running out, Bai Yonggui sighed and spoke again, "Alright, we'll do as you say."
Shen Xiaoyan finally showed a genuine smile. Although Bai Yonggui was too concerned with fame and fortune, at least his heart wasn't bad, and he knew that the lives of the villagers were more important.
"Then I'll thank you on behalf of the villagers, Village Chief," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile.
Bai Yonggui glared and said, "I am the village chief, and it is my duty to do things. Do you need to apologize to me on behalf of the villagers?"
After speaking, Bai Yonggui deflated himself. He sighed long and deeply, then stood up and said, "You all prepare yourselves. I'll go inform the village. If all goes quickly, we can start this afternoon."
Shen Xiaoyan and the others watched Bai Yonggui leave, their hearts filled with emotion.
"This old man isn't so bad, just a bit selfish," Lu Taobao said.
"Everyone is selfish to some extent, it's just a matter of how much," Shen Xiaoyan said lightly.
"Sister-in-law is right," Lu Taobao immediately agreed.
Shen Xiaoyan ignored him and stood up on her own, walking outside.
After Shen Xiaoyan stood up, Zheng Wei and the others also stood up and walked out together.
Lu Taobao watched their retreating figures and, after a moment, asked, "You're all leaving? What about me?"
Yi Zixie turned around, bared his teeth at Lu Taobao, and said, "Stay and wait."
"Wait for what?" Lu Taobao asked curiously.
This time, no one answered his question. All that remained was the receding figures of the group.
Lu Taobao sat there dumbfounded. After thinking for half an hour, he slowly stood up and muttered to himself, "Did I try to butter up the wrong person?"
After Shen Xiaoyan and the others left the room, they didn't return to the back. Instead, they called all the idle servants in the household and ordered them to clean the area by the main gate.
Cleaning here didn't mean sweeping everything, but rather clearing the snow off the bluestone path.
With the continuous snowfall, these people had been confined indoors all day with nothing to do.
Now that Shen Xiaoyan had ordered them to clear the snow, they eagerly grabbed their tools and went out.
Within an hour, Huo Cheng ran back to Shen Xiaoyan and reported that it was all cleared.
Shen Xiaoyan was slightly surprised, wondering if the area to be cleared was small, only the part in front of the door.
However, when she arrived at the main gate with Zheng Wei, she was truly shocked.
The distance from the main gate to the main road, the bluestone path was completely clean, not a speck of snow. If the ground hadn't still been wet, Shen Xiaoyan would have thought it had never snowed.
Shen Xiaoyan shifted her gaze to the servants standing by, and saw that they had all taken off their outer garments and were wearing very thin clothing.
But they were all sweating profusely, their faces flushed.
"Quickly wipe the sweat and put on your clothes. Although it's very warm now, it will be too late to put on clothes once the sweat cools down," Shen Xiaoyan said.
"Yes."
The servants all responded in unison, then walked into the main gate, into the guardhouse, to get their clothes.
When they came out again, a gust of cold wind blew past.
Those who had felt unbearably hot just moments ago now felt their hairs stand on end from the cold wind.
At this moment, they all had to admit in their hearts that Madam Zheng was right.
Even if they felt hot, they shouldn't take off their clothes in this weather.
Because once they stopped working, they would feel extremely cold.
Seeing them all shivering from the cold, Shen Xiaoyan found it amusing. She said, "Go to the kitchen and drink some ginger tea. I've already had someone boil some for you to warm you up."
"Thank you, Madam," the servants replied in unison.
At this moment, anyone could easily discern the joy in their voices.
After sending them off for ginger tea, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei seriously surveyed the open space in front of them.
"The snow here has been cleared, but the road to the village, and within the village, there's only a small path. Do we need to sweep all of it?" Shen Xiaoyan seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps asking for Zheng Wei's opinion.