ebookland Chapter 270 Voluntary Participation
Chapter 270 Voluntary Participation
Xiuying's eyes slowly swept over the crowd, her voice steady and powerful.
"Before, when we were poor, we had nothing to fear but not having enough to eat. Now that our village is rich, we have to be more careful. You know, it's a crime to possess a treasure. If we have food, it will easily attract envy, so we must be on guard against bandits."
Xiuying paused, then continued, "For the safety of our village, I suggest we build a wall around it. Families willing to build the wall, please sign up now."
When everyone heard about the plan to build a wall around the village, they were immediately in an uproar. People were whispering to each other, faces filled with surprise and doubt. This was a major project, and for the village, the idea of a wall was completely new. Many people shook their heads, thinking it was a completely outrageous idea.
"But now our village has become prosperous, and the world is in trouble, with chaos everywhere." An old man stroked his beard and said slowly, "Having a wall really makes us feel more at ease and sleep more peacefully at night."
"Yes, although this project is huge, it's also for the long-term peace of our village." A strong young man agreed, "If bandits really come, we will have a barrier to resist them."
"That being said, it will take a lot of manpower and resources." Someone said worriedly, "Can we do it?"
"As long as we work together, there's nothing we can't accomplish!" Someone else shouted, "We can't just sit there and watch our good life being ruined by bandits!"
Everyone was immediately outraged when they heard this. Their good life was going to be ruined by bandits? No way! Absolutely not!
"We have worked so hard to have the stable life we have today, how can we let those bandits destroy it!" A middle-aged man shouted with gritted teeth, his eyes seemed to be spewing fire.
"Yes! We must not let the bandits succeed. We must defend our village and our home!" A young daughter-in-law also said excitedly.
"We in Futian Village cannot be afraid of those bandits. Let's unite and fight them!" An old man said loudly, hitting the ground hard with his crutch.
"We can't let our good days end like this. We must build the wall and fight the bandits to the end!" Everyone shouted in unison, and their voices echoed throughout the village.
Zhao Cunliang stood in the crowd, his face gloomy, and said in a cold voice: "Humph, that's you who have a good life, not me, Zhao Cunliang! My family is so poor, there's nothing for bandits to worry about, nothing to steal! I don't agree with building this damn wall!"
Zhao Cunliang crossed his arms over his chest, squinting his eyes. "I think you're just messing around, wasting manpower and resources! If you're wasting your time, you might as well think about how to get more benefits for my family!"
"I, Zhao Cunliang, am putting this out there. I simply don't agree to build this wall. You can do whatever you want!" After saying that, he spat on the ground to express his firm opposition.
Xiuying cleared her throat and raised her voice, saying, "Everyone, listen carefully. This time, we are building the wall on a voluntary basis. Those who are willing to contribute to the safety of the village, please go to the village chief's house to sign up later."
"It's fine for those who don't want to have a wall built around their yards. The wall will just go around their front door. But everyone should remember that the wall is there to protect our entire village, including every household."
Xiuying paused, her eyes sweeping across the crowd before continuing, "With this wall, we have an extra layer of protection against bandits, and everyone's lives and property will be safer."
"This is our village's own business and concerns the vital interests of each of us. I hope everyone can consider it carefully and actively participate."
Xiuying's words were clear and everyone understood that if they did not participate in building the wall, it would be equivalent to actively separating from the village, and naturally they would lose the protection of the village.
Everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Cunliang and started making fun of him.
"Zhao Cunliang, if you don't join, no one will care about you when bandits come in the future!" A young man said with a smile and winked at Zhao Cunliang.
"That's right, don't cry and beg us for help when the time comes!" Another villager joined in the fun and laughed.
"Zhao Cunliang, aren't you afraid that the bandits will steal all the little things in your house?" An older sister-in-law also joined in the fun, with a hint of sarcasm in her teasing words.
Everyone was talking at once, and laughter filled the air, making Zhao Cunliang's face even uglier.
Zhao Cunliang was furious at this point. His eyes widened as he shouted at Xiuying, "Xiuying, you're not asking us to pay again, are you? Building such a long wall is going to cost a fortune!"
Zhao Cunliang's face turned red and he kept waving his hands in the air, appearing extremely excited.
"Although our village has some surplus food now, it can't withstand such turmoil! Where does this money come from? It's all extorted from us poor people!"
Zhao Cunliang was breathing heavily, his eyes almost popping out, and he looked as if he wanted to eat Xiuying alive.
"I don't believe that if we don't build this wall, the bandits will dare to break into our village so blatantly! Don't make alarmist remarks here and scare everyone!" Zhao Cunliang gritted his teeth and spit flew everywhere.
Xiuying said calmly, "Uncle, what are you talking about? We already agreed that building the wall is a voluntary effort for every household."
"And I've already made it clear to everyone: building the wall doesn't require silver. We can carry the stones down from the mountain and then cover it with mud."
In this era when there was no cement, this was the simplest and most practical way to build a wall.
The villagers nodded in agreement, saying, "Xiuying, this is a good idea! There's some rock on the mountain, so we just need to carry it down. The yellow mud is also readily available, it's everywhere."
The villagers were talking to each other, their faces full of excitement and anticipation.
"That's right, the earthen walls of Yangliu Town are built this way, and they are still very strong! We can just follow their example, and it won't go wrong!" An elderly villager stroked his beard, confidence in his eyes. He had participated in the construction of the earthen walls of Yangliu Town back then.
"With this fence, we feel much more at ease. Xiuying is so thoughtful. This method is both economical and practical!"
A young villager said with a smile, "Let's act quickly and repair the wall as soon as possible so that we can have peace of mind sooner."
Everyone was talking at once, their words full of energy and enthusiasm for building the wall, automatically blocking out Zhao Cunliang.
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm, Xiuying looked at them with bright eyes and asked loudly, "Fellow villagers, we are all so enthusiastic now, which is great. But I want to ask, does anyone in the village have experience in building a city wall?"