Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

"What? Say it again!"

Long Lifan seemed to have heard the most shocking thing she had ever heard since she transmigrated, and asked again in disbelief.

“We want you, Long Zhiqing, to serve as the women’s director of our Dongwan Brigade.” Lin Guodong repeated his words with a serious expression. His tone was slow, but every word struck Long Lifan’s heart.

"No, no!" She was so panicked that she could hardly speak coherently.

"Captain, Party Secretary Miao, Secretary Zhou, are you sure you're not mistaken? I'm just an educated youth, how can I be the women's director!"

“Besides, I’m still young, a minor! Shouldn’t this kind of position be filled by someone with prestige in the village? How can I, a sent-down youth who has been in the countryside for less than two months, be competent for this position?”

"No, no, Captain, you must take this idea back immediately, I really can't do it."

If she didn't know the brigade leader well, she would have suspected that she had a grudge against him. Last time, when he persuaded her to become the village doctor, she used Yang Qianqian to fill in for him.

This time it's even more outrageous; they actually want me to be the women's director. Is that a good thing?

“Long Zhiqing, don’t be modest. Although you haven’t been here long, your abilities are obvious to everyone. You handled Chen Ying’s matter very well last time.”

“To be honest, this position has been vacant for a long time. Firstly, there is no suitable person in the village, and secondly, both the Lin and Zhou families want it.” Miao Dashan stepped forward and analyzed, “Giving this position to either side would not be good, as it would damage the internal unity among the villagers. So we thought of having you take on the role.”

He glanced at Lin Guodong and Zhou Huiji without making them notice, and then continued, "Firstly, you have the ability, and secondly, it will also dispel those people's ideas."

"Of course, we also have conditions. We'll let you act as an interim manager for three months first. If you can handle the village affairs properly during these three months, you'll officially take office."

After Secretary Miao finished speaking, Long Lifan understood. No wonder Secretary Zhou had such a stern face when he entered the room; it was because of this. They can't just push me out here for fear of damaging internal unity!

At this moment, she was truly on the verge of tears. She was very conflicted, as it was clear that Party Secretary Miao and the brigade leader agreed that she should take over as the women's director. However, Secretary Zhou was obviously unwilling.

If they accept, they will offend Secretary Zhou, and perhaps even the Zhou family behind him. But if they don't accept, they will have to get past the brigade leader and Secretary Miao.

The position of Women's Director sounds nice, but it's actually about handling family conflicts. In this day and age, it's commonplace for men to beat their wives and fathers to beat their children.

To put it bluntly, these are all their family matters. Even the women's director can't interfere. Even the brigade cadres can only say a few words; they can't exactly arrest them or encourage them to get a divorce!

In short, Long Lifan is now feeling extremely overwhelmed; accepting this position clearly offers no benefits whatsoever. If she had to pinpoint the monthly work point compensation, is she really that desperate for those points?

"Captain, I've decided I won't..." Long Lifan weighed the pros and cons in her mind for a long time before deciding to refuse. She was interrupted by Lin Guodong before she could finish speaking.

“Long Zhiqing, didn’t you say this morning that you wanted to contribute to the development of rural areas? This is a great opportunity.” “With your ability and awareness, you are absolutely capable of serving as a women’s director.”

"Alright, that's settled then. We'll hold a general meeting this evening to inform all the villagers."

Seemingly afraid that Long Zhiqing would refuse, the village cadres, led by Lin Guodong, walked out of the courtyard after saying this.

"Sister Fan, you're amazing!" Hu Lili jumped out to congratulate them after Lin Guodong and the others had walked away. "Why do you seem a little unhappy?"

Long Lifan rolled her eyes at Hu Lili, her face contorted with a bitter expression. Was this a matter of happiness? Oh well, someone as carefree as Hu Lili probably couldn't understand her predicament.

Jiang Nian'an, however, pulled Hu Lili, who was looking excited, and gestured for her to be quiet.

Remembering that their task for the day was not yet completed, the three went out again. Unlike usual, Long Lifan was listless today. When Hu Lili asked her questions, she would only mumble "uh-huh" from time to time. This continued until the task was completed.

"Clang clang clang"

Several gong sounds came from the brigade headquarters. The commune members were a little surprised. Gongs were usually sounded when people went to work in the morning. Why was the brigade calling people to gather after work today?

Many people were confused, but they still gathered at the brigade headquarters. A group of educated youth also arrived there. Lin Yue and the others, having just finished work, saw the three of them and asked curiously, "Do you know what's going on?"

Long Lifan looked bitter, as if she was reluctant to speak. Seeing Long Lifan's expression, Hu Lili swallowed her words, thinking that they would find out sooner or later anyway, so there was no rush.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Lin Guodong walked up to the platform and said to the group of members below, "Everyone, please be quiet. I have gathered you all here today because there is something I want to talk to you about."

“The position of women’s director in our village has been vacant for three or four years, which has made it impossible to carry out women’s work and has been criticized by commune cadres many times.”

"The reason we have gathered everyone here today is to inform you that, after discussions and decisions by our village committee, we will announce the new women's director today."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd below stirred.

"It has to be Aunt Zhou, she's the most suitable!"

"Not necessarily. Maybe it's Sister Lin. She's a very good person."

.........

The commune members were buzzing with discussion, constantly suggesting names to guess who would be the women's director. Without exception, they all assumed it would be either someone from the Zhou or Lin family; they didn't even consider the few outsiders.

"Quiet down, everyone, please quiet down!" Seeing the argument getting out of hand, Lin Guodong quickly signaled for everyone to quiet down: "After a unanimous decision by our village committee, the comrade who will serve as the women's director is..."

"Long Lifan, Long Zhiqing!"

"What?!" Everyone was stunned for a moment. They had guessed countless people and considered countless candidates. But they had never thought of the educated youth. To them, the educated youth were ultimately outsiders, so why would they give them any benefits?

Lin Yue and Liu Pandi were closest to Long Lifan, their mouths agape in an "O" shape. She hadn't expected the new women's director to be right next to her, but judging from their expressions, they clearly already knew.

However, this was clearly a good thing, so why did Long Zhiqing look so unhappy? Behind them were the Yang sisters, who were also shocked by the news.

Indeed, outstanding people shine wherever they are. Although he had given up the position of village doctor to her, he was still able to gain the appreciation of the brigade cadres.

As for the older generation of educated youth, they didn't know what words to use to describe their feelings. They had been sent to the countryside for so many years, and they had never been among the lucky ones to benefit from any good thing in the village.

Although the women's director is considered a minor official, she is still a member of the village cadres! For an educated youth to become a village cadre is something they never dared to dream of.

“Captain, how can Long Zhiqing be the women’s director of our village?”

"That's right, Captain, we don't accept this!"

.........

Many people in the audience were expressing their opinions, and many of them were previously considered promising. Listening to the discussions, I felt a little excited.

Now that the position has fallen to the newly arrived educated youth, they are naturally indignant and keep making noise.

"Hmph. I know exactly what you're thinking. Aren't you just upset about not being elected? Well, let me tell you, this was a decision made by our village committee."

Lin Guodong, displaying the authority of the village head, snorted coldly and swept his gaze over those who were making the most noise: "You may disagree, but the village committee's decision will not be easily changed. If you want to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Now, please invite Long Zhiqing to come up to the stage and share his thoughts on his position." After Lin Guodong finished speaking, he led the applause, and Miao Dashan and Zhou Huiji echoed him.