Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Before he could finish speaking, Xiangzi was already sighing and speaking with red eyes, "Little Aunt, I don't want to compensate those villagers a hundred or so yuan. I'm just thinking... sigh... sigh... tell me how to act, and I will definitely do my best to act well."

Xiangzi's feigned crying echoed in Zhao Da'e's ears. Zhao Da'e's veins bulged, and he shouted, "Hey, Xiangzi, why are you crying like this? You're a grown man in your twenties, and you're not even as good as me, a little rascal. Have some backbone, okay? What's the big deal? If you keep crying, I'm not going to take care of you anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiangzi obediently shut his mouth and looked at Zhao Da'e with his innocent big eyes. He blinked, signaling Zhao Da'e to continue.

Seeing this, Zhao Da'e breathed a sigh of relief. She explained, "Of course, you're not the only one acting in this scene. The person acting with you is someone else, not me, and not my great-grandfather. What are you thinking about all day? Who is my great-grandfather? With his temper, he wouldn't pretend to be sick with us."

Furthermore, if the villagers find out you're making the village chief act along, what consequences do you think there will be? The village chief's prestige will plummet in the villagers' eyes. Will any villagers still listen to him when he makes pronouncements? The village chief could simply be replaced. The risk is too great; the village chief absolutely cannot participate in such a ridiculous farce.”

The village chief can be aware of their acting, but he absolutely cannot get involved; at the very least, he must maintain a respectable image in front of the villagers. Although this is a good deed for the villagers, good deeds cannot be used as bait.

Xiangzi listened in a daze, understanding a little and not quite. "This village chief is really different. But little aunt, without the village chief's involvement, can those villagers believe my acting skills? I originally thought that if the village chief was involved, many villagers would definitely believe me, since everyone trusts the village chief. But if the village chief isn't involved, will anyone still believe our act?"

Xiangzi grew increasingly dejected as he thought about it. "Auntie, do you think I'm too selfish? I helped someone buy chickens, ducks, and geese, and they paid for it, but I ended up buying chickens, ducks, and geese infected with fowl plague. To some extent, I was also at fault, but all I could think about was escaping, not paying compensation, and even trying to use such a clumsy method as acting to deal with them, and even trying to drag the village chief down with me. Am I too bad? Maybe I shouldn't have done it."

As Xiangzi sat down, he began to doubt himself. Seeing this, Zhao Da'e sighed and then said, "Xiangzi, people are selfish. You're not the only one; most people are like this. You're thinking of using an act to avoid compensation, but others will also be thinking of ways to make you pay. If you're not ruthless, you'll be the one who suffers. But I'm not saying it's absolute. Maybe they're not as bad as I say, or maybe those villagers are actually quite reasonable. My suggestion that you act out the play also has my own selfish reasons. I think if you act, firstly, you can avoid paying compensation, and secondly, you can make the villagers quickly understand the horror of chicken plague and warn them not to eat food contaminated with it. It's unlikely that a ban issued by the village chief alone can stop them. People have a rebellious streak; the more you forbid them from doing something, the more they want to do it. I'm afraid that things might really turn out the way I imagine."

If someone eats chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with fowl plague and ends up in the hospital, while others sell it cheaply to outsiders or city dwellers, that's not what we want to see. Ultimately, it's because the villagers are too ignorant about fowl plague and don't know how terrible it is. That's why I came up with this whole scheme, and that's why I approached you. To be honest, it's also for my own selfish reasons. I want to use your feigned illness, Xiangzi, to make the villagers understand that chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with fowl plague is not safe to eat, right…”

Zhao Da'e spoke her mind, lowering her head. She felt guilty towards Xiangzi, realizing that it was a lie and she was somewhat embarrassed.

But instead of the expected reprimand, she exclaimed in amazement, "Wow!" "Little Aunt, is what you're saying true? I'm so important to you, no! I should say I'm so useful to the village! Oh! Little Aunt, why are you apologizing to me? I'm overjoyed! I'm so excited! I never imagined I could be such a big help to the village. You should have told me sooner! Even if the compensation for buying chickens, ducks, and geese hadn't happened, I would have agreed to act as a patient for you without hesitation. If the villagers believed my act and didn't touch the chickens, ducks, and geese infected with fowl plague, and didn't suffer family separations or huge medical bills, I would be overjoyed. I'm just a nobody, but I never imagined I could be such a big help."

Xiangzi was talking non-stop, discussing what would happen after the performance, his eyes shining with joy, he was genuinely happy about it.

Seeing this, Zhao Da'e breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you think this way. Although many people may not understand our actions and may even curse us, it's worth it. The chicken plague won't be delayed for long. I think Grandpa will notify the villagers one by one today and tell them about the ban. I'm sure the villagers will cause trouble when they find out. Then we'll put on a show to help Grandpa."

Xiangzi nodded proudly after hearing this, "Don't worry, little aunt, leave this to me. Everything I've done will be worthwhile."

If Xiangzi's initial act was merely to escape compensation demands from villagers who had asked him to buy chicken, duck, and goose meat, then his current motivation is simply to make the villagers understand the dangers of fowl plague. He wants to prevent villagers from ending up in the hospital after eating contaminated chicken, duck, and goose meat, and to stop some villagers from selling the contaminated meat at low prices out of greed. This could be considered a good deed, and it's said that doing good deeds leads to longevity…

Moreover, even if others didn't say anything, Xiangzi felt that if he went home and didn't let them eat chicken and duck, they would all complain. That's especially true in the village; if you say one thing, they'll immediately have something to say next.

Annoying people get a headache; they're unreasonable, domineering, and clueless. It's like when the village says they're going to repair the road, a bunch of people will complain and curse, but if the village says they're going to repair the road in front of their house, they'll be overjoyed.

That's the truth, Xiangzi thought, straightening his back and a smile creeping onto his face.

But then Xiangzi suddenly remembered something. "Little Aunt, didn't you say before that someone else was acting with me? Who is that person? Should we go find him?"

Zhao Da'e once said that besides Xiangzi, who would be involved in the acting, there would be another person involved as well.

Xiangzi was very curious about who that person could be.

Seeing this, Zhao Da'e deliberately said, "Then tell me, who should I go to?"

Xiangzi thought for a moment and then casually said, "Is it your older cousin, Zhou Tianfu?"

Zhou Tianfu was Zhao Da'e's cousin, so Xiangzi thought of that name first.

Zhao Da'e shook his head. "Guess another one."

Xiangzi thought for a moment and then replied, "Is that your cousin Zhou Chunwen?"

Zhou Chunwen is Zhao Da'e's cousin; the two sisters should get along well.

Zhao Da'e sighed and shook his head. "My aunt's family isn't from our village. Do you think the villagers will believe them if we invite them to act? I want to invite someone from our village, someone we can trust. Guess who else."

"A person everyone can trust?" Xiangzi thought about Zhao Da'e's promotion for a while, then suddenly realized and excitedly exclaimed, "I understand!"

Zhao Da'e, with an air of 'you're teachable,' said, 'Since you've guessed it, then tell me the answer.'

Xiangzi excitedly replied, "I bet that person is Xing Shuling, the women's director!"

Zhao Da'e was about to applaud and praise someone, but upon hearing this answer, she couldn't help but burst out with a "pfft." She looked at Xiangzi in surprise, "Xiangzi, how did you come up with the idea of ​​the women's director?"

Seeing Zhao Da'e's excited expression, Xiangzi naturally assumed he had guessed correctly. He raised his head and said smugly, "I should have realized it was the Women's Director. If you're talking about someone everyone can trust, it must be a big shot. Look at this Women's Director, isn't she? She's in charge of resolving conflicts among women. Everyone trusts her to some extent. If she's acting, everyone will definitely believe it. But, little aunt, will Director Xing really cooperate with me?"

Zhao Da'e was speechless, her lips twitching slightly. She couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and wave at Xiangzi, calling out, "Xiangzi, come down, I have something to tell you."

Xiangzi squatted down with a smug look on his face, thinking that he was right and Zhao Da'e was about to praise him.

But what came next was a loud bang on Zhao Da'e's head. Zhao Da'e smacked Xiangzi's forehead hard with his hand and shouted, "Can't you think of anything useful all day? I've already reminded you, but you still always get it wrong."

Xiangzi was in pain from the blow and squatted pitifully in the corner, sobbing, "It's okay to guess wrong, Auntie, why did you have to hit me? It hurts so much! Auntie, tell me, who is the actor in this drama?"

Zhao Da'e exclaimed "Oh!" before slowly saying, "The person who is going to cooperate with us in this act is Chen Shuyi from the clinic, the one with the little limp."

Upon hearing this, Xiangzi was so startled he almost jumped up. "What?! Little Aunt, you're talking about Doctor Chen? The Doctor Chen who sticks syringes into people's butts!"

Whenever Xiangzi thought of Chen Shuyi, especially the times he was sick and went to the clinic, Chen Shuyi would use a syringe to inject him several times in the buttocks. And it was excruciatingly painful. In those days, it was like getting small injections of penicillin or aminopyrine; the pain was terrifying. Xiangzi felt a chill run down his spine whenever he thought about it, even getting goosebumps.

Zhao Da'e nodded.

The only person who could handle this was Chen Shuyi. After all, he's a doctor. Besides the village chief, who else would the villagers trust? Shouldn't it be Dr. Chen from the clinic? He's a doctor, a physician, knowledgeable about all sorts of diseases. When someone in the village gets sick, they go to him for treatment or to get medicine. How could the villagers not trust him? He's a doctor! If you don't listen to a doctor, how can you cure an illness? So, besides listening to the village chief, the villagers listen even more to Dr. Chen from the clinic. In fact, they trust Dr. Chen even more than the village chief. Everyone gets sick, and when they do, they go to Dr. Chen. Who in the village hasn't seen Dr. Chen for treatment and medicine? Who hasn't had a few injections? The villagers respect Dr. Chen greatly. If he tells them what not to eat or what to eat, the villagers obediently follow his instructions, fearing that disobeying him will worsen their condition. Over time, Dr. Chen has become very trusted.

Moreover, Chen Shuyi is a decent person. If we invite Doctor Chen to speak and explain the terrifying consequences of contracting this chicken plague, it will be more effective than the village chief's words. In addition, if someone pretends to be sick and puts on a show to deceive the villagers into believing that eating chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with chicken plague will lead to serious illness requiring expensive hospital treatment, then the deterrent effect will be achieved.

Xiangzi suddenly realized. "Ah, I get it now! Little Aunt! Uncle Chen is a doctor, his words carry the most weight! If we're talking about who has the most authority when it comes to illness, it's definitely Dr. Chen, because he's a professional, everyone trusts him, so going to him is the right thing to do! If the doctor says you can't touch a certain spot, then you absolutely can't touch it; if the doctor says you can eat something, then you absolutely can eat it, after all, it concerns our health. If Dr. Chen can get involved in this charade, then the villagers will definitely believe what Dr. Chen says, which is much more effective than the village chief's words."

But after saying that, Xiangzi became discouraged again, "But, would they be willing to cooperate with our performance?"

Suddenly, Xiangzi's eyes lit up. "Or does that mean you've already convinced Doctor Chen, and all we have to do now is go see him!"

Zhao Da'e lowered her head somewhat guiltily, "Not yet, I haven't gone to see him yet."

The implication is that Chen Shuyi had no idea about acting; it was entirely Zhao Da'e's idea on the spur of the moment.

However, Zhao Da'e still said confidently, "But Chen Shuyi is a good person, I don't think he would refuse us."

This is for the good of the whole village, and Dr. Chen has no reason to refuse.

Changing the subject, Zhao Da'e added, "But we can't just go to Dr. Chen so directly; we have to let Dr. Chen see our determination."

Speaking of this, Xiangzi started to struggle again. "Huh? Auntie, what do you mean by that? We're going to see Doctor Chen, but we can't just go directly. We have to show him our determination. Why is it so complicated? What's going on? Can't we just go to Doctor Chen and explain our purpose? Like you said, we're doing this for the villagers' benefit. What reason would Doctor Chen have to refuse? Why do we have to go through all this trouble? Why can't we just say it directly? This is so complicated."

Seeing Xiangzi's dazed look, Zhao Da'e couldn't help but sigh. When will this silly Xiangzi finally come to his senses?