Before tying the knot, Su Ling often attended his seniors’ art exhibitions, soaking in inspiration. However, marriage changed his routine drastically, for he became a rare sight at these events. And in the last year, grappling with matters close to the heart, his creative well ran dry. He struggled to pick up the brush and was unable to muster the courage to face his mentor and seniors altogether.
At long last, the heavy cloak of melancholy lifted from his soul, setting free a radiant wave of creative energy. With a brush in hand, his every brushstroke took wing with the lithe grace of a dragon ascending to the skies.
When the time for the next gathering arrived, he could finally stride through those doors with newfound courage.
Su Ling carefully laid out a piece of rice paper across the long table. With deliberate grace, he added a few drops of water to the inkstone, then began grinding the inkstick with a calm, unhurried rhythm.
After wolfing down its meal, the puppy caught the scent of its owner and dashed from the main house to the pavilion. It happily squatted at Su Ling‘s feet, tail wagging with excitement.
Rolling up his sleeves, Su Ling gently chided, “Now, now, be a good boy and stay put. No more of your mischief, okay?”
Arf! Whether the little one had truly comprehended Su Ling’s words was anyone’s guess, as it swiftly scampered away, only to return sometime later with a toy clamped firmly between its jaws. Retreating to a quiet nook of the studio, the puppy happily immersed itself in gnawing away at its plaything.
Deciding to leave the playful puppy to its antics, Su Ling turned away with a small smile tugging at his lips. He reached for his ink brush[1] and dipped its bristles into the rich, ebony ink, preparing to create his next masterpiece.
Just as his brush hovered over the canvas, the doorbell rang, pulling him away from his painting. With a sigh, he set down his brush and went to answer the door.
Standing before Su Ling was none other than Village Chief Jin, who had come all this way to humbly offer his heartfelt apologies for the events that transpired at the village committee office earlier today.
“Li Yue’e has surpassed us all in education and earned your grandfather’s trust in her meticulousness. That’s why he entrusted her with supervisory duties,” Village Chief Jin fumed, his voice reverberating through the living room with each sharp slap to his thigh. “Despite murmurs of misdeeds, we could not find a single shred of evidence, nor did any villager speak up. But now, the nerve of her! Neglecting her duties and even abusing her power to enrich her own family! I’ve already issued a stern warning and suspended her!”
With a steady hand, Su Ling made a cup of tea for him and remarked calmly, “This is no fault of yours, Village Chief Jin. Management is a discipline, and even large corporations are not immune to oversights, let alone a village cadre without formal training. Director Li’s ability to manually record the attendance of over two hundred individuals with exactitude speaks volumes about her competence and commitment. So, her meticulous approach to her duties is truly commendable.”
Lifting the teacup to his lips, the village chief took a sip, then shook his head solemnly. “No matter how capable she may be in her work, if her conduct is not upright, I can’t entrust the supervisory duties to her any longer.”
Su Ling questioned, “In that case, Village Chief, do you have another candidate in mind?”
Village Chief Jin sighed, “No, I don’t. That’s why I’ve come to discuss this with you.” New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Su Ling’s brow furrowed in thought as he suggested, “How about this: Director Li continues handling the supervisory duties while I purchase some electronic products from a friend and have them installed?”
Stroking his beard contemplatively, the village chief fixed his gaze on the young person across from him and murmured, “Tell me, these electronic products you speak of — are they truly reliable?”
The pace of change in this era was absolutely astonishing. Every time he left the village, he was astounded by how rapidly the world was transforming. Take smartphones, for instance; it seemed as if they had woven themselves into the fabric of everyday life and appeared in everyone’s hands overnight!
Su Ling chuckled, “You can trust me on this. My friend owns an electronic and info-tech company. They specialize in everything from face recognition check-ins and smart clocking-in systems to surveillance cameras.”
Upon hearing that, Village Chief Jin knitted his brow thoughtfully. “That kind of high-tech equipment doesn’t come cheap, I imagine.”
Su Ling reassured, “If I’m buying, my friend will surely give me a special deal.”
Setting up a state-of-the-art surveillance system across the mountainous terrain was no easy feat. To ensure thorough coverage, they would also have to construct a dedicated monitoring station at the base of the mountain, all totaling over a million dollars[2] in expenses.
Absentmindedly, Su Ling traced the rim of his teacup as his mind whirred with calculations. He had not even been in the countryside for an entire month, yet his spending had already far outpaced his earnings.
Sensing he had a plan in mind, Village Chief Jin decided to leave it be and left in a hurry.
As for Li Yue’e, she heaved deep sighs at home. Her accusatory finger pointed relentlessly at her brother’s head, frustration pouring forth in her words.
“If only you could actually be of use for once, would I have to go to such lengths?” she berated, her tone laced with exasperation. “Look at you, over thirty and accomplished next to nothing! While others are earning a living in the city, you manage to lose money, get into fights, and nearly land yourself in jail! Even with a job lined up in the village, you work just six hours while everyone else puts in a full eight? Do the math! How much potential income have you lost? I’ve had to shamelessly pull strings to get you the extra hours! In the past, I could easily get away with it, but now we’ve got a young master from the city who won’t be fooled! I’ve lost credibility and even my job. Even the village chief is so enraged that he might just strip me of my role!”
Li Guo kept his head bowed, his expression vacant as he silently endured his sister’s tirade.
“Alright, Yue’e, that’s quite enough.” Her seventy-year-old mother could not stand to see her child so dejected, so her aged voice rose to interrupt the tirade against him.
“Mother!” Li Yue’e exclaimed, casting a helpless look at the elderly woman. If only she hadn’t coddled him so excessively, he might not have turned into such a hopelessly inept individual.
The elderly woman stated, “I’ll go have a word with Village Chief Jin and see if I can persuade him to turn a blind eye. We can’t afford for you to lose this supervisory role.” Read this novel at NovelPing for the best experience.
Li Yue’e hastily interjected, “Wait, Mother, please! Let me handle this myself!”
Let mother handle it? She’d definitely make a scene, and everyone in the village would hear about it! But I can’t lose this job since it pays 2,500 yuan[3] a month and that’s 30,000 yuan[4] a year. How could I possibly consider giving it up?
Now that Su Ling had besmirched her reputation in front of everyone present, a simmering resentment and animosity toward him ignited within her.
The author has something to say:
Su Ling: Who needs a husband when I’ve got my teddy bear? Hmph!
Lin Feng: …
_______
Let me address the myriad doubts some of you have about the surveillance system all at once right here.
To install the surveillance system, the company is required to determine the scope of the coverage area. Given the vast expanse of the mountainous terrain, setting up the surveillance system would require several hundred cameras. (These cameras vary in various specifications, ranging from high-definition to standard, with options for infrared capabilities and different detection ranges, all of which influence their pricing.)
Next is the wiring. The cost varies depending on the type of cables used, such as fiber optic, electrical, network, and video cables. (For a mountain 300 to 400 meters high, a lot of cabling will be needed, and the wiring alone will be quite expensive.)
Additionally, there are costs for the surveillance system, display screens, electrical panels, transportation fees, and labor costs for installation. Furthermore, a dedicated monitoring station is required to be built at the foot of the mountain to support the surveillance system.
Thus, a million yuan is actually considered inexpensive ^___^
(PS: Later, it will be mentioned that the equipment Lin Zhou brought also includes smart technology, such as the smart bracelets used by the workers for clocking in. So, this million-dollar figure isn’t just something I made up, ahem.)
[1] 毛笔 (máo bǐ): The ink brush is an indispensable tool in the art of Chinese calligraphy and painting. It is also one of the tools mentioned in the Four Treasures of the Study (文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo) — an expression used to refer to the ink brush, inkstick, paper, and inkstone used in Chinese calligraphy and painting. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink_brush
[2] CNY 1,000,000 is approximately US $137,578.10.
[3] CNY 2,500 is approximately US $344.06.
[4] CNY 30,000 is approximately US $4,128.70.