Chapter 567: Chapter 567: Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

Shen Ci chuckled and shook his head, “No, what I mean is that it should be repaired in your name. Add some merit to your record.”

This little contribution didn’t mean much to him, but it was significant for Xu Zhonglin, and it suited him best.

Xu Zhonglin was at a loss for words for a moment, “Can we really do that?”

He was an honest man who had never thought of taking shortcuts. He had felt very embarrassed about taking credit for Shen Ci’s and Meng Chuyue’s efforts last time.

Shen Ci smiled and said, “What do you think, are you able to do more for everyone from your current position, or could you do more if you were in a higher one? You must have heard from Yino that I usually engage in charity work. Repairing the roads here or elsewhere makes no difference to me.”

Xu Zhonglin fell silent for a while before responding, “Well then, let’s do this: the credit for the road repairs can still go to you, and when the time comes, we’ll say I convinced you. That way, I can still claim some of the merit without feeling like I’ve taken too much advantage of you, and it won’t weigh on my conscience.”

“Okay, then it’s settled. I’ll have someone transfer the money later.”

Xu Zhonglin narrowed his eyes, “How much are you planning to transfer? And which places are being fixed?”

Shen Ci replied, “I initially planned to repair the main roads of Wuliu Town and the highways of Xinghua Village and Xiaoliu Village, but now, to add to your merits, let’s fix the whole of Wuliu Town. And let’s repair those bridges too.”

Xu Zhonglin was speechless…

He managed a smile and joked, “No wonder people say, ’Rich people are detestable.’ I never felt that before, but now I really find you detestable. This is just too demoralizing.”

Some people were so poor they couldn’t even afford to build a small brick house, yet Shen Ci casually mentioned fixing all the roads and bridges in Wuliu Town…

Detestable, detestable, truly detestable.

A line of luxurious vehicles—one of them even a motorhome…

As soon as they entered Xinghua Village, the entire village was astir.

When the car stopped outside the entrance to Shen Mei’s family home, Mr. and Mrs. Shen were red-faced with joy upon hearing that Meng Chuyue had come.

Over the years, Meng Chuyue had sent gifts to Shen Mei during the holidays and never forgot to include something for Mr. and Mrs. Shen.

Always rare and valuable items—something not even someclosest blood relatives could match. Whenever the name Meng Chuyue was brought up, Mr. and Mrs. Shen beamed with pride.

Not to mention the year she had saved Shen Cong.

The elderly couple were eager to speak with Meng Chuyue but were initially overwhelmed by the pile of gifts.

Then the villagers swarmed around, asking all sorts of questions.

Finally, after Shen Ci and the others distributed a large number of candies and pastries to the villagers, things quieted down.

At last, Mr. and Mrs. Shen came face-to-face with Meng Chuyue.

Meng Chuyue still sweetly called them “Grandpa and Grandma” and had the children call them “Great Grandpa and Great Grandma.”

Xia Ping, Zhao Xiaoxin, and the other children followed suit.

The villagers, upon seeing Zhao Xiaoxin and the others—all beautiful and elegant yet respectful and affectionate towards Mr. and Mrs. Shen—were filled with a mix of envy, jealousy, and admiration.

Of course, they all knew why it was so.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen enjoyed such glory not only because of the good relationship between Shen Mei and Meng Chuyue but also because Mrs. Shen had once selflessly helped Meng Chuyue.

This was the reward she deserved for her good deeds in this life.

One person remarked, “It seems that it really pays to do good deeds.”

Another shook their head and said, “That’s not always the case. Many people who do good do get rewarded, but there are also cases of ingratitude. Luck plays a part too.”

The others agreed that there was some truth to his words, but someone else said, “Doing good deeds doesn’t always bring a reward, but not doing good deeds guarantees none, so we might as well do them when we can.”

This statement won unanimous approval.

They had rented the motorhome to stay over for the night and planned to visit Xiaoliu Village the next day.

The children didn’t stay inside the Shen house for long; they had quickly joined a group of village kids to play.