Chapter 269: If You Can Do It, You Do It

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

The large bulletin board outside the Linchang office displayed a notice for the "89 Linchang Public Election Assembly." For the past two days, the loudspeakers nearby had been continuously broadcasting, calling on the townspeople to attend the assembly.

In previous years, these public elections were merely formalities. Whether intentional or not, the election for the factory head was always scheduled during the busy farming season. People were occupied with harvesting and had no time to attend these meetings.

But this year, due to a severe hailstorm, most households in the factory had suffered damage. Staying at home was not very meaningful, so upon hearing the broadcast, many people went to the Linchang office yard today.

The high turnout had two main reasons:

Firstly, and most importantly, according to the rule passed down since 1955, anyone who attended the election was entitled to a meal at the Linchang office—initially a strict rule requiring white flour dry food, which had evolved to a high standard of white flour steamed buns and a meat dish.

Now, with every household affected by the disaster, and most people no longer willing to eat meat except for Wang Er, who had slaughtered pigs, people were eager to take advantage of a good meal. Regardless of their interest in exercising their civic rights, no one would refuse a good meal.

Secondly, this year's election was not just a one-man show by Gao Dayi. The rumors had been true—Li You had indeed registered to run against Gao Dayi for the position of factory head, as announced on the broadcast.

In the past six months, the ongoing disputes between the Gao and Li families had become a long-running topic in the factory, especially regarding the sawmill and the Five-Star Civilized Household issue.

Now, with Li You officially contesting the election against Gao Dayi, the conflict between the two families had reached its peak.

People were even preparing small stools to watch the election results, hoping to see if the two families would clash and put on a spectacle in front of everyone.

Due to the hail damaging many of the factory's power poles, the entire factory had been without electricity for several days. Apart from the Linchang office, which had a generator, people had been living by candlelight for days. If not for the strict family planning policies, which had forcibly distributed condoms to every household, there might have been a surge in second children due to idle time.

By 9 a.m., the Linchang courtyard was surrounded by at least seven to eight hundred people.

People from all generations—young, middle-aged, and old—had come. There were white flour steamed buns and pork with vermicelli. Some women had even brought their children and, more extravagantly, brought sunflower seeds and pine nuts. They chatted about daily life while waiting for the election to start at 10 a.m.

In rural areas, as long as it didn't harm their own interests, any event could turn into a celebration comparable to weddings and funerals.

At 9:30 a.m., several people from the Linchang office came to the center of the courtyard, set up three desks from schools side by side, covered them with a red cloth, and placed a small blackboard next to them. They took up the megaphone and began calling for silence.

Although Gao Dayi was still the factory head, he could not host the election to avoid conflicts of interest. As the third-ranking person in the factory, Accountant Liu took over the meeting.

Fearing that the people in the back might not hear, Liu stood on a stool, with one hand on his hip and the other holding the megaphone, and shouted, "The meeting is about to start! Everyone, be quiet!"

Most people closed their mouths, but a few women and children were still chattering.

Seeing this, Liu raised his voice even more and said, "If the meeting doesn't end, there will be no meal, so be mindful!"

The courtyard immediately fell silent.

"Golden autumn October, the autumn breeze is refreshing. In this harvest season, our 89 Linchang is holding its triennial election assembly! This year's meeting is a special…"

Liu was satisfied with the effect, cleared his throat, and began reading the speech.

Meanwhile, the two candidates were waiting in the empty office.

Li You held a piece of grid paper and repeatedly murmured his carefully prepared speech for campaigning.

Although he had memorized it perfectly over the past two days, hearing Liu's voice and realizing he was about to speak, the words that were once firmly set in his mind seemed to evaporate with the sweat on his forehead!

Beside him, Gao Dayi, who was sitting with his legs crossed and a big tea mug in hand, sneered at Li You's nervousness.

Having participated in several of these events, Gao Dayi found such situations as routine as collecting a salary or visiting a grave. The only difference this time was Li You, and he wasn't worried about the election.

The recent disaster relief had united a large number of people, so he wasn't concerned about the votes.

"Hmph," Gao Dayi said, setting aside his tea mug and calling out to Li You, "Hey!"

Li You put down his speech and glared, "What?"

Gao Dayi snorted, "You're such an old fool. Why don't you just stick to planting trees at the nursery and manage your factory? You can't even speak well, and you want to make a scene? Don't you even look at yourself from head to toe—where is there anything that looks like it's fit for the factory head?"

Li You, already tense, was infuriated by Gao Dayi's words. "Gao Dayi, how do you know I'm not fit to be the factory head? Are you born to be the factory head?"

"Hey!" Gao Dayi waved his hand dismissively. "You're right. People are different. Some are meant to be officials, and some are meant to be servants for life. What's meant to be will be, and what's not meant to be won't come. Your Li family may have gotten a bit arrogant these years, but when you're at the grave, you should see if there's any official favor at the Li family's grave. Since the election hasn't started yet, let me advise you to settle down and manage your factory. Stick to making a living and leave the factory head position alone. You won't get it, and you'll just embarrass yourself!"

Li You's face turned red with anger. Clenching his speech tightly, he glared at Gao Dayi.

Gao Dayi, however, just chuckled and ignored him, looking elsewhere.

"If I can become the factory head, I'd definitely do a thousand times better than you!" After holding it in for a long time, Li You's mind went blank. He forgot the speech he had memorized. He crumpled the speech paper and put it in his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "A thousand times better!"

"A thousand times better?" Gao Dayi laughed at the exaggeration. "Why should I believe that? You can't even manage to make a proper speech. How can you do a thousand times better?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Just talking nonsense."

Li You clenched his fist. "I might not be capable, but my heart is in the right place! I don't believe that if I keep things fair and work to make everyone's lives better, I can't do a good job as the factory head!"

At this moment, Accountant Liu finished reading his speech and sent a young man into the office.

"Factory Head Gao, Uncle Li, the outside is ready. Accountant Liu wants to know who will go first?"

Seeing Li You's angry expression, Gao Dayi laughed. "Since you're so determined, you go first."

Hmph!

Li You gritted his teeth, looked at the gathered townspeople, threw his head back, and pushed the door open to go out.