Chapter 104: Refusing to Let Shao Chengyuan Take Advantage of Her

Qiu Yinuo listened to the discussions of the people around her without offering much of an opinion.

Taolin Village was responsible for picking peaches, cleaning the fuzzy peaches, and then transporting them to Ping’an Village.

Ping’an Village handled the traditional canning process.

The disagreement arose during the selling process. Ping’an Village hoped the two villages could continue working together, while Taolin Village wanted to divide the work equally and manage their own village’s share.

As a result, the people from both villages argued incessantly.

After a long period of deadlock, Village Head Lin turned to Qiu Yinuo for her opinion. “Comrade Qiu, what do you think?”

Qiu Yinuo nodded. “I actually do have an idea.”

She took out a sketchbook and opened to the first page. “I’ve designed a cover for our peach preserves. Take a look and let me know your thoughts.”

The sudden change of topic left the people from both villages a little confused.

What had they just been arguing about?

How did the conversation suddenly turn into cover design? What was that even?

As the confusion spread, everyone instinctively looked down at Qiu Yinuo’s sketchbook.

It was a style they hadn’t seen before. Two cartoonish children with peach-shaped faces were holding hands and smiling.

Next to them, a slogan read: “Eat Jinxiu Peach Preserves—Feel Happier Than Yesterday.”

“‘Jinxiu Peach Preserves’? Comrade Qiu, is that the name you came up with?” someone asked.

Seeing her nod in acknowledgment, someone immediately waved their hand. “That won’t do. The cooperation between the two villages to open the factory is a big deal. We can’t just pick a name randomly. It needs to be something everyone agrees on, at least a name that reflects the majority opinion.”

Village Head Lin looked at Qiu Yinuo. “Is the name Jinxiu Peach Preserves based on our Jinxiu County?”

“Yes, the name is intended to promote our county. When people hear Jinxiu County, they should think of Jinxiu Peach Preserves, and remember Ping’an Village and Taolin Village.”

People from Taolin Village were confused. “Wouldn’t it be better to choose a name that includes both of our villages?”

“Yes, why not call it Pingtao Preserves?”

“That’s laughable. Why not just call it Lin’an Preserves?”

The two sides began arguing again over whether one village’s name should come first or the other, and Qiu Yinuo felt that some of the men were even more particular than the women.

It wasn’t like whichever village’s name came first would lead to them getting more money.

Qiu Yinuo slammed the table, cleared her throat, and said, “If we want to grow the business, we have to think long-term. Once our peach preserves becomes popular, whenever someone mentions Jinxiu Peach Preserves, they’ll think of Jinxiu County. Now let me ask you… if you were the county chief, wouldn’t that kind of recognition bring you pride too?”

Village Head Lin’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but look at Qiu Yinuo.

Could she possibly know that he and the county chief were cousins?

Only a few people in their village knew about their connection.

The news about their family being related to a high-ranking official had leaked out because his son, a couple of years ago, didn’t know any better and would boast about it everywhere.

At the time, his cousin wasn’t yet the county chief, just a small local official.

But as time passed, his cousin gained political achievements and eventually became the county chief.

That matched what the villagers had guessed, and after that, he forbade his son from bragging about their family connections.

Village Head Lin kept quiet about it, which only made the high-ranking official more mysterious.

Qiu Yinuo had actually seen Village Head Lin with a man who looked like a government official a few days ago when she was out buying cans at the neighboring factory. She had asked around and found out that the man was indeed the county chief.

In an instant, Qiu Yinuo thought that the man might very well be the high-ranking relative of Village Head Lin.

She had said it today mainly to test Village Head Lin.

Sure enough, Village Head Lin frowned. He knew nothing about Qiu Yinuo, but it seemed she had figured out his background.

The name Jinxiu Peach Preserves was undoubtedly a subtle attempt at flattering him.

If this factory really became a local specialty, it would be a remarkable achievement for his cousin.

“What’s that got to do with the county chief?” Village Head Lin asked.

Qiu Yinuo replied calmly, “Why wouldn’t it? If you make your superior look good, you’ll benefit too. Think about it, what convenience wouldn’t be granted to someone who brings honor to their leader?”

That instantly clicked for the crowd.

“So why not name it after Qingtong Town then?” someone chimed in.

Qiu Yinuo took a slow breath. “Because I don’t like the name Qingtong.”

Everyone: “……”

In a joint village meeting where even some men weren’t qualified to attend, Qiu Yinuo’s participation sent a shockwave through the entire village.

The discussion inside was heated, and the outside atmosphere was no different.

When someone spotted Ding’s mother joining the crowd to eavesdrop, the remarks started flying.

“Zixu’s mother, looks like Yinuo is trying to make a name for herself with the village head. Back then, you didn’t think much of her. What about now? Her man can talk business, and now Yinuo is also talking business. Women are no less than men.”

Ding’s mother’s face darkened. The person she looked down on had suddenly become the village’s sweetheart. Wasn’t this embarrassing?

“So what? No matter how impressive she is, can she compare to the girls in the city? My Zixu just sent word that he’s engaged to the leader’s daughter.”

Ding’s mother became even more smug. “Our future in-laws even invited us to visit the big city, and they plan to talk about the kids’ marriage. Good thing my son didn’t marry Qiu Yinuo, or my husband and I would never have a chance to visit the city.”

Rather than striking a blow to Ding’s mother, it only irritated those around her. Some people angrily turned away, while others couldn’t help but feel jealous. “What’s there to be so proud of? Luckily, Qiu Yinuo didn’t marry into your family. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up as a provincial city person.”

“What are you saying? You must be jealous. If you ask me, what’s so great about the provincial city? Compared to Ningcheng, it’s nothing. Ningcheng is a big city. I heard the emperor once built his palace there.”

Village Head Lin had been tested by Qiu Yinuo repeatedly, and he couldn’t get a clear read on her intentions. Soon, he left with the people from his village.

The others from Ping’an Village didn’t disperse; instead, they sat down to hold a smaller meeting.

The cooperation was already a done deal, but they needed to list the challenges they would face in the future.

The biggest issue was how to buy cheap cans in bulk.

Qiu Yinuo felt that as long as they worked with Taolin Village, the problem would be solved, since the factory director, no matter how capable, still had to give face to the county chief.

Village Head Sun quietly asked, “The county chief is a relative of Village Head Lin, right?”

“You noticed?”

“Your flattery is too obvious. Won’t this backfire?”

“That depends on how Village Head Lin describes it. If he genuinely wants to cooperate with us, he’ll definitely put a good spin on it.”

Village Head Sun gave Qiu Yinuo a deep look, his satisfaction hard to hide.

“Village head, can you stop looking at me like that?”

“When you were dating that Ding kid, you weren’t this clever. Did your husband make you smarter?”

Qiu Yinuo: “!!!”

She firmly refused to let Shao Chengyuan take advantage of her.