"That's right! Didn't you create a team, sir? I see they train all day long, and if they want to fight, they will fight!"
"I don't think it's necessarily about the bandits. Maybe it's the husband who wants to increase our wages!"
"Wage increase? What are you thinking about?"
"What's the matter with imagining things? Don't you want a raise in wages?"
"Let me tell you, it's possible that the husband wants to announce his concubinage!"
"Taking a concubine? Who should I keep?"
"Who else could it be, Director Yang? She has been living in her husband's house, but he hasn't given Director Yang a title yet!"
"Even if it's this matter, there's no need to call so many people for a meeting, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense, sir, they are here..."
Not far away, Lin Xu, Ruolan, Yang Min, the village chief, Sun Chong and others walked over together, their faces serious.
Arriving in front of everyone, Lin Xu stood on a table that had been prepared long ago. Looking at the crowded crowd, he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please be quiet!"
Normally, with so many people in a meeting, it would be difficult to quiet down without shouting for a minute or two!
But this time, everyone was feeling uneasy. Lin Xu only said this, and the whole threshing floor soon became silent!
Lin Xu looked around at everyone again, then took a homemade loudspeaker from Sun Chong and said loudly: "Folks, I have something important to tell you today. I hope everyone will be mentally prepared first!"
"Today at noon, some people already know that the bandits from Xiaoyangshan came to our village, some may not know yet, and some may have heard some rumors..."
"Here, let me tell everyone that at noon today, the bandits from Xiaoyangshan did come to our village, and the second shopkeeper of Xiaoyangshan personally brought them here!"
"The purpose of their coming here is to ask me to pay them the money!"
"Actually, since the textile factory in our village started working, I have been paying the regular payment to Xiaoyangshan. I can't do it without paying! Otherwise, the cloth woven in our village will not be able to be sent to the city!"
"I know everyone is afraid of bandits, so I never told everyone about this!"
"In the past, the bandits asked me for one hundred taels of silver every month, but I endured it!"
"But, today they came over and said that starting from this month, they will have to pay two hundred taels of silver every month!"
"I was worried that if I didn't give it, they would immediately kill people and establish their power, so I gritted my teeth and gave it to me!"
"Folks, you should all know that our village now has textile factories, brick kilns, farms, and construction sites, but there is only one textile factory that really makes money, and everything else costs money!"
"In addition, factories and construction sites have to take care of two meals a day, and they also have to pay wages to everyone. You can do the math for yourself how big an expense this is!"
"To tell you the truth, our textile factory did make some money, but this money is basically enough to cover all expenses. There is no money to hand over to the bandits!"
"I raised extra money every month and gave it to the bandits!"
"The appetite of the bandits can never be satisfied! This month it is two hundred taels, but what about next month? It may be four hundred taels! It may be five hundred taels!"
"One day, I will definitely not be able to get the money out!"
"With the style of bandits, they will definitely kill people to establish their authority when the time comes!"
Speaking of this, Lin Xu paused for a while before continuing: "So, for everyone's safety, after discussing with the village chief, Yang Min and others, I had to make a painful decision!"
"That means starting from tomorrow, all construction sites will be temporarily suspended!"
"As for the time to restart work, it depends on when the bandit chaos can be resolved!"
"If anyone is worried about safety issues, they can temporarily leave the village during this period..." This chapter has been completed!