Chapter 341 - 341: New Officer
Chapter 341 - 341: New Officer
With materials and people in place, construction of the house began the next day. It seemed that everything was progressing in an orderly manner.
Now that the house was under construction, the paperwork for the son-in-law’s family’s resettlement needed to be expedited.
Jiang Chuan had made numerous trips concerning this matter. Today, he decided to make another visit to the chief captain’s house to finalize things.
However, before he could get to the chief captain’s house, some unwelcome news arrived.
Originally, Tian Zao was supposed to take over in a month. But due to some reasons, the chief captain was being transferred earlier, so Tian Zao would assume his position tomorrow.
Jiang Chuan received this news in the afternoon, which meant he only had half a day left to handle the matter.
But the chief captain was too busy. With a myriad of responsibilities to hand over, he had no time to attend to Jiang Chuan’s affairs. Jiang Chuan waited at the commune for the chief captain, who was bustling about. The sun set, and the chief captain had yet to rest. Feeling awkward, Jiang Chuan didn’t bring up his matter again.
After the chief captain had finished his tasks, Jiang Chuan chatted with him briefly and then headed home.
Zhou Lan, concerned about the situation, asked Jiang Chuan how things went as soon as he got home and she had served dinner.
Jiang Chuan looked worried, “It didn’t go smoothly. We’ll have to wait for Tian Zao to take over tomorrow.”
Zhou Lan shared his concern, “Is the new chief captain approachable? What if she delays our request?”
Jiang Chuan sighed deeply, “They’ll be handing over responsibilities tomorrow, so she probably won’t have time to process the paperwork. I’ll go over first thing the day after.”
The chief captain was efficient. In just one day, he had settled all his affairs. Since he wasn’t particularly close to the villagers, there weren’t many people to bid farewell to when he left. That very night, he packed up and moved out, leaving his house for the incoming Tian Zao.
After all, he had lived in this village for several years. Jiang Chuan was indeed impressed by her courage to leave without hesitation.
Impressed by the chief captain’s decisive move, Jiang Chuan had to admire him.
The next morning, Jiang Chuan brought some fish, shrimp, and wild vegetables to pay a visit. Tian Zao was just getting up and tidying up her messy house. There wasn’t even a place to set foot in her yard.
Jiang Chuan had no choice but to leave the things at the door and go in to help Tian Zao.
Flustered, Tian Zao greeted him warmly, “Thank you for coming over early to help. Are you also a staff member of the commune?”
Jiang Chuan replied, “Yes, I’m the accountant for the commune. 1 thought you might need some help since you just moved in.”
Upon hearing he was the accountant, Tian Zao’s expression changed, “Are you Jiang Chuan?”
Jiang Chuan was taken aback. Why was he so well-known? Even the new chief captain knew of him. But why did her expression seem off?
“I am,” Jiang Chuan answered.
Tian Zao had heard that Wang Xing’s appointment as accountant was thwarted because of Jiang Chuan, so her attitude towards him became distant. “I don’t need your help here. You can go back to the commune,” she said.
Feeling awkward, Jiang Chuan brushed off his hands, “Alright, 1’11 leave you to it then.”
Sensing Tian Zao’s animosity, Jiang Chuan didn’t mention the gifts he brought and silently departed.
Only after Tian Zao had settled in did she notice the basket of vegetables at her door, presumably from Jiang Chuan. Although her impression of him hadn’t improved much, her expression softened.
She thought that he seemed like a shrewd person, but wondered if his accounting skills were as good as the previous chief captain had mentioned. She decided she would inspect his work later at the commune.
Jiang Chuan was somewhat distracted that morning. Concerned that the new chief captain might be hard to deal with given her unfavorable impression of him, he pondered over a solution.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. Since Aunt Tian was Tian Zao’s mother, if he could invite her to the village and give the mother and daughter a chance to reunite, perhaps Tian Zao’s perception of him would change..