Chapter 169

After breakfast, Lin Moyang and Lin Changshun set out for the Pojiao Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy supplies. Before they left, Lin Moyang had bought two packs of cigarettes for Wang Shunyou, asking him to help recruit some people. Because the newspaper had published an article smearing him, the villagers were pessimistic about Lin Moyang’s future, and Lin Changshun doubted he could convince anyone to help on his own. Wang Shunyou, however, remained unbothered. After all, he had been the head of the entire brigade and later the first director of the village. He now held an important position, and he knew his reputation still carried weight. He saw this as an opportunity to help Lin Moyang turn the tide. Lin Moyang felt a wave of gratitude. "Xiaoyang, the clean are self-evidently clean, and the murky are self-evidently murky," Wang Shunyou said, his tone unhurried as he took a sip of hot water from the enamel mug on his desk. "These are all old, worn-out stories. Everyone knows they have nothing to do with you. It’s just that they were printed in the paper, which has made people a bit skittish." He clearly didn't take such tactics to heart.