Chapter 35: Town Meeting

Liu Heming felt quite gloomy the whole afternoon and could only pass the time by arranging his daughter’s room. After finishing the room, he went to his vegetable patch to water it a little, then ate a quick bite before heading to the town early.

He thought he arrived early enough, but the town hall was already full of parked cars. Anderson was outside smoking.

“Dexter, I really misjudged you before.” Seeing Liu Heming arrive, Anderson said very seriously.

“Huh…what’s wrong?” Liu Heming was stunned.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a good person. George already told me about it. I’ve decided that from now on, no matter what you buy from my shop, I’ll give you the lowest price.” After giving him a hug, Anderson said with great relief.

“Uh, it’s nothing. I couldn’t just watch everyone’s harvests drop,” Liu Heming forced a smile and said.

Even though he had already made up his mind, accepting the loss this time, he still felt a pang of pain when he thought about it now.

Inside, he finally saw all the residents of the town. Most were around the same age as George and Anderson. The only two young children were probably there on vacation.

“Hello, everyone. It’s been quite a few years since our last town meeting.” George tapped the microphone to get everyone’s attention and spoke.

“At our last meeting, we decided two things. One was the unpopular position of Town Mayor, to be elected every year, and eventually we settled on taking turns. The other was about collecting property tax. Because our town existed in name only, we activated a special clause: ten US Dollars per household.”

“Back then, I agreed with that decision too, since it meant I had fewer expenses. But looking at the state of our Xiangshui Town now, I think we need to make some changes.”

“You might not know yet, but our town welcomed its fifteenth resident this year: Dexter. And what we’re discussing today is related to him.”

Liu Heming quickly stood up and nodded to everyone. Many people looked at him with curiosity, probably because George hadn’t told them about the water shortage yet.

“Here, I have to announce some bad news. You might not have noticed, but this year, the Xiangshui River is showing signs of drying up again.” George spoke again.

“George, is that true?”

“Oh, God, I invested forty thousand US Dollars last year!”

“George, tell me this isn’t true. You’re joking, right?”

…

As soon as George finished speaking, everyone started shouting at once. Even though there were only a few people, the noise was loud.

“Quiet, everyone, quiet!” George shouted loudly, calming their restless emotions.

“Dexter was the one who discovered this issue. He used to be the owner of the Star Ranch, which is now called Magical Ranch. As you all know, there’s a tributary of the Xiangshui River on the Star Ranch. Now, some parts of that tributary have dried up completely.”

“Dexter is a very kind young man. After learning about the special circumstances of Xiangshui Town, he decided to supply the water from his ranch’s lake to help everyone get through this difficult time.”

“Yes, you heard that right. There is a lake on the Magical Ranch. We’ve had too little contact these past years, so no one knows when it formed. But I can tell you this: your investments this year are safe.”

This time, the reaction was unanimous. Led by Anderson, everyone clapped for Liu Heming. Liu Heming had to stand up again to acknowledge everyone’s gratitude.

“But one thing needs to be made clear: after all, this lake is Dexter’s private property. Even if he wants to supply water to us for free, we should still give him the compensation he deserves.” George continued.

“Now I propose that for those who have already left Xiangshui Town, we restore the standard property tax rate. Furthermore, I propose that we give 30% of Xiangshui Town’s property rights to Dexter as a reward for his selfless contribution this time.”

“I’ve prepared ballots and will hand them out in a moment. I hope everyone will take this vote seriously. If Xiangshui Town continues to be neglected, our town will truly be abandoned.”

Before anyone else could react, Liu Heming felt a bit stunned. What did 30% property rights mean? How much tax could this rundown town even have? Couldn’t they give him something more practical? At the very least, they could offer a cash reward.

But no one cared what he was thinking. They took the ballots George handed out and started filling them in. George didn’t leave out Liu Heming either; he gave him a ballot as well.

The ballot was simple—just a regular piece of paper printed and divided into two sections. At the top were two headings, matching the proposals George had just mentioned, with options below: “Agree” or “Disagree.”

After looking at it, he directly tossed it into the ballot box. No matter how he voted, his one vote wouldn’t carry much weight.

There were 26 eligible voters in total, including Liu Heming, so counting the votes was simple. The final result was 25 votes in favor and one abstention. George’s two proposals passed smoothly.

Liu Heming smacked his lips, feeling a bit bitter inside. It seemed like he really had to give away the water for free, without gaining any benefit at all.

No one cared what he was thinking. Even those who didn’t know him came up to thank him after the vote ended. Then everyone sat down and started discussing how to distribute the water.

The atmosphere, which had been calm just moments before, became lively again. After all, everyone wanted to irrigate their fields quickly this round—even a single day’s delay could affect their harvests.

In the end, George had no choice but to use a drawing-of-lots method. George also warned everyone that when taking water for irrigation, they must use it carefully and not waste any. Moreover, fetching water from the Magical Ranch was a special circumstance. They couldn’t just drive over to get water if it wasn’t very dry yet.

As for the next water-fetching date, it was to be decided later. It would depend on the weather, and they would need Liu Heming’s personal agreement at that time.

No one had any objections to this. If Liu Heming really refused to give them water, they would have no choice but to watch helplessly. Now that Liu Heming had voluntarily provided lake water for irrigation, he had already solved their urgent problem.

Many people now felt some regret. In the past, when they had free time, they should have walked around more. If they had discovered the lake earlier, could they have reduced their losses during the previous years of low harvests?

At the same time, they were a bit envious of Liu Heming’s good luck. With that lake, his Magical Ranch would become something extraordinary. So, after the meeting ended, Liu Heming gained another nickname: “Miracle Boy.”

This wasn’t given by the System, but by the residents of Xiangshui Town.