"Huh?" Qiao Xia looked around. "Does the oxcart make you get motion sickness too?"

The villager driving the cart laughed and said, "Some people raise chickens and ducks around here. You city folks might not be able to stand the smell of chicken manure. Just walk a little further ahead."

An hour later, Qiao Xia looked at the half-collapsed thatched hut in front of her and realized that the villager had not lied. In this place, let alone raising chickens and ducks, it would be difficult for people to survive.

Qiao Xia asked incredulously, "We're not going to stay here tonight, are we?"

"How could that be?" The villager wiped the sweat from his brow. "You are our richest people. If it weren't for your donation of so much money, the elderly here would have a hard time even getting enough to eat."

“I brought you here to ask about the donations we made before, which were for the children’s schooling. But winter is coming soon, and it’s colder up here than down here. I was thinking if we could allocate some of the money to repair the houses for the elderly.”

“Sure.” Qiao Xia agreed immediately without hesitation. “Next time you need something, just say so. There’s no need to drag us along.”

The fellow villager chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head, "I was just worried you wouldn't think it was worth it."

"It's charity work anyway, so it doesn't matter who it's given to, what's the point of questioning whether it's worth it or not?"

The villagers were also very direct: "Those who came here to do charity work before always ended up taking pictures with the school and the kids. What's so great about taking pictures with the old men and women after the houses have been renovated?"

There were many mosquitoes in the mountains, and in just a short time, Qiao Xia was covered in bites, while Qiao Zhaoxing was lying by the roadside vomiting non-stop.

Qiao Xia just wanted to find a place to rest as soon as possible, so she casually replied, "At that charity gala, my dad alone donated 200 million yuan. Even if you include the school and the house, it's enough."

"How much? Two hundred million?" The fellow villager immediately raised his voice upon hearing this. "Those people up there are absolutely ruthless!"

Qiao Xia was startled by his loud voice.

The fellow villager suppressed his shock and mysteriously approached Qiao Xia, saying, "Do you know how much the higher-ups allocated to me? Two hundred thousand. What can that amount of money do? No, I have to go and reason with the town mayor."

"Wait, come back." Qiao Xiazai looked at his fellow villager carefully. "I haven't asked you yet, what's your name?"

“My name is Niu Ping’an, and I’m the village chief of this village.” After saying that, he slapped his forehead, “I forgot, I should find you a place to stay first.”

As he spoke, he strode forward and soon stopped in front of a small thatched hut.

Qiao Xia looked at the house in front of her, her disdain written all over her face. Apart from being a little larger in area, a slightly cleaner yard, and half of the house not collapsing, the rest of the place was almost no different from the thatched hut she had just seen.

Niu Ping'an clapped his hands and said, "Don't be fooled by the outside. The inside is very tidy, even better than the hotels in town. What's that saying again? 'A hidden paradise awaits you.' Go inside and see for yourself."

As he spoke, Niu Ping'an warmly pushed Qiao Xia and Qiao Zhaoxing into the house.

Qiao Xia glanced at it and realized that Niu Ping'an's words were indeed not an exaggeration. Apart from the two thatched roofs outside the window, the decoration here was almost no different from that of a building in the city.

It is equipped with all kinds of modern facilities, including smart toilets, washing machines, and microwave ovens.

Niu Ping'an said with some pride, "This was built by the most promising kid in our village. They even installed underfloor heating, so it's as warm as summer in winter. In the whole village, Uncle Niu and his wife are the most comfortable."

After chatting for a bit, Niu Pingan waved goodbye to Qiao Xia, saying, "It's almost noon. When that college student comes back, I'll have her have a good drink with you. You're both city folks, you'll get along well."

"I still need to go to town to find the mayor and demand an explanation. I can't stay any longer, otherwise I won't be able to get back before dark."

"Wait, I don't think it's necessarily because someone at the top is embezzling." After entering the house and looking through the window, Qiao Xia saw that there were mountains upon mountains outside.

The charity gala that night was hosted by her maternal grandfather. Although he was easily influenced and a bit confused as he got older, he had a strong sense of integrity and would never do something like fraudulent fundraising.

In addition to the donations received after the charity gala, two-thousandths of the total auction proceeds were also used for charity, raising a total of approximately 500 million.

It sounds like a lot, but what she needs is definitely more than just this one mountain. After deducting the taxes to be paid, it would be reasonable to get 200,000 from this mountain.

But Niu Ping'an wouldn't listen to any of that. "Two hundred million, and you only give me two hundred thousand? Isn't that bullying? No way, I have to go to the town mayor and get an explanation."

Qiao Xia didn't want to cause trouble for the town mayor because of something she said.

I can only use the method I'm best at: "What if I could pay?"

Niu Ping'an looked at her suspiciously, "How much can you give?"

Qiao Xia cleared her throat. "How many do you want?"

Niu Ping'an slowly extended three fingers, "Three..." Three hundred thousand.

“Okay, here’s three hundred million.” Qiao Xia said directly.

Upon hearing this, Niu Ping'an immediately perked up. "If that's how you put it, then I'll have to have a drink with you. You wait here, I'll go home and get some wine. Don't go! Please don't go!"

Niu Ping'an walked away, turning back every three steps, while the true owner of the house quietly peeked out at that moment.

Aunt Niu, who had a severe hunchback, cautiously peeked out, and the five children behind her also curiously peeked out.

There were four girls and one boy. The oldest looked like they were about to come of age, while the youngest boy was only five years old.

Strangely, the girls were all wearing expensive brand-name clothes, while the boys' clothes were only considered clean.

As soon as Aunt Niu saw Qiao Xia's gaze fall on her son, she immediately protected him by hiding him behind her back, saying, "My family is rich, we don't sell our children."

Qiao Xia frowned even more. Just then, the sound of a motorcycle hummed in the yard, and Aunt Niu hurriedly took small steps to go and meet it.

"Honey, you're finally back." She pointed at Qiao Xia and the other woman in a low voice, "It's them, the ones Ping An brought. They've been staring at our Yao Zong the whole time. Maybe they think he's clever and want to take him away."

Qiao Xia was completely speechless.

The man, however, didn't doubt these words at all. He rolled up his sleeves and walked towards them, saying, "What the hell? That bastard Niu Ping'an, he's trying to buy a child from our family?"

"Are we the kind of people who can't afford to raise children?" Uncle Niu grabbed a stick from the ground, ready to fight.

Qiao Xia quickly shielded her father behind her, only to see an extra hand appear behind Uncle Niu, forcefully throwing the wooden stick in his hand to the ground.

"You've sold before, so if you're so capable, don't try to show off with my money." The man took off his helmet, revealing features that resembled those of Aunt Niu and Aunt Niu, yet he was on a completely different level of beauty.