Ever since the village chief made that announcement over the loudspeaker, after dinner, waves of people flocked to the stone courtyard.

The courtyard became unusually lively.

Those who want to lease complete machines should consult Yan Jie; those who want to purchase bricks, stones, and gravel should ask Shen Yingyu for money; those who want to make their own fences should ask Yu Xiangwan to revise their designs; those who want to lay water pipes and electrical wiring should ask Xie Wanyi for solutions; and those who want to plant landscaping should ask Jiang Hexi to assign tasks.

Chu Yang and Liu Yuxi were left to manage the chicken farm, fields, and pond.

After seeing off the village officials, Jiang Hexi returned to the courtyard and spotted Heiwa peeking out from the crowd.

She went back into the house, grabbed a piece of chocolate, beckoned Heiwa over, and stuffed the chocolate into his hand.

"Thank you, Sister Jiang." Heiwa clutched the chocolate tightly in his hand, revealing a set of white teeth with a smile.

What are you doing here?

"My grandma asked me to come and see how much they pay a day for jobs here."

Jiang Hexi knew immediately what Granny Xiang was up to.

"This recruitment drive will not pay wages."

"Sister Jiang, why are so many people coming here to work if they're not paid?" Heiwa asked, his eyes wide with confusion.

Jiang Hexi was stumped by this question.

She found it difficult to explain to a seven-year-old boy why Professor Luo and his wife had stayed at Sanxi Lake for twelve years to manage the ecological environment.

She couldn't explain why the villagers were so enthusiastic about participating in the transformation of the ecological wetland park. The village committee provided the money, the villagers provided the labor, and everyone was working together to make the village's tourism industry bigger and stronger.

"Heiwa, are your parents still working in another city?"

"Yes, I left right after the New Year. Grandma said I won't be back until New Year's Eve."

"Would you like your parents to stay home with you?"

"Yes, I dream about it."

Jiang Hexi's gaze towards Heiwa was firm and powerful:

“If you build this ecological wetland park well, your parents can do business right at their doorstep and keep you company. That’s why people in the village come here to work even if it’s for free.”

Heiwa grinned, his smile exceptionally bright.

[Xi Mei is so gentle and warm-hearted, I love her so much!]

I never expected her to explain things to children like that—so concise, insightful, and powerful; most people couldn't say something like that.

After seeing Heiwa off, Jiang Hexi pulled up a chair and sat down next to Yan Jie to listen to their discussion.

Li Youtian led Lu Jiu to find her.

"Xi-mei, the village chief said you wanted to see us?"

"Uncle Tian, ​​a Monet Garden is going to be built by Sanxi Lake. A lot of flowers and plants will be planted there. I want you and Brother Lu Jiu to learn how to grow flowers from the flower shop owner."

With her back to the camera, Jiang Hexi spoke in a low voice about the techniques of secretly learning skills from others.

Liu Yuxi carried a pot of boiling water and walked between the two of them.

She picked up a glass to pour water, but perhaps the water was too hot and too full, and her left hand couldn't handle it. She quickly put down the kettle and immediately used her right hand to take the glass of water.

As a result, she burned her injured tiger's mouth and cried out in pain.

Jiang Hexi looked in the direction of the sound, and in the nick of time, Yan Jie suddenly raised his hand to protect Liu Yuxi's hand.

In her panic, Liu Yuxi dropped the cup of boiling water, which then splashed towards Jiang Hexi!

With a loud crash, the cup shattered on the ground, and the scalding hot water poured all over Jiang Hexi's legs.

Before she could dodge, her thigh immediately began to burn.

Li Youtian instinctively reached out to block the glass of water, but it was too late; he couldn't block anything.

"Xi Bao—"

"What's wrong with you? How could you pour boiling water on Xi-mei!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously.

Yan Jie released Liu Yuxi, flipped over a chair, and pounced in front of Jiang Hexi. His voice was trembling with shock:

"Where did you get burned? Let me see how badly you're hurt."

Jiang Hexi firmly blocked his hand, her heart hardening as she said, "Don't touch me."

"I'll take you inside to take a cold shower."

Yan Jie made a move to bend her knees and pick her up, but as he stood up, he saw her trembling in pain. He quickly put her down, rolled up his trouser leg to check her injuries, and saw that the blisters on her knees had all broken and were bleeding profusely.

"I'm sorry, I hurt you."

"Wanwan—"

Jiang Hexi was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. She pushed Yan Jie away with all her might and shouted to Yu Xiangwan, "Help me upstairs to change my dressing."

"Yan Wang, go find a bottle of burn ointment. This burn is nothing to Xi Mei."

Yu Xiangwan diffused the awkward situation and helped Jiang Hexi into the house.

Li Youtian couldn't swallow this insult and immediately launched into a tirade against Yan Jie:

"Even if you want to protect Liu Yuxi, you can't throw boiling water elsewhere. Didn't you see Ximei sitting here?"

Ignoring the curses behind him, Yan Jie rushed out of the courtyard to get medicine from the production crew.

Liu Yuxi cried out in remorse, "Uncle Li, it was my fault for not holding the water cup properly. This is not Yan Wang's fault. One should take responsibility for one's own actions. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Li Youtian glared at her fiercely, then turned and walked out the door.

Lu Jiu pressed on, "Uncle, where are you going?"

Without turning his head, Li Youtian said, "I'm annoyed by these people. I'm going to find some herbs for Ximei."

Lu Jiu immediately followed after him, all smiles.

[The hearts of Yanxi CP fans are broken. How could Yan Wang do this, disregarding Ximei's life for Liu Yuxi?]

[This subconscious reaction is the most genuine; between Ximei and Xixi, Yan Wang firmly chose Xixi!]

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