Chapter 48 (Second Update)

This charity project is related to rural poverty alleviation. Qiao Wu came to the site in advance to understand the situation. If the situation is true, the foundation will have a dedicated fund for poverty alleviation work in this village over the next three years.

It was already 1:30 pm when we arrived at the village entrance. There was no road in the village, so the car could not drive in. At this time, there was another car parked on the open ground at the village entrance, and several people were standing in front of the car talking. One of them looked a bit familiar from behind.

Upon hearing the engine sound, the group turned around, and Qiao Wu finally understood what Zhong Min meant by "please give me your guidance" that day.

So that's where he was giving pointers; he's quite tight-lipped.

"Damn it!" Lu Yingchi exclaimed in shock upon seeing Zhong Min. "What does Zhong Hejing mean by this? Trying to poach people even in these remote mountains! I'll make sure he doesn't leave here alive!"

He had seen this man at the Lu family's dinner party; Zhong Hejing introduced him to everyone, saying he was her younger brother.

In this desolate wilderness, he worked through the night!

Qiao Wu opened the car door: "Stop being so glib, get out of the car."

There are very few outside cars in this village, and since the time had been arranged in advance, the village officials rushed to greet them. However, they were all stunned to find that the young girl who got out of the car was as beautiful as a movie star.

Two more came down, both exquisite and elegant, one of whom was a tall man with a rather unpleasant complexion.

In short, it wasn't that he judged people by their appearance, but the people who came in front and behind him all looked like college students on a field trip, not like corporate philanthropists.

"Hello." The village party secretary stood at the front. "I am the village party secretary of this village. May I ask your name?"

Qiao Wu reached out his hand: "Qiao Wu."

"You must be Ms. Qiao?!" The village secretary exclaimed, "You can't judge a book by its cover. You're so young and capable. You must have had a long and tiring journey. You haven't had lunch yet, have you? We've prepared a simple meal at home. Would you mind having something to eat?"

He led the people inside, and when he saw Zhong Min next to him, he introduced him: "By the way, this is also a philanthropist who came to the village for inspection, Mr. Zhong Min."

Qiao Wu smiled and said, "We know each other."

"That's great! Let's talk as we walk!"

Zhong Min was about to walk up to Qiao Wu to say hello, but before he could make eye contact with Qiao Wu, he bumped into Lu Yingchi first.

Lu Yingchi's eyes were full of wariness, and seeing this, Zhong Min had no choice but to call out across him, "Sister."

Lu Yingchi frowned: "What sister? Your sister's surname is Zhong, don't call her that!"

"Don't cause trouble." Qiao Wu pushed the people aside and looked at Zhong Min. "Why didn't you say you were coming? We could have come together."

“I’m not familiar with this area, so I came here to check it out after the party last night,” Zhong Min said. “You left in a hurry yesterday and didn’t have time to tell me.”

Qiao Wu was indeed in a hurry to pick someone up last night.

She nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Actually, there was a reason Zhong Min didn't say: he still vividly remembered what Qiao Wu had said to his sister last time.

In Qiao Wu's eyes, he was just an irresponsible, foolish, and reckless junior. Although he returned to the Zhong family mainly for his own and his younger brother's sake, he had to admit that one of the reasons was that he didn't want this person to look down on him anymore.

This was the first time he had taken on a project on his own, though it wasn't a large one.

Mr. Lu came to help the entire village escape poverty, while Mr. Lu was merely there to check on the children's education.

He didn't want to show weakness in front of Qiao Wu before the project even started.

Fortunately, he arrived early. Although he had a hard childhood, he had always lived in the plains. The mountain road was so bumpy that he had to stop and start, and he had barely made it there. He still hasn't recovered.

If Qiao Wu sees this, won't I be looked down upon again?

As he was pondering, a clear, cool voice brought him back to his senses: "Zhong Min."

He subconsciously looked up and met Qiao Wu's indifferent eyes: "Come here."

When the village officials heard Zhong Min call her "sister," they subconsciously assumed that Qiao Wu was the one in charge, so their conversation unconsciously shifted towards her.

This caused Zhong Min, who was distracted, to fall behind by several steps.

Zhong Minxin's heart skipped a beat when he realized what was happening, and he quickly followed.

Then he noticed that Qiao Wu slowed down and walked alongside him, occasionally veering towards him while speaking, so that he wouldn't stray too far from the center of the conversation and could participate.

Zhong Min's "Please give me your guidance" message in front of the forum was just a bold attempt to test the waters; he didn't really expect Qiao Wu to be of any help to him.

But he didn't expect her to so naturally pull him into her work rhythm, without holding anything back.

Qiao Wu never believed that the passing on of experience should be kept secret. Since Zhong Min called her "sister," she accepted it and would keep her word.

Moreover, Zhong Min is ultimately just a college student, so naturally he has a lot of naivety.

Lunch was arranged at the village chief's house, with two tables set up for the driver and the bodyguards he brought.

Lu Yingchi originally thought that the previous day's experience was already a transformation, but he didn't expect the real transformation to be here. He was really afraid that he would fall down the wooden stool. He also felt that there was some visible dust floating in the air. There were chickens, ducks and geese outside, and the chickens were running around everywhere and even entered the house. Eating, cooking and sofa were all in the same room. Wouldn't the smells mix?

He stood there stiffly, without saying a word.

Not to mention him, Guo Liyan and Zhong Min both looked surprised for a moment, but after seeing Qiao Wu sit down naturally, they didn't say anything and sat down obediently.

It was their first time visiting such a place, and they were all young people in their early twenties, so naturally they experienced a lot of disappointment.

To their surprise, Qiao Wu adapted very well.

With a "mountain" standing beside him, Qiao Wu didn't even need to look at his expression to know what he was thinking. He gently tugged at his sleeve and said, "Sit down."

The village chief said awkwardly, "My home is rather simple."

"No." Qiao Wu's face showed no unusual expression as she said gently, "My younger brother had a fever today, and he's also prone to motion sickness."

"That's uncomfortable," the village chief immediately stood up again. "I'll go make some sugar water for your brother; it'll make him feel better!"

Lu Yingchi was afraid there might be something else in the water, so he immediately sat down and said with a stern face, "No need."

"Could you please pour me some?" Qiao Wu said with a smile. "I'm also a little carsick."

The village chief beamed with joy: "Alright, alright, please wait a moment!"

Lu Yingchi leaned close to Qiao Wu's ear and asked, "Where are you feeling carsick?"

She's perfectly fine; she was even chatting and laughing with Lu Jinzhi in the car!

Qiao Wu pushed his head away and tapped his phone with his fingertip.

Lu Yingchi picked up his phone and saw that Qiao Wu had typed something. Two minutes later, he received a message on WeChat.

“If you really can’t get used to it, just say you’re not feeling well and wait in the car. I’ll have Guo Liyan make you some instant noodles later and bring them over. There’s water, drinks, and bread in the trunk. Don’t embarrass others in front of them. It’s basic courtesy. The people here are different from your classmates and friends. They’re already struggling to make ends meet. Don’t make them feel ashamed.”

Qiao Wu didn't expect that a pampered young master like Lu Yingchi could really get used to and integrate into everything here without any reservations. He might only have this one chance in his life to set foot in a place like this. Whether he gets used to it or not doesn't matter, but since he's come along, he has to do a good job of putting on a good show.

"You may not accept it, but you cannot deny its validity."

The people here naturally know that they are all from the city, and they also know that they are equivalent to gods of wealth. Even if Lu Yingchi overturns the table now, someone will laugh and help him clean up the mess.

But one thing is one thing, and dignity is dignity.

The village chief had already brought out the sweet soup. Qiao Wu put down his phone, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of the water, which looked whitish after the sugar was added.

Lu Yingchi watched her every move and felt that this person was really divided.

She had clearly told her before that it was Guo Liyan's way of getting opportunities by any means necessary, and that he could repay her if he was happy, and ignore her if he was not. But now she was telling him not to embarrass others.

How come she understands all these principles? How come she seems so adept at it?

"Would you like to try some?" the village chief tentatively suggested. "These are all freshly slaughtered chickens, free-range chickens raised on our own farm. They taste pretty good."

Qiao Wu picked up his chopsticks, smiled, and said, "Thank you for your help."

Seeing that she had started eating, the others also picked up their bowls and chopsticks.

Lu Yingchi originally wanted to make an excuse to leave, but seeing Qiao Wu completely absorbed in the food, he became somewhat curious.

Didn't this person grow up eating the same food as me? Why can she eat it but he can't?

A competitive spirit ignited within him, and he tried to ignore the uncomfortable factors. He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of food, and put it in his mouth.

It can't compare to what my family cooks make, but surprisingly, it's still edible.

This surprised Qiao Wu. She had never thought that Lu Yingchi could fit in, so she specially prepared some instant food in the trunk before coming.

But she was relieved.

"You've just recovered from your fever, so eat less oily food." She picked up the serving chopsticks that the village chief had specially placed next to her, and put some vegetables into Lu Yingchi's bowl. "The vegetables here are very fragrant."

Lu Yingchi was not a vegetarian, but he still buried his head and ate all the vegetables.

With such a large build, and having burned a fever all night and endured a bumpy ride, I'm really hungry right now.

"Give me a little more." He held up the bowl.

Qiao Wu glanced at him, her eyes curving slightly.

Lu Yingchi followed the smile in Yu Guang's eyes and looked into her eyes.

He found himself captivated by Qiao Wu's relaxed and bright expression of agreement, and even a little expectant, just like when he was in kindergarten and always looked forward to the teacher giving him a little red flower.

I worry about it when I open my eyes, and I worry about it when I close my eyes.

Just like he always did in front of his teacher, he wagged his tail and said, "Another bowl, please."

After the meal, the village officials were less reserved than before and led everyone on a tour of the village roads so that Qiao Wu could understand the actual situation in the village.

“Our location is just too remote,” the village secretary sighed. “When we were doing poverty alleviation work at the grassroots level, they taught us how to grow fruit and tea, but we couldn’t sell them because of the distance. They all rotted at home. A lot of young people have left because of the pressure. I’ve also tried live streaming to sell products online, but transporting these agricultural products is a huge cost. To be honest, we don’t have any reputation or unique features, and no one is willing to sell these things so far away. This cycle can’t go on forever. The people in this circle are relatively close by. Later, some individual farmers will live even further away. The land that’s closer has already been taken back by their own families so that the elderly can do some farm work. The land that’s farther away is the old fruit and tea trees that no one is taking care of.”

The group reached a high point in the village, and then had to climb further up, past which was a mountain path.

Several elderly people carrying baskets and leaning on tree branches were walking downhill when they saw a group of people here, each of whom looked like a big shot. They were startled and quickly moved to the side.

"No, no, no!" Qiao Wu quickly stepped forward and extended his hand. "Do you need any help?"

The old man looked at those delicate hands, waved them, and spoke in a dialect that was incomprehensible.

The village party secretary went over and offered a helping hand: "They said you can't lift it, don't hurt your hands."

Worried that he might get in the way, Qiao Wu took a few steps back to make way. Seeing the pointed tip of the basket on the back, he couldn't help but gently hold the basket frame for the elderly people who got off.

The elderly people had just come down from the mountain and were planning to rest here.

Upon seeing a stranger, they asked the village secretary a few questions, then looked eagerly at Qiao Wu and took out some cookies and candies they had never eaten before from their pockets and handed them to her.

Qiao Wu glanced at it and saw that it contained the names of pirated brands.

But she still accepted it with both hands: "Thank you."

“They are very grateful that you came,” the village secretary said. “Our area is at a higher altitude and gets colder faster than other places. It will be rainy and inconvenient, so we have to harvest the crops as soon as autumn arrives. Since the young people are not at home, the neighbors help with the harvest. Then we will sell them in the township. This is the busiest time right now.”

"Do you just memorize this every day?" Qiao Wu asked.

"Several times a day."

"How about this?" Qiao Wu said, "I have a small to medium-sized heavy-duty drone in my car. It was originally intended for surveying the terrain, but we haven't used it yet. I can help transport it a few times today, so you won't have to go through all that trouble going up and down. I can also go up and take a look at the terrain from there."

"That would be great, but none of us know how to use this kind of thing."

Qiao Wu smiled and said, "I have a drone license."

Lu Yingchi was shocked: "When did you get pregnant?!"

He didn't notice what was stuffed in the trunk when he got in the car; now it seems Qiao Wu had prepared it all in advance.

“When you don’t know,” Qiao Wu rolled up his sleeves, “Come on, lend a hand.”

After descending the mountain again, the group who had helped the elderly carry their belongings down were panting heavily. Looking back at Qiao Wu, they saw her already squatting down and diligently adjusting the drone, her movements clean and efficient, her expression focused.

She had helped on the way down the mountain and was tired too. Her face was still flushed and her hair was a little messy, but she was still the most dazzling one.

Once the drone took off, Qiao Wu told everyone to follow, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

Lu Yingchi was worried that she would collapse from exhaustion halfway through the journey, so he followed closely behind her. He could clearly hear Qiao Wu's increasingly heavy breathing, but he didn't hear her utter a single complaint of being tired. She could even laugh and discuss the various sights she saw along the way with the village officials.

Until everyone reached the mountaintop again where the crops needed to be transported.

Although it was autumn, the sun was still quite scorching. Qiao Wu didn't stop for a moment. Her expensive clothes were already covered in mud from the surrounding area. Wearing a hat, she squatted in the sun, teaching a few village officials how to tie things up.

As the drone took off carrying its cargo, Qiao Wu stood up and looked up, and Lu Yingchi felt his fever returning.

He started to feel dizzy, and when he looked at Qiao Wu, he felt that the man was a ball of light that was sparkling and shimmering.

How can she be so amazing, so patient?

The village secretary and the elderly people were all excited, grabbing Qiao Wu's arm and saying in broken Mandarin, "You're really amazing!"

Then he hurriedly went to help tidy up the other crops.

Zhong Min stood beside Qiao Wu watching her operate, not really understanding her approach: "You can only help once or twice."

They will only stay here for a few days, but these elderly people will have to endure this kind of life for countless days and repeat it countless times in the future.

"So what?" Qiao Wu said casually. "At least I helped when I saw it. Isn't it good to relax for a day? Even if it's just for a second, doing charity is the same principle. Every little change counts. Does charity only count if it's hundreds of millions or billions? A few dollars or tens of dollars count too."

The old people gathered around again, piling the things in various places in front of Qiao Wu.

Zhong Min was pushed to another location, and he looked at Qiao Wu again.

The person who seemed so aloof and untouchable at first glance now showed no discomfort at being touched by the elderly. Her eyes crinkled with laughter, melting into the sunlight behind her.

It wasn't just her politeness as a kind person, but rather her genuine giving and empathy.

She is a contradictory person; she can possess the arrogance of wealth and power, yet she can also be as easygoing as an ordinary person.

Even so, he still felt that she was superior to him, not in terms of appearance or temperament, but in terms of her thoughts and morals that always placed her above him, a vulgar person.

Zhong Min suddenly felt a strong urge to go back in time and slap his past self when he first met Qiao Wu.

Qiao Wu is still communicating with village officials.

"This drone doesn't have a large payload capacity; it's not designed for dedicated transport," she said while operating the drone. "If anyone in the village wants to learn, I can personally fund and provide the necessary resources to buy you a drone that can carry a larger load. No matter the season, if you need to transport goods again, everyone can come up together, pack the goods, and then transport them down together."

The village Party secretary couldn't hide his delight: "Have you agreed to cooperate with our village?"

"I need to take another look. Those I mentioned are private donations."

"That's true, it's not very convenient for us to grow anything here."

"It's difficult to rely solely on growing things. Whether it's fruit or tea, it's not something that can be developed in a day or two to find varieties suitable for this land, and it's also difficult to sell them."

Qiao Wu glanced back and noticed that these restless kids were unusually quiet today, so he beckoned them over: "Come here."

The men's legs, which had felt like they were made of lead, suddenly loosened, and they all walked to her side.

Those watching were amazed.

Qiao Wu was used to their state of mind, and then said, "I think we can change our approach. Nowadays, people are very willing to spend energy to find scenery they have never seen before. You have many mountains and rivers here. It would be good to develop it into a resort. The further away and the fewer things there are, the more expensive they are. It can also increase the labor force."

"What about the fruits and tea leaves from our mountain..."

“Keep planting.” Qiao Wu raised an eyebrow. “We can sell them for even more money later.”

Zhong Min: "..."

See, the side of wealth and power has emerged.

That's what capitalists are like.

This was the second lesson Qiao Wu taught him.

After finishing with the crops, they surveyed the terrain on the mountain. Seeing that the sun was about to set, they realized it wasn't safe to stay on the mountain any longer, so they returned the way they came.

The village chief's house had limited empty rooms, and Qiao Wu was the only woman among the visitors. For safety reasons, Qiao Wu was allowed to sleep at the village chief's house, while the others went to sleep at other villagers' homes that had been arranged in advance.

Lu Yingchi was assigned to the next room, but he didn't want to go to bed so early, and he wasn't used to it.

He didn't want to sleep at the guesthouse, let alone here, so he sneaked back to the village chief's house.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Qiao Wu sitting on a small stool by the door. Next to her was a little girl who was doing her homework on another stool.

She was teaching the little girl to do her homework with her head down, and for some reason, the two of them kept giggling.

Lu Yingchi felt as if he had been transported to another world.

He had experienced similar scenes before; most of his few clear childhood memories were related to Qiao Wu.

As the youngest brother in the family, his older brothers didn't play with him much.

He would throw a tantrum, insisting on snatching Qiao Wu from Lu Xuan and the others. He refused to take a nap at kindergarten and insisted on going home so that Qiao Wu would tell him stories until he fell asleep.

Qiao Wu was never impatient. Just like now, she sat next to him in his little chair and spoke to him gently.

He wanted her to keep talking to him like that.

But in the past two days, he has discovered that while he was still feeling uncomfortable due to the environment and the hardships, Qiao Wu had already gone very far ahead.

He had always been trying to catch up with Qiao Wu, from learning her handwriting as a child to trying to become stronger like her. Only now did he realize that he had never caught up.

In the courtyard, the little girl had to get up early for school the next day. After she left reluctantly, Qiao Wu took out his phone to check the time.

She had promised to let Lu Jinzhi know she was safe.

Lu Jinzhi always called her, but after thinking about it, she decided to call him back.

But the person on the other end hung up the phone immediately.

Qiao Wu didn't pay attention, assuming he was busy, so she planned to just send a message. Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened the chat box, Lu Jinzhi made a video call.

She hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

Seeing Lu Jinzhi's back, she was somewhat surprised: "You bought a sofa?"

"Hmm." Lu Jinzhi tilted the camera slightly to show her what the sofa looked like. "You can sit here next time."

Qiao Wu: "..."

It seems he really did remember what he said last time.

Lu Jinzhi asked again, "Are you outside?"

Qiao Wu was backlit in the shot, so his face was not clearly visible.

"Outside the house, I was just teaching the village chief's kid his homework. I haven't seen so many stars in a long time, so I was thinking of going back later." Qiao Wu flipped the camera over, wanting him to see too, but she wasn't wearing her glasses, so she had to lean closer to the screen to look, only to find that the phone couldn't capture anything at all. "Now that it's autumn, I guess we won't be able to see them for long."

He then turned the camera back.

Lu Jinzhi suddenly saw her magnified face, closer than ever before.

The light from the screen softly reflected on her face, as if there was a separate light shining on her, allowing people to see the reflection in her pupils and her long, thick eyelashes more clearly.

Qiao Wu moved a little further away from the screen, but he could still see Lu Jinzhi's dark eyes focused and calm.

He remained silent.

Qiao Wu spoke first to explain, "Actually, it's nothing else. I just wanted to send you a message to let you know I'm safe."

Lu Jinzhi blinked almost imperceptibly: "It's okay if nothing happens."

"ah?"

Qiao Wu was a little confused.

“I said, you can call me if there’s nothing else.”

Lu Jinzhi leaned back on the sofa. He was more relaxed at home, his hair falling loosely, which made his features look much softer. "Personally, we are very good friends."

These were Qiao Wu's words during an interview, but she felt a little embarrassed when Lu Jinzhi said them out loud: "Those media outlets always like to make unfounded accusations."

Lu Jinzhi hummed in agreement: "Xu Chao has already taken care of it."

He lowered his eyes, his gaze not directly falling on the video, but his voice continued: "How was your day?"

In the past, Qiao Wu might have reported on her work to him, but every time Lu Jinzhi called her, it seemed that he wasn't asking about work, so she started talking about her own insights.

She held nothing back from Lu Jinzhi, after all, this man saw right through her, so she said softly, "It's good, I feel like I've left my mark on this world."

"That's why you like drawing sycamore leaves?"

Qiao Wu blinked, momentarily at a loss for words, not expecting him to make that connection.

In Lu Jinzhi's eyes, she was just an old friend who had mysteriously disappeared for twelve years and then suddenly reappeared.

But he didn't know that she was already a soul from another world before that.

When she first transmigrated here, she was actually quite apprehensive, so the phoenix tree leaf can be seen as a mark she left on herself.

Nobody knows.

But Lu Jinzhi later learned that he had also gotten into the habit of leaving notes in books.

It turns out he had written it down.

However, Qiao Wu wasn't prepared to tell anyone about this; it might remain a secret for her forever.

Qiao Wu suddenly remembered that before Lu Jinzhi returned to China, she had asked her what the sycamore leaves under those handover documents were.

"You recognized me back then?" she asked in surprise.

"no."

When was that?

Lu Jinzhi, who had been looking down, raised his eyes slightly upon hearing the question and smiled, "Every time you call my name..."