Chapter 220: Stay, Please Move to a Higher Position

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Zhu Yingning, but Wen Wenxu in front also stopped and turned around to look in surprise.

Zhu Yingning was stunned for a few seconds before she smiled slightly and asked, "Did you see it?"

Earlier, while Chen Fei was asleep, she had drafted an application for continued employment in her dorm room. She had worked on it intermittently for several nights, finally completing the revisions last night. If nothing unexpected happened, the application would be submitted to the township party committee, then forwarded to the county party organization department, and finally to the provincial party organization department for approval.

Approved, she will continue to stay in the village after the two-year service period.

Wen Wenxu understood the implication of her words, and his chin, which had been properly clasped with his upper teeth, gradually dropped downwards under the pull of gravity until his mouth opened into an exaggerated "O" shape that could fit a light bulb.

It took him a long time to regain his voice, and he asked from the bottom of his heart: "Captain, are you crazy?!"

During their time working in the village, it took him and Shen Fei nearly two years to gradually adapt, from a state of collapse. But how do you define "adaptation"? Wen Wenxu always felt that adaptation was a passive concept, a feeling of being thrown into an unfamiliar environment from which one cannot escape, a necessity, a reluctance to do so.

They gradually adapted to the behavior of the elderly in the village who still spit everywhere despite countless reminders, adapted to the villagers making sarcastic remarks or even fighting with each other over trivial matters, adapted to the express delivery always taking several days to be delivered to the village, adapted to a life without exhibitions and concerts, and adapted to not being able to find a chain milk tea shop when they wanted to drink milk tea.

Being adaptable does not mean being proactive, nor does it mean liking something.

Although they all tried their best to fulfill their duties and devoted themselves to the villagers, almost to the point of dying, Wen Wenxu always knew that they would not stay here forever. After the service period, they would definitely return to the big city, where a bright future was waiting for them.

All the opportunities are in the provincial government, and going to the countryside is just a way to gild their resumes and help them take off in the future.

Staying here only earns you a reputation for being highly conscious, and then what? You'll suffer all the hardships and sins yourself.

Obviously, Chen Fei thought so too. She stood behind Zhu Yingning with solemn features and a serious expression, as if she had made a very cruel and inhumane decision.

"What are you doing? I'm staying here, not going to fight. My life is not in danger." Zhu Yingning broke the solemn silence with a laugh.

"How long have you applied to stay?" Shen Fei asked.

"I've applied for one year now."

Wen Wenxu also asked, "Will you return to the provincial government in a year?"

"I'm not sure." She stared at the moss in the corner. "If the poverty alleviation results are well consolidated, I might leave. If they are still weak, I will stay." She paused for a long time before adding in a low voice, "Until the day the village no longer needs me."

Long periods of silence spread among them again.

The setting sun gradually fell, taking back the afterglow bestowed upon them. The alleyway fell into darkness, and everything within sight was shrouded in a hazy, dim gray-blue.

Wen Wenxu wanted to say something, perhaps urge her to reconsider, but he knew Zhu Yingning's personality and knew his persuasion would have little impact. With mixed feelings, he ultimately held back. He felt that attempting to persuade someone to change their mind after they had already made a decision was, from another perspective, a blasphemy against their decision, so he remained silent.

The three of them continued to move forward in tacit understanding, but the atmosphere was no longer as relaxed and happy as before.

When they were about to enter the house, Shen Fei took a few quick steps and came to Zhu Yingning's side. Standing side by side with her, he asked, "Captain, is this worth it?"

"Hmm?" She didn't understand what he meant.

Wen Wenxu went to the kitchen to cook first. Shen Fei looked at his back and sighed depressedly: "I've been thinking about a question recently."

Zhu Yingning showed a listening expression and waited patiently for her next words.

"The people we help are weaker than those born with abundant resources. Supporting the weak is our duty, there's no doubt about that, but..." She frowned, looking at her with sadness and confusion, "Weakness doesn't necessarily mean gentleness. There are also those who bully the weaker. I can't forget what happened to Grandma Lu, including what I've seen in the past two years working here—women always seem to be the ones being exploited. Does everything we do really benefit these women? Why do I feel like poverty alleviation only helps men?"

She asked, "If we can't even help people of our own gender, then what's the point of our poverty alleviation work? Are we just aiding and abetting the abuse of the other gender?"

Perhaps feeling his words were a bit harsh, Chen Fei took a breath to regulate himself, waved his hand, and explained, "Captain, I'm not accusing you of aiding and abetting evil. I just feel that your efforts and ours are not worth it."

Wen Wenxu had already turned on the faucet to wash the vegetables, and the sound of running water reached the door.

Zhu Yingning retracted her foot that was about to step over the threshold, stood outside the door, and looked at Chen Fei in surprise: "I'm surprised... and I'm glad that you are willing to discuss this topic with me."

She looked at the indigo sky above her head and organized her words: "I know what you want to say, Chen Fei. If you don't mind listening to me, let me tell you about my college experience."

"I joined a volunteer association in college, and there was a very kind advisor, a woman who taught Ma Yuan. She knew I came from an impoverished mountainous area, and she asked if I knew of other girls in need who were born in families that favored boys over girls. She said she was willing to provide financial support. I told her..." she said with a wry smile, "Be prepared to be disappointed."

"The first girl she sponsored had two older brothers, three younger sisters, and a younger brother. She was of compulsory education age, but her family forced her to drop out and help with farm work. My teacher transferred the money, but a few months later she returned to investigate and discovered that the money hadn't been used for the girl. Instead, her family had used it for household expenses and her brothers' studies."

"My teacher was furious, but she didn't want to give up on this girl because of these things. She's still a minor and doesn't have her own independent account. Even if she did, she probably wouldn't be able to get through to her family and control the finances. So, it wasn't practical to just transfer the money to her. Ultimately, her family would use it to support their son. After much deliberation, my teacher decided to buy a few boxes of sanitary napkins and send them over, figuring it wouldn't go wrong if she targeted specific feminine products. Do you know what happened?"

Chen Fei guessed hesitantly: "Was it used by her mother?"

"If her mother could use them, then at least they were used on a woman, but the result was even more chilling," Zhu Yingning said. "They used those sanitary napkins as diapers for their youngest son and as insoles for his shoes when he worked in the fields. The rest were sold. I don't know if you know this, but during military training, some people would buy sanitary napkins as insoles because they are more absorbent and can absorb foot sweat. Their family members learned this skill without any guidance. They would rather use expensive sanitary napkins as insoles than use them on their daughter, who they considered cheap."

Chen Fei was suddenly speechless.

This feeling of powerlessness was like a fish stranded on the beach, drying up bit by bit under the scorching sun. The scorching sun burned her, but she was powerless to do anything.

"After this incident, my teacher was no longer willing to support girls with brothers. She felt that since the money would never reach the girl, it would be better not to help. After all, her own money didn't come from the wind. If she was going to help, she would definitely spend it on someone she felt was worthy. So my teacher started looking for girls without brothers, and after a lot of hard work, she finally found one."

"This girl has two younger sisters, and her parents wanted a boy, but they couldn't. When my teacher sponsored her, she was in her first year of high school. She said she would study hard and repay my teacher in the future. My teacher said she didn't need any material rewards, and that as long as she could get into university, that would be the best reward."

"Did she pass the exam?" Shen Fei asked.

Zhu Yingning shook her head. "Throughout high school, that girl kept asking me, her teacher, for money to buy expensive electronics, like AirPods and iPads... She said she wanted to use the AirPods for listening to English and the iPad for online classes. My teacher felt uncomfortable with the idea, but she still gave it to her. She figured since she was funding the girl, she should provide the best conditions possible. In her second year of high school, she said she wanted to attend a concert by her favorite singer. My teacher felt that the opportunity to attend a concert by your favorite idol might only come once in your lifetime, so she paid for the concert as well."

"But my teacher didn't get the reward she expected in the end. The girl's final grades barely made it to the bottom of a second-tier university. Her family couldn't afford to send her to such an expensive private university. Although my teacher was angry that she got such a mediocre score, she still gave her a choice: repeat the year or go to a private university. Whichever she chose, my teacher would pay for it. But the girl chose neither. She chose to marry a middle-aged man from the same village who had made a fortune in the big city and never studied again."

"I have great respect for my teacher. She has the ability and willingness to support impoverished girls, something I can't do yet. I've witnessed similar experiences myself while living in the mountains. Although I warned her to be prepared for disappointment, it still makes me sad to see the outcome."

"It's precisely those who need support the most who frustrate funders the most. It's frustrating that the money doesn't reach them, and it's equally frustrating that the money reaches them but the independent spirit doesn't. The intentions behind rescuing these girls are good, but the process is fraught with difficulty, and the results are unsatisfactory. But if even we public officials abandon them—if their families, society, and the government abandon them—who can they turn to? Who can offer them a helping hand?"

"I've always been thinking about how I can truly help them. How can I spend money on them? How can I help them develop independent thinking? Then... I combined my own experience to come up with my answer." Zhu Yingning looked at Chen Fei, "It's economic development."

"Only when resources are sufficient can excess resources be allocated to girls. When resources are scarce, even if you preach to the villagers about gender equality and that girls have equal access to education, they won't listen. They will simply follow their ingrained beliefs and allocate limited resources to their most cherished sons. Therefore, economic development is essential."

"Perhaps the resources that ultimately come to girls are still scarce compared to those of their brothers, but as long as these resources exist, there will be girls eager to grab them and climb out. As long as one girl stands up, thousands of girls will follow. I myself am a beneficiary of this."

"I chose to stay, and that was the choice that my answer led to."

As the afterglow fades and darkness descends, a riot of stars adorns the deep blue sky. Free from the light pollution of the city, the countryside's vibrant night is like an upside-down ocean, churning out dazzling waves.

"But, Chen Fei..." She smiled at her, "This isn't a '1+1=2' problem with a clear answer. There's more than one way to solve it, and you can find your own path. Please reach higher, go to a big city, covet power, unleash your abilities and ambitions, and utilize the resources at your disposal. The higher you rise, the more likely you are to rewrite the rules of this world. Perhaps one day, the laws and policies you introduce will rewrite the lives of countless poor people, especially girls."

"No matter where we are in the future, no matter whether we will meet again or not, we share the same ideal." Zhu Yingning extended his right hand to her, his voice as firm as a rock and as gentle as water. "Chen Fei, I will always wish you a successful career."

Chen Fei held her hand tremblingly, tears rising shallowly, cooled by the night wind, blurring Zhu Yingning's not-so-tall figure and bright eyes in the dark night, but the place where their palms met was as hot as fire, and their heartbeats surged and beat.

Boom, boom, boom.

Deafening.

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The author has something to say: Another chapter will be released at 23:30.