Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Part 2
This charity project is related to rural poverty alleviation. Qiao Wu came to the scene in advance to understand the situation. If the situation is true, the foundation will have a targeted fund for poverty alleviation work in this village in the next three years.
It was already 1:30 in the afternoon when we arrived at the village. 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 dam at the village entrance. Several people were standing in front of the car and talking. The back of one of them looked a little familiar.
When they heard the engine sound, they all turned around, and Qiao Wu finally understood what Zhong Min meant by "please give me your guidance" that day.
It turns out he was here to give advice, and he was quite tight-lipped.
"Damn it!" Lu Yingchi reacted angrily upon seeing Zhong Min. "What's Zhong Hejing's intention? He's poaching people and even brought them all the way to this deep forest. I'm going to make sure he never comes back!"
He had seen this man at the Lu family dinner party. Zhong Hejing introduced him to everyone else. He was her younger brother.
In this desolate mountain and wilderness, he became a member of the Naiyi Group overnight!
Qiao Wu opened the car door and said, "Shao Pin, get out of the car."
There are very few cars from outside the village, and since they had already arranged the time, several village cadres hurried to greet them. However, they did not expect that the person who got off the car was a young girl who was as beautiful as a star. They were stunned for a moment.
Two more came down right after that, all of them were exquisite and noble, and one of them was a tall man with a bad look on his face.
In short, it's not that he judges people by their appearance, but whether it is the person who came first or the ones who came later, they all look like college students on an outing, not corporate philanthropists.
"Hello." The village party secretary stood at the front. "I am the village party secretary of this village. What is your name?"
Qiao Wu stretched out his hand: "Qiao Wu."
"You're Ms. Qiao?!" The village Party Secretary sighed, "You can't judge a person by appearances." "You're truly young and promising. You've been traveling so hard. I guess you haven't had lunch yet? We've prepared a simple meal at home. If you don't mind, you can have some first."
He led the group inside, and when he saw Zhong Min standing next to him, he introduced him, "By the way, this is also a philanthropist who came to the village to investigate, Mr. Zhong Min."
Qiao Wu smiled and said, "We know each other."
"That's great, let's talk while we walk!"
Zhong Min was originally going to walk up to Qiao Wu and say hello, but before he could make eye contact with him, he met Lu Yingchi first.
Lu Yingchi's eyes were full of vigilance. Seeing this, Zhong Min had no choice but to shout across him, "Sister."
Lu Yingchi frowned: "What sister? Your sister's surname is Zhong, don't call her that!"
"Don't make trouble." Qiao Wu pushed the man away and looked at Zhong Min. "Why didn't you tell me earlier if you were coming? We can come together."
"I'm not familiar with this area. I came here to scout the area after the cocktail 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 else.
In fact, there was a reason that Zhong Min didn't say. He still remembered what Qiao Wu said to his sister last time.
In Qiao Wu's eyes, he was just a foolish and reckless junior who could not bear the responsibility. Although he returned to the Zhong family mainly for himself and his younger brother, he had to admit that one of the reasons was that he did not want this person to look down on him again.
This was the first time he took on a project on his own, although it was not a big one.
The Lu family was trying to lift the entire village out of poverty, but he just came to see how the children were getting educated.
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 bumpy mountain road made him stop and go many times before he arrived. He still hasn't recovered.
If Qiao Wu saw me, I would be looked down upon again.
Just as he was thinking, a cold voice brought him back to his senses: "Zhong Min."
He subconsciously raised his head and met Qiao Wu's indifferent eyes: "Come here."
When several village cadres heard Zhong Min call "sister", they subconsciously thought that Qiao Wu was the one who had the final say, so their focus inadvertently shifted towards her during the conversation.
As a result, Zhong Min, who was distracted, fell several steps behind.
Zhong Min's heart skipped a beat when he realized what was happening, and he hurriedly followed.
Then he noticed that Qiao Wu slowed down his pace and walked side by side with him. When he spoke, he would occasionally move in his direction so that he would not stray too far from the center of the topic and could participate.
The "please give me more advice" before the forum was just a bold test by Zhong Min, and he did not expect Qiao Wu to really help him.
But he didn't expect that she would pull him into the rhythm of her work so naturally and without reservation.
Qiao Wu never believed that the sharing of experience should be withheld. Since Zhong Min called her sister, she accepted it and would do what she said.
And Zhong Min is just a college student after all, so naturally he has many immature aspects.
Lunch was arranged at the village chief's home, with two tables set up for the driver and the bodyguards he brought.
Lu Yingchi originally thought that the experience of the previous day was already a metamorphosis, but he didn't expect that the real metamorphosis was here. He was really afraid that he would sit down on the wooden stool and it would collapse. He also felt that there was some dust visible to the naked eye floating in the air. There were chickens, ducks and geese outside, and those chickens were running around and even entered the house. Eating, cooking and sitting on the sofa were all in the same room. Wouldn't the smell be mixed?
He stood there stiffly, not saying a word.
Not to mention him, Guo Liyan and Zhong Min were both surprised for a moment, but after seeing Qiao Wu sit down naturally, they didn't say anything and sat down honestly.
It was their first time in such a place, and they were all young people in their early twenties, so naturally there were many gaps.
What they didn't expect was that Qiao Wu could adapt so well.
There was a "mountain" standing beside him. Qiao Wu knew what he was thinking without even looking at his expression. He gently pulled his sleeve and said, "Sit down."
The village chief said awkwardly, "My house is a little shabby."
"No." Qiao Wu's face showed no unusual expression. He just said gently, "My younger brother had a fever today, and he's not used to motion sickness."
"That's uncomfortable." The village chief immediately stood up again, "I'll make your brother some sugar water, it will make him feel better!"
Lu Yingchi was afraid that there was something else in the water, so he sat down immediately and said with a stern face, "No need."
"Please pour me some." Qiao Wu said with a smile, "I feel carsick too."
The village chief smiled happily: "Okay, okay, please wait!"
Lu Yingchi leaned close to Qiao Wu's ear and asked, "Why are you carsick?"
She was fine and was chatting and laughing with Lu Jinzhi in the car!
Qiao Wu pushed his head away and tapped the phone with his fingertips.
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're really not used to it, just say you're not feeling well and go wait in the car. I'll have Guo Liyan make you some instant noodles later. There's water, drinks, and bread in the trunk. Don't embarrass others in front of them. This is basic etiquette. The people here are different from your classmates and friends. Their lives alone are difficult. Don't make them lose their dignity."
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 scruples. He might only have this one chance in his life to set foot in such a place. It didn't matter whether he was used to it or not, but since he had come here, he had to do his best to show his superficial qualities.
“You may not accept it, but you cannot not acknowledge it.”
The people here naturally knew that they were all from the city, and they also knew that they were equivalent to the God of Wealth. Even if Lu Yingchi overturned the table now, there would be someone who would smile and help him clean up the mess.
But one thing is one thing, dignity is dignity.
The village chief had already brought the sugar water. Qiao Wu put down his phone, picked up the bowl and took a sip of the water that looked white after adding sugar.
Lu Yingchi stared at her every move and felt that this person was really divided.
She had clearly told her before that people like Guo Liyan would do everything they could to get opportunities, and he could reciprocate if he was happy, or ignore it if he was unhappy, but now she asked her not to embarrass others.
How come she understands everything and... seems so adept at it.
"Would you like to try some?" the village chief said tentatively. "These are freshly killed chickens, free-range chickens raised at home. They taste pretty good."
Qiao Wu picked up the chopsticks and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help."
Seeing her pick up her chopsticks, the others also picked up their bowls and chopsticks.
Lu Yingchi originally wanted to make an excuse to go out, but when he saw Qiao Wu completely immersed in the food, he actually became curious.
Didn't this person grow up eating the same food as me? Why can she eat it but he can't?
The desire to win was ignited in his heart. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable factors and picked up the chopsticks to pick up a piece of food and put it into his mouth.
It certainly can’t compare to what the chef at home makes, but surprisingly, it’s still edible.
This surprised Qiao Wu. She had never thought that Lu Yingchi could fit in, so she had specially prepared some fast food in the trunk before coming.
But she was relieved.
"The fever is just over. Eat less oily food." She picked up the serving chopsticks that the village chief had placed beside 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 finished eating all the vegetables.
I'm such a big guy, I've been burning all night and had a bumpy ride, I'm really a little hungry now.
"Give me a little more." He held the bowl.
Qiao Wu glanced at him, his eyes slightly curved.
Lu Yingchi followed the smile in her eyes and looked into her eyes.
He found himself addicted to Qiao Wu's relaxed and bright expression of approval, and even a little expectant, just like when he was in kindergarten, he always expected the teacher to give him a red flower.
I miss you when I open my eyes, and I miss you when I close my eyes.
He also wagged his tail, just like he used to do in front of the teacher, and said, "Another bowl, please."
After the meal, several village cadres were no longer as reserved as before and took everyone to inspect along the village road so that Qiao Wu could understand the actual situation in the village.
"Our location is really too remote." The village party secretary sighed and said, "When we went to the grassroots to help the poor, we were taught to grow fruits and tea, but we couldn't sell them due to the distance, and they all rotted at home. A lot of young people have left because of the pressure. I also tried live streaming to sell goods like those online, but the transportation of these agricultural products is very expensive. To be honest, they don't have any reputation or characteristics, and no one is willing to sell them so far away. It's not a good idea to continue this cycle. This circle of people is still relatively close. In the future, there will be some retail investors who live even further away. The land that is closer has now been reclaimed by their families and the elderly do some farm work. The land that is farther away is where the fruit and tea trees used to be, and no one cares for them."
The group arrived at the top of the village and had to climb further. There was a mountain path in the past.
There were many old men walking down with baskets on their backs and branches on their shoulders. When they saw a group of people here, each of whom looked like a figure, they were frightened and quickly moved aside.
"No, no, no!" Qiao Wu hurriedly stepped forward and extended his hand, "Do you need help?"
The old man looked at the delicate hands, waved his hands and spoke in an incomprehensible dialect.
The village party secretary walked over and lent a hand: "They said you can't lift it, don't hurt your hands."
Worried that he would be in the way, Qiao Wu stepped back a few steps to make way. Seeing the sharp points on the backpack, he couldn't help but gently hold the backpack frame when the old men came down.
Having just come down from the mountain, the old people also planned to take a rest here.
Seeing a strange face, they asked a few questions to the village party secretary, then looked at Qiao Wu eagerly, and took out some biscuits and candies that they had never eaten before from their pockets and handed them to her.
Qiao Wu took a look and saw that the names written on it were all pirated brand names.
But she still took it with both hands: "Thank you."
"They're very grateful that you came," said the village party secretary. "Our area is a little higher in altitude, and it gets colder faster than other places. It's inconvenient when it rains constantly, so we have to harvest the crops quickly after autumn. Since the young people aren't home, the neighbors help with the harvest, and then we go back to the township to sell it. It's the busiest time right now."
"Do you have to recite like this every day?" Qiao Wu asked.
“Several times a day.”
"How about this," Qiao Wu said, "I have a small to medium-sized load-carrying drone in my car. I originally planned to use it for surveying the terrain, but I haven't used it yet. Today, I can help transport it a few times so I don't have to go up and down so hard. I can also go up and take a look at the terrain above."
"That would be great, but none of us use that stuff."
Qiao Wu smiled and said, "I have a drone license."
Lu Yingchi was shocked: "When did you get it?!"
When he got in the car, he really didn't notice what was stuffed in the trunk. Now it seems that Qiao Wu had prepared them all long ago.
"When you don't know." Qiao Wu rolled up his sleeves, "Let's go, lend a hand."
After going down the mountain again, the few people who helped the old people carry things down were exhausted and panting. Looking back at Qiao Wu, she had already squatted down and started to debug the drone seriously. Her movements were neat and her expression was focused.
She also helped me when we were going down the mountain just now. She was also tired, and the blush on her face had not faded. Her hair was a little messy, but she was still the most dazzling one.
After the drone took off, Qiao Wu asked everyone to follow, as if he had endless energy.
Lu Yingchi was worried that she would collapse on the ground due to exhaustion halfway through the walk, so he followed her closely. He could clearly hear Qiao Wu's increasingly heavy breathing, but he didn't hear her complain about being tired. She could even smile and discuss the various scenery she saw along the way with the village cadres.
Until everyone reaches the top of the mountain again where crops need to be transported.
Although it was autumn, the sun was still quite scorching. Qiao Wu did not stop for a moment. Her expensive clothes had long been stained with the surrounding mud. She squatted in the sun with a hat on and taught several village cadres how to tie things up.
When the drone took off with the things on it and Qiao Wu stood up and looked up, Lu Yingchi felt that he was having a fever again.
He began to feel dizzy, and looking at Qiao Wu he felt that this man was like a ball of light, flickering.
How can she be so powerful and so patient?
The village party secretary and the elderly people were all excited. They pulled Qiao Wu's arms and spoke in slurred Mandarin, "You're really amazing!"
As he said this, he hurried off to help sort out other crops.
Zhong Min stood beside Qiao Wu and watched her operate. He didn't really understand her approach: "You can only help once or twice."
They will only stay here for a few days, but these old people will have to go through this kind of life countless days and repeat it countless times in the future.
"So what?" Qiao Wu said in a relaxed tone, "At least I helped when I saw it. Isn't a day of relaxation a day of relaxation? Even if it's just a second of relaxation, the same principle applies to charity work. A little change is still a little change. Is charity only considered charity if it involves hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars? Even a few dollars or tens of dollars can be considered charity."
The old people gathered around again and piled all the things in front of Qiao Wu.
Zhong Min was pushed to another place, and he looked at Qiao Wu again.
The person who seemed high and untouchable at first glance, now felt no discomfort when being touched by the old people. His eyes and eyebrows were curved with a smile, and he melted into the sunlight behind her.
It's not her courtesy as a kind person, but her true dedication and empathy.
She is a very contradictory person. She can be proud of being rich and powerful, but she can also be easy-going like an ordinary person.
But even so, he still felt that the other party was superior, not in appearance or temperament, but in her thoughts and morals that were always superior to those of a vulgar person like him.
Zhong Min suddenly wanted to go back to the past and slap himself when he first met Qiao Wu.
Qiao Wu is still communicating with village cadres.
"This drone doesn't carry much, so it's not specifically designed for transportation," she said as she controlled it. "If anyone in the village wants to learn how to do this, I can personally provide you with the funds and channels to buy you a drone that can carry more. If you need to transport anything again, no matter the season, we can all come up together, pack up our things, and then carry them down together."
The village party secretary couldn't hide his joy: "Have you agreed to cooperate with our village?"
"We need to look at it again. Those I'm talking about are private donations."
"Yeah, it's not very convenient for us to grow anything here."
"It's difficult to just rely on growing things. Whether it's fruit or tea, it takes more than a day or two to develop a variety suitable for this land, and it's also difficult to sell it."
Qiao Wu glanced back and found that these restless people were surprisingly quiet today, so he waved and said, "Come here."
The feet of several people, which had felt as if they were filled with lead, suddenly loosened and they all walked to her side.
Others were amazed by what they saw.
Qiao Wu was used to their state of mind, and then he said, "I think we can change our thinking. People nowadays are willing to spend energy to find some sights they have never seen before. You have many mountains and rivers here, so it would be great if you could develop it into a resort. The farther away, the fewer things there are, and the more expensive they are. It can also increase the labor force."
"Then those fruit teas from our mountain..."
"Keep growing." Qiao Wu raised his eyebrows. "You can sell it for a higher price then."
Zhong Min: “…”
Look, the side of wealth, power and influence is coming out.
This is a capitalist.
This was the second lesson Qiao Wu taught him.
After finishing the crops, they looked at the terrain on the mountain again. Seeing that the sun was about to set, it was not safe to stay on the mountain, so the group returned the same way.
There were limited empty rooms in the village chief's house, and Qiao Wu was the only lady among the visitors. For safety reasons, Qiao Wu was allowed to sleep in the village chief's house, while the others went to sleep in the homes of other villagers 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 even want to sleep in the B&B, let alone here, so he went back to the village chief's house.
He pushed open the yard door and saw Qiao Wu sitting on a small bench at the door. Next to her was a little girl who was lying on another bench doing her homework.
She lowered her head and was teaching the little girl to do her homework. They were talking about something, but they were both giggling.
Lu Yingchi felt as if he was in another world.
He had experienced this kind of scene before, and most of his few clear memories from childhood were related to Qiao Wu.
As the youngest brother in the family, his older brothers don’t play with him much.
He would make a fuss, insisting on snatching Qiao Wu from Lu Xuan and the others. He would refuse to take a nap in kindergarten and would insist on staying up all night to get home and have Qiao Wu tell him stories until he fell asleep.
Qiao Wu was never impatient. She would sit next to his little chair and speak to him in a gentle voice, just like she was doing now.
He wanted her to talk to him like this all the time.
But he discovered these two days that while he was still feeling uncomfortable because of the environment and the hard work, Qiao Wu had already come a long way.
He has always been trying to catch up with Qiao Wu, from learning her handwriting when he was a child to wanting to learn from her to become stronger. It was not until now that he suddenly realized that he had never caught up.
In the yard, the little girl had to get up early to attend class the next day. After she left reluctantly, Qiao Wu took out his cell phone to check the time.
She promised to report her safety to Lu Jinzhi.
It was Lu Jinzhi who called her every time. After thinking about it, she called him back.
But the person on the other end just hung up the phone.
Qiao Wu didn't care and thought he was busy, so he planned to send a message. Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the chat box, Lu Jinzhi called him via video.
She was stunned for a moment, and it took her a long time before she answered the call.
Seeing Lu Jinzhi's background, she was a little surprised: "You bought a sofa?"
"Yeah." Lu Jinzhi tilted the camera slightly to show her the sofa. "You can sit here next time."
Qiao Wu: “…”
He seemed to have really taken what he said last time to heart.
Lu Jinzhi asked again: "Are you outside?"
Qiao Wu in the camera was facing against the light and his face was not very clear.
"Outside the house, I was just helping the village head's child with his homework. I haven't seen so many stars in a while, so I thought I'd go back later." Qiao Wu turned the camera over, wanting him to see it too. But she wasn't wearing glasses, so she had to move closer to the screen to see, only to find that the phone couldn't capture anything. "It's autumn now, and I guess we won't be able to see them soon."
As he said that, he turned the camera back.
Lu Jinzhi suddenly saw her enlarged face, closer than ever before.
The light from the screen cast a faint light on her face, as if the light was shone there alone, allowing people to see the reflection of her pupils and her long, thick eyelashes more clearly.
Qiao Wu was a little further away from the screen, but he saw that Lu Jinzhi's dark eyes were focused and calm.
He didn't say anything.
Qiao Wu started to explain, "Actually, there's nothing else to say. I just wanted to send you a message to let you know I'm safe."
Lu Jinzhi then blinked almost imperceptibly: "It's okay."
"ah?"
Qiao Wu was a little confused.
"I said, if you have nothing else, you can call me."
Lu Jinzhi leaned back on the sofa. At home, he was more relaxed, with his hair loose and falling, softening his features. "Personally, we are very good friends."
This is what Qiao Wu said during the interview, but when Lu Jinzhi said it, she felt a little embarrassed: "Those media always like to make up stories."
Lu Jinzhi hummed, "Xu Chao has already taken care of it."
He lowered his eyes, his gaze not directly on the video, but he continued to speak: "How was your day?"
In the past, Qiao Wu might have reported her work to him, but every time Lu Jinzhi called her, it seemed like he wasn't asking about work, so she talked about her own feelings.
She had no reservations about Lu Jinzhi. After all, this man saw through her very clearly, so she said softly, "It's good. I feel like I've left my mark in this world."
"Is that why you like to draw sycamore leaves?"
Not expecting him to think in that direction, Qiao Wu blinked, at a loss for a moment.
In Lu Jinzhi's eyes, she was just an old friend who had disappeared inexplicably for twelve years and suddenly reappeared.
But he didn't know that before that she was already a soul from another world.
When she first came here, she was actually quite frightened at first, so the Wutong leaf was a mark she left on herself.
Nobody knows.
But later, Lu Jinzhi, who had started to get in the habit of leaving notes in books, knew about it.
It turns out he had written it down.
But Qiao Wu was not ready to tell anyone about this, and it might remain a secret to her forever.
Qiao Wu suddenly remembered that before Lu Jinzhi returned to China, he had asked her what the sycamore leaves under the handover documents were.
"That's when you recognized me?" she asked in surprise.
"no."
"When was that?"
Lu Jinzhi, who had originally lowered his eyes, gently raised his eyes after hearing this question and smiled: "Every time you call my name."
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