Chen Wangda had drunk some wine at dinner and gone to bed early, but hearing dogs barking in the courtyard, he put on his clothes and got up.

“Who is it?”

“Dad, it’s Xiaolan!”

There was considerable rustling inside the house as Chen Wangda came out:

“Xiaolan girl is back? It’s so late, how did you get to the village?”

“Grandfather Chen, I came by car. If I’d known you were asleep, I would have come tomorrow morning.”

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t seen Chen Wangda for quite a while. The old man’s hair had grown noticeably whiter, partly due to age, and probably partly due to the trouble Chen Qing had caused.

Eighty thousand yuan.

Not eight thousand, not eight hundred.

What was the current income level in rural areas? Saving a few hundred yuan a year was considered quite good. Qijing Village was an exception because Liu Yong had led many villagers to work in Pengcheng, making their income higher than in other places.

Otherwise, even as the village chief, Chen Wangda and the Chen family absolutely couldn’t have gathered eighty thousand yuan – it far exceeded the current rural household income level!

Some might say they could borrow money – after all, part of what the Chen family gave Chen Qing was borrowed.

But that was truly naive – when all your relatives and friends were also poor, even if you threw everyone into the pot to render oil, you still couldn’t render this much money.

Seeing Chen Wangda’s white hair, Xia Xiaolan felt a bit heartbroken.

Chen Wangda asked his daughter-in-law to make tea. “You made a special trip back, it’s about Chen Qing’s matter, right?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded: “Yes, before returning from America, I met with Chen Qing once. He’s doing alright, and I heard he sent some money home.”

“Yes, two thousand dollars. I didn’t keep the money, told him to pay back Little Han’s family first.”

Sending money overseas using black market exchange rates.

But Chen Qing sending money back had to go through bank exchanges.

When sending money out, even eighty thousand couldn’t be exchanged for ten thousand dollars, and Han Jin’s family had to add some more.

Now with these two thousand dollars sent back, it could only be exchanged through the bank. Chen Wangda thought they could delay repaying family members, but how could they delay repaying Chen Qing’s girlfriend’s family?

Xia Xiaolan understood Chen Wangda’s mindset.

Chen’s elder sister-in-law brought tea, lingering nearby, eager to hear more about her son in America.

“Chen Qing is doing quite well. If he can change this time, this experience might make him more mature. What’s happened has happened, and I see he’s trying to make amends. His girlfriend Little Han has been a great help, she hasn’t mentioned breaking up and instead is trying to help Chen Qing repay the money… Grandfather Chen, and Aunt, you don’t need to worry too much about him. Besides bringing you news, I came back for something else.”

Something else?

Xia Xiaolan took out a document from her bag:

“This is the Ministry of Education’s student assistance program. It’s currently being piloted in just a few places nationwide, and I’ve secured a pilot spot for our village. We can try it and see if it works.”

Chen Wangda was literate but feared his comprehension might not be sufficient, so he simply listened to Xia Xiaolan’s explanation.

This assistance program was called “Young Eagle Take-Off.” The ministry had allocated some funds, with Qihang covering the rest. It was largely similar to the proposal Xia Xiaolan had submitted, with only minor adjustments to the details.

How could a newly established real estate company be capable of initiating such a major program? If Tang Hongen hadn’t taken Xia Xiaolan to meet Old Song, the program would likely not have been approved. Even with approval, they couldn’t have added “Qihang” to the name. Student assistance was just the first step – they wanted university students to support education in poor areas and hopefully use their knowledge to influence local people’s thinking.

Planting seeds of fire – whether they would eventually ignite, even Xia Xiaolan wasn’t certain.

But without planting, there was no hope!

For Qijing Village, Xia Xiaolan had different ideas. University students going to grassroots areas was inevitable – she wanted to push it forward earlier. Besides bringing knowledge to rural children, could they work with villagers to explore ways of rural prosperity?

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t manage places too far away, but she had to manage Qijing Village.

“The village has its resources. If we can properly explore and utilize them, there might be a path to prosperity. Not everyone can go out to work… Don’t you agree, Grandfather Chen?”

Many young and strong villagers had followed Liu Yong away.

But not everyone could leave home. When some young people left, only the elderly and weak remained, with no one to tend the fields, forced to struggle in the village.

Those who followed Liu Yong were especially brave, with family labor support at home.

The majority still remained in the village – the poor environment couldn’t be changed just by some people going out to work.

Chen’s elder sister-in-law listened in confusion, while Chen Wangda had more insight:

“What did you say this program is called?”

“Young Eagle Take-Off.”

Chen’s elder sister-in-law’s eyes widened.

Which Qihang – was it the same name as Pengcheng’s Qihang Real Estate?

Her husband had gone to work in Pengcheng – Yuanhui and Qihang’s relationship was too close. Yuanhui’s people all knew that Qihang was Liu Yong’s niece’s real estate company.

That meant it was Xia Xiaolan’s company.

Chen’s elder sister-in-law actually didn’t quite believe it – how could such a young girl manage both studies and a company?

It must be Liu Yong’s company, registered under Xia Xiaolan’s name.

This was an uncle doting on his niece, and Liu Yong currying favor with his sister Liu Fen who had married a leader.

But this program involved the Ministry of Education, and Chen’s elder sister-in-law didn’t dare say a word anymore.

With Ministry of Education support and official endorsement, the village didn’t need to bear any costs. Besides, how could Xiaolan harm the village… Xiaolan had said this was a pilot program, and she had secured the pilot spot for the village – Chen Wangda completely believed this!

Among so many poor rural villages nationwide, Qijing Village wasn’t the poorest. Without Xia Xiaolan’s efforts, why would this good fortune come to Qijing Village?

Though Chen Wangda hadn’t fully understood everything, he stood up excitedly:

“Xiaolan, you’ve worked hard for the village!”

People like Chen Wangda had very strong small-mountain thinking – it wasn’t realistic to let him manage larger areas, nor had he thought about getting promoted or rich. He just wanted to manage Qijing Village well, to help villagers live better lives – that gave his life great meaning!

Principal Sun was an upgraded version of Chen Wangda, more educated. Chen Wangda’s small mountain was Qijing Village, and Principal Sun’s was Anqing No. 1 High School.

To call them saints or purely good people would be nonsense – everyone in the world has their thoughts, there are no purely good people.

Chen Wangda wanted the villagers to prosper, but also wanted them to listen to him, preferably with the Chen family continuing as “village chief.”

Principal Sun would love to grab all of Anqing’s educational resources, give the best to Anqing No. 1, and make it the city’s key school, the province’s key school… What? Show more love and care for Anqing No. 2. That wasn’t his business – he wasn’t the Anqing Education Bureau Chief!

But they weren’t bad people.

Bad people neglect their duties – these two wanted to do real work.

Xia Xiaolan was the same.

Who she wanted to repay – it was those she knew well, those who had helped her came first.

As Chen Wangda got excited, Xia Xiaolan spoke sincerely:

“Grandfather Chen, I also came from this village, of course, I hope our village becomes better!”