"Secretary Su, would you like to join us for a al?" Xu Wendong asked with a smile.
Although there had been so unpleasantness between them, as a grown man, he wasn’t going to bicker with a woman.
Moreover, since she was the village secretary of Qingshan Village, the fact that she had applied to work there was reason enough for Xu Wendong to feel so goodwill towards her.
Who would have thought Su Li would coldly snort, "A virtuous man does not drink from a thief’s well, a principled person does not eat food given in scorn."
Xu Wendong looked taken aback, obviously not expecting his good intentions to be seen as charity. He instantly gave a thumbs up, "You are remarkable, you are noble!"
Shu Lina sat expressionlessly at the stone table, opened the instant noodles, poured in boiling water, and closed the lid. She waited for the noodles while reading a book.
The village committee’s conditions were quite basic. Apart from a stone table, there was barely any decent furniture. Even the desk in Xu Wendong’s room had only been set up by the village chief recently.
So, she had to share the sa table with Xu Wendong for als.
The instant noodles slled delicious, it was chicken and mushroom flavor.
However.
It was nowhere near as fragrant as the four dishes placed in front of Xu Wendong.
"Does Qingshan Village have a WeChat group? If so, please add to it!" Xu Wendong said while eating and drinking, quietly watching the sunset slowly descend. It reminded him sowhat of his childhood spent with his grandfather.
Su Li didn’t like Xu Wendong, but she did not reject his suggestion either. After all, he was there for work. She added him as a friend and then added him to the Qingshan Village group.
She also introduced Xu Wendong’s identity to the group.
Xu Wendong also wrote a ssage in the group, "I am Xu Wendong from the county hospital, and as of today, I am one of us in Qingshan Village. If anyone feels unwell at any ti, you can co to the village committee to find . I will do my utmost to protect the health of our folks in Qingshan Village!"
After this ssage was sent, many villagers started sending ssages, welcoming Xu Wendong to beco a part of Qingshan Village. The previously silent group beca lively.
Seeing so many people welcoming Xu Wendong in the group, Su Li couldn’t help but frown. "What on earth is going on? Why wasn’t I welcod when I ca to serve as the village secretary?"
"I am the village secretary leading you all to get rid of poverty and achieve prosperity. It’s fine if you don’t welco , but why welco a doctor? Just because he’s handso???"
"Is there any justice left?"
Su Li felt very displeased because after she took office, she had also sent a ssage in the group saying she would lead everyone out of poverty into a better life.
But no one replied. Three days later, soone finally spoke in the group, saying his sow needed breeding and wanted to borrow a boar.
This disgusted Shu Lina greatly...
Just as Xu Wendong was looking at the welco ssages in the group, he received several friend requests from won, all with profile pictures of fair-skinned and beautiful won.
"Are people in Qingshan Village really that enthusiastic?" Xu Wendong was sowhat surprised but also recalled what Zhao Ranran had said earlier, that a boy should learn to protect himself.
He approved those friend requests and then received their ssages. They were all just welcoming Xu Wendong to Qingshan Village, saying hello, and trying to get familiar with him.
Among them was Zhao Ranran, who said she had stead so at buns and would bring a few over.
Sure enough, three minutes later, Zhao Ranran arrived wearing a floral dress and riding an electric scooter, bringing six fist-sized at buns.
Xu Wendong hurriedly thanked her, and after seeing Zhao Ranran off, he carried the basket of buns back to the village committee’s courtyard, where Su Li was just about to enjoy her instant noodles.
Seeing those at buns, she once again felt what it’s like to have no interest in life.
"I’ve been in Qingshan Village for half a year, why didn’t I receive such treatnt?"
Xu Wendong, relishing the steaming hot at buns with garlic cloves, said while eating, "Most rural people are simple and kind, but they often feel inferior in front of city folks."
"I don’t doubt Secretary Su’s determination to accomplish sothing here, otherwise your skin wouldn’t have turned a wheat color."
"But have you ever thought that you might be going about it the wrong way?"
"Where am I wrong?" Su Li suddenly felt a rush of grievance.
No!
She had always felt aggrieved.
However, these grievances had been suppressed in her heart.
And with Xu Wendong’s entry into Qingshan Village, seeing the villagers’ attitudes towards Xu Wendong, those grievances burst forth like a flood, and a hint of tears appeared in her eyes.
"Gulp, gulp!"
Xu Wendong drank the beer from his cup in one go and then said, "I grew up in the countryside and understand rural people’s thoughts better than you do. Yes, they yearn to escape poverty and live better lives. If soone can lead them to prosperity, they would be grateful and cooperate with that person."
"But, there is a condition for that."
"And that is, you need to truly respect them, genuinely want to help them escape poverty and beco one with them, rather than using their escape from poverty as a stepping stone in your career."
Su Li stood up emotionally and loudly scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting? When have I ever not respected them?"
"I ca here simply to help them escape poverty. I have not made it a stepping stone for climbing the career ladder. You are making baseless accusations!"
"Are you embarrassed and angry?" Xu Wendong replied with a nonchalant smile, "Secretary Su, have you never heard that the eyes of the masses are sharp?"
"You can deceive , but you can’t deceive the 367 households and 1,572 people of Qingshan Village."
"Oh, actually it should be 1,573 people because I heard a new baby was born in the village last month."
Boom!
Su Li paled and slumped onto the stone stool, her pupils trembling deeply. She clearly hadn’t expected that Xu Wendong, in less than half a day, would know so much about the village situation.
Xu Wendong continued to speak, "Actually... the villagers might not even envision escaping poverty and becoming prosperous. After all, Qingshan Village is really too remote, with rugged mountain roads and problematic transportation. Wanting to escape poverty, it’s tough!"
"But they certainly want to at least try. Of course, if they could escape poverty and prosper, that would be wonderful. Even if they can’t, at least they would have no regrets in their hearts."
"If you sincerely consider the villagers, they will surely feel it."
"If that is the case, they would genuinely welco and respect you. They might not be able to offer you a life of luxury, but they definitely wouldn’t let you, a recent university graduate, eat instant noodles all day."
"After all, isn’t there always a bowl of food to spare in any household?"
"How could they let a woman from the city use such a stinky and filthy latrine?" The young man smiled brightly as he finished saying that.
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