Song Xiaodong nodded approvingly and said, "Not bad, the air in the mountains is indeed refreshing."

Shen Yue secretly let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Wang Yan's words. Wang Yan said she fell asleep early, which means she couldn't have heard anything from Shen Yue's room. It seems she really needs to be more careful in the future, otherwise, it would be embarrassing if Wang Yan overheard anything.

Song Xiaodong held Shen Yue's hand and said, "Let's go. I reckon there are a lot of things to do today."

Wang Yan agreed and went downstairs first.

Song Xiaodong and Shen Yue followed behind. Shen Yue suddenly remembered something, blushed again, slowed her pace, and said, "Big Brother Song, Wang Yan must know we spent the night together last night."

Song Xiaodong squeezed Shen Yue's hand and smiled, saying, "If she knows, she knows. It's fine. She won't talk nonsense. She'll be your bodyguard in the future."

"But..." Shen Yue suddenly thought that Wang Yan's earlier words seemed a bit like she was trying to cover something up. She must have heard something, otherwise, why would she specifically mention going to bed early? This is not something she should be explaining to Song Xiaodong, right?

As the three of them just got downstairs, Village Chief Zhao Qiang walked into the village committee hall. This time he wasn't alone; quite a few people followed him. They were all dressed simply, mostly elderly, and even the two young people looked quite unhealthy.

Additionally, there were quite a few children, ranging from five or six to thirteen or fourteen years old. They were all staring at Shen Yue and the others with excited and eager expressions on their faces.

This village is very remote and lacks resources. The land is barren, and they have to rely on the mountains and water for their livelihood. Most young people leave to work elsewhere, leaving only the elderly and left-behind children.

Zhao Qiang wore a guilty expression on his face and said, "These are the conditions here. You city people must find it hard to get used to, right?"

If Shen Yue didn't know Zhao Qiang's tricks, she might be fooled by his act. She now calmly said, "It's okay, we're not afraid of hardship."

Zhao Qiang gave a thumbs up and said, "Teacher Shen is right. Having a teacher like Teacher Shen here is a blessing for these children. Come, let's have some food first. After eating, I'll take you to the township to show you the accounts."

Seeing Zhao Qiang speak so confidently, Shen Yue couldn't help but believe that the accounts might be in order.

Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Then we will trouble Village Chief Zhao."

Shen Yue asked, "By the way, we're thinking of cooking for ourselves in the future. Is there a place to cook here?"

Zhao Qiang waved his hand and said, "There's no need for all that trouble. The villagers are all very happy to have you here. Every household says they'll invite you for meals, so you won't need to cook for a few days."

Shen Yue quickly said, "That won't work, it would be too much trouble for everyone. We better cook for ourselves."

Zhao Qiang waved his hand and said, "Teacher Shen, you're being too polite. You're helping our village. Whether or not they have children, everyone appreciates it. Having a meal at their house is nothing big, right?"

"Yes, yes, it's just a meal. Come to our place to eat."

"Yes, indeed. You're benefactors to our children. We've never had a good teacher here. Not just one meal, I'd be happy to invite you every day."

"I'm just worried whether the two of you can get used to our food as we don't have much to offer."

Moved by everyone's warmth, Shen Yue quickly said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I won't be here just for a day or two. My main job is to teach the children. Disturbing everyone makes me uncomfortable, so we'll cook for ourselves. I hope you understand."

An old lady suggested, "How about this: whenever someone makes something tasty, they can bring some to the two teachers."

"Yes, that sounds great."

Everyone agreed immediately, and Zhao Qiang loudly said, "Since the two teachers have decided, let's build a small kitchen here at the village committee. Any objections?"

"No objections, no objections!" Everyone agreed immediately.

"We can gather a few people and have the kitchen built in a day."

"Yes, let's gather some firewood too. The two teachers surely won't cut firewood themselves, so we'll handle that from now on."

The villagers were incredibly enthusiastic and started organizing the construction of the small kitchen immediately.

Zhao Qiang said, "Alright, you all go ahead and take care of it. Build it by the wall over there. I'll take the two teachers to eat, and then we still have to go to the township."

"Teacher, you won't leave and not return, will you?" a little girl asked timidly.

"No, we won't leave."

The little girl pouted, eyes brimming with tears, and said, "But the previous teachers all said they would go to the township and then never came back."

Shen Yue quickly bent down, hugged the little girl regardless of her dirty clothes, and said, "I will definitely come back. I'd never lie to you."

Perhaps feeling Shen Yue's sincerity, the little girl smiled suddenly. Once Shen Yue released her, she excitedly ran to the other children and shouted, "Teacher said she won't leave and won't lie to us."

All the other children looked at Shen Yue with excitement.

Shen Yue waved and said, "Teacher will be back tonight."

All the children waved and said, "Goodbye, Teacher!"

Zhao Qiang led Song Xiaodong and the others out of the village committee hall, while Shen Yue softly said to Song Xiaodong by his side, "Big Brother Song, did you see those children? They're so eager for teachers. Seeing their eyes makes coming here feel incredibly worthwhile."

Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Yes, it's indeed a noble thing to do. Not just the kids, the parents also hope you'll stay, which is why they're doing their best to treat you with the best they have."

Shen Yue clenched her fists and said, "No matter the difficulties, I have to stay."

Song Xiaodong held Shen Yue's hand and said, "Listening to you makes me want to stay too."

Shen Yue instinctively exclaimed with excitement, "Then stay!" But she quickly pouted and said, "Big Brother Song, how could you stay here? You have so much to do, you're so busy."

"Although I can't stay for now, maybe someday. At the very least, I'll get more involved in charity projects like Hope Project. I really haven't done much in this area before."

"That's great, that means bringing you here wasn't in vain, it's worth it!" Shen Yue beamed, feeling thrilled to have recruited someone as wealthy as Song Xiaodong for the children in this impoverished area. This ensures more children can get a good education.

Zhao Qiang turned his head, smiling as he asked, "Brother, what work do you do?"

Song Xiaodong smiled and said, "I'm just a teacher."

"Oh, so you're a teacher too." Zhao Qiang quickly lost interest.

Zhao Qiang didn't realize that Song Xiaodong wasn't lying; he's actually a teacher, though a university professor is just one of his identities. Not wanting to reveal his true identity, Zhao Qiang underestimated them, thinking these three couldn't stir up much trouble here.

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