Chapter 455: Chapter 455

The two little girls quickly started playing together, while Hunter was rather quiet. He peeked over at the little trinket in his sister’s hand, then asked Xiao Huaili, "Brother, does your arm still hurt?"

Xiao Huaili smiled and said, "It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Then the two of them ran out of things to say. Xiao Huaili didn’t speak either, just silently watching his younger siblings. When he noticed Hunter staring at the grasshopper in Chuanqi’s hand, he went outside, pulled some foxtail weeds from the ridge, and clumsily started crafting a little toy. The three kids watched Chuanqi with great enthusiasm.

Wan Chu’er glanced over, and seeing that Xiao Huaili wasn’t moving his injured arm, she didn’t speak up to stop him.

She asked Aunt Huang, "Has the village chief not returned yet?"

Aunt Huang shook her head, "No, he probably went to the county with Village Chief Hu. Might be a few days before he returns. Those officials in the county love to have meetings, everything has to be discussed in a meeting." Check latest chapters at NoveI~Fire.net

Wan Chu’er smiled, "That’s collective wisdom at work; it prevents mistakes, as long as it resolves the issues, let them meet."

Aunt Huang: "You understand these things better than we do."

As they were speaking, a group of plainly dressed village women walked into the courtyard, each carrying a basket on their arm filled with assorted vegetables and fruits.

The expressions on their faces were of friendliness, yet their actions were somewhat restrained.

The leading woman smiled and said, "Aunt, hearing that Miss Wan, who’s going to help build a school in our village has come, we broke off some vegetables and fruits from our own plants to send back with Mr. Wan."

As she spoke, these people began pulling out items to place in front of Wan Chu’er—corn cobs, various vegetables, and some green fruits, pears, peaches, muskmelons, and other fruits grown by themselves, making a large pile.

Wan Chu’er quickly stood up, "No need to be so formal, please take these back and enjoy them yourselves."

The leading woman sincerely said, "Mr. Wan is handling such a big matter for our village. We don’t have much, but these vegetables and fruits are fresh. Please accept them; whether for your own use or to give away, it’s all our heartfelt intention. If you run out, just come by anytime."

The others also urged Wan Chu’er to accept, and Aunt Huang also persuaded, "Just accept it, it’s everyone’s goodwill. We’ll feel bad if you don’t."

"Yes, yes, these things aren’t worth much. If Mr. Wan’s family ever needs manpower for physical work or anything, just call on our village."

Seeing the fresh vegetables and fruits at her feet and listening to the simple words of these women, Wan Chu’er felt deeply moved.

Two hundred thousand yuan was really nothing to her, and her motive for doing this wasn’t purely altruistic. She just mentioned the figure of two hundred thousand yuan according to the minimum standard. In fact, she knew that one hundred fifty thousand was enough to build a few simple classrooms, and fifty thousand yuan could cover two years’ teacher salaries. There were also many other expenses like teaching materials and administrative costs, which she hadn’t even considered.

After placing the items down, the women quickly left, fearing that Wan Chu’er might ask them to take the items back.

Before leaving, the leading woman said, "In the future, Mr. Wan, feel free to bring the kids to play in our village. Zhang Gouzi and Mrs. Zhang definitely won’t dare to cause trouble. Just now, Mrs. Zhang quietly tried to come over here, but she was chased away by Big Niu’s mother and Er Guihua from our village."

"Thank you all," Wan Chu’er sincerely thanked them.

After everyone had left, Aunt Huang laughed and said, "Big Niu’s mother and Er Guihua are the two most fierce women in our village, Zhang Gouzi’s wife definitely can’t compete with them."

Wan Chu’er let out a long sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face. Her intention was to have the people of Huangjia Gully deal with Zhang Gouzi’s family, but she hadn’t expected them to be so dedicated. Just as the women of the Zhang family showed a hint of confrontation, they were immediately blocked by the most powerful women of the village.

Wan Chu’er decided to invest more care into the school in Huangjia Gully. After making up her mind, she asked Aunt Huang:

"Auntie, are there many children in the village who don’t attend school?"

Aunt Huang said, "In most families in the village, as long as they are not exceedingly poor, they send the children to elementary school. Some families favor boys over girls, letting the girls attend only two or three years before making them stay home to help with children and chores. Then there are a few children, like Little Lizzi, who have no one to look after them and don’t go to school."

Hearing Aunt Huang’s words, Xiao Huaili, who was weaving grasshoppers from the grass, looked saddened. He handed the finished grasshopper to the Hunter and picked up another blade of grass to continue making things.

Wan Chu’er turned to ask Xiao Huaili, "Little Lizzi, haven’t you been to school?"

Xiao Huaili looked up and said, "I was in the second grade when my grandfather was alive. After he passed away, I didn’t go back, Auntie, but I can read."

Aunt Huang tenderly said, "Little Lizzi was a promising student. He always scored a hundred on tests. Old Man Xiao used to brag about it everywhere."

Unfortunately, without anyone to rely on, the two children had to depend solely on each other for survival.

Wan Chu’er nodded. As it was almost time for dinner, Aunt Huang insisted that they stay for a meal. Wan Chu’er excused herself, saying the children had to eat with Jiang Kechu, and finally left the Huang family.

As she was leaving, Aunt Huang stuffed Wan Chu’er’s vehicle full of fruits and vegetables d by the villagers and said:

"When you finish eating these, in a little while, I’ll pick some vegetables from our garden for you."

Wan Chu’er wanted to leave some for Xiao Huaili and his sister, knowing these two children hadn’t grown much in terms of fruits and vegetables due to their young age. But Aunt Huang said, "They’re living at my house, there is no way they’ll lack for food and drink, don’t worry."

Seeing how concerned Wan Chu’er was for Xiao Huaili and his sister, Aunt Huang thought to herself that when the old man returned, she had to discuss with him properly how to provide for the Xiao children.

Thus, Wan Chu’er took a cart full of fruits and vegetables back to the military residential area.

Upon Jiang Kechu’s return, Wan Chu’er relayed the day’s events at Huangjia Gully, worrying aloud:

"The cartful of fruits and vegetables is still downstairs. I don’t know what to do with them; our family definitely can’t finish them all, and these things won’t last long, they might spoil in a few days."

Jiang Kechu smiled and said, "That’s no issue, I have a way to handle it."

Jiang Kechu raised his eyebrows meaningfully and said, "I can also ask the military to contact the county education department, to expedite the school building documents."

After hearing this, Wan Chu’er narrowed her eyes and asked, "Under what conditions?"

"Three times tonight," Jiang Kechu said in a low, smug voice.

Wan Chu’er: "... Tonight, you sleep in the study!"