Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 198: Finally Arrived in the Village

After finishing eating, Xia Weiguo felt nothing. To confirm the effectiveness, he reached out to squeeze a tree trunk, nearly as thick as four wrists. Easily, he flattened over half of it. Afraid the tree would fall, he quickly pulled back his hand.

"This stuff is amazing, it’s simply incredible!" Xia Weiguo marveled while looking at his palm, expressing his astonishment.

"Uncle Xia, Sister-in-law, we’re fine over here," Gao Huabin waved from a short distance. They regained composure and rejoined the group.

The upcoming path was even more challenging than before, as they had to detour a small hill without any specially laid-out pathways. The trail was merely a width suitable for the passage of ox carts, created by the comings and goings of the village people. With the naturally humid air in Xiang City, the mountainside felt as if it had just experienced heavy rainfall. As they stepped ahead, their ankles sank into the mud. The ox cart was impossible to ride, so everyone had to get off and push. With each push, their feet sank deeper into the ground.

Fortunately, Su Yijia anticipated that the path into the village might be tricky and wore liberation shoes. Otherwise, whether it was her leather shoes or sandals, none could withstand this kind of struggle and would have been rendered unusable. Even so, it pained the four men pulling the ox cart.

Liberation shoes indeed!

This was the attire people in their village wore only for weddings. Although all eight of them wore the same shoes, the disapproving glances from the four teachers seemed to focus on Su Yijia. Well off people living a bit more comfortably was considered a normal thing. However, if a man dressed well, that was acceptable since they were the main pillars in the household. In the eyes of the four old men, Grandma Lin was already considered an elder. Hence, being better provided for in terms of clothing and other essentials was the result of the younger generation conducting their filial duty. However, as the youngest of the group and being a girl, Su Yijia’s choice of fine clothing might have seemed like a waste to them.

While Su Yijia quickly realized their thoughts after being subjected to numerous stares, she felt speechless but not to the point of being angry. After all, given the prevailing mindset and the impoverished circumstances of the time, there were too many people with such thoughts in this region. If she were to be bothered by each and every instance, it might as well drive her to despair. As long as they didn’t vocalize their dissatisfaction, she would pretend not to notice their glances.

As for whether their increasing annoyance affected them, it would only hurt their own well-being. It wasn’t her problem!

They spent four to five hours traversing a route of just under fifty kilometers before finally arriving at the village. The village head and the village party secretary were already waiting at the village entrance. As soon as they spotted the arrival, they warmly greeted the group with beaming smiles.

"Director Xia, you’ve finally arrived! Ever since we received the notice about your research visit, we’ve been too excited to sleep. Don’t worry, we’ll give our full support for your work," the village head expressed while shaking hands with Xia Weiguo. "You’ve troubled yourselves for this. But our intention is for the country’s development and the betterment of our village. If this place is suitable, we’ll go on to plant herbs on a large scale here, which can help improve the lives of our villagers."

"Yes! Our village is too poor! You saw it when you arrived. Although the air in these mountains is good, the land suitable for farming is quite limited. We’ve cultivated as much land as we could, but aside from each family having a small plot for growing vegetables, the rest is only suitable for growing tea," the village head lamented. "Though the tea yields keep increasing, it doesn’t suffice for our yearly need for staple food. Throughout the year, the villagers can barely save some money. With any minor mishap, we’re left helpless, even if we’re desperate, there’s no way out."

The village head seemed quite emotional, expressing his grievances to Xia Weiguo. Two days ago, upon receiving the call from the authorities, he had been too excited to sleep. One of the villages nearby had a previous connection with a pharmaceutical factory and had the opportunity to cultivate medicinal plants, although not in significant quantities. The standard of living in that village was significantly better than the others. So, hearing that leaders were coming down to inspect the village, he meticulously organized and prepared the entire village. He stressed the importance of treating the inspectors well, cautioning against any impulsive or disrespectful behavior that could offend the inspectors. They couldn’t afford to ruin this opportunity; if they did, there wouldn’t be any further benefits for their village.

"Rest assured, the higher-ups are watching closely. As long as it’s suitable, this matter will definitely proceed smoothly," Xia Weiguo assured with a serious tone. Yijia’s Functional Restoration Elixir had been approved for mass production by the country. The current reserves of medicine wouldn’t suffice, necessitating the development of new medicine fields. The Yun Province was relatively suitable for planting traditional Chinese medicine. Furthermore, this village tended to be insular. Convincing the local villagers to help without a straightforward benefit upfront was unlikely to attract attention.

Even if they could directly buy medicines from the villagers, after staying in the village for so long, wouldn’t people start questioning and becoming suspicious? Would other villagers in the community not become envious of those involved?

"We’re all counting on you, Director Xia," the village head shook Xia Weiguo’s hand, reluctant to let go.

Su Yijia glanced at the villagers not far away who surreptitiously observed them. Their eyes held not only anticipation but also suspicion. Apart from them, Su Yijia sensed that some others, hidden in the shadows, were sneakily observing them. She couldn’t discern whether these individuals belonged to the village or were outsiders, but they definitely weren’t part of their team.

The accommodation provided for them in the village was at the educated youth settlement.

Originally, they had planned to arrange accommodation in local homes, but neither the village head nor the village secretary could free up enough rooms. Separating Su Yijia’s group of eight people was also not a viable option. Setting aside the dilapidated state of most homes in the village, the village leaders also weren’t entirely trusting of their words. They were cautious, fearing that any inadvertent comment might anger the inspection team, leading to unfavorable consequences.

Hence, the settlement at the educated youth residence was considered the best choice. Educated youth were individuals who had moved from the city, typically more knowledgeable in etiquette and how to treat officials. They were less likely to act impulsively or do anything that could damage unity.

"This educated youth settlement is quite nicely built," Xia Weiguo remarked, looking at the clean and tidy rows of small courtyard houses.

"Yes, educated youth are sent down from the higher authorities to help us. It’s only fair that we treat them well," the village head replied with a smile. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Su Yijia noticed one of the educated youths standing on the side and rolled her eyes discreetly. But she was quickly restrained by his companions, preventing a possible confrontation. However, that individual was still somewhat dissatisfied and wanted to report or express his grievances more explicitly.