The man hiding deep within the footpath was Sun Dawei.
He was one of the villagers from Qingshan Village and was twenty years old.
Sun Dawei had a husky physique but was known to be a little odd.
He was not exactly low in IQ, but he was unsophisticated, and his mental state was not exactly stable.
After he saw He Hua and Yang Guang leave, Sun Dawei let out a strange laugh and began heading home quickly.
Meanwhile, Yang Guang returned home. He took out all $4,000 and slapped the wad into Wu Xiaolian's hand with great pride.
When she saw those brand-new, crisp hundred dollar bills, Wu Xiaolian was, without a doubt, surprised.
After she heard about what was going on, she asked, a little worried, "Xiaoguang, how can you gamble like this when you have no certainty? What if you lose the bet?"
"Don't worry, ma'am, I will not lose!"
Yang Guang smiled confidently. He then said, "I have already thought about it. When I get that $10,000, we'll grow the Tianma at home. We have to rely on this to make our fortune!"
"If it could work, that would be so great."
When she saw the bright smile on his face, Wu Xiaolian couldn't help but smile at him.
Both of them looked at each other with a face full of smiles, and suddenly she blushed. "You know what? I have to check on Yaya. It's almost time for her to wake up."
"Okay, I'll check on the clinic. I haven't been there all day, and who knows if anyone has tried to reach me!"
With that, Yang Guang turned to head out again.
The business at the clinic was not particularly bustling, because people in the village didn't have much money. At best, they would come occasionally to purchase painkillers or antibiotics. Sometimes, an entire day would go by with no one showing up at the door.
But this was his profession, after all, and Yang Guang still insisted on being a professional.
For the past couple of days, he had gone into the mountain to collect medicinal materials and didn't spend much time at the clinic. However, whenever he had the time, he'd rather go and check on his clinic.
After he was out of the house, he headed east and it didn't take him long to arrive at the other end of the village.
Just as he took out the keys to open the door, Yang Guang stopped when he saw a car approaching from the other end of the village.
This car was a rare sight in Qingshan Village!
Like most men, Yang Guang had a deep affinity toward cars. So, when he saw a car heading his way, it was natural for him to take another look.
As the car approached, he saw its logo, and his eyes suddenly became as round as saucers!
"Wow, the latest Audi!"
Inwardly, Yang Guang was amazed. He estimated that this car must have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Who could be this rich?
Just as he was wondering who it was, the car stopped right in front of him. Then, the window on the passenger's side slowly lowered. A beautiful girl smiled and asked him, "Excuse me, is this Qingshan Village?"
"Yeah, YES! Who are you?" Seeing the girl smile, looking as beautiful as a flower, Yang Guang was a little stunned, as he asked dumbly.
"My name is Xu Ling, and I am the new Village Secretary!" the girl replied.
"What?"
Yang Guang was still in a daze, and he seemed taken aback when he heard this. He hurriedly asked, "The new secretary is a woman?"
"Yes, is that so strange?"
Xu Ling smiled amusingly, then asked, "I just arrived today, and I have no idea where the village headquarters is. Can you take me there?"
"Sure, Sure!"
Before Yang Guang could recover from the shock, he nodded blankly.
When the young man who was driving saw how he was behaving, he let out a laugh. "Then get in the car already! Don't act like a silly boy!"
"Meng Li, stop it!" Xu Ling frowned and turned around to glare at him. She then turned to Yang Guang and said, "I'm so sorry. My friend has been driving for a long time, and he's not in the best mood."
When he saw her infectious and inviting smile, Yang Guang didn't care so much about the dude. He opened the door and got into the backseat of the car.
After that, he forgot about everything else. As he touched the leather seats and checked out the spacious interior and its exquisite décor, he felt incredibly envious.
When the car entered the village, it quickly attracted the attention of many people. The villagers had never seen a luxury car before, and they had all come out of their houses to take a look at it.
When they saw the car driving into the yard of the village headquarters, somebody finally came to their senses and had quickly gone to inform the village chief.
Xu Ling got out of the car and looked around the yard of the village headquarters. Then she looked at the dark green mountain in the distance, and her mood immediately brightened. She stretched her arms with a smile, "The air here is so fresh!"
Meng Li was not nearly as optimistic as she was. As he assessed the dilapidated state of the village headquarters, he said, "Lingling, are you kidding me? Do you really plan on living in this place for a year?"
"Of course. Since I chose to come to the countryside to help the poor, I must do a good job!" Xu Ling nodded emphatically.
Meng Li watched her as a touch of unwillingness flashed across his eyes. "But this place is a dump! You saw it too. The houses in the village are pretty shabby. This is a place where even birds won't shit on!"
"Hey! Watch what you are saying!" Yang Guang was very displeased when he heard this, and glared at Meng Li. "Who said that birds don't shit here? Do you want me to find some bird shit to show you?"
"Relax! It's just a metaphor! But really, I didn't expect that such a poor village like yours even existed in the world!" Meng Li gave him the side-eye as he continued in a sarcastic tone.
"Hey, why do you have to talk like that?"
Yang Guang was even more pissed off now. He rolled up his sleeves and wanted to teach Meng Li a lesson!
Finally, Xu Ling quickly intervened by standing between the two. "That's enough, stop!"
Having said that, she turned around and glared at Meng Li. "If you don't like it, you can go now, but don't create trouble for me!"
"Fine, I won't say anything!"
Meng Li quickly shut up when he saw her getting angry for real. He turned around to open the trunk instead.
Two suitcases and a backpack shaped like a little bear—these were all that Xu Ling brought with her.
When Yang Guang saw this, he was a little curious. He asked, "So, Secretary Xu, are you planning on living here at the village headquarters?"
"Yes, I asked before I came. I was told that there are rooms here," Xu Ling said.
"Who told you that? Surely, not the village chief?" Yang Guang asked tentatively.
Xu Ling nodded, "Yes."
Yang Guang didn't know what to say, so he smiled sheepishly. "Then you have been fooled. The house is here, but you should take a look and see if it is even habitable."
"Really?"
Xu Ling was taken aback as she walked quickly to the house that was the village headquarters.
There were a total of five rooms. Even though the windows and doors were intact, the rooms themselves were a total mess. Two of them had leaky ceilings and there were water stains on the walls and the floors.
The other three were not much better. There was garbage everywhere, and it was so dirty that it was simply inhabitable!
When she saw this, Xu Ling was confounded, to say the least.
"I told you this place is horrible; do you believe me now?" Meng Li sneered next to them, then proposed, "Let's go back. We will tell uncle that this place is too subpar, and we should go to another place!"
Xu Ling didn't say a word; the good mood that she had been in before was completely gone.
However, at this time, Yang Guang said, "Secretary Xu, although the village headquarters is inhabitable, there are other places in the village. Why don't you come with me to my house?"
"Huh?"
As soon as Meng Li heard this, he immediately turned his head with an alarming look. "Hey, you are not thinking of something untoward, are you?"