The longed-for village system

Chapter 354 The Reward Returns
After chatting for about an hour, Chen Qing saw them off. As for the hospitality, he naturally left it to the village secretary and the others, since it was impossible to go out for a decent meal in the village given the current situation.

Wouldn't he rather stay home and enjoy the delicious home-cooked meals prepared by Sister Chen? Besides, he actually dislikes these kinds of dinner parties.

"Is it settled? Are they trying to persuade you to agree to some of their conditions?" The old man asked kindly as Chen Qing entered.

Although Chen Qing had always impressed him as wise, quick-witted, and composed, he was still too young and there were too many tricks in officialdom, so he was afraid that Chen Qing would suffer because of this.

"No, they just asked about my plans for the next few years, probably because they were worried I might suddenly leave the village for somewhere else!" Chen Qing replied truthfully with a smile.

"Haha, I understand. You're not just a treasure of your village now, but also a treasure of Yunnan Province and even China. They're definitely concerned about whether you stay or leave, because if you do, it will have a huge impact!"

"To put it simply, Manyuan Village's current development is entirely due to your leadership. Once you leave, Manyuan Village will revert to its original state, even if many celebrities and capitalists buy houses here. The reason why everyone chooses to buy houses here is entirely because of you. If you leave one day, they will not live here anymore."

Chen Qing did not deny what the old man said. Indeed, everyone started to have ideas because of him. Otherwise, they would never have considered settling in Manyuan Village. The high temperature in summer is not a good place to escape the heat.

"You think I'm too important. The earth will still turn without me, and everyone will continue to live their lives as usual."

The old man was very satisfied with Chen Qing's humble attitude and replied with a smile, "That's right, the earth will still turn without you, but if you get sick, you may not be able to survive. Having you by my side is like carrying a life-saving elixir with me. Even if I don't take it, I feel at ease just having it."

"That's right! Brother Chen, don't be modest. Tell me, who else in this world can treat so many terminal illnesses like you? You probably didn't see the comments about you online when you were doing disaster relief. You're a miracle worker, a bring-back doctor. Many hospitals have called me wanting to invite you to be their vice president!"

Speaking of this, Zhao Xiaogu's face lit up with pride again. Who else would be invited to be the vice dean in their twenties? Her own man was the only one! Although she knew that Brother Chen would definitely not go, it was still proof of his ability.

"Pfft! Alright, stop praising your own wares. Let's keep a low profile, we're all family." Chen Qing reached out and ruffled Zhao Xiaogu's smooth, long hair, teasingly saying.

"Haha, it's alright. It's okay for family to be high-profile. In fact, Xiao Chen, you should be more high-profile. You have the strength and ability. You used to be too low-profile, even more low-profile than this old man. People who know you say you're low-profile, but people who don't know you think you've retired from the world!"

The old man also hoped that Chen Qing could be more high-profile, and show some of the arrogance and conceit of youth. A young man in his twenties acting like an eighty or ninety-year-old man who doesn't care about the world.

If he didn't have the talent, that would be one thing, but he has such incredible abilities that if he didn't show them off, many people would miss the chance to get to know him. Fortunately, it's not too late for everyone to know him now.

“That’s right, that’s right! If you have talent, you should show it off, otherwise it’s such a waste!” Zhao Xiaogu raised her hand in agreement with what the old man said.

Chen Qing smiled and didn't say anything. At this moment, Sister Chen, who had finished her work in the kitchen, came in and told the group that it was time to eat. Then everyone moved from inside the house to the large table under the mushroom house shed to eat. The earthquake had basically no impact on the mushroom house; only the fence gate at the table in the yard collapsed.

"This door needs to be rebuilt, and this time it needs to be made more sturdy." Looking at the surrounding fence, Chen Qing planned to go up the mountain to get some bamboo after dinner and start repairing the yard tomorrow. "Speaking of this old man, I have to admire your skills, Xiao Chen. In such a big earthquake, this house was completely intact except for the fence. Your skills are truly masterful."

The old man now greatly admires Chen Qing's carpentry skills. So many houses in Manyuan Village have collapsed, and the old houses next door are also severely damaged, but the Mushroom House is the only one that has been left undamaged except for the collapsed fence in the yard. This craftsmanship is comparable to that of a master.

"Yes! Xiao Chen, your craftsmanship is amazing! What magnitude earthquake can your house withstand?" Old Zhu asked curiously.

"Level 8 or 9 earthquakes are definitely no problem, and even level 10 won't have much of an impact. That's the characteristic of mortise and tenon structures—they're earthquake-resistant. Of course, the structure itself has to be built well," Chen Qing said casually.

Chen Qing spoke lightly, but his words were like a cannonball exploding in the ears of the old man and Lao Zhu, making their heads buzz. They sighed inwardly, realizing that the standards of arrogant people were indeed different from those of normal people.

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or 9 is no problem, and even magnitude 10 won't have much of an impact. How many buildings in the world can reach this level of earthquake resistance? The Forbidden City in Beijing is the only one they know of that level, and that's only under very ideal conditions. They didn't doubt the truth of what Chen Qing said.

Such a low-key person would never stoop to exaggerating his abilities.

"Little Chen, you're amazing! As far as I know, the Forbidden City is the only building in China that can withstand a magnitude 10 earthquake. Now there's another one. You're incredible, absolutely incredible! I, Old Zhu, am completely impressed." Old Zhu stopped eating and gave Chen Qing a thumbs up in praise.

After dinner, Chen Qing rested for a while, picked up his tools, and prepared to go to the bamboo forest to cut some bamboo to soak in water so that he could start repairing the fence the next morning.

The old man saw him go to the bamboo forest and was also interested. It would be a good time to take a walk after dinner and get close to nature to smell the fragrance of bamboo leaves.

In the end, apart from Sister Chen staying at the Mushroom House to clean up the dishes, Chen Qing, Zhao Xiaogu, the old man, and Lao Zhu set off for the bamboo forest.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, your popularity has exceeded 6000 million. You will be given one chance to draw a random reward."

"The host now has two designated chances and three random chances. Do you wish to begin the selection?"

Chen Qing, who was cutting bamboo, never expected that the popularity of 60 million people would be achieved so quickly. This trip out of the village was a wise decision. At this rate, reaching 100 million people is just around the corner.

"Keep the two designated opportunities for me, and use up the three random draw opportunities first."

He hadn't bothered to draw any before while he was busy with disaster relief, but now that he had some free time, he decided to draw all three random times. He was really looking forward to getting a reward like gene repair fluid again. If he could draw an intermediate or advanced level, he would be set for life. After all, even the basic level was so terrifying, so what better effect could there be? Tsk tsk tsk, Chen Qing didn't dare to think about it.

(End of this chapter)