Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

The group walked and looked around, taking more than three hours to tour the entire film city. Even though there were shuttle buses available along the way, Chen Jingming and Zhang Jiandong still looked tired and somewhat weary after such a long visit.

Seeing the state of the two, Sha Jing made a timely suggestion:

"Mr. Chen, Director Zhang, how about we grab a bite to eat first, rest for a bit, and then head to the filming locations this afternoon? What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming and Zhang Jiandong nodded in agreement. The group then headed to a nearby farmhouse restaurant. The owner, seeing Sha Jing leading the group from afar, immediately greeted them warmly.

"Mr. Sha, you've come at the perfect time! As soon as the weather warms up these past few days, the winter bamboo shoots on the mountain are sprouting up, and they're incredibly fresh."

"Old Yang, bring us a plate to try in a bit." Sha Jing happily agreed, then turned to the side and raised her hand to introduce the person next to her, "By the way, this is Mr. Chen Jingming, the boss of our Hongyuan Film and Television City."

Upon hearing the name Chen Jingming, Yang Weidong's smile instantly deepened.

He quickly wiped his hands repeatedly on his apron, instinctively wanting to step forward and shake hands, but then suddenly felt it was a bit abrupt, and spoke somewhat hesitantly:

"Mr. Chen, we owe you so much! If the film and television city hadn't been built in our area, our village wouldn't have changed so much. Every household has built a three-story house, and we don't have to go far away to work. We can earn a living right at our doorstep. We will always remember this kindness."

Noticing Yang Weidong's simple and reserved demeanor, Chen Jingming showed no disdain and stepped forward to gently shake his hand. Only after Yang Weidong finished speaking did Chen Jingming slowly reply:

"Old Yang, there's no need to be so polite. The village is developed through a cooperative system of collective land investment, and the profits here are rightfully shared by every villager. As film crews and tourists continue to come, we all need to consciously maintain a positive atmosphere and absolutely prevent any instances of bullying tourists from other places or raising prices on the spot."

"Mr. Chen, you can rest assured! We are all from the same village, and we all know each other's character. Even if there are a few troublemakers, they don't represent everyone. The villages have already formed their own patrols. If anyone dares to cause trouble or bully outsiders, we will deal with them on the spot. If we really can't control them, we will report them directly to the town's police station. We will not tolerate it."

After saying that, he quickly stepped aside to lead the way, and warmly greeted him, "Mr. Chen, please come in. Please come into the private room, have some tea and rest. The food will be served to you shortly."

Chen Jingming was led into the private room by Yang Weidong and politely offered the seat of honor. After being settled, Yang Weidong hurriedly turned and left the kitchen to get busy.

The private room fell silent briefly. A middle-aged woman then slowly entered, carrying a cup of freshly brewed hot tea. Chen Jingming immediately recognized her as a member of Yang Weidong's family. He picked up the teacup and inhaled its delicate, mellow aroma, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Auntie, what kind of tea is this? It smells exceptionally good."

Liu Guixiang was slightly taken aback at first, then realized that Chen Jingming was talking to her. A simple smile appeared on her face, and she explained softly, "It's just the coarse tea we drink at home in the countryside. It's not famous. It's all homemade black tea that I roast myself. Most city people aren't used to it, so please don't mind. This tea doesn't hold up well to brewing. It'll lose its flavor after four or five infusions, and then we'll have to replace it with fresh leaves."

"So it's handmade tea." Chen Jingming murmured with admiration, taking a sip of the tea. The taste was smooth and mellow. He then asked, "What's the production volume of this tea? Is it enough for your daily consumption?"

Liu Guixiang had intended to leave after putting down the tea, but seeing that Chen Jingming was quite interested, she stopped and patiently explained: "In previous years, it was enough to drink, but my husband said that next year it might not be enough, and we'll have to ask other villagers to buy some. This kind of local tea picked around Qingming Festival isn't worth much here, nobody cares about it, and we just make some for ourselves to drink every year."

She paused briefly, then added helplessly, "We have too little farmland and too many people here, so farming is hardly enough to feed us. Take my brother Yang, for example. We have five brothers, and we only have seven-tenths of an acre of poor land. No matter how we divide it, it's not enough to make a living. In the old days, the village allocated some wasteland on the hillsides, and we relied on selling things from the mountains to earn some extra money to supplement our income. That was just enough to get by."

Chen Jingming listened quietly, nodded slowly, and didn't ask any further questions. Seeing his silence, Liu Guixiang quietly left the private room and closed the door.

Only Chen Jingming and his entourage remained in the private room, the atmosphere quiet. He put down his teacup, his expression calm, and turned to Sha Jing beside him, asking in a casual tone, "President Sha, what exactly is this 'bad seed' that Old Yang mentioned earlier? What's the situation?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Jing sighed softly, her expression showing a hint of helplessness, and slowly explained the reason: "President Chen, this is how human relationships are. Every village inevitably has a few lazy, greedy people. When we were planning the land acquisition for the film and television city and coordinating with the government, we discovered that Chenjia Village has a special geographical location, with collective land scattered and the land of four natural villages upstream and downstream intertwined."

During the initial site visit, I specifically called to discuss this matter with you. Only after receiving your approval did we make comprehensive plans to include the upstream and downstream villages, along with four natural villages including Chenjia Village, into the overall construction of the film and television city.

All the new village buildings were constructed according to the blueprints you finalized. During construction, the entire village worked together, with villagers contributing money and labor. Even young people who work away from home year-round voluntarily contributed funds and asked their neighbors to help with the work, fully cooperating with the project.

However, a very small number of people only wanted to reap the benefits without contributing any labor during the construction period. They were unwilling to work hard, but always tried to take advantage of collective benefits and public resources. Village officials communicated and dissuaded them many times, and there were several disputes between the two sides, but they were never able to completely restrain them.

These people aren't deliberately causing trouble or vandalism; they're just guarding their new houses, pointing fingers everywhere, and secretly taking construction materials from the site, all trying to gain more than their fair share. In fact, the entire village has standardized housing construction and used the same materials; there's no favoritism whatsoever. All the conflict stems from their own greed and sense of injustice.

Sha Jing picked up her teacup, took a sip to calm herself down, and continued, "Six months ago, the whole village renovated their houses. An agreement was made in advance: individuals would bear part of the cost, the village would subsidize part of the cost, the town's finances would provide support, and the film and television city would also provide additional funds to cover the costs."

Even with the relaxed conditions, a few households remain stubbornly unwilling to contribute to renovations. To this day, all the houses in the village have been renovated, except for these few, which are still in unfinished state. They frequently use this as an excuse to complain and cause trouble around the film studio.

After listening to Sha Jing's detailed account, Chen Jingming frowned slightly, his expression darkening: "Do all four villages have this kind of problem?"

"Initially, similar situations occurred in all villages," Sha Jing answered truthfully. "However, the villagers who caused trouble in Chenjia Village were strictly disciplined and restrained by the elders of the clan. One of them acted too extremely and was punished and injured by the elders. He is still recuperating at home."

The other villages lack clan constraints, and the village officials have limited power to enforce discipline. As outside investors, we risk escalating conflicts by interfering in village affairs, so we haven't been inclined to intervene too much.

After learning the whole story, Chen Jingming remained silent for a moment, his tense expression gradually easing. He pondered for a moment, then turned to Xu Hu beside him and casually instructed, "Old Xu, contact the town mayor, set a time, and invite him to dinner tonight to have a good talk about the governance issues here."

Xu Hu immediately nodded in agreement, took his phone, and went out of the private room to make contact.

Not long after, Yang Weidong pushed open the door and carried in the first plate of hot dishes. He placed the dishes steadily on the table and introduced them with great enthusiasm: "President Chen, please try this. It's wild river bream, with few bones and tender meat. They're at their fattest around Qingming Festival, but they're still delicious now. It's pure, authentic country flavor."

The braised fish on the table was steaming hot, its rich aroma slowly spreading and wafting through the air. The cooking method was simple and home-style, preserving the original flavor. Chen Jingming recognized it at a glance as the "earthfish" that the locals called it, the common groundhog found in fields and along riverbanks.

He picked up his chopsticks and savored a small piece of fish. The fish was tender and delicate, melting in his mouth, and its freshness was in no way inferior to that of tofu fish; the taste was truly amazing.

One after another, farm-style dishes were served, including braised pork with bamboo shoots, stir-fried bok choy, free-range chicken, stewed eggs, and braised wild rabbit... all local specialties and home-style dishes.

Yang Weidong explained the origin and preparation method of each dish in detail, displaying his simple and warm hospitality. The table of authentic farm-style dishes, with fresh ingredients and pure flavors, made Chen Jingming feel very comfortable and satisfied with his meal.