The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

The two girls hadn't seen each other for years, and they had so much to say to each other.

They squatted side by side beside the wood-fired stove, picking vegetables and tending the fire, while chatting about the events of the past few years.

"Linlin, you look so haggard!"

Xu Xi reached out her small hand and rubbed Zhao Lin's cheek. The rough skin stung her heart.

Zhao Lin touched her face and smiled nonchalantly.

"I was in the Loess Plateau in Northwest China a while ago. The wind was strong and there was a lot of sand, so my face got rough. When Ayu saw that my skin was getting worse and worse, he ended his teaching assignment there early and brought me to this mountain city with high humidity, saying that he would let my skin recover."

"What good is this?!"

Xu Xi took out a hydrating face mask from her bag and carefully applied it to Zhao Lin's face, gently smoothing the mask out with her fingers.

"Our skin needs careful care and maintenance; what does relying on the environment matter?"

"We women need to take good care of our skin; relying solely on the environment isn't enough."

"When you come back to Yuncheng, I'll take you to the best beauty salon for a treatment. I guarantee it'll make you look 18 again, hehe~"

Zhao Lin felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing this. She wiped her hands and gently ruffled Xu Xi's silver hair.

"Wait for me a moment, I'll go to the backyard to pick some vegetables to cook."

With that, she picked up the bamboo basket and went to the courtyard behind the stone house.

"You even grew vegetables?"

Xu Xi followed her to the backyard and was immediately stunned by the scene before her.

The neatly arranged vegetable garden was filled with all kinds of vegetables, including bok choy, cauliflower, cabbage, and green beans on the trellis.

Several chickens, ducks, and geese were leisurely strolling in the vegetable garden, pecking at weeds, when Zhao Lin herded them into a fenced area.

She bent down and expertly dug through the soil with her hands, pulling out several potatoes covered in mud.

The dirt got stuck in his fingernails, turning her fingers gray.

"Don't I give you guys a lot of money every year? Why do you still need to grow your own vegetables? Can't you just buy them?"

Xu Xi quickly handed over the vegetable basket, taking the fresh potatoes still covered in mud, her tone a mixture of confusion and heartache.

"I can't spend the money."

Zhao Lin smiled helplessly, then pulled a bok choy from the ground and gently patted off the mud.

"The villagers don't even have enough vegetables to eat, and in years with bad harvests, we have to give them our stored grain."

"Moreover, without proper road construction, it's not easy for supplies from outside to get in."

She stood up and pointed to the brand-new desks in the classroom.

"These tables and chairs were carried up from the foot of the mountain one by one by A-Yu and the villagers."

"After moving, Ayu stayed in bed for two days to recover."

"When you think about it, growing your own vegetables is actually the most convenient thing to do."

After hearing this, Xu Xi felt very uncomfortable.

After helping to wash the vegetables, she took out a satellite phone with a long antenna from her backpack and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Mr. Xu, what can I do for you?"

"Have the urban construction department send some people to the mountain city to help with road repairs, the sooner the better."

"Yes, Mr. Xu, I'll arrange it right away and make sure it's done as quickly as possible!"

......

On the other side, Xu Nianze and Qi Yu, led by the village chief, headed towards the village.

The village chief was a man in his fifties with dark brown skin from years of sun and rain, rough like old tree bark, his face deeply lined, short in stature, and slightly hunched.

He led the way, leaning on a cane made of wooden sticks.

"Teacher Qi, thank you for spending so much money; you bought us such a big machine!"

He looked at the generator in Qi Yu's hand, his eyes welling up with tears.

"You teach these kids every day, worrying yourself sick, and you always spend your own money to buy things for the village. I don't know how to thank you enough."

"It's alright, Village Chief Jiang. It's not much money. Just consider it extra pay for me. I'll return it to the village in another way."

Qi Yu looked completely indifferent.

The village chief, however, frowned and sighed repeatedly.

"Teacher Qi, don't try to fool me! The two chickens I gave you aren't enough to buy a big machine."

Qi Yu smiled but didn't say anything.

"Teacher Qi, who is this? He looks unfamiliar."

The village chief's gaze fell on Xu Nian behind him.

"Xu Nian, you can just call him Xiao Xu, he's my friend."

Xu Nian stepped forward, politely extended her hand, and greeted the village chief.

"Hello, Village Chief Jiang."

"Hello, hello, Teacher Xu!"

The village chief smiled kindly and shook Xu Nian's hand tightly.

"I...I'm not a teacher, village chief, you've misunderstood."

Xu Nian quickly explained.

Qi Yu whispered a reminder in his ear.

"The 'teacher' in the mountain town doesn't just refer to a teacher; people call strangers that, just like we call someone 'master'."

Xu Nian said "Oh," nodded, and suddenly realized.

Qi Yu smiled slightly at the village chief.

"My friend is coming to our mountain area to visit me for a while. I hope you can take good care of him. Thank you."

"Yes, yes, Teacher Qi's friends are our friends from Meishu Village!"

Amidst laughter and conversation, the three of them entered a village nestled in the mountains.

In the mountain village after the rain, the air is filled with the fresh scent of soil and vegetation, and the sounds of insects and frogs fill the air.

At this time, just as the villagers finished their dinner, the village was filled with the simple, everyday atmosphere of daily life.

The women were washing dishes, cleaning the stove, and sweeping the floor in the kitchen; some were spinning thread, weaving cloth, and twisting hemp rope.

The men would take the leftover soup and swill from their meals to the livestock shed to feed the chickens, ducks, and geese they raised at home.

When they have free time, the villagers gather at the village entrance to chat and visit each other.

"Old Li, the pigs have eaten all the potatoes in my yard. Can you lend me a few to plant?"

"Sigh, when will this end? The harvest is poor, and there's not enough food to eat."

"The rice that Old Wang next door is borrowed; I don't know when he'll be able to pay it back."

"It's chilly at night, get some rest. We have to go to the fields before dawn tomorrow."

"The light bulb at the village entrance isn't working anymore. It's pitch black now, and you can't see anything!"

"Did you know? A stunningly beautiful girl came to the village entrance today! She's even prettier than Chang'e!"

When the villagers saw the village chief, most of them just smiled gently, then lowered their heads and continued with their own business.

But when they saw Qi Yu following behind the village chief, they all stood up, their faces showing the most respectful and sincere smiles, their eyes full of gratitude and respect.

......