On the morning of May 19th, villagers in Koushanli discovered the Li family's car, signaling their return.
Koushanli, as if infused with a soul, came alive.
Since the Li family's departure, even with crowds thronging Koushanli daily, the villagers had felt a persistent emptiness.
Now, knowing the Li family was back, their hearts immediately felt full again, the emptiness gone.
Soon, the villagers at the hot spring valley also learned of the Li family's return, their fatigue from a night's rest vanishing instantly.
Their spiritual pillar had returned; their confidence was restored.
After breakfast, the courtyard hosted one group of villagers after another.
Seeing Mother Li had also returned, villagers, surprised, asked how she could bear to leave the prosperity of Kyoto.
Mother Li chuckled, "Prosperity is but a fleeting cloud. Koushanli is much more grounded."
The villagers agreed, "Indeed, Koushanli is our root. What is Kyoto like? Have you been to the Forbidden City? Have you seen the Great Wall?"
These villagers were elders who stayed home to raise chickens and rabbits, having barely left their village their entire lives.
Mother Li found a topic to boast about, sharing her Kyoto experiences with her peers.
She spoke of Kyoto with such longing that these elderly villagers yearned to see it themselves.
While they could still walk and move.
But with endless tasks at home and work, and their children so busy, how could they possibly bring up such a request?
In the village committee office, Vice Village Chief Ou and Secretary Yang were also inquiring about the Kyoto trip from Zhou Chengbing.
During the ten days in Kyoto, Zhou Chengbing had been unusually silent, even more so than Yuan Man.
Yuan Man's family had once resided in Kyoto, and he was indifferent to everything the city had to offer.
The Yuan family had donated most of their antiques and were also detached from wealth.
But Zhou Chengbing was different.
He had been profoundly shaken.
He had once taken pride in being a city dweller.
He had once prided himself on being the county magistrate's nephew.
His future, he believed, was at least the county magistrate, or even higher.
Wheat was his love.
Becoming village chief, town chief, and county chief was his career.
He was proud, as his career had been smooth sailing. When Town Chief Li retired, he expected to take over, or perhaps bypass the town chief position and go directly to the county.
He felt he had achieved both love and career.
He had even ignored Xiaomai's emotional fluctuations over the past two years.
He believed that once he rose in rank and brought more honor to Xiaomai, she would realize the glory of being with him.
Upon entering Kyoto, his initial shock was merely the disparity between a metropolis and a small town.
When Ouyang Lei took them sightseeing, they saw Jingyuan Company, met its people, and learned its secrets. He was so shaken that his soul nearly came to a standstill.
Captain Tian was in Koushanli!
Even though he arrived at Koushanli later, he knew that Captain Tian rarely traveled, venturing out only once a year.
Such a person lived a tranquil life in Koushanli.
Together with Town Chief Li, she transformed Koushanli into a nationally renowned mountain village and a model poverty alleviation base.
When everyone thought Koushanli was the greatest achievement of Captain Tian and Town Chief Li, and that Captain Tian's position was her lifelong honor,
They never expected that in the top metropolis of Kyoto, Captain Tian's achievements surpassed the accumulated efforts of others for several lifetimes.
When Damai and Xiaomai chatted with Du Hongjuan, he learned that Damai and Xiaomai had almost become core members of Jingyuan Company.
It was only because of those two mischievous individuals back then that Captain Tian dared not keep the two temperamental siblings in Kyoto.
Damai and Xiaomai's personality flaws had disappeared after they married and had children.
Damai became Yuan Man's assistant, willingly and happily married.
Xiaomai's status in his household, after Yulin was born, gradually declined. Even he had been neglecting Xiaomai's emotional changes.
Compared to his father-in-law's affection for his mother-in-law,
Compared to his uncle's affection for his aunt,
Compared to his younger uncle's affection for his younger aunt,
Compared to Yuan Man's affection for Damai,
What he gave Xiaomai, and what his parents gave Xiaomai, could not compare to these four couples.
The glory of being the county magistrate's wife felt somewhat hollow, at least for the next decade or so.
Marital affection and family harmony should have been what Xiaomai needed most.
His approach had been backward.
When asked by Vice Village Chief Ou and Secretary Yang, he could only speak of Kyoto's prosperity and tourist attractions.
Jingyuan Company was something that, without seeing it firsthand, was impossible to explain; it was utterly inconceivable.
Thinking of his own short-sightedness, and then of the two former daughters-in-law of the Niu family who were so eager to venture out,
And Captain Tian's plan to take the nursery female employees to see the world,
Zhou Chengbing asked Vice Village Chief Ou and Secretary Yang, "Should we organize for the villagers to go out and broaden their horizons?"
"Koushanli's annual dividends have given the villagers two mindsets."
"One is that they think they are very rich, so let them go out and see what true wealth is."
"The other is that they think money is easily earned in Koushanli and also easily earned elsewhere."
"Let them go out and see if it's easy for migrant workers to earn money? Sometimes, after working tirelessly for months, they may not even get paid."
Vice Village Chief Ou glanced at Secretary Yang before saying, "Your idea should come after Captain Tian's."
"After the nursery employees have had their trip, we can make plans."
Zhou Chengbing was speechless. Apart from Lin Duo'er, weren't the hearts of the other female employees unstable?
However, it was just a suggestion. Koushanli itself had several hundred villagers; organizing for all of them to gain experience would be quite a stir.
And then there were the thousands of villagers from Villages One and Two...
This proposal was somewhat inappropriate.
Seeing Zhou Chengbing's silence, Secretary Yang said, "Village Chief Zhou's proposal has good intentions, but human nature is something we cannot control or grasp."
"However, this proposal can certainly be used as a reward."
"Don't major company employees also come to Koushanli in groups, calling it employee benefits?"
Vice Village Chief Ou nodded, "Distributing it as a reward sounds good; the specific regulations still need discussion."
Zhou Chengbing sighed, "Alas! Let's put it aside for now. At least we won't implement it this year."
"Captain Tian has already set the date for the female employees to go out and see the world for November, after work concludes. We'll see if the villagers have any ideas then."
"If they do, we can prepare this reward."
Vice Village Chief Ou and Secretary Yang exchanged glances and agreed.
...
Tian Jing called Yuan Feng, saying she needed help organizing a banquet to thank the villagers.
Yuan Feng agreed and asked for the date.
Tian Jing said it hadn't been decided yet.
Yuan Feng asked her to call again once the date was set.
At noon, Li Zhengguo got off work, and Tian Jing asked him about the time for the banquet.
Li Zhengguo had already taken more than ten days of leave, and his desk was piled high with work. He had spent the morning reviewing documents and listening to his secretary and the deputy town chief's reports, his head throbbing.
"Choose a weekend. I'm very busy temporarily, and the children are all at school."
Tian Jing nodded, "Then let's set it for this Sunday for lunch and dinner. Villagers busy at the hot spring valley can also come in shifts."
Li Zhengguo agreed. He had already given each household ten thousand yuan in gift money, and his wife had long said that for the banquet, they should invite everyone, old and young.
In the afternoon, after Tian Jing informed Yuan Feng of the time, she went to borrow a loudspeaker from the village committee.
When the villagers heard Tian Jing using the loudspeaker to invite everyone to the banquet, they couldn't help but laugh; it was a unique invitation.
Tourists also heard it and asked the villagers if they could participate.
The villagers repeatedly shook their heads, "No, no. This is a banquet to thank us, the 66 households of our village, not a regular celebration."
The tourists sheepishly apologized, "I just thought the atmosphere would be good. I've never eaten at a rural banquet before."
The villagers chuckled, "Our rural banquets are all about the atmosphere."
"But for Captain Tian's banquet, the quality... hehe, you can't even book Yuan's Private Kitchen, right?"
The tourist nodded, "That's right. I booked a month in advance and still couldn't get a reservation. If I don't come and play now, I won't have time this year."
"Hehe," the villagers grinned proudly, "For Captain Tian's banquet, the chefs are from Yuan's Private Kitchen."
"You want to attend the banquet? We wish Captain Tian's family would host banquets more often."
The tourist said enviously, "You really have good fortune with food."
The villagers became even more boastful, "Of course! After eating this meal, eating our own food will be like eating pig slop, it's so..."
"Ouch, ouch!" The villager's ear was grabbed by his wife, "Wife, let go! Guests are watching. Where will I put my face?"
"Do you still have any face?" the villager's wife said, completely unconcerned about the onlookers, "You call your wife's cooking pig slop, and you still want face? Pigs have no shame."
The villager quickly begged for forgiveness with all sorts of sweet words.
The tourists watched with great interest. The way rural couples interacted was so down-to-earth and full of life.