Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Gu Zhenxing was completely stunned, never expecting such an important position to be assigned to him.

The other villagers who had been vying for the position of village head, even those who had prepared to cause a commotion, were left with no choice but to accept the decision after Lai Guochang firmly appointed Gu Zhenxing. Despite their dissatisfaction, none dared to voice any objections.

No one dared to oppose, as the Gu family now held absolute dominance in the village, with a son serving as a Colonel in the military. Moreover, Ye Qing, a prominent figure who had caught the attention of higher-ups, was the Gu family's future daughter-in-law. With these two powerful figures backing Gu Zhenxing, who would dare to challenge his authority as the village head?

Among the villagers, Ye Qing was probably the most concerned about the change in leadership.

After all, many village affairs were closely tied to her, and her future development plans were also intertwined with the village. She was worried that a new village head might create complications for her work.

However, Lai Guochang's decision alleviated her concerns. With Gu Zhenxing taking over, the situation would remain largely unchanged from when Wu Yongbing was in charge. Given her close relationship with the Gu family, Gu Zhenxing would likely support her and even facilitate her plans whenever she needed assistance from the village.

Moreover, Gu Zhenxing was a clear-headed individual with a strong reputation in the village, having served as a militia member and fought in battles. He had the respect of the villagers and could maintain order, preventing any internal discord.

It was unfortunate for Wu Yongbing, though. Despite his shortcomings in raising his daughter, he had dedicated significant effort to the development of Kaoshan Village. Over the years, he had supported Ye Qing's scientific breeding plan and fought for the establishment of a health clinic. Without his efforts, Kaoshan Village might still be an obscure, impoverished mountain hamlet, far from the thriving community it had become.

However, after the scandal involving his daughter, Wu Yongbing seemed to have lost his drive. His decision to resign was likely an attempt to take a break and reassess his situation. It would be unfair to pressure him to continue serving the villagers in his current state.

After Wu Yueying's execution, the Wu family fell into a deep slump. Many villagers distanced themselves from the family, and Wu Cong and Wu Min's children were ostracized by their peers. However, the Gu family remained supportive, with Gu Zhenxing often inviting Wu Yongbing over for meals and treating the Wu family fairly when assigning farm work.

Ye Qing also taught the village children not to discriminate against the Wu family, warning them that anyone who bullied Wu family children would no longer be allowed to visit her yard or play with her.

The children immediately heeded her warning.

However, while Ye Qing could influence the children, she couldn't force the entire village to treat the Wu family the same as before. The Wu family's reputation had drastically declined. Once a bustling household with frequent visitors, their home now stood quiet, with few people stopping by.

Such a situation was unavoidable. It would take years for the villagers to forget the incident and move past the shadow cast by Wu Yueying. The Wu family would have to live with this stigma for some time.

After news of Wu Yueying's sentencing spread, Xia Hangyi visited Kaoshan Village, bringing gifts in an attempt to apologize and seek forgiveness from Wu Yongbing.

However, Wu Yongbing was a man of strong principles. While his daughter's downfall was partly due to her own arrogance and foolishness, Xia Hangyi's role in her demise was undeniable. Wu Yongbing could never forgive the man responsible for his daughter's demise. As soon as Xia Hangyi arrived, Wu Yongbing, along with his sons Wu Cong and Wu Min, beat him up and drove him out of the village.

Wu Yongbing even issued a stern warning, telling Xia Hangyi never to return, or else they would beat him up every time they saw him.

Xia Hangyi never returned, but he seemed relieved to have severed ties with the Wu family, even cutting off contact with his in-laws. He was likely secretly pleased with the outcome.

With the Wu Yueying incident finally behind them, news of Ye Qing's children's story collection sweeping international bestseller lists became a hot topic among the public. The preface she wrote for the book even made it to the front page of a major newspaper's supplement, with high-ranking officials praising her for her pure and insightful perspective, which allowed her to see the beauty in the world and convey it through her writing.

This high praise left Ye Qing feeling a bit embarrassed and guilty, as her initial intention in writing the preface was to romanticize Changbai Mountain and Kaoshan Village to appeal to foreign readers.

However, the popularity of the preface did bring some benefits.

At the very least, it brought more attention to the literacy classes and story collections created by the educated youth in Kaoshan Village. The newfound popularity quickly caught the attention of higher-ups, and soon after, Hang Tingfang called to announce the creation of a new supplement for the Women's Daily, featuring a Children's Newspaper section that would publish stories from the Kaoshan Village literacy classes. The entire editorial team for the supplement would be composed of the educated youth from Kaoshan Village.

This news created a buzz among the educated youth in Kaoshan Village.

This was a formal job, with regular salaries and benefits. Hang Tingfang even promised that if the supplement performed well, it could eventually become a standalone publication, and the team might even have the opportunity to work at the newspaper's headquarters.

Since coming to the village, many of the educated youth with connections had already found ways to return to the city.

Those who couldn't endure the hardships of rural life had settled for marrying into relatively well-off families in the commune.

The remaining ones were those who had no hope of returning to the city and were unwilling to compromise, remaining unmarried.

However, since Ye Qing's arrival, Kaoshan Village had undergone significant changes. After several discussions with Ye Qing, the village cadres had changed their attitudes toward the educated youth, assigning them to positions where they could utilize their knowledge and skills.

Thanks to the villagers' care and preferential treatment, the educated youth had also let go of their prejudices and voluntarily organized literacy classes, using storytelling to help the villagers improve their literacy.

But no one could have predicted that this positive change would one day pay off in such a surprising way.

You know, the headquarters of the Women's Daily is in Jicheng, an opportunity that countless people have desperately sought but could never obtain. Who would have thought such an opportunity would land right in their laps?

Originally, these educated youth were adamant about not getting married, and the elders in the village even mocked them. Even those educated youth who had already married (or married into) other families came back to persuade them, telling them not to be stubborn and to make plans while they were still young, as life would only get harder if they didn't marry soon.

Who would have thought that in just two years, these educated youth's lives would take such a dramatic turn? Now, those who had rushed into marriage were the ones feeling envy and regret. But the job offered by Hang Tingfang was only for those who had participated in the literacy class storytelling sessions. Those who had left the educated youth compound had already missed their chance, and it was too late for regrets.

Hang Tingfang's professional foresight was undeniably sharp and keen. The creation of the Women's Daily supplement equates to giving children a dedicated reading space, which is indeed another progressive milestone in China's print media. Once this supplement is successfully established, more children's reading publications will surely spring up like mushrooms after rain, providing high-quality spiritual nourishment for the youth of the country.

Ye Qing's reputation among the educated youth has grown even higher, and even the production team of Kaoshan Village has become the first choice for many educated youth to join. Originally, educated youth from all over the country would choose relatively affluent southern or central regions for their rural assignments, avoiding the harsh and barren lands of the Great Northern Wilderness. But in the past two years, as Ye Qing repeatedly appeared in newspapers and on television, Kaoshan Village, this once obscure and poor ravine, has become increasingly famous. Educated youth from all over are now scrambling to come here, pulling every string they can.

However, policies remain unchanged, and the number of educated youth Kaoshan Village can accommodate each year is limited. So, who gets a spot depends entirely on each family's capabilities.

Ye Qing stayed out of the comings and goings and the disputes in the educated youth compound. She can't even remember the names of the later arrivals, as she is too busy with her daily work to spare time to interact with the educated youth.

By mid-May, after more than two months of recuperation, Han Yabo's body had finally recovered, and all the toxins in his system had been cleared. Song Chunhua officially entered the preconception phase.

Fang Xiaotao had the same plan.

This year, the military farm's pig stock had expanded several times, and the pig farm had recruited a large number of people. Fang Xiaotao had even become the manager of the pig farm, now decisive and assertive, a far cry from the timid little wife she used to be.

Zhang Jianguo, on the other hand, had retired from the military and was arranged by Zhao Yuliang to work at the town's police station. He would often come down to Kaoshan Village to patrol, occasionally stopping by the health station to help out with whatever he could. His leg ailment, which had been mostly treated by Ye Qing, allowed him to catch thieves and investigate cases with great efficiency, making him seem even more capable than when he was in the military.

Perhaps seeing that he had indeed reformed well, Fang Xiaotao visibly became younger, her cheerful and bright smile a clear sign of her happiness. Ye Qing also relented and gave Zhang Jianguo a few acupuncture treatments, allowing the couple to go home and prepare for pregnancy.

According to Ye Qing's estimation, it wouldn't take more than two months for both Song Chunhua and Fang Xiaotao to become pregnant.

But before she could hear any good news from them, she was hit with tragic news.