The young woman then stood up, finding herself unharmed, and was extremely excited, quickly expressing her gratitude to Cheng Xiaofan.
"Handsome, thank you!"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "It's just a small effort, no need to thank me."
The young woman asked, "Handsome, what's your name?"
"My name is Cheng Xiaofan, I'm from Zhuxi Village!" Cheng Xiaofan replied.
As soon as Cheng Xiaofan finished speaking, the young woman exclaimed in surprise, "So you're Cheng Xiaofan!"
"When I first came to Zhuxi Village, I heard people mention you, saying you're the only top student to have left Zhuxi Village. It's a privilege to meet you today."
Through the young woman's self-introduction, Cheng Xiaofan learned that her name was Mei Xueyun, a newly assigned poverty alleviation village official sent to Zhuxi Village from above.
Mei Xueyun curiously asked Cheng Xiaofan, "Cheng Xiaofan, who did you learn this massage and detoxification skill from?"
"Uh, beautiful lady, this is a secret technique taught to me by an expert when I was studying at university in the capital!" In this situation, Cheng Xiaofan could only come up with such an excuse.
If he said he had just inherited the legacy of Shennong, people would think he was crazy.
Fortunately, Mei Xueyun didn't press further about who the expert was. She just gave him a glance and said playfully, "Cheng Xiaofan, don't call me beautiful lady. I have a name, you can just call me Xueyun!"
"Okay, from now on I'll call you Xueyun!"
In the past few days since Cheng Xiaofan returned, he had also heard others mention this new village official, Mei Xueyun, saying she was very approachable and allowed everyone, old and young, to call her by her first name.
On the way back to the village, Cheng Xiaofan curiously asked her, "Xueyun, why did you come to this back mountain alone?"
The back mountain was close to a primitive forest, a place where venomous snakes and various wild animals appeared. It was very dangerous for a girl to wander into the deep mountains and old forests alone.
Mei Xueyun smiled and said, "I have nothing to do today, so I thought I'd explore the mountains, hoping to find some good resources to help the villagers get rich."
Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but secretly laugh at the beauty's naivete.
If there were good resources in this back mountain, would it be her turn to find them?
"Xueyun, this can't be rushed,"
Cheng Xiaofan comforted her, "You must never enter the mountain alone again, it's too dangerous. I'm staying home for a while now, and if I have time, I can help you look for resources in the mountains!"
"Xiaofan, thank you!" Mei Xueyun said happily.
"What's there to thank? I also wish our village people would get rich sooner!" Cheng Xiaofan said with a smile.
The two entered the village chatting and laughing.
The village office was in the west of the creek, while Cheng Xiaofan lived in the east. They parted ways near the Stone Arch Bridge.
Woof woof!
As soon as Cheng Xiaofan returned to his doorstep, Tuoqibao, wagging its tail, darted out from the hole in the door.
In the Zhuxi Village area, people who kept cats or dogs would dig a hole next to the main door to facilitate their pets' entry and exit for foraging.
Seeing that the main gate was closed, Cheng Xiaofan knew his mother had taken his father to get his injured leg treated.
Cheng Xiaofan noticed that Tuoqibao was soaking wet and couldn't help but glare at it fiercely, "Tuoqibao, did you go fishing in the river again?"
Tuoqibao immediately nodded and even pulled at his trouser leg towards the front door.
As soon as Cheng Xiaofan opened the door, he saw a Pomfret lying on the ground, weighing over three catties. It had a wide belly and a black back. Such a fat and tender Pomfret was rare.
Tuoqibao was a dog Cheng Xiaofan found in a trash can in the city half a year ago. It was a genuine local mongrel.
Except for its black nose, the dog was pure white without a single mixed hair. The villagers called it Snowball, but Cheng Xiaofan had given it the name Tuoqibao.
The reason Cheng Xiaofan named it that was because the dog was too mischievous. Within days of bringing it back, it would climb trees to catch birds, go into the river to catch fish, and even dared to snatch cured sausages hung at people's doors.
Whatever mischievous things country kids could do, it learned to do them by following along.
During this period, Tuoqibao noticed that its owner's complexion was a little sallow, so it would go to the river every few days and catch a few fish to supplement its owner's nutrition.
Cheng Xiaofan bent down, picked up the Pomfret from the ground, gently patted Tuoqibao's head, and said, "Tuoqibao, I've told you many times, catching fish in the water isn't a dog's job, why don't you ever listen? It's so dangerous!"
Woof woof!
This dog can fight tigers in the mountains and catch dragons in the water, what's there to worry about!
As a genuine sycophant, Tuoqibao never thought twice before boasting. Anyway, its owner couldn't understand dog language, so it just enjoyed the moment.
"Get out of the way!"
Seeing Tuoqibao looking as if it were floating, Cheng Xiaofan scolded it and carried the Pomfret to the yard behind the house.
In Zhuxi Village, most houses had a backyard for growing fruits and vegetables, and there was usually a well for irrigating the vegetables and other daily uses.
Cheng Xiaofan drew a bucket of water from the well and began to clean the Pomfret.
Because of the heavy rain that fell in the middle of the night a few days ago, water had accumulated in the yard and hadn't been drained promptly. Cheng Xiaofan noticed that some of the vegetables planted there had wilted.
He thought of the spiritual energy within him, which not only helped others detoxify snake venom without leaving scars, but he wondered if it could also help restore the vitality of the vegetables.
At this thought, Cheng Xiaofan extended his palm towards the vegetable patch. A green light quickly flashed from his palm, covering the entire vegetable bed.
Immediately, the wilted cabbages straightened up at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the yellowed leaves turned a lush green, which was very pleasing to see.
For a moment, Cheng Xiaofan stared at everything before him, dumbfounded!
After he had cleaned the Pomfret, he found that the cabbages in the bed had grown significantly taller.
Wasn't this speed too fast?
Cheng Xiaofan excitedly picked a few cabbages, preparing to taste the flavor of vegetables bathed in spiritual energy.
After returning to the house, Cheng Xiaofan first washed the rice and put it in the electric steamer, adding water. He then placed a tray on top, arranged the sliced fish on the plate, added seasonings, closed the lid of the electric steamer, and plugged it in. It wouldn't need any further attention.
Next, he started to stir-fry.
He put rapeseed oil from a wooden press into the wok. When the oil started to smoke, with a sizzling sound, Cheng Xiaofan threw the cabbages into the wok and began to stir-fry them.
After just a few stirs, a mouth-watering aroma wafted from the wok, filling the air and making one's mouth water.
Was this still cabbage?
Woof woof!
Tuoqibao, drawn by the fragrance, jumped onto the stove with a thud.
"Are you rebelling? Is this stove something a dog like you can get on?" Cheng Xiaofan grabbed the handle of the spatula and knocked Tuoqibao off the stove.
Owwww!
Tuoqibao let out a wronged whine and circled around the stove.
"Xiaofan, what are you cooking in the kitchen? It smells so good!" Just then, Miao Xiuhua's voice came from the main hall.