She was the daughter of Jiang Nan Fang and Zhan Bei Jue.
With both parents so driven, how could she be a good-for-nothing?
In the end, she chose the Loess Plateau. Chen Dongyang promised to arrange everything, notified her of the departure date, and left with his laptop.
Chen Dongyang arranged everything for Tiantian, but only remotely.
He wasn't sure how difficult and harsh the place was, and worried Tiantian wouldn't be able to handle it, so he planned to scout ahead.
The project he was currently working on had just begun, with a large pile of complex tasks to fill and sort out.
Logically, he couldn't leave at such a crucial moment, but he still went to discuss with Lu Huaijin about working from home for a period.
Lu Huaijin was a shrewd individual.
From childhood, he knew he wasn't good enough for the Zhan family, and he didn't want to appear like a sycophant.
With his background and looks, if he didn't aim high, there were plenty of choices looking down.
Rather than spending every day desperately pursuing someone, it was better to have others revolve around him.
Therefore, Chen Dongyang and Tiantian's situation didn't affect him.
On the contrary, maintaining the friendship of the three, coupled with their slight guilt towards him, would only be more beneficial to his career.
He was a very smart businessman.
When Chen Dongyang proposed working from home, Lu Huaijin's first reaction was that he had fallen deeply in love and didn't want to be separated from Tiantian for a second.
While feeling a little displeased, he was mostly amused.
"The affection you two are showing leaves me speechless. Wouldn't it seem heartless if I disagreed?"
"The project is yours to lead anyway, and I'm just in sales. I know my place and as long as the progress isn't delayed, I have no other objections."
Chen Dongyang liked this about him – his straightforwardness, his ability to take things in stride and let them go.
"Don't worry, with so many brothers relying on me for a living, I won't let everyone go hungry. I won't fall behind on work."
"Then it's settled. We'll work online starting tomorrow. Call me for any urgent matters."
After arranging his work, he immediately booked a flight to Shancheng.
Tiantian had chosen a very underdeveloped town called Qingshui Town, located at the border of Shancheng and Gansu Province.
It was called Qingshui Town because the area was severely lacking in water.
How severe was the shortage?
A village would pool their resources to dig a well, and after digging over ten meters, they could only extract muddy water mixed with yellow soil.
To express their strong desire for water, they named it Qingshui Town.
After landing, Chen Dongyang transferred to a bus, then to a motorcycle, and after more than ten hours of bumpy travel, he finally reached the town.
The town was desolate, no more than five kilometers in diameter from north to south.
There was little green vegetation in the town; at a glance, it was all dusty gray.
The shops lining the street were only two stories high, with very simple signs.
All of them had red backgrounds with white lettering, directly stating the shop's name.
For example: Old Zhang's Fast Food, Ruyi Inn, Life Supermarket.
It was almost dark when Chen Dongyang arrived.
The town had no neon lights; streetlights were placed a few meters apart, creating a quiet and distant atmosphere.
He pushed his suitcase to Ruyi Inn and rented a room for fifty yuan a night.
The room was simply furnished: a bed, two nightstands, and a quilt.
The bathroom had no showerhead, but it had a toilet, though it was more for show.
Next to the toilet was a bucket, and inside the bucket was a red ladle filled with a murky liquid, presumably for flushing the toilet.
Chen Dongyang was a man and didn't need to be so particular; not showering for one night was fine, but Tiantian might not be able to tolerate it.
After putting down his luggage and surveying the room, he went downstairs to ask the owner how to take a shower.
The owner pointed him towards the street diagonally ahead: "There's a bathhouse over there. You can wash as much as you want for five yuan."
It was good that there was a bathhouse. Chen Dongyang was relieved, nodded, and went out to eat.
Old Zhang's Fast Food offered local pasta dishes. A large bowl cost six yuan, and one bowl was enough to fill you up.
There was nothing else to see, so he went back to sleep.
The next day, he went to visit the school.
Jiang Nan Fang had previously arranged for someone to contact the school, and knowing that a teacher was coming to take up a position, the principal was already eagerly anticipating it.
Upon seeing such a young and handsome young man, fair-skinned, dressed in trendy clothes, clearly from the city, he expressed a warm welcome.
He enthusiastically introduced Chen Dongyang to the number of students and teachers in the school.
Chen Dongyang toured the school with the principal and felt the conditions were quite good. He then asked where the staff dormitory was.
The principal led him to a room next to the cafeteria and opened the door.
"This is it. Bunk beds, can accommodate six people. Female teachers stay in this room. Male teachers stay in the one opposite."
The principal pointed to a room across the campus.
"We only have three teachers here, all female. The male dormitory is not in use for now and is used for storing miscellaneous items."
The bunk beds were iron frames, with three beds in total.
The three female teachers all slept on the lower bunks, using the upper bunks for cups, washbasins, and toiletries. Although simple, the overall appearance was clean and tidy.
Chen Dongyang was also satisfied.
He inspected everything for Tiantian and found it all to be satisfactory. He left the school with peace of mind.
Planning to stay long-term, he returned to the inn and asked the owner if there were any houses for rent nearby.
"Rent a house?"
Seeing his city attire, the owner couldn't fathom why he would want to rent a house in such a place.
"Young man, are you planning to stay? What are you doing here?"
Chen Dongyang said he hadn't decided what to do yet, "But I quite like it here. I find it very quiet. I want to rest here for a while."
The owner was very hospitable and recommended a house of his own.
"My in-laws left it. The old couple passed away a few years ago, and the house has been empty ever since."
"It's a bit simple, but the rooms are spacious. You'll be comfortable living alone. I'll take you to see it."
Chen Dongyang went with him. At the other end of the town, there was a single-story house with three rooms.
It was almost bare.
There was no furniture, and the walls were covered in cobwebs and dust.
However, it was not far from Tiantian, and the space was large enough, so it could be renovated.
Chen Dongyang immediately decided to rent it.
In a place like this, houses were worthless. Having someone willing to rent it was like a windfall. The owner didn't ask for much, 1500 yuan a year.
Chen Dongyang paid the money on the spot and planned to go to the county town the next day to buy cement and paint for renovation.
The town was more than ten kilometers away from the county town. The bus passengers were mostly elderly people. Although it wasn't crowded, the driver drove slowly, making it quite time-consuming.
Thinking about how convenient it would be to take her out on holidays once Tiantian arrived.
After buying the renovation materials, he went to a second-hand car market.
He immediately spotted a Beijing Hyundai that was five years old. The owner was asking for 20,000 yuan, and it could be transferred at any time.
Chen Dongyang negotiated the price down by 2,000 yuan and bought it on the spot.
After completing a series of procedures and returning to the inn with the cement and paint, he sent a message to Tiantian.
"This is the address. You can set off tomorrow and report the day after tomorrow morning."