Ning Wei walked into the small courtyard and saw a kitchen nearby. It wasn't very bright inside. The village chief's wife, hunched over, was struggling to chop firewood, seemingly preparing to cook.
"Let me help you," Ning Wei stepped forward, reaching for the axe.
To her surprise, the village chief's wife flinched as if startled, stepping back repeatedly. Due to her unsteady legs, she didn't notice a piece of wood lying horizontally behind her and fell down.
The noise wasn't small. Fu Chengwei, just on the other side of the wall, immediately came over and asked Ning Wei, "What happened?"
Ning Wei took a step back. "She seemed scared by me."
Fu Chengwei rolled his eyes at her, muttering, "Why don't you help her up," before reaching out to pull the elderly woman up.
He examined her from head to toe, and once he confirmed the old lady was fine, he picked up the axe from the ground and, in just a few strokes, chopped the firewood for her, stacking it neatly in the corner.
The old lady still didn't speak, and with a stoop, she went back into the kitchen.
Fu Chengwei had helped her twice without any response, and he felt a little displeased.
Just then, a young man named Yang Yang walked in. "Hurry out. Wang Shunli is back. Professor Mei wants you to come out."
Ning Wei nodded and followed Yang Yang out.
Wang Shunli was standing in the courtyard, taking off his shirt. His body was covered in muscle, indicating he had done a lot of manual labor.
He casually stripped off his clothes in front of everyone and put on a clean set hanging on the line, unconcerned that there were several young women present.
Ning Wei saw several people turn their faces away, looking quite disgusted.
She approached Mei Nan and called out obediently, "Professor Mei."
Mei Nan smiled at Ning Wei. "You and Wang Shunli were in charge before. You'll be responsible now. Let Fu Chengwei assist you."
Fu Chengwei was demoted from squad leader to assistant again, looking very unwilling. However, he couldn't defeat Ning Wei and had to submit to her strength!
Wang Shunli, having put on his clothes, was led by the village chief to Ning Wei.
In front of Ning Wei, Wang Shunli appeared somewhat shy, completely lacking the bold demeanor he had shown while changing in front of everyone earlier.
"Your name is Ning Wei, right?" Wang Shunli deliberately lowered his voice, afraid of frightening this city student.
Ning Wei felt the atmosphere was a bit off. The village chief beside them was smiling, and Professor Mei Nan also wore a look of amusement.
Fu Chengwei bent down and whispered in Ning Wei's ear, "Why does this feel like a matchmaking session?"
Ning Wei elbowed him backward. Fu Chengwei clutched his stomach and stumbled back a few steps.
Song Zhi whispered from the side, "Serves you right!"
Fu Chengwei, still holding his stomach, pointed at Song Zhi, looking indignant.
They were all joking around, completely unaware that Wang Shunli's expression had turned colder whenever Fu Chengwei and Ning Wei got too close.
Song Zhi came to Ning Wei's side and then said to Professor Mei Nan, "Why don't I go with Ning Wei? Fu Chengwei doesn't seem like he's serious about anything!"
Mei Nan didn't care about these details. He was just worried about letting Ning Wei go alone with Wang Shunli for errands, so he wanted another young man along for protection.
Seeing Song Zhi leaning towards Ning Wei again, Wang Shunli suddenly spoke, "You've been traveling all day. Why don't you come with me to see the accommodation first?"
Song Zhi looked at Wang Shunli with surprise. His sudden interjection made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Ning Wei smiled and said, "Alright, let's go."
Wang Shunli led the way, with Ning Wei following behind, holding her notebook and pen.
"There are twenty-seven of you in total, and you can only be accommodated in a few villagers' homes. Our homes aren't big enough," Wang Shunli said, secretly glancing at Ning Wei.
Ning Wei's expression was calm. "Then I'll trouble Brother Wang to accompany me. I need to arrange where everyone will stay tonight, and I'll have to trouble the villagers as well."
"No trouble, no trouble."
Wang Shunli led Ning Wei to the first house, inhabited by a family of three. There was a man in the house who was about Wang Shunli's age.
As the three of them walked into the yard, they encountered this young man heading out with a hoe.
His eyes lit up when he saw Ning Wei first. Upon noticing Wang Shunli standing beside her, he immediately withdrew his gaze and then furtively flicked his eyes back and forth between the two of them.
Wang Shunli coughed softly and explained, "Professor Mei Nan brought students to the village for an inspection today. There are too many students to accommodate in our homes, so I was hoping to arrange for a few students to stay at your place. Would that be convenient?"
The young man agreed immediately and shouted, "Mom! Mom! Come out! We have visitors!"
His mother emerged from the kitchen. She also had a lame leg, and half of her face bore a long scar that appeared untreated, with significant keloid formation.
Ning Wei feigned a startled reaction and took a step back.
Behind her stood Song Zhi. Although he didn't know what trick this "sister" was up to now, compared to this disfigured middle-aged woman, the ghosts she had seen were far more terrifying!
Song Zhi quickly played along. As a vice-dean, he naturally had to protect his students immediately, even if the student was merely startled by a disfigured middle-aged woman.
Seeing Song Zhi's hand on Ning Wei's shoulder, Wang Shunli became even more displeased. He gave the young man a sharp look, as if silently issuing a warning.
The young man immediately glared hatefully at his mother. "Aren't you going back inside? You've scared the beautiful lady!"
This person showed no respect for his mother, and referring to Ning Wei as "beautiful lady" carried a somewhat dismissive tone.
Ning Wei was displeased and remained silent with a cold expression.
The middle-aged woman, reprimanded by her son, immediately dragged her lame leg back into the kitchen.
A man emerged from the house, bearing a strong resemblance to the young man, likely his father.
After coming out, he first appraised Ning Wei from head to toe, like inspecting merchandise. With a cigarette in his mouth, he said to Wang Shunli, "You said you wanted to arrange for a student to stay at my place?"
Wang Shunli composed himself. "Uncle Wang, this is all arranged by my father."
This Uncle Wang exhaled a plume of white smoke. "If you want to stay, fine. Just don't forget to help your brother out. He's not very articulate, but he's reached the age where he should get married."
Wang Shunli's eyes flickered, and he readily agreed.
"We're all family. Of course, I'll help my brother."
Upon receiving Wang Shunli's promise, Uncle Wang's son grinned broadly, somewhat irresponsibly saying, "Then thank you, brother."
Wang Shunli's expression darkened. It seemed he was unhappy about being pressured into making a promise, but for the sake of appearances, he didn't show his displeasure on the spot.