"Right, before you went up the mountain, I almost forgot to remind you, we've set a lot of traps, you didn't get hurt, did you?"
Looking at the village chief's concerned expression, everyone felt he was deliberately hiding something.
Mei Nan smiled and played along, "Fortunately, before going up the mountain, I was worried about snakes and kept tapping the ground with a stick, so I wasn't injured."
"But because of the many traps, we couldn't go any further in," Mei Nan said, with a hint of regret.
The village chief's expression relaxed for a moment. Recalling the time it took them to go up and down the mountain, he realized they couldn't have discovered much.
The village chief pulled Mei Nan to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and tentatively said, "Actually, what you want to see is in the village. The back mountain is full of wild beasts, and we haven't been there for many years. There's nothing worth seeing."
Mei Nan nodded repeatedly, agreeing.
The two, with not too great an age difference, sat together and started chatting.
Despite the village's remoteness, the village chief was quite knowledgeable.
Mei Nan discussed everything from local customs to historical relics, and the chief could always add a few words. They sat together harmoniously.
Ning Wei and the other two stood by. Mei Nan pretended to be impatient and waved to Song Zhi, "Take the two students to tour the village. Don't forget the purpose of our visit. If you can't write a report for school, I'll fail you at the end of the semester!"
Ning Wei and Fu Chengwei fully embraced their student roles. Upon hearing about failing, they immediately dashed out.
Mei Nan found their reaction amusing and awkwardly said to the village chief, "You can't indulge students these days, they're too lazy!"
Hearing this, the village chief seemed to have found a kindred spirit, "Yes, yes, they must be punished if they err, lest they make mistakes. We elders worry ourselves sick over them, but these young ones just don't understand our good intentions."
Mei Nan had heard the village chief hitting his wife last night, and after Ning Wei had embellished the story this morning, he felt even more disgusted.
When the village chief mentioned punishment, he became energetic and his words became increasingly excessive.
Only when he noticed Mei Nan's expression change did he stop, and awkwardly explain, "It's all my eldest son's fault, he's so disobedient. I can't help but beat him whenever I think of him, that's why I talked so much."
Mei Nan took a sip of hot tea and casually asked, "Why don't I see your eldest son?"
The village chief's expression was somewhat subtle. He only said that his eldest son had made a mistake and had been sent out on an errand.
Mei Nan sighed and said, "It's not easy to get to your village. It must take a lot of time to go out, right?"
"Yes, we're in the mountains, mountains after mountains, stretching as far as the eye can see. Because of this, people can't earn money or find wives."
Mei Nan smiled and comforted him, "After we finish writing our research report, perhaps it will attract attention from higher up, and your village might become famous."
This was originally a very good thing. If it truly gained government attention, the villagers would surely receive subsidies or opportunities to work elsewhere, and even be able to move out of the mountains.
However, upon hearing this, the village chief repeatedly refused, "My son agreed with you that you were just coming here for an inspection and research. He never said you would submit a report to higher authorities."
Mei Nan explained, "Didn't you say the village isn't making money? If we can get attention from superiors, everyone will have opportunities to earn money and find wives more easily."
"Look at female college students like Ning Wei, you don't see them in the village. Only by leaving the mountains and broadening their horizons can they see a wider world and have a chance to marry educated wives. People our age have always said, a good wife can enrich three generations."
The village chief's lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't.
He just kept refusing Mei Nan's proposal, saying that the villagers were accustomed to their lives of working with the sunrise and resting with the sunset, and did not wish to be disturbed by the outside world.
Earlier, his remark about not being able to find wives was just a joke. There weren't many bachelors in the village, which meant finding wives wasn't as difficult as he made it out to be.
The village chief explained at length, but seeing Mei Nan still looking puzzled.
He then said, "It's my fault, I like to have a drink in the morning, so my words were a bit too casual and exaggerated. In fact, the village isn't as difficult as I said. Otherwise, how could I afford such a large house?"
"We live off the mountains here. You're a professor, you should know there are many precious mushrooms and wild vegetables in the mountains that can bring considerable income to the villagers. If you really submit the report, perhaps people will come to pick them from the mountains, and that would be counterproductive."
Mei Nan smiled and refilled the village chief's cup with hot water, "Since you drank in the morning, drinking strong tea is good for sobering up. I didn't consider everything carefully just now. This trip was originally to bring students to see historical culture firsthand. Since the village chief is unwilling to expose this place, we will certainly help keep it a secret. However, if our students want to come again in the future, we ask the village chief to lend a hand and let them in."
"That's only natural, that's only natural." The village chief took the hot tea Mei Nan poured and drank it in one gulp, not minding the heat.
As for Ning Wei, the three of them had not walked far when they were called over by a female student.
Ning Wei recognized this female student. She was small and a bit plump, everyone called her Yuanyuan.
Next to Yuanyuan stood two boys, who waved enthusiastically at Song Zhi.
Song Zhi led Ning Wei and Fu Chengwei over, "What's up?"
Yuanyuan looked around, making sure no villagers were nearby, and whispered, "We just found a woman in the pigsty, barely clothed, and she was fighting with the pigs for food."
Song Zhi frowned and asked, "Where?"
Yuanyuan pointed in a direction, "We just passed by and heard a noise, so we went to look. Who knew the old woman of that house saw us and chased us away. The situation seemed wrong then, we only took a glance, but we could be sure there was a woman in the pigsty. I saw her chest was bulging."
After Yuanyuan finished speaking, she took her teammates to another area.
Song Zhi and his two companions, armed with paper and pens, walked around the village with serious expressions, stopping occasionally to observe and talking animatedly.
Although the villagers were curious, they didn't approach, but their eyes followed the three of them.
If their psychological fortitude wasn't strong enough, they wouldn't have been able to endure being stared at like that.
They talked and discussed as they slowly arrived at the house Yuanyuan had mentioned.
It was a one-story brick house with a large courtyard. The pigsty Yuanyuan mentioned was at the far end.