Baihua Town is located in the northwestern mountainous region of Jinde County, bordering Shaohe County, featuring high terrain dominated by mountains and hills.

The Baiwang Mountain Range, meandering southward from Shaohe County's borders, rises into Baiwang Peak at the juncture of Jinde and Shaohe counties.

The average elevation within the jurisdiction is 455 meters, with four peaks above 1000 meters and nineteen peaks over 800 meters.

Among them, Houtang Village is the most remote, surrounded by mountains on all sides with only one dirt road for vehicles to enter and exit.

A 40-kilometer journey.

Departure at two in the afternoon.

By the time we arrived at the village, the sky was already turning dark.

The car had just come to a stop.

Wang Yiyi's car door in the back opened.

Out she rushed, bracing herself against a tree and vomited loudly.

It was no surprise.

Even Chen Fang had a difficult time with the bumpy ride, let alone a woman.

Seeing this, he pulled out a few tissues from the car and offered them to Wang Yiyi, saying, "Deputy County Head Wang, use these to wipe your mouth."

"No need, I have my own."

Wang Yiyi turned away.

She took out a tissue from her pocket, wiped her mouth, and called out, "Village Chief Yan, lead us to check out the situation."

As soon as Village Chief Yan heard this, he quickly said, "Deputy County Head Wang, it's getting dark now. Even if we go to the site, we won't be able to see anything clearly. How about I arrange accommodations for the leaders first, and we can visit the site as soon as dawn breaks?"

Wang Yiyi frowned and asked, "Are there any flashlights in the village?"

"There are flashlights, but the mountain paths are rugged and relying solely on the brightness of flashlights to go up the mountain might be quite difficult..."

Village Chief Yan had not finished speaking.

Wang Yiyi waved her hand dismissively and said, "Find some flashlights and bring them here. We're heading up the mountain immediately."

As soon as Chen Fang heard this, he hurried over and said, "Deputy County Head Wang, mountain paths are not like highways; they're all twisty and uneven. Plus, we're not locals and totally unfamiliar with the road conditions. Going up now could be..."

He had intended to persuade Wang Yiyi to give up the idea.

Unexpectedly, she rolled her eyes at Chen Fang and said, "No problem, Deputy County Head Chen, if you don't want to go, just go rest."

A thankless task.

Rest then.

Chen Fang looked at Village Chief Yan and asked, "Old Yan, where will we be sleeping tonight?"

Village Chief Yan scratched his head and said, "Leaders, our village has never hosted senior officials like you before, and we don't have any hotels or inns. There are only three rooms available in the village committee building. Would that be acceptable for the leaders to make do for the night?"

"That's fine; just managing for one night will do."

Chen Fang said.

Village Chief Yan added, "Follow me, Deputy County Head Chen, and you, Deputy County Head Wang, please wait a moment while I fetch the flashlights."

As they were about to turn away.

Wang Yiyi snorted coldly and said, "All pretense, voicing urgency on your lips, but the first thing you think of upon arrival is to rest. A bunch of useless people!"

"Deputy County Head Wang, you can't say that..."

Qin Yi, upon hearing this, was also displeased and was about to argue when Chen Fang pushed him.

He said loudly, "We don't share Deputy County Head Wang's vigor, who is indeed a diligent and effective official. I wish Deputy County Head Wang a successful inspection."

After speaking,

he walked with Qin Yi toward the village committee building.

Hearing his words, Wang Yiyi stomped her foot in anger, but she was helpless to do anything else.

"Shouldn't we tell Deputy County Head Wang that running around in this pitch darkness is useless?"

At the village committee's entrance,

Qin Yi asked Chen Fang.

Chen Fang laughed and said, "Our Deputy County Head Wang, I suppose, is too high and mighty to understand the hardships of common folk, full of grand aspirations. It would be good for her to take a trip and get knocked down a peg."

In the meantime,

Village Chief Yan hurried out.

Along with him came a woman.

"Deputy County Head Chen, this is the director of our village's family planning office, Jin Lian. She will arrange your accommodations later. I'll accompany Deputy County Head Wang on her visit."

Chen Fang nodded, grabbed Village Chief Yan's hand, and said, "Old Yan, make sure you look after Deputy County Head Wang's safety."

Village Chief Yan patted his chest and said, "Rest assured, Deputy County Head Chen. You are our village's saviors, and I won't let anything happen to you."

After speaking,

He grabbed the flashlight and hurried over.

"Vice-County Chief Chen, hello, I'm Jin Lian."

In front of him, a woman around thirty, smiling, spoke to Chen Fang.

They say Jinde County produces beauties, and it's no lie.

Even a family planning director from such a remote and impoverished village looked quite striking. Although her clothes were plain, they couldn't conceal her charm. With every frown and smile, she indeed had the aura of a rustic beauty.

"Hello, Director Pan,"

Chen Fang said involuntarily.

Jin Lian's face flushed with embarrassment as she said in a low voice, "Vice-County Chief Chen, my surname is Jin."

Chen Fang was taken aback.

Equally embarrassed, he said, "Hello, Director Jin."

Jin Lian waved her hand and said, "It's fine, it's fine, please follow me, leaders."

Under her lead,

the three of them entered the village committee building.

What lay before them was a row of huts, totaling merely three rooms.

The slightly better one was their office which held a few broken desks, and beyond that there was nothing else.

The second room was the meeting room.

Inside, apart from three square tables pushed together and a few chairs, it was also completely empty.

The third room was a storage room. When he pushed open the door, there was a lot of dust, and it was cluttered with various items everywhere.

The conditions were rough, but still livable.

But none of the three rooms had intact windows. Even if they were shut, the wind whistled through. Behind was a forest, where the moonlight created eerie shadows, making it feel as if something was standing inside.

"Yi, you and Xiao Zhang sleep in the meeting room, I'll sleep in the storeroom, and let's leave that office for Vice-County Chief Wang since she is a woman, after all,"

said Chen Fang.

Qin Yi became anxious upon hearing this.

He said, "Leader, you should sleep in the meeting room. Xiao Zhang and I can sleep in the storeroom. It's no problem, we just need to tidy it up a bit."

Without waiting for Comrade Chen Fang's approval, Qin Yi darted into the storeroom and got busy.

At this moment, Jin Lian came in with a quilt and said, "Vice-County Chief Chen, I'm really sorry, the conditions here are limited, but these quilts are clean."

Seeing this, Chen Fang quickly took it from her.

He said, "Director Jin, it's okay, roughing it for one night isn't a big deal."

Jin Lian was still very enthusiastic as she helped Chen Fang make the bed.

Then she rushed off to help in the storeroom.

There was no TV to watch here, and even cell phones had no signal, let alone any prospect of washing up. Chen Fang looked around at his surroundings, and just as he was about to go rest, he noticed three beams of flashlight at the door, indicating the others had returned.

Wang Yiyi had a scowl on her face.

Upon closer inspection, the down jacket she was wearing when she arrived was covered in mud, and she was limping, likely having twisted her ankle.

"Vice-County Chief Wang, what happened to you?"

Chen Fang asked hurriedly.

Wang Yiyi completely ignored him and, with a face full of remorse, asked Yan Laoguai, "Which room am I staying in?"

Yan Laoguai pointed towards the first office.

Without a word, Wang Yiyi went straight inside and then shut the door behind her.

"Old Yan, what's this all about?"

Chen Fang asked.

Yan Laoguai shook his head helplessly and said, "I told Vice-County Chief Wang to follow my steps, but she wouldn't listen and did as she pleased, and then fell into the ditch."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fang would have laughed out loud if he didn't know the soundproofing was poor.

He patted Yan Laoguai on the shoulder in a comforting way and said, "It's alright, go back and rest early. We're heading up the mountain first thing tomorrow."

"Alright, I won't disturb you any longer. You should rest early too, leader,"

said Yan Laoguai with a nod, then turned and left.

Chen Fang was about to return,

but worrying about Wang Yiyi, he went to her door instead and knocked, asking, "Vice-County Chief Wang, are you alright? Do you need me to treat your sprained ankle?"

"I'm fine."

A cold voice came from inside, and then the light was turned off.

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