Just as Wang Xiaoqiang was pondering the construction of the villa, the village's new school building was completed, and a date was set for the inauguration ceremony. Wang Xiaoqiang was also among those invited to the grand event.

This was the intention of the village party secretary, Liu Mingshan, who wanted to commend Wang Xiaoqiang, a major land lessee, during the event.

After all, Wang Xiaoqiang had played a significant role in the smooth completion of the new school building.

Wang Xiaoqiang was not keen on such activities and had initially decided not to go, but the thought of using this opportunity to lease more land from Liu Mingshan to expand his business changed his mind.

On the day of the ceremony, all the teachers and students gathered, lining up row by row on the playground.

In addition to all the teachers and students, the attendees included the village party secretary Liu Mingshan, village women's director Xiang Chunyan, two leaders from the education bureau, the highly respected village elder Wang Deyun, and the village health clinic's Little Xu Xiaoya, all of whom were invited to observe the event. Of course, Wang Xiaoqiang was there too.

All these people were seated in a row of chairs beneath the platform.

Wang Xiaoqiang happened to be seated between Elder Wang Deyun and Little Xu Xiaoya.

Just as Little Xu Xiaoya was trying to strike up a conversation with Wang Xiaoqiang, Elder Deyun had already grasped Wang Xiaoqiang's hand, saying gratefully, "Little Qiang, Grandpa has to thank you. You've really helped Little Xin a lot. Now that girl is focused on her studies and her academic performance has improved..."

"Grandpa Deyun, please don't mention thanks. That would make it too formal," Wang Xiaoqiang sincerely said.

"Ha ha... Little Qiang is getting better at speaking," Elder Deyun laughed happily.

"Hey, big entrepreneur, you don't recognize people anymore?" Little Xu Xiaoya, seeing Wang Xiaoqiang and Elder Deyun talking and joking endlessly, felt a bit neglected and finally couldn't help but complain.

"How could that be? Our beautiful and skilled Doctor Xu, how could I not recognize you..." Wang Xiaoqiang turned around, reaching out to shake hands with Little Xu Xiaoya.

Little Xu Xiaoya knew that Wang Xiaoqiang's words were just polite, but still, as a young woman, hearing Wang Xiaoqiang's compliments immediately cheered her up. She reached out and shook hands with him: "I'm honored to shake hands with a great entrepreneur. I'm not washing my hand for the whole day now..."

"Oh, there's no need to tease me like that..." Wang Xiaoqiang stretched out his left hand and gave a heavy pat on Little Xu Xiaoya's hand.

Little Xu Xiaoya furrowed her brows in annoyance, trying to pull her hand away from Wang Xiaoqiang's palm, but couldn't. She found that Wang Xiaoqiang was holding her hand tightly.

Surprised, she looked up to see a mischievous smile on his face, while Elder Deyun on the other side also watched them with a joyful expression, as if he enjoyed seeing young people flirt. Seeing this, Little Xu Xiaoya's cheeks suddenly turned red. She tried pulling her hand away again, but still couldn't.

Just then, the ceremony began.

Wang Xiaoqiang held onto Little Xu Xiaoya's smooth hand, pretending to be solemn, and looked towards the platform, while Little Xu Xiaoya, both embarrassed and annoyed, helpless to do anything but let him hold her hand. She glanced around timidly, worried about being seen by others, her heart pounding.

The villagers also gathered, standing at the perimeter of the playground, quietly observing. Village life was quiet and mundane, and there wasn't much excitement on regular days, so such a grand ceremony was certainly worth watching.

The ceremony was conducted grandly and was very lively. The village school principal presided over the event, and Liu Mingshan was invited to speak. During his speech, he specifically commended Little Xu Xiaoya and Wang Xiaoqiang.

When Liu Mingshan commended Little Xu Xiaoya, everyone's gaze immediately turned towards her. Realizing that her hand was still in Wang Xiaoqiang's, Little Xu Xiaoya became flustered, and with a strong tug, finally managed to pull her hand free.

Little Xu Xiaoya, a city girl who came to Sanmiao Village to provide medical services to all the villagers, young and old, certainly deserved recognition. Thunderous applause broke out across the venue.

"Little Ya! Well done!" As the applause broke out, Wang Xiaoqiang gave Little Xu Xiaoya a thumbs up, and she raised her graceful, delicate, swan-like neck, a look of pride on her face.

Then, Liu Mingshan began to commend Wang Xiaoqiang. Although his commendation of Wang Xiaoqiang followed that of Little Xu Xiaoya, it was noticeably longer, showing that Liu Mingshan held Wang Xiaoqiang in higher regard, as he visibly referred to a prepared speech, indicating he had put quite some effort into it.

Talking like a narrator, Liu Mingshan described Wang Xiaoqiang's story, essentially stating that Wang Xiaoqiang, a young man who had dropped out of school but was not discouraged, bravely took the initiative to start a business using the village's idle land.

Through his intelligence and cleverness, he achieved impressive results in his career and contributed to the village committee's income and the construction of the village school. Wang Xiaoqiang's spirit and courage, as well as his perseverance, were exemplary for all the students to follow.

As Liu Mingshan commended Wang Xiaoqiang, the surrounding villagers burst into applause, especially Xia Sanwa, who led the cheering. Wang Kuishan and his wife, nestled among the crowd, listened to everyone cheering for their son, also filled with pride, feeling honored.

Seeing the crowd cheering for Wang Xiaoqiang more than for herself, the look of pride on Little Xu Xiaoya's face dimmed, and she turned her gaze to Wang Xiaoqiang, also showing a look of admiration.

After the meeting, seeing Liu Mingshan send off the two leaders from the education bureau, Wang Xiaoqiang approached him. Seeing that Wang Xiaoqiang wanted to discuss something, Liu Mingshan immediately became serious and invited Wang Xiaoqiang to the village committee building to talk.

In the village committee building's secretary office, Liu Mingshan personally brewed a pot of tea, gesturing for him to sit down and chat leisurely.

Wang Xiaoqiang had nothing important on his mind, so naturally he was not in a hurry to leave. He sat down, sipped some tea, and began telling Liu Mingshan about his plans to expand his land leasing business.

"That's great!" exclaimed Liu Mingshan upon hearing the news, "Don't worry, Little Qiang. Uncle will always support your business. You're not only running a company but also boosting the village's economy...you're leading everyone to wealth!"

"Haha, uncle, you're overstating it,"

"How is that overstating? You're employing people from our Sanmiao Village at your chicken farm, aren't you? They've made money from working for you, which is essentially leading everyone to a better life!"

"Haha, when you put it that way, it really is like that. As my business grows, I will definitely need to recruit more people..." Wang Xiaoqiang said. "By the way, uncle, my intention is to rent all the land, over a hundred acres, beneath Mantou Mountain, to diversify operations and set up an agricultural products company, which would be beneficial for branding..."

"Great! Then our village will have its own enterprise, haha, it looks like Sanmiao Village is going to become famous because of you, Wang Xiaoqiang!" Liu Mingshan was excited upon hearing Wang Xiaoqiang's idea.

"Can that plot of land be leased to me? I'd like a long-term lease, maybe thirty to fifty years..."

"Of course, it can, but some plots are still being farmed by others. I need to call a village meeting to propose that they voluntarily relinquish their lands to you..." Liu Mingshan said.

"Thank you for that, uncle," Wang Xiaoqiang expressed his gratitude and assuredly added, "Uncle, tell them that the rent will only be higher, not lower, compared to the standard rates."

"Well, I don't think there will be any issue. By the way, it's the weekend the day after tomorrow, so let's use that time to hold a village meeting. Don't worry about this matter anymore..." Liu Mingshan waved his hand decisively.

"Uncle, come on, I'll take you out for a drink," Wang Xiaoqiang, seeing how engaged Liu Mingshan was with this business, could hardly refuse, and thus he invited.

"No need to be so formal with me!" Liu Mingshan said.

"Come on, it's not like you're busy anyway," Wang Xiaoqiang pulled Liu Mingshan, dragging him out of the office, and since Liu Mingshan was insistent on treating him, he no longer stood on ceremony and went with Wang Xiaoqiang to the Old Village Committee Courtyard.

Wang Xiaoqiang got his Humvee out. Although Liu Mingshan had seen Wang Xiaoqiang's Humvee before, the sight of it still impressed him; he approached the car, remarking, "Little Qiang, this car must have cost quite a bit?"

"A few hundred thousand," replied Wang Xiaoqiang, "but I won this car in a bet."

"Really won it, huh? I've heard people talk about it but never believed it," Liu Mingshan marveled.

"It belonged to the son of the CEO of Hongxiang Group from the Provincial Capital. Last time I went to the Provincial Capital, he even took me out to eat!"

"Little Qiang, you really are incredible, all the people you know are so important." Knowing that Hongxiang Group was a renowned enterprise in the Provincial Capital, Liu Mingshan was momentarily surprised and then sincerely complimented Wang Xiaoqiang.

If Liu Mingshan knew about Wang Xiaoqiang's connections with the Tang Family in the county, the Xu Family in the Provincial Capital, and Zhong Ping, the chairman of Holiland, he would be even more astonished.

Wang Xiaoqiang took Liu Mingshan to First-Class Hotel in the county, where they had a lavish meal and he got Liu Mingshan thoroughly drunk; afterwards, Wang Xiaoqiang drove him home.

Wang Xiaoqiang, too, drank a fair amount, but thanks to the Five Elements Spiritual Spring, he wasn't heavily intoxicated, just slightly inebriated. Feeling pleasantly tipsy and with night having fallen, Wang Xiaoqiang was in high spirits as he raced his Humvee towards Mantou Mountain.

When he drove up Mantou Mountain, the moon had come out, shining brightly and illuminating the mountaintop. The road was somewhat steep, so Wang Xiaoqiang slowed down. Just as he was nearing the Chicken Farm, he suddenly heard a cry for help... "Ah, save me!"

His heart pounding, Wang Xiaoqiang realized that besides his employees, there was no one else on Mantou Mountain. The person calling for help must be one of his seven workers, and by the sound of it, it was a woman, somewhat resembling Li Xianghong.

Wang Xiaoqiang slammed on the brakes, stuck his head out of the window, and looked around. Under the dim moonlight, he saw a white figure by a small pond, flailing about as if electrified, panicking, and calling for help.

Too far to see exactly what was happening, but noticing this, he still got out of the car and ran towards the desperate figure. As a factory manager, he had to take responsibility for his employees, no matter who it was, he had to check it out.

When Wang Xiaoqiang approached the pond, he found the person who was frantically jumping and shouting was none other than Li Xianghong, who was, at that moment, completely naked. She stood stark amidst the moonlit area, appearing like she'd just bathed in the pond when something sudden had thrown her into such a panic.

"What happened?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked, keeping his distance.

"Li, Little Qiang, quick, come save me..." seeing that it was Wang Xiaoqiang, Li Xianghong, like seeing a savior, called out with a trembling voice and ran towards him recklessly.

"Aunt Xiang Hong, you, you should put on some clothes first..." Seeing Li Xianghong running towards him naked, Wang Xiaoqiang's voice trembled as he reminded her. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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