The Return Journey

The little courtyard, which had been quiet for so long, was lively again today. Everyone had gathered together once more to see Wang Yan and Xu Hongdou off.

"Teacher Wang, let me toast you. Once you leave, we won't see each other for over a month. Just thinking about it makes me reluctant to let you go." Xie Zhiyao spoke exaggeratedly as he smiled and raised his glass.

Wang Yan clinked glasses with him, drank, and said with a chuckle, "Listen to yourself. You're making it sound like something else entirely. My heart belongs to Hongdou alone."

Xie Zhiyao laughed. "You get the idea, Teacher Wang. You're practically becoming Yunmiao Village's spiritual pillar. New Year is coming up, and word has spread through the village about how we said we'd wait until after the holiday to see how things went. Everyone's worried. This past month, everyone has made money, and even those working elsewhere have come back to help out. They've gotten a taste of the good life and don't want it to disappear in the blink of an eye."

"Coming to me won't help. What do I know about all that? The documentary becoming this popular has a lot to do with your efforts too. Mobilizing the villagers, contacting the government—those are all exhausting jobs. Without that, who knew how long it would have taken to build this kind of influence? What are you planning to do next?"

"We're still researching and discussing it, so nothing's certain yet. But we have decided to open a food workshop during the New Year holiday, making flower pastries, rushan, and things like that. Tourists can experience it themselves, and we can sell products too. We're also thinking of developing the mountain, since it's part of Azure Mountain, after all, and our village