Chapter Nineteen: Apply for a Model Village

Chapter 19

Fortunately, the village head’s son was clever enough to notice from Chen Xin’s expression that his father hadn’t considered many things. Moreover, just now in the house, Sister Chen Xin had mentioned the need to develop cash crops, and the white fungus and black fungus their village produced were excellent products.

“Sister Chen Xin, could you tell us how other villages have developed? The villages at the foot of the mountain mostly grow greenhouse vegetables or farm fish in the river. Our mountain isn’t suitable for greenhouses, and we can’t raise fish either.”

“The lack of suitability for greenhouses is a natural limitation, but if you can’t farm fish, you can try other things.” As she spoke, Chen Xin took a pen from her bag and asked the village head’s son to bring some paper, then began to write and draw.

“When I climbed the mountain before, Brother Lei told me your mountains are steep but water is plentiful. He mentioned a small river behind the mountain, didn’t he?”

The village head’s son nodded and briefly explained the surrounding terrain.

“Alright, this needs to be assessed in person, but it’s not uncommon to see fish or loach farming in the mountains. I heard from a classmate that in Qiannan, people raise rice flower fish in the mountains. I’m not sure exactly how they do it, but we can consult experts. As for loaches, someone must have raised them before. Whether or not you can do it here needs to be checked by professionals. You can include these ideas in your plan and ask the township staff to connect you with relevant experts. The state supports agriculture—so long as your requests are reasonable, the government won’t refuse.”

In the end, it’s just a matter of a few phone calls. Experts also need places to test their research, so if the village head can establish a connection and invite them to take a look, there might be technical support if conditions are right.

Chen Xin spoke in the courtyard. The women who had been clustered around her were now shooed aside by their husbands, who gathered around Chen Xin like eager students, eyes fixed on her as she analyzed how to develop their community.

“Next, let’s talk about plans you can implement yourselves. First, someone must know how to cultivate black fungus and white fungus—you shouldn’t rely on foraging in the mountains, that’s not sustainable. Also, cultivated and wild varieties fetch different prices and can be sold separately. Then, I saw an old tea plantation on a slope earlier, but it looked abandoned. Can you tell me what happened there?”

Someone did know—the third grandfather spoke up.

That tea plantation dated back to his childhood, even before the founding of the country. A local landlord had cleared a patch of mountain to plant tea, bringing in saplings from elsewhere. But after just two or three years, a period of turmoil erupted. The landlord had no choice but to move his family away, leaving the tea plantation to fall into neglect.

Chen Xin recalled that when she was researching a dish that required tea leaves, most people used Longjing, but she had chosen a lesser-known variety because it was rich in selenium. Selenium is an essential trace element for the body, and China is a country deficient in selenium, so once food or health products are associated with it, their value skyrockets.

That was her main reason. She had looked into the origin of that tea; it should be from this area, though she had never visited in person. In fact, the province with the highest selenium content wasn’t this one, but a neighboring province with an ethnic minority region.

“My suggestion is, after the New Year, invite an expert to test the soil composition here. If it’s suitable, apply to restore and expand the tea plantation.” Since she wasn’t entirely certain, Chen Xin didn’t push the idea too strongly. “Even without considering trace elements, high mountain tea is always of good quality. Your tea trees are nearly a hundred years old—if you package it right and brand it as ‘Centennial Old Tea,’ that could generate some buzz.”

After sharing what she knew, Chen Xin thought it best to contact Lei Bang and see if a competent planner from the county could be invited to help design a development framework for the village. She was only a chef—giving suggestions was one thing, but being in charge was another matter entirely.

Still, the village head was overjoyed. He felt the Zhang family’s luck was extraordinary: not only did they have a heroic martyr in Zhang Degang, they’d now attracted a golden phoenix. If only they could persuade her to stay! But when he looked around at the local boys, he quickly abandoned the thought—how could these rough country lads ever win the heart of a university graduate from the provincial capital? Best not to mention it; if he did, she might leave in a huff, and they’d have no hope of keeping her here.

Chen Xin’s rough outline at least gave the village head and the others a clearer direction and something to work toward. Over the New Year, they could discuss further. Afterward, they’d still have to plead their case at the township for resources, but as Chen Xin said, it’s pointless to go empty-handed and complain; that only annoys officials. If they go with a plan, the government is bound to give them some kind of response.

“By the way, Uncle Village Head, when you go to the township, try applying for model village status.”

“What’s a model village? Is there any benefit?”

“Of course,” Chen Xin smiled. “A model village, as the name suggests, is meant to set an example. The villages at the foot of the mountain have already developed; any more support is just icing on the cake. But if the township agrees to make ours a model site, first, you can apply for special policy support; second, many favorable policies and poverty alleviation funds will be directed toward the model village. If you have connections, get some agricultural university professors and students to set up a high-elevation demonstration field here, and your application will likely be even stronger.”

The village head was an old fox with decades of experience. He hadn’t understood these intricacies, but now that Chen Xin had laid them out, he realized he was already skilled at playing the pity card. Otherwise, why would their mountain village get half the funds for road construction, when other poor mountain villages didn’t?

Chen Xin made it clear she’d only done some background research before coming; the actual work would depend on the village head finding connections and support.

After seeing off the village head and the others, it was time for dinner. Neighbors came to help with the meal, bringing their best dishes to share, and together the families enjoyed a hot, hearty supper. Afterward, when Zhang Zhang grew sleepy and wanted Chen Xin to hold him, the aunt and nephew retired to the east wing. That used to be Zhang Zhang’s father’s room, kept tidy all these years and never occupied.

Worried they might be cold, they were given hot water bottles, but even so, in the night, Zhang Zhang kept burrowing into her arms for warmth.

When she got up the next morning, dawn was just breaking. The chubby child was still asleep. Chen Xin got up, dressed, and jumped around a bit in the room until she felt warmer.

When she went outside, she saw the kitchen already aglow with firelight. Zhang Zhang’s grandmother was making breakfast.