kvmb Chapter 30 Mountain Temple
Chapter 30 Mountain Temple
Shen Qingrou parked the car in an open space at the entrance of the village and honked the horn hard. The clear sound of the horn echoed in the quiet mountain village.
Soon, cheers erupted from the village as children flew excitedly towards them like joyful little birds.
Shen Qingrou came prepared. She got out of the car, opened the trunk, and took out a lot of snacks and toys. The children happily surrounded Shen Qingrou, calling out affectionately, "Sister Qingrou, you're here!"
Ye Cheng got out of the car, took the wheelchair down from the car, sat down naturally, and slid to Shen Qingrou's side. He watched the innocent children holding their favorite snacks and toys, each one beaming with a happy smile.
A ray of sunlight shone on Shen Qingrou's face, making her happy smile even brighter.
"You come here often?" Ye Cheng asked.
Shen Qingrou nodded: "I don't come here very often. Look how nice these children are, so innocent and simple. They are very happy with just a little something."
Ye Cheng shook his head: "It's true that being content with what you have is good, but they are of school age and have no school to attend. I think that's very unfair."
Shen Qingrou did not answer Ye Cheng's question. After distributing the snacks and toys she had brought, she said to the children, "Today I brought you your brother-in-law. He can change your destiny. Quickly call him brother-in-law."
The children turned to Ye Cheng and shouted in unison, "Brother-in-law!"
With a gentle smile on his face, Ye Cheng asked, "Do you want to learn knowledge to change your destiny?"
The older children answered eagerly, "Yes, we want to go to school, but there are no teachers to teach us."
The road to school was difficult, so we gave up.
Ye Cheng said hopefully, "How about we work together to find a way to build a school in the village?"
The children responded in unison, "Yes!"
Ye Cheng then asked, "Who's home at your house?"
Some people said grandfather, some said grandmother, and very few said mother and father.
Most of them are left-behind children.
Ye Cheng said to the children, "Go back and tell the adults in your family that the child who worshipped at the mountain god temple and became the top scorer in the college entrance examination has returned to the village to fulfill his vow."
Shen Qingrou was taken aback upon hearing this, and instantly understood Ye Cheng's purpose.
The children scattered, clutching their toys and snacks.
Ye Cheng then said to Shen Qingrou, "Call the hotel and ask them to prepare some offerings and paper money for burning. Also, tell the social media accounts in the hotel that I am in Shantao Village."
Shen Qingrou readily took out her phone and called Zhou Chunhong, relaying Ye Cheng's instructions to her.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Qingrou feigned surprise and said, "You also came here to worship the mountain god back when you took the college entrance exam?"
Ye Cheng played along, feigning surprise: "You've been here before?"
Shen Qingrou hummed in agreement: "If it weren't for worshipping the mountain god, I might not have become the top scorer in the college entrance examination in Hedong City, nor would I have been admitted to Beijing University."
It's very likely that everything was due to the mountain god's unseen protection.
Ye Cheng agreed with Shen Qingrou's words: "That's right. I came here by chance back then and saw a mountain god temple, so I went in to pray. I never expected that I would actually become the top scorer in that year's college entrance examination. Isn't that amazing!"
The two talked for a while, like rehearsing lines, taking turns speaking, knowing full well that the other was lying, yet acting very convincingly.
This matter quickly alarmed Zhang Dayong, the village chief of Shantao Village.
Upon hearing the news, he strode steadily to the village entrance, and upon seeing Shen Qingrou, he greeted her, "Oh, isn't this President Shen?"
Shen Qingrou gave a perfunctory "hmm".
Ye Cheng looked at the village chief, who was in his fifties, pot-bellied, with slightly dark skin, small eyes, and a flat nose—a man who clearly didn't look like a good person—and asked, "You are...?"
Zhang Dayong said, "I am the village chief here. And who are you?"
Ye Cheng extended his hand and introduced himself: "Hello, Village Chief. My name is Ye Cheng. I had the honor of visiting your village many years ago."
I was in a hurry then, so I only went to the mountain god temple to pray and left without even visiting the village, which is why I didn't recognize the village chief.
Zhang Dayong had never met Ye Cheng before, nor did he know how to use the internet. He was even less aware that the male protagonist of the top trending video in Hedong City was standing right in front of him. Otherwise, he would have definitely taken out his phone to spread the firsthand information.
"You came to our village before, when was that?"
Zhang Dayong looked puzzled.
Ye Cheng looked like he was reminiscing about the past: "It was seven years ago, on the eve of my college entrance exam. I came here by chance to relax."
Seeing a mountain god temple on the mountain, I went in and prayed.
As a result, I became the top scorer in the college entrance examination in Hedong City that year.
"Village chief, do you think this mountain god temple is effective?"
Seeing Ye Cheng's high regard for the mountain god temple in Shantao Village, Zhang Dayong quickly chimed in, "It must be efficacious! Everyone in our village goes to the temple to pray whenever they have a problem, and their prayers are always answered!"
Ye Cheng explained the purpose of his trip: "Well, I just happened to come here again. Since today is an auspicious day, I came to pay my respects and fulfill my vow."
Looking at Ye Cheng, whose hands were empty, Zhang Dayong said meaningfully, "I never thought that under the protection of our mountain god, a top scorer in the college entrance examination would actually be produced."
However, it's important to reciprocate. The mountain god has blessed you; it's not appropriate to simply go to the temple and kowtow.
Shen Qingrou scoffed, "Don't worry, village chief. We just came to take a look. The offerings and paper money will be delivered soon, and you'll get your share."
Zhang Dayong understood Shen Qingrou's implied meaning and said with dissatisfaction, "Look at what President Shen is saying. What do you mean by 'I can't be left out'? They're all offerings for the mountain god."
Ye Cheng realized that Zhang Dayong had probably stolen a lot of offerings from the mountain god temple.
On a sudden inspiration, he wheeled himself over to Zhang Dayong and said, “Village chief, the offerings at the mountain god temple are for the mountain god to eat. If someone who is not approved by the mountain god eats his offerings, he will be punished by the mountain god.”
Mild cases result in stomach aches, while severe cases can cause heartburn and stomach ulcers.
As he spoke, Ye Cheng patted Zhang Dayong's stomach.
Zhang Dayong naturally didn't believe this. The offerings in the mountain god temple, which were supposed to be sacrifices to the mountain god, actually all ended up in Zhang Dayong's home.
He ate it for decades without experiencing stomach aches, heartburn, or stomach ulcers, which means the story wasn't fabricated; he must have been recognized by the mountain god.
Zhang Dayong said casually, "Our village has been worshipping the mountain god for over a thousand years, so the mountain god certainly won't mind."
Ye Cheng suddenly gave a mysterious smile that sent chills down everyone's spine: "That would be for the best."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhang Dayong felt a sudden pain in his stomach. He thought to himself, "Could this be so weird?"
Ye Cheng smirked coldly: "I didn't get to explore the village last time I came. This time, I'm going to have a good time in this ancient village with a thousand-year history."
The grandparents in the village were all pulled out by their children.
Although they didn't know much about the top scorers in the college entrance examination, as soon as they heard the word "top scorer" was attached to their names, they immediately felt proud.
Ye Cheng gestured for Shen Qingrou to go forward and shake hands with each of the grandfathers and grandmothers. Accompanied by the villagers, they began to tour Shanxing Village.