Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

The next morning, before daybreak, Zhong Xiaoqin pulled back Lin Bufan's quilt and said, "Get up! It's already five o'clock and it's time to go look for him!"

Lin Bufan turned over in a daze and buried his face in the pillow: "Sleep for another five minutes..."

"No!" Zhong Xiaoqin grabbed Lin Bufan's ear and said, "If you delay any longer, you'll miss the bus!"

After urging Lin Bufan, Zhong Xiaoqin ran to the next room to urge Xu Ziyan: "Godmother... I still want to sleep..."

Zhong Xiaoqin picked up the sleepy Xu Ziyan and said, "Ziyan, be good. We have to go find mom today. We have to leave early!"

Xu Ziyan rubbed his eyes and nodded his little head: "But I can't open my eyes..."

"I told you to watch cartoons last night!" Zhong Xiaoqin scolded Xu Ziyan as she changed his clothes: "Look at the dark circles under your eyes, they're almost as dark as a panda's!"

After a flurry of activity, the three of them finally arrived at the Douyin building before six o'clock. Lucy came up to them, holding a tablet. "Boss, if you're one minute late, the bus will have left."

Lin Bufan waved his hands: "We've caught up..." Before he could finish his words, Zhong Xiaoqin pushed him towards the bus: "Stop talking nonsense! Get on the bus!"

The bus was already full of staff members. When they saw Lin Bufan and his group coming up, they all greeted him: "Good morning, Mr. Lin!" "What a cute kid!"

……

After Lin Bufan and his group were seated, the bus started slowly. Lucy stood outside the window and waved goodbye to everyone.

At this moment, a young man with pigtails stood up from the front row and walked towards Lin Bufan with his index finger raised. "Hey, Mr. Lin, you're finally here. I'm Xiaojie, the project leader for this live broadcast. Sister Lucy specifically asked me to take good care of you."

Lin Bufan was so shocked by this sudden "enthusiasm" that he leaned back and stretched out his hand to stop him from getting any closer: "Don't come any closer, just stand there and talk!"

Xiao Jie shook his braid nonchalantly and took out three blankets from his shoulder bag. "I know you're still a little sleepy. Here are some steam eye masks and earplugs. It's a seven-hour drive to Xiangxi."

After receiving the pink blanket printed with Hello Kitty, Xu Ziyan suddenly raised his hand and said, "Uncle, your nail polish is the same as my mom's!" Everyone in the car fell silent, but Xiaojie squatted down with a smile and said, "You kid really have good taste! This is the latest Chanel model!"

As the car jolted slightly, Lin Bufan and Zhong Xiaoqin quickly fell asleep wrapped in blankets. Xu Ziyan was drawing on the small table. Xiaojie tiptoed over to cover him with his coat, then whispered to the team, "Recheck the equipment box straps!"

At three in the afternoon, the bus stopped at the end of the winding mountain road. Gu Jia, wearing a coarse Miao-embroidered top, stood by the dirt road, followed by a dozen dark-skinned tea farmers. Seeing the three sleepy-eyed people get off the bus, she hurried forward in surprise: "Xiaoqin? Ziyan? What are you doing..."

"Mom!" Xu Ziyan rushed into Gu Jia's arms like a little cannonball. Lin Bufan was about to speak when Xiaojie suddenly squeezed over with a sunscreen spray in his hand: "Mr. Lin, please put on some sunscreen! The intensity of the ultraviolet rays will cause your skin to peel!"

Lin Bufan originally wanted to kick it, but thinking that it might be useful later, he had to dodge to the side!

Gu Jia introduced the white-haired old man next to her to everyone: "This is Grandpa Long, the technical consultant of the tea factory. The way up the mountain..." Before she finished speaking, Grandpa Long suddenly shouted a few words in Miao language, and more than 20 half-grown children rushed out of the bamboo forest and rushed to grab the equipment in the hands of the staff.

"No way! This equipment costs over 100,000 yuan!" Xiao Jie stamped his feet anxiously, but he saw the children as nimble as monkeys, carrying the stabilizers in bamboo baskets and walking briskly. Grandpa Long smiled until his face wrinkled: "The kids pick tea every day, they know better than you city people where to step to avoid falling!"

The winding mountain road was like a giant gray-brown python entwined between the tea mountains. Everyone climbed up one step at a time. Gu Jia led Xu Ziyan in the middle of the team, stumbling from time to time on the bumpy road. Seeing this, Lin Bufan lifted Xu Ziyan onto his shoulders and said, "Come on, let's ride the big horse!"

"Ah—" Xiao Jie suddenly cried out in surprise. Just as he was about to lose his balance and fall to the ground, the young Miao man next to him rushed over and held Xiao Jie's waist firmly: "Sister, be careful!"

Obviously, the boy did not distinguish Ajie's gender. This may be related to the fact that he has never left the mountains and has not seen the colorful world outside!

Lin Bufan frowned as he looked at the bumpy mountain road. "I once said, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. If the roads are not good, nothing will be accomplished."

Gu Jia wiped her sweat and smiled bitterly: "I've wanted to fix it for a long time, but the problem is that I don't have the money!"

"If you don't have money, then make some. Money is the easiest thing to get in the world!"

Facing everyone's rolling eyes, Lin Bufan began to talk!

"Sister Gu, I have an idea. We can adopt a model of government subsidies + corporate investment + villagers' equity participation."

Gu Jia wiped the sweat off her face and said with a wry smile, "How can it be so easy? I've applied for poverty alleviation funds several times before but they were never approved..."

"That's the wrong approach." Lin Bufan lifted Xu Ziyan from his shoulders and said, "Look, first we have to package the tea factory as a rural revitalization demonstration project. Isn't the country vigorously supporting specialty agriculture now? Our Kongshan tea fully meets the requirements."

“First, we need to solve the employment problem – how many workers does the tea factory have now?”

"We have 32 permanent workers, and more than 80 people come during the tea picking season."

“Second, to drive poverty alleviation – how many of these workers are from impoverished households?”

"More than 80% of them are registered poor households!"

"That's it! Just prepare the materials, and I'll have the company's legal department help write the application. I'll personally contribute some of the money and ask the government for some more. I'm sure it'll be approved quickly!"

Grandpa Long suddenly came over and asked in a heavily accented Mandarin, "Young man, how much do you think it will cost to build the road?"

Hearing Grandpa Long's question, Lin Bufan frowned and fell into deep thought. However, after thinking for a long time, Lin Bufan found that he had no memory of these things at all. So he had to take out his mobile phone and start searching under the joking eyes of everyone!

However, not long after searching, Lin Bufan exclaimed, "Holy crap! It costs 5000 to 8000 million to build one kilometer? Is this road paved with gold? Or is this money Vietnamese Dong? No wonder the old people say it's a golden bridge and a silver road. Road construction is so profitable!"

Gu Jia rolled her eyes speechlessly. "What you're looking at is the cost standard for a highway. I've already inquired about it. We're in one of the three districts and three prefectures in deep poverty. If we build it according to the standards of a third-level highway, it would cost about 400 million per kilometer."

"400 million?!"

Although the price still feels quite expensive, after the shock just now, Lin Bufan feels it is acceptable!

Sure enough, if you ask for a higher price first and then give in to a lower price, it will indeed be easier for people to accept.

Look, before anyone else even opened their mouth to speak, Lin Bufan had already convinced himself!

After making up his mind, Lin Bufan didn't hesitate and prepared to start working directly: "Sister Gu, how long is this road?"

Gu Jia wiped the sweat from her forehead and pointed to the tea mountain that was vaguely visible in the distance: "It's about 5 kilometers from the foot of the mountain to the tea factory."

"Five kilometers...at 5 million per kilometer, that's 400 million. So, I'll advance 2000 million so the construction team can start work. Meanwhile, I'll have the company's legal department prepare the materials and apply for matching funds from the government."

Gu Jia's eyes widened in surprise: "Start construction now? The government hasn't approved it yet!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure." Lin Bufan patted his chest confidently: "Now that the country's poverty alleviation efforts are so strong, projects like ours that can drive employment will definitely be given priority support.

Of course, even if the government doesn't care, I can just pay it all. It's not much anyway, so I'll just consider it as supporting Sister Gu's business!"

After saying that, Lin Bufan looked at Gu Jia with a smug look in his eyes, his eyes full of anticipation of "please praise me quickly". He raised his chin slightly, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, waiting for Gu Jia to say "thank you" or lower her head shyly.

However, before Gu Jia could react, Grandpa Long suddenly rushed over and stood between Lin Bufan and Gu Jia: "Young man, do you really want to build this road?"

Lin Bufan was naturally very dissatisfied with Grandpa Long's forced insertion, so he dealt with it verbally while reaching out to push it aside: "Yes, yes, don't worry, I will fix it!"

Grandpa Long, who had been pushed aside by Lin Bufan, immediately squeezed in again after hearing Lin Bufan's affirmation: "Young man, if you can build this road, I will kneel down and kowtow to you!"

Seeing that Grandpa Long did what he said and was about to kneel down and kowtow, Lin Bufan understood that if he didn't deal with Grandpa Long, he would definitely not have the chance to flirt with his Sister Gu again!

Reaching out to stop Grandpa Long from kneeling and kowtowing, Lin Bufan said, "Grandpa Long, don't be so quick to thank me. I have conditions for building this road!"

Under the tense gaze of Grandpa Long and the other villagers, Lin Bufan slowly said, "My request is actually quite simple. This road should be called Bufan Road, and a monument should be erected with that name on it!"

Upon hearing this, many of the staff members who came with Lin Bufan were choked by their saliva and started coughing!

The surrounding villagers breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this offer. Grandpa Long waved his hand proudly, "Young man, let alone erecting a monument, we'll even build you a golden statue!"

Lin Bufan's eyes lit up, and he immediately shook Long A'bo's calloused hand: "It's a deal! But you don't have to make the golden statue yourself. I'll bring it over in a couple of days. You have to send someone to polish it every day, and don't let anyone doodle on it!"

"Who dares?" Grandpa Long picked up the sickle from his backpack and banged it against a stone, sparks flying everywhere. "I'll use this tea-cutting knife to cut off his ears!"

After going up the mountain, Xiaojie stayed with the staff to set up the venue for the live broadcast, while Gu Jia took Lin Bufan, Zhong Xiaoqin and Xu Ziyan to visit the tea mountain!

At five in the afternoon, the tea mountains unfolded in a completely different light... The setting sun stained half the sky a golden crimson, like someone accidentally knocking over a rouge box, bathing the tea trees on the mountainside in a soft glow. The air was filled with the refreshing fragrance of tea, mingled with the warm scent of sun-soaked soil. A deep breath felt like a soothing comfort. Tea trees stood in neat rows, stretching from the mountainside to the summit. When the wind blew, water droplets fell from the tips of the leaves, gleaming in the sunlight. Occasionally, a few tits would dart from the branches, fluttering past, leaving behind a few crisp chirps.

Wandering around in such a beautiful place will really make people feel like their body and mind have been cleansed!

Just when the group sat down to rest, Zhong Xiaoqin pulled Gu Jia over stealthily!

Gu Jia, who had something to hide, immediately started to think about something when she saw Zhong Xiaoqin's abnormal behavior, but she looked puzzled!

"Xiaoqin, what's wrong? Is there something you want to talk to me about in private?"

Zhong Xiaoqin didn't say anything, but carefully observed the expression on Gu Jia's face. At the same time, she also wanted to put some mental pressure on Gu Jia to make her lose her composure!

However, Zhong Xiaoqin was obviously taking things for granted. With her level of ability, it was like Zhang Fei trying to observe Zhuge Liang through his facial expressions. The final result could only be that he could only know what Zhuge Liang wanted him to know!

After the first round of probing failed, Zhong Xiaoqin decided to start a second round: "Gu Gu, why did you hide your cooperation with Lin Bufan from me?"

"Hidden from you?" Gu Jia pretended to be confused: "Xiaoqin, what are you talking about? When did I hide it from you?"

"Then why didn't you tell me that you were working with Lin Bufan?"

"You didn't ask! And I thought Lin Bufan had already told you!"

Although she felt that there was something wrong with Gu Jia's words, Zhong Xiaoqin couldn't find any fault with it. There was nothing she could do as their levels were too different!

After a series of failed attempts, Zhong Xiaoqin realized that she was no match for Gu Jia, so she decided to abandon the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds of attempts that she had planned, and instead go directly to the final and ultimate attempt!

Zhong Xiaoqin took a deep breath, as if she had made a great decision: "Gu Gu, Lin Bufan told me everything... He said that you two had slept together a long time ago!"

As soon as these words came out, the air seemed to freeze. Zhong Xiaoqin stared at Gu Jia's face, even the muscles at the corners of her eyes were tense, for fear of missing the other person's panic.

Gu Jia was only slightly startled, then a helpless smile appeared on her lips. She reached out and gently patted Zhong Xiaoqin's arm: "Xiaoqin, did you hear what he said? He's always talking nonsense, and you believe it?"

"But he made it sound so convincing..." Zhong Xiaoqin stiffened her neck, refusing to speak. She wondered in her heart, could it be that they had no relationship? Was she being overly sensitive, judging Gu Jia by her own standards?

"What can he say?" Gu Jia said calmly, even with a hint of laughter: "You know his personality. He likes to joke with everyone he meets. Especially seeing how worried you are, it would be strange if he didn't tease you."

Zhong Xiaoqin was speechless. Thinking carefully, she realized that what Gu Jia said made sense. These days, Gu Jia had been completely focused on the tea factory and Xu Ziyan. How could she have the time to get entangled with Lin Bufan? Besides, with Gu Jia's personality, if there was anything, she would never hide it...

"But..." Zhong Xiaoqin wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Gu Jia with a smile: "Don't say "but", he is just trying to make you anxious. If you don't believe me, go ask him now, I guarantee he won't be able to justify this lie."

Looking at Gu Jia's frank eyes, Zhong Xiaoqin's doubts gradually faded away like fog blown away by the wind. She stamped her feet in annoyance, "That Lin Bufan! I have to talk to him about it later. He always jokes about these things!"

A barely perceptible fluctuation flashed across Gu Jia's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and pulled Zhong Xiaoqin back. "Alright, don't be angry with him. Zi Yan seems to be calling you."