Chapter 693 Time Passage
As time goes by, the village has regained new vitality. High-quality seedlings have been replanted in the farmland, and with the help of ecological planting technology, they are growing well. The homestay has been redesigned and renovated to incorporate more commemorative elements of flood relief, attracting tourists to experience the village's tenacious spirit. The environmental protection industry has been upgraded and developed more efficient and practical environmental protection products, which are sold well everywhere.
However, success always attracts some jealousy and covetousness. Some people in the neighboring village were jealous of the development here and began to spread rumors behind the scenes, saying that Qi Tongwei must have used improper means to obtain so many resources and secretly intercepted disaster relief supplies. When these rumors spread to the village, the villagers were very angry and spontaneously organized to go to the neighboring village to argue.
Qi Tongwei hurriedly stopped everyone: "We have nothing to fear if we are upright. Arguing will only make things worse and make others laugh at us. Let's speak with facts and build a better village, and the rumors will naturally fall apart on their own." So he led the villagers to increase publicity efforts, inviting people from neighboring villages, media reporters, and others to visit the village and experience it, so that everyone could see the real situation of the village with their own eyes.
As the market competition intensifies, the sales growth of the village's environmental protection products slows down, and eco-tourism is also facing the pressure of diversion from surrounding emerging scenic spots. Qi Tongwei organized a meeting of villagers to brainstorm. Some people proposed to increase R&D investment and innovate product functions; others suggested joint marketing with other scenic spots to create tourism route packages.
Qi Tongwei took everyone's suggestions into consideration. On the one hand, he actively cooperated with universities and research institutes, introduced technical talents, and developed a series of new environmental protection equipment for urban haze control, successfully opening up new markets. On the other hand, he joined forces with several characteristic villages in the surrounding area to jointly create the "Beautiful Rural Ecological Tour" brand, and achieved a counter-cyclical growth in the number of tourists through resource sharing and mutual exchange of customers.
As time goes by, under the leadership of Qi Tongwei, the village has gone through countless storms and is still steadily on the road to prosperity and development.
The villagers' lives are getting better and better, and everyone is full of confidence in the future. Qi Tongwei has also become the backbone of the village and a hero in everyone's eyes.
However, the calm lake always has ripples. One day, a young and beautiful female college student named Wang Xiaoxue came to the village. She was an intern in the cooperation between the university and the village to investigate the rural development model. When Wang Xiaoxue first arrived in the village, she was attracted by the pastoral scenery and simple folk customs. At the same time, she was full of curiosity and respect for Qi Tongwei, who led the village to prosperity. Her big eyes were always shining with admiration. Whenever she had the chance, she would ask Qi Tongwei questions and follow him around to learn about the village industry.
All this was seen by Hu Leping from the same village. Hu Leping was young and had never found a suitable partner. Seeing Wang Xiaoxue's youth, beauty, and knowledge, he could not help but feel moved. He began to frequently show his courtesy to Wang Xiaoxue, sometimes helping her carry her luggage, sometimes sending her some fresh fruits and vegetables grown by himself, and from time to time telling her some interesting stories in the village to make her happy.
But Wang Xiaoxue was so focused on the village survey and the communication with Qi Tongwei that she only responded politely to Hu Leping's enthusiasm, which made Hu Leping feel very uncomfortable. Once, he saw Wang Xiaoxue following Qi Tongwei to check the trial of the new environmental protection equipment, and finally couldn't help but said to Qi Tongwei sourly: "Secretary Qi, look at how good Xiaoxue is. I'm still single, you have to create more opportunities for me."
Qi Tongwei understood what Hu Leping meant, frowned, and said earnestly: "Leping, you are not a child anymore. It is a good thing to want to find a partner, but you have to pursue her seriously and don't mess around. Xiaoxue is a college student who came to help our village develop. We have to respect her and let her concentrate on her work."
Hou Liangping, a cadre sent by his superiors to inspect the development of the village, also noticed this delicate situation. He had worked with Qi Tongwei for a long time and knew that Qi Tongwei was devoted to the construction of the village and had no improper thoughts about Wang Xiaoxue. But seeing Hu Leping's somewhat reckless behavior, he was also worried that some misunderstandings would occur, affecting the harmonious atmosphere and development momentum that the village had finally established.
At this time, some rumors gradually spread in the village. It turned out that someone saw Wang Xiaoxue always with Qi Tongwei, and began to make up stories, saying that Qi Tongwei already had a wife and children, and was so close to a young girl, it must be bad news. These rumors spread quickly like a virus, and even spread to neighboring villages.
Qi Tongwei has a hard time speaking out. Although his wife Liang Lu and he have some emotional estrangement, they have been married for many years and he has never thought of doing anything that violates marital ethics. On the one hand, he has to deal with new challenges in the development of the village industry, such as the increasingly fierce market competition for new environmental protection equipment and the serious homogeneity of tourism in surrounding villages, which requires further differentiation. On the other hand, he also has to deal with this sudden public opinion crisis, which is physically and mentally exhausting.
Wang Xiaoxue also noticed something was wrong. She felt very aggrieved. She was just here for the purpose of learning and helping the development of the village, but how could she be dragged into such a mess? She found Qi Tongwei with red eyes and said, "Secretary Qi, I didn't expect this to happen. Have I caused you any trouble? I just want to do my internship well and do something practical for the village."
Qi Tongwei comforted her: "Xiaoxue, don't take it personally, this is not your fault. Some people are just making trouble because they have nothing better to do. It's okay as long as we have a clear conscience. You can continue to do your research with peace of mind. The village is still counting on you to give us advice."
In order to clarify the facts, Qi Tongwei decided to hold a meeting in the village. At the meeting, he took out the project documents for cooperation with universities and Wang Xiaoxue's internship assignment, and explained in detail the purpose of her coming to the village and her work arrangements. At the same time, he also emphasized his responsibility to his family and his commitment to the development of the village in front of everyone: "Fellow villagers, from the day I, Qi Tongwei, came to our village, I vowed to make everyone live a good life. Everyone has seen how much I have paid over the years. Xiaoxue and I have a simple working relationship. I have my own family, and I will never do anything to let my family and the village down. We can't let these groundless rumors ruin the village's atmosphere and ruin our future development."
Hou Liangping also stood up and said, "Everyone calm down and think about it. Don't we know what kind of person Secretary Qi is? If it weren't for him, how could our village be what it is today? We have to believe him and not be led by rumors."