Chapter 50: The Awakening of the NEET Generation 8

Ren Xin said to everyone, "Right now, all we can do is wait. My teacher said he would contact someone and see what the situation is, but please don't get your hopes up too high. Maybe this is just something ordinary. Life still has to go on…"

The Village Head understood what Ren Xin meant and began organizing everyone to leave, telling them to return to whatever they were doing.

As he was about to leave, the Village Head said to Father Ren, "You've truly raised a good daughter! Imagine, she can even call such a respected professor. It really shows the value of education. Problems that we couldn't solve no matter how much we begged and pleaded, your child solved with a single phone call."

Father Ren looked proud, but spoke with humility. "She's just a kid, please don't flatter her so much."

But as soon as everyone left, Father Ren nearly sang Ren Xin’s praises to the heavens.

"My daughter is amazing! How did she turn out so outstanding? Did you see, dear, how everyone envied us? I’m so happy today—just as happy as the day she got into university."

Father Ren now measured all of his joys by the day Ren Xin got into college. Happier than that day, not as happy as that day, just as happy as that day—he had a three-level system to describe it.

The professor called back. "Ren Xin, I’ve already sent all the pictures you sent me to my old friend. He was very excited but couldn’t say anything for sure yet. He said he’ll contact you soon—he wants to bring a team to investigate your village. By the way, he’s an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

Ren Xin relayed her teacher’s message. The Village Head looked bewildered. "Academician? Is that a high rank? How does it compare to our township chief?"

Ren Xin pondered how to explain. In the end, she managed, "Let’s put it this way—an academician’s achievements are the kind that will be written into textbooks for students to study in the future."

The Village Head instantly straightened up and sucked in his stomach, stammering nervously, "My goodness, what a prestigious position! No, I need everyone to prepare something so we can give them a proper welcome when they arrive."

Ren Xin quickly stopped him. "They won’t take anything from ordinary folks. There’s no need for us to prepare anything. When the time comes, just follow their instructions."

Soon, Academician Wang arrived with a team, coming in off-road vehicles in grand fashion. The Village Head had already assembled everyone to stand in line and greet them.

Ren Xin felt she’d already done her best. Earlier, the Village Head even wanted everyone to wear their best red clothes to make the occasion look festive. He also called on everyone to wash their kids, scrub off the dirt, put on clean clothes, and then keep them at home.

The children thought: All that effort was so unnecessary!!

When Academician Wang got out of the car, Ren Xin stepped forward to introduce herself. "Hello, my teacher is Professor Fang. My name is Ren Xin."

Academician Wang beamed as he spoke. "Old Fang has told me about you. He says you’re especially tenacious, and willing to endure hardship…"

After some polite small talk, Academician Wang couldn’t wait any longer and led the group to collect samples, firing off a string of questions at Ren Xin as he went. "Before this, did the village show any signs at all? Did the plants only start changing after it rained? What about neighboring villages?"

Ren Xin glanced at the Village Head before replying, "I only recently came home for the holiday, so the Village Head knows a lot more than I do. Please let him explain."

The Village Head nervously answered a series of questions. In the end, Academician Wang nodded with furrowed brow. "Let’s wait for the test results before we draw any conclusions, but from what I can see now, it looks like a good thing."

This statement eased the Village Head’s mind quite a bit.

After several days of repeated sampling and testing, they finally reached a conclusion. "Your village has become a paradise for the elderly. The microbes and minerals in this soil are the richest I’ve ever seen. The plants grown here are loaded with all kinds of vitamins, and as for the ions in the air…"

The official explanation left the Village Head dazed, and no one else in the village understood much, either. Unconsciously, everyone turned to look at Ren Xin.

Ren Xin summed it up, "Ours is a land of treasure now—it’s worth a fortune!"

Everyone understood immediately and broke into cheers. Did this mean they’d never have to worry again about not being able to afford their children’s education? Did it mean they would no longer have to suffer through illness? Would they never need to leave their hometown again?

Maybe in the future, they could build two-story houses, and their children could go to university! Maybe they could even buy a little car—how impressive would that be…

Hopes began to bloom in everyone’s hearts, as if all these things were within reach, just waiting for them to stretch out a hand and grab them.