September 1st, the seventh day after the heavy rain ended.
The weather is clear.
A vehicle with special plates slowly drove into Xuanhe Village.
"This must be Xuanhe Village, right?" In the car ahead sat a man about thirty years old, with fair skin and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Looking through the front windshield, Xuanhe Village was situated at the foot of the mountain, houses neatly lined in a straight line, with several elderly people sitting on the street.
"Phew, finally arrived." Driver Liu exhaled deeply, his face full of exhaustion.
"It was quite a journey." Zhou Xu recalled the bumpy and long trip and nodded in agreement.
Although there is a road leading directly to Xuanhe Village, the journey was full of winding mountain roads, and coupled with the long distance, both were somewhat fatigued.
But remembering the task at hand, Zhou Xu breathed out lightly, perked up, and smiled: "President really wants to set an example."
After a pause, his voice lowered: "But that Chen Yuan... it's strange, he actually doesn't want to leave here."
The vehicle slowly drove into Xuanhe Village, parked where the elderly were gathered.
Zhou Xu rolled down the window, and before he could inquire, villagers cast wary eyes: "What are you here for? No entering the mountain without permission."
"Yeah, the village chief said to stop suspicious people." A villager nodded in agreement.
Zhou Xu gave a friendly smile: "I'm not entering the mountain, I've come to see Chen Yuan. Could you tell me where he lives?"
"Chen Yuan?" Uncle Zhao stood up suddenly, looked suspiciously at the courteous Zhou Xu, and asked warily, "What do you want with him?"
Zhou Xu smiled slightly: "I'm representing the Baokun City Beastmaster Association to offer congratulations."
The villagers all looked confused.
Suddenly, Uncle Zhao patted his forehead as if he just remembered something, and said: "Beastmaster Association? That's the organization that's been on TV a lot recently?"
Zhou Xu nodded with a smile.
An aunt spoke up boldly: "I read online that the Beastmaster Association is a scam. Joining requires paying a membership fee, and also..."
Zhou Xu's forehead had a bead of sweat and he quickly interrupted: "We are a legitimate organization recognized by higher authorities, no membership fee is required."
"But I heard that after joining, you have to hand over your pet beast."
Zhou Xu: "..."
He turned his head towards Liu, took a deep breath: "Contact Station Master Song Guohao then."
"Just say... we're stuck at the village entrance."
A few minutes later,
Song Guohao hurried over to resolve the misunderstanding and then shook hands apologizing: "Sorry Secretary Zhou, relevant promotion in Xuanhe Village hasn't been done adequately."
"It's okay, the association is just starting up, misunderstandings are normal." Zhou Xu nodded unconcernedly.
Song Guohao agreed with a smile, then asked: "Secretary Zhou, what brings you personally here?"
Zhou Xu replied: "Comrade Chen Yuan has greatly contributed to the association. Although he doesn't wish to go to Baokun City for a position, the President still wanted to acknowledge his contribution."
"Therefore, I was specially sent here to deliver something."
Zhou Xu stepped aside, revealing a wooden plaque engraved with large golden words—Pioneer of the New Era.
Song Guohao's eyes lit up, and a sharp-eyed villager read out loudly: "Pioneer of the New Era!"
The words created a stir, all kinds of voices surged forth, and some even took out their old phones, made a call, and shouted loudly: "The boy from the Chen Family has achieved something, heard it's Pioneer of the New Era!"
"Come to the village entrance for the celebration, someone from above came to deliver a plaque!"
"Chen might have sacrificed himself, they're even giving a plaque?"
"Nonsense, he was fishing with me yesterday!"
Moments later, Zhou Xu and Liu held the plaque, expressionless, walking at the front of the procession.
Song Guohao followed close behind.
Further back was a team of agile, vigorous fifty-year-old villagers, discussing enthusiastically and occasionally taking videos with their phones.
At the very back was a mixed team of grandpas and grandmas aged sixty to seventy, some leaning on canes, some supporting each other, and some clutching old phones, walking slowly but with determination.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Awooo awooo awooo!"
And there was a special team composed of Gale Hunting Dogs, Fire Dogs, and Chinese Village Dogs, barking and dashing among the crowd.
...
Chen Weiyi held his phone, his expression unprecedentedly bewildered.
"Alright, alright, I'll prepare immediately." After hanging up the eleventh call, Chen Weiyi turned on do-not-disturb mode and took a deep breath.
He carried a large bag of seeds out from the storage, and also brought out a bunch of homemade village popcorn, neatly placed in the hall.
After doing all this, Chen Weiyi still felt it wasn't enough, so he brought out dozens of plastic stools from storage, and prepared tea next to them, finally feeling relieved.
It was the highest hospitality standard he could think of on short notice.
"Kid, wake up, people from the city are here to see you."
The old man's voice entered Chen Yuan's dream through his ears and woke him up suddenly, opening his eyes in a daze.
What?
From the city?
He got up and exchanged a look with Chen Weiyi standing at the door, both staring without saying a word.
At that moment,
the sound of commotion could already be heard faintly outside the farm, and Chen Weiyi turned around: "Get up quickly, the people have already arrived."
Chen Yuan leapt up, quickly freshened up, and as soon as he walked into the yard, he saw a crowd bustling around.
Wow, half the village's elderly had come out.
Chen Weiyi busily greeting these elderly, Chen Yuan saw two strangers beside Song Guohao, and quickly walked over.
"Comrade Chen Yuan, nice to meet you for the first time, I'm Zhou Xu, an official from the Baokun City Beastmaster Association, sent by the President to congratulate you." Zhou Xu shook hands with Chen Yuan, his face beaming.
Chen Yuan looked down and saw the plaque Zhou Xu and Liu were holding.
"Pioneer of the New Era..." Chen Yuan murmured, instantly understanding the reason for their visit.
"Could it be, the gift mentioned in that text was actually this?" he secretly guessed.
"Take it first, Liu, take a picture." Zhou Xu said.
Chen Yuan stood in front of the plaque, took photos with Zhou Xu and Song Guohao, while villagers clapped enthusiastically nearby.
"Old Chen, your kid is really capable."
"How fortunate."
"Both grandsons are so amazing, no worries for you."
Chen Weiyi remained calm outwardly, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were trembling, humbly saying: "Not at all."
When the plaque was finally delivered, the villagers began to leave one after another.
"Chirp～"
Chen Yuan was about to take the three to the hall when a orange-yellow figure suddenly appeared in the sky, Spark folded its wings, swooped down, its tail leaving a trail of light orange flame stream.
Zhou Xu's eyes lit up: "Is this the Flame Cloud Falcon?"
Chen Yuan watched Spark returning from its morning exercise and nodded with a smile: "Yes, it is."
"It's impressive." Examining the imposing Flame Cloud Falcon closely, Zhou Xu adjusted his glasses and praised sincerely.