The Secret of the Yoga Club: The Women's Identity is Not Simple

Afterwards, Lin Feng leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette, and picked up his phone to dial Yang Ru's number. The phone rang twice before being answered, and Yang Ru's voice came through the receiver, slightly hoarse from just waking up.

"Still up so late? How did Grandma's birthday banquet go?"

"It's quite lively. I have something to tell you—the investigation into Qi Qing from Chitian Chemical can be canceled. I talked to her, and she's quite capable at work; we can train her well in the future."

Yang Ru chuckled softly on the other end of the phone. She knew perfectly well what Lin Feng meant by "had a chat," but she didn't spell it out, simply saying, "Understood. Have someone notify Chitian Chemical first thing tomorrow morning." She then asked if he wanted to transfer Qi Qing to headquarters, as she was currently short of an administrative manager with expertise in chemical operations. Lin Feng thought for a moment and said not yet, let her stay in her current position for a while to observe her performance, and if she proved capable, then they could discuss it further.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Qi Qing was standing by the bed with her back to him, getting dressed. She had already put on her silk shirt and was buttoning it up, her fingers trembling slightly.

The zipper on her bodycon mini skirt got stuck halfway up, and she bit her lower lip and tugged hard several times before she finally managed to pull it up.

As I bent down to put on my high heels, my phone rang. The screen displayed the number of the manager of Chitian Chemical Plant.

He paused for a moment, glanced at Lin Feng, and then answered the call.

The factory manager's tone on the phone was completely different from before; he was so warm and friendly that she felt a little uncomfortable.

She said she had just received a notification from headquarters that the internal review had been cancelled, and that there was no conflict of interest in her position, so it was all a misunderstanding.

They also said that headquarters specifically mentioned her name, saying that her superiors had a very high opinion of her work ability, and that she should return to work as usual tomorrow, and that her nomination for deputy minister at the end of the year would remain valid.

The factory manager added, half-jokingly, at the end, "Manager Qi, I didn't realize you had someone at headquarters speaking up for you. If you need anything in the future, just let me know, don't hesitate."

Qi Qing's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the phone. She exchanged a few polite words, hung up, and then turned to look at Lin Feng, who was leaning against the headboard smoking.

From being suspended from duty for investigation to being reinstated, from the factory director's cold words to actively currying favor, from being looked down upon by everyone to being recommended by the deputy minister to remain in office.

All of this took place in less than a few hours.

"Mr. Lin, thank you."

"You're welcome. You earned this yourself."

Qi Qing walked to the bedside, picked up her bag, hesitated for a moment, and then took out her phone. "Mr. Lin, may I add you on WeChat? I might need to consult you about anything related to work in the future."

Lin Feng handed her his phone and let her scan the QR code. After adding her, she saw that the friend request had been accepted on the screen, carefully put her phone back in her bag, and glanced back at him as she walked to the door. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only said, "Be careful on the road," and then gently closed the door.

Lin Feng bought a lot of things in town.

First, I went to the farmers' market and bought half a pig, several freshly slaughtered free-range chickens, and several baskets of freshly picked vegetables. Then I went to a general store and bought a lot of pots, pans, and several quilts.

Finally, at the farm machinery shop at the entrance of town, I found a brand new electric tricycle with a red body and a dump truck bed in the back.

After paying, they had the shop assistant load all the items into the tricycle's cargo bed, and then hired a truck to take the tricycle and the truck back to the village.

When the Wang family saw Lin Feng return, they were no longer surprised. After spending a few days together, Wang Yue's father had completely given up on calculating how much all this stuff had cost—not that he didn't want to, but he simply couldn't keep up.

When the road construction cost several million, he and his wife secretly reminisced for a long time. Later, he counted on his fingers the birthday banquet fireworks, piglets, new roof tiles, cement floors, tricycles, quilts, pots and pans, and so on. Finally, he silently went to the stove to start a fire and cook, and stopped counting.

Wang Yue's mother simply smiled and said, "Xiao Lin bought things again," then took the new quilts and carried them into the house, spread them on the bed in the guest room, patted the cotton out of the quilts, and made the bed neatly.

When Village Party Secretary Lao Chen heard that Lin Feng was leaving tomorrow, he specially brought over a snakeskin bag.

He placed the bag on the table and opened it. Inside were dried Chinese medicinal herbs, including epimedium and some other roots and leaves that Lin Feng couldn't name.

Old Chen pointed at the bunch of epimedium, his smile carrying a hint of knowing teasing: "Mr. Lin, take this and brew it into a drink. This stuff grows everywhere in the mountains around here, but it's rare to find one this good. I specially had someone pick the first harvest, and it's been dried very thoroughly. As for its effects—you're young, drinking it will definitely boost your stamina."

He patted the bundle of epimedium and said that many people in their area actually grow medicinal herbs, and those things on the hillside that look like weeds are actually Chinese medicinal herbs.

The roads are difficult to travel, making it hard to transport the herbs out. The herb dealers are driving down prices, so farmers don't make much money from planting them, resulting in small-scale operations.

Lin Feng squatted down and rummaged through the herbs in the bag. The leaves of the epimedium had been dried and rolled into small clumps. The stems were thin and tough. He held them under his nose and smelled them. They had a very faint herbal fragrance.

He thought to himself that this market was actually quite large, but no one was integrating it.

If a medicinal herb purchasing station or processing plant could be built here, with unified purchasing, processing, and sales, and a supply chain established, it might be a good industry—it could help increase the income of local farmers and open up a new business direction for the Shuke Group.

He asked Lao Chen to keep an eye out for him and compile a list of all the farmers in the village who grow medicinal herbs, including what varieties they grow, the area they cultivate, and their annual yield, and send it to him.

Old Chen readily agreed when he heard there was hope.

That evening, Wang Yue slipped into Lin Feng's room as usual, saying she needed to make the most of her time to practice her spoken English.

Gather the stray hairs behind your ears...

Touching her hair, I thought to myself that this girl is indeed making rapid progress.

After Wang Yue finished practicing, she looked up with an expectant expression on her face, as if she had completed a task and was waiting to be evaluated. Her two dimples were particularly noticeable in the moonlight.

How many points can I get today?

"If the score is out of ten, I'd give you nine. The one point deducted is because the pacing was a bit rushed at the beginning; please pay attention next time."

"I'll practice again tomorrow and try to get ten points. I'm going back tomorrow, so I can't do this at the company anymore; I need to maintain a professional image."

Lin Feng smiled, pulled her into the blankets and hugged her, saying that he would keep public and private matters separate.

The next day, after breakfast, Lin Feng and Wang Yue packed their things and prepared to leave. Wang Yue's grandmother sat in a wicker chair in the yard, holding Lin Feng's hand tightly.

She said a lot of things, telling the child to be careful on the road, and to come back to visit often when she has time. She also said that she didn't know how many more years she could live, but she would definitely walk on this road he built for many more years.

Lin Feng knelt down and held her hand, his voice a few decibels lower than usual: "Grandma, please take good care of yourself. When the road is repaired at the end of the year, I'll drive to pick you up, and you'll be the first to leave."

Wang Yue's mother brought out several bags of cured meat, free-range eggs, and homemade chili sauce from the kitchen and stuffed them into the trunk, saying that you couldn't buy such authentic stuff in the city and that Lin Feng should take it back for his parents to try. Wang Yue's father stood beside the car, rubbing his hands, his lips moving several times, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

Lin Feng shook hands with him and told them to take care of themselves and call him anytime if they needed anything. Mr. Wang nodded, his eyes a little red, but his lips curved into a smile.

As the SUV drove out of the village, Wang Yue leaned back in the passenger seat and looked back at the old banyan tree at the village entrance and her family standing under it.

Her mother was still waving at the car, while her father stood beside her, one hand in his pocket and the other frozen in mid-air.

Grandma sat in the rattan chair in the yard, the new blanket covering her legs, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Lin Feng, these past few days have been the best days of my life."

Lin Feng held the steering wheel with one hand and reached out with the other to touch the other person's long legs. He smiled but didn't say anything.