Mingzhu City, Qiongyue Bay Villa District.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Liu Yutong's home was brightly lit.
Yun Cheng, Ma Da, Li Xiaohui, Yu Xin, and Yang Xin were all here as guests. The group of people chatted while playing mahjong.
Since everyone was usually busy with their own lives, it had been a long time since they had a proper gathering like this, especially with Yun Cheng, whom they hadn't seen in months.
Liu Yutong invited them over not only to relax and play mahjong but also to hear about everyone's recent work updates, particularly from Yun Cheng, who had been stationed in BS Province.
Pong!
Li Xiaohui triumphantly pushed down the mahjong tiles in front of her. A flush, concealed hand, and self-drawn! Pay up, pay up!
Yu Xin groaned, Xiaohui, your luck is way too good today! This is the third time already!
Ma Da rubbed his round belly and reluctantly pulled out his money with a bitter face. If I had known, I wouldn't have played with you. I've already lost five hundred. Brother Yun, Brother Yun, why don't you take my place?
Liu Yutong sat on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea, watching them play mahjong. She wore an off-white turtleneck sweater, her long hair draped casually over her shoulders. Compared to her usual outdoor demeanor, she looked noticeably more intellectual and gentle.
Yun Cheng sat next to her, also holding a teacup.
His few months working in BS Province had noticeably changed his aura, giving him an indescribable touch of elegance.
Brother Yun Cheng, don't just watch. Come play a few rounds? Yu Xin turned her head to invite him.
Yun Cheng shook his head. You guys play. I'm fine just watching for a bit.
Alright then.
Liu Yutong put down her teacup and looked at Yun Cheng. Is everything going smoothly over in BS Province?
Yun Cheng sat up a bit straighter and reported, Overall, it's been pretty smooth. Our first Wanlong Plaza in the provincial capital was topped out last month and is expected to open in April. In addition, more than half of the Wanlong Plazas in the dozen or so counties and cities in the earthquake zone have started construction, and the remaining few are in the final approval process.
The progress is good. Have you run into any trouble?
Yun Cheng paused slightly. Trouble... yes, we did.
What is it? Is someone looking for trouble?
Yes.
Yun Cheng nodded. Mainly in Chuanxiang City. The plot of land we acquired in the city center was targeted by a local thug nicknamed Hei Gui. He gathered a gang and came to the construction site every day to cause trouble.
They claimed our construction was disturbing the residents and demanded high compensation, asking for five million right off the bat. It was obvious extortion. I looked into it, and this Hei Pi relies on these underhanded tactics to ruin other people's construction progress, forcing them to eventually sell the project or land to him at a low price.
And then?
I had someone dig into his background. This guy had several assault cases tied to him, but he always got off scot-free due to a lack of evidence or having someone else take the fall. Later, when he brought his men to cause trouble at the site again, I led our brothers to take them down, and then we packed them up and sent them straight to the provincial authorities. Since then, the site has been completely peaceful.
None of our brothers got hurt, right?
No, they are all elites we brought from Mingzhu City. The brothers we recruited locally in BS Province had also been training for a while. Dealing with that disorganized mob was more than enough.
That's good.
Liu Yutong still instructed, When our brothers are out and about, safety comes first. If you encounter this kind of thing again, be tough when you need to be, but you must try your best to ensure our people don't get hurt.
Yun Cheng nodded. Understood!
Over on Li Xiaohui's side, they started chattering and shuffling the tiles again, preparing for a new round.
Liu Yutong suddenly remembered something. By the way, how are Xiao Bao and the other children doing now?
Yun Cheng replied, They're all doing well. After confirming their identities, they were sent back to reunite with their families and are now attending school normally in their local areas. We will continue to fund their tuition fees all the way through college.
After more than a year of effort, most of the children they had taken in from Hua Muying had found their relatives. Now, only Yun Cheng's personal disciple, Xiao Hu, remained here; the rest had been sent home.
Liu Yutong nodded and asked, And what about the two billion allocated for the construction of primary and middle schools?
Yun Cheng had clearly done his homework. Miss, the two billion in special funds we donated have helped build a total of one hundred and twenty-seven primary and middle schools, covering eight heavily disaster-stricken counties and cities in BS Province. Among them, eighty-nine were completely newly built, and thirty-eight were expanded and renovated. Moreover, all these schools were constructed and modified according to the highest earthquake resistance standards. Most of them were put into use last month, and there are currently over fifty thousand students enrolled.
Fifty thousand students. That progress is very good. Liu Yutong was very satisfied with this progress.
Yun Cheng continued, Actually, many schools are built in remote mountainous areas, so transporting materials was a major issue. To catch up on the schedule, some of our brothers who were in charge of supervising the work also joined the reconstruction efforts, carrying cement and steel bars on their shoulders and backs. During the hardest times, dozens of people lived in tents for two straight months.
But we all felt it was worth it. I remember a place called Hongye Township. The original primary school completely collapsed during the earthquake, and the children had to take classes in temporary prefab houses. In the winter, it was so cold they couldn't even hold their pens. On the day our newly built school was completed, young and old from the whole township came out, and many elderly people knelt down and kowtowed to us.
At that moment, I thought to myself that this trip to BS Province was truly not in vain.
Yun Cheng took out a thick folder from his bag and opened it. These are the materials sent by the various schools one after another last month. There are thank-you letters and drawings from the children. Take a look, Miss.
Liu Yutong took it, casually pulled out a letter, and began to read.
The handwriting on the letterhead was still a bit childish and slightly crooked, but every stroke was written very neatly.
Dear big brothers and sisters of the Wanlong Society:
My name is Yang Xiaohua. I am ten years old and in the fourth grade at Hongye Township Wanlong Hope Primary School. In the past, our school was a mud house that leaked wind in the winter and rain in the summer. After the earthquake, the building collapsed, and we had classes in tents, our hands freezing until they looked like carrots.
This November, we moved into our new school. The classrooms are red brick buildings with really big windows, and the sunlight can shine on every classmate's desk. We have new desks, the chairs don't wobble anymore, and the food made by the cafeteria aunts is so delicious. Every Wednesday, we even get chicken legs.
Our teacher said that these were built with money donated by the big brothers and sisters of the Wanlong Society in Mingzhu City. I can't imagine how far away Mingzhu City is, but my mom says it's a place that takes two days by train to reach.
When I grow up, I want to be a teacher too and come back to teach in Hongye Township. I want to tell future students that there was once a group of good people dressed in black who built a red school for us.
Thank you. I will study hard.
Sincerely,
With best regards!
Yang Xiaohua
December 5, 2009.
Liu Yutong read very slowly. There were a few erasure marks on the letterhead, showing that the child had written it very earnestly.
There are many more letters like this. Almost every school sent them, along with these drawings.
Yun Cheng took out a few crayon drawings and handed them to Liu Yutong.
One drawing depicted a red school building under a blue sky with white clouds, and children jumping rope on the playground. Another showed a group of figures dressed in black helping to move building materials; although the people were drawn a bit crookedly, it was clear that the children had put a lot of effort and heart into it.
"What touched me the most is this." Yun Cheng flipped to the back of the folder and took out a photograph.
In the photo, a girl missing a leg sat in a wheelchair, holding up a piece of embroidery. The six characters for Wanlong Hope Elementary School were stitched onto it, clearly showing a great deal of painstaking work.
"Her name is Lin Xiuxiu, twelve years old. Her leg was crushed in the earthquake. She used to attend the village elementary school as a regular student, but because of her mobility issues, her father had to carry her to school on his back every day. Later, through some coordination, she was specially arranged a dorm room on the first floor."
"She and the school teachers spent three months on this embroidery. She said she didn't know how else to thank us, and this was the only thing she knew how to do."
Liu Yutong looked at the girl's shy smile in the photo and remained silent for a long time.
Over at the mahjong table, the game had stopped at some point.
Li Xiaohui, Yu Xin, and Ma Da all gathered around, chattering as they looked at the letters and drawings.
"These kids are so sensible and mature."
"Everything we did was worth it."
"This drawing is really pretty!"
"........"
Just then, Ma Da stroked his chin and suddenly blurted out, "You can tell these kids are very loyal. In the future, we should recruit them all into the Wanlong Society to learn boxing, study the law, join the underw... ahem... become courageous youths who stand up for justice!"
Liu Yutong: "......."
Just as she opened her mouth to criticize Ma Da, Ma Da's phone suddenly rang.
After answering it, his expression instantly changed.
"Send me the address, I'll bring people over right away!"
