Chapter 371: Not Disdainful

“Comrade Shen, I have to say, the leaders at your factory truly have an eye for talent. This medicinal ointment of mine is a gem. If it weren’t for the people in this village, I wouldn’t have been willing to give it to your factory,” Li Yiyi said.

Shen Zhonghe knew that what the person said wasn’t just flattery. The ointment was indeed something rare and special.

Even his usually picky older brother had deemed this ointment a miracle cure.

“I know, I know. That’s why our factory is taking this collaboration with Dr. Li very seriously. Tomorrow, several leaders from our factory will come to discuss the possibility of setting up a factory here. You should be mentally prepared for that,” Shen Zhonghe said, smiling.

Li Yiyi nodded, noticing that Shen Zhonghe seemed to be quite overly excited.

“Comrade Shen, you seem really happy about this collaboration,” she said with a smile.

Shen Zhonghe, feeling a little embarrassed, touched his cheeks and said, “Dr. Li, you can tell I’m very happy?”

Li Yiyi smiled, looking at him, “Comrade Shen, I’m not blind, I have eyes.”

Shen Zhonghe was taken aback for a moment before laughing, “Alright, alright, I admit it, I am really happy. You see, I thought I had missed out on becoming the factory director, but thanks to Dr. Li, your suggestion, I’ve been given another chance. The higher-ups have decided to reward me for facilitating this and appointed me as the factory director.”

“Don’t you mind that it’s a new factory?” Li Yiyi asked with a smile, looking at him.

Shen Zhonghe quickly waved his hand. “No, no, I don’t mind at all. Though this is a new factory, I have a feeling that it will grow even more successful than the old factory in the city, because it has the formula for the ointment from Dr. Li. I even have a daydream that this ointment might go international in the future.”

Li Yiyi was amused by his exaggerated way of speaking. After laughing, she nodded and said, “I have that feeling too.”

“Really? Dr. Li, we are truly like-minded,” Shen Zhonghe said, feeling more certain that his premonition would come true.

After chatting for a while longer, Shen Zhonghe realized he still had a lot to do and had to hurry back to the city.

After sending Shen Zhonghe off, Li Yiyi immediately took the two children to stroll around the village and also to talk to the village chief about the plans for the pharmaceutical factory.

The village chief was probably already anxious, judging by how much he had been waiting.

Once they left home, Li Yiyi noticed that the villagers were especially warm toward her that day. First, they asked if she had eaten, and then they stuffed their homemade produce, such as cucumbers and winter melons, into her arms. Before they even reached the village chief’s house, Li Yiyi and the two children were already holding a pile of farm goods.

“These are for my family? But we already have all of these,” the village chief said when he saw them at the door, clearly amused but also a little bewildered.

Li Yiyi quickly led the children into his yard and placed the produce on the ground.

“Village Chief, you misunderstood. These are not from me. The villagers gave them to me. I don’t know why, but they’ve been unusually generous today. No matter how much I tried to stop them, they just kept giving things to us,” Li Yiyi said with a smile and a helpless shrug.

After hearing this, Village Chief Jiang laughed heartily. “I think I know why they’re being so generous. It’s probably because of the pharmaceutical factory. You might not know, but the villagers have been working the fields for generations. Back in the day, only city folks had the right to work in factories. Now that we’re building one here, they’re excited. They’re showing their gratitude to you for helping make it happen.”

Li Yiyi smiled. “They’re too polite.”

“They should be thanking you,” Village Chief Jiang said with a laugh.

He poured her a cup of tea and tried to probe, “So, Dr. Li, is there good news about the pharmaceutical factory?”

Li Yiyi nodded with a smile. “Yes, things are looking good. It’s almost certain that the factory will be built here in our village. However, they’ll still send people to do a survey. Tomorrow, the village chief will join me to welcome their investigation team.”

“Do I get to go?” Village Chief Jiang was both surprised and pleased to hear he would be included.

“Of course! You’re the pillar of this village. Without you, how could I handle the delegation?” Li Yiyi said, smiling.

Hearing this, Village Chief Jiang felt quite pleased. After all, who wouldn’t like a compliment?

“Alright, I’ll go. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to cooperate fully with their investigation. We’ve selected the best spot for the factory here in the village, so they won’t find anything wrong,” he said confidently.

Li Yiyi smiled at his self-assurance, and after making sure everything was settled, she felt more at ease about returning to the military area.

After seeing Li Yiyi and the children off, Village Chief Jiang quickly turned around to issue a notice at the village committee, urging everyone to clean up their doorstep. He even warned that anyone who failed to comply would lose their qualification to work at the factory once it was built.

Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately got to work. Even if they were busy, they had no choice but to drop what they were doing and tidy up their entrances.

The next day, as Li Yiyi walked down the village path to meet the investigation team, she couldn’t help but notice how fresh and clean everything looked.

“How does it look? Doesn’t our village look much cleaner now?” Village Chief Jiang, who was accompanying her, asked proudly.

Li Yiyi glanced around and gave him a thumbs up, smiling. “You’re amazing, Village Chief.”

“Of course, anything to help get the factory built. I’ll do whatever it takes,” Village Chief Jiang said.

He had truly realized the benefits of the pharmaceutical factory for the village.

Since word had spread to nearby villages that a factory was being built here, many people had been coming to make connections with him, hoping that he might leave a few spots for people from their villages.