Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1514 - 727: The Power of Friends_2

Chapter 1514: Chapter 727: The Power of Friends_2

Director Liu didn’t believe Yan Fei’s excuses. How joyously you chatted with those two professors all the way, reciting poetry and discussing ancient times so animatedly that even the translators couldn’t keep up with all the words.

In Director Liu’s eyes, as long as Yan Fei agreed, there was a very high chance that the plan would go through. He immediately grabbed Yan Fei’s hand and shook it repeatedly, "Brother Yan, big brother won’t say much more, after they leave tomorrow, you must stay. Let’s have a couple of drinks together in the evening..."

The following morning, a group of spirited scholars got up early. Kuber saw Yan Fei stretching his legs outside and smiled, "Yan, can you manage to squeeze in a little time today to show us your school, the one with the ancient tower you mentioned?"

Next to him, Secretary Qu, who got up early as well, was green with envy without saying a word. He thought that by bringing a group of foreign friends to his place, he had already gotten a huge bargain. Little did he expect that Old Chen from Sancha River, without even moving from his home, would have great fortunes falling into his lap – truly infuriating when compared to others!

Another person was in a merry mood; Director Liu was almost unable to keep his mouth closed from smiling. Last night, in a moment of impulsiveness, he promised too much, which led to him having a restless night, constantly pondering over any possible excuse to squeeze some money out of the city’s budget.

Now the excuse had literally come to him. Well, a group of scholars seeking cultural exchange at Shuimu Yanjing University at the Capital specially visited the school in Sancha River. Funding their school for some antique repairs – any objections? If you’re capable, why don’t you try inviting such scholars to stroll around your area?

Thus, the convoy majestically proceeded to No.2 High School. On the way, Yan Fei made a phone call to Principal Dou, unfortunately, the principal had returned to his hometown. However, hearing the news, the man, already in his fifties, immediately said that he’d find a motorcycle and rush back to school, promising not to delay the reception of foreign guests.

This actually gave Yan Fei a fright, and he quickly urged him, "Principal Dou, there’s really no rush. Please take it slow. It was supposed to be a good thing, don’t turn it bad in your hurry, otherwise, I won’t be able to explain it to our folks at Sancha River!"

Principal Dou laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, I’ll quickly find a ride, let someone else take me there, that should be okay!"

After hanging up, when they reached Sancha River, Mayor Chen was already waiting at the school’s entrance, smilingly welcoming them. He had specifically found an employee with good public speaking skills and some knowledge of the town’s history, to serve as the tour guide, "Originally, our Sancha River went through several relocations before finally settling here. Because it is surrounded by rivers on three sides, the west wharf used to be a crucial logistics port. This ancient tower was initially a guild hall for merchants, which is akin to what foreigners would call a club..."

Poor Yan Fei, who worked as the interpreter, really had to rack his brains for this. Thankfully, with a good memory and historical knowledge, he managed to explain the era the building was constructed in – just a few years before the industrial revolution in Bird Country and even before the independence revolution in America.

When the scholars’ enthusiastic visit was nearly complete, under the eager gaze of Director Liu, Yan Fei tactfully proposed to Kuber and Hofstadter, "Actually, our city’s two universities also have a significant history. If you have time, you could perhaps visit them as well..."

Kuber and Hofstadter paused for a moment before Kuber burst out laughing, "I think I understand now. A lot of the resources needed for academic research are earned by yourself, so you have to make compromises at times, right? It’s the current social environment that necessitates this, not just doing research in isolation. I’m pleased to meet a young scholar who is not so rigid. As long as you maintain the heart of a scholar and understand what you really want to do, that’s what matters."

Hofstadter, initially a bit unsettled by Yan Fei’s words, considered Kuber’s statement for a moment before nodding, "This is why I hope you can go to a place with a better academic atmosphere so soon... I agree."

Hearing these words, Yan Fei couldn’t help but feel a bit touched—these two thought so highly of him.

But thankfully, both nodded in agreement, marking this as a good outcome.

On their way to the city, Yan Fei candidly shared, "Actually, they promised just now that if you could go and see for yourselves, they could allocate some funds for a few schools here. Although I could contribute myself, in our place, support from private individuals and from above carries different significances."

Kuber immediately expressed his understanding, noting that abroad, it’s not uncommon for well-known experts and scholars to collaborate with businesses for promotional talks or participate in charitable activities to secure research funding.

Speaking of the city’s two universities felt somewhat embarrassing; a vast city like Wan City, yet it only has two specialist colleges and not a single regular undergraduate college.

As for any meaningful exchange, that was out of the question. Kuber and his two colleagues, with a group of scholars, briefly toured two schools, took some photos, and then hurriedly said their goodbyes.

No sooner had they left than Director Liu got excited. He patiently waited until the photographers dispersed, then grabbed Yan Fei and wouldn’t let him go home: "If you don’t stay tonight, I’ll go with you to your house. Just one meal, you’ve got to let me show my gratitude, right?"

Yan Fei was helpless: "Fine, how about this? I have some friends, let’s all get together and have a meal, how’s that?"

The friends he called were people like Director Zhang and Chairman Dong, but before they could even start their meal, the phone kept ringing incessantly: "Brother Yan, where are you? Have those foreign scholars left? Secretary Qu and I want to invite you to dinner tonight, are you free?"

Yan Fei was helpless again: "Brother Niu, I really can’t make it back. Director Liu is holding me back here, tell Secretary Qu I appreciate his gesture, and we can talk about dinner later, okay?"

Old Niu tried to persuade him a bit more before finally giving up.

Secretary Qu’s dinner invitation was inevitable, and his mood had been particularly turbulent these past days. Originally, he wanted to build connections with Yan Fei, hoping to bring some benefits to the village. However, he didn’t expect Yan Fei to leave so swiftly at that time, which he wasn’t too happy about, feeling that it’s very difficult to get along with young people who achieve success early.

Later, to Qu’s confusion, Yan Fei called Old Niu and inexplicably tasked him with environmental protection work.

Was environmental protection even necessary for their village? Ever since Old Niu’s cement factory moved away, traversing from east to west, from south to north, the village was practically in its pristine state. Other than farming pigs and cows, there was barely any pollution.

In the past, they relied on the mountains and rivers for sustenance, but nowadays, the resources from the mountains weren’t worth much. Moreover, sneaking into the mountains for wild game risked being reported to the police, discouraging most people except some idle youths from venturing in.

As for the rivers, they only fished during New Year’s season, and even then, fish weren’t valued highly—you could trade a catty of pork for several catties of fish.

Nevertheless, since Old Niu mentioned it, Qu thought he might as well follow the advice of the two entrepreneurs and half-heartedly initiated some environmental protection publicity.

Unexpectedly, a group of foreign friends had now come specifically to see their ’pristine nature,’ which was really... he didn’t even know how to describe it.

Nowadays, economic development is the mainstream; without economic progress, even roads couldn’t be properly constructed. Without accessible roads, no matter how beautiful the scenery, it’s useless if people can’t reach it. Thus, everyone is brainstorming economic strategies, even at the expense of the environment. It’s ironic that due to his village’s poverty which hindered economic development, his makeshift effort in environmental protection actually paid off this time.

Now, Secretary Qu is gleefully planning—if the authorities allocate some funds to the village in a few days, he’d swiftly propose to repair the roads, as that might turn their area into a tourist attraction.

Sometimes it’s hard to predict how things turn out; as people’s pockets grow fuller, those scenic areas devoid of industrial appeal but with repaired roads could transform into tourist attractions. In contrast, regions that compromised their environment for the sake of economic growth are forced to swallow their losses and silently suffer the consequences of those environmental damages.