I am a Big Player
Chapter 270 - 268, Heaven Rewards the Diligent (Second Update)_1

Chapter 270: 268, Heaven Rewards the Diligent (Second Update)_1

After Ren He’s class, the children were still a bit bewildered, but they really understood; Ren He had opened up a new world for them in the simplest and most relatable way, which would inevitably bring a considerable shock to them.

All they could do now was to study hard.

When class was over, Liu Bing and the others came back, and Ren He asked, "How did it go?" He was asking how many villagers had agreed to send their children to school, but Liu Bing and the others could only shake their heads helplessly. As soon as they arrived and stated their purpose, the villagers chased them away, refusing to listen to anything at all.

Then they went off to work the fields with their farming tools.

In this place, they couldn’t even understand much of the local dialect—it was a feeling of utter powerlessness. Ren He thought for a moment and said, "Let it be."

He really wanted to convince the villagers, but entrenched views are not easily changed; it seemed these were the only students they would have. They scheduled the second lesson for physical education, and Ren He took out the backpacks from the vehicle to distribute to the children, along with a set of stationery for each, footballs and basketballs as sports equipment for the school, and the small campus even had a basketball court.

When it was time for lunch, the children didn’t go home, as their parents were all out working in the fields. They took out the prepared dry rice balls and began to gnaw on them. Liu Jiamin and Liu Bing were stunned by the sight of the children eating the black rice balls: "How can they eat that!"

If the sight of the village’s old schoolhouse had been the first shock to everyone, fetching water and cooking the day before the second, then today’s sight of what the children were eating was the third shock!

They had no idea what these rice balls were made of—were they potatoes? They were black and lacked the color that normal meals should have, looking like chunks of earth.

Is this even edible for humans?! Everyone in the Qinghe Club had this thought simultaneously.

Since they were young, they had been exposed to food that was rich in color, taste, and fragrance. They had vegetable oil, and they had seasonings, white rice, and wheat flour. In their minds, rice and flour were so cheap that they were considered the most basic of foods.

But here, there was neither white rice nor flour! Nor was there any oil!

It seemed as if all the things they took for granted in their previously privileged lives were no longer present, as though they were experiencing a bizarre and alien world.

Indeed, the poor in the impoverished mountain areas would often slaughter their pigs during the New Year, sell the good parts to the wealthier folks, and keep the rest to render some pork fat, reserving a bit of pork to eat for the holiday.

But that wasn’t the worst of it; when chickens or pigs died from disease, that was when they truly felt like weeping without tears.

No one from the Qinghe Club had seen a villager holding their disease-dead pig and wailing with grief. Ren He had seen it—not because they had grown attached to the pig, but because they were already suffering so much. Why did fate have to add insult to injury?

The death of a pig meant the loss of a major source of income, and the next year there would be no lard to flavor their food.

Liu Jiamin choked up and squatted down to ask a child, "What are you eating?"

The child did not answer her, bewildered, and Liu Jiamin suddenly burst into tears. How fortunate her own past life had been—to have known so much, to have eaten white rice and flour.

For this place, having a bowl of 10 yuan stewed noodles with a thin slice of beef floating on top would be an incredibly happy thing.

Ren He stood by silently, everyone watching quietly as Liu Jiamin embraced a child and wept bitterly. The child said softly, "Teacher, please don’t cry."

What constitutes a splendid life if one could live it over again? Founding Tencent, founding Baidu, creating Apple? Possessing wealth that rivals countries?

Ren He felt that none of those things really mattered. Whether it was extreme sports or bringing everyone here, they were all ways for Ren He to attempt to touch the higher dimensions of life with his capabilities.

He was a selfish person, but after coming here, he was willing to seek spiritual joy from helping others, after ensuring that he had enough wealth to enjoy a carefree second half of his life.

"Let’s make a meal for the children," Liu Bing said with a choked voice.

"Okay, soy sauce fried rice it is," Ren He turned around to start the fire, using plenty of oil and seasonings, but all they had were rice and flour. They couldn’t make anything more sumptuous for the kids even if they wanted to.

By cooking two big pots of fried rice, they had nearly used up all the water they fetched yesterday.

Carrying the pot outside, they didn’t even have enough bowls and had to use disposable paper cups left by Elder Zhou to serve the rice to the kids.

The children cheered with joy upon smelling the fragrance, a scent usually only experienced during the New Year’s festivities.

"Eat up, this is one of the worst foods in the outside world. There are no vegetables, no eggs, and no meat. But you must remember this flavor and then study hard with all your might. Strive for that wonderful world out there. You have to understand that there is no fairness in this world. You were born with less than others, the difference as vast as that between heaven and earth, but hard work is always rewarded."

Ren He felt that it was truly right for him to come here. Not only were Liu Bing and the others’ worldviews gradually improving, but so was his own.

To live life once again, now was not the time for him to seek comfort. Ren He felt that, after the weather warmed up post-New Year, it was time for him to embark on the journey to Mount Everest that he had promised himself.

To touch the roof of the world, to survey the world again from its summit!

After his morning classes, Ren He was free. Alone, he picked up the iron bucket and headed towards the well to fetch water. If Liu Bing and the others were sent to fetch water, they could only bring back so little. Tomorrow, Liu Bing and Li Yifan would still have to go, but they only needed to carry as much water as Jiang Haoyang—20 kilograms over 10 kilometers, also a kind of training.

Ren He believed that when they all returned to Capital, there would be a tremendous change in everyone’s spirits. As long as they achieved that, the trip would be worthwhile.

In the evening, Ren He let others cook instead. Liu Bing eagerly volunteered to make fried rice for everyone. Ren He just watched with amusement, feeling happy as he observed how much the kids seemed to have grown in just one day. But it was still not enough.

Unsurprisingly, Liu Bing’s cooking was truly terrible. Jiang Haoyang took a bite and immediately frowned, "Liu Bing, have you never cooked before in your life?"

Liu Bing stiffly retorted, "If you can do better, go ahead!"

"Eat up all your food, don’t waste it," Ren He cheerfully said, enjoying watching these guys struggle.

After lights out at night, Jiang Haoyang sat on his bed, draped in his blanket, eyes glowing green, "Boss, I’m hungry..."

Liu Bing swallowed hard, "I’m hungry too..."

Not only was the food unpleasant, but there simply wasn’t enough of it!

Trying to hold back a laugh, Ren He said, "You won’t be hungry if you sleep."

"That makes so much sense..." Jiang Haoyang pulled the blanket over his head and laid down, but after half an hour muttered, "I just can’t fall asleep..."

In such tough conditions, everyone lay on their beds, thinking about the day’s events, and then their thoughts began to drift away.

Suddenly, Jiang Haoyang burst into laughter like a madman, "We are seriously miserable."

As he laughed, the four grown men in the room started laughing along with him; indeed, they were seriously miserable, but it was a misery filled with meaning.