The meeting was held in the large square at the village entrance. By the time Tan You and Uncle Shen’s family arrived, most of the villagers were already there. Tan You was perfectly calm as she faced their envious and jealous stares.

’If the village dares to give it, I dare to take it.’ Besides, even if she accepted the money, Tan You had no intention of pocketing it all for herself. The villagers had helped out a great deal, and she couldn’t bring herself to keep everything. What she wanted now was to see where the villagers stood.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Fifth Uncle stepped to the front.

"Everyone knows what happened. After a unanimous decision by the village committee, the proceeds from the tea sale, which Ji Li single-handedly made possible, will be given to Ji Li. As long as the tea factory is in operation, the yield from the Ancient Tea Tree will also belong to Ji Li. Does anyone have any objections? If you do, speak now. I don’t want to hear any complaints about this later."

Although they had already heard about this last night, a commotion still rippled through the crowd now that Fifth Uncle had made the public announcement. Of course, some people had objections. The one who protested the loudest was none other than Uncle Qiao’s son, Shen Cunxi.

"Village Chief, all that money is just going to Ji Li? My dad put in a lot of work, and so many people went up the mountain that day. Everyone contributed, but in the end, Ji Li gets to reap all the rewards?"

Uncle Qiao’s eyes widened in anger, but Fifth Uncle held him back. He looked at Shen Cunxi. "What’s your solution, then?"

Shen Cunxi said self-righteously, "At the very least, it should be divided equally, right? So many of us were there, we all worked so hard... Do you have any idea how much effort my dad put into roasting those tea leaves properly?"

Fifth Uncle sneered. "Your dad did work on this tea for a long time, and everyone did put in a lot of effort. I won’t deny that. But why did the tea sell in the first place? Wasn’t it because of the buyer Ji Li found?"

"If she didn’t have so many fans, would the tea factory have made such a huge profit this year? Which one of you hasn’t made a killing this year? Compared to the past, aren’t all of your lives much, much better this year?"

Shen Cunxi was still fired up. "She promoted the tea factory and helped everyone sell their mountain goods, and she took her commission. It was all business, a clean transaction. Bringing personal feelings into it now is pointless."

Fifth Uncle retorted angrily, "Your dad and the other uncles and aunts did work hard on the autumn tea for a long time, but didn’t the factory pay their wages? Did Ji Li ever short anyone a single cent? You bite the hand that feeds you. You’ve really perfected that nasty habit."

"Since you’re so insistent on it being ’just business,’ why weren’t you helping me when I was out looking for buyers? When the village was busy picking and processing tea, where were you? And now you decide to show up and make a fuss?"

Shen Cunxi muttered, "It’s not that serious, is it? I’m just standing up for my dad..."

"You’ve said your piece," Fifth Uncle ground his teeth. "Your dad’s right here. He didn’t have a single objection at yesterday’s meeting, but here you are, raising a stink."

"Does anyone else have an objection? Speak up now. If I hear another word about this after today, don’t blame me for getting rough."

Seeing the stern faces of Fifth Uncle and several other committee members, the rustling whispers in the crowd died down, and no one else spoke up. Tan You looked at Shen Cunxi, his neck stiff with defiance, and then at the few other resentful-looking villagers. Suddenly, the whole thing felt pointless.

She knew money could corrupt people’s hearts and understood how hard it was for people to restrain their greed in the face of such a large sum. But Tan You was truly disappointed in the villagers. She gave a self-deprecating laugh and suddenly changed her mind.

She used to think that the deeper her ties to this place became, the more the villagers would protect her. Now she realized she was wrong. First of all, her surname wasn’t Shen. Even though she had brought the village such enormous profits, the moment it came to dividing the spoils, she would still be the first one they pushed aside.

Xu Liang noticed the change in Tan You’s expression and let out a soft chuckle. ’So,’ he thought, ’after seeing all this, what move will you make?’

After silencing the crowd, Fifth Uncle handed the check to Tan You. She stared at it for a few seconds before accepting it. Seeing that she had actually taken the check, the villagers’ faces were a mixture of expressions.

Tan You cleared her throat. "The tea tree is on the mountain, and the mountain belongs to the village. Therefore, its yield ultimately belongs to the village as well. Since the village has decided to give this money to me, I have a suggestion."

Fifth Uncle looked taken aback, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "What kind of suggestion?"

Tan You smiled. "My suggestion is that the village establish a fund. This money is a windfall, after all. Aside from what’s needed for forest maintenance, the money can be kept for village emergencies. If any family falls on hard times, the village can review their case and provide assistance as needed..."

"Furthermore, for any future tea sales, all the proceeds should go into the fund. I won’t take a single cent."

Both Uncle Shen and his wife understood what Tan You was implying. They started to speak but were stopped by her grandmother. The old woman looked at Tan You, her eyes filled with a touch of sorrow.

The accountant was the first to react. He kicked Shen Cunxi. "Ji Li, don’t say things out of anger. This money is rightfully yours. Don’t lower yourself to this brat’s level."

Tan You’s smile didn’t waver. "Accountant, I’m not speaking out of anger. And he wasn’t wrong. Everyone put a great deal of effort into making this sale happen. How could I possibly take all this money for myself? Business is business, and personal matters are personal matters. We need to keep things clear."

"This won’t affect my work on the village’s online sales. If you’re all worried, you can set up your own account, and I can help drive traffic to it."

A bitter taste filled Fifth Uncle’s mouth. "Ji Li... we all trust you... We don’t know anything about setting up a fund... And with so much money, deciding who’s in need and who isn’t... it’s impossible to guarantee people won’t feel things are unfair later on."

Tan You laughed. "In that case, Village Chief, just distribute it evenly among everyone. After all, my surname isn’t Shen. It wouldn’t be right for me to take the money."

The mention of an even distribution caused another stir in the crowd. Some people were already doing the math—if it was divided equally, wouldn’t each family get over three hundred thousand?

Seeing the villagers whispering amongst themselves, Tan You smiled. "Village Chief, I’ll leave you all to handle the money. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now."

As Tan You started to leave, Uncle Shen’s wife moved to follow her. Tan You smiled. "Why are you coming with me? I’m not upset. Don’t worry, I’m just going for a stroll."

Uncle Shen’s wife patted Tan You’s shoulder. "This has been hard on you."

Tan You shook her head. "It hasn’t. It was just a windfall. I can always earn my own money."

After leaving the large square at the village entrance, Tan You ambled along a country path. Hearing a rush of hurried footsteps behind her, she turned. Just as she expected, it was Xu Liang.

Xu Liang caught up to her in a few strides. "Upset?"

"Of course I’m not upset," Tan You said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. She glanced at the white clouds in the sky, then smiled. "I’m just... a little disappointed. I finally get it now. If you don’t expect anything from others, you can’t be disappointed."

"I used to think I was stone-hearted, but now I know I’m not. After spending so much time with them, I couldn’t help but care about them. I’ve invested a lot of emotion without realizing it, and now it’s time to pull back."

"Thankfully, I realized it before it was too late."