"You think I can’t see what your son is up to? Isn’t he just trying to make money off this Ancient Tea Tree? It’s not that easy. If he wants to stay in the village, he can stay. If not, he can go back out and find work."

Fifth Uncle said, frustrated, "Third Grand-Uncle, please calm down. Uncle Qiao is just too quiet. I’ll have a word with him later."

Third Grand-Uncle said, "The right thing to do is have a proper talk with Ji Li. From what I can see, that girl doesn’t care that much about money. But Shen Cunxi and his group... what they did was truly disgraceful. It really disheartened Ji Li."

Ninth Grand-Uncle added, "I reckon Ji Li won’t meddle in village affairs much from now on. That girl is tough. Qiao, you go have a good talk with her. Your son caused this mess, so you, his father, have to be the one to clean it up."

Uncle Qiao answered in a low voice, "Okay, I’ll talk to Ji Li later."

’If it really comes to it, I’ll just teach Ji Li all of my tea-processing techniques. That’s my signature skill. If I teach her that, she probably won’t be angry with me anymore, right?’

’Children and grandchildren will have their own paths to follow.’ He was getting old and had long since lost control over the younger generation. He’d just let them be. He would maintain his own friendship with Tan You, regardless of them.

The people from the Forestry Bureau arrived quickly, returning to the village with Fifth Uncle and the others that afternoon. Tan You saw them, of course, but she only smiled with no intention of striking up a conversation.

Xu Liang was a little surprised. "I thought this area was famous for its tea. You have plenty of old tea trees, so why is everyone so focused on this one particular Ancient Tea Tree?"

Tan You replied, "Ancient Tea Trees are rare, after all. If we can protect one, we certainly should."

Xu Liang understood. He glanced around the village. "Well, that group from this morning won’t be smiling now."

"That’s their business," Tan You said. "It has nothing to do with us."

Shen Cunxi and the others were indeed not smiling. His face fell the moment he saw the officials from the Forestry Bureau returning with Fifth Uncle.

Uncle Qiao, completely disheartened by his son, ignored him. He simply pointed out the Ancient Tea Tree that Tan You and Xu Liang had photographed before.

"Ji Li was the one who originally discovered this Ancient Tea Tree. She nearly didn’t make it back from the mountains that day; we all had to go in looking for her," Fifth Uncle said, gesturing to the Ancient Tea Tree. "Ji Li suggested at the time that we ask the authorities to come appraise it, but we were focused on making a profit for the village. But alas... sigh..."

The people from the Forestry Bureau now understood the whole story. To be honest, they were also surprised that the village had actually turned over the huge sum from selling the tea. The villagers had been kicking up a huge fuss, yet they still handed over the money.

Third Grand-Uncle sighed. "People these days are only focused on money. There’s nothing we can do. Rather than let them leech off this Ancient Tea Tree later, it’s better to cut off their hopes now. It also saves them from becoming useless."

"You see, before this money, everyone worked hard every day to get by. But after learning about the money, it’s like they don’t want to do anything anymore. They just want to reap the rewards without doing any work."

An elderly expert in charge of tea tree appraisal smiled. "It’s human nature. We’ve encountered this kind of thing before. Everyone wants to make easy money without working."

Uncle Qiao’s wife and Shen Cunxi were cut from the same cloth. Both of them had been scowling ever since the people from the Forestry Bureau entered the house.

Third Grand-Uncle paid them no mind, continuing to explain the details of the Ancient Tea Tree.

"Ji Li collected a lot of information on ancient tea trees back then. After looking through it, I feel that our tree here is unusual. Its leaves are smaller and more densely packed..."

The elderly expert in charge of ancient tree appraisal smiled. "Could I meet this Ji Li? It sounds like she knows a great deal about these things."

Fifth Uncle nodded immediately. "Of course, no problem. Why don’t we go to her place right now? Her records are even more complete."

This group was full of people of action. In less than five minutes, the old Shen family residence was packed. Tan You didn’t hesitate; she and Xu Liang brought out all the video files about the Ancient Tea Tree.

Her main role was just to provide information. As for everything else, that was for the Forestry Bureau and the village officials to handle; it had nothing to do with her. However, when everyone invited her to go into the mountains with them, Tan You didn’t refuse.

’After all, it won’t be easy to get close to the Ancient Tea Tree in the future. I should take this chance to see it as much as I can.’

After about a week of this, the experts confirmed that it was indeed a centuries-old Ancient Tea Tree and should be protected. Of course, from then on, picking leaves from it was forbidden. As a result, the village could no longer profit from the tree.

As for the huge sum of money from the sale, it was ultimately confiscated.

Watching the money vanish right before their eyes was an awful feeling. At least for Shen Cunxi and his followers, they were tormented by it. But now, no one in the village was on their side. Instead, everyone was starting to remember Tan You’s good qualities.

"I set up an account for the village, and it’s gained a lot of followers these past few days. I also set up the product showcase. It has all the things the village previously asked me to sell on their behalf."

While they were having lunch that day, Tan You brought this up with Fifth Uncle. Since she wanted to cut ties, she intended to do it cleanly. Other matters could be discussed later. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Fifth Uncle’s chopsticks paused. "In the end, it was Shen Cunxi and his group that hurt you."

Tan You smiled. "I wouldn’t say I’m heartbroken. I think it’s quite good this way; I have my own life to live. Besides, everyone knows the village products are high quality, so they’ll sell well. Without me involved, people might actually feel more at ease."

Fifth Uncle sighed. "Sigh... every single one of them has their own schemes now. I was thinking, when the village head election comes up next year, maybe I’ll just step down. I’m tired of dealing with all these petty squabbles every day."

Tan You didn’t comment on another person’s life. She ladled a bowl of soup for Fifth Uncle. "I think Uncle Qiao is quite upset. Shen Cunxi even came looking for me today."

Fifth Uncle frowned. "What did he want from you?"

"He still has some sense of shame, I guess. He asked me to keep the tea factory’s products listed in the showcase. I didn’t refuse." Tan You’s tone was calm. She had no intention of getting into a huff with someone like Shen Cunxi.

"I’m not a cold-hearted person. If I were to delist the village’s products at a time like this, it would cause a stir online. The villagers have only just started having a few good days. It’s unnecessary."

Tan You knew that Fifth Uncle felt guilty toward her, but she also understood that if a real conflict arose between her and the villagers, Fifth Uncle would still side with them.

She didn’t blame Fifth Uncle for thinking that way. To put it bluntly, he was the village head, so he naturally had to consider the interests of the village and its people. ’But who was there to consider her?’ Now, Tan You felt that her previous way of thinking had been completely wrong.

’If this were ancient times, and I was closely tied to a clan, binding my interests firmly with theirs, perhaps my plans would have come to fruition.’