Chapter 47: From Sparrow to Phoenix

“Excuse me, is anyone here?”
Li Jixiang and her grandmother were eating in the kitchen when a steady, mature voice sounded from the shop outside. As her grandmother put down her chopsticks and was about to get up, Li Jixiang stood first and walked out.
Just from the tone, she could sense a strong presence; seeing the man in person confirmed he was someone composed and authoritative, likely an official.
Li Jixiang recognized the township government car and guessed the visitor was the newly appointed township chief. The “three fires” of a new official—one of which had already benefited her grandmother—had improved things for the people. Now that the township chief had come again, she wondered what new benefit he might be bringing this time.
“Are you Old Lady Li’s granddaughter?”
“Yes, welcome,” Li Jixiang replied with a gentle smile. Looking over the township chief’s shoulder, she spotted Chen Yu’s face. Realizing she was there, Chen Yu quickly turned away, worried his leader might think he was distracted. Nowadays, only work brought him a sliver of comfort; life seemed nothing but bitterness and helplessness.
“Don’t be nervous, young lady. We’re here to look at your store’s specialties,” the chief said.
Accompanying him, besides Chen Yu, was the head of the Agricultural Technology Station. The group entered one after another, bending slightly, reaching out, and examining the shelves with serious expressions, passing by each item attentively.
Having met many important people before, Li Jixiang thought, what was there to be nervous about just because a township chief was visiting?
She kept up her polite smile.
Chen Yu stood to one side behind the leaders, occasionally bowing his head to quietly answer their questions.
At that moment, her grandmother came out too. Seeing the township chief, she quickly put down her lunch box, wiped her hands, and tidied her hair, expressing a warm welcome.
“Where do you source these specialties?”
The chief took a handful of rice from a basket, sniffed it in his palm, and pointed it out to the agricultural station head.
Her grandmother hesitated, about to say that suppliers delivered the goods. Li Jixiang answered first—the products were collected from various villages and townships. After speaking, she winked at her grandmother. Not daring to add anything, her grandmother remained silent. If the two of them said different things, it might look like they were trying to deceive the officials.
“Look at these grains, full and elastic. They don’t seem like our local rice,” the station head said, pinching a few grains from the chief’s hand and studying them closely before calling Chen Yu over to observe.
“So where do you think we get our rice from?” Li Jixiang asked in return, leaving both the chief and the station head momentarily speechless. Recently, people had been coming to the market, looking to buy Xingqiu Town’s specialty grains and produce. When the chief heard these rumors, he was puzzled; apart from sweet potatoes, Xingqiu had never been known for other specialties. He had immediately brought the head of the agricultural station to investigate, hoping to uncover the secret behind Old Lady Li’s shop, but instead, Li Jixiang had turned the tables on him.
After an awkward laugh, the two officials instructed Chen Yu to return to the shop the next day to continue researching the specialties, determined to promote the local products from Old Lady Li’s shop throughout all eleven villages of Xingqiu Town.
Chen Yu looked troubled, but Li Jixiang thought it was a good thing. The produce from the Wealth Base was of exceptional quality; if cultivation could be promoted, the villagers would grow prosperous, and her grandmother’s shop would never have to worry about supplies again. Even if she left, her grandmother could continue running the store.
Early the next morning, Li Jixiang was planning to go to school with An Ning to wait for the high school entrance exam results. As she rolled up the shop’s shutter, she was startled to see Chen Yu standing crisp and upright by the door.
“Sorry, we don’t open until seven thirty…”
No matter what, a leader’s assignment had to be completed. Chen Yu, carrying two bags, was ready to buy up the store’s specialties.