modern au ranwan threadfic: mechanical engineer cwn is sent to build infrastructure in a distant rural village, where he meets mo ran, a local farmer, lumberjack, and jack-of-all trades. initially distrustful and unapproachable, mo ran's kindness helps cwn lower his guard....

Chu Wanning is a top mechanical engineer and head inventor at Wubei Corp., a manufacturing company in Beijing. The head of the corporation, Hua Zui, in conjunction with the government, came up with a plan to expand Wubei Corp's reach.

In order to gain political capital and build headquarters throughout China, Hua Zui gathers his best engineers one day and explains to them that the government will be sending each one of them to a remote village to improve said village's infrastructure.

Various villages have crumbling to nonexistent water systems, archaic farming technology, and homes that are not reinforced to withstand the heavy monsoon season and its devastating floods. So explaining, Hua Zui tasks Chu Wanning, Ye Wang Xi, Nangong Si, and other engineers

to spend a year in their assigned village. They will partner with local governments and municipalities to improve, build upon, and reinforce the infrastructure in each village. Each engineer is expected to produce viable results, presented in a data blitz by the end of the year.

"Those of you who do a good job will get promoted to head officer in the new regional buildings," Hua Zui says. "Failure to show effective changes within a year will lead to employment reevaluation and potential termination."

"You will be compensated, of course, and provided with adequate housing," Hua Zui continues in a detached voice. The man has always prioritized profit over the livelihood of his employees, but even he isn't draconian enough to send his workers off to fend for themselves.

Yet Chu Wanning is not fooled. He doesn't believe that Hua Zui is doing this out of the kindness, or solely because the government is partnering with Wubei Corp. He knows there is a game afoot, especially considering what Hua Zui did with Chu Wanning's last blueprints.

It is an incident Chu Wanning tries to put out of his memory. He's dedicated to his job because he wants to improve the lives of working people in China, to increase technological access to the most distant villages and to rebuild the infrastructure in the most dilapidated homes.

Chu Wanning will set his heart to this task as he does all others. He has always dreamed of being able to work within a community to improve its infrastructure, so he swallows his reservations and acquiesces alongside everyone else when Hua Zui presents his plans.

At the end of the meeting, Hua Zui stops Chu Wanning from leaving.
"Yuheng, as my oldest student, you know what I expect of you," he says, using a name from his school days to address him. It works to condescend to him, to put him in his place.

"Yes, President," Chu Wanning murmurs, assenting as always. He curses himself inwardly for his cowardice, but the lives of people are at stake, and for them he's willing to swallow his pride and bow his head to this man.

Chu Wanning is assigned to work in a village on the rural outskirts of Beijing. Sisheng Village is a day's bus ride from Chu Wanning's apartment. It is a nondescript, standard Chinese rural village, its main source of income from agriculture and domestic labor.

After making arrangements with the landlord of his apartment to ensure that his home would be checked on periodically, Chu Wanning packed a functional and minimalistic load for the year ahead and took a bus to Sisheng Village. The journey was arduous and taxing.

Chu Wanning tossed and turned on the rickety bus that took him from Beijing to the outskirts of Sisheng Village. Nervous about his job, Chu Wanning could not get much sleep over the 24 hours it took to get to his destination. He emerged from the bus grumpy and sleep deprived.

The conductor informs Chu Wanning that he must hike the rest of the way to Sisheng Village. Flabbergasted but unwilling to show any exhaustion, Chu Wanning tips the conductor and then walks away as he dignified as he can, hoping that he doesn’t collapse in the middle of the road.

He has a map to guide him, but he doesn’t know just how far the village is. Though an athletic man, Chu Wanning doesn’t think he can hike multiple kilometers without food or sleep. Still, he puts his best foot forward, knowing he must arrive before the next day.

Checking his watch, Chu Wanning sees that he’s been walking for two hours. The bus dropped him off in the morning, and it’s still bright out, but the village is nowhere to be seen. Huffing, Chu Wanning stops walking, and takes his map out to consult it.

According to the map, he's halfway to the village. Chu Wanning doesn't know how much more he can walk. There's only a little bit of water left in his water bottle, and no more snacks in his pack. He's laden with luggage as well. Sweat beats down his neck, dripping over his back.

Huffing and puffing, catching his breath, Chu Wanning begins walking again. A little ways ahead, he can hear someone yelling indistinctly. Perhaps that person can give him directions to the village, or at least to a well or river where he can drink water.

Walking along further, the man who's yelling comes into view. Chu Wanning stops in his tracks.
The man is tall, tall enough that even Chu Wanning has to crane his neck to look at him. The man is shirtless, looking obscene under the fiercely beating sun, chest drenched in sweat.

His biceps are firm and honey colored, with shoulders like mountains. He has a welcoming look in his violet eyes, and it seems that he's yelling instructions at someone a few meters away. The man is hauling logs as he speaks, but stops when he hears Chu Wanning's footsteps.

The man turns, and Chu Wanning's heart pounds at his handsome face. Scowling because of his meandering thoughts, Chu Wanning looks at him coldly.
"Hello!" the man greets warmly. "You look like you need to sit down and have a cold drink," he says, chest booming with joy.

Chu Wanning squints at him, frowning.
"I'm looking for Sisheng Village," he says, not deigning to greet him back.
The man doesn't flounder in the face of Chu Wanning's coldness. He looks at him, raking his feral smile over his body, making heat ride up Chu Wanning's spine.

"Ah, you must be who my Uncle was talking about! The man from Hua Corp? The engineer?"
Chu Wanning is taken aback by the man's presence and loud tone. He's never met anyone this full of life.
"How do you know who I am?" he asks, suspicious, trying to tamp down his thoughts.

The man grins and gives him another obvious once-over. Embarrassed, Chu Wanning feels the urge to cross his arms and shield his body, but stays still and imposing.
"Sir, you talk fancy and you've got on some nice clothes that nobody around here would wear," he explains happily.

"Excuse me?" Chu Wanning responds, bristling. Is the man insulting him?
The man holds his hands up. "Don't mean no offense! I'm glad I ran into you, actually. Uncle was wondering if you got lost."
"As I am not a child, no, I am not lost, nor do I need your help," he spits back.

The man scratches his head sheepishly. "It's just that our village is four hours away from the closest bus stop. I was on my way to haul logs for the village and he told me to come looking for you."
The fight in Chu Wanning is rapidly receding as the sun beats down on his head.

Still, he doesn't want this stranger to pity him, so he doesn't ask for water. But the stranger can perceive him and vocalizes what they're both thinking.
"Sir, you sure you don't need some water? I've got some in my pack here," he offers, looking concerned.

"I don't..." the sun is in his eyes.
"I don't need..." the man in front of him is fading, his surroundings blurring. Chu Wanning blinks sweat and exhaustion out of his eyes.
"I..." and the last thing he registers is the man rushing forward and shouting something at him.

When Chu Wanning wakes up, he's on a worn, comfortable but old couch. He sits up abruptly, taking in his environment. He's in someone's house, though the house is clearly small yet well taken care of. The kitchen is right across from him, and he can hear voices from within.

He shuffles off the couch and notices his luggage placed neatly against the wall. Checking his pockets, he sees that his wallet is undisturbed, no money taken. Sighing in relief and guilt both, he walks to the kitchen.
Immediately, he's noticed by the head of the household.

"Ah, hello! You must be the engineer they sent over. I'm Xue Zhengyong, the head of Sisheng Village. Are you feeling better?" The man offers a hand out to Chu Wanning as he blasts him with all this information.
Chu Wanning shakes his hand slowly, trying to process everything.

"Better. Many thanks to Lao Xue for his help. But how did I get here?"
Lao Xue beams at him. "My nephew, Mo Ran, that big fellow you met on your way here! He says you fainted 'cause you didn't drink enough water and he carried you back to our village."
Chu Wanning flushes.