Wang Ningkai and his girlfriend, Wang Xiaoyan, deliberately made a high-profile return home, and sure enough, it drew the villagers’ attention again. Ever since he broke up with his wealthy girlfriend Lisa, plenty of people had been saying behind his back that he simply did not have that kind of luck. Before, most people had envied him; now, they were all gloating. During that period, Madam Li hardly dared go out, because whenever she ran into someone she knew, they would inevitably say things like, “Oh, Ningkai broke up with his girlfriend?” “What a shame. Looks like Ningkai just doesn’t have that kind of good fortune.” “Sure enough, being the son-in-law of a rich family isn’t so easy.” Madam Li had grown thoroughly sick of hearing it. So this time, now that Wang Ningkai had found himself another wealthy girlfriend, even if her family background could not compare with Lisa’s, at least she could shut those people up and regain some face.
This time, when Wang Ningkai and his new girlfriend came home, Madam Li discussed it with her husband, and neither of them planned to hold another banquet.
They had learned their lesson from the last time they treated everyone at Fugui Restaurant. Their original budget of twenty to thirty thousand had more than doubled because of all those people who were only thinking about taking advantage of them. When it came time to pay the bill, Wang Hongwei and Madam Li’s hearts practically bled. This time, Madam Li did not go around bragging about just how rich her son’s girlfriend was either. To outsiders, she merely said the girl’s family was also in business and did not dare say anything more. Still, because she wanted everyone to know that her son was capable, that even without Lisa there was still Wang Xiaoyan, she and her husband planned to meet them at the entrance to the village.
Meanwhile, on the road leading to Guanjia Village, Wang Xiaoyan was sitting in the car complaining about how out-of-the-way the village was and how bumpy the road felt.
“How much longer until we get there? Why is your hometown in such a remote place?”
Guanjia Village was not actually all that remote. Some time ago, the government had repaired the road and even paved it with asphalt. Supposedly it had something to do with the Fengxia Mountain project, since the road happened to pass through Guanjia Village. Now, even without driving particularly fast, a round trip took less than two hours.
“We’re almost there. Just bear with it a little longer.” Wang Ningkai was driving. He had traveled this road many times and privately disagreed with his girlfriend, but he still had to indulge her a little.
“I’m warning you now. If I marry you in the future, I’m not coming here often. I’m being shaken to death.”
“Whatever you want,” Wang Ningkai said. His opinion of her was getting worse and worse. Her family clearly was not as rich as Lisa’s, yet she was even more delicate and demanding. She really thought she was something special.
Wang Xiaoyan seemed to hear the impatience in his voice and was just about to say something when a car behind them suddenly honked and signaled that it wanted to overtake. Wang Ningkai noticed it too, but he paid no attention. In fact, he deliberately edged his car a little closer to the middle of the road, kept driving that way, and continued chatting as though nothing had happened.
The next second, Wang Xiaoyan suddenly screamed.
The silver sedan abruptly swept past them on the left. The two cars were so close that it looked as though they might collide at any moment. Before Wang Ningkai even had time to turn his head, however, the silver car had already passed them and pulled ahead. It accelerated at once and soon left them with nothing but a blurred view of its rear.
Wang Ningkai was fine. He had not even had time to be frightened. But Wang Xiaoyan had happened to turn her head at that moment, so she witnessed the terrifying sight of the silver car brushing dangerously close to theirs. It nearly scared the soul out of her.
“That person must have a death wish! If he wants to die, he can go do it somewhere else. If he dragged this young lady into it, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to compensate me! I’m furious. He completely ruined my mood. This road leads to Guanjia Village, right? He’d better pray I don’t run into him.”
Wang Ningkai frowned. “Enough. Cursing him won’t accomplish anything. That car didn’t look like one from Guanjia Village. He’s probably from somewhere else.” The other car had been moving so quickly that Wang Ningkai had not noticed what model it was. In any case, Guanjia Village was only so big, and there were not many people there who could afford a car.
Wang Xiaoyan snorted and said nothing.
When they met Wang Ningkai’s parents, Madam Li and Wang Xiaoyan seemed to hit it off immediately, and the two women began chatting enthusiastically. At heart, the two were actually quite alike. It was only because of Wang Ningkai that each was willing to make an effort to get close to the other. Madam Li asked why they had arrived so late, and Wang Xiaoyan told her about someone overtaking them on the road.
“A silver car?” Madam Li froze. Surely it could not be that much of a coincidence. Just earlier, she and Wang Ningkai’s father had seen a silver car drive into Guanjia Village.
“Auntie Li, what’s wrong?”
Seeing the strange expression on her face, Wang Xiaoyan asked the question. Madam Li hesitated before saying, “Just now, Ningkai’s father and I really did see a silver car drive into the village. I don’t know whether it was the one you’re talking about.”
“Just now? Then it must have been that car.” Wang Xiaoyan said angrily. “He’d better hope I don’t run into him.”
A gleam flashed through Madam Li’s eyes. The wealthier and more influential Wang Xiaoyan appeared, the happier she became. She wanted those people to see that her son was hardly lacking women. “Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about something that spoils the mood. You must be tired after riding in the car all this way. Come home and rest for a while. We can talk about everything else later.”
The silver car Wang Xiaoyan had been talking about was currently parked outside Wang Cheng’s house. Its owner was none other than Chu Yifeng. Wang Cheng had already prepared Mama Wang in advance, so when he saw Chu Yifeng, he showed no trace of guilt at all. Seeing Wang Cheng act as though the two of them were nothing more than close buddies, Chu Yifeng immediately knew he must have made preparations beforehand.
After their last meal together, Mama Wang had still been fairly warm toward Chu Yifeng. But this time, her son had been falsely accused over something connected to him, so she was not as enthusiastic as before. The difference was not particularly obvious, but it did not escape Chu Yifeng’s notice.
“You two talk. I’m going to cook.” After saying that, Mama Wang went into the kitchen.
Once Wang Cheng heard sounds coming from the kitchen and confirmed that she really was cooking, he lowered his voice and said, “Boss Chu, what excuse did you come up with this time? My mom is definitely going to ask later. That’s your problem. I’m not helping you.”
“Don’t worry. I really do have business with you this time.” Chu Yifeng calmly drank the tea in his cup.
“Let’s hear it.” Wang Cheng remained skeptical.
“How are your jam sales right now? Can the factory keep up?”
“Not bad. About seven out of ten customers are repeat customers. Our main clients right now are supermarkets, and they place relatively large orders. The factory can still handle it, but if the order volume grows any further, it probably won’t be able to keep up.” Their family jam shop handled retail sales, and no matter how popular the shop became, retail volume still could not compare with wholesale orders. On top of that, they had supplied Zheng Jingen with large amounts of jam twice, so the warehouse stock really was starting to run tight. Then there were his hardworking cousin and Guan Ying. Whenever the two went out making deliveries and had spare time, they would look for new orders. Sometimes they even brought in enough business to sell them out. Wang Cheng had mentioned this problem to Chu Yifeng two days earlier, so he did not understand why the man was asking again.
“Then do you want to open another factory?”
As soon as Wang Cheng heard that, he knew there was something behind the question. “You have a way?”
“Remember Boss Xie?”
“Of course. He’s one of my clients.” Although chestnuts and hawthorns were already out of season and there was not much left to harvest from the fruit mountain, they were still doing business together. Wang Cheng also stocked a batch of the chestnut and hawthorn products made by Boss Xie’s factory in his own shop and recommended them to supermarkets, making a profit in the process.
“He happens to know of a jam factory that’s about to go under. The owner is looking for a buyer.”
Wang Cheng finally understood. But then… “Why didn’t he tell me himself? Why are you the one telling me?”
Chu Yifeng did not answer right away. Instead, he simply crossed one leg over the other.
Wang Cheng understood in an instant.
This guy really had it rough just trying to find an excuse to come to his house!!
Mama Wang finished preparing lunch and came out to call the two of them over to eat. The meal was not as lavish as last time. There were only three people eating this time, so there were fewer dishes, though she certainly had not skimped on the meat. She had also stewed an old hen into soup, starting early that morning. Mama Wang served half of it and planned to save the rest for dinner. There were fewer and fewer chickens left at home now, but she was already preparing to raise another batch.
Their family did not observe any rule about keeping silent during meals or at bedtime. While they ate, Mama Wang chatted with Chu Yifeng for a while. She normally was not fond of idle conversation, but when she actually wanted to talk, she could carry on a conversation with almost anyone. The topic she discussed with Chu Yifeng happened to be the very matter he and Wang Cheng had just been talking about.
Wang Cheng had known that Mama Wang would definitely ask about it. What he had not expected was for her to question Chu Yifeng directly. Fortunately, he and Chu Yifeng had already coordinated their stories. Chu Yifeng’s answers were airtight. One look at Mama Wang’s expression told Wang Cheng that she was satisfied, and her attitude warmed a little. Chu Yifeng told her she could simply call him Xiao Chu. To Wang Cheng’s surprise, Mama Wang actually agreed and even picked up a piece of potato with her chopsticks and placed it in his bowl. After lunch, Chu Yifeng naturally took the opportunity to stay.
After washing the dishes, Mama Wang took off her apron and came out of the kitchen. “Chengcheng, Mom is going over to Grandma’s house. Don’t neglect Xiao Chu.”
“I know, Mom.”
After Mama Wang left, only Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng remained in the house. Since someone could come by at any moment, Wang Cheng did not dare let Chu Yifeng do anything outrageous. The two of them simply sat in the living room and discussed the jam factory. As it turned out, Wang Cheng’s caution was entirely justified.