Chapter 12: Free Talk

  It's been a long time since the Luo family was so lively, with Old Man Luo going back and forth between the three simple tile-roofed houses, occasionally curling up his mouth in a sly smile.

  After his son returned from university, he was either studying those messy books all day or wandering around the mountains and fields, but he had no interest in women at all. The young man from the Su family had also graduated from university, and other people's girlfriends had changed several times, but their own son just didn't understand, it almost drove him crazy. Since listening to the suggestion of Su Mangzi from the village head, letting his son become this director of treatment and protection, he seemed to have changed a lot. His way of thinking changed, and he became more lively. Today, not only did he bring a girl back home, but also two beautiful girls from the city. However, what made him uncomfortable was that Village Director Su Xiaopeng actually followed them too.

  As people get older and their years increase, their thoughts become simpler, everything is for the sake of their son.

  This blind Su is indeed worthy of being out and about for many years, seeing a lot and knowing a lot, with skilled hands. In the past six months, if it weren't for his guidance, I don't know what kind of state my son would be in.

  Luogui Mountain nodded secretly, thinking of his son busy in the kitchen, while Su Xiaopeng was chatting with two girls in the courtyard, he felt resentful. His eyes rolled around and he quickly turned around and walked into the kitchen.

  "Son, why don't you let Dad take over and go out to chat with your friends?" Lu Gui Shan smiled awkwardly, rolling up his sleeves, ready to take on his son's tasks.

  "Come and cook the dragon and phoenix soup yourself, your skills are not good enough, you need to let me come personally!" Luo Fei smiled, he knew what his father was thinking, but the old man thought the problem was too simple. Although it's not as strict as in the past, the marriage between men and women is still the first consideration for door-to-door comparison.

  "Alright, you can ignore the door and house, but that's because your family is poor. Even if the girl doesn't mind, her family will. Taking a step back, even if they don't care, as a man, can you bear others' strange looks?"

  It is undeniable that marrying a daughter from a wealthy and powerful family is a shortcut for a man to achieve success. But Luo Fei couldn't do such a thing. His idea was simple, if he couldn't achieve success through his own efforts, then he would learn from his master and become a geomancer in the gaming world.

  It is better to retreat and weave a net than to covet fish in the deep pool! First, secure a good job for yourself, and then you will not have to worry about having no wife.

  Lu Fei was infuriated by his son's nonchalant expression, but he couldn't do anything about it.

  As a fragrant aroma wafted out, Luo Fei rushed to the outside and shouted: "Dinner is ready, set up the bowls and chopsticks, get everything ready."

  Outside, there were several people's surprised cries. By now, I'm starving to death.

  Lu Fei carefully brought out his painstakingly brewed Dragon and Phoenix Soup, at this moment the courtyard had already been set with tableware, adding some wild game from the mountains, it was a sumptuous feast.

  Lin Shuang and Han Yun'er had already smelled the tempting aroma, and they couldn't wait to drool. Su Xiaopeng was busy pouring beer for his children.

  Originally, Luo Fei had planned to invite Han Yun'er today. As a result, on the way, several people chatted for a few sentences, and the two women surprisingly talked freely and didn't want to part ways. Also because Han Yun'er was born on a dragon day, they ended up making an appointment to come to Luo Fei's house.

  The villagers are simple and hospitable, which is innate.

  Han Yun'er's posture while drinking the soup was elegant and captivating, it was clear that she had excellent upbringing. She first took a sip, savored it for a moment. After finding the flavor delicious, she couldn't help but glance at Luo Fei with a hint of embarrassment, then suddenly took a big gulp. Finally, she sighed in appreciation: "It's too delicious, did you really make this yourself, Luo Fei?"

  Lin Shuang also couldn't wait to take a sip, and then eagerly picked up the bowl to savor it in big mouthfuls. After quickly finishing one bowl of soup, she excitedly said: "Let's have another bowl, wow, this is too delicious! Could this be takeout from some restaurant outside?"

  From the way they drink soup, you can tell their personalities. Han Yun'er is warm and elegant, while Lin Shuang is straightforward and generous, just like her name suggests.

  Luo Fei suddenly lost his smile: "My cooking is still a bit inferior to Su Xiaopeng's, if you have the chance, go try his craftsmanship, it's absolutely the best in Shitai Village."

  Su Xiaopeng was shocked, he didn't think that Luo Fei this kid actually had a humble side? When did he ever taste his own cooking skills? What is he acting out now?

  Lin Shuang's beautiful eyes widened with interest as she looked at Su Xiaopeng and said, "Really? Then I must find an opportunity to try it."

  Han Yun'er suddenly let out a snort of laughter, her beautiful eyes first gazing deeply at Luo Fei before turning to look at Lin Shuang with a smile: "Don't be distracted by her, in my opinion, Luo Fei is worried that we'll often come to his house to freeload meals in the future, so he's intentionally diverting attention."

  Lin Shuang was stunned, looking at Luo Fei with a smile and scolding: "You... are too cunning, no wonder my fifth grandfather said that you look honest, but actually have a belly full of evil water, an honest person can be ruthless, it's life-threatening."

  Su Xiaopeng suddenly realized and looked at Luo Fei with a huff: "You're also too petty, it's just a Dragon and Phoenix Soup, isn't it?"

  "You're not unaware of how troublesome the ingredients for Dragon and Phoenix Soup are, right? However, is Elder Zhi Shu's evaluation of me a bit too much?" Luo Fei's old face turned red, he hadn't expected his little thoughts to be exposed by Han Yun'er in one sentence, this girl was truly clever.

  "What's the trouble, if you don't mind, come to my house tomorrow." Su Xiaopeng turned his head towards the two girls.

  "That's great. I can just eat my way back." Luo Fei laughed and clapped his hands, this snake-catching business was a skillful job, Su Xiao had no talent for it since he was young, at that time without the key ingredients, he would be left looking like a joke.

  Several people looked at him with contempt at the same time.

  "What are the main ingredients needed for this Dragon and Phoenix Soup?" Han Yun'er asked with interest. Lin Shuang was even more curious.

  The two of them were worldly-wise and thought that this so-called Dragon and Phoenix Soup was mainly made with chicken and carp. But just now, they clearly didn't see any fish meat. This naturally piqued their curiosity.

  Su Xiaopeng was about to explain when Luo Fei cleared his throat and changed the subject, saying: "Let's drink, eat, and wish Yuner a happy birthday."

  Lin Shuang cut in with a disbelieving tone: "It's not like it's some grand palace feast, why the secrecy? Who cares?"

  Everyone burst into laughter, chatting and laughing, it was quite a joyful scene.

  Luo Fei actually meant well, the "Dragon and Phoenix Soup" they mentioned was actually a stew made from wild chickens and snakes on the mountain. The girls were afraid of snakes, he was worried that these two would hear it and couldn't help but vomit loudly, wouldn't that waste a good pot of soup? If you want to vomit, wait until you're full of wine and food first!

  Lin Shuangren was a straightforward person, and after several cups of wine, he looked at Luo Fei and Su Xiaopeng with a daze: "I heard my fifth grandfather say that after this term as the branch secretary is over, he plans to hand over Shipai Village to you two. I've always been curious, you two graduated from university and then plan to spend the second half of your life in this mountainous village? Won't people say you're unambitious?"

  This is a very practical topic, Luo Fei and Su Xiaopeng fell silent at the same time.

  Luo Fei didn't know what kind of mindset Su Xiao Peng had, but he himself had a general goal. Speaking of this goal, it was still given by Zhu Yu Min not long ago, before that, he was always very vague. There was just a faint idea in his heart, and at this moment, being asked by Lin Shuang, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought as well.

  "It can't be said that I'm ambitious. After a long time, Su Xiaopeng smiled helplessly, "When I was in school, I always thought about doing something to help the village... What made me determined to come back was after graduation... I've been to many job fairs. I found out that as a university student who was supposed to be superior, I'm actually no different from ordinary people, and sometimes even worse than those migrant workers when it comes to finding a job..."

  Lu Fei deeply agrees. In today's society, university graduates are a dime a dozen. Otherwise, why has there been a craze for civil service exams in recent years? For rural children like them, without power, influence or background, graduating from university basically means starting all over again. They still have to leave their hometown and struggle to make a living elsewhere. If they earn a low salary, they even need to plan carefully when returning home for holidays. In comparison, returning to their hometown to develop may be a reluctant move, but it's not necessarily a bad idea. You just need to achieve some results, get transferred to a government agency through zhengfu, and everything becomes possible. Afterwards, you just need to seize the opportunity, and anything can happen.

  Lin Shuang and Han Yun'er both felt a wave of emotion. From young to old, everything had been arranged by their parents, how would they know the difficulties in between?

  "So what's your next move?" Lin Shuang asked with interest, looking at him curiously.

  "I have a lot of plans." Su Xiaopeng's spirit shook, "Although the surrounding mountains are surrounded by mountains, there are treasures everywhere, tourism, special products... ... All can help the local people get rich. Just need to improve the hardware facilities, the future of Shipai Village is worth waiting for, and it can even become a model for the county. Whoever dares to invest here will have long-term returns, this natural invisible asset is invaluable."

  Su Xiaopeng spoke eloquently, his ambitions were fully revealed without a doubt.

  Lu Fei was shocked in his heart, no wonder this kid had been thinking of returning to be a village official all along. If things went according to his plan, this kid would have a great future ahead of him. Thinking about the village officials in those coastal development cities, which one wasn't incredibly powerful and wealthy? He could confirm that someone must be secretly advising Su Xiaopeng.

  Han Yun'er and Lin Shuang's eyes lit up as they listened, both of them being from big cities, their vision and insight were naturally extraordinary, so they understood the business opportunity in this. After a while, the latter sighed: "The idea is good, but it will be difficult to implement."

  "I certainly know, otherwise why has no one come all these years?" Su Xiaopeng was spirited and full of passion.

  "If it's really as you imagine, I'm afraid the environment here will also be polluted." Han Yun-er furrowed her brow, today she couldn't help but feel a sense of regret for this natural scenery, thinking that one day it would also be crowded with people, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  "Development requires a price to be paid. Ordinary people must first become rich, they need to have food to eat, this is the hard truth." Su Xiaopeng retorted bluntly.

  Lu Fei furrowed his brow, unsure of the young man's true intentions. If it was truly for the good of the local villagers, then he deserved praise, but if it was for his own selfish reasons, then this young man was terrifying.

  He suddenly thought that Su Xiaopeng was so eager to tell Lin Shuang about these things, and was so detailed, was he trying to get his wealthy old dad to invest in it?

  In any case, he had to admit that in this regard, he was indeed not as far-sighted as Su Xiaopeng.

  Han Yun'er fell silent for a moment, her beautiful eyes lightly rotating, looking at Luo Fei with an expectant face: "And you? As the head of the village's security and protection department, also a university-educated village official, don't you have any lofty ambitions?"

  He downed the drink in one gulp, and laughed: "Someone told me that there are two attitudes towards life. One is to be diligent and thrifty, as if you will live forever; the other is to enjoy life and be extravagant, as if tomorrow you will die."

  Which one do you choose?

  Three people almost simultaneously opened their mouths to ask questions, especially Han Yun'er who was the most expectant, with beautiful eyes sparkling like stars in the sky. Lin Shuang's drunken eyes were blurry, and her sharp pupils kept moving back and forth between two xìng (village officials) from completely different universities, as if comparing the differences between them.

  Lu Fei smiled and stood up: "It's getting late, I suddenly remembered that I need to go see an elder in the village. Let's stop here for today? Trouble Xiaopeng to send the two of you back?"

  It wasn't Luo Fei who wanted to dismiss the guests, but rather he was feeling a strong sense of crisis at this moment because of Su Xiaopeng's words. He urgently wanted to confide in someone, but the people in front of him were not suitable. At this moment, he thought of his master, that blind but insightful old man, whose eyes seemed to see through everything. He really gave Luo Fei this feeling.

  Because it was already late, Han Yun'er had long agreed to stay overnight at Lin Shuang's house, so he didn't bother to pretend anymore.

  Luogui Mountain gritted his teeth in the room, how could this kid be so clueless all the time. At a critical moment, he actually let someone else take action? This night was destined to be a sleepless one for the old man.