Fu Tongyuan sighed upon hearing this, "Indeed, those were difficult times, and it wasn't easy to survive. Did you come from another province?"

Lin Qingyou shook his head. "No, that's not it. My dad said that the place they used to live was less than a hundred miles away from Yuquan Village, but they never mentioned what the place was called. I don't remember much from that time, but the only memory I have is that it was in Yuquan Village."

Fu Tongyuan asked, "Back then, was it just you and your parents, the three of you?"

“Yes,” Lin Qingyou said. “When we arrived in Yuquan Village, it was just my parents with me. I have a younger brother who is four years younger than me. He was born after we arrived in Yuquan Village.”

For Lin Qingyou, this Mr. Fu was indeed a benefactor.

He really hadn't seen much of the world.

In the past, whenever an inspection team came to the village, he would never step forward, always feeling that he was afraid people would look down on him, and he was always timid.

But facing Fu Tongyuan, even though Lin Chuan had mentioned that he was from the capital, the kind of important person you wouldn't see in the village or county town, he was indeed worried and nervous before meeting him. But now, chatting with Fu Tongyuan, he felt very relaxed, like talking to an old friend or brother.

On the contrary, Zheng Yumei was more nervous.

Even Lin Chuan was quite surprised.

Because of his father Lin Qingyou's personality, he usually doesn't talk much.

A person's personality is partly innate, but more is developed through nurture.

In truth, Zhou Xiuying and Lin Fugui had always suppressed Lin Qingyou since he was a child, and had never shown him any care.

Lin Chuan himself is a father, and he misses his two daughters terribly if he doesn't see them for even a day.

He never really understood why his own children were treated differently.

But sometimes he thinks that in his past life, he's seen so many parents who don't love their children.

Fu Tongyuan casually asked, "Is your younger brother from the same village as you?"

Lin Qingyou nodded. "Yes, they're all together."

Fu Tongyuan thought enviously, "Your parents are very fortunate, with two sons by their side and a grandson like Da Chuan who is both capable and loyal."

After hearing Fu Tongyuan's words, Lin Qingyou and Lin Chuan exchanged a glance.

Fu Tongyuan had experienced and seen a lot, and he realized that he might have said something wrong.

However, based on his years of experience in judging people, if there were any problems with the Lin family, it certainly wouldn't be Lin Qingyou and his group's problem.

“However, every family has its own problems. Qingyou, your good days are yet to come, with someone as capable and filial as Dachuan.” Fu Tongyuan quickly brought the conversation back on track.

Lin Chuan felt that he would definitely have to cooperate with Fu Tongyuan for a long time in the future.

We can't let family issues affect his reputation.

“Indeed, every family has its own troubles. They say even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes,” Lin Chuan said. “My grandparents weren’t good to my father. To be honest, they weren’t like biological parents. They put all their attention on my uncle. Now the whole Yuquan Village knows that we’ve severed ties and don’t want to have anything to do with each other anymore.”

Lin Chuan sighed as he spoke, “My parents had a hard life before, and my older brothers, whom you met at the noodle shop, Mr. Fu, were also honest and kind people. From now on, I want to work hard and give them a better life to make up for the grievances they suffered over the past few decades.”

Fu Tongyuan was deeply shocked.

If his younger brother were still alive, his whole family would love him dearly, as would his wife and children, and cherish everything about him.

Lin Chuan could tell from Fu Tongyuan's expression that he must have been thinking about his younger brother again.

At noon, the group went out for lunch.

Lin Chuan arranged for Fu Tongyuan and his entourage to stay at the Xuancheng Hotel for the night.

The next morning, Fu Tongyuan loaded the goods.

He handed the remaining money to Lin Chuan, saying, "Da Chuan, it's been a pleasure working with you. I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again in the future."

Lin Chuan carefully put the money away. "Mr. Fu, have a safe journey. Even if it's not for business, I hope you can visit Wangshan County again."

Lin Qingyou felt a little reluctant to part with him, and he added, "Yes, Mr. Fu, we hope you can come to Yuquan Village. We'll cook some dishes for you and let you taste the flavors of the countryside."

Fu Tongyuan laughed and said, "Alright, Qingyou, I will definitely find an opportunity to come. My parents said before that they hope to have the opportunity to come to Wangshan County again. I will bring them with me then, so they can taste the flavors of the countryside together."

Fu Tongyuan got into the truck, and it drove off.

Lin Qingyou kept staring at the truck until it disappeared from sight.

Lin Chuan felt that his father had been acting differently these past two days.

"Dad, they're all gone. Stop looking at them, let's look at the money."

Lin Qingyou withdrew his gaze. "Da Chuan, it's strange, but I always feel like I've known this Mr. Fu before. I'm a little reluctant to see him leave."

Suddenly, something flashed through Lin Chuan's mind. "Dad, have you ever seen Grandpa and Grandma holding half a piece of mutton fat jade before? It's about this size."

He gestured with his hand, then found a dry twig and drew on the ground, "There are cloud patterns on it, it looks like something that's been around for a while."

Lin Qingyou squatted down and examined it for a long time. "Mutton fat jade? What's that?"

Lin Chuan paused in his movements. Indeed, even his father didn't know what mutton fat jade was.

"It's mutton fat jade, white with an oily luster. This half piece of jade also has a slight yellow tint, but you can't see it unless you look closely."

Lin Qingyou understood. "You mean jade? Such a precious thing, how could your grandparents possibly have it?"

Lin Chuan thought about it and agreed.

"Have you ever seen grandpa and grandma with a gold chain on their wrist?"

Lin Qingyou laughed and said, "That's even more impossible. If they really had gold chains, what would happen? They're so poor they're eating chaff and wild vegetables, wouldn't they have to find a way to exchange them for money on the black market?"

Lin Chuan slapped his forehead. "Okay, I guess I was overthinking it."

As the group walked into the house, Lin Qingyou asked, "Why did you suddenly ask that?"

Lin Chuan said, "This Mr. Fu lost his younger brother more than 30 years ago near Wangshan County. It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? His brother is the same age as you, Dad. I reckon Mr. Fu sees you as if he sees his brother."

“I said that mutton-fat jade was the token that Mr. Fu wanted to use to reunite with his younger brother.”

“No wonder,” Lin Qingyou said. “But given Mr. Fu’s family background, his younger brother is likely to have great fortune as well.”

After returning to the house, Lin Chuan put the money away and began to do the accounting.

Lin Chuan earned a gross income of 7,700 yuan from this deal.

However, the cost is quite high.

Leaving aside the rent for this land, we spent an enormous amount of money on other things.

Travel expenses, meals, cooking, meat, seasonings, and so on. Besides that, there's the packaging of this batch of goods and labor costs—it all adds up to money.

Lin Qingyou watched Lin Chuan doing the accounting, looking him over repeatedly, and said, "With such high rent for this land, aren't you losing money on this deal?"

Lin Chuan closed the notebook. "Dad, we can't calculate costs like this when we're doing business. You can't include all fourteen months' worth of rent in this one deal."