After getting off at Qiantang East Station, Li Hongguang stretched. He hadn't brought any gifts with him, intending to thank the person first and repay the favor later.

Take a deep breath.

He spoke to his grandson, Lu Hanlin, and Lu Zhiyou beside him.

"Everyone says the air quality in the capital is bad. I used to think it was an exaggeration, but after breathing the air in Qiantang, I realized the difference."

Lu Zhiyou interrupted with a smile.

"I've been in Qiantang for a few years now. The air quality here isn't much better than in Beijing. There's less smog in winter, but it's not nonexistent. Of course, there are no sandstorms here."

"However, recently, the air quality around Qiantang has rarely fallen below excellent level, which may be related to the ecological construction indicators of Qiantang in recent years."

Everyone just smiled and chatted as they left the station and boarded the waiting car.

There is plenty of time.

Li Hongguang didn't rush to Wu You's house. Instead, he got off the bus to visit the Qiantang scenic spots along the way. He didn't explore them in depth, but just walked around to look at the scenery before getting back on the bus.

This amount of time is definitely not enough for a proper visit.

Lu Zhiyou and Li Youbo found it difficult to understand Li Hongguang's behavior.

Only Lu Hanlin knew some of the inside information.

Back in the Korean War, Li Hongguang was not yet a general. In the meat grinder-like battles for positions, many of his comrades fell on the front lines.

Many people's remains were unable to return to their hometowns for decades after the war.

Back then, Li Hongguang, who was still young, had a pact with his comrades in his company: whoever survived would travel as far as possible to see the sights of their motherland.

Later, Li Hongguang's military rank rose higher and higher, and he had less and less free time. But whenever he went to an unfamiliar place, he would take a few steps like this whenever he had the chance.

By now, this habit has become ingrained in my bones.

...

In the afternoon, the autumn heatwave continued to bring intense sunlight.

A Passat was driving on a provincial highway on the outskirts of Qiantang City.

After driving for a while, we turned onto a road near the mountains.

Inside the car, the group looked out the window at the distant mountains.

Looking at the lush greenery over there, the air here feels cleaner, and even the temperature seems to have dropped a bit.

"The ecological greening efforts in Qiantang are truly remarkable!"

Lu Hanlin gave a compliment.

Li Hongguang and his grandson Li Youbo hadn't been to Qiantang much and didn't know the inside story, but Lu Hanlin had been there quite a few times.

After all, my son lives and works here.

It was common knowledge among the locals that the mountains around the xS district were like a few years ago.

“We’ve been busy with the application to host the World Expo lately, so of course we’re taking it seriously,” Lu Zhiyou said.

Li Youbo muttered, "I hope they don't just pull off another vanity project."

"You brat, developing an ecological environment is a way to benefit future generations. Even if it's just for appearances now, it's still better than those so-called innovative buildings."

Li Hongguang jokingly scolded his grandson.

...

Wu You checked his phone and saw that Lu Zhiyou said he would arrive in 10 minutes.

But in fact, he had already "seen" them.

The natural canopy of the mountain trees had long since covered that provincial highway.

He knew about it even before Lu Zhiyou's Passat turned onto the mountain road.

The Rejuvenating Ointment was formulated by Bai Yanxi, and since General Li wanted to express his gratitude, he certainly had to be there.

So Old Man Bai can't take a nap today.

The Passat stopped outside the park gate, and Li Youbo glanced at Wu You's Maybach Zeppelin a couple of times.

Although he is the son of an official and his family is not short of money, he drives the same Passat as Lu Zhiyou in Kyoto.

Then, like the other three, they were drawn to the vine wall and the rose thorn archway.

Lu Zhiyou saw it once and was no exception.

He discovered that the vines had grown taller and thicker, now reaching over 4 meters in height, and that he could barely see anything behind the wall. He remembered that last time there were some holes through which one could see things.

The rose thorn vines remained vibrant, as if the flowering season did not exist for them.

As they entered the garden, Wu You stood up from the small stool by the entrance and put his phone in his pocket.

He shouted something inside.

"Mom, the guests are here. Brew the tea leaves I brought last time. Oh, and use the teapot I brought with me."

After saying that, Wu You took the initiative to get up and go to greet the four people.

I thought there might be a big entourage, but it turned out to be just the four of us: two elderly people and two young people. There was no scene of guards leading the way or bodyguards accompanying us, as I had imagined.

"Hello, welcome to Xugou Village. I am Wu You. Dr. Lu, please introduce me."

Lu Zhiyou stepped forward and introduced them one by one.

"The one with the most imposing presence is naturally General Li. This is my father, Lu Hanlin, who has been the General's bodyguard for decades. This is Li Youbo, the General's grandson."

After he finished speaking, Li Hongguang spoke with a strong voice.

"Young man, I'm so glad I survived this ordeal, it's all thanks to you."

Wu You still holds these revolutionary martyrs in high esteem.

"What are you saying, sir? We are able to live a peaceful life thanks to veteran revolutionaries like you who fought through gunfire and bullets."

"Come in, have a seat."

Inside the room, Bai Yanxi was still lying on the recliner, only getting up when people entered.

Li Hongguang proactively extended his hand.

"This must be Doctor Bai. Thank you for the medicine."

Bai Yanxi, somewhat embarrassed, quickly got off the recliner and shook hands with Li Hongguang.

"I don't deserve it, it's all thanks to the good herbs."

Wu You chuckled to himself. This old man Bai was good in every way, except that he was a bit childish. He even got a little upset when he wasn't allowed to take a nap.

Just then, Zhang Guihua came out carrying a tea tray.

This relieved Bai Yanxi's embarrassment.

Wu You helped place teacups on the table for everyone.

"Come on, try the tea my friend made for me. It's called 'After the Rain, Sunshine.' It's not very famous, but it's definitely as good as top-grade Longjing tea."

Bai Yanxi's eyes lit up when he smelled the aroma of tea.

“You’re not being fair, Wu. I’ve never seen you take it out before.”

Wu Jianguo came down with two mountain king chickens and was also planning to take some fish and shrimp from the fish traps in the river, since he wanted several people to stay for dinner.

Wu Jianguo and Zhang Guihua only knew that the person who came was Dr. Lu's elder, and they wanted to do their best to be hospitable.

Wu You thought that General Li and his party would refuse, but to his surprise, Li Hongguang took the lead and agreed immediately.

He wasn't afraid of revealing any secrets.

It's just that Wu You really hates socializing and the like.

However, he also knew that this old General Li had a lot of influence, and it wouldn't hurt to get closer to him.

...

Right now, Hu Lei and his roommates are on the branches of a tree in the mountains, using a total station to measure and lay out lines.

Once they learned they were in charge of building a real treetop estate, they didn't want to stop for a second.

Before they could even begin working, Wu You specially created several large flying insects for second-level alchemy to ensure their safety.

It's a bit like a praying mantis, but it reacts very quickly, at least enough to catch someone in mid-air if they fall from a tree.