Peach Blossom Inn, late October.

"Ya Ya. Come quick, Da Hei is being naughty again—" came an indignant female voice from the orchard.

The fruit tree saplings in Taoyuan have now grown to be as thick as an adult's arm, with lush branches and leaves, and various flowers that are exceptionally beautiful. Twenty or thirty kinds of fruit trees bloom together, creating a particularly enchanting and spectacular sight.

The branches, leaves, and flowers of the fruit trees here are several times more abundant than usual, and they can already form shade.

Under the fruit trees, Big Black and Big Blue lay lazily, seeking refuge from the heat, while a brightly colored male parrot flitted among the trees, having a great time.

Beside the large black tree, a green bamboo stalk kept bothering it, but it dared not approach.

Qingzhu was attracted to Daqing's handsome appearance, but unfortunately, Daqing ignored her completely and his hostility remained undiminished.

Out of necessity and boredom, Qingzhu turned to teasing Dahei, hoping to get closer to him.

But to her dismay, Big Black was no less approachable than Big Blue. The moment she got close, its fluffy black fur stood on end, and it growled softly.

Peach Blossom Abode gained a new little guest. A seven-year-old girl, Ya Ya, Zhao Lao Liu's daughter. A clever, bright, and beautiful little girl.

After that theft incident, Zhao Laoliu learned his lesson. He actively sought out and became the first person to start planting medicinal herbs. He planted all five mu of land with the star grass seedlings provided by Zhang Guodong. Fifteen thousand seedlings—Zhang Guodong, seeing that he really didn't have the money, simply let him pay on credit, promising to pay him back after the herbs were sold next year.

Zhao Laoliu's enthusiasm surprised many villagers. However, they weren't entirely optimistic about growing these medicinal herbs, so they didn't cut down some of the unripe crops.

They lacked the courage. Some even mocked Zhao Laoliu, predicting he would gain nothing next year.

However, Zhao Sanshun and the village representatives had already reached an agreement with the township government and Zhang Guodong. The medicinal herbs must be planted. The only question is how much to plant, which will be decided by the villagers themselves.

As a result, most villagers choose to plant only one or two acres first, and dare not plant more than that. Spending a few thousand yuan to try it out is fine. But spending tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan to experiment with planting, no one can figure out the risks.

When Zhang Guodong heard Lan Hua talk about it, he just smiled and didn't say anything.

After planting his own medicinal herb seedlings, Zhao Laoliu took the initiative to dig a pond for Taoyuan Xiaozhu.

To be precise, it's a swimming pool. This was an idea the girls came up with when they had nothing else to do.

A pit 20 meters long and 5 meters wide was dug in the original field to build a swimming pool. When Zhao Laoliu heard about this, he immediately took on the task.

He probably came to express his gratitude to Zhang Guodong for not pursuing the matter. He had heard about the police station's handling of the case involving the two people who went down to the village.

These two were initially very arrogant when they arrived at the police station, threatening Jin Xiangyang and his group that they had connections. It was said that the ringleader's uncle was a leader in the district.

The village head of Xia Village, Zheng Shuangxi, even came to the police station to mediate, hoping to get the two men released.

Previously, Jin Xiangyang might have hesitated and released the man after a few days. But now that's impossible.

Who is Zhang Guodong? Who is Secretary Wang? Jin Xiangyang has wholeheartedly sided with Fatty, so he is naturally firmly on Fatty's side.

Besides, anyone who doesn't side with Fatty would be a fool. He's the top two deputy division chiefs, and only twenty-seven years old. Such a young deputy division chief is probably unique in the entire province; his future is incredibly bright.

Compared to some leaders in their forties or fifties, fat people can outlive them with sheer age.

Jin Xiangyang ordered a thorough investigation into the two men's shady dealings. The investigation revealed that the two were habitual offenders, involved in extortion, blackmail, theft, and a whole host of other misdeeds.

The two of them panicked. There really was that man's uncle in the district, and when Jin Xiangyang heard it was a deputy director of the Civil Affairs Bureau calling, he was dismissive.

They insisted on making the case airtight and reported it to the district public security bureau.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Laoliu was filled with fear and even more gratitude that Zhang Guodong had spared them.

As a result, Ya Ya was left without anyone to take care of her at home, so Li Yun and Lan Hua brought the adorable little girl to Taoyuan Xiaozhu. Before long, everyone fell in love with the little girl, and she became a member of Taoyuan Xiaozhu.

In particular, Ya Ya and Da Hei were quite affectionate. Da Hei showed no hostility towards Ya Ya at all. This piqued Zhang Guodong's curiosity.

Even Qingzhu couldn't handle Dahei, yet this little girl Yaya was playing with it quite harmoniously. Left with no other choice, Qingzhu asked Yaya for help.

————

A little girl ran out of the woods, dressed in a snow-white princess dress that Li Yun had bought for her. With two little pigtails and a butterfly flower embellishment, she skipped and hopped towards them.

"Heihei—" As soon as Ya Ya saw Dahei, she immediately came up with an even better nickname for it, calling it 'Heihei'.

Big Black raised its head, glanced at Ya Ya, its eyes seeming much softer, and gave a low hum as a greeting.

"Aunt Zhu, is Heihei being disobedient?" Ya Ya asked curiously.

The chubby little hands stroked Big Black's body, as if grooming its fur. The weather was hot, and Big Black's long fur was certainly making things difficult.

In this respect, Daqing is much more comfortable than Dahei.

"That stinky thing! I've fed it so many fish, and it still yells at me! Humph, Yaya, tell it that I won't feed it fish anymore!" Qingzhu said angrily.

They even made me ask that wretched guy for fish, and he was picky about the quality, refusing to eat any other kind.

“Heihei is very well-behaved, Heihei. Aunt Zhu is very nice. Please don’t yell at it, okay?” Ya Ya said to Da Hei.

Big Black grunted and closed its eyes. It wasn't clear what kind of answer that would be.

"Little parrot, let's go, let's go see the swimming pool!" Qingzhu was even angrier. She called out to the male parrot who was narcissistically preening his feathers on the tree branch above his head, and then pulled Yaya away.

"Hey, Ya Ya will come to see you in a bit!" Ya Ya didn't forget to greet Da Hei.

The little parrot flapped its wings and immediately flew to Qingzhu's shoulder, calling out, "Heihei, Yaya, Heihei, Yaya—"

It actually started mimicking speech.

The pit for the swimming pool was huge and would take a long time to dig. Right now, it was less than ten feet in diameter and about a meter deep, with two people inside: Zhang Guodong and Zhao Laoliu. Both were wearing vests, one holding a hoe, the other a shovel, both sweating profusely.

"Brother Zhang, the more we dig, the more soil there is. Where will we put it in the future?" Zhao Laoliu asked, pausing for a moment and looking at the pile of damp soil above.

Zhao Laoliu initially addressed Zhang Guodong as "Boss Zhang," but Zhang Guodong, adapting to local custom, instructed him to call him Guodong, or Zhang Guodong. The more Zhao Laoliu interacted with Zhang Guodong, the more he felt Zhao Laoliu was a decent person. Now, addressing him as "Brother Zhang" made Zhao Laoliu feel somewhat flattered. However, he held Zhang Guodong in even greater respect.

Zhao Laoliu is very hardworking and strong, and has a wealth of experience in farm work.

“This soil is indeed a problem; pushing it downhill isn’t good—” Zhang Guodong scratched his head. He didn’t want soil erosion. But there wasn’t enough room here to store the thousands of cubic meters of soil that would be needed in the future.

Zhao Laoliu immediately came up with an idea: use the thousands of cubic meters of soil they had acquired to create farmland for Taoyuan Xiaozhu. This would add at least half an acre of land.

On the slope near the ditch of Taoyuan Xiaozhu, there is a small bend in the path, which was formed by rainwater erosion. Originally, there was no ditch here.

By filling in this soil and building a stone wall around it, the area of ​​this Peach Blossom Spring can be greatly increased.

"Sixth Brother's idea is excellent. I think we should do it this way, and hire another stonemason—"

“Brother Zhang, there’s no need to hire anyone else. If you don’t mind my skills, leave the stone wall work to me. I’m not good at anything else, but I can handle manual labor!” Zhao Laoliu said hurriedly.

He came here to repay the debt.

Zhao Laoliu was quite skilled in carpentry, stonemasonry, and farming; he had basically figured these skills out on his own and was self-taught.

Zhang Guodong was surprised, but agreed.

Building a stone wall isn't a particularly difficult task; anyone with some experience should be able to do it. Since Zhao Laoliu can do it by himself, he probably really can.

"Sixth Brother, take a rest first. I'll go find something to drink—"

As Zhang Guodong walked back, he ran into Qingzhu and Yaya walking towards him. Upon seeing Zhang Guodong, the little girl timidly greeted him, "Hello, Uncle!"

"Hello, Ya Ya!"

"It's so hot, we mustn't let the little girl get heatstroke!" Zhang Guodong turned to Qingzhu and said. It was alright in the forest, at least the jade ivy was there to help, and the leaves were providing shade.

Once they came out, places like the pool area were exposed to the scorching sun. It's clear that Zhang Guodong and Zhao Laoliu's work required twice as much effort, even three times, compared to usual.

"Tch, Ya Ya wants to see her dad, what does that have to do with me, hmph!" Qingzhu said with dissatisfaction.

Even Zhang Guodong couldn't control her anymore. She clearly wanted to have fun, like a child, but used a young girl as a shield. It's utterly speechless.

Li Yun and Xuan Qingxuan were meditating, their breathing long and deep. Even now, outside of the Peach Blossom Spring space, Li Yun still meditates for one or two hours every day. Cultivation is a matter of progress or regression; perseverance is essential.

Qin Lina and Lan Hua were nowhere to be seen. It was unclear whether they were in Qin Lina's room or had gone somewhere else.

Zhang Guodong carried a basket filled with some cold tea drinks and covered it with a towel. In fact, Zhang Guodong had placed some cold drinks in a medium-level storage bag, where time was restricted.

It was cold when it went in, and it was still cold when it came out.

Back at the poolside, Zhao Laoliu dug up a lot more soil. Qingzhu and Yaya were chatting nearby, seemingly discussing what the future swimming pool would be like.

Zhang Guodong rolled his eyes.

But thinking about it, Qingzhu and Xuan Qingxuan don't actually have a swimming pool where they live, so naturally they wouldn't be playing in the water wearing swimsuits.

Xuan Qingxuan is wearing a swimsuit? Hehe.

Zhang Guodong couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile. Xuan Qingxuan was very conservative, yet she was the most beautiful and ethereal among the women. Wearing a swimsuit, she would probably captivate all men and women in the world. That alluring figure she outlined... tsk tsk.

"Look at that bad uncle, Ya Ya! He's probably up to something wicked again. He's smiling so lewdly, and his mouth is practically watering!" Qingzhu's critical voice immediately snapped Zhang Guodong out of his daze, like a bucket of cold water.

Oh dear, I can't believe I was daydreaming.

"Don't set a bad example for the little girl, Yaya, come on, have some juice!" Zhang Guodong glared at Qingzhu, then smiled again and handed the little girl a bottle. "Drinking more juice will make children smarter and help them grow up faster!"

"Thank you, Uncle!"

"It's a weird uncle! A strange old man!"

"What's a weird uncle?" Ya Ya asked Qing Zhu curiously. This unfamiliar term stumped her. Qing Zhu, however, was keeping up with the times and had learned a lot online.

However, most of them learn bad habits instead of good ones, and many popular internet terms originated from her.