Zheng Le, wearing large sunglasses, waited in the car, glancing at the time every now and then. He needed to get to the station early to prepare for the program, but he couldn't go against his mother's wishes, so he had to come over.

I glanced curiously at the Green Treasure Pavilion, which had no signboard. If it weren't for my mother Meilan's reminder, probably no one would have known that this unsigned shop was actually the Green Treasure Pavilion that had been featured in the newspaper.

A moment later, the green treasure pavilion's roller shutter door was pulled up, and a young man of average appearance and height walked out.

Zheng Le stared at Zhang Guodong through the car window. Was this the Zhang his mother had been talking about?

Such an ordinary person would be hard to spot in a crowd, right? But considering the task her mother had assigned, Zheng Le had no choice but to obey. As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover; her mother had praised this person to the skies, but she couldn't see a single trace of it.

Zhang Guodong is too ordinary. He has neither good looks nor height, and is far from the image of a tall and handsome man.

Zhang Guodong was carrying two large water bags, filled with water, and with a black carp and an eel inside. In his other hand, he was carrying a paper bag, which he had used when buying clothes.

He was helpless.

When sending medicinal herbs, a jade box would be more prestigious, but he didn't have one, so he could only use a paper bag he brought from buying clothes.

Zheng Le opened the door and got out of the car at the perfect moment.

She doesn't usually take men in her car, so this was an exception.

"Zhang Guodong? My name is Zheng Le, nice to meet you!" Zheng Le, wearing large sunglasses, wanted to shake hands, but seeing Zhang Guodong's embarrassed expression and his hands occupied, he immediately smiled.

"Hello, thank you for your help this time!" Zhang Guodong said politely.

"It's nothing, my mom is very hospitable, please get in the car," Zheng Le said with a smile.

Zhang Guodong felt the woman must be pretty, but her face was mostly obscured by large sunglasses. However, he didn't recognize Zheng Le at first glance. The image on television and the person in real life are quite different, and with those large sunglasses, Zhang Guodong didn't think of it that way.

"I'll sit in the back. I have things in my hands, and it's hard to put them down!" Zheng Le opened the front door, but Zhang Guodong got into the back seat without asking.

Zheng Le let him have his way.

Zhang Guodong acted very naturally, which surprised Zheng Le.

After getting in the car, it drove directly into the provincial TV station's gate and then headed towards the residential area. Zhang Guodong had never been here before, so he was very curious. Upon closer inspection, he indeed recognized some people he had seen on television, and it was impossible for him not to be excited.

Here, these celebrities seem quite ordinary, chatting and laughing casually.

Zhang Guodong was a man of few words, gazing out the window, which made Zheng Le secretly curious: Why was this man such a blockhead? He didn't even try to strike up a conversation with the beautiful woman he saw?

Freak!

Zheng Le, who had a high opinion of herself, was just like any other woman, and she was very unhappy that Zhang Guodong ignored her beauty.

Women are so contradictory. When men pursue them too intensely, too passionately, or too aggressively, they ignore or even despise them. But if men ignore them, they feel resentful. It's a real contradiction.

Zhang Guodong is probably one of the few people who can ignore Zheng Le's charm and beauty. This is simply because Zhang Guodong has a very accurate self-assessment: he is just an ordinary person, and there isn't much interaction between him and someone from the upper echelons of society; their social circles are completely different. Therefore, he can remain calm and composed, very accepting and natural.

"Guodong? You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" Zheng Le started the conversation while driving.

Zhang Guodong looked at her with surprise, then smiled and said, "That's a good way to address her!"

"Hehe, you're quite frank. Have you been here before?" Zheng Lejiao said with a clear and pleasant laugh.

Give me a hammer!

Zhang Guodong thought to himself, he was a member of the lowest rung of society, and the threshold for entering these places was so high that it would trip him up. This place was not for just anyone.

"No, I never thought I'd be here! Hehe!" Zhang Guodong changed the subject, a hint of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret or nostalgia). "I used to admire celebrities on TV, but being here in person is a completely different experience. Now that I'm actually here, I realize celebrities are people too, they have to work—"

These words had a significant impact on Zheng Le.

Zhang Guodong is just an ordinary person, but his words are profound and natural; it's not something he's putting on.

“You’re absolutely right. Celebrities also need to eat. They eat grains and cereals, just like everyone else. Guodong, where did you graduate from? You’re quite eloquent!” Zheng Le said with a smile.

This woman has a very sunny smile.

"I dropped out of university halfway through, let's not talk about that, shall we?" Zhang Guodong said with a wry smile.

"Haha, so what? Bill Gates dropped out of college too. If you don't want to talk about it, then don't!" Zheng Le generously let Zhang Guodong off the hook, finding it quite amusing.

As they were talking, the car stopped in front of a white duplex apartment building.

Judging from the garden layout and the cobblestone paths, this is clearly a high-end residential area within the provincial government compound. A house here would probably cost at least two or three million yuan.

In the provincial capital, apart from private villas, a residence costing two or three million yuan is considered very high-end.

Clearly, the people living here were not ordinary; most were high-ranking officials from the provincial television station. Otherwise, ordinary people wouldn't be able to live here. Zhang Guodong couldn't help but become suspicious of Aunt Mei's identity.

But thinking about it, since I'm already here, I might as well just drop by. Didn't I go to Fatty's house last time? That's the compound of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, a villa, much more upscale than this place!

"Guodong, we're here, get out of the car!" Zheng Le got out of the car with a smile and opened the car door for Zhang Guodong.

Meilan stood by the window and saw her daughter's car return. She immediately said happily to her husband, "Little Zhang is here! Oh, and she even brought a gift! That child!"

"Oh?" Zheng Tianfu, who was watching TV on the sofa, smiled and then watched his wife go to open the door.

The duplex apartment has only three floors, and only six families live in it. Zhang Guodong felt like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. The elevator lobby on the first floor, decorated with exquisite marble, was very stylish and grand. The staircase was winding and wide, as if entering the second floor of his own home. Even the handrails and patterns were very valuable.

Zheng Le's home is on the second floor. The two of them didn't take the elevator, but walked up the stairs, just like taking a stroll.

Zhang Guodong realized that his casual attire made him look rather dull and out of place in this setting. In contrast, Zheng Le appeared completely natural in both her clothing and demeanor.

A quick glance revealed a pair of long, slender legs. With the weather slightly chilly these days, fashion-conscious women are wearing high-waisted boots, mostly paired with warm outer pants, and often a trench coat for added coverage, making them appear graceful and alluring, even from behind.

With her legs tightly closed, she gracefully ascended, and Zhang Guodong's gaze involuntarily drifted to the concealed fleshy buttocks. This thought made Zhang Guodong swallow hard, inwardly cursing himself.

That night in the forest cabin, Zhang Guodong entered Xiang Chunyan, a mature woman, from behind, with unparalleled passion.

Before I knew it, we were on the ground.

At the door, Aunt Meilan had already opened the door and was standing outside, watching her daughter and Zhang Guodong come up with a happy expression, looking at Zhang Guodong as if he were her son-in-law.

"Hello Aunt Mei, I'm sorry to bother you!" Zhang Guodong quickly averted his gaze and greeted Mei Lan.

Zheng Le said, "Mom, Guodong brought it to you perfectly safe and sound!"

Upon hearing her daughter's words, Mei Lan immediately scolded, "You're not a child anymore, yet you're still so naughty! Why don't you invite Guodong in? Sigh, Guodong is here, but he brought so much stuff. He can't bring this next time!"

Zheng Le stuck out her tongue and said to Zhang Guodong, "Don't be shy, my mom treats guests much better than she treats her daughter, haha!"

She was filled with bitterness. Next time? Her mother was determined to marry her off.

Zhang Guodong chuckled, and to Mei Lan, that smile was one of shyness and honesty. This young man was truly sincere!

“Aunt Mei didn’t bring much, just a local specialty. City people like to eat something new!” Zhang Guodong said.

"It seems to be seafood?" Zheng Le said.

Mei Lan glared at her daughter, and Zheng Le immediately laughed and quickly went inside.

As she entered and changed her shoes, a pair of brand-new cotton slippers were placed in front of the door. Mei Lan said, "Guodong, you don't need to change. Just come in, it's alright!"

A man with graying hair, around sixty years old, stood up in the living room. He was dressed casually in home clothes and had a smile on his face as he saw Zhang Guodong enter. He said, "Little Zhang, right? Welcome to our home! I've been craving the seafood you sent me last time!"

With a slightly bureaucratic tone but a friendly demeanor, Zhang Guodong quickly replied, "Uncle Zheng, you flatter me. My life isn't as good as you make it out to be. I just earn a little money and live a simple life—"

"I didn't know what to bring this time, so I just brought two fish and two medicinal herbs!"

"Haha, a comfortable life? This comfortable life is rare indeed! Xiao Zhang, come, sit down, Lele, bring Xiao Zhang a bottle of beer? Or cola?" Zheng Tianfu said, looking at Zhang Guodong.

Back home, Zheng Le took off her sunglasses. When her father called, she reluctantly went to the kitchen to get a bottle of beer and a bottle of cola.

Zhang Guodong sat down and said, "Thank you, I'll have the Coke. Actually, I rarely drink beer or carbonated drinks!"

“Drinking too much cola is indeed bad for your health. Xiao Zhang, you chat with your Uncle Zheng for a while, I’ll go prepare the meal!” Mei Lan happily took two live fish and two medicinal herbs to cook.

Zhang Guodong hurriedly said, "Aunt Mei, there is a fresh wild ginseng and a fresh wild black fungus inside. The latter needs to be processed before eating, otherwise it is poisonous!"

If the gifts brought in cause problems, then things will get really messed up.

He didn't have much knowledge about medicinal herbs and their consumption before, but now he's learning from the internet and his knowledge is growing.

"Oh? Fresh, wild-caught goods?" Zheng Tianfu was surprised. Preserving live wild ginseng and other precious medicinal herbs during this season is no easy feat. He immediately became interested and asked Aunt Mei to bring the cardboard box over, which he then carefully opened.

Ginseng or He Wu (a type of medicinal herb) are not unusual, but wild ones are rare, especially the former.

"Huh, it still has green leaves? This ginseng should be three years old, right? And this wild variety of He Wu, Xiao Zhang, how old is this?" Zheng Tianfu was surprised to see that the ginseng still had green leaves on it. The weather hadn't warmed up yet, so where did this green-leafed ginseng come from? Besides, he had never heard of ginseng being grown in greenhouses.

That makes it extraordinary!

In upper-class society, aged wild ginseng is most often given as a gift, so he is quite familiar with it and can recognize it at a glance. However, He Wu rarely gives it as a gift, firstly because he is afraid that the recipient will not know how to handle it and may cause problems if they consume it, and secondly because wild ginseng is not easy to find, and most of what is on the market is fake.

Zhang Guodong smiled and flattered him, saying, "It's also three years old. Uncle Zheng has a good eye!"

Zheng Le, holding a drink, walked over and asked with some doubt, "Dad, how do you tell the difference between wild and cultivated ones? Are wild ones really as good as some people say? Even three-year-old ones don't grow that long!"

Zheng Tianfu laughed and said, "What do you know, girl? This gift is quite generous, given by Xiao Zhang!"

Upon hearing this, Mei Lan nodded and looked at Zhang Guodong with great joy.

P.S.: Second update! Just a quick reminder from Tiandao: although there are only about 50 chapters so far, the 'content' has reached 180,000 words! It was created on the 6th of this month, so what's today? There should be quite a few uploaded by now, right? Hehe. So please don't rush me, everyone! If you do, Tiandao gets anxious.

It will be a hit, and we're also working on accumulating more content, so don't worry!

Also, some authors write very thoughtful comments, which I sometimes might not see, but I usually reply to those I do. Qidian is quite frustrated; if you reply too much, the system actually puts you in a "blacklist," preventing you from replying for what seems like several hours? So, please forgive me if I haven't been able to reply. Sigh, I'm just a single guy, writing books, reading comments, revising replies, and brainstorming plot points—busy, huh?

Finally, thank you again to '1uiz' for the generous donation! Also, thank you to '大话萧湘' for the second donation, haha. And thank you to our new friend '安息茴香' for your support as well!