The house was built, and when it was finished, many indigenous residents came to help. So whenever Lu Wuyai had free time, he would deliver things to each household.

He cooked a lot of seafood sauce, sealed it in a pretty jar he bought online, and gave it to the people who had helped him.

In the morning, he first went to Li Qianying's house, explained his purpose, and left his gifts. In addition to seafood sauce, he also brought some marinated loach, which could be stir-fried or stewed directly.

Li Qianying asked him to sit down shirtless, and said with a smile, "Yangzi, that's just polite talk. It's nothing for a small local village to help each other. We need to give something."

His daughter-in-law, Sun Yinghong, said, "Yangzi is different from those old men who try to take advantage of others. He's very picky. He's a good young man. Didn't Qiulian introduce him to the young nurse in town for a blind date?"

Ao Qianying snorted, "That's called 'a pathetic look.' In the little nurse's eyes, coupled with her parents' arrogance, I think she'll most likely become an old maid for the rest of her life."

"Old maid" is a local term for a single woman.

Sun Yinghong said to Lu Wuyai, "It's true, Yangzi. That girl is hard to pursue. I've noticed that you've been close to Teacher Lu since elementary school in the village. Why don't you get to know Teacher Lu more?"

Lu Wuyai said with a wry smile, "Well, you all know about this. Sigh, let's not talk about this for now. Anyway, marriage is about fate. I'll go to my aunt's house first, and then I'll go to Uncle Wen's house later."

In despair, he fled to the home of another elder, Li Qianwen.

Li Qianwen was not at home. His wife, Zhang Nan, said, "After the sea opens up, there will be a fleet of ships in the county, and your uncle will work in that fleet."

Lu Wuyai said, "Then I was a step too late. I made some seafood sauce myself, thinking that if my uncle went out to sea, I would bring it with me for dinner."

Zhang Nan smiled and said, "You have your own agenda, but that's okay. You're on a ship offshore, and you'll come back every two or three days."

Lu Wuyai asked, "Auntie, I remember your family has a fishing boat. Why do you have to go to work?"

At this point, Zhang Nan sighed: "Hey, you don't know how tough life is for us fishermen these days. Having a boat is worse than not having one. Without a boat, I'm determined to work. If you have a boat, you have to maintain it. It's just a waste of money."

"There aren't many fish left in the nearshore waters now, and we can't even make enough to refuel when we go out to sea. A few months ago it was okay, since the sea was closed off, we could go out and pick up cheap fish. But now that the sea is open, everyone has advanced big ships, and our small boats have followed them and can't even get a piece of the pie."

She became more and more frustrated as she spoke.

Lu Wuyai comforted her, saying, "People on the island have begun to pay attention to the development of fisheries, and things will definitely get better in the future."

Zhang Nan forced a smile and said, "I hope we don't talk about this. If you're unhappy, let's talk about something happy. I heard you're going on a blind date with Su Xi, a nurse at the town hospital."

Lu Wuyai messed up, which is definitely a topic that can make you happy.

He chuckled and said, "Yes, that's true, haha, yes, I've seen it."

"Yes, I saw how the meeting went. I know Su Xi's daughter and she's very close to her cousin. Should I have someone say something nice to you? That girl has very high eyesight, so it's difficult to get in touch with her."

Lu Wuyai sneered and said, "Really. I think it's alright."

He really didn't think Su Xi was all talk and no action. Anyway, they had a great time chatting yesterday, and they chatted for a while longer after they got back in the evening.

In addition, when he left home this morning, Su Xi left him a message on WeChat, saying that the town was going to hold a village opera performance next week and asking if he wanted to come and watch the fun.

Zhang Nan wanted to ask more, but Lu Wuyai changed the subject: "Hey, Auntie, there's a social drama going to be staged in the city next week. Do you know the time and place?"

Changing the subject, Zhang Nan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, but when the plum blossoms bloom in autumn, there will be local operas in the county and townships, so they will be performed whenever it's a good time."

After chatting for a while, he went to deliver gifts to each of his neighbors.

When he got home, the little count (dog) excitedly barked at the door, "Woof, woof, woof!"

A stranger approached. Lu Wuyai looked outside and saw Li Zhiyi waving her hand, saying, "Go away, you dead dog! We see you ten times a day, what kind of dog brain do you have that you can't remember?"

The little count (dog) shouted even louder: "Wow!"

Lu Wuyai lazily whistled, and the little count (dog) glared at Li Zhiyi before leaving, returning to the Wanxiang Tree and sticking out its tongue.

Li Zhijie came in and said irritably, "What's wrong with you, you dog? If you saw me, you'd bite me. Hey, you have a cat too. This cat looks funny..."

The little Earl (dog) was dozing off with his eyes closed, his chubby, furry head bobbing up and down slightly.

As soon as Li Zhijie reached out, its eyes suddenly widened, and its claws began to swing.

He laughed.

A tearing sound rang out, startling Li Zhijie. His sleeve had sprung into several pieces. "What...what happened to you, cat? My clothes! My new clothes!"

Lu Wuyai said, "You wore this outfit when I was in junior high school. You washed it and then bought a new one because of the discoloration. Do you think I'm stupid?"

“Then it’s wrong of you, cat, to scratch my clothes.” Li Zhijie’s eyes widened.

Lu Wuyai said, "If you don't provoke it, it will tear your sleeve off."

Li Zhijie pointed at him and said, "Let me tell you, Yang Zi, your attitude towards me is wrong. You need to correct your attitude towards me, otherwise I will turn around and leave, and nothing good will happen to you."

"What a great thing!"

Li Zhijie pulled up a stool and sat down, saying, "Congratulations. Didn't I ask the Second Young Master to find you a good girl last time? The Second Master has kept that in mind. If there aren't any good girls here, I'll come looking for you."

Lu Wuyai was very depressed. He'd been set up on blind dates these past two days, and Li Zhijie had also come – this was all unusual.

Li Zhijie said, "Let me tell you about this girl first. Her name is Mao Min. She is my cousin's daughter. She graduated from Bajing University and is a dignified college student. She now works at Hongyang Leixun Company. What do you think? She's quite well-off."

Lu Wuyai waved his hand and said, "Yes, the conditions are very good, but I want to start my business first and then settle down. Thank you for your concern about my life's important matters, but I don't want to think about it right now."

Hearing this, Li Zhijie became dissatisfied: "Yang Zi, you're making a fool of your second young master. Last time you chased after him to introduce your daughter to you, and you refused after he introduced her to you. Are you putting on airs? I still look down on this girl."

It was indeed Lu Wuyai who brought this up. He used those very words to lash out at Li Zhiyi, and he also used them as a shield for not wanting to join the Bai Gang. As it turned out, Li Zhijie really took it to heart.

This was something he hadn't expected, because Li Zhijie had never acted as a matchmaker or introduced potential partners to indigenous residents.

Li Zhijie, carrying two bottles of seafood sauce, swaggered out, while Little Earl (the dog) barked behind him, "Woof woof woof."

After looking at it, Gu Yuxin went next door and said to Lu Wuyai, "You gave the seafood sauce to Li Zhijie. This cabbage is so delicious, it'll make a pig root up."

Ao Muyang: "..."

Returning home with her hands behind her back, Li Zhiyi entered the house and saw a girl sitting in the yard. Her face immediately lit up with joy: "Ah, Minmin is here. She just called yesterday and came today."

The girl wore light makeup, had a slender figure, and fair, smooth skin on her oval face, with delicate features. She wore a white wide-brimmed hat, a light blue t-shirt and wide-leg pants underneath, and white sneakers, exuding a fresh and stylish Korean vibe.

The girl who was playing with Li Zhiyi's chubby grandson looked up and smiled. "Grandpa Zhiyi, hello, I just arrived. Where are you going?"

Li Zhijie laughed and said, "Grandpa just visited a family in our village. Oh, right, it's the child that Grandpa asked you to help deal with."

The girl asked, "I didn't hear you clearly on the phone. What do you want me to do?"

Li Zhijie pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "It's like this. There's a very rebellious young man in our village. He wandered around for several years. After he came back, he always clashed with Grandpa. Grandpa wanted to give him something. [Something related to color/color]"

"He's been busy looking for a partner lately. He even went on a blind date the other day with a nurse who's studying at a vocational school in our town. So I was thinking, since you're single here, why don't you go on that blind date with him?"

The girl immediately became dissatisfied: "Grandpa, you know my family's situation. I don't plan to find a partner in the countryside."

Li Zhijie waved his hand and laughed, "Haha, Grandpa knows, Grandpa can push you into a fire pit. I just want you to hit him. His education level is low, but yours is so high. Back then, when I arranged a blind date for you, you looked down on him, and that's how you hit him."

Hearing this, his chubby grandson stood up and said, "Grandpa, this is not right..."

Li Zhijie glared at him: "What's wrong? What do you know, kid? Let's play and walk, walk and walk."

Then he said to the girl, "Anyway, this young man is a bit confused right now. Grandpa needs to pour some cold water on him. This is also to help him face reality and stop dancing and chatting all day long."

The two began to have a lively discussion. Li Zhiyi's chubby grandson pursed his lips and then ran out with his short legs.

In the afternoon, Li Zhijie called Lu Wuyuan and invited him to his home.

After Lu Wuyai arrived, Li Zhijie, who was standing at the door, said in a low voice, "The girl is here. You can make a good impression from now on. She is an intellectual from the city. You should seize the opportunity."

Lu Wuyai smiled but did not answer. He walked into the courtyard and saw a beautiful girl dressed in Korean-style clothing smiling at him demurely.

Li Zhijie introduced, "Haha, this is my nephew's daughter, Mao Min, who works in Hongyang now. Minmin, this is Lu Wuyai, a young hero from our village. You can call him Yangzi. You young people go first, I'll go prepare some herbal tea."

The two sat down under the shade of a tree, and Mao Min smiled generously and said, "You could say we're on a blind date. This is my first time participating in this kind of event, so please forgive me if I do anything wrong."

Lu Wuyai said, "Hey, let's not treat this as a blind date, but as meeting a new friend. I heard from Second Master that you now work at Lei Xun Group, which is a very big group, really impressive."

Mao Min pouted and sighed, "It's a very large group, but the work pressure inside is immense, and promotion is even more difficult..."

The conversation gradually unfolded around her work, and the two chatted enthusiastically.

When the topic turned to the hardships of life and the arduous work, Mao Min naturally changed the subject: "Thinking back, the easiest time of my life was probably when I was in school."

Lu Wuyai nodded in agreement and said, "Although the academic pressure at school is great, life is really easy."

Mao Min asked in surprise, "Are you under a lot of pressure at university? I study at the Provincial Polytechnic University, and I don't have much homework. That's where you went to university."

Li Zhijie, who was eavesdropping at the door, knew that the topic had come up and immediately grinned.

Lu Wuyuan said, "Stanford University. After graduating from high school, I went to Palo Alto, a city in the southern part of a certain island, to study for my undergraduate degree. As you may know, Stanford University places great emphasis on undergraduate teaching. As someone from a certain island, my English level was average, and my major was European history. The pressure was really immense."

Just as Mao Min was about to express her hatred, she suddenly choked up and asked instinctively, "You, you studied at Stanford University. Didn't you become a chef after graduating from high school?"

Lu Wuyai laughed and said, "Who said that? I was in the top ten in science in our county during the college entrance examination. I initially studied at Renmin University of China in Beijing. Later, with the help of my teachers, I went to study in a certain field on a certain island, so I haven't been back for many years."

Li Zhijie stood dumbfounded at the door: Wasn't this kid talking nonsense? Wasn't this just talking nonsense? Who gave him the courage to brag like this?

But the topic of this meeting had nothing to do with him, so he couldn't get in, and he could only feel anxious.

Lu Wuyai continued, "However, my work-study job on a certain island was at a hotel. It's true that I studied to be a chef. I used to work as a waiter in the hotel kitchen, and later I worked part-time learning to cook from the head chef."

"Really?" Mao Min couldn't believe it even a thousand times.

Lu Wuyai took out his phone and opened his photo album: "Is this real or fake? Look, these are student photos and some everyday photos from when I was studying in the Bay Area..."

He glanced at the screen, which showed a young man with a group of blond, blue-eyed youths from some field on an outlying island. There were photos of classrooms, dormitories, sports fields, and shopping.

On the back, there is a photo of a degree certificate framed in wood, with the words "Stanford University" in English on the photo.

Mao Min was somewhat skeptical. She glanced at Li Zhiyi, who was about to expose the lie, when Lu Wuyai knocked on the door with several documents in his hand: "Island Lord, are you home?"

Seeing Lu Zhizi enter, Mao Min showed a surprised expression. She had never seen this female teacher's appearance and demeanor in a big city like Hongyang.

Li Zhijie asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Wuyai smiled and said, "That's it. I heard the Provincial Department of Education has issued new regulations. Teachers who have studied at prestigious overseas universities can receive additional subsidies. Look, I have a degree from Stanford University. Is that also possible? Subsidies?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Wuyai and smiled again: "Brother Muyang, you've come too. Bring your graduation certificate and degree certificate, and then ask the island lord to issue you a certificate for being a private school teacher. Perhaps you can also receive a subsidy. This time the subsidy is quite high."

Li Zhijie seemed somewhat annoyed: "What kind of academic degrees and graduation certificates do chefs have?"

Lu Wuyai was taken aback and said, "He and I were classmates at Stanford and graduated together. He has all my documents."

Mao Min asked in surprise, "You two are classmates?"

Lu Wuyai smiled and nodded, "Yes, otherwise why would I come here to teach? He knew I had the idea of ​​teaching in a rural area and invited me to Coconut Grove Village. Here, Island Master, this is my ID card, please take a look."

She opened a folder containing a certificate, identical to the one shown in Lu Wuyai's photo, except that the certificate in the photo was framed in a wooden frame, just like the one shown in American TV shows.

Seeing this, Mao Min blushed and glared fiercely at Li Zhijie.

Li Zhiyi knew that Lu Wuyai was talking nonsense, and he also knew that Lu Wuyai was talking nonsense. He remembered that the two of them had already talked about it beforehand, and that they had come here to talk nonsense together.

But Mao Min didn't know that Lu Wuyai's appearance and temperament gave her a preconceived notion that she was a highly educated and outstanding girl.

Following this, Lu Wuyai also presented her overseas degree certificate, along with photos of the certificate and photos from her time at the university. Their union confirmed Lu Wuyai's experience of attending a prestigious university.

She glared angrily at Li Zhijie, believing that this unreliable grandfather was deliberately trying to embarrass her.

No wonder Mao Min trusts outsiders more than his own relatives. The main reason is that Li Zhijie is too unreliable. He has a terrible reputation among his family and relatives. If Mao Min didn't need his help, he wouldn't have come to him.

Li Zhijie was a good man. Seeing the changes in Mao Min's eyes and expression, he understood what his granddaughter was thinking.

So he stared at Lu Wuyai and said, "You're talking nonsense."

"That's utter nonsense." Lu Wuyai feigned ignorance. "Second Grandfather, don't you know where I went after the college entrance exam? I left this small village five years ago and haven't come back since. I went to study abroad in some field on some island, didn't you know?"

Li Zhijie was furious.

Lü Zhizi's phone rang. She answered it and then spoke in a foreign language.

She spoke a few words into the phone, and Lu Wuyai asked a question in a foreign language.

Lu Zhizi handed him her phone and they chatted happily.

Li Zhijie subconsciously asked Mao Min, "Minmin, what language are they speaking? English."

Mao Min was also unaware of this. She didn't even understand English normally, and Lu Wuyai spoke so fast that she was a little flustered. She casually said, "It can't be someone from some field on the Russian islands."