Chapter 160

Jiang You didn't think for long before his aunt announced, "Dinner is ready."

My uncle invited everyone to sit down at the dining table.

The table was laden with food: chicken, fish, beef, seafood, braised dishes, cold dishes, two plates of green vegetables, and pork rib soup in the middle.

There were six seats in total, but my aunt brought a chair from the living room, making it seven seats in total, just enough for seven people.

Jiang You walked at the very back and watched as Shen Yi'an took his seat. He then chose a seat that was a little far away from Shen Yi'an, not the one directly opposite him.

Jiang You thought it best to stay away from Shen Yi'an.

“Auntie,” Shen Yi’an suddenly called out to her mother next to her, smiling innocently like a neighbor’s brother in front of her mother’s fierce eyes, “Let’s switch seats, I like to sit with my back to the wall.”

What did Jiang's mother disagree with? She immediately switched seats with him.

Jiang You: "..."

Shen Yi'an sat down, smiled and nodded at her, pretending not to know her. He then turned to echo his uncle's words and touched her hand under the table.

Jiang You was terrified. The other person quickly released her hand, but she still looked around nervously to see if anyone had noticed the little action.

Fortunately, no.

After touching his wife's hand, Shen Yi'an happily picked up some food, but suddenly he realized there were no serving chopsticks, and his expression changed.

Lin Yu paused for a moment, the two exchanged a glance, and reluctantly reached out with their chopsticks.

My aunt's husband's business was in a small county town. He wasn't even considered a local landlord; he was only slightly better off than Jiang's parents. Since he didn't have to work for others, he naturally wasn't as particular about his livelihood.

To be honest, he got to know Mr. Shen a couple of days ago when he wanted to ask the deputy mayor for a favor, but the deputy mayor was too busy to see him, so he had to ask the village head of his wife's village for help.

Yes, he couldn't even see the deputy mayor.

After treating the village chief to a lavish meal for two days, the village chief finally relented and agreed to take him to a dinner party where the deputy mayor was also present.

When he arrived at the entrance of the town party committee compound, a group of people came out, including the deputy mayor, the town party secretary, and even the county head, whom he knew.

The sight made him feel uneasy, as if he could see rice seedlings pushing over old tree branches.

According to the old customs of this small county, no matter how high a junior has climbed, they should still be polite to their elders, right? But these two young lads are walking in front, followed by a group of people bowing and scraping behind them, like a scene from a tale that has gone against the natural order.

This gave my uncle a small shock and a sense of awe, and it certainly broadened his horizons.

Just when he thought there was no chance for him today, the deputy mayor, who was walking at the back, saw them and said with delight, "Old Liu, I was just about to call you."

Lao Liu is also the village chief.

The village chief is elected by the villagers and is responsible for managing village affairs; he has no administrative rank.

The fox-eyed boy with slightly upturned corners at the head of the group, look over here.

Uncle had never met someone with such an air about him before. His nonchalant attitude was tinged with a roguish charm. In the past, someone so unconventional would have been criticized. But his eyes held a half-smile, making it impossible to read his emotions. Suddenly, Uncle thought that this carefree attitude was quite nice, rather classy.

Village Chief Liu was summoned, and Uncle Liu was also summoned there in a daze.

They soon learned that the two teenagers had come to do charity work and donate money to repair the road. Solar streetlights would be installed every thirty meters, and by then, the countryside would no longer be pitch black at night.

What a coincidence, he chose his wife's town.

A town has 39 villages. If roads were built in all the villages, how much profit would be made?

This isn't called greed. It's like someone going to give a gift to a leader, buying things from the leader's relative's liquor or tea shop, where ordinary, unbranded items sell for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

I won't give it away as a gift; I'll just mention it briefly when I meet with my boss, so that he's aware of it.

If a leader's relatives later give him a house and a car, that's the leader's family matter, and nobody can interfere.

Did the leader embezzle? No, he never accepted anything from anyone, nor was he involved in any transactions.

If someone walks into the store and is willing to spend a million to buy a bottle of wine to take home and drink, who can stop them?

So, it's usually deserted, but it's a wine shop and tea shop that never closes down...

Road repair is even simpler now; you can do it for your own relatives without any risk.

My uncle watched the money slip away, and feeling depressed on his way home, he didn't watch where he was going and tripped and fell on the curb, breaking his leg.

I went to the hospital, but everything was fine. It was just a fracture, and the bone setting would fix it. However, I still had some minor health issues and had to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Yesterday, my wife told me that her sister's daughter had come home from school and would be coming to see him tomorrow.

Uncle didn't care. The next day, when he heard that the seafood his brother had sent had arrived, he decided not to stay in the hospital anymore. He went through the discharge procedures and left.

Even if I know I've stood them up, I don't care; even if they forget to tell me I've moved, it doesn't matter.

Whether they are happy or angry doesn't affect anything.

So when his wife called for Xiaoxi to open the door, Xiaoxi didn't hear her and didn't intend to move, his mind preoccupied with the road repair.

But no one knew who was outside, shouting and cursing at the door. The sound was distorted as it came through the door.

Especially when it came to putting on airs, my uncle would get angry and embarrassed. Yes, he liked to show off in front of these poor relatives because he was good at pleasing others outside.

The door slammed open, and before he could even utter a rebuke, he saw two boys looming high above him.

Especially the one with fox-like eyes, whose brows arched slightly, creating a sharp curve at the corners of his eyes. Gone was the lazy, half-smiling expression; now, a scrutinizing arrogance emanated from him. Uncle's legs went weak, his muscles stiffening like a rock in his trembling, rendering him unable to move: "Mr. Chen?"

He was unaware that his initial disdain and discomfort upon first meeting had transformed into a state of extreme caution, like that of a county magistrate, and even to the point of panic upon seeing him angry.

The still-childish eyebrows and eyes, amidst the layers of figures, were forged into a gilded and silver-plated scepter, exuding an aura of oppression that made Uncle too afraid to move.

This is a social class, a social hierarchy, something that can never disappear.

At the dinner table, Uncle Jiang told Aunt Jiang how he met Mr. Shen, omitting the beginning and the end.

Jiang's mother hadn't expected that such a young boy, who seemed to be about the same age as her daughter, would have such a powerful background.

Shen Yi'an thought for a while, but still couldn't remember her uncle.

Tsk, it's all Xia Bei's fault for locking up Jiang You's information, otherwise he wouldn't have missed his uncle.

Previously, anyone could investigate Jiangyou, but now the new partners can't. It's like being in complete darkness, completely clueless.

You should know that he even put aside his fear to go to Xia Bei to ask for an explanation. On the surface, Xia Bei said politely, "If you have a legitimate reason to apply and have a note, I will have someone unlock it for you immediately."

But he secretly had someone beat him up; if he hadn't been on guard, his other hand would have been crippled.

Uncle would never have imagined that the proud young master he thought he was, standing at the pinnacle of power, had once fled through a dog hole in a panic.

Damn, does Xia Bei have some kind of abandoned factory collecting fetish? Every time he beats someone up, he drags them to an abandoned factory?

This is Shen Yi'an's rant.