Chapter 258

After they packed their things, they went downstairs.

Ji Wanmei put on a coat, wrapped a red scarf around her neck, and slung a small leather bag over her shoulder. She detached herself from the rustic, pastoral atmosphere and reverted to her fashionable and sophisticated urban heiress persona.

She walked over with a smile, picked up the little wild rabbit, and tapped its head: "Little cutie, let's go, I'll find you a home."

Lei Tingjun then walked to the bamboo strips and put the chicks into the bamboo basket.

The chicks were clucking and chirping in the bamboo basket, making quite a fuss.

Lei Tingjun locked the door, put the key back behind the wooden frame above the door, then took Ji Wanmei's hand and walked towards Uncle Wang's house.

“Let’s name this little rabbit. What do you think is a good name?” Ji Wanmei asked Lei Tingjun.

“I’m bad at naming things,” Lei Tingjun said. “You should think of one.”

Ji Wanmei tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Then let's call it Yuanyuan, the Yuan of 'rural garden,' what do you think?"

"Okay, let's call it Yuanyuan."

When they arrived at Uncle Wang's house, Uncle Wang was just returning from digging in the dirt with a hoe. When he saw Lei Tingjun and the others carrying their luggage, he knew that they were leaving.

"Xiao Jun, you haven't even had lunch yet, and you're already leaving?" Uncle Wang warmly urged them to stay.

Lei Tingjun said, "This morning I took Meimei to the mountains to pick some wild mushrooms. We brought them back and made soup, and that's enough for us. Second Uncle, these are four or five pheasant chicks that I found in a trap I dug in the mountains before. You can take them and raise them."

"And this little rabbit, Meimei really likes it, but we don't have a place to keep it when we take it back, so we'll keep it here with you. We'll come back to see it when we have time."

Uncle Wang looked down at the brood of chicks in Lei Tingjun's backpack and the little rabbit that Ji Wanmei was holding, and smiled: "Okay, leave them at Uncle's house. You can take good care of them. When you come back next time, we'll slaughter them and eat them."

Ji Wanmei quickly said, "Second Uncle, you can kill the chicken and eat it, but please don't kill this rabbit. I've already named it Yuanyuan."

Uncle Wang thought to himself, "Girls in the city are just so-so. They even have to name a rabbit they feed."

But since raising one rabbit is the same as raising a flock of chickens and ducks, Uncle Wang didn't care about the issue: "Okay, I promise I won't slaughter it for you. When you come back next time, I'll feed it until it's plump and healthy."

Lei Tingjun and Ji Wanmei then bid farewell to Wang Erbo's family, got into their pickup truck, and drove out of Xiahe Village.

Even after driving quite a distance from the village entrance, Ji Wanmei was still looking back.

Lei Tingjun knew she really liked this place, so he said, "If you like it, I'll bring you back to play next summer vacation."

In summer, Xiahe Village presents a completely different scene.

Without the frost and snow of winter, the mountains and forests are lush and green, with clear waters and direct sunlight. There are rainbows and waterfalls in the mountains, and if you are lucky, you can even see squirrels and deer running around.

Ji Wanmei said, "Okay, we'll come back to see Yuanyuan next time we have a holiday."

They first returned to Honghe Township from Xiahe Village.

After arriving in Honghe Township, we went directly to the brick factory.

Lei Tingjun mainly wanted to inquire about how the newly recruited kiln masters were adapting to their work and whether the factory's raw material consumption was still as high as before.

According to Lao Cui, after Ji Wanmei came and reformed the system for the brick factory workers, everyone's enthusiasm for work has increased significantly, and the original losses have been reduced by more than 50%.

This is great news.

Lei Tingjun's uncle, Lei Xiangshun, also worked diligently as a bricklayer.

Without Old Zhang constantly instigating him, Lei Xiangshun became much more well-behaved.

Lei Xiangshun felt somewhat ashamed upon learning that Lei Tingjun and his group had returned to their hometown, Xiahe Village, a couple of days prior.

He probably also realized that he hadn't been back to pay respects to his elderly mother for a long time, and his family didn't go back for the Lunar New Year this year.

Only Lei Tingjun went back.

Thinking about these things, Lei Xiangshun felt even more embarrassed to speak assertively in front of his nephew.

"Xiaojun, come to my house for a meal. Your aunt knows you've found someone and wants to meet him," Lei Xiangshun said.

“Your younger brother and sister are all grown up now, and they haven’t seen their older brother for a long time. Come back with me later, and we can have a meal together as a family, okay?” Lei Xiangshun’s tone was unconsciously ingratiating.

Ji Wanmei was checking the accounts with Lao Cui on the other side and didn't come over.

Lei Tingjun glanced at her sideways and replied to his uncle indifferently, "No need. Meimei's vacation is only a few days long. We're going back to Pingdong City tonight."

Lei Xiangshun sighed inwardly. Alas, it was still those old things that hurt his nephew's heart.

He's even unwilling to take his partner to his uncle's house for a meal anymore.

Lei Tingjun had known his aunt since he was a child. She was sharp-tongued, mean-spirited, and a snob. He had never heard her say a kind word.

The two children she raised were basically cut from the same cloth.

Lei Tingjun shook his head as he recalled ten years ago.

He didn't want Ji Wanmei to experience the same feelings he had back then.

Ji Wanmei was right when she said that her uncle made his own choices about his life and should accept the consequences.

Lei Jun doesn't have to pay the price for the grudges and resentments left by his father and grandfather.

As for his relationship with his uncle's family, let it be.

"Are you done?" Ji Wanmei walked over and asked him with a smile.

Lei Tingjun nodded, said goodbye to his uncle, and walked towards Ji Wanmei. The two left the brick factory together, leaving the usual management tasks to Lao Cui.

Although Old Cui speaks in a bureaucratic tone and likes to be a peacemaker, he also tends to stretch a single sentence into three parts.

This kind of personality wouldn't work with a transport team or with Lei Tingjun.

His transport team needs to be strictly disciplined and managed like a military force.

But in this Honghe Township, the workers are all local veterans with decades of experience in a social network. Everyone has lived in the same neighborhood their whole lives, and this is exactly where someone like Lao Cui, experienced and tactful, is needed to better manage and connect everyone's relationships.

Despite his experience and shrewdness, he still had a bottom line.

Lei Tingjun valued this quality in Lao Cui, which is why he chose to continue employing him and let him manage the brick factory.

As evening fell, Lei Tingjun and Ji Wanmei set off again, driving from Honghe Township to Pingdong City.

It took them three days to return to Honghe Township.

This was the first time Lei Tingjun had ever given himself a three-day break since he founded the Lei Ting Transportation Team.

I wonder if those brats in the transport team have caused any trouble while he's been away these past few days.