Chapter 41 Xia Xia's Paradise

Li Jianbin brought surveying instruments with him and first roughly explored the situation on the mountain. Then he would stay in Xia Wu for a few days to conduct measurements and then plan and draw maps.

Hearing that the couple lived in town, Yang Guofeng quickly said, "It's so inconvenient to live in town. If you don't mind, you can stay at my house. It's not far away."

Jiang Zhen smiled awkwardly, "Thank you, uncle. Is it inconvenient? We have a car, so it's not too difficult to go back and forth."

"It's convenient, definitely not inconvenient. My family built a new house two years ago, originally intending it to be used by my son to get married in the future. But he stayed away from home after graduation and can't come back all year round. The decoration is very nice, but no one lives in it. How about I take you to have a look first? If you think it's suitable, we can live there. If not, we can leave!"

Yang Guofeng's enthusiasm was irresistible. As soon as they came down from Yantou Mountain, he took a group of people to his home.

Yang Guofeng's home is not near the road, but further inland along the village road. This area is densely populated, and some villagers don't return year-round, living in flat-roofed houses from the 2000s. Yang Guofeng, his wife, and his elderly parents live in the old house, next door to the new house built for their son.

At that time, according to the birth control plan, a family could only have one child. As a village cadre, Yang Guofeng had to set an example. Since he was the only son in the family, he naturally had to do his best to give his son the best.

The new house was built when his son was in college. The family saved money for decades and built it entirely according to his son's wishes. It is unique in a place like Yanggou Village.

The whole house is a small villa, three stories high, with a yard and parking space. The yard has a fish pond, flower beds, and a small pavilion. The garden paths are paved with pebbles.

After the building was completed, Yang Guofeng originally wanted his son to return to the village to be a village official after graduating from college. However, the boy came back during the summer vacation of his junior year and followed Yang Guofeng for an internship for half a month. He said that this was unbearable and ran back to school and never mentioned the matter of being a village official again.

Yang Guofeng was anxious and even used the father-son relationship as a card. After his son graduated, he asked him to take the civil service exam again. He passed the exam, but his son disliked the fact that grassroots civil servants earned little and worked hard, and had few opportunities. He thought it would be better for him to go to a big city to try his luck.

After seeing the bright and colorful world outside, how many young people are willing to stay in the countryside to develop?

While Yang Guofeng was showing Jiang Zhen and a few others around his new house, he told the young people about his son.

"The young people have all fled to the city, and we old guys are the only ones left in the village. Such a nice house is unoccupied. When we built it, we prepared all the appliances and furniture. Who could have imagined it would be like this now?"

"Take a look. If you feel satisfied, why not stay at my house?"

After viewing the house, Jiang Zhen exchanged a glance with her husband. Speaking of which, she was indeed quite satisfied with the village secretary's new house. She had just felt embarrassed to refuse because she was worried that the house would be dirty or something; she was a bit of a germaphobe.

Now that she saw that the house was new and that she could see the mountains not far away from the second floor and that the environment was great, she was moved again.

Li Jianbin understood what his wife meant and took the initiative to say, "Uncle Yang, the house is nice, but it's your son's new house after all. We'll live in it..."

"It's okay, it's okay. As for that unfilial son, who knows when he'll find a wife? I've given up hope on him. When he does get married, the house will have to be renovated. If you don't mind, just live here as long as you want!"

Yang Guofeng wished he could keep the couple at home for a longer period of time.

Xia Wu also advised: "Since Uncle Yang said so, why don't you stay here? It's convenient for eating. After all, it's me who invited you here. It's embarrassing to make you run back and forth between the village and town."

Seeing this, Jiang Zhen walked down the stairs and said, "Okay, then I'll thank Uncle Yang. Don't worry, we will take good care of the house."

"Hey~ Such polite words!"

Yang Guofeng was happy and wanted to find some new quilts for them. It was cold in the mountains in winter and even colder at night. People couldn't bear it without thicker covers.

Yang Guofeng wanted to invite a few people to stay at his house for dinner, but Xia Wu said that her family would roast chicken at noon, and the chicken was bought from Mr. Pu on the mountain, so Yang Guofeng gave up the idea of ​​inviting them to dinner.

"Uncle Park's chickens are incredible! You absolutely can't miss them!"

Yang Guofeng went home and got a bottle of jujube wine, and the group returned to the Yang family.

Knowing that Xia Wu would be entertaining many guests, Mr. Pu specially picked out a big rooster for her this time, weighing more than ten pounds.

In the morning, Liu Guizhen and Yang Guojun were at home. They worked together to prepare lunch, making sure to make a table full of delicious food to entertain the guests who came from afar.

Fearing that only having chicken would be too monotonous, Yang Guojun cast a net to catch fish in the ditch in front of his house. He didn't know how he got so lucky this time, but he caught a lot of fish and also caught an old turtle weighing two or three pounds.

So Liu Guizhen thought of making a "Farewell My Concubine".

In the Yang family, killing chickens and fish are men's jobs.

Yang Guojun pressed the big rooster under the chair, plucked the hair on the rooster's neck, and gently cut it with a sharp kitchen knife, collecting two large bowls of chicken blood.

After processing the big rooster, Yang Guojun chopped the chicken into small pieces, and no internal organs were wasted.

Liu Guizhen planned to make two dishes from this chicken, one was Farewell My Concubine and the other was stir-fried chicken offal.

The fish caught is steamed to prevent the other dishes from having too strong a taste that the guests may not like.

In addition to chicken and fish, Liu Guizhen also made a steamed egg dish using free-range eggs, which was tender, smooth, and refreshing. She also had vegetarian dishes: pickled cabbage, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and mixed winter bamboo shoots.

When Xia Wu returned with his guests, he could smell the tempting aroma coming from the Yang family's chimney from a distance.

Mr. Yang Si and his companions were so greedy that they couldn't resist it. They also knew that Xia Wu was going to entertain guests, so they finished their work early and went back to avoid being asked to stay as a courtesy.

After staying on the mountain for a few hours, the breakfast food had been digested long ago. Li Jianbin and Jiang Zhen smelled the aroma coming from Yang's kitchen and their mouths watered.

Jiang Zhen flattered, "Xia Xia, did Auntie learn to cook before? What is she cooking that smells so good?"

Xia Wu smiled and said, "My mom hasn't learned to cook systematically, but she's amazing. She can basically replicate any dish she searches online. She even made me a strawberry cake in a rice cooker a while ago. It was delicious!"

"Auntie, you're amazing! I'll have to eat more later."

"Eat! I invited you here so you can experience life in our hometown. Then you can say something good about me in the group chat!"

"Dinner is ready—"

Yang Guojun had been helping in the kitchen. He came out and asked Yang Hongwen to set up the large round table that was only used during the Chinese New Year at home. Xia Wu went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. The guests sat down first, and then Yang Guojun brought out the dishes one by one.

Old man Yang was older and of higher seniority, so he sat in the first seat. The others took their seats one by one. Yang Guofeng took out the jujube wine he had brewed at home and invited the men to have a few more drinks later.

Li Jianbin said embarrassedly: "Uncle Yang, I have to drive to town this afternoon and can't drink. How about I drink with you another day when I have time?"

"It's okay, it's okay. If you have something to do, then don't drink. This wine isn't strong, so my uncle and I can just drink it. We're in a good mood today, and Xiaowen's mom is a great cook. How can I come to her house to eat for free without some wine?"

Yang Guojun, who was serving the dishes, heard this and jokingly said, "A busy man like you is giving us face by coming to our house. Why are you so embarrassed to come in?"

According to seniority, he and Yang Guofeng are brothers and have a good relationship.

The adults were joking around, and Grandpa Yang asked his grandson to take out his treasured medicinal wine, and then asked Xia Wu to invite someone, "Xiao Wu, your Fourth Master Yang also likes to have a few drinks, why don't you go and invite him over too, so that the drinking can be more lively."

Xia Wu immediately stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go call the Fourth Master."

Not long after, Xia Wu finally managed to drag the embarrassed Fourth Master Yang over. The Fourth Master took his seat, and the last hard dish was served amid everyone's anticipation.

"Farewell My Concubine!" Yang Guojun placed the main dish in the middle of the table and said with a smile, "You're in for a treat today! I caught a turtle while fishing this morning. I'll grill it with the chicken. It's absolutely delicious!"

"Wow! This is good stuff!"

Xia Wu took out his cell phone and took pictures. Afraid that Jiang Zhen would feel embarrassed, he also sent the pictures he took to Jiang Zhen.

Looking at the dazzling array of dishes on the table, Jiang Zhen silently gave Xia Wu a thumbs up.

As a man, Li Jianbin was pulled aside by several elders for questioning and chatting, while Jiang Zhen and Xia Wu were secretly playing with their mobile phones under the table.

Jiang Zhen first sent the picture to their private group, which only included Xia Wu, the couple, and Ma Fangzhou, who was an architecture expert.

It was lunchtime, and Ma Fangzhou was still in the office, staring at the computer while eating his work lunch from the company cafeteria.

The phone placed aside suddenly lit up. He glanced at it without taking it seriously. The next second he realized it was news about the construction team on the hilltop. He immediately stopped eating and turned on his phone.

He soon regretted his impulsiveness.

"Beasts! You beasts! Not only did you eat behind my back, but you also sent me pictures to tempt me!!!"

After typing and cursing, he clicked on the high-definition picture and saw a lot of dishes on the table, so tempting...

But he still had to ask a mean question: "Is it delicious?"

On the other side of the internet, Liu Guizhen took off her apron and sat down. Now that everyone was together, they could start eating. Jiang Zhen and Li Jianbin were being urged to eat, so they had no time to look at the group chat.

"Eat this!" Xia Wu picked up a chicken leg for Jiang Zhen using a serving chopstick.

"Then I won't be polite."

"Don't be polite, just treat this place as your home."

"Auntie, no one in my family can cook as well as you do. It's so delicious!"

Li Jianbin loves chicken giblets the most. He picked up a piece of chicken liver and was immediately impressed. It melted in his mouth and was so delicious! He praised Liu Guizhen with witty remarks as if they were free.

Liu Guizhen praised him so much that she kept adding more dishes for him and Jiang Zhen.

The pheasants raised by Mr. Pu are praised by everyone who has eaten them, and the taste is so good that once you have tasted it once, you will definitely want to eat it a second time.

This was Xia Wu's second time eating it this month, and it was still so delicious that she couldn't stop.

"This old turtle is edible!"

If the taste of the local pheasant was as expected, then the old turtle fried with the local chicken was a bit unexpected.

Xia Wu took a piece and took a sip. It melted in her mouth and tasted very good. She gave a thumbs up and said, "Mom, it's so delicious!"

"My sister-in-law's cooking skills are amazing!"

“Auntie is so awesome!”

"Oh, please stop praising me. I feel embarrassed. Just eat more vegetables!" Liu Guizhen's face flushed, and the smile on her lips never faded.

"This fish..." Old Master Yang picked up a piece of fish belly and spoke slowly, "It seems to be more delicious than last time."

The last time he mentioned was the time when Qi Miaomiao and Shen Beiyang came.

“It’s so delicious! The original ecology of the mountains is so delicious!”

Everyone was talking at once, distracting Mr. Yang from his reflections. Xia Wu suddenly felt something and shut up and continued eating.

She usually uses the mixed spiritual spring water to irrigate the vegetable garden and strawberry garden. This is why the strawberries are delicious, the honey collected by the bees tastes good, and the water used for irrigating the fields also flows into the ditch...

So will the fish in the ditch become delicious too?

After the meal, Li Jianbin and Jiang Zhen were completely conquered. Even after they finished eating and left, Yang Guojun and his friends were still slowly drinking and eating. Xia Wu took them and Yang Hongwen to leave the table early to chat and play with their phones.

Then I saw that the private group of four people was flooded with messages from Ma Fangzhou.

"Where are you guys? Have you already started eating?"

"Is it really that delicious? No one even replied to my message!"

"I used to be able to eat this pig food with my eyes closed, but now I can't eat it, not at all! I need to ask for leave to come and find you!"

The message in the group stopped at the fact that Ma Fangzhou wanted to ask for leave to come to Yanggou Village. Li Jianbin saw this and quickly advised him: "Brother, don't be impulsive!"

Ma Fangzhou: "? Have you finished eating?"

"I'm done eating (grin)."

"Is it tasty?"

Even through the screen, Xia Wu seemed to be able to feel Ma Fangzhou's grievances.

"It's okay. When you come, I'll treat you according to today's standards," Xia Wu comforted Ma Fangzhou.

"Old Ma, let me tell you, the food here at Xia Xia is really delicious. It's truly authentic, you know? Especially that chicken. I've eaten a lot of good food all over the world, but I'm willing to crown this chicken the king."

"But Xia Xia said this chicken isn't hers, it's from a beekeeper in the mountains. It can fly up to a tree more than ten meters high. She even said she'd take us up the mountain to see it tomorrow (grin). Don't be too envious, I'll take a picture for you tomorrow."

Li Jianbin was a mean guy who deliberately boasted in the group, causing Ma Fangzhou to start wailing again.

Xia Wu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and quickly explained in the group chat: "Mr. Pu doesn't have many chickens left on the mountain. Next year, we'll raise some on our own mountain. Don't worry, we guarantee you'll have delicious food. When you come to visit, you'll have chicken for every meal. I guess you'll get tired of it!"

Jiang Zhen laughed heartily and said to Xia Wu, "Xia Xia, you must raise more chickens. They will definitely sell better than strawberries!"

Chinese people are still very enthusiastic about eating meat.

"Don't worry, we already have a plan for the mountain. Our goal is to transform it into a true paradise without affecting the construction of the mountain!"

Li Jianbin was ambitious and vowed to put all his years of learning into practice. Ma Fangzhou was also inspired and said, "Just leave it to me!"

Jiang Zhen reminded him, "It's not enough to just build something beautiful. I observed today that many of the facilities are rather outdated. Do you think it's possible to introduce automation so that Xia Xia can save some effort?"

It's no wonder that women are meticulous. Today, when Jiang Zhen was picking strawberries in the strawberry garden, he found out that Xia Wu watered the strawberries herself, which took several hours at a time. It was really hard work.

“Automated watering?”

Li Jianbin and Ma Fangzhou also thought this was a good idea, but it was not something they were good at, so it seemed they still had to ask for external help.