If you break your legs, you can't be a new farmer.

Pei Xu looked at him and said calmly: "Not very good, I will take care of the funding myself."

"If there was any other way, I guess you wouldn't mortgage your homestead."

"But at least this is a solution. It's not the last resort, right?"

Jiang Lin lowered his head and smiled: "Stubborn! Just like me when I first ventured into the entertainment industry. But Uncle Li firmly disagrees with you mortgaging the homestead. What are your plans for the next step?"

Pei Xu opened his arms and stretched his body. "Let's take it one step at a time. Tomorrow, Monday, I'll carry my hoe and go to the government office to wait for the results."

Jiang Lin walked slowly in front of him, "They are all thousand-year-old foxes, why are they playing innocent? If they wanted to criticize them, they would have criticized them long ago. They don't even want the achievements that are delivered to their doorsteps. With such vision, they can only stay in small places."

Pei Xu looked at him with great interest and said jokingly: "Master Jiang, are you standing up for me?"

Jiang Lin ignored his question and said directly: "I will accompany you to wait for the result tomorrow. I'm afraid you will get emotional, so I will stop you."

Pei Xu smiled as he watched him enter the yard, and said to himself: "It's still unclear who the firecracker is."

There were not many pedestrians on the street, and the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes wafted in the air. Jiang Lin was sitting on an electric bike, his fashionable look was out of place with the bike. The owner of the convenience store was sitting at the door, grinning with her big teeth bared.

Pei Xu smiled at him from the security booth. The security guard asked, "What does your friend do for a living? Does he make money by shooting videos like they do online?"

The two photography teachers were too obvious, so Pei Xu said, "My friend is a big star. Come and shoot the show with us."

The security guard immediately straightened his clothes and smoothed the collar of his green military coat.

"That's what I said. He doesn't look like anyone from here. He looks very Western."

“Hahahahaha.” Pei Xu laughed out loud, “Uncle, he’s just vain. He won’t go out without putting on makeup and dressing up.”

Jiang Lin sent him a message: "My ears are not blocked by donkey hair, are you keen on being my hater?"

Pei Xu looked at him proudly and typed: "When you have a fan group, I will create a small account and sneak in quietly. The first thing I will do as an administrator is to disband your fan group."

"The eyes of the masses are sharp. I advise you to turn from darkness to light as soon as possible."

The two of them were messaging each other and bickering across the security booth, and the people in the conference room finally came out at lunch time, stretching and yawning.

The two of them waited respectfully for an answer in front of the car. The person in charge said regretfully, "Xiao Pei, first of all, I personally think highly of this project. I also said a lot of good things when I recommended it to everyone at the meeting."

Jiang Lin relaxed a little, thinking to himself, "It's a trick of first suppressing and then praising, but the latter part is the key point."

"However, after heated discussions and voting, the project was not approved." After saying this, the person in charge adjusted his glasses.

Pei Xu looked at the noodle soup in front of him with a worried look on his face, like a martial arts master who had been poisoned by cartilage powder.

Jiang Lin handed him the chopsticks and said, "Don't be in a hurry to eat first. Your frown can kill a fly."

Pei Xu pondered for a long time, and suddenly perked up, "I'm going to get rid of Old Pei and secretly mortgage the homestead."

Jiang Lin raised one corner of his mouth and looked at him sympathetically: "You know what? Even if your legs are broken, you can still write books and become a writer, but if your legs are broken, you can't become a new farmer."

Pei Xu looked at him seriously and asked, "What do you think the probability is that my dad will break my legs?"

Jiang Lin analyzed seriously: "Uncle Li has three sons, and your two elder brothers have married and have children. The issue of the continuation of the incense he cares about has been solved. He is so angry that he has made up his mind. He will break your legs 50% of the time, and tie you up and send you to the plane to Beijing 100% of the time."

Pei Xu looked indifferent to life and death and said, "Don't panic. There is still a 50% chance of success."

Jiang Lin said seriously: "Pei Xu, I really want to help you."

Pei Xu put down his chopsticks, took a tissue and wiped his mouth, then said slowly: "I sincerely reject you. Your financial well-being is the result of your hard work. No one's money comes from the wind. You have no responsibility or obligation to pay for my actions."

Jiang Lin's eyes were filled with admiration for him, and he asked, "Do you really want to mortgage your homestead?"

"I've made up my mind after eating the weight."

"How about giving it to me as collateral?"

Pei Xu looked surprised and asked in confusion: "You left Peijia Village after the show. If I fail, the homestead will be meaningless to you."

Jiang Lin stood up and scanned the store's QR code to pay. "You must not be a qualified general in ancient times. Who would keep shouting about losing a battle before it even starts? Xiao Pei, you are a master at shaking the morale of the army. Could you be an undercover sent by the enemy?"

Pei Xukua got in the car and said, "I just habitually think of the worst outcome and prepare myself mentally."

It was the slack season for farmers, and Peijia Village seemed to have entered the hibernation season. Few people went out, and everyone stayed at home, warming themselves by the brazier. Jiang Lin stayed up all night in front of the tablet. In the morning, he took his bank card and went to find Pei Xu, only to learn that Pei Xu had left for the county town.

Jiang Lin borrowed a four-wheeler from the production team to chase Pei Xu. He anxiously turned on the navigation system and said, "Pei Xu, you really were a rubber band in your previous life!"

Pei Xu was sitting on the bus with the documents. There was a thin layer of dust on the windows, and occasionally the bumps on the road made slight vibrations and noises. On the large tracts of farmland, farmers were turning the soil and making ridges to plant vegetables. In the spring, they would release water into the fields, plow them again, and plant rice.

Pei Xu carefully compared the loan interest rates of various banks and sighed silently when he got off the car: "There are so many rich people in this world, what's wrong with one more of me?"

Jiang Lin kept pressing the accelerator harder and harder, muttering, "For the first time, I hope the bank's efficiency won't be so high."

The photographer in the back seat reminded: "There are still two kilometers to the highway entrance."

Jiang Lin glanced at the navigation and continued to step on the accelerator.

Pei Xu glanced at the WeChat message sent by Jiang Lin: "Where are you? Did you go to apply for a loan? Reply to me when you see the message!" Then he walked into the bank's loan business reception room.

"The destination is 50 meters ahead." The navigation voice sounded in the car. Jiang Lin saw the sign of Bank of China, quickly stopped the car on the side of the road and went in to ask the staff. Pei Xu had never been there.

Jiang Lin called Pei Xu's WeChat number, but no one answered.

Pei Xu was looking for a duck noodle shop in the East Street Market that he often visited when he was in high school. Suddenly, he felt the left pocket of his coat was empty. Pei Xu reacted quickly and found his cell phone was gone. He was stunned for a moment, then looked around at the people passing by. There was nothing unusual in their expressions, and no one in the crowd was walking fast.

Jiang Lin went to several banks but couldn't find Pei Xu. The dark clouds in the sky gradually gathered together. He said anxiously: "We should have broken his legs last night!"

The chewy rice noodles were boiled in a steaming pot and poured with an exclusive secret marinade. The boss picked up a spoon and added half a spoonful of duck offal and a spoonful of duck meat, then brought it to Pei Xu's table. The familiar taste hit him and Pei Xu couldn't wait to eat.

The boss, who looked to be in his fifties, sat at the cashier counter and chatted with him with a smile: "Young man, what do you do for a living?"

Pei Xu opened the glass jar on the table, added a spoonful of chopped chili peppers and a few colorful peppers in sauce, sipped a mouthful of noodles with satisfaction, and then responded: "Uncle, what kind of job do I look like to you?"

The old man said, "You look very educated wearing glasses. And you carry a briefcase." He pointed at the treasure that Pei Xu placed on the seat next to him, "It has the name of your school written on it. You are a college graduate from Beijing. I guess you are a civil servant."

When you go out, your identity is given by yourself. Pei Xu smiled and said, "Uncle, you have a good eye. You have discovered all this. I work in the Agricultural Bureau and just passed the civil service exam this year."

The old man said proudly: "I have a good eye. I have run this shop for more than ten years. Usually many students come to my shop to eat noodles. I can tell who is in the key class and who is in the ordinary class, and whether they can be admitted to university at a glance."

"Your store has been open for a long time. I used to come here often when I was in high school. Can you guess which school I was a student at?"

The old man got excited, sat on the chair next to him and said, "You must be a student of the county's key high school. Your university is a double first-class university, which is not easy to get into."

"Then uncle, what kind of job do you think a young person should do after graduating from a good university?"

"The purpose of studying is to find a good job. If you pass the civil service exam like you did, you will have a stable job with a guaranteed income, or if you join a big company, you will have a bright future."

Pei Xu's forehead was covered with sweat from the chili pepper. He wiped it with a tissue and said, "What if this young man doesn't take the civil service exam or join a big company, but instead goes home to farm and develop agriculture? What do you think?"

The old man waved his hands excitedly, and his tone suddenly became passionate: "What kind of farming? How can young people nowadays farm? They don't even know when to plant the seedlings? When to spread the fertilizer? When the weather is a little hot, they have to turn on the air conditioner. They can't stand the hardship. Staying in the city to develop is the serious thing. What money can you make from the more than ten acres of land at home?"

Pei Xu gave a polite smile and said, "Uncle, you are right." Not only did he run into a wall at the town government, but the bank staff, seeing his academic qualifications, also tried to persuade him earnestly not to waste them, and the loan amount was far from what he had expected.

Jiang Lin's stomach protested. He had already run to all the banks in the county. He pressed the voice button in annoyance: "Pei Xu, you'd better be captured by aliens. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain why you didn't reply to the message."

The sky was covered with dark clouds and a strong wind was blowing, sweeping up the dust on the ground. The vendors on the street stood up and held tightly onto the poles of their parasols. Pedestrians on the road and people driving electric bikes quickened their pace to go home. A heavy rain was coming. Pei Xu's hair was blown up, revealing his fair forehead. He walked aimlessly along the street against the strong wind.

The black car searched for people along the street. Raindrops began to fall. In less than a few minutes, the sky seemed to be cut by a sharp wind knife. Heavy rain fell, hitting the car windows. The wipers kept working back and forth. Jiang Lin slowly drove the car into the underground parking lot of the mall and cursed: "Let's go eat. Don't look for him anymore. I'm neither his mother nor his wife. Who cares if he gets wet?"