Chapter 92 Unexpected Storm
"It's not hot, Grandpa Liu. I've heard you're very hospitable. Could you treat me to a meal?"
"Of course I'll take care of you, young man. You look very familiar. I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before!"
“He likes to wander around the city aimlessly; perhaps I saw him when I came into the city,” Yun Xia interjected, raising an eyebrow.
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Liu waved his hand and said, "He hasn't been to the city since he retired, so he must have been to Chestnut Village."
"I guess it's just a matter of liking it. This is my first time visiting Chestnut Village."
There was no point in dwelling on this, so Yunxia found an excuse to change the subject. At lunchtime, Liu Qing saw him eating while wearing a mask and stared in surprise.
"Goodness, I'm so ignorant, is this a popular style in the city?"
As the young man casually picked up some food for his friend, he said nonchalantly, "I don't touch trendy things. I'm going to be unique. Yunxia, don't you think so?"
"yes!"
Well, what else can we say besides yes?
At the dinner table, Gu Xun was not polite at all. He took whatever he wanted to eat and even went to the kitchen to get a second bowl of rice. This was impolite, but Old Master Liu liked him very much and happily ladled him a bowl of rice wine.
"Oh, it's soft, sweet, and fragrant, with a pure and mellow flavor. Old Master Liu, why don't you brew Fujiu on a large scale? Leave the sales to me, and we'll split the profits 30/70, with me getting 70% and you getting 30%."
"Ha! Mr. Gu really never forgets his business acumen!"
"No, I'm too old to keep up with the work."
"So... are you selling the secret recipe?"
"The skills passed down from the older generation, where are the secret recipes? It's nothing more than good rice and good water. The tricks have all been taught to Yun. If you want to learn, you can ask her."
With her bright eyes, she quickly shifted her focus, her little mouth chattering away incessantly. Yun Xia, worn down by her chatter, had no choice but to say that she would experiment a few times first, and then discuss cooperation with her once the taste met her requirements.
While the group was chatting, the village chief, sweating profusely, came over with two large watermelons, saying he wanted to talk to Gu Xun about serious business!
The suffocating smell returned, and apart from the boy, the others retreated into the house under the pretext of not disturbing the conversation. The two wooden doors were tightly closed.
"Village chief, stay three to five meters away from me, it smells awful. Have you not taken a bath in years?" Bai Ye was well-mannered and didn't bring up other people's painful experiences, but the flamboyant and unrestrained Gu Xun didn't care about such things and spoke bluntly.
The village chief was stunned for a moment, his lips twitching. Finally, he resigned himself to his fate and retreated a few meters away, facing the major chestnut buyer with a fawning smile on his face.
"What do you think of the plan to harvest chestnuts by the plant?"
Gu Xun rolled up his sleeves, revealing the scrapes on his arm, and chuckled self-deprecatingly, saying, "The hospitality of your village is truly astonishing! They automatically block out explanations and start fighting at the slightest disagreement. Tsk tsk, if I hadn't trained, I don't know where I'd be lying right now!"
"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"
Damn it, which blind scoundrel dared to offend the buyer?
"A misunderstanding has already occurred just two hours after we arrived, haha! Village chief, don't you think the chances of it being a misunderstanding are a bit high? It's not just your village that grows chestnuts. Forget about signing a contract, they don't even want to set up a purchasing station."
The mountain road is rugged. If there are not many purchasing stalls at the village entrance, some villagers will have to use manpower to pull chestnuts to other villages to sell them. After much persuasion from the village chief, Gu Xun finally relented and said that the matter of setting up a stall could be discussed.
"Mr. Gu, I heard you were coming, so my wife slaughtered two laying hens. Would you mind...?"
"No, I'm eating quite well at the Liu family's. Once the stall arrangement is finalized, someone will send you a message. Hurry home, your stench is enough to kill me even through my mask."
Once again rejected, the village chief smiled awkwardly, exchanged a few polite words, wiped the sweat from his brow, and left, secretly plotting to find the village scoundrel and teach him a lesson.
Thump thump thump! Thump thump thump!
The boy banged on the door and shouted, "Open the door quickly and bring out the incense. The body odor is killing me!"
Yunxia opened the door, Liu Qing lit incense, and Old Master Liu fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan. Only Jiang Chao stared intently at Gu Xun.
"Is there something on my face?"
How do you know the Liu family has mugwort incense?
"Hmph, anyone with a brain would know that there are many mosquitoes in the mountain village in summer, and every household keeps some mugwort incense to repel them." After saying that, he raised his head, gave the boy a provocative look, and then started chatting with Grandpa Liu.
As evening approached, Gu Xun left the Liu family's house carrying a large bag of agricultural products. However, after walking only a few hundred meters, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a few seconds later, large raindrops splattered on his face. He hurriedly turned around and ran back to the Liu family's house.
"Quickly wipe yourself with a towel. That's how it is in the mountains; the rain can start anytime. At this rate, you probably won't be able to leave!"
"I'll leave my motorcycle at the clinic. There's a canopy on top so it won't get wet in the rain. Grandpa Liu, I'll stay here and chat for the night."
"One night won't do. Even if tomorrow is a sunny day, the dirt road won't dry."
The boy thought about it and agreed, so he said he would nag for a few more days. Taking advantage of the fact that the rain had just started and the road was not too slippery, Jiang Chao borrowed an umbrella and went back to the Jiang family home.
As darkness fell, the rain intensified, and with Bai Ye still not returning, Yun Xia began to feel a growing sense of unease.
"Grandpa Liu, how far is Yangtao Village?"
"It's across a mountain, do you think it's far or not? Girl, Bai Ye is a smart guy, don't worry."
Gu Xun, who was eating watermelon with bamboo skewers, trembled slightly and said, "That's right. He's a man who has weathered many storms. A little rain won't faze him."
The rain streaming down from the eaves was like a column of water; the branches and leaves of the big trees in the yard swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound. This was no light rain; it was clearly a torrential downpour.
"Before leaving, he said he wanted to go into the mountains to see chestnuts. I was afraid that he would do the same thing as yesterday, leaving his entourage behind. He might get bitten by a snake or encounter a storm. His luck is not good."
Gu Xun handed a slice of watermelon to the little girl, leaned against the door frame, and gazed at the misty green mountains in the distance. "He... is very lucky. Don't worry about him. Maybe we'll hear news soon."
The boy's mouth seemed to be blessed; not long after, Uncle Zhang, carrying a black umbrella, entered the Liu family's courtyard.
The hideous scars on his face startled Liu Qing!
"Young Master called. The rain is heavy, the mountain roads are muddy and impassable. He's staying at a local's house. When he'll be back depends on the weather. Don't worry."
"Uncle Zhang, when did you arrive?"
"Oh, I just arrived this morning and am staying at the clinic temporarily. If you need anything, just come find me. The rain is getting heavier. I've already delivered the message, so I'll head back now."
Before leaving, she secretly exchanged a glance with Gu Xun. Seeing him nod slightly, she breathed a sigh of relief, trudged out of the courtyard in her rain boots through the mud.
The young man raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Yunxia, are you relieved now?"
"It's fallen, it's fallen!" With no worries in my heart, even the watermelon in my hand tastes three times sweeter.
"Tsk tsk, imposing presence, was he a soldier?"
"Yes! Bai Ye said he did."
"grandfather……"
"Stop! You're the only son of the Liu family, so we can't afford to make any mistakes."
"Hmph, old-fashioned!"
Joining the army had always been Liu Qing's dream. After saying that, he turned around and went back into his room to sulk, not even coming out for dinner.
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