Being near the water tower, one gets the moon first.
The old man was sunbathing in the yard when he heard the noise and immediately came out.
He was an elderly man with white hair, but he looked very healthy.
"Xiao Feng, you're here."
"It's been a long time since I've visited. Grandpa, how have you been feeling lately? Have you been feeling unwell?"
Huang Fuda placed the gift boxes in his hands in front of the TV in the living room, then helped the old man sit on the sofa.
"That's great!" The old man gently patted Huang Fuda's hand. "It's just that Yun Ge is usually at work and no one's home, so it's a bit boring."
Seeing that Fang Chuan was still standing there, the old man beckoned him to come and sit down.
Whose child is this?
“He came from out of town to make a living, but he had no food or shelter and couldn’t find a job, so I’m keeping him on my side for the time being.” Huang Fuda reached out and hooked Fang Chuan’s head, stroking his hair affectionately like he was petting a dog.
Fang Chuan glanced at Huang Fuda, but didn't dare to say anything more.
"Xiao Feng is always so kind-hearted, except for being a bit stubborn, he's good in every way..."
Fang Chuan straightened up, but then heard a rumbling in his stomach. He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and was now starving.
He smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Well, I'm still always hungry even after eating lately, maybe I'm still growing."
Huang Fuda turned to look at him, his expression somewhat unreadable.
The old man nudged Huang Fuda and said, "Go, open up that Wahaha and peach shortbread, and give them to the kids. You children love that."
Huang Fuda got up to get it, while the old man continued to talk to Fang Chuan: "He used to bring this every time he came, saying that Xiao Feng brought it specially, but I know that's not true. How could that kid possibly know how to do this?"
"I know I can't fool you." Huang Fuda smiled, then skillfully unpacked the package and placed many items on the coffee table in front of Fang Chuan.
"Eat quickly." Her tone was soft and gentle, it sounded so nice.
The old man's house had wooden floors, with a small section that creaked when you walked on them. On the first-floor balcony near the door, there were some green plants, a birdcage without birds hanging above it, and a chess table below. Huang Fuda and the old man sat there playing chess and chatting, while Fang Chuan was still sitting on the sofa eating his food.
Listening to their conversation, it turns out that Huang Fuda's real name wasn't Huang Fuda. The name Fuda was given to him by his grandfather, meaning "virtuous and upright." He adopted the surname Huang because the Huangjiang River is his mother river.
"General," the old man's voice boomed, "Little Feng, you've lost again!"
"No, Grandpa has to let me win one more time, let's play again."
After hearing this, the old man laughed heartily at Huang Fuda, "You little rascal."
They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice someone had entered through the door. The man was pale-faced, tall, and looked at Huang Fuda with an indifferent expression.
The old man was very happy to see his son return: "It's our Yunge who's back."
Seeing this, Huang Fuda also stood up, beaming: "I've been busy lately, and it's been a long time since I've seen you, brother. I'll cook, so you can see if my cooking skills have improved."
He walked toward the kitchen, passing Yung, and the two exchanged a glance. Then Yung put down his briefcase and followed him inside.
Fang Chuan watched the two people walk into the kitchen together and felt something was off. Just as he was thinking about it, the old man behind him suddenly called out, "Kid, come and play chess with me for a while."
In the kitchen, Huang Fuda rolled up his sleeves, took something out of the refrigerator and placed it on the cutting board, preparing to wash his hands before starting to chop vegetables.
"Why are you here?" Yung asked in a cold tone, closing the kitchen door halfway.
"You've come to see Grandpa." Huang Fuda smiled.
Yun Ge stared intently at Huang Fuda, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
Seeing this, Huang Fuda also composed himself: "I want to get involved in the skyscraper project in Laowa District."
"The bidding process will begin in November, and you can submit your bid."
"Not enough, I want the only hotel in the building on Cloud Island that's mine."
Yun Ge laughed, speechless: "How can you always be so naive, Huang Fuda? You're 28, not 18. It's just your family, how could that be?"
"Why not, brother? Just help me..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yunge interrupted him, "Why should I help you? Also, don't call me brother. We are not related by blood."
"Oh..." Huang Fuda put down the knife in his hand, turned around and looked at him leisurely, his eyes sharp and full of mockery.
"There's no blood relation, so it doesn't count as incest, right, Young Master Yun?"
"..."
Huang Fuda approached Yun Ge, making them both hide in a concealed spot. He then took Yun Ge's cold right hand in his own and rubbed it to warm it.
"Brother, I know it's tough for you on your end. As long as you help me, whether it works out or not, I can give you 40% of the profits from Cloud Island in the building. It's not a lot of money, but no one else can give it to me."
His voice was gentle, and each word he uttered was seductive to Yun Ge.
But Yun Ge calmly pushed him away, "That's not enough. We need at least five in Xianye City and one in the future skyscraper, making a total of six. And these can't be called Cloud Island in the future, and they can't simply be considered your private property."
"...Are you robbing me?"
Yun Ge turned to leave, ignoring him, but his hand was suddenly grabbed again: "Brother, no, Young Master Yun, the camera..."
"This is also about the reputation of Xianye City, you don't need to tell me. The building will be completed in 4 months, but the bidding will start in mid-November. You should consider this first."
The dining table was square and quite old. The old man pulled Huang Fuda to sit with him, while Fang Chuan and Yun Ge sat opposite each other.
If he hadn't recognized Yun Ge at first, he should have by now. Yun Ge was the head of the Yun family in Xianye City. The Yun family was one of the most prominent families in Xianye and even the province. Fang Chuan had seen him once from afar when he gave a speech at A University.
Yung-ge's every move exuded good manners, while Huang Fu-da seemed like a wild boy in a nobleman's skin.
With Fang Chuan present, the two stopped talking about the hotel and the old man took the lead, reminiscing about Huang Fuda's childhood.
Huang Fuda escaped to Xianye City from his adoptive parents. He was abducted at the age of five and doesn't remember his name or his parents, only that there was a big tree in front of his house.
Three years after adopting him, when Huang Fuda was seven, his adoptive parents had their own child, a boy. From then on, Huang Fuda was frequently beaten and scolded. Finally, when he was 13, he hid in a donkey cart and ran away.
When he first arrived in Xianye City, he hid from everyone, the little beggar hiding in the depths of a dirty alley, scavenging for food in garbage cans. He didn't trust anyone; everyone who came and went outside, whether out of kindness or not, was a demon in his eyes.
It was a cloudy day with a light drizzle. A man wielding a knife dragged a child to the alley entrance. He was agitated and wildly brandished his knife at the lone policeman who was chasing after him.
The policeman tried to calm the assailant down loudly, but unexpectedly the man suddenly raised his knife to stab the child in his hand.
In the critical moment, the police rushed forward and disarmed the man with their bare hands, subduing him, but they were also deeply stabbed twice in the left arm and left shoulder.
Suddenly, the little beggar's world brightened up. He peeked out from behind the trash can, soaked to the bone by the rain, and stumbled toward the policeman, grabbing his leg and refusing to let go.
That policeman was Yang Zhengping, who would become Director Yang a few years later.
"Back then, Yang Zhengping said he picked up a child and sent him to the shelter twice, but he ran away both times after only a few days. Xiao Chuan, guess how he escaped?" The old man turned to Fang Chuan and asked with a smile.
"Climb over the wall?"
"That wall is so high, even an adult might not be able to climb over it! This little brat dug the dog hole with his hands and squeezed out!" The old man held Huang Fuda's hand with pity. His hand didn't look like that of a 28-year-old young man; it was rough and covered with calluses, more like that of a migrant worker.
"Seeing that the child's hands were covered in blood from scratching twice, Yang Zhengping couldn't bear it anymore. He usually let the child roam freely at the station, and at night he would set up a small bed for him to sleep in."
After hearing this, Fang Chuan looked at Huang Fuda. Huang Fuda looked relaxed, with a smile on his lips, completely unconcerned, showing no sign of pain.
Fang Chuan felt a little uneasy. Although his family wasn't exactly happy, at least he had never suffered from hunger or cold. He didn't know how Boss Huang had managed to get through it.
Fang Chuan guessed that his expression must not have been very pleasant, so Huang Fuda put two pieces of meat in his bowl.
"Eat more, you need to grow," Huang Fuda said with a smile.
It was an excuse he made when his stomach was growling from hunger, and Boss Huang actually remembered it. Fang Chuan's heart burned even hotter.
After the meal, the two left. Before leaving, the old man was reluctant to part and wanted Huang Fuda to stay for the night, but Yun Ge persuaded the old man to let him go because Huang Fuda had work.
After coming out, it was obvious that Huang Fuda was not in a good mood, but he was not depressed either.
The few tens of minutes Fang Chuan drove for Huang Fuda each day were precious moments of alone time for the two of them, which Fang Chuan enjoyed very much.
However, as Fang Chuan's superior, he was always very taciturn, completely unlike his relaxed demeanor when they met before. He would only answer Fang Chuan's questions, and would stop talking altogether when he was annoyed.
"Boss, where are we going back to?"
"go home."
Upon arriving at the garage, he pointed to the two cars with black and white stripes on either side and said, "These are mine too. You can drive them as usual. Now come upstairs with me, and I'll give you the keys. If you don't like the original one, you can drive these two."
When did he realize... that he'd rather take a taxi than drive his black and white striped car...?
Upon arriving at the boss's door, Huang Fuda unlocked the fingerprint lock and went inside first. Fang Chuan only vaguely noticed that the interior had a human touch, unlike the domineering CEO style found in novels, before the door was closed.
Okay, if they won't let us in, then we won't.
About two minutes later, the door opened again, and Huang Fuda handed him the key, telling him to be careful on the way.
Fang Chuan watched the door close again, and turned to leave with some disappointment. But he hadn't taken two steps when he heard the door open behind him. His heart pounded, and he whirled around to see Huang Fuda peeking out, asking, "Did you eat well tonight?"
His heart was pounding with warmth, and with a quick thought, he made up a lie: "I'm not full. I'm so hungry."
"Then come in, I'll make you something else."
"Okay." Fang Chuan squinted, a long, gentle smile spreading across his lips, and walked back with light steps.
Whose driver is so lucky to get into the boss's house and eat the boss's cooking? Fang Chuan felt like he was growing a tail and couldn't help but wag it a couple of times.
So being a driver is more beneficial than harmful. If he weren't a driver and the relationship remained the same, he might not have been able to get into Huang Fuda's house.
He secretly rejoiced, thinking, "Being close to the water tower gives me the advantage of getting the moon first!"
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