Chapter 168 Don't Want to Change
As autumn approaches, bamboo shoots in the mountains begin to sprout.
When Jiang Xun went into the mountains, he found some bamboo shoots and brought back a basket of them. Ma Xueqing made them into a delicious dish at noon.
The old people in the village were so happy with the food that they exclaimed that life was really interesting and they wanted to live for another few decades.
Ma Xueqing was very proud. After leaving the restaurant, he found that it was not raining outside. It was strange to say, he had been a chef all his life, opened his own restaurant, trained apprentices, and attracted batches of customers who liked his cooking for decades. He had felt that his life was like this and meaningless. Who knew that after coming to Yanggou Village, it was like a iron tree blooming, and he quickly had a second spring.
Every day he thinks about what to eat, whether it's something that walks in the mountains, swims in the water, or flies in the sky. He asks Xia Wu to plant and raise whatever he wants to eat. Xia Wu is a good boss and he likes to listen to people's suggestions.
After cooking lunch at noon, Ma Xueqing didn't have to clean up the mess, so he moved a rattan chair to sit in the yard, covered his face with a fan, and simply lay there to take a nap.
The autumn sun is just right, with a little heat but not too hot. The autumn wind brings the scent of fruits harvested from the mountains into the courtyard, making people drowsy. Autumn is like this, like being gently touched on the cheek by a gentle female elder and given a reward.
Just when Ma Xueqing was about to fall asleep, he was woken up by an annoying phone call.
Ma Xueqing squinted his eyes and saw that the caller was not his disciples, but Xu Li.
Ever since Xu Li and Xia Wu started working together, he got a lot of good things from her mountain and used them to cheat the rich. His private restaurant was selected as a gold medal restaurant in Shanghai, and now the fees are even higher.
Xu Li is a very proud boy. He is young but worth tens of millions, all because he is good at making choices. When he heard that his uncle quit being a chef and took over all the business, Xu Li wanted to visit the old man Ma Xueqing without saying a word.
As the saying goes, when the wind is high, the horse gallops fast. Xu Li drove his newly replaced luxury car worth millions on the road in a very cool manner, completely ignoring the speed limit warning, and then the tragedy happened.
The bad news is that he was in a car accident, the good news is that he didn't hit anyone, only killed a few sheep.
Now he was being held back from leaving. The sheep were raised by villagers nearby. They were quite old and their speech was difficult to understand. Xu Li was rich and wanted to solve the problem with money, but the villagers refused to accept his money and he even called the police.
Xu Li could only call his uncle quickly. He called Xia Wu, but no one answered.
When Ma Xueqing heard the news, he stood up cursing. Although Xu Li was good at making money and was the most promising one among his brothers, Ma Xueqing just didn't like this nephew.
It’s nothing, Xu Li is just too arrogant and too crazy.
He may have some qualifications to be arrogant. After all, he is young, capable, and can make a lot of money. But in Ma Xueqing's opinion, Xu Li has not yet understood the true meaning of life. He can only see money and nothing else, so he can only go this far.
Ma Xueqing couldn't contact Xia Wu either, so he asked someone to help notify Xia Wu to rush over after receiving the news, while he himself rushed over to find Xu Li.
Xu Li was trapped at a village intersection in front of Haotang Village. The road from the town was blocked by stone piers. Xu Li didn't want to park his luxury car in the town for fear that it would be damaged, so he listened to the navigation and took a country road with few people. There were farmlands on both sides of the road with tall crops. In addition, he was driving a little fast, so when the grazing lamb suddenly walked out of the haystack and onto the road.
The tragedy happened.
Upon hearing the news, Xia Wu hurried over from the White Building and arrived before Ma Xueqing.
The shepherd was in his fifties or sixties and could not speak Mandarin. His local dialect was difficult to understand when he spoke quickly. Xu Li was grabbed by the collar, and his expensive shirt became wrinkled. He threatened the man in a timid way, asking him to let him go so that he could talk things over properly.
Xia Wu's face was quite effective. He quickly introduced himself and rescued Xu Li's shirt from the shepherd's hand. "Uncle, let's talk it over nicely. Don't use violence, or even if we're right, we'll lose our reason. How do you want to resolve this matter? Public or private?"
Xia Wu had been at home for a long time and could speak the local dialect fluently. The shepherd knew Xia Wu and his expression became much better. He asked Xu Li if he was her guest.
Xia Wu nodded and said yes, but the shepherd was still angry and told him the whole story.
The sheep that Xu Li hit was a ewe with a baby in her belly. She was about to give birth, but the ewe was killed by Xu Li who suddenly jumped out. Then he got out of the car and without saying a word, took out two thousand yuan and gave it to the shepherd, saying that the money should be enough to buy a sheep.
For the shepherd, this wasn't a matter of losing money at all. He had raised that ewe for two or three years, from infancy to adulthood, and it even had a lamb! How pitiful!
If the person he hit today was not a sheep but a child, would Xu Li have the same attitude?
The happy summer vacation has passed and the students have returned to school. There are not many children running around on the country roads. Otherwise, what would happen if something happened?
Xia Wu expressed his understanding and felt very sad when he saw the pregnant ewe that had lost its foetus. The shepherd also knew that there was no way out of this matter and finally accepted the 5,000 yuan mediation fee given by Xu Li.
The compensation was reduced from two thousand to five thousand, and the problem was solved. However, Xu Li was a little unhappy. He thought that the shepherd was deliberately cheating him and wanted to ask him for more money. Since the money was given, the dead ewe should also be given to him.
Xia Wu glared at him and told him to stop talking. "What do you want the ewe for?"
"What else can I do? Eat. I'm going to die anyway." Xu Li acted as if it was a matter of course and didn't feel that he had done anything wrong.
Xia Wu frowned, glared at him and stopped talking.
Xu Li circled the luxury car distressedly, and when he found no scratches, he was delighted and said to Xia Wu, "Look at my new car. I just bought it, and it cost over six million yuan. How about it? Do you want to get in and take a seat? I'll take you for a spin."
He has somewhat different feelings for Xia Wu. How should I put it? Xia Wu is beautiful, kind-hearted, and successful in her career. She is a perfect match for him. If the two of them get together, it will be a powerful combination.
Xu Li has met countless women, but Xia Wu is the most special.
Xia Wu didn't bother to pay attention to Xu Li. After being chased by him for a few steps, she turned back to look at him angrily, "Why don't you feel any remorse at all? You just did something wrong. Not all problems can be solved with money. Why do I feel like you've changed?"
Xu Li was puzzled. "You are still mad at me for this? It's just a sheep. It's not like I didn't pay him back. Five thousand yuan for a sheep. Maybe the old man is secretly happy when he goes home."
Xia Wu shook her head and stopped talking to him because he was stubborn.
Xu Li is really no different from a money-grubber.
He has seen too many rich people. To them, spending tens of thousands of dollars on a meal is as normal as drinking plain water for ordinary people. If you see this for a long time, your values will naturally be distorted.
Xia Wu and he no longer agree.
Xia Wu didn't say a word the whole way back to Yanggou Village with Xu Li. Ji Yunzhou came back from the White Building and was already waiting for her on the mountain. Seeing Xia Wu coming back, he greeted her, "How are you? Are you okay?"
Xia Wu shook his head, turned around to look at Xu Li and said something.
Xu Li couldn't hear clearly as he was following behind, but he saw Xia Wu and a strange man getting very close, like a boyfriend and girlfriend, and he couldn't help but stare at Ji Yunzhou.
He looks quite handsome, like a pretty boy, but the clothes he wears are ordinary and he doesn't look like a rich man.
How could Xia Wu fall for such a person?
Xu Li ran to find Ma Xueqing, "Master, you really gave me a hard time looking for you. I ran to a place like this. A few days ago, my senior brother asked me if I knew where you were. Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone."
Xu Li regarded Yanggou Village as a paradise, so naturally he didn't want more people to discover this beautiful place.
Especially his competitors, it would be best if they could never discover his supply channels in their lifetime.
Ma Xueqing asked him: "Is the matter resolved?"
Xu Li exaggerated what had just happened, saying that the man was a greedy villager who wanted to ask him for more money. He gave him money but it was not enough. Xia Wu had to go over and say a few words to him before he realized that the man just wanted more money.
Ma Xueqing didn't know the truth. He frowned and said, "You don't need this little money, but you can't make this matter sound so simple. You were lucky today and only ran into a sheep. But what if you ran into a child next time? What are you going to do?"
Xu Li was helpless, "Didn't you not touch it?"
It will be too late if you really encounter it!
Ma Xueqing and Xu Li didn't have much to say. Xu Li talked about the business of his own restaurant. Ever since the private restaurant was rated as a gold medal private restaurant, the customers' reservations in his restaurant have been booked until next year. He has made a lot of money.
Ma Xueqing's eldest apprentice and third apprentice went to see Xu Li some time ago, wanting Xu Li to help inquire about opening a store. Xu Li was very proud of it again.
Xia Wu had never expected that Xu Li would become like this after not seeing him for a few months. Fortunately, Xu Li didn't stay long. He seemed to have noticed that Xia Wu was ignoring him. Xu Li sent her a WeChat message to apologize in a flattering manner, but Xia Wu didn't reply.
The weather was getting colder. The Great Sage had been with Xia Wu for more than two months, and his fur had become smooth and shiny because of her care. Xia Wu had thought that the Great Sage's tribe would never return to the mountain, but when the first snow fell, the monkeys went down the mountain again.
After not seeing them for a few months, the monkeys were still the same naughty group. Early in the morning, the villagers saw monkeys squatting on the electric poles. They were afraid that the high voltage electricity would hit them, so the villagers still drove the monkeys away everywhere.
But the effect is not good.
These monkeys are afraid of being bitten by dogs. They won't go out when dogs are around. When there are no dogs around, they sneak up and enter the villagers' homes to steal and rob things.
Xia Wu had no choice but to borrow Jing Lei, who was being taken care of by Sun Dehong, in order to deal with the monkeys.
The husband and wife team Jinglei and Weifeng took great efforts to drive the monkeys back to the mountain.
The Great Sage Statue knew that his tribe was being driven away. He chirped and looked very anxious. He wanted to leave Xia Wu and return to his tribe, but he was reluctant to do so.
In the past two months, Xia Wu has taken good care of it, and the Great Sage has become accustomed to snuggling up to Xia Wu.
But it is a monkey after all.
Xia Wu couldn't bear to see the Great Sage in such a dilemma, so she came up with a compromise. There were about thirty or forty monkeys, and it wouldn't cost much to raise them all. So she simply led the monkeys to the mountain where herbs were grown, and built a shed for them with trees in the valley to provide some shelter from the wind and snow.
The concave cliffs serve as a natural shelter, and a frame is built with trees, just like raising cats, to leave a habitat for the monkeys. Xia Wu is afraid that these monkeys will be lazy and gluttonous, so she came up with an idea to tame the monkeys with human food and let these monkeys help her raise some more sheep in the back mountain.
After repeated experiments and with the Monkey King as a lesson, the monkeys were quickly tamed by Xia Wu.
Xia Wu bought fifty sheep from the foot of the mountain, just enough for each of the monkeys.
Below the monkey rack is the sheep pen. During the day, the monkeys let the sheep out to graze on the mountain, and at night, the monkeys drive the sheep back to the pen to rest.
Every two days, when Qin Yi and his friends went up the mountain, they would bring some human food from the foot of the mountain to feed the monkeys who could not find enough food in the winter.
In this way, the monkeys stopped causing trouble and Xia Wu was able to raise sheep again, killing two birds with one stone.
The Great Sage was very happy that the tribe was right next to him and no longer stuck to Xia Wu. Sometimes he would return to the tribe to rest, and sometimes he would return to Xia Wu, running back and forth and enjoying it.
The sheep are ready to be eaten. Autumn and winter are the seasons for eating mutton. The white radishes grown on the mountain are pulled out of the ground after the frost falls, washed, cut into large pieces, and stewed in mutton broth. Even if a whole sheep is killed, it is not enough for so many people in the village.
The sheep raised in the mountains are delicious, with little smell. The stewed sheep soup is sweet and the lamb melts in your mouth.
Ma Xueqing can cook and eat. He can cook a sheep in several ways. Every time it snows, Xia Wu will randomly pick a lucky sheep to fill everyone's stomachs.
The roads in the town have been repaired, and the whole town has a brand new look. People no longer have to worry about getting their clothes dirty when traveling. Since when, there have been more hotels and restaurants in the town, attracting foreign tourists to experience it.
Mr. Ji and Mr. Wang Zhong stayed in Yanggou Village for nearly half a year. They were so happy that they never mentioned going back. During this period, their family members often came to visit them, and every time they came, there would be some new changes in the town.
Some people say that the town is going to engage in real estate development, and maybe a residential community will be built in a while.
There was a huge uproar on the forum. Contrary to what some local residents thought, many people on the forum were worried that the town would become over-commercialized and turn into a cookie-cutter tourist town, losing its original characteristics.
Many netizens like Yanggou Village because it seems like an unrealistic dream to them and is the true embodiment of Peach Blossom Spring.
But all good things will not have a good ending as long as capital intervenes.
For many fans, Yanggou Village and even Donghua Town are the small boats that carry them under great pressure. If even a small town becomes a reality, where will they go to live?
Xia Wu watched as more and more fans spoke up and couldn't help but pinch his chin and fall into deep thought.
With Xu Li's previous experience as a lesson, Xia Wu also felt that netizens' concerns were not unreasonable. Now that the tourism industry in the entire Donghua Town is in full swing, it is normal for it to be targeted by some wealthy capitalists.
Once foreign capital intervenes, housing prices will definitely be driven up.
Will Donghua Town, which has been corroded by capital and time, still be what Xia Wu wanted?
Xia Wu probably wouldn't.
She knew the nature of rich people too well. Once they were rich, they would think about getting richer, compete with others, be vain, and do whatever it takes.
After all, she used to be one of that group of people.
Just as Xu Li thinks that killing a ewe is no big deal, rich people don’t think it’s a big deal that ordinary people can’t afford to buy a house.
Even if their assets were accumulated by stepping on the blood and flesh of their peers, even if the money is so much that it cannot be spent even if they indulge in luxury for several generations, they still feel it is not enough.
But what can people do with so much money?
Death is the fairest thing. No matter whether you are rich or poor, beautiful or ordinary, everyone will die.
Xia Wu is a person who has died once, and because of that experience, she has become more open-minded about many things.
Money is something outside of the body, and worthless love is also something outside of the body. It is foolish to die or give up one's life for anything.
But if a person is too open-minded, life will not be very happy. There must always be something important to protect, such as favorite food and favorite scenery, so that you can live happily and not waste your life journey.
Xia Wu lay in Ji Yunzhou's arms and counted the accounts. Her fans gave her too much face. No matter what Xia Wu launched, it was sold out. After paying the employees' salaries every month, there was still a lot of profit. Even if she had been spending money, she had saved several million now.
She asked Ji Yunzhou if he could lend her some money as she wanted to buy land in the town.
Even though Donghua Town was still an unknown small town, buying land and entering the real estate industry would not be something that could be done with just a few million.
Ji Yunzhou was a little surprised: "Why do you say borrow?"
Ji Yunzhou was as generous as ever. He was not on guard against Xia Wu. His cell phone, bank card password, and any social software were all open to Xia Wu.
Even if Xia Wu doesn't care.
His documents were all kept by Xia Wu. Not to mention spending his money, even if Xia Wu wanted to use his identity to borrow hundreds of millions, Ji Yunzhou probably wouldn't even notice.
Xia Wu lay on top of him, feeling that there was some truth in it, and smiled and said, "What's yours is yours, you always have to ask."
"No, what's mine is yours." Ji Yunzhou emphasized seriously.
"Just take whatever amount of money you need. I get a lot of dividends every year. I won't be able to spend it all in this lifetime. You can do something meaningful with it if you keep it." Ji Yunzhou didn't care about these things. He just wanted to stay with Xia Wu and have food and drink like now.
Anyway, his wife is supporting him, so he doesn’t have to spend any money.
Xia Wu rushed over and kissed him on the cheek, "Alright! In the future, most of my medals of honor will belong to you! With a husband like this, what else could a wife ask for!"
Ji Yunzhou's eyes sparkled with a smile, and he pursed his lips and said, "Do you acknowledge our relationship?"
What Xia Wu said was that she was just not willing to get married yet. As for admitting the relationship, she had already kept Ji Yunzhou by her side for a long time. Isn't that known to everyone?
With Ji Yunzhou's support, Xia Wu acted very arrogantly.
Donghua Town is indeed developing real estate. If it wants to boost the local economy, it must develop real estate. Some wealthy people, either openly or secretly, have been bidding through various means, but unfortunately they encountered the unreasonable Xia Wu.
She directly bid for nearly 1,000 acres of land, which has mountains and water, making it very suitable for real estate development.
She spent tens of millions to acquire this piece of land, and it is estimated that it will take a long time for her to get her money back.
But Xia Wu didn't want to make a profit.
Making a profit is something that business people need to consider; she is just a dreamer.
The 1,700 acres of land up for tender is just west of Donghua Town. It’s less than half an hour’s walk from this land to Yanggou Village, or about ten minutes by bike. It’s very close.
There is a village here, and there are not many people left in the village. If you want to build houses, you have to communicate well with these people. Some people want to rip Xia Wu off, and they are asking for too much. I don’t know where they learned this from, but if you want them to move, you have to give them a few houses and a few million.
Xia Wu rolled her eyes so much that they almost flew to the sky. She was given millions. Does she look like someone worth millions?
What's more, this is a formal bidding. According to the relocation standards of Donghua Town, we only need to provide relocation housing.
There is no talk of compensation at all.
Xia Wu didn't have time to argue with them.
The project was handed over to Xia Zhi and Ma Fangzhou. On the 1,700-acre land, Xia Wu currently wanted to build two houses first as demonstration houses. The company's employees would have the right of first purchase, and they would not have to buy at a fixed price, but would rent instead of buy.
This is a new idea of Xia Wu. According to the experience of many young people today, mortgages and car loans are pre-consumption. Many people have to buy houses and cars, and take on heavy loans for this. Sometimes they buy the wrong house, and when they go to work in other places, they can't find a house to live in and can only rent another one. If they are lucky, the rent of their own house can cover the rent of renting a house in other places.
If you are unlucky, many people have to pay their mortgage while renting a house and working, which is really miserable.
Xia Wu decided to save some trouble and rent instead of buying.
She wants to build a building that can be rented out, and tenants can get the property rights of the house as long as they rent for twenty years.
Donghua Town is a very remote place. The monthly rent is only three to five hundred yuan at most, and the house price is only over two thousand yuan per square meter. Even if it is a house of one hundred square meters, it will only cost two to three hundred thousand yuan to buy it.
If you rent a house instead, renting for 20 years will definitely cover the cost of buying a house.
Although this method is somewhat unfriendly to developers, it is a godsend for ordinary people who cannot afford to buy a house.
The first people to learn the good news were the company's internal employees. They learned that Xia Wu had bought a piece of land of 1,700 acres and planned to build a house. At that time, they would have the right of first refusal. Without a doubt, this was a benefit.
The employees were actually just generally happy. They lived well in the village and didn't have much need to move. On the contrary, employees from other places like Shao Yun, and migrant workers like Wang Baoyu and Dong Rui were extremely excited after hearing the news.
Every Chinese person longs for a home of their own, safe from outsiders and sheltered from the elements. Shao Yun, unable to afford Shanghai's housing prices, fled to a remote town after wasting her youth. She never imagined she'd have a home of her own in her lifetime.
And there are many young people like Shao Yun on the forum!
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