Fortunately, Shu Yan had been exercising recently, and after riding a horse around the track, she didn't feel uncomfortable anywhere.
"I'll give you a massage later, and you won't feel sore tomorrow." Fang Zeyu was worried that Shu Yan wouldn't feel comfortable when she woke up tomorrow.
"It should be fine, I'm still doing yoga."
The club that Hu Ruixue introduced had yoga teachers. In addition to some shaping exercises, Shu Yan would also do yoga. She planned to continue practicing yoga after the shaping was finished.
She had seen some people who practiced yoga regularly, and their figures and posture were truly excellent. She hoped that she could maintain a very good physique even after she turned forty.
Riding slowly along on horseback, the wind gently ruffled Shu Yan's bangs as she leaned comfortably against Fang Zeyu's chest.
"This place is so beautiful, I hope I can come back again next time."
"You can come anytime if you like." Fang Zeyu also really liked this place.
He was forced to stay at home and couldn't stay there any longer. It was his grandfather who used his connections to help him get into the army, which changed his life. Otherwise, he would definitely have become a street thug and gone astray.
In the afternoon, they would put a blanket on the ground, lie there enjoying the breeze and watching the blue sky and white clouds, and could lie there quietly all day.
"Mommy, look at the little pony I'm riding!" Tianbao slowly rode over on a little mare.
"Where did this horse come from? Don't ride it and break it." This horse looks very small.
"Jinshan said it's fine, he rides it all the time." This was the first time Tianbao had ridden it alone.
"Who is Jinshan?" Shu Yan asked Fang Zeyu, turning her head to the side.
“He’s the old village chief’s grandson. The pony is probably for him to practice on. He said it’s okay, so it’s fine.” Fang Zeyu helped Shu Yan off the horse and came to Tianbao’s side to pat the pony. “Even if it’s a pony, you have to ride it slowly. Falling off is no joke.”
"I'm not afraid, Uncle Fang will protect me." After spending these few days together, Tianbao admires Fang Zeyu more and more.
Fang Zeyu tapped him on the head. "I only have two hands. What if I don't make it in time?"
A little while later, Jingjing also rode over on a pony, but she was accompanied by a boy who was about eight years old and very strong. He must be the Jinshan that Tianbao had mentioned.
"Mommy, can I ride the horse to the side to play?" To be honest, Jingjing was a little afraid of riding horses before, but she wasn't afraid of the little horse, and she thought it was so cute.
Besides Jinshan, Jinshan's father was also with them. Shuyan let them go out and have fun without worry. The purpose of coming to the grassland was to have fun, so there was no need to be so careful.
That evening, the village chief treated them again, roasting another lamb. During the meal, Fang Zeyu and the village chief talked a lot about the road. The village chief's idea was to fill in the pothole and then lay pebbles on it.
"Could we apply to the county for permission to pave the road with cement?" Fang Zeyu had calculated with Lin Dazhi last night that it was 20 kilometers from here to the nearest county town. The road was very flat, and the village could provide the labor. It would probably cost about one million yuan.
The village chief shook his head. "It won't work. We've applied to the county government many times, but they keep saying they don't have the money."
The grasslands are too vast, and the villages are too scattered. Their village has less than a hundred people, and it's a poor county. How could they possibly come up with a million yuan to build roads for them? And if it's given to their village, won't the other villages have objections? If they all complain to the county, then they won't be able to make a living either.
Shu Yan was somewhat surprised when she heard this. She thought that building a road wouldn't cost that much. According to Fang Zeyu's calculation, it would cost around 100,000 yuan per kilometer, and that was for a flat road. If there were mountains or rivers blocking the way, the cost would be even higher.
Thinking about it this way, the 50,000 yuan she donated to the village is probably far from enough. At the time, she thought it was enough, and her third brother said he would make up the difference if it wasn't enough. She thought he would only make up 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, but now it seems that even 100,000 yuan might not be enough.
After all, their village is located in a mountain valley, separated from the nearest neighboring village by two mountains. To build a road, they would have to build stone embankments over the fields and construct a bridge, making the project far more extensive than that on the grassland.
"What's wrong?" Fang Zeyu asked softly when he saw Shu Yan deep in thought after finishing his conversation with the village chief.
"I was thinking about the donation last time. I thought 50,000 yuan was a lot, but now it seems I was just being presumptuous. I'll ask my third brother later. I started this, so there's no reason for him to spend so much money."
Fang Zeyu only knew that Shu Yan had donated money, but he didn't know the situation in Shu Yan's hometown. Now it seems that the road to be repaired is quite long.
The next day, Fang Zeyu took Shu Yan to visit his former military unit. They weren't supposed to go in, but Lin Dazhi contacted his former superior, who used to like Fang Zeyu the most. Upon hearing that he was back, the superior immediately had them invited in.
"It's changed a lot since then," Fang Zeyu remarked, looking at the military camp.
“You’ve been gone for so many years, it’s normal for things to change.” Lin Dazhi would occasionally point to a building and ask Fang Zeyu if he remembered what it used to do.
We even had lunch here. Tianbao looked around and whispered, "Mom, I want to be a soldier when I grow up."
Shu Yan glanced at him. When she was little, she wanted to be a scientist when she grew up, but now she's just a construction worker.
When the county learned that Fang Zeyu wanted to donate money to build a highway, they immediately sent people to meet with him. However, they didn't talk much about the highway itself, but instead kept trying to get investment, implying that Fang Zeyu should help the grasslands where he had lived.
It's clear that these people have no ulterior motives; they genuinely want to increase the county's revenue, as the area is far too poor.
Shu Yan looked thoughtfully at the flocks of sheep outside. Hu Ruixue had already started her women's clothing project, and it was very likely that she would officially launch the advertising campaign in two months. That would coincide with the autumn season, and wool sweaters would be essential for autumn and winter, as well as various wool-containing garments, such as wool coats, scarves, hats, socks...
"I do have a collaboration opportunity that we can discuss with you."
Upon hearing Shu Yan's words, the people from the county couldn't help but look at her.
Who is this?
"This is my girlfriend. She runs a clothing business." Fang Zeyu knew from Shu Yan's words that she must have thought it through before speaking.
Clothing business? The investment promotion team's eyes lit up immediately. Clothing business is good! If they could set up a wool processing factory here, it would not only create many more jobs, but also bring income to the herders and the county.
"I'm just expressing this interest. The specifics will depend on the company sending someone to conduct an on-site inspection. It's not like I can just say it's okay," Shu Yan explained with a smile. She then added, "Besides, we're here for tourism, so I don't really want to discuss work-related matters. I'll call someone at the company later, and then you can contact them."
These words did not discourage them. Shu Yan was the boss. If she was willing to invest here, would her employees dare to go against her?
They approached the village chief and asked him to make sure Fang Zeyu and Shu Yan were well taken care of. All their expenses would be covered by the county, and the county could also allocate some funds for the road construction, although not much, but still a grant.
After spending a week on the grassland, the people from the county really didn't bother them. Shuyan learned to make yogurt and cheese from the herdsmen. Cheese was too troublesome, but she could make yogurt at home.
The two children became good friends with Jinshan, the village chief's son. They rode their ponies around outside every day, and yesterday they even helped Jinshan deliver a lamb.
"Mommy, lambs are amazing! They can stand up and walk soon after they're born!" Tianbao excitedly told Shuyan.
"That's amazing!"
"Really. He also said he would give me the newborn lamb. Mom, can I take it home and raise it?" Tianbao blinked at Shuyan, while Jingjing, who was beside him, looked at him expectantly without saying a word.
"The lamb is so small, it won't have milk to drink if it leaves its mother, it will starve to death." Shu Yan was speechless. She still wanted to take a lamb back with her. Kids really do have all sorts of crazy ideas.
"Can we take its mother back with us? That way the little lamb won't starve," Tianbao immediately said.
“The sheep mother belongs to Grandpa Village Chief. If you take her away, Grandpa Village Chief’s family will have no money to eat. What about Tianbao and Jingjing? Have you thought about that?” Shu Yan looked at them seriously. “The lambs are the same. They are Grandpa Village Chief’s family’s means of livelihood. Jinshan said he was giving them to you as a courtesy, and you accepted them?”
"Can we buy it?" Tianbao asked dejectedly.
"Did you buy anything to take back? Have you forgotten how we got here?"
The thought of squeezing into a small private room with such a big sheep mother made Jingjing shudder, and she immediately shook her head, "I'd better not."
"Alright, when we get back to Nancheng, Mom will buy you a puppy. Puppies are very cute and will protect you." Shu Yan had actually wanted to have a puppy for a long time, especially after buying the yard.
"Alright then," Tianbao reluctantly agreed.
When they left, the old village chief and the herdsmen held a grand farewell party for them. The whole village came, and everyone sang and danced around the bonfire. Fang Zeyu and Shu Yan were also encouraged to join in and dance for a while.
The next morning, the two of them got up and packed their things, and Lin Dazhi drove the tractor to take them to the city.
“Old Fang, the phones in the army still work. Call me if you need anything, and remember to keep in touch.” Lin Dazhi already knew about Fang Zeyu’s experiences over the years. He punched Fang Zeyu on the shoulder and whispered, “Your wife is a good person. You should treat her well.”
"Do you even need to tell me that?" Fang Zeyu rolled his eyes at him. Who else would he be good to if not his wife? "Come to Nancheng sometime."
After a long and arduous journey, they finally returned to Nancheng. When Shu Yan got off the bus, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"The grasslands are fun, but the transportation used to be so inconvenient." It's really inconvenient to travel now. For example, in the future, it will only take four or five hours by high-speed rail from the south of the city to the capital, but now it takes nearly twenty hours. The difference is significant.
Seeing the weariness in Shu Yan's eyes, Fang Zeyu told them to wait by the exit while he went to get the car.
They returned to the neighborhood around 5 p.m., when most people had already gone home from get off work. Fang Zeyu hesitated for a moment, then generously came down to escort Shu Yan upstairs.
Some people who knew Shu Yan or Fang Zeyu were whispering among themselves when they saw this.
"Is it true? Fang Zeyu is dating a woman from our neighborhood?"
"What do you mean they're dating? They're just dating normally," Grandma Zhang said, speaking up for Shu Yan.
"Doesn't that woman already have a child? Her son seems to attend kindergarten here."
"I know that. She's divorced a long time ago. Neither of them is married, so what's wrong with them being together? If you ask me, Fang Zeyu wouldn't be able to find a single woman of suitable age at his age. It's perfect for him to find a divorced woman. Besides, Shu Yan is beautiful and has a good personality. If she hadn't been divorced, she would have had countless suitors by now," Grandma Zhang said, speaking up for her because she knew some of Shu Yan's situation.
Within three days, many people in the neighborhood knew that Fang Zeyu had a girlfriend, a divorced woman with two children.
Most people say Fang Zeyu is smart. At his age, he doesn't have a job, and his face is disfigured. It would be difficult for him to find a good girl. It would be great to find a divorced woman with a child. He wouldn't have to pay a dowry or hold a wedding banquet, saving a lot of money. He heard that the woman has a house in the capital of Nancheng, which means she still has some money. What a great thing!
"Didn't they say he'd never dated anyone? How come he's already dating someone?" Zhou Xiaomei overheard her neighbors gossiping on her way home from get off work and rushed home to ask her mother.
“How would I know? And you, why did you suddenly take a liking to Fang Zeyu? Even if he was wronged back then, it’s a fact that he went to jail and lost his job. We don’t even know what he’s doing out there now. The only good thing is that he has a room, but his stepmother is hard to get along with. That kind of person is not a good match at all. Xiaomei, Mom will find you a better one another day. We’re not in a hurry.” Zhou’s mother still felt that her daughter had suffered a trauma before taking a liking to Fang Zeyu.
Zhou Xiaomei was the 30-something female teacher that the old lady and her friends had mentioned.
She kept her head down and didn't say anything. She had never told her family that two years ago, on her way home from get off work, she encountered a lecherous man who took advantage of her. She was truly desperate at the time, but Fang Zeyu, who happened to be passing by, miraculously saved her.
Although he didn't succeed, Zhou Xiaomei's whole body was touched. At the time, she begged Fang Zeyu not to tell anyone and didn't call the police. She was a teacher, and if people found out, how could she face them in the future? Besides, she had a fiancé studying abroad.
Later, after her engagement was broken off, she thought of Fang Zeyu, thinking that it would be nice to marry him. She mentioned it to her mother, but her mother strongly opposed it, thinking she was heartbroken and giving up on herself because of the broken engagement. Not long after, she heard that Fang Zeyu had been wronged, and Zhou Xiaomei was overjoyed. She then asked her mother to help her find out more information.
The old lady who lived with Fang Zeyu said he didn't have a partner, but now, suddenly, a partner has appeared—a divorced woman with two children. Zhou Xiaomei doesn't understand why Fang Zeyu wouldn't want a woman who has given birth to two children. Is it because she's too old?
Shu Yan was unaware that Fang Zeyu was being targeted; she was on the phone with Shu Jianyang.
"Third brother, really! I didn't understand and you didn't even remind me. I thought 50,000 yuan would be enough, but now I realize it's far from enough. This was all to help me, so I can't ask you to add that much money. How about I transfer another 100,000 yuan?"
“We don’t need that much. It’s not just you who’s paying. The old Party Secretary said that everyone in the village should contribute money if they have it, and manpower if they don’t. The two small villages along the highway will also contribute their labor. Most of the materials will be sourced locally. Isn’t there a stream nearby? We have sand and pebbles. I have the machinery, and I won’t be adding much. Fifty thousand yuan is more than enough.” Shu Jianyang didn’t expect Shu Yan to inquire about this.
“I don’t understand this. I’ll transfer another 100,000 yuan. That’s enough. My brother and I don’t need this money. Let’s not argue. Besides wanting the old Party Secretary’s help with the road construction, I also want to do good deeds for myself.”
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