Chapter 243 Discovering the Secret
It was already past three in the afternoon when we arrived at Mr. Chen's house.
As soon as they heard that Mr. Chen was back, many relatives and neighbors came to see him and the living room was full of people.
Everyone sat together and exchanged pleasantries for a while. Some people started asking Mr. Chen for help, mostly children who had just graduated and wanted to work for him.
Mr. Chen said with a smile, "Please leave Xiao Ruan's WeChat and ask the child to send him a WeChat message about his situation. I will deal with it slowly after I get back."
He saw that if he sat here, more and more people would come to him, so he said, "I'll show you around."
Mr. Chen stood up and took Lao Xiao and me on a tour of the building.
I came to the second floor, stood on the balcony, pointed to a low house about 20 meters in front of the ground and said:
"The only flaw is the utility room on the east corner. It should be demolished."
Mr. Chen smiled helplessly: "His last name is Wang, but no matter how much money you offer, he won't agree."
Old Xiao said: "There are many such cases. Back in the Qing Dynasty, our village had a military commander.
After retiring and returning home, I wanted to buy a small piece of farmland from my neighbor, but he refused to sell it, no matter how much money he was offered.
Mr. Chen said, "This is called backbone in the village, and many people support it. Actually, if he demolishes it, I can give him some money and arrange for his children to work in my company, which is fine, but he just wants to show his backbone."
I didn't say a word, because this kind of backbone is all the weak have left.
Mr. Chen was about to take us downstairs to see the pavilion built on the back hill. I shook my head and said with a smile, "I'm looking at the graves, not the pavilion."
Mr. Chen didn't know what I meant and just stood there in a daze.
I said, "There are too many people downstairs, let's sit upstairs. I'll bring the bag up."
Mr. Chen said, "You don't have to go."
He made a phone call, and a young man came up and gave me some instructions. He took my car keys and left. A moment later, he brought the phone to the small living room where I was sitting.
"I'll take a look at the satellite image first, and then I'll go and see it tomorrow, and then I'll have a better idea."
I sat in the middle, with Mr. Chen and Lao Xiao on my left and right. I typed "Huating Village, Chenjia Town" into my computer, and a topographic map popped up.
Zooming in and out, Mr. Chen immediately found the place and said, "This is it. It's called Woniu Mountain. My ancestral graves, including my parents, are buried on this mountain."
I looked at it slowly and found that it really looked like a cow. Then I moved the cursor to the right and zoomed in and out of the shape. As I zoomed in and out, I was surprised to find that the mountain on the right looked more like a cow.
In front of Lao Xiao, I didn't say anything, put the computer aside, and took out a cigarette. Lao Xiao quickly passed out cigarettes, one for each of the three of us.
I asked, "What decision do you want me to make?"
Mr. Chen said, "This place is called Woniu Mountain, and the river in front is called Woniu River. We have a legend here that this is a place of great feng shui.
There are two major surnames in the village, Wang and Chen. There are fewer people with the surname Chen, but more people with the surname Wang.
The Wangs insisted on building a road from the foot of Woniu Mountain, but the Chens objected and refused to allow it, leading to a tense situation.
"Then how do you, the Chen family, propose to repair it?"
"We could build it from the back of Woniu Mountain. That way, it wouldn't ruin the Chen family's feng shui, but the road would have to make a big curve, adding two kilometers, and the Wang family wouldn't agree.
I was really troubled by this matter for half a year. Since I supported my clansmen, people with the surname Wang said that I supported feudal superstition. Even the leaders of the town came to me to talk.
If I don't support my people, life will be even harder. Some people started to criticize me, saying I'm useless and what kind of entrepreneur I am.
I understand Mr. Chen's pain. If someone can curse you in front of you, it means that he regards you as the person he trusts the most.
I said, "Mr. Chen, please gather those among your Chen clan who are prestigious, capable, and capable of making decisions. Keep the number of people as small as possible and hold a meeting tonight."
Mr. Chen thought for a moment and rolled his fingers. "There are about six or seven of them. How about this? I'll call them over for dinner."
I shook my head. "Listen to me. Don't invite them to dinner. Instead, give each of them a pack of high-end cigarettes during the meeting."
Mr. Chen was a smart man. He thought that because Lao Xiao was present, there were some things I couldn't say directly, so he said, "Now go and see my kitchen. It's unique."
The kitchen was located in the backyard and was quite spacious. Two older women were washing ingredients, while a man in a blue apron was preparing hot pot.
Mr. Chen smiled and said, "We call this place the Chef Village. One master chef has trained dozens of apprentices, who are now spread all over the country, and most of them work in five-star hotels."
Then I remembered that the chef of Xuri is also surnamed Chen.
Lao Xiao is usually very flexible, but now he is always with us. Mr. Chen is embarrassed to ask me to go to the room alone to discuss things. After all, he and Mr. Xiao are close friends. Sending him away to talk would make Lao Xiao uncomfortable.
So the three of them walked out of the house and went to the river in front. Mr. Chen recalled the past when he played in the water and caught fish here.
After walking around for a while, the young man who helped me get my handbag came to call us home for dinner.
I asked, "Who is he? He looks familiar."
"I'm a security guard at Xuri. My name is Chun Yazi."
Lao Xiao said: "He must be new, even I don't know him."
Mr. Chen said, "Yes, he is a retired soldier."
Chunzi led us to the restaurant. To be honest, Mr. Chen's restaurant and villa were a bit shabby compared to his son's apartment in Shanghai.
I thought to myself, this is how smart he is as a person. In the countryside, there is no need to build things in a way that makes people drool and then curse.
There were only five people at the table: the three of us, Chun Yazi, and a dark-faced man in his forties, whom Mr. Chen introduced as the village chief.
A bottle of good wine was opened, and then the dishes came up one after another.
Every time a dish was served, the village chief would introduce it. It turned out that he was also a chef and had worked as a chef outside.
The first dish was braised pigeon. The pigeon meat was tender and melted in your mouth, but that wasn't the point. The highlight was the broth, a milky white broth with a few goji berries floating in the middle, a truly delicious sight. The aroma permeated the broth, and the sweetness was refreshing.
The second dish is Salt Bureau Lobster. The shell of the lobster has been removed, and it is plump and white. There is a seasoning bowl in front of each person. Dip half of the lobster in the seasoning bowl, and it tastes extremely delicious.
The third dish is Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables. The pork belly is cut into slices, which are chewy and have a clove flavor.
The fourth dish was beef with lettuce. This was my first time eating beef cooked this way. The beef was similar to western food, but cooked to medium rare.
I thought the lettuce was just for decoration, but the village chief said it was edible. It turned out that it was marinated in sweet and sour sauce, and it was really sour and sweet, and especially refreshing.
The fifth dish, Kung Pao Chicken, is not their hometown dish, but it has the taste of home.
The sixth dish was bitter melon. Mr. Chen said to Lao Xiao and me: You must try this bitter melon, it’s my cousin’s best dish.
Everyone reached out for their chopsticks.
I can't describe its flavor, I can only use this sentence to describe my mood:
If I could find a woman like this to be my wife, even if she looks like Feng Jie, I would take her too.
I said to Mr. Chen: Call your cousin over.
Chun Yazi stood up and started shouting.
A neatly dressed woman in her thirties came in. Mr. Chen said, "Her name is Chunxiang."
I smiled and said, "You must tell me how to cook this bitter melon. I like bitter melon, but I've never eaten it cooked like you do. It's simply the best delicacy in the world."
Chunxiang smiled and said, "It's very easy. Normally, when making bitter melon, you throw away the bitter melon seeds and pith, then blanch it. I blanch the bitter melon seeds and pith along with the bitter melon, and then throw them away after blanching. Then cut it into sections and marinate it with ginger, garlic and salt for fifteen minutes."
I said, "Thank you. Do you want a patent fee?"
She grinned, glanced at me, and left.
After dinner, Mr. Chen's eldest brother went over to chat with Lao Xiao. Mr. Chen and I went upstairs.
I turned on the computer, pulled up a map, pointed it out to Mr. Chen, and said, "There's not just one cow on your ancestral grave mountain, there are two."
When Mr. Chen saw it, he was surprised and said, "How come the earth immortals here never mentioned having two cows?"
I said, "The higher you stand, the farther you can see. There are no mountains around here, so you can't see anything at all. Only satellite images can show the full picture, because this cow is so huge."
Mr. Chen rotated the cursor, zooming out, becoming more and more excited the more he looked, and then zooming in, he could not see anything.
I discussed this with him in secret. He slapped his thigh and said, "It's your decision. I'll call a meeting with them right away."
(I was browsing the post and found that reader "Nanshan Lanshanke" recommended my book in the Book Famine Square, saving 14 people from reading. I am very grateful. Maybe some friends are also recommending it, but I just didn't see it. I thank them all here.
This book is only useful if it's recommended by someone who's read it. If other friends also agree with this book, please recommend it to me. After all, the more readers there are, the more interested the author will be in writing.
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