Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studion/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
What is happening?
Everyone was shocked.
âWho is this young man?â whispered someone.
âHe seems to be very friendly with Secretary Yang. I mean very friendly!â whispered another person.
All those people looked at one another in shock and confusion.
Everybody knew that the words and actions of senior local government officers were always purposeful.
As a senior local government officer, Secretary Yang was really friendly with Wang Yao. Apparently, he knew Wang Yaoâs name. He greeted Wang Yao and patted Wang Yaoâs back.
Yang Haichuan patted Wang Yaoâs shoulder with a smile. His action indicated that he and Wang Yao knew each other very well, and he trusted Wang Yao very much.
âHey, what are you doing here?â asked Secretary Yang.
âIâm here to run some errands,â said Wang Yao.
âIs everything alright?â asked Secretary Yang.
âYes. Iâm about to go, and here you are,â said Wang Yao, who was neither inferior nor arrogant.
He had met people like the Head Elder and Su Xianghua, who held a much higher position in the government. Therefore, Yang Haichuan was not that special.
âGood, drive safe,â said Yang Haichuan.
âSure, thanks,â said Wang Yao.
People nearby could hear every single word they said.
âIs this young man Secretary Yangâs relative?â asked one of the local government officers.
The government officers from the town and the city all remembered Wang Yao now.
âWow, he knows Secretary Yang!â said Deputy Chief Dai, who had a few encounters with Wang Yao.
âHow does he know Secretary Yang?â Wang Mingbaoâs father was also very surprised.
Wang Yao drove off.
Yang Haichuan continued with his inspection.
Wang Yao just ran into Yang Haichuan by coincidence. Yang Haichuanâs was just naturally friendly with Wang Yao, although he deliberately patted Wang Yao on his shoulder. After all, Wang Yao did him a great favor, and he hadnât gotten a chance to thank Wang Yao. So, Yang Haichuan expressed his gratitude by speaking to Wang Yao in an extremely friendly way in front of all the local government officers, who would know right away that Wang Yao was an important person.
He sent a message to those officers that Wang Yao was a special friend of his, and that they should treat Wang Yao with respect.
After Wang Yao had completed all the paperwork at the local government, he went home to report to his mother. Then, he drove to Lianshan town center.
Meanwhile, in the Village Committee office, the committee members were having a meeting.
âThe purpose of this meeting is to discuss the sale of the empty cottages and land which used to be the village primary school. At the moment two people want to purchase the land and the cottages. One of them is Wang Yao. The other one is Wang Jianye. Do you have any opinions?â asked Wang Jianli after lighting a cigarette.
âI support Wang Yaoâs purchase,â said a middle-aged man without hesitation. He was Wang Mingbaoâs uncle.
âMe too,â said Wang Jiangang.
âSame here,â said another committee member.
All the members of the Village Committee expressed their thoughts. They all supported Wang Yaoâs purchase.
âOkay. If they offer the same price, we will accept Wang Yaoâs offer. If they offer different prices, we will have another discussion,â said Wang Jianli.
The meeting was over.
âMom, Iâve done what you asked me to do. All the paperwork is here. I need to go to the town,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay,â said Zhang Xiuying.
Wang Yao then drove off to Lianshan town center.
Meanwhile, two people were chatting in a tea shop in the town center. One of them was a man lying in a chair and sitting opposite him was a beautiful woman with a nice figure and a pretty face.
âYou should come home as you have almost recovered,â said the beautiful woman.
âI will go home after Iâm fully recovered,â said Wei Hai after taking a sip of the tea.
Wei Hai had been recovering well in the last few weeks. He often visited Haiqu, where his son and daughter lived. He loved his children very much. But the beautiful woman sitting opposite him was his wife, and he didnât have a good relationship with her.
Forget it! thought Wei Hai.
Ding! The doorbell rang.
Someone walked into the tea shop.
âHi, Wei Hai, I didnât know you had a guest,â said Wang Yao who was surprised to see Wei Haiâs wife. âYou guys continue. Iâll go to Mingbaoâs place.â
âWait! When did you come back?â Wei Hai stood up immediately.
âI came back two days ago. I can visit Mingbao first and come back later,â said Wang Yao as he walked out of the tea shop.
Wang Mingbaoâs business was good. He hired two store assistants to do all the work. He was in his office drinking tea, and chatting with someone on Wechat.
âHey, Mingbao, what a life youâve got!â joked Wang Yao.
âHey, Yao, when did you get back?â asked Wang Mingbao.
âTwo days ago,â said Wang Yao.
After Wang Mingbao and Wang Yao chatted for a while, Wei Hai entered the office.
âYour guest is gone?â asked Wang Yao.
âYeah, so how was everything in Beijing?â asked Wei Hai.
âNot bad,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
He didnât ask who the beautiful woman was, but he noticed bitterness and anger in Wei Haiâs eyes when he was in the tea shop.
âHey, how about having dinner together tonight?â suggested Wei Hai.
âHaha, this is why I came here, my treat. Ask Li Maoshang and Tian Yuantu to join us,â suggested Wang Yao.
âNot Yuantu, he just went to Beijing yesterday and wonât be back until three days later,â said Wang Mingbao.
âI see; he went to Beijing for his business?â asked Wang Yao.
âYes, his company is one step away from being listed in the stock market,â said Wang Mingbao.
âWhatâs the point of working so hard?â said Wei Hai.
âMaybe itâs his dream,â said Wang Mingbao.
The three of them chatted for a while in Wang Mingbaoâs office. Wang Yao checked Wei Haiâs pulse. Wei Hai continued to get better.
âYou are doing well,â said Wang Yao.
âI agree,â said Wei Hai with a smile. His health had been his biggest gain in the last few months.
Wang Yao received a call from Tong Wei when it was close to 4 pm. The two of them chatted for a while.
âIâm currently in Lianshan town center with friends. We are going to have dinner together. Do you want to join us?â asked Wang Yao.
âNo, I donât want to disrupt you guys. Have fun,â said Tong Wei.
They went to the Health Cuisine Restaurant nearby at around 5 pm.
âHello, welcome!â The owner of the restaurant apparently had known Wang Mingbao and Wei Hai who came quite often.
âWeâll take the same table,â said Wang Mingbao.
âSure, Iâve saved it for you,â said the owner.
He lead them to a quiet private room. They could see the street through the window. It was still quite bright outside at this time of the day.
Li Maoshuang joined them soon after they had sat down. The four of them had a great time together. They ordered a table of dishes and several bottles of wines.
âWhat are you doing?â Wang Yao was surprised to see Wei Hai pour half a glass of wine for himself. âDo you think you are fit enough to handle the wine?â
âIâm just drinking a little bit because Iâm really happy today,â said Wei Hai with a smile.
Wang Yao shook his head. He didnât think Wei Hai was as happy as he appeared to be.
Wei Hai could say he was happy by all means, but his eyes couldnât lie.
They chatted for a while after dinner; then Wang Yao drove back to the village. He just wanted to see his friends in Lianshan town center.
âYou always leave in a hurry, why not stay a bit longer? We can go to a bar or Karaoke,â suggested Wei Hai.
âBar or Karaoke? With your current condition?â Wang Yao couldnât believe it.
âI will recover very soon!â said Wei Hai.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao had a guest at home.
âJianli, Yao went to Lianshan town center. We donât know when he will come back,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âNever mind, I can wait,â said Wang Jianli.
âOkay,â said Zhang Xiuying.
Wang Fenghua and Zhang Xiuying looked at each other.
Just now, the Secretary of the village came to visit them with gifts unexpectedly. He wanted to speak to Wang Yao, which made them really confused.
It looks like he wants a favor from Yao. But what can Yao do for him? Maybe someone in his family is sick? He wants Yao to see a patient? Zhang Xiuying and Wang Fenghua couldnât think of any other reasons why Wang Jianli came to visit them.
Wang Yao came back 20 minutes later.
âDo we have a guest?â
Wang Yao saw Wang Jianli after entering the room.
âHello, Uncle,â said Wang Yao.
âHi, Yao,â said Wang Jianli.
âYour Uncle Jianli has been waiting for you for a while,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âI see. I just went to the town center to catch up with friends. Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I do for you?â Wang Yao sat down.
âWell, nothing special. Weâve discussed the cottage at the south side of the village you mentioned last time. The committee has agreed that if you and the other person offer the same price, we will accept your offer,â said Wang Jianli.
âThank you, Uncle,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
Wang Jianli basically indicated that the right of using that vacant land and cottages would belong to Wang Yao. Wang Yao just needed to do some paperwork. As for the price, Wang Yao wouldnât offer a price lower than anyone else. He was not a billionaire, but he could at least offer a few million yuan.
Wang Jianli left Wang Yaoâs home after sitting for a short moment.
âSo he just came for this?â asked Wang Yao in confusion after Wang Jianli had left.
âYes, he didnât mention anything else.â His parents were also a bit confused. Wang Jianli didnât have to wait for Wang Yao to come back to bring this up.
âWe thought he came for other purposes,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âItâs good things are settled now.â Wang Jianli lit a cigarette after walking out of Wang Yaoâs house.