Chapter 329: Chapter 326: 326: No Need to Force Integration

Feng Wenhui and his spouse had never imagined that Liu Jiagui, a distant relative, would actually sell them counterfeit goods.

Because at that time, Liu Jiagui mentioned he urgently needed some money, so Feng Jun’s parents settled the account on the spot.

By the time the two discovered the goods were fake and went to return them, the other party naturally denied any responsibility—Are these the batch I sold you?

Zhang Junyi was furious, and went directly to Liu Jiagui’s parents to complain: Can you control your son, please?

Those old folks tried to smooth things over, and Liu Jiagui also claimed, I had been drinking that day, and I remember I picked out the real goods. If you insist I gave you fake ones, it’s because you’re taking advantage of the fact I lose my memory when I drink.

It was rather helpless—such is the way in small towns, teeming with counterfeit and shoddy products, and he’d also receive a lot of fake goods as gifts.

It was certain that Liu Jiagui hadn’t deliberately sourced counterfeit goods to sell to the convenience store. He was simply reselling the counterfeit products he received as gifts at the price of real goods.

With Director Liu presenting this “drunk” excuse, Feng Wenhui and his spouse were at a loss, as the other party had been too drunk to remember, they couldn’t reasonably keep arguing—if they did, they would no longer even be able to remain relatives.

Of course, what mattered most was that Liu Jiagui was a leader, and since the money was irretrievable, offending another leader was definitely not worth it.

So afterward, the two parties continued to interact, and this foolish incident just had to be let go.

Today, Liu Jiagui came again to sell gifts, still as drunk as ever, which naturally exasperated Feng Wenhui. But the same reason applied: the other person was a relative and a leader, so he could not simply fall out with him, he just refused.

As for the other party’s request to sell on consignment, he had no intention of agreeing.

You present fake goods at my place, and later adamantly claim they were real goods when you first brought them—how could I explain that?

Being cheated once was already enough.

Feng Jun frowned upon hearing this, “How much did our family lose because of accepting his fake goods?”

Actually, in this small town, counterfeit goods have their own market value; as long as they aren’t ridiculously fake, they can always be sold.

Take for instance that seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy who, for the sake of face during New Year’s, buys a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. Unable to afford the sixty-something a pack, he goes for the twenty-something high imitation one to smoke instead.

“Not all of it was fake; we lost a bit over two thousand,” Zhang Junyi snorted, “The key point is the frustration of the matter. If word gets out, it would be the butt of everyone’s jokes… What kind of relatives are these!”

Feng Wenhui also snorted coldly, “It’s outrageous that he still has the nerve to continue selling fake goods today. Is he addicted to taking advantage of people?”

“Let it go,” Zhang Junyi spoke up in an attempt to calm things, “Thankfully, Xiao Jun has done us proud by getting into a prestigious university, and now he’s even driving back home… I’m guessing he won’t dare to pull something like this anymore.”

Feng Jun truly understood this mindset. Despite the fact that college expansions had made university graduates as common as dogs and there was no longer a guaranteed job allocation, in a small town like Chaoyang, those who get into prestigious universities through formal entrance exams are still rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

In the cities, they say the classes are solidifying, but in the eyes of small-town folk, when someone’s child gets into a prestigious university, it still signifies the possibility of a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.

So when Liu Jiagui realized that the family he was trying to take advantage of had a graduate from a prestigious university, he felt the risk was too great and it wasn’t worth it.

Not to mention that Feng Jun had driven the car back, becoming a “successful university graduate from a prestigious school,” which made it even less worthwhile for Liu Jiagui.

After hearing everything, Feng Jun frowned and genuinely felt like saying, Why bother with this, you elders? Is it worth getting upset over just for this bit of money?

The salary I pay Li Xiaotong a month is fifty thousand yuan, do you two even save that much in a year?

But on second thought, it was better for the elderly couple to have something to do, and this was where they had lived half their lives, surrounded by many old neighbors and friends. Moving to Zhengyang might provide better conditions, but there’d be no one to talk to.

So what he needed to do now was to find a way to improve his parents’ status in the county and let everyone know they had a decent son.

As he pondered, a motorcycle pulled up at the curb with two young men on it. “Yo, has the Top Scholar come back?”

Feng Jun glanced at them both, nodded, and snorted lightly without much further reaction.

These two were his rivals from the streets, having fought each other since they were kids. It wasn’t until ninth grade, when he was admitted to the city’s top middle school, that they shook hands and made peace, deciding that their childhood scuffles were not worth mentioning.

But later, he moved into the school dormitory, and they had less contact. They might trade barbs if they saw each other, but it never came to blows anymore.

The motorcycle rider was named Shi Liang, whose family owned a tea shop, and he himself was a temporary staff member at the Education Bureau, managing to get by, and he had become a lot slicker over the years.

Seeing Feng Jun like this, Shi Liang glanced at the car parked next to them and smiled, “Drink together tonight?”

Feng Jun smiled and shook his head, “I have rarely come home, and I plan to have a drink with my father tonight.”

Shi Liang looked at him and nodded slightly, realizing that they hadn’t been close before, and the pretext was solid, so he had to leave in resignation. However, as the sound of the motorcycle’s engine roared, a disdainful snort faintly wafted through the air.

People in small towns are mostly like this, their emotions displayed right on their faces. If they’re upset, they will show it clearly. “I don’t rely on you to feed me. What, you gonna hit me if I scoff at you?”

It’s the rural version of “No need to force integration when in different circles.”

“Nuts,” Feng Jun gave a light snort as he watched the motorcycle drive off into the distance.

Shi Liang had just left when Feng Jun’s second uncle, Feng Wencheng, arrived. He used to work at a printing factory, and now he is in charge of engineering maintenance at the Forestry Bureau’s guesthouse. However, his staff position wasn’t officially settled yet, so he was somewhat in the system.

He had heard his nephew was back and came to have a look, but he couldn’t stay for dinner that evening—there was a lot of work at the guesthouse around the New Year.

In the end, Feng Jun’s friends still came by, three childhood mates from the same street, five primary school classmates, and three junior high school classmates.

All three groups wanted to invite Feng Jun for a drink. Seeing how popular his son was, Feng Wenhui also urged him to go greet his friends, telling him there was no need to help out here, “It’s getting darker and fewer people are about. You won’t be of much use here anyway.”

After some thought, Feng Jun chose to drink with his primary school classmates, not forgetting to explain to the other two groups, “We are neighbors, we’ll have plenty of time to drink. For my middle school classmates… our class monitor is back, so there might be a gathering or something.”

The other two groups felt that made sense—no matter what, it wasn’t often that Feng Jun came back, and it was clear that he had succeeded in his career, so it was important to manage his time wisely.

However, there was a local nicknamed Gazi who stayed behind. Gazi’s real name is Lu Xiaoning, a year younger than Feng Jun, was short as a child and got bullied often. Since Feng Jun never bullied him, he became his unwavering sidekick.

Eventually, Gazi shot up in height. Unexpectedly, in his third year of high school, he contracted meningitis. After he recovered, he was left with epilepsy and stopped attending school.

His family sought treatment far and wide, spending a lot of money. Now he was almost treated, but his family was pretty much left with nothing. He worked as a security guard at the guesthouse of the Forestry Bureau, a job that Feng Wencheng had found for him.

Gazi grew up around Feng Jun, so he knew most of Feng Jun’s classmates reasonably well, and they got along fine, so it was normal for him to stick around.

While everyone was discussing where to go for a drink, Liu Jiagui came back again in his Jetta, “Xiao Jun, your car… help your uncle pick up the bridal party tomorrow. Someone is getting married.”

Feng Jun blinked, puzzled, “Tomorrow is already the 27th, isn’t the latest to get married in the twelfth lunar month the 26th?”

In Chaoyang, it’s a custom to marry in the twelfth lunar month, but there are only so many auspicious days.

“It’s a ‘returning ceremony,’ the bride’s returning ceremony,” Liu Jiagui spoke, furrowing his brows and looking quite unsettled, “Remember, we meet at the roundabout at six o’clock sharp tomorrow morning.”

Feng Jun gave him a look, half-smiling, “How much is the red envelope? Without a red envelope, I’m not going.”

“You speak to your uncle like that?” Liu Jiagui glared at him. “Isn’t it okay for you to do a favor for your uncle?”

“Nope,” Feng Jun shook his head, still smiling, but very firm.

He didn’t mention gas money or wear and tear; it seemed pointless to talk about these things among fellow villagers, especially when the two were somewhat related. He emphasized one thing, “I’ve rushed back from Zhengyang today, I’m almost exhausted. I really won’t be able to get up.”

“If you can’t get up, go to bed earlier,” Liu Jiagui spoke to him as if he were a younger relative, not the least bit shy, “Tomorrow is Chao Ying’s daughter’s return ceremony. You figure it out.”

Chao Ying is a local female entrepreneur engaged in the timber processing industry, with a four-star hotel in Yunyuan City.

However, the Chaoyang people all know that President Chao’s success is primarily due to the support of her brother, Chao Gang.

Chao Gang is the Executive Deputy Mayor of Yunyuan City, and there are rumors that if he weren’t a local, he would have been promoted even further by now.

Tomorrow is the deputy mayor’s niece’s returning ceremony. By pointing this out, Liu Jiagui didn’t believe Feng Jun couldn’t grasp the importance.

But Feng Jun truly wasn’t concerned. “Different circles, no need to force integration”—did I consume their rice?

So he shook his head decidedly, “I don’t care who’s getting married. I’m just asking how much the red envelope is.”

“You won’t miss out on your red envelope!” Liu Jiagui glared at him irritably, “Two hundred yuan, two packs of cigarettes, and one meal covered. Is that alright?”

“Not so good,” Gazi exclaimed, “Going to Yunyuan for the bridal party is at least eighty kilometers round trip. Who’s paying for the gas?”

Liu Jiagui shot him a look, “How much gas would eighty kilometers take? Xiao Jun can afford a car, can’t he afford the gas?”

Feng Wenhui and Zhang Junyi exchanged a glance, thinking how stingy Liu Jiagui was. When he drank too much and drove around wildly, he used the government’s fuel after all.

But with the son all grown up, they let him make his own decisions. After all, the boy had been decisive since he was young.

Feng Jun stroked his chin, “Well… I’ll try to get up early. If I can’t, Uncle Jiagui, give me a call to wake me up.”

“That’s settled then,” Liu Jiagui nodded and spoke forthrightly, “To be honest, I only found out at the last minute that President Chao’s family was short on cars for the bridal party. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had a chance at this good deed.”