In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 621 Intruders

"After I found out that my daughter was dating that guy, I didn't stop her. I even felt that even if my daughter didn't go to college, she would be able to live a life of comfort and ease after marrying him."

"But I... I really didn't expect to ruin this child..." Uncle Huang lowered his head, his face full of bitterness.

When Yu Dawei heard Uncle Huang say that, he was both angry and helpless! Uncle Huang and his wife were both illiterate farmers, and it was impossible to expect them to know how important education was.

Moreover, Uncle Huang and Auntie were indeed good to him and Ai Yongqiang when they were young, but they were also really arrogant, looking down on everyone around them.

Huang Linlin's ordeal was related to her parents, as well as to herself.

With the college entrance exam just around the corner, who should I date?

What a waste of such a promising talent.

"What about Linlin now? Has she gotten married?" Yu Dawei guessed that she probably had.

Sure enough, Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang both nodded. Then Aunt Huang continued, "Our family originally thought that although Zhao Shirong didn't go to high school, he was hardworking and reliable, and someone who could make a living."

"But who could have predicted that after taking over his father's business and making more and more money, he started to act recklessly! He would eat and drink with a group of brothers every day, and after drinking, he would cause a scene in front of the shops in the market."

“No matter how we tried to persuade him, we couldn’t stop him. His father was so angry that he died a few years ago!” The aunt became angrier as she spoke. “That bastard always cheated us on the weight in his business, and he even made our vegetable business go out of business.”

"After we married off our second and third daughters, we, the old couple, just didn't want to do it anymore. Out of sight, out of mind!"

Yu Dawei rubbed the sides of the cup with his thumbs and looked at the two of them: "So all these years, Huang Linlin has been living with one eye open and one eye closed?"

Yu Dawei knew it was inappropriate to ask so bluntly, but they were still good friends back then.

He had two best friends in his class, Meng Kai and Ai Yongqiang.

Among the girls, Linlin was his closest friend.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Yu Dawei couldn't help but ask, "Where is Huang Linlin now? At our old market?"

"Yes, the pork stall in the old market, Linlin is running it all by herself now. As for her husband, all he does is drink and gamble, he hasn't been involved in anything for a long time." As the aunt spoke, tears started falling again.

Yu Dawei felt that the conversation was really going to break down, so he quickly said a few words and prepared to leave with his child.

Before leaving, Yu Dawei took out two boxes of fruit and two five-pound bags of rice from the car.

This rice was obtained from Brother Duan at the flour mill, and it's the main brand he sells now – Daohuaxiang.

This time, we brought two bags to each family, including Dafu's, my aunt's, and my younger siblings' families, so they could have a taste.

Daohuaxiang rice hasn't been widely promoted yet, and these people might not have been able to eat such high-quality rice if they hadn't brought it with them.

After giving away all the gifts, Yu Dawei left the old village with his son. It was not far from the government compound and used to be a very prosperous place, but who would have thought that it would end up so dilapidated, and the original government compound was also moved away.

"Daddy, where are we going next?" Little Muyu asked curiously. Her two originally clean little hands were now a little black from filling coal, but her face was still beaming with a smile.

Yu Dawei could clearly sense that the little guy was very happy to be away from his hometown this time.

"Sigh, where to... to the place where Dad used to go grocery shopping with your great-aunt." Yu Dawei turned the steering wheel with his left hand and turned on the left turn signal.

"Dad, should we go grocery shopping too?"

“Go ahead and buy some, I remember there’s a roast duck shop in the old market, it’s a local specialty, it’s the first one at the west end of the market, the taste… it’s just like home.” Yu Dawei couldn’t help but drool.

When the father and son arrived at the entrance of the old market a few minutes later, they found that the first shop at the west end had no roast duck shop at all, but was full of dilapidated beef and mutton stalls, and the sound of butchers chopping meat and bones could be heard everywhere.

"Dad, where are the ducks?"

"The duck... flew away, didn't it?" Yu Dawei looked down and smiled apologetically at his son, then reached out and patted Xiao Muyu's head. "It's okay, there's a place in the market that sells really delicious peach shortbread. Dad will take you there first."

Then, the father and son saw that the shop where they used to make peach shortbread had become a grain, oil and dried goods store.

Yu Dawei: "..."

Yu Muyu: "..."

"Dad, the book says that liars' noses grow longer."

Yu Dawei's lips twitched, and he pinched the little guy's slightly red cheek hard: "Don't worry, Dad will definitely buy it for you when we get back, I'm not lying to you."

Yu Dawei hadn't expected that while the old market remained dirty and chaotic, the shops were no longer run by the same people as before.

Most of the vendors here sell beef and mutton, which may be related to the autumn and winter seasons. After all, the cattle and sheep are fat at this time, and raising them would be a waste of feed for some farmers, so it's easier to sell them.

So, Old Zhao's butcher shop must have moved. He walked over to the location he remembered, and sure enough, it wasn't a butcher shop anymore, but a frozen seafood shop.

It's called "fresh," but it's really just ribbonfish, carp, crucian carp, bighead carp, and the like that that were already frozen solid when they were pulled out of the river.

"Want to buy fish, buddy? Five hundred coins for three catties, all freshly caught." A man wearing an old military green overcoat looked at Yu Dawei with bloodshot eyes, his feet tapping back and forth on the ground.

There's no way around it, the weather is too cold. If you stand outside for even a little while, your feet and thighs will freeze solid.

Where do you think this is? It's even colder than Heilongjiang Province. In ancient times, Heilongjiang Province was just called Ningguta, while this place was once known as the bitterly cold land of northern China.

"Then let's buy two ribbonfish." Yu Dawei noticed that the shopkeeper's eyes were bloodshot, probably because he hadn't slept well and had probably gone fishing. However, he didn't buy the freshly caught fish, as he didn't like them.

Deep-fried ribbonfish is the little guy's favorite, so we'll buy a few and have his mom, Zhang Yunqin, make them for him.

"By the way, I remember this shop used to be a butcher shop, right? Where did it move to now?"

"Oh, you mean Old Zhao's family? Sigh, they've been relegated to some corner of the market." The man picked up some ribbonfish while gesturing with his chin in a distant direction. "They used to be quite well-off; they were the first meat vendor in this market. Now... heh."

Yu Dawei took the fish, paid the money, smiled at the other party, and turned to leave with his son.

The father and son, dressed in clean clothes, walked through the dirty and chaotic old market, attracting the attention of many small vendors. They noticed the man was wearing a Bosideng down jacket and immediately recognized his extravagance; these days, it was rare to see someone in their area who could afford such a brand.

"Hey buddy, wanna buy some mutton? It's freshly slaughtered today! Just brought over from Xiqi!"

"Rice, flour, grains, and oil! Rice, flour, grains, and oil!"

"Flatbread! Steamed buns! Twisted rolls!"

When Yu Dawei passed by, he saw that several businesses had started using loudspeakers. Times had changed; in the past, everything relied on people shouting to attract customers.

"Dad! Freshly slaughtered mutton! It's from Xiqi!" Xiao Muyu was excited. Her dad used to say that mutton from Xiqi was the best.

“Silly child, it takes at least three and a half hours to drive from Xiqi to here. Even if we slaughter a sheep in the middle of the night, the heavy snow might block the way and we might not be able to get it over here.” Yu Dawei patted his son’s head.

The cattle and sheep sold here in winter are from several nearby towns and villages, and they have a much stronger muttony smell than those in Xiqi. Yu Dawei smelled it when he passed by earlier.

Just as Yu Dawei arrived at a beef and mutton stall, he saw a woman who was both familiar and unfamiliar.

He led Yu Muyu slowly to the stall, where there were still a few people buying beef and mutton. They each bought a few pounds before slowly leaving.

Yu Dawei stayed by the child's side the whole time. Only after she finished her work did the woman have time to look at the father and son, but she was too busy to even look up.

There wasn't time to say much, so he simply asked, "Lamb, beef, or pork?"

When Yu Dawei saw the woman in front of him wearing thick cotton-padded clothes and trousers, with a leather apron over them, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

The woman seemed to notice the man's unusual behavior across the stall. She looked up and glanced at him, but when her gaze fell on Yu Dawei's square face, she suddenly froze for a moment, and then her eyes were gradually filled with suspicion, doubt, and disbelief.

"Great, Great?"

"Mhm." Yu Dawei nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, carefully examining his female classmate who had been gone for ten years.

The once baby face now shows signs of aging, and there is a lot of weariness in the eyes. The once black bangs now have a few strands of white hair.

But she was still as thin and tall as before, and as quiet as ever.

But surprisingly, he took good care of the stall in this corner; at least before he arrived, there was a constant stream of meat vendors.

This infectious energy seems to have always been present in this old classmate.

"Dawei? When...when did you get back?" Huang Linlin's eyes were a little flustered, and her right hand subconsciously reached out to smooth her bangs.

"I just got back a few days ago. I went to your parents' house to look for you, and they said you were here, so I came over." Yu Dawei looked at his female classmate with some reluctance and asked again, "When do you have time? Let's find a place to chat for a while?"

"Mommy, Mommy, I'm hungry!" Just as Yu Dawei finished speaking, a little girl of about five or six years old came out of the small house behind Huang Linlin.

The little girl looked at Yu Dawei and his son with her big, bright eyes, then hugged Huang Linlin's legs and asked pleadingly.

It was almost eleven o'clock, and if you hadn't eaten breakfast, you should definitely be hungry.

"Why don't you come inside and wait for me? There aren't many people around at lunchtime." Huang Linlin first told Yu Dawei, then squatted down and gently comforted her daughter, "Baby, be good. Mommy is busy right now. I'll cook for you later, okay?"

"No, no! I want to eat, I want to eat!" The little girl cried and reached out to grab the corner of Huang Linlin's apron, clearly determined not to give up.

Yu Dawei smiled at Huang Linlin, then turned his gaze to the little girl: "How about Uncle takes you to eat some steamed buns nearby?"

Outside the market, there's a steamed bun shop that specializes in selling local Buryat steamed buns, a local specialty.

Other shops may have changed a lot, but Yu Dawei noticed that this steamed bun shop was the only one that had remained the same.

"This, this is too much trouble." Huang Linlin was about to refuse when Yu Dawei stopped her.

"What's the big deal? It's just a meal of steamed buns." Yu Dawei walked around the stall where beef and mutton were being butchered, walked up to the little girl, and took her hand.

Perhaps the little girl also noticed Yu Dawei, a stranger, but because there were steamed buns to eat, she didn't know what to do and could only look at her mother.

Finally, with a helpless expression, Huang Linlin nodded to her daughter.

Yu Dawei then took Huang Linlin's daughter to a steamed bun shop outside the market. In addition to ordering a basket of steamed buns, they also ordered a serving of goat milk.

By the time Yu Dawei finished eating, Huang Linlin had just finished her work as well.

Yu Dawei handed the remaining uneaten buns to Huang Linlin and followed her to the small room behind the meat stall.

He could never have imagined that the bright and intelligent Huang Linlin would end up selling meat in the old market.

"Thank you." Huang Linlin took the steamed bun and sat down, unsure of how to face her former classmate.

In fact, all the old classmates who graduated from local schools know what they are doing now. Even Ai Yongqiang, who is developing his career abroad, knows when he returns to his hometown.

"I visited your parents before I came. They're both in good health, except for your grandfather's leg. It seems he's using a cane now." Yu Dawei didn't know what to say at that moment, so he just started a conversation.

“My dad has had rheumatoid arthritis for many years, and it’s gotten worse in recent years. Sigh, it seems like he can’t do without crutches anymore.” Huang Linlin sighed, her gaze secretly sweeping over Yu Dawei.

Unexpectedly, ten years have passed, and Yu Dawei seems to be doing quite well. At least both he and his father are dressed quite well.

"You..." Yu Dawei was about to talk to her about his experiences over the years when someone suddenly barged in.

As soon as he entered, a strong smell of alcohol wafted from the man and wafted straight into Yu Dawei's nostrils.

Not only that, the maid sitting on the small stool next to him, when she saw the man enter, stood up in fright as if she were a mouse encountering a cat, and hid behind her mother.

Yu Dawei could even see the little girl's trembling hands, as if she had suffered a great deal of torment before.

At this moment, Yu Dawei, who had been relatively calm, was no longer so calm.

(End of this chapter)