The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 220 A King of Soldiers Bodyguard Arrives

The village store at the entrance.

The shop owner, Aunt Pang, was chatting animatedly with an older woman who had come to buy salt when the plastic curtain was lifted from the outside.

Jia Wangcai followed him in.

"Auntie Pang, give me a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes."

Aunt Pang opened the glass counter, ready to take out cigarettes.

Jia Wangcai changed his mind at the last minute:

"Never mind, I'll just take a pack of Yuxi cigarettes."

The plump aunt looked up in surprise:

"Hey, Ah Cai, what good news happened today that you're even smoking Yuxi cigarettes?"

Jia Wangcai smiled and said, "Anyway, it's a joyous occasion."

The more Jia Wangcai kept it a secret, the more interested Aunt Pang became, and she deliberately teased Jia Wangcai by saying:
"Could it be that Du Danniang agreed to your relationship with Du Dan?"

"No, not yet, but it'll be soon," Jia Wangcai said confidently, taking the cigarette from Aunt Pang's hand.

"Does Lai Yazhou really think he can just stand by and watch you marry Du Dan?" Aunt Pang took the money Jia Wangcai handed her, her face full of disbelief.

"he?"

Jia Wangcai looked disdainful.

That idiot Lai Yazhou is currently doing his own work for free, helping Yang Muyi and his group pick peaches in the orchard.

Jia Wangcai wasn't in a hurry to go to the orchard; he planned to go home first and brag to his father about the results of his "dealing with" Lai Yazhou today.

The woman who bought the salt said goodbye to the plump woman and left first.

Jia Wangcai was about to leave as well, but was stopped by Aunt Pang.

"Ah Cai, you've heard about what happened in Yunmiao Village, haven't you?"

Jia Wangcai glanced at Aunt Pang.

You're the village's famous "loudspeaker," spreading the word everywhere. Now, who in the whole village doesn't know about this?
"Were there any classmates from Yunmiao Village in your class when you were in school?"

"Yes, there were some in my junior high class."

"Last name?"

Jia Wangcai frowned.

"Auntie Pang, your relatives are from Yunmiao Village. Don't you know that there are only people with the surnames Yang and Xie in Yunmiao Village?"

The plump aunt asked again, "So, is your classmate's surname Yang or Xie? Is he a boy or a girl?"

"There are both men with the surnames Yang and Xie."

Jia Wangcai asked in surprise, "No, Auntie Pang, why are you asking about this?"

Aunt Pang didn't explain, but instead asked Jia Wangcai, "How old are your male classmates from Yunmiao Village?"

Jia Wangcai was speechless.

Since we're classmates, of course they're the same age as me!
Aunt Pang was overjoyed upon hearing this and grabbed Jia Wangcai's hand.

Jia Wangcai was startled.

I thought to myself, "That's it."

Could it be that some girl from the village asked Aunt Pang to act as matchmaker, hoping to marry her daughter off to Yunmiao Village to enjoy a better life?

"Ah Cai, I want to ask you about someone. Is Yang Muye your junior high school classmate?"

Jia Wangcai's eyes widened in surprise.

Whose daughter has such a "sharp" eye?

This is like a mouse trying to eat a phoenix egg—what a dream!

Seeing Jia Wangcai's expression, Aunt Pang knew she had really been fooled.

She turned around and went back to the counter to get a pack of cigarettes. First she took Hongtashan, then she changed to Yuxi.

Upon returning, he immediately shoved a cigarette into Jia Wangcai's hand without saying a word.

Jia Wangcai thought that Aunt Pang was really going to act as a matchmaker for Yang Muyi, and he was so frightened that he immediately pushed the cigarette back.

"Auntie Pang, what are you doing?"

"Are you still in contact with Yang Muye?"

Jia Wangcai stared warily at Aunt Pang, deliberately lying as he said:

We lost contact after graduating from junior high school.

The plump aunt looked heartbroken and sighed:

"Are you confused? Why haven't you contacted me at all?"

Jia Wangcai pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth:
"No, Auntie Pang, what's the matter with this classmate of mine?"

"That big boss from Shanghai who invested in developing Yunmiao Village only came because of your classmate's connections. And do you know how powerful your classmate is?"

"Not to mention that my parents run a big business in Shenzhen, they won more than three million yuan in the lottery this summer. Then they used the money to invest in developing some kind of game. I don't know anything about it, but they made more than 20 million yuan in just one month."

"You're only in college now and you already have several companies under your control. If you keep in touch with people, they might just slip some money to you out of their pockets, and you'll be rich, right?"

After Aunt Pang finished speaking, Jia Wangcai was completely dumbfounded.

Has Yang Muyi become this powerful?
For some reason, Lai Yazhou's smug face suddenly flashed into Jia Wangcai's mind.

Everyone in the village knew that I was in the same class as Lai Yazhou, Du Dan, and Ma Xiaoshang in junior high school.

Did Aunt Pang tell these things to Lai Yazhou as well?
Jia Wangcai immediately sensed something was wrong and, without saying a word, turned and ran outside.

When Jia Wangcai arrived at the orchard, panting, Uncle Kang, who was looking after the orchard, asked him why he had come alone, since he had promised to bring a friend to pick peaches.

Jia Wangcai then realized that he had come to nothing.

Just as he was about to go back to the village to settle accounts with Lai Yazhou, his cell phone suddenly rang.

He took it out and saw that the call was from his own father, Jia Duofu.

As Jia Wangcai answered the call, he turned and ran back.

"Dad, I'm busy right now. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"what?"

Jia Wangcai slammed on the brakes and came to a sudden stop.

"You saw my car parked in front of Lai Yazhou's house, did you see it clearly?"

Damn it, our base has been raided!

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"

After receiving the call, Jia Wangcai sprinted towards the village.

He never pushed himself this hard during the physical education exam for middle school.

I sped back to the village and just then saw my Wuling Sunshine driving towards the road.

Judging from this direction, are they heading towards the orchard?

Jia Wangcai didn't even have time to catch his breath before running straight to the middle of the road and stopping the car.

Lai Yazhou, in the driver's seat, leaned out of the car window:

"Jia Wangcai, why are you taking so long to take a dump? There's no room left in the car, I'll take everyone up first, you can walk up slowly by yourself."

Jia Wangcai braced himself on his knees, panting heavily. After catching his breath, he straightened up and prepared to argue with Lai Yazhou.

"Di!"

Lai Yazhou honked his horn, signaling Jia Wangcai to make way.

I'm...

Just as Jia Wangcai was about to curse, he saw Lai Yazhou start his car and drive towards him.

Startled, Jia Wangcai quickly moved to the side of the road and watched helplessly as the car sped away.

Just as Jia Wangcai, covered in dust and exhaust fumes, was about to give chase, his cell phone rang again.

It was my father, Jia Duofu, calling again.

"Dad, I've run into that bastard Lai Yazhou. I asked him to take my classmate to the orchard, but the son of a bitch drove my car to his house instead, making me make a wasted trip."

"What? Don't go to the orchard yet, go home first?"

"Dad, you already know that all my classmates are from Yunmiao Village?"

Jia Wangcai, holding his phone, felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

It’s really over now!

Back home, Jia Wangcai looked at Jia Duofu, whose face was ashen, with a guilty conscience.

Without Jia Duofu's instruction, Jia Wangcai closed the courtyard gate on his own initiative, then picked up the wooden stick leaning against the gate and handed it to Jia Duofu.

As soon as Jia Duofu picked up the stick, Jia Wangcai immediately covered his head and squatted down, shouting loudly:

"Dad, you can hit me anywhere, just don't hit my face, or I'll never be able to face my classmates again!"

He had already braced himself for a beating, but after waiting for a long time, the stick never landed on him. Jia Wangcai mustered up his courage and raised his head, only to see Jia Duofu staring at him with a look of anger and disappointment.

Do you know why Lai Yazhou took those junior high school classmates from Yunmiao Village to his house?

"It was their first time visiting Qiangou Village. Lai Yazhou was probably showing them around and letting them have a drink of water."

Of course, these are all just Jia Wangcai's guesses.

Jia Duofu's face darkened:
"You really think things are that simple?"

Jia Wangcai was all too familiar with this pre-animation gesture.

If my answer doesn't satisfy my dad, the stick will definitely be coming down on me the next second.

"My junior high school classmate Yang Muyi is no ordinary person. Lai Yazhou probably wants to take this opportunity to get in touch with him!"

After Jia Wangcai finished speaking, he immediately squatted down with his hands on his head.

Fortunately, the stick did not fall as expected.

This hurdle should be cleared.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, Jia Duofu's voice rang out:

"Lai Yazhou took your junior high school classmate Yang Muye to see Lai Jianguo's shadow puppet show."

what!
Upon hearing this, Jia Wangcai immediately stood up.

"Do you know why Lai Yazhou did this?" Jia Duofu then asked.

"Yunmiao Village is going to build a March Street Festival, and Lai Yazhou wants to recommend his father to perform there?" Jia Wangcai blurted out.

Jia Duofu gave Jia Wangcai a deep look.

At least you're not completely stupid.

Seeing that Jia Duofu's complexion had improved, Jia Wangcai became bolder in his speech.

"Dad, I invited Muye and the others, so we can't let Lai Yazhou's family get away with this so easily."

Jia Duofu glared at Jia Wangcai with annoyance.

Did you invite him?

If you really have that much influence, you don't need to be here so angry and scheming about how to get revenge on Lai Yazhou.

The immediate priority shouldn't be figuring out how to blame Asia, but rather how to get involved and get a share of the pie.

Of course, Jia Duofu was not referring to shadow puppetry, but rather the March Street Festival in Yunmiao Village.

Winter peaches, walnuts, and other mountain products from Qiangou Village can all be sold at the March Market.

The prerequisite is that you can get a shop or stall.

The entire development investment for Yunmiao Village was brought in by Yang Muye. As long as the other party is willing to help, this matter can be easily accomplished.

After receiving advice from his father, Jia Wangcai rushed to the orchard without stopping.

Lai Yazhou originally wanted to make a few sarcastic remarks to Jia Wangcai and provoke Jia Wangcai into arguing with him.

In this kind of verbal sparring, even ten Jia Wangcais wouldn't be a match for him.

Then we'll make Jia Wangcai look bad in front of everyone again.

Unexpectedly, Jia Wangcai completely ignored him and even Du Dan, and went straight to Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo, enthusiastically introducing Dongtao's various advantages to the two women.

Anyone with eyes could see that Jia Wangcai's eagerness wasn't for Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo, but rather a pretext to curry favor with Yang Muye.

Upon seeing this, Lai Yazhou couldn't help but frown.

Not right.

How did Jia Wangcai suddenly become so smart?

Jia Wangcai's subsequent actions left Lai Yazhou even more bewildered.

After introducing the local winter peaches to Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo, Jia Wangcai approached Yang Guanjun.

They didn't chat for long before leaving together, arms around each other's shoulders.

He's hiding away to smoke!

Back in junior high, the two of them were kindred spirits, and they got caught by the teacher countless times for smoking in the bathroom.

He remains incorrigible to this day.

Wait a minute, no—

Lai Yazhou's expression suddenly turned serious.

Jia Wangcai has received guidance from a master.

First, he tried to curry favor with Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo, and then rekindled his old relationship with Yang Guanjun. It was clear that all of this was aimed at building a good relationship with Yang Muye.

Lai Yazhou had already made an appointment with Yang Muyi to go to their house to watch a shadow puppet show after picking peaches.

Will Jia Wangcai ruin things for me later?

Lai Yazhou was lost in his own thoughts, completely unaware that Du Dan was looking at him with a resentful expression.

Du Dan did have some thoughts when she saw Xie Zhiyao again.

However, during their subsequent interactions, Du Dan quickly discovered that Xie Zhiyao was deliberately keeping his distance from her.

Du Dan was definitely disappointed, but she wasn't without backup options.

And there are two spare tires.

As a result, whether it was Lai Yazhou or Jia Wangcai, they only cared about circling around Yang Muyi when they arrived at the orchard.

Nobody paid any attention to me.

This made Du Dan feel extremely wronged.

If it weren't for saving face, Du Dan would have liked to just walk away in a huff.

By the time Jia Wangcai and Yang Guanjun returned after finishing their cigarettes, everyone had almost finished picking the peaches.

Jia Wangcai warmly invited everyone to get in the car, but he himself didn't get in, and let Lai Yazhou drive instead.

Du Dan was angry that Lai Yazhou ignored her in the orchard, so she got out of the car and said she would walk back to the village with Jia Wangcai.

This made Jia Wangcai extremely happy.

He was just following his father's instructions, pretending to cooperate with Lai Yazhou, trying to leave a good impression of being "loyal and righteous" in Yang Muyi's eyes.

Unexpectedly, even Du Dan began to see me in a different light.

Lai Yazhou has absolutely lost both his wife and his army this time!
Jia Wangcai cheerfully helped close the car door, while also reminding Lai Yazhou to drive slowly.

This guy is really treating me like a driver!

Although Lai Yazhou was very unhappy, he could only swallow his anger and cooperate with Jia Wangcai's act when he thought of his father waiting at home.

After watching the car leave, Jia Wangcai turned around to speak to Du Dan beside him.

Du Dan snorted.

He turned and walked towards the village.

Jia Wangcai was left standing there, completely bewildered.

What's going on here?

-

Entrance to Yunmiao Village.

A man in a retired military uniform, carrying a bag, got off the back of a motorcycle taxi.

"How much, sir?"

The man spoke Mandarin with a Hebei province accent.

"Twenty dollars."

"So expensive?"

“I told you before I left that it’s a long way here and I can’t pick up any passengers. I’ll have to go back empty. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re a soldier, I wouldn’t have given you a ride.”

The man felt a pang of regret and took out twenty yuan, handing it to the motorcycle taxi driver.

"I've retired from the military; I'm no longer a soldier."

After saying that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to walk into the village.

A group of elderly women chatting under the big tree at the village entrance started talking amongst themselves when they saw the man approaching.

No one recognized the man, so it was almost certain that he wasn't from this village.

As the man approached, he immediately took a liking to Aunt Gui.

He stepped forward and, without saying a word, raised his hand in salute.

"Hello, ma'am, I'd like to ask you about someone. Is Yang Muye from this village?"

Aunt Gui looked the man up and down; he had dark skin and a simple, honest appearance.

"Young man, what do you want with Mu Ye?"

"I'm the bodyguard his father hired for him. My name is Xu Sanduo!"

(End of this chapter)