Xu Guozhong had grown old, but he was still unconvinced. He thought to himself, "I'm so old, why am I not as good as that half-grown boy Chen Chu? Why does he always get ahead of me in everything?"
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Liu Haiyan called out.
The door opened, and Wang Xiaoyan appeared in the doorway. She had two small braids, quite similar to Xiaolian's braids from before. However, the girl was really well-behaved and honest, standing at the door looking rather awkward.
"Hello...hello everyone..."
Wang Xiaoyan was all shy and hesitant, but Liu Haiyan liked her immediately and giggled, saying, "Oh, isn't this... Wang... Wang Xiaoyan! Come, come, what brings you here, child? Come in and sit down, are you thirsty? Here, let me pour you a glass of water..."
"No need, I, I'm here to find someone…" Wang Xiaoyan said, then lowered her head again.
Xu Guozhong and Zhang Cai also liked this girl, but not in a romantic way; it was the kind of affection elders have for younger people.
Wang Xiaoyan has a bad reputation, but no one speaks ill of his daughter. She is honest, beautiful, and down-to-earth. She learned clothing tailoring from her aunt, and whenever rural women don't know how to knit sweaters, how to button buttons, or how to use a sewing machine, they all go to her.
Moreover, this child is beautiful at embroidery, and no one can do needlework better than her; the clothes she makes fit her perfectly.
Who wouldn't like a girl like that? She's only sixteen, and already has so many suitors who want to introduce her to good young men. But when they find out her father is Wang Xiaoyan, they all shake their heads and sigh.
If it weren't for this, the matchmaker would have practically worn down her doorstep...
"I…I'm looking for Chen Chu…" Wang Xiaoyan said, blushing.
Chen Chu coughed and stood up, his back ramrod straight. He tried to look like a human being even while wearing a hat, and said, "Ahem, Xiao Yan, um, you wanted to see me? What's up?"
"You...you come out here, I want to talk to you..."
As Wang Xiaoyan spoke, she lowered her head, shyly touching her little braid, her face flushed red with embarrassment all the way to the base of her neck.
Chen Chu looked at both sides and then walked out.
Liu Haiyan narrowed her eyes and sighed inwardly. She thought to herself that these two... were actually quite a good match. She didn't want to possess Chen Chu. She was a woman with a family and a career. Her relationship with Chen Chu was just for fun. Even if Chen Chu was willing, she couldn't divorce her husband and live with him. That was unrealistic. She would just play around in bed with him.
She was happy that Chen Chu had found a good partner, after all, the two had slept together and had some feelings for each other.
As for the girls in the village, like Zhu Na and Liu He, Liu Haiyan shook her head. Those girls were pretty and beautiful, but they couldn't be kept. They were too Westernized. In rural terms, they weren't the kind of people who could settle down. They would leave sooner or later. But girls like Wang Xiaoyan were different.
She's clearly a good girl; whoever marries her is truly blessed.
The two walked out, and Xu Guozhong curled his lip and said, "That bastard Chen Chu, is there any woman who would be interested in him?"
Zhang Cai couldn't help but chuckle: "Old Xu, you mean you should be the one he's interested in? Alright, how old are you? Settle down..."
...
As the two walked outside the brigade headquarters, Xu Guozhong saw Chen Chu and Wang Xiaoyan still chatting away, and he wished he could grab a cactus racket from the side and go over there.
I thought to myself, "You, Wang Xiaoyan, why are you being so provocative and picking on Chen Chu? I should just smash you with a flowerpot, you little brat!" But then I thought, "No, if I'm going to smash someone, it has to be Chen Chu. If I smash Xiaoyan, Chen Chu will be even more of a problem..."
...
"Xiaoyan, let's talk about it tonight. I'm working in the village during the day!"
"Hmm..." Wang Xiaoyan blushed even more: "Chen Chu, I know you're busy, but it's not convenient tonight."
Chen Chu laughed. If it weren't broad daylight, he would have loved to pull Wang Xiaoyan into his arms and kiss her a few times. He just couldn't understand how someone like Wang Xiaoyan could have such a wonderful daughter.
"Xiao Yan, what's inconvenient? We can just have the two of us tonight..."
"Don't talk nonsense, Chen Chu. Tonight... I won't go tonight anymore. You... you're not being honest..."
"Hehe... How am I being dishonest?"
"You? You're not being honest? If you were honest, why...why did you take my pants off...you, you're a pervert..."
Chen Chu laughed even harder.
"Xiao Yan, I'm not a hooligan. I only acted that way because I like you. You have no idea how much I like you, how much I want to be with you..."
"That won't do!" Wang Xiaoyan turned her head, then turned back and said, "Chen Chu, I heard you're doing very well in school. Now that the town's middle school is closing down, it's good that you're acting as the deputy village head. I also heard you'll be the math teacher at our village's elementary school from now on. That's great! How could you treat me like that? So improper! Chen Chu, if you treat me well, I'll come over tonight, we can talk for a while, and then... and then I want to be your wife someday. You can do that again, but you absolutely can't do that now..."
Wang Xiaoyan completely captivated Chen Chu.
Chen Chu felt like a wolf with its tail between its legs, his hands itchy, his feet itchy, his whole body itchy, and his lower body was hard and uncomfortable.
I feel like I need to rub against the brick wall of the toilet a few times to feel satisfied.
"Xiao Yan, come over tonight, and I promise you, I won't treat you like I did yesterday. Let's talk together, go outside and look at the stars and the moon..."
As Chen Chu spoke, he noticed that although Wang Xiaoyan had her back to him, she still had a faint smile of affection on her face.
Chen Chu suddenly felt a pang of reluctance to hurt this innocent girl.
Wang Xiaoyan turned around and said, "Chen Chu, did you bully my dad again today?"
"No!"
"Nothing's missing! My dad and brother have been sweeping the main street here all morning. You lied to my dad, Chen Chu, you're bad, you're not a good person..."
"Hehe, Xiaoyan, you've misunderstood. Listen to me."
"I won't listen. I'm telling you, you're not allowed to treat my father like that again. Here, take this…" Wang Xiaoyan said, handing something to Chen Chu before quickly walking away with her head down.
Chen Chu was stunned for a moment, then opened the bundle and saw that it was an embroidery of two mandarin ducks.
Chen Chu's vision suddenly blurred, and his face felt a little burning. The two mandarin ducks were swimming in the water, so happy and free. Nearby was the shore, and in the distance was a village. The outline of the village was exactly the same as that of Xiaoyangshu Village. Moreover, there were weeping willows beside the water, and the willow branches fell into the water, creating faint circles of ripples.
There were poplar trees on both sides, their leaves blowing to one side, clearly indicating that the wind was blowing from there, and the male mandarin duck was nestled close to the female, sheltering her from the wind...
Chen Chu's feelings were indescribable. He sighed a few times and hid the handkerchief in his bosom. His heart was racing. Not only was the embroidery beautiful, but more importantly, it felt like a girl's burning, heartfelt sincerity.
Chen Chu was actually moved.
...
Just then, a taxi drove up from a distance. It was Liu San's old, beat-up car. Villagers would take Liu San's old taxi whenever they had urgent business in the county town or anything like that. At least it was convenient. Liu San didn't farm, but he made a lot of extra money from this.
The taxi stopped, and Yan San got out.
Upon seeing Chen Chu, he narrowed his eyes and walked towards him.
Liu San hurriedly came over and grabbed him, saying, "Third Brother, Third Brother, what are you doing? Hey, something else, something else..."
At this moment, the people from the village office also came out. Zhang Cai, Xu Guozhong, and Liu Haiyan had been watching the commotion from the window, especially Xu Guozhong, who kept clicking his tongue and saying things like, "That rascal Chen Chu is going to have some luck with women..."
Just then, they saw Wang Xiaoyan leave, and Yan San arrive.
Everyone rushed out to break up the fight, knowing that neither Chen Chu nor he were easy to deal with; if they started fighting again, it would be quite a spectacle.
Xu Guozhong and Liu Haiyan both went over to pull Yan San.
Zhang Cai also said to Yan San, "Sanzi, you just got out of the hospital, so go home and rest. Besides, it's the busy farming season now, so hurry home and make a good living, and then find a wife. You don't have any children yet, so hurry up and have one. You're already thirty-seven or thirty-eight, how come you still don't have a proper job!"
Liu Haiyan also said, "Chen Chu, hurry up and go inside. What are you standing here for? You're the deputy village chief now, you can't fight..."
At this moment, Yan San sneered, "Chen Chu, you're something else. I never expected you to actually climb up here. I, Yan San, really underestimated you... You just wait..."
"Alright, alright, hurry up and get back to what you were doing, otherwise neither of your families will have any land left, and the village will take it all!" Zhang Cai shouted. Yan San nodded and got into Liu San's car. Actually, it wasn't far from home.
When Chen Chu returned to the village office, Zhang Cai frowned and said, "Chen Chu, although you are only the temporary deputy village chief now, no matter what happens to you in the future, the achievements you have made are yours. Even if they are not yours, they are still attributed to Deputy Village Chief Liu. You understand, right..." Zhang Cai was an experienced man who had been in the business for so long, and he understood things. He had a feeling that Chen Chu and Liu Bingbing had something going on.
"Hehe, village chief, I understand." Chen Chu always had a smile on his face, but in his heart he was thinking, someone is offering 30,000 yuan to buy Yan San's life, even if it doesn't sever his tendons. Should he do this deal? If he should, he should hurry up. He can manage by himself, but if he adds Long Qi, he'll be even more confident. Just thinking about crippling Yan San makes him wonder what the point of fighting with someone who's about to die.
At this moment, Zhang Cai coughed and said, "Chen Chu, you know Yan San, he's a big troublemaker in our village. He went to prison seven years ago for masked robbery, a notorious bandit. This... this kid also has a grudge against you. Let me put it this way, being a leader isn't easy. Sometimes you have to be patient. Fighting won't solve the problem, it will only make it more complicated..." Zhang Cai lit a cigarette as he spoke, and then continued.
"Chen Chu, you're a smart man. I feel that you're capable enough to be not only a village head, but also a township head, and maybe even a higher official. In officialdom, you have to be 30% self-sufficient while your superiors are 70% self-sufficient. Also, patience is paramount. You have to save face for your superiors, and you have to… you have to have achievements. Take Yan San for example. He's still idle and doesn't do any proper work. This kid, not just in our village, but in our township, in the entire county, who doesn't know him? You can't beat him up. But if you can make him honestly farm the land, behave himself, and stay out of trouble for a year, that's your achievement…"
Zhang Cai exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "In other words, Yan San is your enemy, but also your stepping stone to advancement. I'm too old to climb up, but you can... Yan San isn't your opponent, and you shouldn't see him as an enemy, but rather as your political achievement, as a ladder for you to climb higher and get promoted. Do you understand..."