As the sky darkened, Jiang Shen bid farewell to Uncle Zhang and the others, planning to head back. Of course, he had to inform Zhao Louyue as well. No matter what happened before, the good tea this afternoon wasn’t for nothing, and the bad impression from the previous day’s scuffle with Zhao Louyue had mostly dissipated.
“Mr. Zhao, you seem busy, so I’ll head home first.”
Zhao Louyue was wiping the sweat off his neck with a clean towel. Hearing this, he looked at Jiang Shen but didn’t say anything. After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Shen felt a bit uneasy.
Over there, the couple, Xiao Li and his wife, sighed, “Sorry, Mr. Zhao, we’ve been busy all day and didn’t prepare any food. If you don’t mind, we can take you to a restaurant in town later!”
“No need,” Zhao Louyue said, still staring intently at Jiang Shen.
Jiang Shen: “…”
Come on, they were just acquaintances.
“Did you enjoy the Maojian tea?” Zhao Louyue asked, “I specially got the Lantian Yuye…”
The Lantian Yuye they saw at the auction had a final price of 1.8 million.
“Mr. Zhao,” Jiang Shen could only be polite, “My home is simple, but if you don’t mind…”
Zhao Louyue grabbed the coat draped over the chair and swiftly put it on, “I don’t mind, sorry to trouble you, Young Master Jiang.”
Jiang Shen: “…”
Before leaving, Uncle Zhang insisted on giving Jiang Shen a bag of onions, which he couldn’t refuse. Since Zhao Louyue was going to crash for dinner, he very consciously took the bag from Uncle Zhang, and the two of them finally left.
With this delay, the night sky pressed down heavily, leaving only a faint trace of sunset on the horizon, and the air carried the scent of burning corn stalks.
Jiang Shen had walked here, and it would take about twenty minutes to walk back. In Lin Du, the night fell quickly in autumn. Halfway through, Jiang Shen couldn’t see much and was about to take out his phone when he suddenly slipped and almost fell into a ditch. Fortunately, Zhao Louyue, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught him.
He held Jiang Shen’s elbow, with no skin contact, but the warmth seeped through the fabric.
“Couldn’t stand firm?” Zhao Louyue asked.
“Yeah, thanks,” Jiang Shen said, turning on his phone’s flashlight.
Zhao Louyue frowned for a moment, then suddenly realized, “Do you have night blindness?”
Jiang Shen: “You can tell?”
Otherwise? Zhao Louyue thought the road was quite wide, and although the surrounding vegetation was overgrown, the outlines were clear. Yet, Jiang Shen had almost veered off diagonally.
Zhao Louyue didn’t ask further, continuing to follow behind Jiang Shen. They walked quickly, and after another seven or eight minutes, they arrived at a gate on a hillside.
It seemed to have been renovated just a year or two ago, with clear red paint on the door and a couplet written in black ink, with the horizontal scroll reading “Peaceful Home.”
Hearing the commotion, Wang Xiuyu poked her head out from the kitchen and called, “Guagua?”
Jiang Shen: “!”
“What melon?” Zhao Louyue looked down at his feet, “Do you grow watermelons at home?”
“Let’s go,” Jiang Shen mumbled.
Jiang Erkun came out of the main room, frowning, “Delivering a crisp jujube took you all afternoon.” Then he saw the tall and sturdy Zhao Louyue beside him, and his expression instantly became wary.
“Dad, this is my… friend. We happened to meet today, so I stayed a bit longer at Grandpa Zhang’s,” Jiang Shen explained. Over there, Wang Xiuyu came over with noodles, and Jiang Shen quickly went to help.
“Hello, Uncle,” Zhao Louyue greeted politely and went to help as well.
Jiang Erkun had prepared plenty of noodles, so there was enough for Zhao Louyue.
Eggplant stew and three simple home-cooked dishes, all freshly picked from the field, and with Wang Xiuyu’s good cooking skills, they smelled delicious.
Before sitting down, Jiang Shen quietly reminded Jiang Erkun and Wang Xiuyu, “Don’t call me by my nickname in front of my friend!”
Wang Xiuyu smiled understandingly, knowing that kids want to save face as they grow up.
Zhao Louyue was really hungry. Once the elders started eating, he buried his head in the food, and with the low stool, his broad shoulders and back looked particularly solid and wide.
Wang Xiuyu hadn’t seen someone enjoy her food so much in a long time, and she happily added more dishes to Zhao Louyue’s plate.
“Thank you, Auntie,” Zhao Louyue said, adding another spoonful of eggplant stew, and after swallowing, he sincerely praised, “It’s so delicious, Auntie. If you ever don’t want to farm, you could easily make money with your cooking skills.”
Jiang Shen watched as Zhao Louyue slurped down more than half a bowl of noodles in one go, thinking “glutton,” but his expression remained calm.
Jiang Erkun noticed.
To be precise, among Jiang Shen’s “friends” in Lin Du, Zhao Louyue was the first to be brought home.
Those young masters from the world of fame and fortune, Jiang Shen didn’t think they would want to come to Yuwei Village, nor did he think they would enjoy this kind of food. At the same time, Jiang Shen wouldn’t allow any disdainful or contemptuous looks to fall on his parents. This wasn’t about social circles; it was about the twenty years in Yuwei Village, a vivid and real part of Jiang Shen’s life that he didn’t want others to pry into or share.
But Zhao Louyue was different. He had a past very similar to Jiang Shen’s.
Today, when he ran into Zhao Louyue, if he had shown even a hint of impatience with this land, he wouldn’t have been allowed through the door.
Zhao Louyue ate three bowls of noodles, his stomach round and full.
“For your abs, you’ll probably need to do extra workouts when you get back,” Jiang Shen teased.
Zhao Louyue didn’t mind, getting up to help wash the dishes, but Wang Xiuyu wouldn’t let him into the kitchen.
“Come watch TV,” Jiang Erkun said with a smile, “There’s no reason for a guest to wash dishes.”
Jiang Erkun found a box of tea, and coincidentally, Zhao Louyue took out a small cake from his pocket, “Uncle, try this.”
Jiang Erkun loved tea, and seeing Zhao Louyue carry it casually, he assumed it wasn’t expensive and reached out to take it, “Sure.”
Jiang Shen remained silent; it was the leftover Lantian Yuye.
As soon as the tea entered his throat, Jiang Erkun couldn’t stop praising it. He grabbed a handful of dried fruit and handed it to Zhao Louyue. When they made contact, the cracked and rough fingertips bore the marks of hard work and toil. Zhao Louyue couldn’t help but think of someone saying, “Jiang Shen? He seemed like this even before being found by the Jiang family.”
Clean and transparent, not just due to genetic inheritance, but because someone had shielded him from the harshness of life.
No wonder Jiang Shen liked to come back even after reclaiming his identity.
“It’s so late, I’ll tidy up the room next door, and Xiao Zhao can stay here tonight!” Wang Xiuyu suggested.
Jiang Shen pursed his lips.
Over there, Zhao Louyue, who was drinking tea with Jiang Erkun, waved his hand, “No need, Auntie. My car is just a short walk down the slope. I booked a room in town, and it would be a waste not to use it.”
“I see,” Wang Xiuyu didn’t insist further.
After finishing the pot of tea, Zhao Louyue got up to leave. Jiang Shen originally wanted to walk him to his car, but at the door, Zhao Louyue raised his hand to stop him, “There’s a streetlight a bit further ahead. You, with your night blindness, stumbling around in the dark, would just cause trouble.”
Jiang Shen was amused, “Mr. Zhao, if you can’t speak nicely, just don’t speak.”
To his surprise, Zhao Louyue chuckled, “Young Master Jiang wouldn’t get mad, would he?”
Jiang Shen’s tone softened, “Of course not. Be careful on your way.”
“Yeah, and you, is it convenient to return to Lin Du tomorrow?”
“Convenient, I could do it with my eyes closed.”
“Alright,” Zhao Louyue didn’t dwell on it, “See you.”
Jiang Shen nodded, “See you.”