C13 The Number One Mountain Village in the World

"Mom, don't panic! With me around, I can handle the Zhao family brutes—bring one and I'll take him down, bring two and I'll handle them both!" Shen Yong said, confidently clenching his fists. "In the army, I didn't just tend to pigs, I trained too! Our instructor was tough as nails! Sure, I might be the weakest link in the squad, but I can still knock out a pig with a single punch!"

"Yong, I know you've been trained in the army and you're much stronger than most," Xie Yun implored, "but you can't go around fighting people. We need to live in harmony."

"Zhao Erhu's unpaid debt is the least of our worries. The real issue is that our village's peaches have no market," Shen Wanshan sighed. The villagers had little else to rely on besides the annual peach harvest. Despite the abundance of peach orchards, when divided among the families, it hardly seemed enough. The average annual income in Mountain Peach Village was still under five thousand yuan—a stark sign of poverty.

"Exactly! That's why I'm here, worried sick!" Lee Kun exclaimed, pulling out his pipe and taking deep drags of his tobacco while squatting at the doorway.

"Old Li, in my opinion, we should focus on the bigger picture. Let's swallow our pride and apologize to the factory manager together. Maybe he'll reconsider," Shen Wanshan suggested.

"No way!" Lee Kun's eyes bulged with indignation. "Why should we apologize when they're the ones at fault? I refuse! Tomorrow, I'll take this issue to the township. I can't believe there's nobody who will take our side!"

"You think complaining to the township will help? You know as well as I do what they're like," Shen Wanshan replied, a note of resignation in his voice. "We'd better come up with our own solution."

"Dad, Mom, Uncle Kun, stop fretting over this. Eat, drink, and be merry—don't let it weigh on your hearts. It's late, and worrying now won't help. Let's deal with it tomorrow."

Shen Yong chuckled with confidence, "Who knows? Maybe someone will come knocking tomorrow, eager to buy us out!"

"You're spot on, Mr. Shen Yong! We're living in the age of the internet! I'll shoot a short video of our Mountain Peach Village's peach blossoms and post it online. I'm sure it'll catch someone's attention, and they'll reach out to us!" Li Xiaona chimed in.

Lee Kun tapped the ashes from his pipe onto the ground and rose to his feet. "Alright, that's enough for today. Let's head back and come up with a plan tomorrow."

The rain in the mountains could stop as suddenly as it started, and soon enough, it did.

"Xiaona, time to go! We should head back. Shen Yong is feeling better now, so you won't need to lull him to sleep tonight," Lee Kun announced.

"But Dad, do I really have to go? I want to stay and sleep over with Mr. Shen Yong!" Li Xiaona pleaded, clutching Shen Yong's hand.

The room fell silent, everyone staring at her, their eyes wide with shock.

"No, wait! You've got it all wrong! I misspoke, please don't misunderstand!" Li Xiaona's face flushed with embarrassment as she hastily clarified, "I just meant that Mr. Shen Yong has finally recovered, and we haven't had a good chat in ages! We've been friends since childhood, and there's so much we need to catch up on. That's why I want to stay up and talk all night—I won't be going home!"

Lee Kun's face darkened as he quickly stepped forward, pulling Li Xiaona away from Shen Yong. "This is preposterous! Young lady, where's your sense of decorum? What's this about talking all night? Can't your conversation wait until tomorrow? You're coming home with me tonight!" With that, he dragged Li Xiaona out the gate.

"Hey, Old Li! Aren't you forgetting your raincoat and bamboo hat?" Shen Wanshan called out.

"Just keep them there for now!" Lee Kun replied, still fuming.

Shen Wanshan chuckled and muttered under his breath, "Old Li still keeps a tight leash on Xiaona."

"Hey, old buddy! You and Lee Kun are close, right? And Xiaona has been close with our boy since they were kids. Why not get a matchmaker involved and see if Xiaona would be willing to join our family as a daughter-in-law?" Xie Yun suggested, giving Shen Wanshan a nudge.

"No need to mention it! It's a lost cause!"

Shen Wanshan dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "You think I haven't considered it? I brought it up with Old Li a long time ago, and he flat-out rejected it! Old Li knows our Mountain Peach Village is poor; he doesn't want Xiaona to endure hardship. He's set on her marrying into a big city, at the very least, a second-tier city in the provincial capital. Why else would he scrimp and save, barely eating or buying clothes for himself, all to earn money for Xiaona's college education?"

"So that's the situation," Xie Yun said, clearly not convinced. "Our Shen Yong is a student at a prestigious university! What's so bad about our village that she has to marry into some smoggy big city?"

"Yong, be honest with me, do you like Xiaona? If you do, then go for it boldly. I have a feeling she's got her eye on you too. Once you two are together, well, let's just say if you 'cook the rice,' and Xiaona ends up expecting our grandchild, Old Li will have no choice but to accept it!"

Xie Yun's words had a hint of coercion, an odd tone, yet there was some logic to it.

Shen Yong felt a sudden urge to sneak into Lee Xiaona's room for a night of pleasure.

But, with a smile and a shake of his head, Shen Yong replied like a simpleton, "Mom, that's not right. Didn't you just teach me the importance of living in harmony with others? That would surely upset Uncle Kun. I'm feeling sleepy; I'm going to head off to bed."

With that, Shen Yong retreated to his room.

Once he was gone, Shen Wanshan spoke softly, "Yong's just recovered from his illness; it's not right to discuss such matters in front of him. We shouldn't bring this up again in the future."

"Right, we won't talk about it anymore! Not ever again," Xie Yun agreed, though inwardly she was already plotting to discreetly find a go-between to test Lee Kun's stance. Her heart was set on having Xiaona as their daughter-in-law, keeping both children close to her side.

Xie Yun had her reasons, and not all of them were selfless. Lee Xiaona was her goddaughter, sure, but she had also been nourished by her milk for over a year as a child. Plus, Xiaona always treated Xie Yun with such kindness. The thought of Xiaona marrying off to some distant city was unbearable for Xie Yun. City life was notorious for its complexities and pitfalls. What if Xiaona ended up being mistreated in the big city? The mere thought was distressing.

Shen Yong didn't go to bed when he returned to his room. Instead, he was consumed with finding ways to make money. The old saying rang true: "A hero is often stymied by the lack of a single penny." The sight of his parents fretting over finances had left a sour taste in his mouth. And learning that Lee Kun was pushing for Xiaona to attend college, with the hidden agenda of marrying her off to someone in a big city, only added to his unease.

But then, as he pondered his predicament, an idea so audacious struck Shen Yong that it took even him by surprise. He envisioned transforming Mountain Peach Village into the epicenter of the world's economy—the preeminent village on the globe! He was determined to etch the name 'Mountain Peach Village' into the minds of all.

With a wry smile, Shen Yong acknowledged the madness of his ambition. But as the saying goes, "From the ground, a towering skyscraper rises." Now that his goal was set, its realization would depend on his taking deliberate, concrete steps. And the first step? It would begin with the surplus peaches that threatened to go unsold.

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