"Good..."
Having listened to her husband converse with the Sun family father and son throughout, Jiang Qingqing, her small face flushed, lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks to eat. She didn't dare to eat too loudly, only taking small bites, afraid of embarrassing her husband.
Zhang Liunian noticed her nervousness, gently stroked the top of her head, and then served his wife some of her favorite dishes into another bowl, so she wouldn't be too shy to take them herself and go hungry.
The Sun father and son opposite exchanged glances, both seeing how much Zhang Liunian valued his wife, and how loving the couple was.
However, Jiang Qingqing's appearance truly exceeded their expectations. Even though they had seen many beautiful women, they had to admit that Zhang Liunian's wife was exceptionally beautiful. Such a beauty walking outside would easily attract men's covetous glances.
It was no wonder the eldest son of the Gu family took a liking to Zhang Liunian's wife. Any man with some capability who liked such beauties would want to have her after seeing Jiang Qingqing.
Regardless of what the Sun father and son were thinking, Zhang Liunian and his wife enjoyed their meal. The Sun family's hospitality was also excellent.
There were twenty-five dishes for the main course, followed by desserts and fruits after the meal, leaving Jiang Qingqing with a full stomach.
"How many places did you visit today? How many days can you stay in Pengcheng?" Sun Fu asked casually, sipping his black tea.
Zhang Liunian peeled a tangerine, placed the fruit segments in his wife's hand, and replied, "Only ten places. I'll probably need another five or six days."
"Only ten places? You managed to poach people from Kang Dafu, how can the speed be so slow?" Sun Fu was puzzled, as merely paying a deposit and placing an order shouldn't take this long.
Zhang Liunian smiled and replied, "Besides this matter, I had other things that caused a significant delay."
Sun Fu's mind turned, and he guessed, "Are you also planning to develop in Pengcheng?"
"I have that intention, but not right now. It will have to wait until next year. I still need to sort out the department stores I have," Zhang Liunian said truthfully.
"If you face any difficulties, feel free to tell us. We will help if we can," Sun Fu said, grateful for Zhang Liunian's reminder, and proactively stating his position.
Zhang Liunian smiled and nodded, "If that day comes, I will definitely come to find you."
"..."
An hour later, the banquet concluded.
Sun Nian watched Zhang Liunian and his wife disappear into the night, then turned to his father and said, "Comrade Zhang Liunian has such a wife; there will surely be no shortage of trouble in the future."
A good wife is a virtuous wife – Sun Nian remembered the Sun family's ancestral teachings, and he himself had chosen his wife according to this rule.
"As long as Zhang Liunian has the ability to protect his wife, even if he married the most beautiful woman in the world, no one would dare to cause trouble. Remember, in this world, everything is about strength," Sun Fu turned and left, his hands behind his back.
Zhang Liunian was naturally unaware of what was happening on their side. An hour later, they returned home. Jiang Qingqing went to her room to rest, while Zhang Liunian went to Zhang Qian's room for a discussion.
"Are you sure that household belongs to the Gu family?" Zhang Liunian sat in Zhang Qian's room, having heard that a group of people had indeed attacked the village head's home in Hongde Village, and he wanted to confirm again.
Zhang Qian was very sure, "There's no mistake. I also had several people confirm it; it's definitely the Gu family."
"..." It seemed like it was either Gu Lou or Gu Changqing who did it. Zhang Liunian was silent, his expression unreadable.
Zhang Qian, unaware of his thoughts, was both angry and anxious, "This Gu family is truly going too far. What should we do next? Should we strike back at them?"
"We have already retaliated. I had the Sun family give the land to the Gu family. The Gu family will collapse within a year. However, their actions now are indeed provoking us. Once I finish my current matters, I will find an opportunity to strike back directly," Zhang Liunian would not suffer such a loss, but his most important task at the moment was to pay the deposit.
Hearing this, Zhang Qian began to anticipate the Gu family's downfall. But when he thought of the situation in Hongde Village, his face fell again, and he was displeased, "Brother Liunian, if the Hongde Village village head also refuses to sell, what will we do tomorrow?"
"If they don't sell, they don't sell. We'll continue looking for the next buyer. Pengcheng has plenty of mountains, so why worry about not finding one?" Zhang Liunian was unconcerned.
"Can other places also work?" Zhang Qian had thought they could only buy land in the vicinity of Fude Village. If any mountain top could be bought, then there was really nothing to worry about.
"Of course, they are not as good as the mountain tops in Fude Village. But now that the Gu family is targeting us, we can only visit a few more places and play with them."
"You mean we deliberately visit more places, not to buy, but just to lead the Gu family around? But that way, we still can't get the mountain tops in Fude Village?"
"I have a way for this. For now, do as I say. If the mountain tops in Hongde Village are not sold tomorrow, you go inquire about the market price of mountain tops elsewhere. And you must act as if you really want to buy, but tell outsiders that you need to come back and ask for my opinion, just like these past two times, understand?"
"Okay, I'll listen to Brother Liunian. But what exactly do we need the mountain tops for?" Zhang Qian had been going back and forth for the past two days and still didn't quite understand why they needed mountain tops.
"Of course, it's for making money. As long as we can buy the mountain tops in Fude Village, we will surely earn double, even triple, the money we invested."
"What? Double, triple the money? If it's that profitable, we must buy it."
Zhang Qian understood making double or triple the money. It meant whatever they invested, they could get several times back, just like when Du Ziteng helped Brother Liunian collect grain earlier.
That was truly a good business. They had to get rid of the Gu family and then buy the mountain tops in Fude Village.
Seeing his excitement, Zhang Liunian smiled, "We will definitely buy, but not now. As you can see, as soon as we make a move, someone will interfere. We are not afraid. The Gu family is opposing us like this, so we will use their tactics against them and make them incur the wrath of the masses. Then, without us lifting a finger, someone will deal with them."
Zhang Liunian spent a long time giving instructions to Zhang Qian in his room before returning to his own room to rest.
Lying on the bed, embracing his fragrant wife, Zhang Liunian sighed with satisfaction.
Hearing his sigh, Jiang Qingqing thought something was wrong with him. She lifted her small face and looked at him with confusion, "What's wrong?"
After speaking, she suddenly started to look for faults within herself. Had she done something wrong at the Sun family's place, or embarrassed him in some way?
Zhang Liunian, unaware of his wife's thoughts, stroked her hair and said, "I just feel like life is a bit too happy like this."
"..."
Jiang Qingqing thought she had done something wrong, but then her husband said he felt happy.
Her heart felt sweet. She burrowed her small face into her husband's embrace. After a long while, she suddenly thought of their children at home, and her face clouded with worry.