Chapter 25

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Early in the morning, Lei Huanxi first fed a fish to Little Fat to prevent it from jumping out when the classmates arrived. Sure enough, after Little Fat finished the whole fish, it sank to the bottom of the pond, content. As long as it was full, nothing else mattered to it.

After stewing the old hen, the rich aroma soon filled the air.

Thinking about Annie, who said she would be his girlfriend, it was already the weekend, and she hadn't called at all.

He dialed Annie's number, but no one answered for a long time. Women, indeed, are unreliable. Annie, after tricking him into giving her his account, seemed to have disappeared.

Forget it, he didn't really expect much from her anyway.

After preparing everything that needed to be cooked first, he placed them on the table. By the time he finished, it was already 10 o'clock.

Zhou Yaping called: "Huanxi, we're in Zhunan, and we'll be at Xiantao Village soon."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the village entrance. Come from the southern entrance, not the northern one, as it's a longer route."

"Got it."

After hanging up, Lei Huanxi walked out of the villa.

There are two routes to Xiantao Village. The southern route leads directly to the village, while the northern one takes about ten more minutes, and no one usually takes that route.

These people are really unreliable. They said they would arrive soon, but it took a full 20 minutes before the cars finally appeared.

The driver of the leading car rolled down the window from a distance, and Zhou Yaping's head popped out: "Huanxi, Lei Huanxi."

"You're really slow." Seeing Zhou Yaping, a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

But when he saw the Mercedes behind, Lei Huanxi's face darkened.

He was all too familiar with this car. If it hadn't appeared that day, he wouldn't have lost his job, and he wouldn't have been beaten up.

There were three cars in total. Zhou Yaping had specifically mentioned on the phone that 12 classmates were coming. There weren't that many originally, but Yan Zilu, eager to curry favor with Jiang Bin, had invited a few more, adding to Lei Huanxi's burden.

"Don't blame me." The car stopped beside Lei Huanxi, and Zhou Yaping said with a smile: "Luo Yaduan insisted she knew the way, but almost led us to Yanhu Village."

Luo Yaduan's face appeared at the rear window: "I've been here before, and I clearly remember it was that route."

This girl was a typical tomboy in college, and she got along well with Lei Huanxi and Zhou Yaping. After graduation, she became an accountant at a company.

The window of the Mercedes remained closed, and no one inside showed their face.

"With your sense of direction, it's a miracle you didn't lead us into a river." Lei Huanxi teased her: "Follow me."

He got into Zhou Yaping's car: "Drive forward, we'll be there soon."

In this car, besides Luo Yaduan, there were also Xu Yibo and another girl named Pan Heqin, all of whom were close friends from the past.

"Huanxi, we're making a big deal out of this." Luo Yaduan even put her arm around Lei Huanxi's shoulder: "Look at Xu Yanyan, she's wearing all the luxury brands, always boasting about how much her bags and tops cost. This time, she's here just to show off. And her old friend, before getting in the car, said that a poor boy from a broken place like this couldn't offer anything good, and that we'd probably end up eating rice with pickles. As fellow adventurers, I specially brought a salted duck and a roasted chicken for you, which are in Monkey's trunk."

"Go, go, what kind of adventurer is a girl?" Lei Huanxi laughed: "Monkey, you also forgot the way?"

"Who remembers the roads in this broken place?" Zhou Yaping said while driving: "Brother Huanxi, you didn't see it. Jiang Bin let Yan Zilu ride with him, and this guy was so happy. I don't understand, how long has it been since we graduated, and how did he become like this?"

"Jiang Bin is rich, we can't be jealous... Okay, okay, pull over."

The car stopped, and Lei Huanxi opened the door and got out first.

The other two cars also stopped. The door of the Mercedes opened, and Yan Zilu was the first to jump out from the passenger seat. He opened the rear door, bent over, and carefully helped Xu Yanyan out of the car.

"Hey, Lei Huanxi, why is this place still so broken?" Xu Yanyan, dressed in luxury brands, exclaimed as soon as her feet touched the ground: "Weisen, you should have given Lei Huanxi a few thousand to fix this place up."

Jiang Bin followed, looking at Lei Huanxi with hostility and then said casually: "A few thousand is nothing. If the hospitality is good this time, Lei Huanxi, I'll give you a few thousand, but not for the road. I'll have your old house renovated. I heard it's quite dilapidated?"

"Jiang Shao is so generous." Yan Zilu quickly chimed in: "Huanxi, you're lucky to know Jiang Shao. When he's happy, your house will be the prettiest in the village."

Saying this, he handed a bag to Lei Huanxi: "This is a special gift from Jiang Shao, two mandarin fish, the biggest one weighs five pounds."

Lei Huanxi smiled and didn't say anything, greeting the classmates as they got out of the cars and leading them toward the villa.

Passing by the old house, Zhou Yaping, who had been there before, wanted to go inside, but Lei Huanxi stopped him: "It's ahead."

"Oh, you don't live here anymore?"

"No, I use it as a warehouse."

Xu Yanyan, tightly holding Jiang Bin's arm, whispered: "Hmph, what warehouse? I bet you rented it out to make some pocket money."

"What's there to say about a poor boy from a poor village?" Jiang Bin also sneered.

Everyone saw the villa at the eastern end of the village. Zhou Yaping joked: "Huanxi, if you get rich, having such a big villa would be great."

"Oh, Yaping, don't joke with Huanxi. He'll be stuck in this broken village until his hair turns white." Xu Yanyan's voice came from behind: "But the peaches he grows are good. Huanxi, staying here to grow peaches isn't bad; at least we'll all have something to look forward to."

Yan Zilu, who never missed a chance to flatter, chimed in: "Actually, if Jiang Shao is happy and invests in Xiantao Village, I think it could be very promising."

"Invest here? In this poor and desolate place?" Jiang Bin always had that arrogant air: "And the feng shui here is bad; the money eye is blocked, so no rich people can come out of here."

"Weisen, don't be so absolute. What if Huanxi works hard and becomes rich?" Xu Yanyan's words had a hidden meaning: "I said he wouldn't have such a house even if he worked until his hair turned white, but now I think that if he works hard for thirty years, he might become rich."

Jiang Bin sneered: "Lei Huanxi, I'm not looking down on you, but I'm straightforward. If you work here for a lifetime and can have such a villa, I'll slap myself three times in front of all your classmates."

Lei Huanxi just smiled.

"Let's put the past behind us." Jiang Bin deliberately wanted to embarrass Lei Huanxi: "I think you shouldn't stay here. Go back to Yundong, and I'll put in a good word for you to continue working as a doorman. You're familiar with that line of work, after all."

Mocking laughter came from a few of the classmates.

Zhou Yaping and the others turned pale with anger, ready to lash out, but Lei Huanxi held them back. Zhou Yaping was very dissatisfied; how could Lei Huanxi be so tolerant? How could he endure such insults?