Chapter 22

In the following days, Wang Yong and Da Wei often went to find Uncle Er for drinks and chats. Wang Yong even specially prepared ten thousand yuan to give Uncle Er as pocket money, but it turned out that Uncle Er was not short of money. Uncle Er had been a section-level official in Tianhai City for over ten years before retiring and now enjoyed the benefits of a deputy department-level official. His monthly salary and subsidies totaled over six thousand yuan, and he had not had any major expenses over the years, so he had saved quite a bit of money. Two years ago, he had even bought a house in the county for his nephew, and he handed Wang Yong a passbook with over fifty thousand yuan in savings. He also owned a 110-square-meter house in the central area of Tianhai City. One could say that Uncle Er was even wealthier than Wang Yong, as the money Wang Yong made from selling gold bars was not enough to buy Uncle Er's house in Tianhai. That day, Uncle Er went to the market to sell walnuts just to pass the time. Uncle Er originally wanted to give the passbook to Wang Yong to start a business, but Wang Yong refused, saying he had money. Uncle Er didn't believe him, so Wang Yong even showed him the contract for the gold bar transaction.

Three days later, Wang Yong saw off Wang Qian and Da Wei, who were returning to Beijing. After returning to Beijing, Da Wei called to say that he never expected Wang Qian's father to be a deputy minister-level official. He also said that according to his reliable sources, Wang Qian's father would be promoted to a full minister-level director after returning. Wang Yong didn't have time to listen to his rambling and was about to hang up when Da Wei mentioned that the hotel was very satisfied with the vegetables he brought and would send people to sign the contract in the next couple of days. Wang Yong confirmed this and then hung up.

The next day, Da Wei brought the hotel's procurement manager, Li, and the executive chef, Old Zhang, to visit. Wang Yong showed them around the greenhouse and prepared a few dishes for lunch using vegetables from the greenhouse. After the meal, Da Wei was very satisfied and immediately signed the contract. The price was set at a minimum of twenty yuan per kilogram, with the exact price depending on the type of vegetable. After signing the contract, the three of them hurriedly returned to Beijing.

One day, with nothing to do, Wang Yong felt like eating fish and decided to prepare a pot of small mixed fish at home. He hadn't eaten fish for several days and was craving it. He first caught a dozen small fish from the small world, ranging in size from half a kilogram to over two hundred grams. The fish included carp, grass carp, crucian carp, silver carp, willow root, loach, and catfish (a small fish that Wang Yong believed was a young catfish).

Wang Yong started cleaning the small fish, quickly and skillfully cleaning them and then washing them with water. He placed the cleaned fish in a basin and marinated them with salt. He cut the scallions into segments and minced the ginger and garlic.

He placed a small amount of water in an iron pot, heated it, and used the water to clean the pot. After the water in the pot dried, he added lard, then the marinated small mixed fish, and fried them until they were golden brown. He removed them and set them aside. He left a small amount of oil in the pot, added the minced ginger and garlic, Sichuan pepper, star anise, and bay leaves (note: don't add too many bay leaves, as they can make the fish broth bitter). After frying them to release their aroma, he added the fried small mixed fish. He then added water to cover the fish, along with scallion segments, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar, and salt for seasoning. He brought it to a boil and then simmered it for two hours over a low flame.

While the fish was simmering, Wang Yong scooped a bowl of rice from the rice bag. He washed the rice and placed it in the electric rice cooker, added an appropriate amount of water, and turned on the power. He pressed the switch and waited for the fragrant rice to be ready.

Two hours later, he lifted the lid of the iron pot. The broth was almost reduced, and a rich fish aroma filled the air. The small mixed fish, with their tender meat and crispy bones, made his mouth water.

He scooped the small mixed fish into a bowl, filling the room with the aroma of fish. He took a bite, and the fish was tender, with the bones soft and crispy. The taste was far superior to what could be made in a city pressure cooker. He served a bowl of rice and enjoyed a mouthful of rice and a mouthful of fish, feeling very content. Just as he was enjoying his meal, Uncle Da came over.

"You're stewing fish today? It smells so good. Quickly, get me a bowl, and let's have a drink," Uncle Da ordered without any hesitation.

As a younger relative, Wang Yong could only roll his eyes and get up to fetch a bowl and chopsticks for Uncle Da. He also cut a cucumber and fried a plate of peanuts as appetizers. He took out a bottle of Wuliangye from Uncle Er and poured a full glass for both Uncle Da and himself.

Looking at the Wuliangye, Uncle Da said, "This is from your Uncle Er in the neighboring village, right? You're so grown up and don't know how to show respect to your Uncle Er, who has always been kind to you, and you still take things from him. Aren't you ashamed?"

Listening to Uncle Da's scolding, Wang Yong rolled his eyes. Recently, the village had been buzzing with news that Cao Wei, who had run away with a city girl years ago, had returned. Some said Cao Wei had started a big company and was back to repay Wang Dajiang, who had helped him in the past. They claimed that the day after his return, he met with the old man Wang Guoliang. Who was Wang Guoliang? He was a high-ranking official in Beijing who had experienced everything and advised Cao Wei to put down his burdens and live a good life, without mentioning repayment. Later, Cao Wei didn't return to Tianhai because he was waiting for Wang Dajiang's son, Wang Yong, to come back and inherit his company. There were even more exaggerated rumors that Cao Wei had been the vice mayor of Tianhai and a key figure under Premier Zhu, who had offended many people. After the Premier's term ended, Cao Wei retired and couldn't stay in Shanghai, so he returned to his hometown. He had arranged jobs for his younger brother's family and bought a house for his nephew. Various rumors were flying around.

The three people who were instructed by Uncle Er not to reveal anything didn't bother to clarify. Uncle Er didn't care, so why should they? Besides, the rumors made Uncle Er seem either a high-ranking official or a wealthy man, which sounded full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

Uncle Da was clearly curious and came to pry for information. The person most likely to know the truth was the old man and this nephew. The old man wouldn't be asked, as he would certainly beat anyone who dared to ask. So, Uncle Da came to his nephew, knowing he wouldn't be beaten and would be treated to good food and drinks. The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became, and he hummed a tune, sipping his wine and enjoying his meal.

"If you want to drink, I have five more bottles. I'll leave two for my grand-uncle, and you can take the other three. If you don't want to drink, I'll keep them for myself," Wang Yong said irritably.

Uncle Da glared at Wang Yong, "Who said I don't want to drink?" He then changed the subject, "I went to the township today and finalized your position as village chief. Since you're the only candidate, the township agreed to let you take office directly. However, you should still take some time to have a meal with the township leaders to get to know each other. By the way, give me some inside information about Cao Wei. I'm the village chief, and I need to quell the rumors."

Wang Yong was really frustrated and said dejectedly, "Uncle, you're a man, don't be like the old ladies, okay?"

"I'm just concerned about my comrade. Back in the day, I did a lot of work for Cao Wei's family. Without me, how could he have farmed a few acres of land? They would have starved to death long ago," Uncle Da countered and boasted.

Seeing that Wang Yong remained silent and kept reaching for the fish, Uncle Da blocked him with his chopsticks, "Don't just eat. Give me some inside information. Tell me, is Cao Wei really a high-ranking official? What level?"

Wang Yong stared at Uncle Da for a while, and Uncle Da stared back. Finally, Wang Yong gave in and said, "If I tell you Uncle Er's level, you can't ask anything else."

Uncle Da said confidently, "Of course, I'm a man of my word. I wouldn't go back on my word, especially as a village chief. Just tell me."

"Deputy department-level."

"What? What did you say?"

"Deputy department-level. Uncle Er was a technician, section chief, and department chief in the Tianhai City Agriculture Bureau, and later the deputy director of the Agriculture Bureau. He retired as the deputy director of the Agriculture Committee and had a part-time job in tourism, enjoying the benefits of a deputy department-level official. That's all."

Uncle Da looked surprised, "Wow, I thought he was just a section chief or department chief. I didn't expect him to be such a high-ranking official. Hehe! To have a deputy department-level official come to your door to give gifts, there are probably very few in the whole township, no, the whole county."

Wang Yong already knew that when Uncle Er returned, he visited Grand-Uncle and Uncle Da, bringing two bottles of 30-year-old Maotai to each. The two bottles given to Grand-Uncle were drunk by the three of them on the spot. The two bottles given to Uncle Da were taken by Wang Qiang and have not been found since. According to Auntie, Uncle Da was so upset that he didn't eat well for three days, and he was still angry about it. He had forgotten to mention it to Wang Yong when he returned.

Grand-Uncle didn't mention it to Wang Yong, possibly because he saw Cao Wei's visit as a way to repay a favor, which he considered a small matter. Helping someone in need was normal, and one shouldn't expect repayment. So, he didn't tell Wang Yong. It wasn't until Wang Yong met Uncle Er at the market that he learned Uncle Er had already returned home.

Wang Yong said irritably, "Since you're the village chief now, let someone else take the construction team. Just focus on being a leader in the village and avoid overworking yourself."

"Alright, alright. Drink your wine. Leaders can't do business. As the village chief, can I break the law? I'll hand over the team to someone else after I finish your house renovation," Uncle Da said, proud of his foresight.

Wang Yong could only roll his eyes at Uncle Da's thick-skinned response and said irritably, "What kind of leader are you? Village officials are not full-time officials and are not bound by those rules. By the way, I heard from Da Wei that Uncle Xiao is about to be appointed as the director of the National Development and Reform Commission, which is a full minister-level position. If he also becomes a vice-premier, he will be a vice-national-level leader. You will be the older brother of a vice-national-level leader, and there won't be many like you in the whole country."

"Wow! You heard that too? But it's not official yet. We should be low-key and not cause trouble for Uncle Xiao," Uncle Da said with a serious and proud tone.

Actually, Wang Yong knew that Uncle Da was a typical small farmer with deep-rooted small-farmer mentality. He also liked to show off to make himself seem important, a habit from his years in construction. If you had connections, others wouldn't dare to make things difficult for you and would treat you equally or even better. It's like how children brag to gain admiration. This is their tragedy because they have to bow to power and use connections to adapt to society. When the