Chapter Thirty-Five: First Encounter (I)

  Autumn is gone and winter has come, and Dasongzi's vegetables are in season again. The county spent a lot of effort on transporting the vegetables. It seems that Nannan's saying "to get rich, one must first build roads" is indeed true. For the long-term development of the vegetable and feed factory, Dasongzi also hopes that the county can repair the road as soon as possible. However, for now, this is just a luxury, as repairing the road is an expensive task.

  Time flies, and on the eve of New Year's Day in 1983, the sky was gray and overcast. In the courtyard, tree branches were swaying in the strong north wind. A German-made Mercedes-Benz car was parked in front of Fang Mengnan's house. Three young people sat inside, having rested for two days and two nights, but the car had not stopped running until now.

  "It's here," Liangzi said to them, but his heart was racing. He had rashly brought the two of them here and didn't know if Nan would kill him. He was also innocent; he had been coerced by Cheng Shigui and others into bringing them here.

  Cheng Shiguai, after gaining a lot from Italy in the World Cup, took advantage of the Western Christmas and New Year's holiday to satisfy his curiosity and see what real people looked like.

  Cheng Shigui flew back from Italy and met with Han Zhikuan to pick up goods in the south. They also mentioned wanting to visit Fang Monan. As a result, like before, every time they brought up this topic, they were diverted by Liangzi. Once, twice, it made Cheng Shigui recall the uncomfortable expression on Liangzi's face when he first mentioned the two words "Nan Jie" in front of him. This raised their suspicions, and they were determined to meet "Nan Jie". After discussing it, they used a combination of coercion and temptation to persuade Liangzi to bring them to Yun County City.

  Liangzi sat in the car and said with an uneasy heart: "You must be mentally prepared, I'm going to bring people now."

  Liang Zibu walked into Fang Moe's house with a mind that was as sharp as a knife, whether he stretched his head or withdrew it.

  The two people in the sedan saw Liangzi's fearless appearance, and their curiosity reached its peak. What kind of monster would come out of the door to make him look like that?

  Liangzi walked into the courtyard, just in time to see Fang Mo'nan coming out of the east wing. These two days she had been restless, and seeing him return, she perked up and greeted him cheerfully: "Liangzi is back so soon, has the train sped up?" Every time they returned from their southern trip, Liangzi and his group would hastily finish their business and not stay for a few more days to play around.

  "Nan Nan, there's something troublesome, you should be mentally prepared." Liang Zi looked at her seriously and said solemnly.

  "What's wrong? You're making me nervous too." Fang Mo Nan teased him with a smile.

  Liang Zishen took a few deep breaths, "Cheng Shigui and the others are just outside, they insist on following me, I have no choice. So..." He closed his eyes and said it all in one breath.

  Half a day passed without hearing any movement, he opened his eyes and waited.

  "Hehe... earlier than I thought." Fang Mo Nan said with a smile, originally she had been uneasy about this, when she decided to participate in the gambling and the Italian strike, she expected them to come back for her, after all, she had made a big fuss, it's human nature to be curious. "I'll go get those things." Fang Mo Nan quickly ran into the house and came back hastily, with some documents in hand.

  "Let's go! Let's take a look." Fang Mo Nan took the lead and walked out, while Liang Zi and Mo Da Niang bid farewell and followed him out.

  Cheng Shigui and the others were sitting in the car when they heard a noise coming from inside. They got out of the car, but only saw a delicate little girl standing on the steps, smiling at them with sparkling eyes.

  Liang Zi followed behind Fang Mo Nan, "Liang Zi, where's 'Nan Jie'?" Han Zhiqian asked.

  "Huh... she's right in front of you!" Liangzi said, pointing at the little girl in front of him.

  "Right before our eyes! Nansister was actually a dwarf! No wonder she didn't want to see us." Han Zhijian said disappointedly, this was tens of thousands of miles away from what he had in mind.

  Before Fang Mo Nan could respond, Cheng Shi Gui narrowed his eyes and shot a sharp glance at her, saying to Han Zhi Qian: "If your eyesight is poor, then don't spout nonsense. She's still just a child."

  "What kind of international joke is this, she's just a kid." Han Zhiqian asked exaggeratedly again: "Sister Nan, how old are you this year?"

  "Four years and three months." Fang Mo's soft voice replied seriously. She walked elegantly to the car, opened the door, got in and said to them: "Are we going to talk here? Get in the car."

  Cheng Shigui and the other two also got on the car. "Start the car," Fang Mosan said, and the car shot out like an arrow leaving a bowstring.

  It's very cold in the north during winter, and it's not yet time to get off work or school, so there are few people on the streets. They drove all the way without encountering anyone.

  Fang Mo Nan sat in the back seat, watching as the car drove for twenty minutes, already leaving the county town and driving on the national highway. "Alright, let's stop here!" The car pulled over to the side of the road, with empty fields on both sides, a gray mist surrounding them, and the roads stretching out endlessly in front and back, disappearing into the distance.

  Cheng Shigui and Han Zhikui stopped the car, turned around, and stared tightly at the little girl in the car. She was wearing a stained and worn-out dress that couldn't hide her calm and composed demeanor. Her rosy and chubby baby face had a pair of deep and profound eyes that seemed bottomless, making people feel like they were drowning in them - this wasn't an eye expression that a child should have. What appeared to be a calm and gentle personality was actually a precise gaze and a calculating mind. Was she really Fang Monan? The two exchanged a glance, with obvious "how is this possible" expressions in their eyes.

  The air in the car seemed to have condensed, and the suffocating atmosphere made Liangzi, who was sitting next to Fang Mosheng, feel uneasy and shifted his body closer to the door.

  "Look at your shocked faces, Liangzi didn't reveal any information to you." Fang Mennai broke the silence, picking a safe topic. The matter has already happened, so we should think of ways to solve it, can't just stare at each other like this.

  "Liang Zi died loyal to you, and said nothing would work, so we had no choice but to come ourselves." Han Zhiqian looked at Liang Zi with dissatisfaction. If he had informed him in advance, things wouldn't have been so chaotic, and he wouldn't have been mentally unprepared.

  Fang Mo Nan rolled her eyes and said, "Yes! I've thought of all sorts of situations, such as being ugly; missing an arm or a leg..." Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Shi Gui interrupted her, saying, "Don't curse yourself like that!"

  "Just by listening to your tone, I can tell you're 'Nan Jie'." Han Zhiqian somewhat knew her habits from their correspondence.

  "You must be very disappointed to see the real me!" Fang Mo Nan said with a smile.

  "There's nothing, just thinking too much, and it shouldn't be like this." Cheng Shigui said honestly. Han Zhijian also nodded and said: "Liangzi, I now have some admiration for you, listening to a little girl's words and following her advice."

  "Haha...... It turns out she was right all along." Liang Zi scratched his head and smiled foolishly, the two of them had laid their cards on the table, now whatever they said would be inappropriate, it's better to just observe from the sidelines.

  "Take away this physical body," Fang Mo Nan pointed at her own small frame. She then pointed at her brain, "This part is no worse than yours."

  "Hmm!" The two of them understood in their hearts that Fang Mo Nan was telling the truth, and she had already proven it with facts.

  "Liangzi, you're being too polite! Ah Gui shouldn't be described as handsome, he's simply a stunning beauty! It's truly making us women feel ashamed of ourselves!" Fang Mo Nan gazed at Ah Gui with eyes that seemed to hold the brightness of the sun on a mountain peak. The unforgettable first impression was his radiant and fair face, with sharp features that exuded cold elegance; his deep, dark eyes sparkled with an enchanting color; his thick eyebrows, high nose, and perfect lip shape all proclaimed nobility and refinement. Even someone who had seen countless beautiful men in their past life couldn't help but be amazed!

  Fang Mo Nan looked at them, having already accepted the fact, and now had the mood to look at their appearance and joke around. Dragging Liang Zi into the water was just because of the woman's pettiness, bringing the two of them along.

  "Hmph!" Han Zhiqian couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe...... I didn't do it on purpose. Girl, you must be a little kid, right?"

  Fang Mo slightly shrugged and couldn't deny it. She looked at Han Zhiqian again, who had a handsome and elegant face, with two sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples, a pair of phoenix eyes gleaming with spirit, a high nose bridge, smiling lips, and kind eyes looking at her.

  "Nan Jie", Han Zhiqian called out loudly, "First meeting, are you satisfied with what you see?"

  "Hmm! How do you two have the leisure to come to this mountainous place at this time? You should be busy. " Fang Mo Nan looked at the two with a slight frown, "Is something happening in Italy?"

  "No, just curious about what kind of person is operating thousands of miles away." Cheng Shigui regained his composure and elegantly crossed his arms, looking at her.

  "Yes! We originally wanted to give you a surprise! Didn't expect......" Han Zhiqian paused for a moment and said, "Seeing the real person, you are more like a fright to us."

  "How exactly does one make accurate predictions?" Cheng Shigui finally asked aloud.

  "Football! That's a guess." Fang Mo Nan could only say that. "And the situation in Italy is based on analysis from the financial magazine you sent over."

  Cheng Shigui and others were indeed attracted by Fang Mo Nan's second sentence, "Just looking at the magazine can analyze it." He raised an eyebrow.

  "What's the big deal? That little devil, didn't he just analyze a photo of Wang Jinxi and figure out where the oil was discovered and how much it produced?" Fang Monan handed over the magazine he had brought with him to Cheng Shigui and the others. The financial magazine had many annotations by Fang Monan, even more than the text itself. After they finished reading, they couldn't help but be impressed.

  "Indeed, he is a superior man." Han Zhiqian said.

  "Little devil, Japanese?" asked Cheng Shigui.

  "Hmm! Japanese devils."

  Fang Mo Nan saw that they didn't say anything else and felt relieved in his heart. Fortunately, he had been prepared early on.

  "Enough idle talk, what are you two doing here!" Fang Mo Nan asked hastily, looking at the sky, Grandma had passed that gate well, she didn't want to go back and deal with Lin Lao Ye's questioning.

  "Let's take a look, I'd like to see what kind of great god this boss of mine is who I'll be working for my whole life." Cheng Shigui said with a relaxed tone and a hint of jest.

  "That's right, from now on I'll be with you, take care of me." Han Zhiqian also followed closely, even Liangzi was deeply loyal to her, she had already won them over with facts.

  "You... you... let's work together." Fang Mo Nan breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart, and a relaxed smile spread across his face.

  "We're here, Nannan, let's not be polite to the landlord." Han Zhijian said with a smile. He changed his mouth and stopped calling her "Nan Jie", so as not to get used to it and bring trouble later, but learned from Liangzi to call her "Nannan" instead. Respect is heartfelt and doesn't show in the way of addressing someone.

  "It's not like your place here, there isn't even a decent hotel, are you used to living like this?" Fang Mengnan retorted.

  "What's wrong? We don't ask for much." Cheng Shigui and the others had made preparations when they came. "No, can't you just stay at our place?"

  "Live in my house! We have to get our story straight first, no one at home knows about this except for grandma, and I still don't want anyone else at home to know."

  Four people thought about it and finally said that two of them were from Hong Kong to find relatives, the maternal aunt of Cheng Shigui's mother, also known as Fang Monan's grandmother. After deciding, the sky darkened, and they drove home.

  Liang Zi also let out a sigh of relief, it's best if this matter can be resolved peacefully.

  As soon as the car stopped, people rushed out of the door. "Grandma, it's so cold outside, why are you not in the house?" Fang Mengnan got off the car and walked up to her, holding her hand.

  "You child, when did you go out and not even say a word? It's already dark outside, do you know that?" Grandma was scolding her granddaughter, but then she saw two big men getting out of the car. "Who are you..." Grandma looked at them in surprise, Fang Mo Nan pulled her, stood on tiptoes on the steps, and whispered an explanation into her ear.

  "Ah! So it's Leader Nan Nan! Please come in, please come in." Grandma warmly invited them into the house.

  "Leader" Cheng Shigui raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a face full of surprise. Fang Monan gave a signal with his eyes and said nothing for the time being.

  "Ah! Liangzi is here too!" Grandma said curiously as she saw him get out of the car.

  "Ah! Mo Daigne, you know I'm wholesaling goods in Yang City, they were introduced by Nan Nan." said Liang Zi.

  "Come on in! It's too cold standing here!" Grandma urged.

  "Don't panic! There are still the gifts we brought in Liangzi's car. Move them all in." Cheng Shigui said to him with ill intentions, daring to say that he was handsome behind his back, and wanting to 'torture' Liangzi to vent his anger.

  Liáng zǐ bèi tā dīng de hún shēn fā má，bù zhī nǎ lǐ dé zuì le tā，xiǎo xīn wéi hǎo.

  Translation:

  Liangzi was stared at by him and felt numb all over, didn't know where he got the most of it, better be careful.

  Grandma led everyone into the house and said politely: "Since you've come, what gift have you brought?"

  "It's actually what Nannan deserved." Han Zhijian said, and it was also what they should have given her a long time ago.

  Liangzi moved several rounds of gifts from behind, thanks to his tall and strong physique, and finally covered the car with a car cover.

  Grandma was afraid of not entertaining them well, so she specially asked Old Man Lin to accompany them first. The two of them sat in the living room, and Grandma brought over Fang Mengnan to serve tea and entertain them. The two young people didn't dare breathe loudly in front of Old Man Lin, and Han Zhiqian automatically poured tea for the two of them. "This old man has an overwhelming presence, instantly intimidating the two of them." "Who are you?" Old Man Lin's face turned sideways, his sharp eyes staring at them as he asked.

  They had previously rehearsed the lines, "I'm looking for Ms. Qin Lihua (the name of Grandma), she's my mother's aunt." Cheng Shigui recited it mechanically.

  "Oh! Young man, from Britain." Old Master Lin elegantly sipped his hot tea and said slowly. "The London accent is very thick, and it seems that you have received a noble education." He waved his hand up and down, "This behavior indicates..."

  "I've been in London for ten years. No way, it seems to have merged into my bones, and it comes out naturally." Cheng Shigui raised an eyebrow, with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Old master is also...". He lowered his head to cover up his gaze, took a sip of the tea in his hand, which was sweet and refreshing, not inferior to the famous teas he had drunk before. As it flowed into his stomach, he suddenly felt warmth spreading throughout his body. This place really hid dragons and tigers, judging from his words and actions, he was no worse than him, and there was an extra air of murder on his body, perhaps 'Nan Nan' had learned a lot from her.

  "Hmm! It's been a long time, 50 years!" Old Man Lin sighed.

  In the kitchen, Grandma and Fang Mo Nan were also discussing the two people who came. "Grandma, just tell them outside that they are here to find you, your maternal grandnephew." Fang Mo Nan instructed carefully.

  "This won't do! They're your superiors, how can they be related to an old woman like me? No way..." Grandma waved her hand in distress.

  "It's nothing, we've agreed on that. Do they have to say they came looking for me and that I made a lot of money? Let others know... the consequences." Fang Mo Nan deliberately didn't say it all, letting Grandma imagine for herself.

  As expected, Grandma said: "They are here to find me, they are my relatives, I and his grandma are sisters-in-law." She kept talking, hypnotizing herself.

  Little Aunt came back from school and saw the handsome stranger, she was stunned, but her eyes only had appreciation for beauty. Mr. Lin introduced each other. She nodded and then went to find Mo Bei, it's time to wash up and have dinner.

  Two people saw Little Aunt and were taken aback, greeting her warmly. Who would have thought that such a beautiful woman would appear here? She was elegant and refined, not at all flirtatious with them. Seeing 'Southern Sister's' little aunt, it's likely she'll be a great beauty in the future too.

  Mom came home from work a bit later than usual, busy near the end of the year. She saw two unfamiliar people and carefully asked them what they were doing there. They said they had taken a wrong turn and mistaken the house for someone else's. When did her family ever have such noble guests, and what kind of relatives were they?

  On a cold winter's day, eating hot pot is still the best, especially the flavor of charcoal hot pot is more authentic. Fang Mornan flashed into space, and Grandma was still doing mental construction.

  Soft-shell turtle hot pot, soft-shell turtle-made broth, the soup contains added ginger scallions, monosodium glutamate, red dates, astragalus, wolfberry, and black pepper powder.

  Duck intestines, tripe, handmade noodles, tender beef, mutton rolls, large red shrimp, radish slices, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, fresh tofu, winter melon, lotus root slices, potatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, vermicelli, coriander, flat mushrooms, fragrant mushrooms.

  When eating, adjust the seasonings according to personal taste: such as garlic paste, chili oil, coriander, sesame sauce, fermented bean curd juice. The mountain leek flowers were picked by grandma from the mountains and pounded herself. The flavor is more authentic than what's sold in the market. Add some hot pot broth, and a whole table was filled with dishes.

  "Liángzi, why don't you stay too?" His grandma said as she watched him prepare to leave.

  Liang Zihou took advantage of the situation and stayed behind with a thick face.

  The room was warm and cozy, Old Master Lin ate while asking Little Aunt about her homework, then asked Mo Bei about his homework.

  Two outsiders, who didn't care about etiquette, had been eating poorly for days and finally got to eat something hot and delicious. They were very hungry, but after taking a bite, their eyes lit up instantly, conquered by the flavor, yet they still maintained an elegant demeanor while eating.

  Liang Zike didn't stand on ceremony, to be honest, having known each other for so long, except during Chinese New Year, he had never eaten at Mo's mother's house. Looking at the dishes on the table, it was just that he hadn't expected that everyday food would taste even better than New Year's food.