Chapter 401 - 260: The Perfect Life After Financial Freedom

Chapter 401: Chapter 260: The Perfect Life After Financial Freedom

As he drove back into the village, just as he reached the entrance, Lin Chu was surprised to see several actual dump trucks, loaded with all sorts of sand, gravel, and cement, slowly entering the village and taking the fork to the left.

That was the direction of the ancestral hall.

’Looks like Dad’s already gotten started.’

Lin Chu didn’t really have a strong impression of the Lin Family Ancestral Hall. After all, everyone used to be poor. Though it was called an ancestral hall, it was really just an old house of unknown age that had never been renovated.

His most vivid memory of it was from a night a few days before his college entrance exams, when his dad had dragged him by the ear and forced him to go kneel in the ancestral hall all night.

At the time, he’d thought... ’How feudal and superstitious.’

But he really did kneel there for the entire night, feeding the mosquitoes and getting covered in bites.

Looking back on it now, it was actually quite amusing.

「Just then.」

An idea struck him, and Lin Chu drove down the left fork to check out the ancestral hall.

At the foot of the mountain on the westernmost edge of the village, surrounded by a few old trees, stood an old house. Its green bricks were completely covered in moss, its lower half was made of adobe, and its upper half of red brick. A group of village elders was watching as his father, a red cloth tied around his head, directed the work from within the crowd, looking quite festive.

The ground was littered with the red paper remnants of firecrackers, and tall incense sticks were burning in the four corners...

This scene...

It almost felt a little like the New Year.

"Is your family rebuilding the ancestral hall?"

Jiang Ya asked softly, looking at the scene with some curiosity.

"My dad’s project. I’m just letting him run with it,"

Lin Chu said with a casual smile.

He had slightly mixed feelings about the ancestral hall, but he had long since sorted them out.

Compared to all the esoteric and mystical stuff, the ancestral hall was, for him, more about a sense of nostalgia.

"Come on, let’s get out."

Lin Chu opened the car door, got out, and walked toward the crowd.

Jiang Ya quickly followed him out.

After a moment’s hesitation, in front of so many villagers, she was too shy to even hold Lin Chu’s hand and just followed closely behind him.

"Dad!"

Lin Chu saw his father talking with two old men and the village chief. He walked over and called out with a smile.

Lin Haifu turned around, his face beaming. "Hey, you’re back? Where’d you go?"

Lin Chu gestured with his chin toward the person behind him without explaining.

Seeing Jiang Ya, Lin Haifu’s eyes lit up slightly. He recognized her—the girl had really blossomed and grown more beautiful.

’So... my son went to pick up a woman.’

He immediately broke into a grin. "Jiang Ya, you’re back! Where are your parents?"

Jiang Ya looked rather reserved, her face flushing red. "My dad’s at the shop, and my mom is still taking care of my brother. I came back by myself."

"Good, good. Come over to our house for dinner later."

He was already treating Jiang Ya like his future daughter-in-law. ’I know my son plays the field,’ he thought, ’but dammit, you have to marry one of them! A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A girl from the village is good, too. We know her family, she’s pretty, and as long as she can manage the household, nothing else matters.’

’If he doesn’t get married soon, I won’t be able to hold my head up in this village.’

’It’s making it look like we can’t afford a wedding, can’t afford a house, or can’t pay the bride price.’

Lin Chu watched his father’s enthusiastic display with a small smile, not minding it. He casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes, passed them around, and greeted the village chief with a smile.

The village chief looked to be in his fifties. He had a big belly and a fair, plump complexion that showed no signs of sun exposure. His name was Huang Baogui. There were two major surnames in the village: Lin and Huang.

Having been away at school for years, Lin Chu didn’t know much about village affairs. However, he’d heard from his dad that this Huang Baogui was one of his best buddies, and the two often hung out together.

"Ah Chu, you’re the successful one! Your dad gets to live a good life thanks to you."

Huang Baogui clapped Lin Chu on the shoulder, smiling in a simple, good-natured way.

The Lin family had truly been blessed by their ancestors to produce such a big boss. In the last few decades, Longwei Village hadn’t seen anyone become this successful.

A Rolls-Royce!

He wasn’t jealous, though. The gap between them was just too vast. Why be jealous? If some good fortune came along and he could get a small piece of it, that would be for the best.

Lin Chu offered a few humble words with a smile. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. The Mid-Autumn Festival was in two days. ’Since I’m back,’ he thought, ’I might as well do something for the village.’

He spotted Wang Hao in the crowd.

He beckoned him over and whispered in his ear, "Go order a batch of mooncakes and withdraw some cash from the bank. Find out how many villagers are over sixty. We’ll give each of them ten thousand yuan. Give it to families with college students, too."

Hearing this, Wang Hao was like... uh.

He was a little stunned. This was incredibly generous.

The most crucial part was, by this standard, his own family was excluded.

"You’re giving out that much? What about our own family?"

He couldn’t help but ask.

Lin Chu shot him a speechless look and feigned a kick, cursing with a laugh, "Like I’d fucking forget about you? Don’t be so petty! Go find the village chief and ask him how many people there are. Get a headcount."

Wang Hao glanced at his cousin, then at the village chief not far away. He had just seen his cousin laughing and chatting with the chief.

’Why didn’t he ask himself?’

’Could it be... he wants to give me some training?’

Taking a deep breath, Wang Hao suddenly felt a little nervous. That was the village chief! The biggest shot in the village, basically.

But after giving himself a silent pep talk, he walked over quickly.

"Uncle Huang, hello..."

He quickly explained the situation.

When Huang Baogui heard all this, his eyes instantly lit up. He glanced over at Lin Chu, then pulled Wang Hao by the arm and walked to the side to discuss the matter in detail.