Chapter 141
After Yan Yue and Wang Chaoliang made a deal, Zheng Xinhe arrived in Fengcheng the next morning.
He was holding the information passed on to him by Wang Chaoliang and was staring at the data all the way. His mood was like a roller coaster: apprehension, doubt, hope and all kinds of complicated emotions making him unable to calm down.
As the most famous bamboo researcher in China, Zheng Xinhe dedicated half of his life to bamboo research. Zheng Xinhe was born in a small, remote village in Shuchuan. Behind the village there was a mixed forest of bamboo and other tree species. At that time, villagers were willing to go to the forest to cut a few stalks of bamboo to build a fence or a pigsty. Zheng Xinhe wondered why people were cutting bamboo instead of trees. The people in the village couldn't explain; they just acted on experience. He was told by his family that it would take more than ten years for a tree to grow this high, while it would only take a few months for a bamboo to grow to the same height. It was cheaper to cut down the bamboo, as both trees and bamboo could be used anyway.
Zheng Xinhe became interested in bamboo since then, and as the first university student in his village, he chose to study bamboo at the Forestry University of Zhongjing. Zheng Xinhe had achieved a lot of research results over the years. The more he researched, the more he found that bamboo was simply a treasure. Bamboo could be used for food, clothing, housing, transportation and other purposes. This was especially true in recent years when the ecological damage had been so severe that many woods had been cut down, making bamboo forests, which were fast growing and highly reproductive, the best alternative to woods, consolidating soil and water and absorbing carbon dioxide. People were increasingly aware of the usefulness of bamboo, but this was not enough. Zheng Xinhe had bigger ambitions.
He shifted his gaze to the information in his hand and squeezed it hard. He had a vague feeling that this information would probably fulfil his hopes and completely change the industrial landscape of the entire country.
With this fiery thought in mind, Zheng Xinhe met with Lu Lingxi. He already knew from Wang Chaoliang that Lu Lingxi wasn't very old, but he could never have imagined that the other party would be so young and even look like a minor. Without waiting for Zheng Xinhe to hide the astonishment on his face, Wang Chaoliang smiled and introduced them, "Xiao Xi, this is the friend I was telling you about, just call him Uncle Zheng."
"Uncle Zheng." Lu Lingxi was very polite.
Zheng Xinhe in front of him looked to be in his early fifties, not very tall, with a slightly chubby figure. Perhaps due to overuse of his brain, there were just a few hairs left on his head, forming a Mediterranean hairstyle (a type of baldness where the hair is gone in the middle of the head but remains on the outside).
Hearing Lu Lingxi's voice, Zheng Xinhe came back to his senses. He suppressed the astonishment on his face and smiled self-deprecatingly, "The younger generation is fearless. Seeing Xiao Xi I realise I'm really old." Although it was the first time they had met, Zheng Xinhe naturally called him "Xiao Xi", following Wang Chaoliang's example, thus narrowing the distance between them.
He had a kind and funny attitude, and Lu Lingxi had a good impression of him. Wang Chaoliang also introduced Yan Yue, who was beside Lu Lingxi, and Zheng Xinhe felt that Yan Yue's type was more familiar to him. He knew Yan Yue would be harder to deal with than Lu Lingxi, who had little social experience.
After a simple greeting, they quickly started chatting about bamboo. Lu Lingxi knew a lot about flowers and plants, but when it came to bamboo, it couldn't be said that he didn't know anything at all, but he just had a general idea. Zheng Xinhe saw that Lu Lingxi was interested in this topic and took the initiative to talk about it. He was an expert in this field and talked about bamboo in a very clear manner. From the deliciousness of bamboo shoots to bamboo for making paper, and the recent rise of bamboo bicycles abroad, he finally got to the main point. He hoped to make use of the properties of bamboo and turn it into a new industrial material that could be used to replace the existence of steel.
Speaking of this, Zheng Xinhe, fearing that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue wouldn't believe him, deliberately mentioned a technology that was now developed, using high pressure to bond multiple pieces of bamboo together, increasing the density of the bamboo's internal structure by a hundred times and bringing its strength up to the performance standards of construction materials.
The inventor of this technology was none other than Zheng Xinhe, who said with a slight hint of excitement, "I have been seeking to improve this technology, but because of the limitations of the raw materials, the improvements were not obvious. Now with this bamboo that you have discovered, this technology will soon be able to be promoted and applied in practice."
Lu Lingxi was infected by his tone and his emotions surged. He believed that Zheng Xinhe's enthusiasm in talking about all this wasn't a lie; from the bottom of his heart Zheng Xinhe regarded it as his lifetime work.
Zheng Xinhe was even happier to see Lu Lingxi listening attentively, and excitedly continued to speak, "I want bamboo to replace not just steel for construction, but in many other aspects as well. Of course, we may not be able to replace all the steel with bamboo in a short time, but as long as we are willing to take the first step and change people's habits little by little, we will eventually change the industrial landscape of the whole of China in the long run."
At this time, Zheng Xinhe didn't look as calm as he had when he first appeared in front of them, and there was a fanatical aura all over him. Lu Lingxi saw the shadow of Wang Chaoliang in him, and Wang Chaoliang shook his head with a wry smile, "Occupational disease, can't help it."
Because of Zheng Xinhe's frankness, they quickly became familiar with each other. After personally following Lu Lingxi to the plant nursery to see the bamboo, Zheng Xinhe formally brought up the matter of cooperation with Lu Lingxi. He hoped that Lu Lingxi would provide the raw materials and he would provide the technology to jointly develop the new material he named Zhugang (bamboo steel).
"How about it?"
Zheng Xinhe said and looked at Yan Yue. When it came to cooperation negotiations, Lu Lingxi didn't intervene and left it all to Yan Yue. Yan Yue didn't reply immediately, but pondered for a moment and asked Zheng Xinhe tactfully if he had found a suitable investor.
Zheng Xinhe smiled, "I've been in this business for a long time and I know a few people, so don't worry about the investment, Mr. Yan."
He thought that Yan Yue was worried about not finding a suitable investment company and was very confident about it. However, Yan Yue shook his head, "That's not what I meant. I hope we will invest ourselves."
"What?"
Zheng Xinhe was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously looked at Wang Chaoliang, asking about the economic situation of Tiny Garden with his eyes.
Yan Yue guessed his concerns and smiled gently, "If Director Zheng is worried about funding, you can rest assured about that."
Zheng Xinhe gave Yan Yue a deep look, "This investment is not a small amount."
"I know." Yan Yue said lightly, "In fact, the Fengcheng authorities have a technology support project right now, and I think we're a good fit. With the support of the government, the promotion of Zhugang will also be smoother."
Hearing that Yan Yue could get on board with the authorities, Zheng Xinhe agreed to Yan Yue's proposal after only a slight consideration. If they could really work with the government, it could also save a lot of trouble.
After the two of them reached an agreement, the matter was settled. The government side of the cooperation was taken up by Yan Yue, and Lu Lingxi began to reproduce the evolved moso bamboo. This point was more related to Zheng Xinhe than to Lu Lingxi.
Generally speaking, bamboo propagation is based on traditional asexual propagation such as planting shoots, planting stalks and planting joints, but Lu Lingxi only had one evolved bamboo plant at hand, so he didn't know when he would be able to turn it into a forest through traditional methods. As he was accompanied by Zheng Xinhe, an expert, Lu Lingxi deliberately vacated the laboratory at the Qiu Tian plant nursery to carry out bamboo tissue culture seedling breeding. According to Zheng Xinhe, through tissue culture seedlings, one bud could propagate at least 10,000 seedlings a year. This method of propagation was fast, had a high multiplication factor and was of good quality, allowing a large number of plants identical to the parental good plant to be obtained in a short period of time for the construction of an artificial bamboo forest.
After Zheng Xinhe had carried out the group breeding of seedlings, he asked Lu Lingxi where he intended to create the bamboo forest. He said that the origin of moso bamboo was mostly in the Shuchuan area, and although the bamboo found by Lu Lingxi was a mutated moso bamboo, the growing environment wouldn't be too different, so it would be better for them to create the bamboo forest in Shuchuan. But Lu Lingxi was reluctant to leave Fengcheng and wanted to create the bamboo forest directly in the suburbs of Fengcheng. When he said this, Zheng Xinhe straight away thought he was fooling around.
"Moso bamboo has higher soil requirements than normal bamboo species, and requires sufficient water and humidity conditions but does not tolerate stagnant water. How can this area of Fengcheng be suitable for cultivating a bamboo forest?"
"The few bamboo plants transplanted in the plant nursery are growing well now, the soil in Fengcheng may not be unsuitable for the growth of moso bamboo." Lu Lingxi said seriously. He knew Zheng Xinhe was a bamboo expert, but he was very confident in the purified soil. Besides, if the bamboo forest was really created in Shuchuan, it would be too far away from Fengcheng for many things to be convenient.
Because of Lu Lingxi's insistence, Zheng Xinhe had to follow him on a few trips to the outskirts of Fengcheng to personally measure the soil composition in the vicinity to make sure that the soil was suitable for the growth of moso bamboo. The results of the measurements surprised Zheng Xinhe; not only because the soil was suitable for the growth of moso bamboo, but also because it was rare that the soil was free of any pollution, unlike other soils he had seen that had too many heavy metals and chemicals deposited in them.
"This area…" Zheng Xinhe looked around in confusion; in his mind Fengcheng had always been a heavily polluted area, how could there be such clean soil? He was puzzled by this phenomenon and hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi several times, but on second thought, thinking of Lu Lingxi's age, he didn't think Lu Lingxi would know this and suppressed his doubts without saying anything.
"Is it okay for Uncle Zheng?" Lu Lingxi looked at Zheng Xinhe staring at the soil composition test results for a long time and couldn't help but ask.
Zheng Xinhe held back his disbelief and nodded.
After making sure that the soil nearby was suitable, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue made a trip back to Lingshui Village. The two looked at the two small hills to the north of Lingshui Village. As it was for a bamboo forest, the valley, foothills and hillsides could all be used and there was no need to take up the village's arable land. Moreover, the hills were cheaper to rent than the fields used for farming. Lu Lingxi had already looked at them and the two hills were included in the purification area of the willow ecological community, which was just right for planting the bamboo forest.
When he said this to Uncle Li, Uncle Li immediately became worried. "It's good that Xiao Xi wants to plant bamboo, but can we do it here? It would be bad if they don't grow and you lose money."
"It can grow." Lu Lingxi affirmed, "I've checked it."
Uncle Li breathed a sigh of relief and took the two to Li Dayong, the village head. When Li Dayong heard that they wanted to rent the hills to grow bamboo, he first was taken aback for a long time, and the first thing he said in response was, "Can it grow here? Don't lose money if it can't grow." After knowing them for more than half a year, Li Dayong regarded Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi as his own village people. The first thing he thought about wasn't that renting the hills would generate income for the village, but what if they lost money?
Knowing that Li Dayong meant well, Yan Yue took the initiative to explain, "It's fine, I've asked an expert from Zhongjing to look at it, and bamboos can be planted on the land around here."
As soon as he heard that the experts had looked at it, Li Dayong immediately relaxed. This was how people in the village were; they had a kind of blind faith towards the experts from Zhongjing.
After the two had completed the formalities, Yan Yue entrusted Uncle Li to find some honest and hard-working people in the village. The bamboo forest needed manpower to maintain and guard it, and relying on just Uncle Li and others was definitely not enough.
"Okay, leave this to me." Uncle Li agreed immediately. The money paid for the work in Tiny Garden wasn't bad, and many people in the village wanted to come, so recruiting people wasn't a difficult task.
Chapter 142
Throughout March, Lu Lingxi was concerned about the breeding of the evolved moso bamboo. Zheng Xinhe had to go back to Zhongjing and had arranged for some of his students to come over to take care of this matter.
At the beginning of April, the temperature in Fengcheng had already reached an average of 25 degrees Celsius. Lu Lingxi once heard one of his students cursing the weather, worrying that it might affect the transplanting of the bamboo from the laboratory into the soil. After all, the newborn plants had a very high demand for water, and if the soil didn't have enough water, they could only rely on artificial watering later.
In fact, the number of times it had rained since the beginning of spring throughout northern China could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and there were already signs of drought. The spring ploughing in many places had been affected, and the lack of water was currently the biggest problem in the north. Zheng Xinhe knew all this, and when he spoke to Lu Lingxi on the phone, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Lu Lingxi wasn't as worried as Zheng Xinhe. He had visited Lingshui Village several times and found no signs of drought at all. Because of the water storage function of the third-stage evolution of the big willow, it continuously absorbed enough water from the groundwater and the Lingshui River, and then discharged it to the ground through the root system. Throughout the area covered by the willow ecological community, the water content of the soil had been maintained at a high level, and there was no shortage of water for the time being.
He said this to Zheng Xinhe but Zheng Xinhe didn't seem to believe it much. Although he didn't say it clearly, the subtext was that Lu Lingxi didn't need to comfort him like this, he was already prepared for the worst.
Lu Lingxi hung up the phone somewhat upset, intending to wait for Zheng Xinhe to come to Fengcheng in a few days to personally take him to Lingshui Village for a look.
He was in a bad mood and Yan Yue could see it at a glance. He put down the file in his hand and waved at Lu Lingxi, asking, "What? Did you have another disagreement with Zheng Xinhe?"
Lu Lingxi shook his head and sat down next to Yan Yue and told him about Zheng Xinhe's concerns. Yan Yue habitually took Lu Lingxi into his arms, raised his hand to rub his hair and said with a smile, "Xiao Xi is also worried about this? Haven't we already visited Lingshui Village and seen that there is no shortage of water?"
"The problem is that Uncle Zheng doesn't believe me, he always thinks I'm fooling him. Although Uncle Zheng doesn't say so, in his heart he must be thinking that if only the bamboo forest had been in Shuchuan, he wouldn't have to worry about experiencing a drought." Lu Lingxi said sullenly.
Yan Yue frowned slightly; Zheng Xinhe was a nice person, but he did have some stubborn insistence in certain aspects. There were some things that couldn't be explained to Zheng Xinhe, like the special circumstances of Tiny Garden, so they had already had a few minor disagreements this month. He kissed Lu Lingxi soothingly on the forehead and said softly, "Next time you encounter this kind of situation, let me talk to Zheng Xinhe."
Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and the corners of his lips curled up, his expression a bit sly, "Big Brother Yan, didn't you notice that Uncle Zheng always makes a point of calling me every time?"
Lu Lingxi had a soft temper and was easy to discuss things with, unlike Yan Yue who had such a strong attitude and was quite aggressive in his arguments. Zheng Xinhe always avoided Yan Yue to find Lu Lingxi unless it was necessary to deal with Yan Yue directly.
Yan Yue's eyebrows rose at Lu Lingxi's words, and he lowered his head to nibble Lu Lingxi's lips slightly harder, chuckling, "Do you still refuse to go to Big Brother Yan when things get tough?"
Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and smiled; after a long time he said seriously, "I also want to help Big Brother Yan do something."
His words were like a sharp sword, piercing the softest part of Yan Yue's heart. Yan Yue's gaze was gentle and he tenderly kissed Lu Lingxi. The two of them lingered for a moment, and Lu Lingxi leaned into Yan Yue's arms, accompanying him as Yan Yue read the information on the table.
This time, in cooperation with Zheng Xinhe, the company behind Yan Yue, Dezhi Investment, didn't fund the project. It was the Ye family's investment instead. After he and Zheng Xinhe made a deal, Ye Kang participated in the name of the Ye family. In addition, they were attached to the Fengcheng City government's science and technology support project, which amounted to a four-way cooperation. This involved Tiny Garden providing the raw materials, Zheng Xinhe providing the technology, the Ye family being responsible for all the funding, and the Fengcheng City government only needing to be their front man.
Yan Yue had given Lu Lingxi a detailed analysis of this matter. The prospects of Zhugang were vast, and based on the finished product Zheng Xinhe had made so far, it was only a matter of time before Zhugang replaced the existence of steel. In this way, they wouldn't be facing one or two competing companies, but an entire steel industry, and the interests involved would be too huge to be resisted by Tiny Garden alone. Yan Yue discussed it with Zheng Xinhe when they first talked about cooperation, and if the two didn't have the participation of the Fengcheng authorities and the Ye family, Zheng Xinhe was actually thinking of establishing a relationship with Shuchuan. He had a lot of contacts in Shuchuan and knew several government people. Just like Yan Yue planned, Zheng Xinhe was also preparing to use the government to be their front man.
Lu Lingxi looked at the information and remembered what Yan Yue had said. He raised his head and asked, "Will Brother Ye stay in Fengcheng?"
Yan Yue said, "Not necessarily. Elder Ye is very optimistic about Zhugang's project, so he may not feel comfortable just leaving Ah Kang here. Besides, Ah Kang has little interest in these things. Elder Ye may send Ah Kang's second brother over."
"Then won't other people know about you staying in Fengcheng, Big Brother Yan?" It was this that Lu Lingxi was worried about.
Yan Yue hugged him and changed his position, not really caring, "Hopewell is in a mess right now, Father can't care about me for a while. Besides…" he paused, kissed Lu Lingxi's earlobe and said, "I have Xiao Xi."
"What?" Lu Lingxi was somewhat bewildered and confused.
Yan Yue chuckled and kissed from Lu Lingxi's ear to his lips. After the kiss he explained, "Although I didn't want to admit it, I understood in my heart that I didn't have the strength to compete with my father in the past."
Although Yan Yue had initially taken advantage of his illness to quit Hopewell mostly to stay by Lu Lingxi's side, his awkward position at Hopewell was another reason. Yan Shihui was blatantly biassed in favour of Yan Hai, and Yan Yue could only choose to take a step back himself if he didn't want to directly confront his father. In fact he didn't have the strength to confront Yan Shihui at that time either.
Yan Yue continued, "Xiao Xi, you remember what I said before? When I was a child, my father always groomed me as the heir to Hopewell. As for Grandpa, he always said that Hopewell would be mine in the future… Although I don't like Hopewell much because of my family, there was no denying that the belief that Hopewell was mine was sort of ingrained in my heart."
It was one thing for Yan Yue to dislike Hopewell himself and it was another thing for Yan Hai and Yin Ya to try to rob him of his things. Yan Yue loathed their existence, and even less wanted to acknowledge that Yan Shihui and Yin Qinglan had abandoned him for the sake of their later children. The reason he was fighting for Hopewell was more to prove himself than anything else.
"I neither wanted to give up what was mine, nor did I have the strength to fight against my father, so I had to back off and stay away from Hopewell. My original intention was to wait until Yin Ya and Yan Hai fought each other and were both defeated before going back, and I was even mentally prepared that it might take three or five years. But I never thought I would meet Xiao Xi…"
Lu Lingxi's existence was like a gift from heaven to Yan Yue. Not only was he the love of Yan Yue's life, satisfying the thirst of Yan Yue's heart, but he also showed Yan Yue a magical world, a future with endless possibilities. Yan Yue wanted what was rightfully his and he wouldn't give it up, but unlike a year ago, he now had the strength to face his father openly.
What Yan Yue said was still a little incomprehensible to Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue looked at his ignorant look and his heart felt soft. He hugged Lu Lingxi and seriously said: "Xiao Xi, just know that you are a great help to Big Brother Yan. Without you, Big Brother Yan wouldn't have the opportunity to cooperate with Gao Yongliang, wouldn't have donglingcao, wouldn't have Zhugang and wouldn't have the courage to challenge his father."
Lu Lingxi blushed a little as he heard it and said in a small voice, "These are all the credit of the panel, not mine. Besides without Big Brother Yan, there wouldn't be Tiny Garden now. I still have to thank Big Brother Yan for that."
He said it seriously. Yan Yue smiled slightly and whispered, "No, it's Big Brother Yan who has to thank Xiao Xi."
There were many things that Lu Lingxi didn't know, and Yan Yue hoped that Lu Lingxi would never know for the rest of his life.
Chapter 143
Despite the fact that Yan Yue's preparations for the production of Zhugang had been very low-profile, the Ye family's investment still attracted the attention of interested parties. Among them was the Lu family in Zhongjing.
Elder Lu received the news early in the morning; the Ye family had invested a sum of money in Fengcheng, and seemed to be preparing to build a bamboo products production factory. He was a bit puzzled. The origin of bamboo was mostly the Shuchuan area; even if the Ye family wanted to invest in bamboo products, they should go to Shuchuan, why would they think of Fengcheng?
Was it because of Ye Cheng? No, it couldn't be. The old man himself rejected this thought. Then why? And why bamboo products, what's the point? As the helmsman of the Lu family, Lu Hengchuan had spent a lifetime in the business world and paid close attention to several old rivals around him. He didn't think that old man Ye was suddenly interested in bamboo on a whim; he must have found some business opportunity.
Lu Hengchuan ordered his people to go investigate what the Ye family had invested in, being so mysterious that they refused to let anyone know.
The results of the investigation soon reached Lu Hengchuan's hands. He first saw that the Ye family had invested in fifteen production lines in Fengcheng. It was said that it was a new technology that could synthesise bamboo into a substitute for steel that met construction standards. This conclusion made Lu Hengchuan a little suspicious. Bamboo to replace steel? Elder Ye was not fanciful, was he? But when he saw the partner of the Ye family, he couldn't help but be taken aback.
Tiny Garden Technology Co., Ltd., Lu Lingxi. The name stirred the old man's memory. Lu Hengchuan seemed to think of something as he pressed the button on his desk. His assistant quickly knocked on the door and walked in.
"Chairman?"
"Did you compile this information?"
The assistant nodded respectfully.
"What do you know about Tiny Garden Technology Company?"
Although the assistant was wondering in his heart, he didn't pause and said fluently, "The predecessor of Tiny Garden Technology Company is a plant nursery called Tiny Garden. The boss is very young and his name is Lu Lingxi. Tiny Garden is mainly engaged in raising flowers and green plants. They have the rights to new varieties of four plants, including the raw materials of the bamboo products invested by the Ye family this time, a kind of bamboo named Zhugang."
Lu Hengchuan's attention was captured by the word "young", and he asked after a moment of silence: "How old is Lu Lingxi?"
The assistant quickly said, "Nineteen years old."
Lu Hengchuan didn't say anything else and waved his hand, signalling the assistant to leave first. The assistant closed the door silently, but in his heart he was somewhat puzzled by the chairman's focus. As a man who had been beside Lu Hengchuan for a long time, he wasn't unaware of some of the Lu family's affairs. The member of the Lu family who had died last year was called Lu Lingxi, and if he had lived until now he would have been exactly nineteen years old. This was a coincidence but he didn't think much of it. There were many people with the same name, and Lu Lingxi had little presence in the Lu family when he was alive, so it wasn't likely that the chairman would suddenly think of him after his death, right?
When the assistant left, the office was once again quiet. Lu Hengchuan's eyes fell back on the information in his hands. Fengcheng, nineteen years old, Lu Lingxi. One coincidence was nothing, but three coincidences together, could this be the child from back then?
Lu Hengchuan thought about it and made a phone call, instructing his subordinates to help him check this Lu Lingxi. Whether or not Lu Lingxi was the child from back then, there was something fishy about the Ye family working with him. Zhugang? Bamboo that can replace steel? Old man Ye is very ambitious!
Lu Lingxi wasn't aware of these undercurrents in Zhongjing. Early Saturday morning, he received a call from Zheng Xinhe, who had already arrived in Fengcheng.
The plants from the laboratory would be transplanted into the ground in two days, but Zheng Xinhe was still a bit uneasy and wanted to come to Fengcheng to take a look in person. When he heard that both Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were at the plant nursery, Zheng Xinhe didn't ask them to pick him up, took a taxi and rushed to Lingshui Village.
The driver was quite enthusiastic on the way, and hearing that Zheng Xinhe's accent didn't sound local, he said to him with some pride, "How about it, our Fengcheng environment isn't bad, right?"
Zheng Xinhe took a look at the greenery outside and nodded.
The driver became more energetic, "Have you been to Fengcheng before? If you had, you would know that the changes in Fengcheng this year have been dramatic. Last year at this time the sky was still hazy, but this year you can see that it has been blue for almost two weeks straight. Even if there was a little smog a while ago, it was quickly dispersed by the wind. The air is really good. I remember seeing the blue sky like this only when I was a kid. I never thought I would catch it again after so many years. Speaking of this blue sky we have to thank our mayor, it's him."
The driver gave Zheng Xinhe a thumbs up as he drove, "Who knows how many small factories the new mayor has shut down despite the pressure. When he first shut them down, those people were still making trouble, wanting to petition and so on. What about now? If anyone dares to make a fuss, the neighbours around will drown them in spittle. What do you think the people want? To be fed and clothed, right, but also to have a good environment and to live a few more years in a good mood, don't you think so?"
The driver didn't need Zheng Xinhe to agree, he just kept talking all the way. Zheng Xinhe didn't know whether to cry or to laugh as he listened to the driver talking without expecting him to say a word.
The two were halfway out of town when they saw that the road ahead was slightly blocked, half of the road separated. "What's going on up ahead?" Zheng Xinhe asked.
The driver took a look and smiled, "Hey, nothing, the sanitation workers are weeding. It's not strange, the plants grow faster when the environment is better. You didn't see the section just now, the grass was just weeded a few days ago. The greenery on both sides of the road has grown to a height of a man, and the flowers are so big and fragrant that my son says they look even better than the ones in the park. There's a community in the north of the city, you know it, right? It used to be the most run-down kind of old community, and only people with little money lived there, so it was downright poor. Now it's like an ecological botanical garden, full of birds and flowers, so if you live in that community, you can live for ten years longer. The other day I heard them say that the property price in that community has soared to 20,000 per square metre, while the most expensive one in our area, Shida Plaza, is only 15,000. Do you think everyone who lives there is getting rich?"
He changed the topic freely, and Zheng Xinhe smiled as he listened, knowing that the driver was talking about the community where Lu Lingxi's family lived. Zheng Xinhe had been there once, and at that time, he was also surprised by the environment inside the district. Although the overall environment of Fengcheng was good now, the environment of that community was still very conspicuous. The time he went there, he did see a lot of agents moving around, but it was said that not many people were willing to sell their homes, and most residents were still in the mindset of waiting for prices to rise again.
The driver drove slowly as he chatted with Zheng Xinhe. As they passed the section of road that was separated, Zheng Xinhe saw weeds growing on the side of the road and the sanitation workers busily spreading weed killer. Thinking about something, he asked, "Do you guys think this grass is affecting your lives?"
"How does it?" The driver thought Zheng Xinhe had a strange idea, "Isn't it just a bit more work to cut the grass? The grass that we cut is not wasted, it is all sent to the farms in the western part. In the past, we were worried about the cattle being fed indiscriminately in the farms. But now we know that the cattle and sheep in the farm are eating this pure natural grass, so we can feel better about eating meat and other things. Don't you think we can kill two birds with one stone?"
Zheng Xinhe was amused to hear that; he didn't think it could be like this and couldn't help but laugh along with the driver.
The two of them soon left the city, and the driver, probably because he had rarely met an outsider like Zheng Xinhe, excitedly talked to him all the way. When they were almost at Lingshui Village, the driver gestured for Zheng Xinhe to look ahead, "See, that big willow tree is Lingshui Village, and there is a plant nursery next to the big willow tree. The flowers raised in it are particularly good."
Zheng Xinhe smiled, not expecting Tiny Garden to be so famous. But it was true that he hadn't seen any signs of drought in Fengcheng along the way. Previously in the city, he could say that the sanitation workers watered the plants on time, but after driving so far out of the city, he could see that the seedlings on both sides of the road were growing well. Even if the land was deserted, the weeds were still lush without anyone watering them. Zheng Xinhe felt strange in his heart, "Has it rained in Fengcheng recently?"
"Rain? No, it's been almost a month, and I haven't even seen any rain." The driver denied it.
"It hasn't rained?" Zheng Xinhe looked outside in confusion.
When they arrived at the entrance of Lingshui Village, Yan Yue was already waiting there. Zheng Xinhe couldn't take his eyes away from his surroundings when he got out of the car. When he had come here before in early March, the village was full of greenery, much more vibrant than the grey surroundings, but it was still a bit monotonous after all. Now it was different. Many wild flowers that Zheng Xinhe couldn't name were in full bloom at the entrance of the village, competing with each other in colours like a mini sea of flowers.
"Director Zheng." Yan Yue greeted Zheng Xinhe politely.
When Zheng Xinhe saw Yan Yue, he immediately tensed a little, "Where is Xiao Xi?"
"Xiao Xi is in the plant nursery. Should we go up the hill now or later?"
Zheng Xinhe was a little hesitant. He was originally worried that the drought in Fengcheng would affect the bamboo propagation, but according to what he had seen along the way it did seem that there was no shortage of water at all as Lu Lingxi had said, so there was no need to go up the hills anymore.
When he hesitated, Yan Yue already saw what he was thinking about, "Why don't we go to the plant nursery first? It just so happens that Ye Kang is also there, and Director Zheng can ask how the production line is progressing."
"Okay."
Yan Yue took Zheng Xinhe to the plant nursery, and in the small courtyard Erha was actively dragging Ye Kang out for a walk. Erha was pretty strong, and Ye Kang was on the verge of being dragged to the ground by Erha's leash. Ye Kang was a bit frustrated. He had just had a run with Erha in the morning and had only rested for a few minutes, but Erha was listening to the barking outside and wanted to go out again. He thought about how embarrassed he was in the morning when Erha ran in front of him and dragged him when he couldn't sustain the temp, so he didn't want to go out again.
"Erha, be obedient."
When Erha couldn't drag Ye Kang out, he changed his strategy and jumped onto Ye Kang's body, licking him and barking, very enthusiastic.
Yan Yue saw this scene as soon as he came in. He was a little amused, "Where are Xiao Xi and Dahei?"
With Xiao Xi around, Erha mostly revolved around Xiao Xi. With Dahei around, Erha didn't dare to make such a fuss either.
Ye Kang had a hard time pushing Erha's furry head away, nodding politely at Zheng Xinhe and looking at Yan Yue, "Xiao Xi is answering the phone in the back, it seems to be Fang Lei looking for him."
"Fang Lei?"
Yan Yue hadn't seen Fang Lei for some time. Why was he looking for Xiao Xi?
Chapter 144
Fang Lei was looking for Lu Lingxi about the matter of human-animal communication. He was very busy these days, because he had been asked by his superiors to investigate these matters.
At the beginning of the year, Lu Lingxi had warned Fang Lei that more and more people would be able to communicate with animals in the future. Fang Lei had this in mind, but he didn't expect to encounter it so soon. Just a few days ago, a case was reported to the police station under Fang Lei's jurisdiction. The case seemed to be ordinary. A few kids were dominating the school and often bullied another kid in the same class. The kid who was bullied couldn't stand it anymore, and after being bullied again, he got a helper to take revenge on the kids who bullied him.
If you looked at the case like this, it was not unusual. What was unusual was that the helper the bullied child found was a dog. One boy and one dog cooperated tacitly to teach the little overlords in the school a lesson. As a result, the parents of the students who were taught a lesson called the police, and the police investigated and quickly found something weird. It wouldn't be a big deal if it was an isolated case, but the police stations received several similar cases one after another. These things quickly attracted the attention of the tops, and the communication between humans and animals moved from the shadows to the open.
Fang Lei wasn't at liberty to say much on the phone, but only vaguely reminded Lu Lingxi not to run around with Dahei in the near future. It was still uncertain how the tops would handle these matters; for the time being, they only instructed all those in the know to keep it confidential.
"Confidential?"
Fang Lei let out an "en", "The tops seem to be not too convinced and probably want to invite experts to investigate further. I guess they don't want to spread the news before they make sure, for fear of not being able to control the impact."
After talking about this matter, Fang Lei asked a few more questions about Yan Yue's recent situation and hung up. He had worked all night last night and had only just returned to his dormitory. His mobile phone had been confiscated by the tops, just like his colleagues' phones, and was only returned to him today. Fang Lei knew that he had violated the confidentiality discipline by calling Lu Lingxi, but Lu Lingxi had trusted him before and told him about the animals, and he wanted to warn Lu Lingxi while he had the chance.
Fang Lei was just about to catch up on his sleep when Xiaohui, whom he hadn't seen for a few days, rushed over, aggrieved, lightly jumped onto Fang Lei's face and meowed angrily.
Fang Lei was so sleepy that he grabbed Xiaohui by the neck with his eyes closed and tucked him under the blanket, holding him in his arms and coaxing him, "Xiaohui, don't make trouble, I know you're tired of eating canned cat food these days, I'll get you some dried fish when I get up after a good night's sleep…"
Fang Lei sat up with a start when he spoke of dried fish and asked with an odd expression as he picked up Xiaohui's neck, "What did you just say, Xiaohui?"
Xiaohui waved his paws angrily, trying to scratch Fang Lei unceremoniously and meowing.
Fang Lei's expression became more and more odd, he could hear clearly that Xiaohui seemed to be angry. He was angry with him for disappearing for all this time, and angry with his colleagues for only giving him canned cat food. When Fang Lei remembered what he had just called Lu Lingxi about, he couldn't help crying and laughing. Little did he know that once he got home he himself would understand Xiaohui's meowing and would thus belong to the ones who needed to keep it secret. "Alright, you want to eat dried fish, right? I'll get it for you now." Fang Lei said and put Xiaohui down, ready to endure the sleepiness to serve Master Cat first. However, once Xiaohui left his confinement, he first jumped up and slapped Fang Lei with his paw, then squatted down in front of him, licking his paws and meowing twice.
Fang Lei: "…"
He now felt that it didn't seem to be too pleasant to understand Xiaohui, unless he could tolerate Xiaohui's "stupid mortal" tone.
After finding the dried fish for Xiaohui, Fang Lei made another phone call to Lu Lingxi. This time the content was simple and clear: he could finally communicate with Xiaohui, but was it too late for him to change a cat?
Lu Lingxi: "…"
Hanging up the phone again, Lu Lingxi turned around and saw Yan Yue. Perhaps his expression was too odd; Yan Yue took a few steps over and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
Lu Lingxi shook his head and repeated Fang Lei's accusations of Xiaohui's evil deeds. Yan Yue couldn't help but be amused. Seeing Xiao Xi's bad expression, he thought something was wrong, but it turned out to be about Xiaohui. "Next time we see Fang Lei, let's bring him some more band-aids." Yan Yue chuckled.
Lu Lingxi imagined Fang Lei's expression while receiving the band-aids and nodded as he held back a smile.
"By the way, Brother Fang said that several cases of people being able to communicate with animals have been discovered recently, and the authorities have requested that these be kept secret."
Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, "He hasn't been in touch in the past few days because he investigated them?"
Lu Lingxi nodded and asked with some concern, "This kind of confidentiality is only temporary, it won't stay hidden forever, right?"
Yan Yue smiled, stroked Lu Lingxi's head and said soothingly, "Don't worry, this kind of thing can't be hidden."
As the environment in Fengcheng changed, there would only be more and more people and animals who could communicate with each other, and it would be impossible to keep it completely secret. Yan Yue believed that there were already journalists with a keen eye who smelled the news. They would see how hard the tops would try to keep it under wraps. By the time the news was out, the number of evolved people in Fengcheng would reach a certain scale. At that time, even if Lu Lingxi was found to be abnormal, he wouldn't be too conspicuous in this group of evolvers.
When Yan Yue said this, Lu Lingxi stopped worrying about it.
After the expert group that Fang Lei had spoken of secretly entered Fengcheng, the time had come for the bamboo from the laboratory to be transplanted to the hills. On the day of the transplant, both Lu Lingxi and Zheng Xinhe got up early. The temperature was too high recently for transplanting during the day, so they could only transplant the bamboo while it was still a bit cool in the morning.
Zheng Xinhe took his students and a dozen villagers hired by Lu Lingxi up to the hills. Everyone had dug the pits yesterday and today all they had to do was to plant the plants. After a morning's work, Zheng Xinhe looked at the young shoots all over the hills and said to Lu Lingxi with a certain sense of satisfaction, "In a few months' time, this will become two bamboo mountains. When the bamboo reaches the required hardness, our production line will be ready to start."
Lu Lingxi followed Zheng Xinhe's gaze; the breeze was blowing and the greenery of the hills filled his sight. Imagining that in a few months' time this place would be a sea of bamboo, evergreen all year round, Lu Lingxi felt that all the fatigue from the hard work he had done dissipated.
After the bamboo was planted, Zheng Xinhe rushed back to Zhongjing. Before he left, he took a small piece of finished bamboo with him, saying that there was a seminar in Zhongjing and he would go there to promote it. Even Yan Yue was impressed by his desperate energy and told Lu Lingxi privately that although Zheng Xinhe was sometimes stubborn and annoying, he was a really nice person.
After the production preparations for Zhugang were on track, Su Lang and Huo Weiping also made a breakthrough in the clinical trial of donglingcao.
Early that morning, Yan Yue received a call from Su Lang, asking if he had time to bring Xiao Xi to their institution for a visit.
Yan Yue quickly guessed what was going on, "The clinical trial is working?"
Su Lang laughed at the other end of the phone, his tone light, "Mr. Yan has invested so much money in the project, I would be embarrassed to find you if it didn't work, right?"
Yan Yue laughed along, "When is it convenient to come?"
"Anytime. Xiaobao is still thinking about meeting Brother Xiao Xi."
At the beginning of the year, Yan Yue helped Su Lang get the approval for the review of the clinical study of the new drug. Su Lang and Huo Weiping officially began recruiting volunteers for clinical trials. Pan Xiaobao's father, Pan Liang, decided to let Pan Xiaobao join the clinical trial after a difficult choice. At first, he was waiting for a suitable bone marrow to be available from the bone marrow bank while participating in the trial. But as the trial progressed, the leukaemia-causing pathogenic proteins in Pan Xiaobao's body continued to degrade under the induction of donglingcao methylin, and his condition improved significantly. Seeing that Pan Xiaobao was getting better day by day, Pan Liang was so sure that he put all his energy into testing the new drug.
During these days, Pan Xiaobao had suffered a lot. Perhaps it was his illness that made him mature early. Pan Xiaobao was the youngest among the group of volunteers, but he was the most understanding, only occasionally saying that he missed Brother Xiao Xi.
Previously it was the key stage of the experiment, and outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering or leaving the institution. Now that the experiment had made progress, Su Lang wanted Lu Lingxi to come and take a look. He couldn't say what he felt in his heart; it seemed to be an obsession. He knew that the two Lu Lingxi's couldn't be the same person, but he just couldn't help but project all the guilt he felt for the dead young man onto Lu Lingxi now. Including when he made progress in his experiments, the first thing he thought of was to have Lu Lingxi come and take a look.
After he had spoken to Su Lang, Yan Yue put away his phone and frowned imperceptibly. Although what Su Lang said on the phone was an invitation for him to come and have a look, it was Xiao Xi who was mentioned several times. Yan Yue had always felt that Su Lang's attitude towards Lu Lingxi was a bit odd, not because he suspected that Su Lang had guessed the secret of Lu Lingxi's rebirth, but because he disliked Su Lang's attitude of treating Lu Lingxi as a substitute. Although in essence the two Lu Lingxi were the same person.
It was just that although Yan Yue didn't like it, there was no way to keep Lu Lingxi away. Especially knowing that Elder Zhao had also joined Su Lang in their research, Lu Lingxi had to go and take a look.
"Grandpa Zhao is very powerful, with him the new drug trials will definitely be successful." Lu Lingxi said seriously as he sat in the car.
Yan Yue hummed and added, "The new drug trial is actually considered a success now."
"Really? Then when will it go into production?"
Yan Yue thought for a moment, "It depends on the national regulations on the timing of clinical trials, but there is a green declaration channel for some special drugs, so it will depend on Su Lang and the others."
"Brother Su definitely wants it to go into production as soon as possible. He said before that he wanted to invent a special drug for leukaemia so that many people didn't have to suffer." Only when Lu Lingxi finished speaking did he realise what was going on and looked at Yan Yue somewhat sheepishly.
Yan Yue held his hand quietly and said as if nothing had happened, "Su Lang seemed to have told me the same thing, but Xiao Xi remembered it clearly."
His tone was casual, and Lu Lingxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Yan Yue didn't seem to suspect anything.
Chapter 145
Su Lang and Huo Weiping's clinical trial on donglingcao was a success. Within two days they received news that Hopewell's clinical trial on donglingcao had also made a breakthrough and Hopewell was preparing to apply for a patent.
"That's not possible."
Huo Weiping didn't quite believe it. Zhang Jian had betrayed him by taking away a batch of research materials, but the research materials the other party took away were not complete. Moreover, their research at that time was based on the donglingcao No. 1, and its medicinal effects couldn't be compared to the donglingcao No. 2 provided by Yan Yue later. Even if Zhang Jian was a genius, he would never be able to catch up with their research in such a short period of time. Huo Weiping was worried that Yan Yue would be unhappy with his progress when he found out the news and wanted to talk to Yan Yue.
Su Lang discouraged him from doing so, thinking that Yan Yue should know more about what was going on than they did.
"What do you mean?" Huo Weiping's eyes were full of incomprehension.
Su Lang thought for a moment and explained, "Brother Huo, we are in the research business ourselves, and you have also said that it is impossible to make any progress based on Zhang Jian's research. The news released by the other side may not be true."
"You say Zhang Jian's side is releasing false news, then what do they want?"
Su Lang shook his head; these were only his speculations. Huo Weiping didn't know Yan Yue's identity, but he knew about Yan Yue's entanglement with Hopewell. How could it be such a coincidence that they had just made progress on their side and immediately progress was made on Hopewell's side? He always felt that Yan Yue had something to do with it but he couldn't tell Huo Weiping about it. "Anyway, just listen to me, Brother Huo, the Hopewell side has nothing to do with us."
He said it with conviction, and Huo Weiping thought that Su Lang and Yan Yue had known each other before, so Su Lang should know more about Yan Yue's way of doing things and slowly relaxed.
The two held back and no one went to Yan Yue, but Ye Kang, who also received the news, was curious about it. "You don't seem to be worried at all?"
Yan Yue looked down at his computer and said casually, "What's to worry about?"
Ye Kang stared at his expression with interest, "Let me guess, was it you who arranged the sudden release of the news that Hopewell was applying for a patent?"
The corner of Yan Yue's mouth was slightly hooked as he said carelessly, "I only revealed a few words about Huo Weiping and Su Lang's research progress to Yin Ya through someone. The rest is none of my business."
With a slight nod from him, Ye Kang immediately understood. In Hopewell, Yin Ya and Yan Hai were now in a fierce battle. Yin Ya had pinned all of her hopes on the research of the donglingcao, hoping to consolidate her position in Hopewell through the launch of the new donglingcao medicine. If Su Lang's research progresses were faster than Hopewell's, or even went on the market earlier than Hopewell's, all of Yin Ya's hard work would be in vain. She had no choice but to announce their "success" and even apply for a patent to get the new drug approved and marketed first.
Ye Kang thought about this and had another question, "It's not easy for Yin Ya to hide this from Uncle Yan."
Yan Yue nodded and said, "If Father were at headquarters, Yin Ya naturally couldn't conceal it, but I'm afraid Father is now abroad and the things are beyond his reach."
"Uncle Yan has gone abroad?"
Yan Yue gave a hint, "Yan Hai leaked a business secret and stirred up a big mess, Father is now helping him to wipe his ass. He won't have the energy to distract himself with home affairs for a short time."
His tone was as calm as if he was talking about a small, insignificant matter, and Ye Kang smiled emphatically, having already guessed the cause and effect of this matter. "What do you plan to do next?"
Yan Yue smiled playfully, "It depends on how Yin Ya cooperates."
As Yan Yue had predicted, Yin Ya was now desperate. She asked Zhang Jian to prepare the report for the new drug application before Yan Shihui returned to China. The new drug had to be marketed no matter what; it was a matter of whether or not she could get a firm foothold in Hopewell.
Zhang Jian was a bit hesitant, "Although the clinical trials of donglingcao are effective, the effect is not too obvious. It is better to wait."
"Wait for what?" Yin Ya said discontentedly, "Don't you know that Huo Weiping is already preparing to apply for a patent? Do you know how much we will lose if his side goes public ahead of us?"
Of course, Zhang Jian knew what it meant to go public a day earlier, but he didn't have much confidence in his own research. When he was following Huo Weiping before, he was only Huo Weiping's assistant, and although he felt he was no worse than Huo Weiping, he was still subconsciously a little unsure of himself when it came to Huo Weiping. "Miss Yin…"
"This matter is settled." Yin Ya said simply, "You go and prepare the declaration materials, leave the rest to me. We are the only ones who know about the situation with the research. This must be done before Yan Shihui returns."
She was resolute, and Zhang Jian agreed. Although the current research on donglingcao wasn't as effective as he had envisioned, it had some effect on the disease-causing proteins of leukaemia, inducing their degradation and apoptosis. It was a slightly slower effect but it wasn't against the doctor's conscience. Zhang Jian convinced himself of this and let out a silent sigh.
He soon found out that Yin Ya had gotten in touch with Elder Lu through Lu Wei'an. Elder Lu was probably also optimistic about the donglingcao project and offered to help Yin Ya obtain the new drug certificate. In the meantime, Yin Ya applied to the board of directors for a sum of money to be used for the promotion of the new drug. Although Yan Shihui, who was overseas, knew about all this, he wasn't aware of the details. He never thought that Yin Ya would be so bold as to deceive the board with a half-finished research.
Time soon reached the end of April, and tomorrow was the day when Lu LIngxi made an appointment with Elder Zhang to go to Kunnan. Lu Lingxi had talked to Tiger in advance, leaving Tiny Garden to Tiger during his absence. Tiger was confident about this, "Don't worry, I know these things after dealing with the vegetable greenhouse for almost a year."
Lu Lingxi curved his eyes; he wasn't worried that Tiger didn't know what to do but he was afraid that Tiger would find it boring to stay in the shop all day.
Tiger laughed, "This place is much livelier than the greenhouse, how can it be boring? Besides there is a computer."
"Alright, Xiao Xi, don't worry about it." Xiao Feng smiled and said, "Once in a while you don't have to think about home and the shop, have a good time hanging out, I'm here."
"En." Lu Lingxi nodded.
He began to pack his things, and Dahei quietly squatted beside him. Lu Lingxi stroked Dahei's head and Dahei gave a low bark.
"Be good, I'll be back soon." Lu Lingxi said soothingly. The drive to Kunnan was a bit too far, so it could only be reached by plane. This made it a bit inconvenient to take Dahei with them. At first, Lu Lingxi was prepared to send Dahei to Kunnan by air, but after reading a few news articles about pet consignment accidents on the internet, he dismissed the idea. He would only be gone for a week at most and would be back soon, so he didn't want to toss Dahei.
Dahei didn't want to part with Lu Lingxi, licking his fingers fondly, his obsidian-like eyes looking at Lu Lingxi tenderly.
Lu Lingxi felt his heart softening and couldn't let go of Dahei as he hugged him for a long time.
"Seven days, I'll be back in seven days at most, okay?"
Dahei gave a low whimper and consented, aggrieved.
Lu Lingxi quickly packed up his things and ran next door with Dahei. Wang Shuxiu looked at his back. Thinking that Yan Yue was also going to Kunnan, she felt a little unhappy and couldn't help but be a little worried when she talked to Xiao Feng in private.
"Do you think they will… live together?"
Xiao Feng sighed and didn't know how to answer this question for a while, and then said after a long time: "Xiao Xi is already an adult, so don't worry about some things as a mother. "
Wang Shuxiu was unhappy, "How can I not worry about it! Two men together, you know…"
She didn't say more, but the meaning was very clear. During this time Wang Shuxiu had nothing to do; she didn't have to go to the small restaurant every day, stayed at home and read a lot of information about homosexuality. At first Wang Shuxiu didn't agree with Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue being together, but seeing that there was no way to separate the two of them, she acquiesced and thought she could learn more about the two men being together. This understanding immediately made Wang Shuxiu realise a problem: Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi couldn't be in a purely spiritual relationship. Just as men and women would desire each other physically, so would men and men.
It wasn't that she didn't understand it before; she just subconsciously avoided the issue, but now Wang Shuxiu couldn't escape it. As long as she thought of Lu Lingxi living with Yan Yue almost all the time last winter, Wang Shuxiu couldn't tell what she felt in her heart. After thinking about it, Wang Shuxiu stopped restricting Lu Lingxi from seeing Yan Yue, but sternly required Lu Lingxi to come home at nine o'clock in the evening. Fortunately, she observed that the little bastard didn't seem to fully understand these things, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
It was just that this time they were out… Wang Shuxiu was getting worried again.
Xiao Feng couldn't help Wang Shuxiu, so he listened to Wang Shuxiu tossing and turning all night and hardly slept much. As soon as dawn broke, Wang Shuxiu got up early to prepare breakfast for Lu Lingxi. Their plane is at nine o'clock in the morning, and they had to rush to the airport after breakfast.
As soon as there was movement outside, Lu Lingxi woke up too. This was Lu Lingxi's first time going somewhere, so he couldn't help but be a little excited and hadn't slept well all night.
"Mom."
Lu Lingxi pushed open the door and greeted Wang Shuxiu with a smile, then turned around to go to wash up.
"Xiao Xi."
Wang Shuxiu hesitantly called out to Lu Lingxi.
"Mom wants something?" Lu Lingxi turned to look at Wang Shuxiu.
Wang Shuxiu wanted to say something, but hesitated for a long time before waving her hand and letting Lu Lingxi go wash his face first. While Lu Lingxi was in the bathroom, Wang Shuxiu shoved a small booklet inside Lu Lingxi's bag with a stern face. She had been thinking about it all night and felt that this was the only way to go.
After having breakfast, Yan Yue came to pick up Lu Lingxi. Wang Shuxiu glared at Yan Yue with displeasure, looking at him in a particularly unfriendly way. Lu Lingxi said goodbye to Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng, and hugged and kissed Dahei for a long time before following Yan Yue to the car.
It took about forty minutes to get to the airport from the community where they lived. Lu Lingxi was looking for his phone in his bag when he suddenly found a small booklet. "What's this?" He looked blankly at the booklet in his hand, and when he saw the few words printed on the cover of the booklet, his face instantly turned red.
"What is it?" Yan Yue noticed that he was reacting wrongly and looked over.
The words "Safe Sex" caught his eyes and Yan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, averting his gaze as if nothing had happened, but the smile in his eyes was getting deeper.