Chapter Thirty-Four: Smoke and Rain in Tongcheng
"I, on behalf of the Anti-Japanese Alliance Union, extend my heartfelt thanks to all the hardworking workers and technicians at Tiechang for your diligent labor, which has enabled us to have our own ironworks. I also thank the elderly gentlemen who have always supported Tiechang. It is everyone's joint efforts that have made it possible for Tiechang to produce its first batch of iron in just half a month. Thank you all, and please continue to work hard and support our own ironworks. Let us strive to make greater contributions to the anti-Japanese cause, defeat the devils as soon as possible, and restore our homeland."
"Down with Japanese devils..."
"May our country be restored soon..."
Yan Jufan's mouse team once again led the way in shouting slogans, and for a time, the mountains and rivers were majestic!
Yan Xiuwu's heart was filled with uncontainable excitement, thinking that once they had steel, the Anti-Japanese Alliance United Front would have its own steel base and could manufacture its own weapons, taking their work to a new level. The thriving scene before him was a true reflection of the work of the Panshi Village Anti-Japanese Alliance United Front.
Everyone is thrilled, today finally saw the iron come out, and once again such a large pile of it. When I get home and tell my family, everyone will be very happy. The workers at the ironworks are also excited, looking at the blast furnace they built with their own efforts, their pride is beyond measure. Everyone overcame so many difficulties, experienced so many failures, before finally smelting out the unique ore of Lingshan. And today's happiest moment is that Director Qin, in order to commend everyone's contributions, specially gave each worker an extra 10 jin of pork and half a jin of old wine. How can people who have been through war and hardship not be excited? Taking it back home, their wives and children will definitely be very happy, and everyone will also rejoice together, celebrating as well.
Yan Jufan was also very happy to take the two little girls to the creek to catch fish and celebrate, and promised to roast the fish himself. This made the two girls who had eaten his roasted fish and meat very excited, because since then the little boy refused to do it no matter how they threatened or tempted him.
This made them vow to make delicious dishes and then die together with the bad boy, so they also worked hard to learn cooking skills. At one time, two girls went separately to ask people how to cook well. Although everyone was surprised, they still taught them with all their might, and everyone wanted to see why they were doing this. However, some smart people had already guessed that it might be the bad boy's trick again. From then on, although the skills of the two improved, no matter what, they couldn't compare to the bad boy's skills. This made the two girls who thought they were clever and talented feel very embarrassed. Yes, being a girl, but having worse cooking skills than men is really unbearable. If people knew about this, wouldn't they be laughed at? How embarrassing!
Yan Jufan was secretly smiling to himself, thinking of a way to tease Rain and Qin Siyu while they were trying to get him to cook fish for them. He thought that if he didn't agree, they would work hard to practice their cooking skills in order not to lose to him, and then he would have the pleasure of eating good food; moreover, he only cooked for them occasionally, which was also a way to keep the flavor fresh, after all, rarity is precious. The mischievous boy was secretly laughing to himself as he watched the two silly girls busily learning how to cook, with smug smiles on their faces.
Today is the day when Kui Shi Village's iron is released, and it must be celebrated well. He specially decided to make a delicious meal for his father, mother, and two little girls. This decision unexpectedly moved the two women to tears, which was beyond the young boy's expectation. He hurriedly wiped away their tears with a busy and flustered expression, secretly laughing in his heart that they were so moved to tears. He really is a genius!
Today is also a good day for Mei Huan-yu, who has been in high spirits lately. Since becoming the captain of the security team, he has consecutively defeated the Wu Kung team and even obtained landmines. In the eyes of the Japanese, Mei Huan-yu is already the number one good citizen, with a golden certificate to prove it. All the major forces in Tongcheng consider winning him over as their top priority, and they spare no effort in fawning over him. As a result, the VIP room at De Sheng Tower is always packed, with not an empty seat to be found. This has made the owner of De Sheng Tower feel that Mei's seizure of half of the tower's shares was actually his greatest blessing. Today is even more crowded than usual, making it a truly good day for Captain Mei.
The red traditional wedding dress on Mei Huan-yu's body made him look even more festive. Today was the day he would marry the third daughter of the Lei family, another powerful force in Tongcheng. This was a major event in Tongcheng, marking the fact that the entire region had fallen under pro-Japanese control. As Japanese troops increased and domestic resistance forces retreated, many people who had been watching from the sidelines began to lean towards Japan. Especially after the Southern Four People's Party army was surrounded by three Japanese divisions, many people lost hope for the country's future.
Today, Mei Huan-yu can marry the third daughter of the Lei family, which is a sign that the forces in Tongcheng are being redistributed. Since Mei Da-zhang eliminated the martial arts team in Tongluo Village, Mei Huan-yu has become a treasure that all parties want to get close to. As a result, today's marriage of the third daughter of the Lei family made many forces that had plans feel frustrated and angry. This makes the Lei family suddenly surpass them. How can this not be exciting? How can it not make people vomit blood?
Everyone present today is a local big shot, they are looking at Mei Huan-yu and Lei Jia's family master Lei Zhen-tian with eyes mixed with regret, jealousy, and disappointment. These two sons-in-law will become the emperor of Tongcheng from now on, and can be careful in their dealings from now on.
Mei Huan-yu's face was flushed with excitement as he enthusiastically shared various examples of goodwill towards Japan, and the crowd couldn't help but praise him. Everyone felt honored to have heard about it, and they all regretted not having joined in earlier. When Mei Huan-yu reached the climax of his speech, Lei Zhen-tian couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh heartily, thinking to himself that he had indeed made a wise decision. Ever since Mei Huan-yu had entered his field of vision, he had been trying to win him over, and after the Japanese victory, he had decisively arranged for his third daughter to marry this rising star, Mei Da-longguan. In one fell swoop, their relationship had transformed from a patron-client relationship to a familial bond. Lei Zhen-tian thought that his decisiveness was still unmatched even in his old age. Although this young man was a bit ruthless and cunning, in today's era, only people like him could truly thrive. Now that they had become family, the power of the Lei clan would surely become the greatest. This made Lei Zhen-tian extremely happy, as he had finally achieved what his ancestors had not been able to accomplish in three generations. He decided that when he returned home, he would burn incense for his ancestors and thank them for their blessings, which had allowed him to bring glory to his family today.
