Chapter Forty-Four: Entering the City to Work

  With hearts full of joy, the father and son didn't linger too long and headed straight for the city gate. As it's said, "all's well that ends well", Zhao Hu didn't have to exert himself at all and sold out all his grain, while Zhao Fei's plan to work in the city also took its first successful step. So along the way, the two had a lively conversation. Before they knew it, they arrived at the city gate.

  At the city gate, it was still that soldier who had attempted to embezzle Zhao Fei's family fortune patrolling around. When he saw Zhao Fei and his son approaching from afar, especially with no sign of food on their cart, Li Chao's mood turned sour. "How did they get to know the Zhaoke family? Even if I knew them, why would my luck be so bad?" Li Chao muttered under his breath.

  Looking at the empty little car, Li Chao's thoughts came alive again. Just as he was about to step forward, he was caught by the soldier beside him. "Li Chao, what do you want to do?"

  "What's the point of saying that, since they're not related to Zhao Menling anyway? What are you afraid of?" Li Chao was pulled back and his mood wasn't good to begin with, so his tone was somewhat aggressive. He glanced at the soldier who had pulled him and said, "Besides, I'm getting rich, none of your business."

  "You're stupid and you don't understand." The soldier didn't care about Li Chao's tone, "If you don't want to keep the skin on your body, then go ahead." After finishing speaking, the soldier let go of Li Chao's hand.

  When Li Chao heard the soldier say this, he was also stunned. "What did you just say?"

  "Hmm!" The soldier hummed softly, "Although the father and son are not familiar with Zhao Men Shi, they are familiar with Zhao Men Shi's parents. Judging from the middle-aged man's tone, his relationship with Zhao Men Shi's father is definitely not ordinary." The soldier said with a deep meaning, and coldly glanced at Li Chao.

  After listening to the soldier's words, Li Chao also didn't dare move anymore, but still felt a bit unwilling. "I think that middle-aged man looks quite honest, shouldn't be possible, right?"

  "You're blinded by the copper coins, thinking that if he's honest, he could have bought all that grain so quickly. You also know it's a bumper harvest this year, so there's still plenty of grain, and it's unlikely someone honest would finish buying so soon. He might just be using an honest appearance to deceive people, but in reality, he's very cunning. If Zhao Fei heard this, he'd probably laugh so hard his belly hurts. Is there anyone more honest than Zhao Hu? If Zhao Hu isn't honest, then no one is. The reason it sold out so quickly is that someone bought the whole lot. But neither the soldier nor Li Chao knows."

  The soldier finished speaking, and Li Chao also suddenly realized. "Thank you, Brother Huang, for your reminder. If it weren't for you, Brother Huang, I would have been done for. Another day, I'll treat you to a drink." Li Chao hastily thanked the soldier who was called Brother Huang.

  "It's okay, just be more careful next time." Huang Ge also didn't mince words.

  Zhao Fei and Zhao Hu, who was pushing the cart, arrived at the gate with laughter and conversation. They saw the soldier who had tried to extort food from them when they entered the city, but this time the soldier did not have the same arrogant air as before, instead he had a smile on his face. However, Zhao Fei felt a sense of vigilance towards that smile.

  "You two are back! The grain has all been sold!" Li Chao smiled, looking at Zhao Fei and his son with a flattering expression.

  Before Zhao Hu could respond, Zhao Fei took a step forward and stood in front of him. He glanced at Li Chao with a warning expression and asked, "What do you want? What are you trying to do this time? Are you here to inspect something again?"

  Seeing Zhao Fei's expression, Li Chao felt a bit annoyed and thought to himself: "I've already humbled myself to ask you, yet you still have this attitude." But then he remembered Huang Ge's words and suppressed his anger, instead forcing a smile. "Hehe, this...this was just a misunderstanding, little brother. I didn't know you were acquainted with Zhao Menling, if I had known, even if I had a few more guts, I wouldn't have dared to rob your car."

  Li Chao's sudden change in attitude left Zhao Fei stunned. At this time, Zhao Hu spoke up. "It's nothing, since it was a misunderstanding, let's just forget about it." Then he said to Zhao Fei, "Alright little Fei, the hour is late, hurry back home, your mother and Duan'er are still waiting for you at home."

  Zhao Fei thought for a moment and felt it wasn't necessary to argue with this person. "Mm, let's go see dad."

  "Take your time then." Li Chao said as he saw off. Seeing that Zhao Fei and his son had already walked far away, Li Chao spat out a mouthful of saliva and said fiercely: "Pfft, what kind of thing are you? You really think you're someone important. If it weren't for the fact that you know Zhao Men Shi, I would have thrown you out long ago."

  "Alright." Huang Ge patted Li Chao's shoulder. "Why bother with a kid? After closing time, I'll treat you to a drink."

  "You can't let Brother Li spend money, you've already helped me a lot today, I'll treat you instead. It's settled then, after the city gate closes tonight." Li Chao forced a smile.

  Zhao Fei and his son rushed back home like arrows, and since there was nothing left in the small cart, they returned quickly. When they arrived home, they saw Li Shi resting in the courtyard while Duo Er played beside her.

  "How can you come back so early, didn't you sell it?" Li asked hastily, thinking that Zhao Fei and his father hadn't sold anything.

  "How could it be, Mother? Of course, they were all sold out. And even exceeded the market price!" Zhao Fei walked to Li's side, very excitedly told Li, and also talked about today's grain sales experience. Also mentioned plans to work in the city. Li listened again with a wave of sadness, but didn't know what to say, could only touch Zhao Fei's head. Her eyes gradually became moist. She knew why Zhao Fei wanted to go to the city to work, all for this family.

  "Daughter~~~", the scene evoked emotions, and Zhao Fei also felt his nose turn sour.

  "Alright Xiaofei, mom already knows. Since you want to go, then just go. No matter what you do, mom will always support you." Li wiped away the tears in her eyes. "Mom is just worried about you."

  "I know, mom, don't worry, I'll work hard after entering the city and strive to bring you and dad here to live." Zhao Fei said firmly.

  "Don't overexert yourself, just do your best." Looking at Zhao Fei, Li was very comforting. "By the way, Little Fei, you've started working in the city, how can you still study with the village chief?"

  "I have my own plans for this. You don't need to worry about it. Right, mom, I'll go ask the teacher first and come back later."

  "Hmm." Mr. Li nodded. "It's good that you have your own thoughts. Then go ahead." After Mr. Li finished speaking, Zhao Fei turned around and walked out of the yard, heading towards the village chief's house.

  Arriving at the village chief's home, he found that the courtyard gate was not closed, and Zhao Fei did not knock on the door, but walked in directly. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw the village chief sitting alone in the yard, seemingly lost in thought.

  "Teacher." Zhao Fei bowed deeply.

  Zhao Fei's words interrupted the village chief's thoughts. "Excuse me, Little Fei has arrived, is there something going on?"

  "This is what happened, Village Chief," Zhao Fei said his own thoughts. "I hope the teacher can agree."

  The village chief looked at Zhao Fei with a expressionless face, not knowing what he was thinking or what he wanted. The village chief didn't speak, and Zhao Fei didn't dare to speak randomly either. Time passed by second by second, when suddenly the village chief spoke up. "Since you've already made up your mind, whether I agree or not is of no use."

  "This... I..." Zhao Fei was at a loss for words in the face of the village chief's questioning, his expression somewhat anxious.

  Upon seeing Zhao Fei's appearance, the village chief burst out laughing. "Haha, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Since you've made up your mind, go ahead and leave. Going out to broaden your horizons is good for you. Staying in the village is like being a frog in a well, whereas going into the city allows you to interact with more people and gain more experience. Studying can't be done in isolation; it needs to be connected to real life, and one must learn from experience. What you lack now is just that - experience."

  "So you agree, Village Chief." Zhao Fei had been worried just a moment before, but after hearing the village chief's words, he became excited.

  "Hehe, why not agree. Spending a lifetime cooped up in the village can achieve what, a small Zhaojia Village can only bury your brilliance, outside is where you can achieve an extraordinary you." The village head said with deep meaning.