NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: Would You Like to Come Inside?
Chapter 31: Would You Like to Come Inside?
“Well… retirement is what city folks call it. We’re just old farmers who’ve worked the land our whole lives,” the old man clapped his hands loudly, showing they were empty. “What are we supposed to do now that we have no land to farm?”
“That’s right! Little Su, you’re from outside, so you don’t have deep feelings for Xinghua Village. But we’ve lived here for generations. We wouldn’t be able to adjust to city life even if we moved there.”
The people speaking were all elderly villagers. Even Su Nuokang, who was nearly fifty, was still “Little Su” to them. As for Su Mu, he was just a kid in their eyes.
Su Nuokang had seen Su Mu go out earlier but didn’t follow immediately. Nothing would go wrong anyway. He had taken his time tidying up inside before coming out.
So he missed the intimate moment between Su Mu and Chu Hanting earlier. Now the two had separated, standing clearly apart, and Su Nuokang hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
He now noticed Chu Hanting because of the natural aura he exuded, causing him to study him for a few extra seconds. Su Nuokang was quite curious and looked at Chu Hanting several times, wondering if all civil servants now had such strong presence? This felt like the pressure of a high-ranking official.
So young, yet with such a promising future.
When Su Nuokang was speaking, Chu Hanting had focused his attention on him, as the others were clearly locals while Su Nuokang didn’t look like he was from around here.
Not only that, but this man had a distinctive quality that set him apart from ordinary people.
The key thing was why did he feel familiar, as if he’d seen him somewhere before, though he couldn’t quite place it.
Su Mu hadn’t expected his birth father and Chu Hanting to meet so abruptly. Although Chu might not consider him his other half, Su Mu had already claimed him as his own.
He felt the awkwardness of introducing his handsome gentleman to his father.
His eyes darted between Chu Hanting and his father.
Chu Hanting, who always kept Su Mu in his peripheral vision, naturally noticed this unusual situation.
He finally realized what was odd. Earlier when he saw Su Mu almost fall, he had rushed to help him without thinking of anything else.
But now he wondered, why was Su Mu in Xinghua Village?
Combining this with Su Mu’s guilty expression like someone caught doing something wrong, Chu Hanting looked at the two of them and noticed they shared about thirty percent of their features.
He instantly understood! They were father and son!
This was Su Mu’s birth father.
Who was Su Mu? In his previous life, he was the person who had stayed closest to Chu Hanting during his immobile years.
Although Chu Hanting always concealed his emotions well and others couldn’t notice, Su Mu could sense the difference.
So Su Mu had already seen from Chu Hanting’s micro-expressions that he had guessed their relationship.
“Son, don’t worry. Since you’ve come to dad’s place, I won’t let you suffer. Although the material conditions aren’t as good as the Su family before, I’ll do my best to meet all your needs. After we move to Beijing, all the extra compensation money will be yours.”
Su Nuokang patted Su Mu’s shoulder emphatically.
Su Mu nodded, thinking that being with family was all that mattered. In his previous life, he never met his birth father. In this life, he would make up for that regret.
As for money, though they didn’t have it now, once he won the competition and could perform, he’d definitely be able to earn some.
He turned to look at Chu Hanting, silently asking, “How are you going to resolve this situation?”
He knew Chu Hanting would definitely have a way to convince these people – after all, the Chu Hanting he knew could do anything.
Don’t ask why – just know that husband is the best (ω).
For some reason, Chu Hanting could see a hint of secret joy and pride in Su Mu’s gaze, which he found quite interesting.
Honestly, even he didn’t understand why, although Su Mu hadn’t spoken, he could clearly understand what he was asking.
Chu Hanting responded to Su Mu with a slightly upturned corner of his mouth, indicating: “Watch this.”
He faced the villagers and persuaded them in his deep, magnetic voice.
“I understand your concerns and worries. I’m the CEO of the Chu Group, responsible for this tourism project. I can guarantee that development will only involve renovation and expansion of the existing base, without destroying the original ecology.”
“It will only enhance Xinghua Village’s appearance. If you miss it, you can come back anytime to reminisce, and it will be permanently free for villagers and their descendants.”
“Moreover, some land still needs to be farmed. If you want to continue farming, you can sign up, and you’ll be paid according to your working hours. Even if you choose not to do anything, every household will receive a certain percentage of the village’s income.”
“Why resist such good policies that can lead your families to prosperity?”
“Well…” The villagers didn’t really understand. They just subjectively felt they’d lose out from the relocation, losing their land.
But when someone explained the aftermath, it started to sound good – no need for hard daily labor, yet still earning money.
Before, they farmed for themselves, but now they could get paid for farming – it didn’t sound bad?
The staff members noticed the villagers softening and breathed a sigh of relief. Hadn’t they been saying these things for the past two weeks? But the villagers wouldn’t listen, immediately assuming they were being deceived, as if they were being cheated, stubbornly opposing them.
Looking at President Chu speak now, how did he maintain that leadership presence everywhere? Even these difficult-to-tame villagers stood quietly listening to him speak – it was incredible!
While the villagers were thinking and no longer arguing, Chu Hanting gave the staff a look.
The lead worker immediately understood and, striking while the iron was hot, led the other staff in taking these hesitant and confused villagers to the village office for another round of detailed explanation and benefit analysis.
Soon the lively scene cleared, leaving only Su Mu, Chu Hanting, and Su Nuokang.
“You know each other?” Su Nuokang noticed President Chu’s gaze on his son, but didn’t think much of it – after all, Su Mu was formerly the young master of the Su family, a top Beijing family, so knowing President Chu made sense.
Seeing that Chu Hanting showed no signs of leaving, Su Mu awkwardly asked, “Would you like to come inside?”
Chu Hanting rarely saw Su Mu being so reserved and wanted to tease him a bit, wanting to see his cautious, careful manner. х|
His voice was a bit hoarse: “It’s hot, I’m thirsty.”