Tian Runye's situation

On one hand, he was befriending him, and on the other, he was indirectly telling the villagers that he, Tian Futang, had face. At the same time, he was showing off his prosperity; the Village Party Secretary's dinner invitation would certainly not be as humble as Sun Yuhou's.

Zhao Dongchuan also greeted the villagers he met with a cheerful smile.

Soon, he arrived at Tian Futang's house. As he entered the courtyard, his wife immediately greeted him warmly and invited him in to sit.

Tian Futang's home was naturally much more spacious than Sun Yuhou's.

Not only did she make him a cup of green tea, but she also brought out a plate of fruit, filled with peanuts, melon seeds, and candy.

Such hospitality was probably hard to find in Shuangshui Village.

"Second Aunt, you're too kind! I'll just have some water!"

"Oh, Little Zhao, what are you saying? We have plenty here. Don't be afraid of city folk laughing at us, I don't even like drinking tea!" Tian Futang's wife said with a chuckle.

Tian Futang chuckled from the side and said, "Runsheng probably won't be back today, so let's eat first. Bring the dishes up!"

"Okay, I'll bring them right up!"

Soon after, the food was served, and Tian Futang also brought out a pot of homemade rice wine.

The three of them sat down and began to eat cheerfully.

During the meal, Tian Futang urged him to drink while asking about Zhao Dongchuan's recent situation.

Hearing that he had been on a business trip to Pengcheng and then returned to the capital for Chinese New Year to visit relatives, Tian Futang very concernedly asked about the situation there.

He also asked about his parents' recent situation.

Zhao Dongchuan did not hide anything and spoke about some of what he had seen and heard.

His family, of course, was doing very well.

Tian Futang also started to bring up Runye's situation from time to time, saying how excellent she was and so on, intentionally smiling at Zhao Dongchuan as he spoke.

He also talked about unrelated things, mentioning that in the neighboring Guanzi Village, a man married a wife three years older than him, and now they were happily married and had a set of dragon-and-phoenix twins.

After this conversation, even the most foolish person would have understood the unstated meaning.

Zhao Dongchuan, of course, understood what Tian Futang meant, but he didn't understand when Tian Futang had put him on the list of "future sons-in-law."

He wasn't opposed to Tian Runye, the female lead. She was pretty, had a good figure, seemed very principled, and was a teacher with a stable job.

Relatively speaking, her conditions were very good; he just wasn't sure of his true feelings yet.

The two of them hadn't spent much time together, and the number of times they had met could be counted on ten fingers.

"Yes, Sister Runye is a good girl! She will definitely find her ideal husband!" Zhao Dongchuan took a sip of rice wine and said with a cheerful smile.

"Our Runye is quite excellent, and you're not bad either! You're stronger than our Runye!" Tian Futang was practically saying outright that Zhao Dongchuan should consider Tian Runye, but due to his status, he couldn't bring himself to be so direct.

"Hahaha, we don't need to worry about such things. Sister Runye has her own ideas, maybe Sister Runye already has a boyfriend! I heard there's someone named Li Xiangqian…" Zhao Dongchuan said with a slight smile.

"Oh, what you're saying about Li Xiangqian is old news. Our family can't aspire to theirs, and Li Xiangqian has character issues. Not only does Runye dislike him, but we also dislike him very much!

A while ago, her Second Aunt told me that she had already declined the Li family's invitation, making her stance clear!" Tian Futang explained, fearing he might misunderstand.

"So, that Li Xiangqian isn't a very good person, huh? People don't agree to date him, yet he keeps bothering Sister Runye…"

"Exactly…"

The group chatted and ate, and time passed quickly. By then, it was dark outside, with a bright moon and sparse stars, while inside, it was warm and lively with family talk.

After dinner, Zhao Dongchuan chatted for a while before excusing himself and leaving.

He had eaten at someone else's house all day… it was time to go home and sleep.

It was very late when Zhao Dongchuan returned to his courtyard. Thinking that Sun Shaoping probably wouldn't come, he washed up and then fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Zhao Dongchuan woke up once again to the familiar yet strange sound of a loudspeaker.

What a long-lost "alarm clock"!

Zhao Dongchuan didn't dwell on the sentiment. He got up, washed up, and cooked himself a bowl of white rice porridge.

After eating, Zhao Dongchuan took out the mysterious iron plate from his storage space and looked thoughtfully at the map on its back.

This location was a bit remote, and he didn't know much about it; he would need to inquire in many places.

As for where to inquire, of course, it was the village's information center at the entrance.

That's where the old and young men of the village gathered; it was a place where village gossip and rumors flew everywhere.

Mainly, he needed to ask the village elders.

Zhao Dongchuan left his courtyard, closed the door, and slowly walked towards the village entrance.

Soon, he arrived at the big tree at the village entrance.

At this time, some old men and women were already sitting there, basking in the sun and chatting.

Seeing Zhao Dongchuan, they all greeted him.

"Little Zhao, morning!"

"Come, come, sit here…"

He found a shaded spot and sat down, chatting with them.

From time to time, he inquired about Shenxian Mountain's situation.

Zhao Dongchuan was a bit disappointed; he didn't hear any news about whether Shenxian Mountain had treasures, only the same old "story of the fairy."

After sitting for a whole morning without getting any news, Zhao Dongchuan went straight back.

After lunch, Zhao Dongchuan headed straight for Shenxian Mountain.

Shenxian Mountain was to the left-rear of Shuangshui Village. Before long, he arrived at Shenxian Mountain. He followed the general direction indicated by the map and began to search.

Unfortunately, because a long time had passed since then, Shenxian Mountain was overgrown with weeds, and there were more trees than before. Some places didn't match the map.

He wandered aimlessly from the bottom of the mountain to the top for quite a while but couldn't find the location marked on the map.

The weather was also so hot that he was drenched in sweat after searching for a while.

Although his physique was very strong, he still felt the heat; it just wouldn't kill him. For humans, sweating is a very normal thing.

He didn't find it until dusk, so he went straight back to his courtyard.

In the evening, Zhao Dongchuan cooked himself a large bowl of twice-cooked pork and green vegetables.

Of course, he couldn't forget one of his favorites: ice-cold beer!!!

Taking out a thermos from his space, he poured himself a glass of still-icy-cold beer. Zhao Dongchuan let out a groan, "This chill!!!"

He drank several glasses in a row before stopping.

Soon, all the dishes on the table were finished.

Zhao Dongchuan practiced his exercises again, then lay down in bed to sleep.

Searching for "treasure" outside all day today was truly exhausting.

In the following days, Zhao Dongchuan kept wandering around the back mountain, but he couldn't find any location similar to the map.

He didn't get discouraged. While searching, he also began to ponder which novel he should "write."

He had only skimmed many novels, and they were incomplete. He still needed to constantly supplement the content himself.