You and I Go Together

At this moment, in the courtyard, besides Su Yang, Lu Huai'an, Lu Huaide, and Li Xiurong, there were six burly men.

They were all villagers living nearby, who had come specifically to help Lu Huai'an with the pig slaughter.

In the village, whenever a family had something going on, as long as people were free, they would generally lend a hand without expecting anything in return—maybe just a cup of tea, a cigarette, or staying for a simple meal. Most villagers were still quite simple and sincere.

Su Yang had never killed a pig before, so he could only stand aside and watch.

The two Lu brothers, along with the other strong men, had tied down a fat pig weighing around four hundred jin (about 440 pounds) on a long bench, ready to begin the slaughter.

Su Yang had always been squeamish about this kind of thing; he turned away, refusing to watch.

After a series of sharp, piercing squeals from the pig, the sounds gradually faded.

Lu Huai'an held a large bowl to catch the pig’s blood. Around Yangcheng, many people loved eating fresh pig’s blood.

Once the blood had slightly congealed, it was mixed with coriander, fish mint, various seasonings, and spicy chili paste, then eaten raw.

Su Yang wasn’t interested in this at all—just watching it made him lose his appetite, let alone eating it.

But those who liked it said the texture was somewhat like jelly.

After collecting the blood, things got even livelier, and the courtyard buzzed with activity.

Lu Huai'an glanced at Su Yang and smiled, “Little Su, want some pig’s blood?”

Su Yang shook his head, “No way, I can’t handle it.”

“Heh, it’s a delicacy. If you don’t want any, just go inside and rest. You don’t need to worry about this; we’ve got it covered.”

“All right, thanks a lot, Uncle Lu.”

“Hey, enough talk. Come on, get inside and have a seat. Big brother, you don’t have to help; just go rest.”

Lu Huaide stood to the side, chuckling, “You know me—I can’t just sit still.”

“Hey, first, get the water boiling,” he said as he walked toward the men slaughtering the pig.

Su Yang didn’t say anything else and turned to go indoors.

At that moment, Lu Yun also came over.

Li Xiurong called out, “Yun Yun, go up the mountain and pick some green onions and cabbage. Take a basket.”

“Okay!” Lu Yun replied and went off to find a basket.

Seeing this, Su Yang smiled and said, “I’ll go with you.”

“Sure~ But it’s a bit far, not just behind the yard—you have to go all the way to the hill across the way,” Lu Yun said, pointing toward a distant hillside.

Su Yang smiled faintly, “No problem, it’s a good chance to stretch my legs and get familiar with the place.”

“I’ll get you a straw hat,” Lu Yun said, fetching two hats and handing one to Su Yang.

The two put on their straw hats, grabbed a basket and a small sickle, and stepped out of the courtyard.

Following Lu Yun, Su Yang took in the scenery properly for the first time since arriving—he hadn’t really noticed it on the drive over.

In the distance, the hills rolled one after another, covered in lush greenery. Some areas were planted with various fruit trees, and not far from the foot of the hill flowed a clear, sparkling stream.

“The scenery here is really beautiful. Retiring here sounds like a great choice.”

“There’s a river over there, too. When the weather’s cooler, you can go fishing there and just sit all day. It’s awesome!”

【Ding! Detected that the host is in a great mood right now, fully enjoying the moment. Reward: 600,000】

The two walked and chatted as Lu Yun smiled, “Living here is really comfortable—there are mountains and water, and the villagers are all very friendly. Sometimes, I can just lie out in the yard all day.”

“That sounds wonderful. Oh, by the way, something just popped into my mind,” Su Yang said casually, turning to look at Lu Yun.

“What is it?”

Lu Yun bent down to pick some wildflowers growing by the roadside as they walked.

“I went to your workplace yesterday to find you.”

“You… then you must already know I quit, right?”

“Yeah, I was just telling you that. So, what are you planning to do next?”

Lu Yun shook his head, “I’m not sure yet. Probably just head back to Haicheng and try to find another job at a mall. Man, it’s so hard to find work these days. If it weren’t for my dad’s situation, I definitely wouldn’t have quit.”

Su Yang thought about his own restaurant. If he could find a position for Lu Yun there, it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

He looked at Lu Yun with a smile. “Xiao Lu, I have a restaurant in Haicheng. If you don’t mind, you could come work for me.”

“Huh? You… you actually own a restaurant?” Lu Yun looked up at Su Yang, surprised.

“Yeah, a Western-style restaurant, also in the city center. Not too far from where you used to work.”

“But…” Lu Yun hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I don’t have any experience working in a restaurant. What could I possibly do there?”

Su Yang thought for a moment and smiled warmly, “You could handle logistics—like keeping track of what ingredients we need to buy each day and how much. Honestly, I’m not too clear on all the specific roles in a restaurant myself.”

“Uh, I’m afraid I might mess it up. Do you think the manager would yell at me or anything?”

Su Yang fixed Lu Yun with a loving smile. “I’ll personally take you there. Anyone who dares to yell at you, I’ll fire them on the spot—I’m the boss, after all!”

“Oh right, I forgot you’re the boss~ hehe,” Lu Yun said with a silly grin.

“Then it’s settled! We definitely have to drink tonight; I don’t think we’ll be leaving anytime soon. Are you coming back to Haicheng with me tomorrow?”

“Sure! My dad’s fine now, so I want to head back to Haicheng and start making money again.” Lu Yun suddenly remembered something and added, “By the way, didn’t you say you’d help me look for a car around 150,000 yuan?”

“Damn!” Su Yang slapped his forehead, embarrassed. “Completely forgot~”

“No worries~ It’s not urgent.”

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, “How about this: once we get back to Haicheng tomorrow, I’ll take you to look at cars.”

“Tomorrow already?”

“You asked me to help you look a while ago. I just totally forgot. Tomorrow, we’ll head straight to the dealership. After that, I’ll take you to the restaurant and get you set up with a nice, easy job.”

“No need for something easy. I’ll do whatever everyone else does. You’ve already helped me so much, I’m not asking for anything else.”

Su Yang laughed heartily. “With our relationship, if it weren’t for your lack of experience, I’d have made you a manager right away.”

“Uh, no thanks. I’d rather learn first before taking on that kind of role.”

“Alright, sounds good. We’ll talk more when we get back tomorrow.”

As they chatted, they had already reached the hillside fields belonging to Lu Yun’s family.

Su Yang turned his head and asked, “Is this entire stretch of land all yours?”

Lu Yun smiled as he looked in the direction Su Yang was pointing and said, “Yeah, it is.”

“Wow, a wealthy landowner with so much land!”

“Rich? Not really. Almost every household in the village has some land. It’s mostly used for growing vegetables and fruits. These days, the land here isn’t worth much.”

“Su Yang, can you help me hold the basket? I’m going to pick some scallions.”

“Sure thing.” Su Yang took the basket and followed Lu Yun into the field full of green onions.