Wednesday, noon, River Dam.
The sky was a brilliant blue, the clouds soft as cotton, and the sunshine was lovely.
Xue Chuchu was cooking inside.
Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning sat on small stools by the door, basking lazily in the sun and chatting.
It was not that they were exploiting Chuchu. Today's dish was stir-fried chicken with chili peppers, made with dried chilies. The kitchen was thick with spicy fumes, making it impossible to stay inside.
Sitting at the gate, Xue Yuantong caught the rich scent of spices and meat.
She tugged at her collar, secretly swallowing her saliva under the pretense of doing so, maintaining her composure.
The open space outside was quite lively. Two men dressed like small business owners had driven over in a car to discuss business.
From their conversation, Xue Yuantong gathered that they were planning to rent the River Dam bungalows and start some kind of agritainment business.
"Jiang Ning, we'll have a restaurant around here in the future," Xue Yuantong said.
Jiang Ning thought carefully but could not recall anything useful. He had no idea whether River Dam had ever opened an agritainment business in his previous life.
One of the bosses was a tall man, a full six foot three, wearing glasses and sporting a bald crown.
Xue Yuantong whispered, "Feels like he doesn't have that much money."
"Oh? Why?" Jiang Ning asked.
"I heard that if rich people go bald, they usually buy Evergreen Liquid." After saying that, Xue Yuantong looked at Jiang Ning smugly.
"That does make some sense."
As they spoke, the bald boss passed by the entrance. From a distance, he caught the delicious aroma drifting out of the house and laughed. "Smell that cooking. Doesn't it tempt you?"
The other man was over six feet tall,