Golden-Hooped Staff and Farmhouse Resort

Seeing her boyfriend's candid explanation, and how he had successfully navigated the crisis by addressing her mother's health concerns, An Nuan tugged at Liu Yuewang's collar, "Mom, it's a bit chilly tonight, you should go home and rest."

After all, the nightgown Mom wore that night was a bit sexy, revealing a glimpse of her cleavage, and the hem was also a bit too short. What would a single woman do wearing such a sexy nightgown at home at night?

Liu Yuewang pushed An Nuan's hands away, crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn't expected Liu Chang'an to be in An Nuan's room, so naturally she wouldn't still be wearing a coat. Actually, her pajamas weren't the kind with a sexy vibe; in this day and age, what's a slightly low neckline? Liu Yuewang looked at Liu Chang'an, thinking to herself, "My daughter's boyfriend is really amazing. Besides face cream and body-conditioning pills, what other amazing things do you have?"

"I also have my own massage techniques, a unique secret method, which An Nuan just tried." Liu Chang'an didn't show off, but simply repeated the explanation of why he was in An Nuan's room earlier.

"Don't even think about it!" An Nuan opened her arms and hugged Liu Chang'an, looking at Liu Yuewang.

"Pah, I don't care!" Liu Yuewang slapped An Nuan. "If you want to talk, go to the living room. Liu Chang'an should go back to sleep early too. An Nuan, you should go to sleep early as well, or you'll be sleeping in again in the morning."

Liu Yuewang went into her room and closed the door.

An Nuan looked up at Liu Chang'an, "Did you just say you were good at massage on purpose to get my mom's attention?"

"You little jealous pot." Liu Chang'an kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep early, I'm going back."

An Nuan pouted. If Professor Liu hadn't suddenly appeared, she could have played with Liu Chang'an for a while, chatted, or let him hold her while she lay down.

Liu Chang'an walked to the door, An Nuan took the shoes out of the bedroom and placed them outside the door.

Liu Chang'an put on his shoes and prepared to leave.

An Nuan stood at the door, stamping her feet.

Liu Chang'an turned around to look at her, saw her make a coquettish and annoyed expression, and then walked back.

"Did you touch me today and think you can stop caring about me now?" An Nuan lowered her voice, a little embarrassed, but still tried her best to express her anger as she questioned him.

"How could that be? I didn't feel anything," Liu Chang'an admitted frankly.

"What did you say!" An Nuan puffed out her chest again. It was indeed flatter when she was lying down, but now it was clearly quite well-developed. Was he blind?!

"You need to study hard and grow up well, look at your mother."

"You did see my mom's!"

"I'm not blind."

"You're blind! Look, look!" An Nuan stomped her feet, jumped up and down, and punched Liu Chang'an all the while.

"Alright, go to sleep early. You need to get some sleep too, so the treatment I gave you won't be wasted." Liu Chang'an urged her to go back.

"You were leaving just now, and you didn't even hug me before you left. Did you take advantage of me and therefore not like me as much anymore?"

Liu Chang'an smiled and pulled An Nuan into his arms. When this girl is in love, her coquettishness is endless.

After a while, their lips parted, and An Nuan blushed as she released Liu Chang'an, watching him walk down the stairs before closing the door. Her cheeks were rosy, her heart was warm, and she felt light and airy all over. She really wanted to be inseparable from Liu Chang'an every day.

Upon entering the living room, An Nuan noticed Liu Yuewang standing to her side, holding a glass of water. Seeing that An Nuan had spotted him, Liu Yuewang took a sip and said expressionlessly, "I'm so thirsty, get up and have some water."

How could An Nuan believe it? She followed him angrily, "Mom! You were actually eavesdropping on my conversation with Liu Chang'an here!"

Liu Yuewang stopped pretending. Actually, she hadn't heard much. Liu Chang'an's voice was rather deep, so she could clearly hear An Nuan's coquettish words, "How would I know if you'd let him stay in the room overnight? I won't feel at ease until he leaves."

"Am I that shameless?" An Nuan said angrily. She had always been a reserved girl, never forgetting that shyness was the most touching beauty of a young girl.

"With your level of coquetry just now, tsk tsk, even a vixen wouldn't be as good as you. Don't vixens have any shame?"

"I didn't!" An Nuan stamped her foot, following behind Liu Yuewang. "Next time Liu Chang'an comes, don't wear such a revealing dress."

"Are you starting to tell me what to do?"

"After all, you're young and beautiful, so you should avoid any appearance of impropriety."

That's a fair point, Liu Yuewang nodded, "But who would know if he came over in the middle of the night? Next time you two go on a date, please let me know in advance."

"That won't do..."

"You're annoying, go back to your room and go to sleep."

"Oh." An Nuan originally wanted to sleep with her mother, but she wanted to take the opportunity to practice the Zhenwei Technique). Since Liu Chang'an said that he had just treated her body, which would be beneficial for the massage... wouldn't massaging herself be especially effective? An Nuan happily went back to her room.

Liu Chang'an went home to sleep and woke up a little late. After drinking a glass of water, he sat under the sycamore tree for a while and took out his phone to find that An Nuan had sent him many messages.

"I felt like my whole body had grown this morning when I woke up."

The phrase "from head to toe" was key, and Liu Chang'an understood that.

"Next time you come to massage me, you're not allowed to touch me inappropriately!"

Because the massage is done while lying down, the skin is still quite flat, so you can't touch it randomly; Liu Chang'an understood this as well.

"Don't misunderstand me anymore!"

As mentioned yesterday, I want to emphasize again today that you shouldn't misunderstand her as having a flat chest. That is to stress that the misunderstanding must be cleared up, and there is only one way to truly clear up the misunderstanding, which is to touch her again, of course. Even when she wasn't lying down, Liu Chang'an still understood.

She's such a lovely little girl. Although she's always a bit shy and hesitant, she'll give Liu Chang'an hints when he really can't understand her. She often gets angry, but actually she just wants him to coax her. She always says she'll stay angry forever and that she can't be coaxed, but she's actually very easy to coax.

Liu Chang'an smiled and sent a message saying "Have a safe journey".

Because what he cared about most was her safety.

"Okay, okay, don't go snake catching with Gao Dewei! I heard you tried to catch a snake when you went to his house last time!"

"You only need to be careful of mosquitoes, snakes, and ants when traveling, but most mosquitoes, snakes, and ants shouldn't get close to you."

"Oh, right, I haven't been bitten by mosquitoes in ages."

Liu Chang'an and An Nuan were chatting when they saw Zhou Dongdong carrying a wooden stick, walking over with an air of indifference.

The arrogant stride involves spreading one's legs wide, clenching one's fists and walking forward with head held high and chest out.

"Hello, Zhou Dongdong, the boss under the sycamore tree."

Zhou Dongdong didn't understand what Liu Chang'an was saying, and paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not the boss, I'm Sun Wukong."

You're mistaken, you're more like Zhu Bajie.

"Look at my Golden-Hooped Staff!" Zhou Dongdong held up the wooden stick in her hand.

Liu Chang'an recognized it; it was an old man's cane from ahead. The handle had fallen off, and Zhou Dongdong picked up the remaining piece of the cane and thought he was Sun Wukong.

"I'll show you Sun Wukong's kung fu!"

After saying that, Zhou Dongdong started spinning the wooden stick around randomly.

"Oops, I hit my head!" Zhou Dongdong paused, looking at the Golden-Hooped Staff in disbelief at his mistake.

Ouch, I hit my head again!

Oops, I fell down!

Every time Zhou Dongdong encountered a problem, he would stop to report it. He twirled the Golden-Hooped Staff haphazardly for a while, then stumbled and fell to the ground. He dropped the cudgel, got up, kicked it again, and then dusted himself off and went to lean against Liu Chang'an.

"Silly child." Liu Chang'an gently rubbed the spot on her head where she had been tapped twice. He really had no way to improve her intelligence; her head wasn't very bright to begin with, and she was always bumping into things and falling down.

"Go ahead and insult my mother..."

Ever since she realized that her stupidity was not her fault but her mother's, Zhou Dongdong stopped trying to explain that she was a clever and brave child.

"Weren't you supposed to grow up quickly and protect your mother? Why are you telling others to insult your own mother?" Liu Chang'an asked, puzzled.

"Because... because..." Zhou Dongdong thought for a while, "Because Brother Chang'an isn't just anyone. It's only when someone else insults Mom that Mom is being bullied."

"Why?" Liu Chang'an smiled knowingly at the kind question. From now on, whenever Zhou Shuling felt wronged by being scolded, she could use Zhou Dongdong's words to deal with her.

"Why do you keep asking me questions? How am I supposed to know?"

"..."

"I want to play with the Golden-Hooped Staff for a while longer." Zhou Dongdong was a determined child after all, and she wouldn't be easily defeated by setbacks. She picked up the wooden stick that she had just kicked far away.

"Oops..."

"Oops..."

"Oops..."

Liu Chang'an shook his head and let her go.

After listening to Zhou Shuling's report on her National Day goals and plans in the morning, Liu Chang'an went to Gao Dewei's house.

At noon, Liu Chang'an saw an older woman selling spicy food from a plastic bucket on the street. He bought some braised eggs, chicken legs, and two skewers of tofu for lunch, noting that they tasted slightly sour... In fact, many small restaurants are like this. Business isn't good, and to control costs, unsold ingredients are often used, creating a vicious cycle where the taste is poor and customers don't return. So, even though Liu Chang'an wasn't very involved in the restaurant's management, he had reminded Zhou Shuling to pay attention to this... However, Liu Chang'an trusted Zhou Shuling. In the past, if Zhou Shuling didn't sell her breakfast at her stall, she would keep it for herself and wouldn't sell it to customers.

It was already afternoon when Liu Chang'an arrived at Gao Dewei's house. He met Gao Dewei, Miao Yingying, and Bai Hui near the farmhouse.

"Chang'an! Why are you so slow!" Gao Dewei ran over, gave Liu Chang'an a bear hug, patted him on the back, and looked at Liu Chang'an with a big smile.

"You've lost some weight... but you've gotten stronger." Liu Chang'an looked Gao Dewei and down, then punched him lightly, though not with much force, just to make sure Gao Dewei was in much better shape than he was in his senior year of high school.

"She's gotten a bit darker." Gao Dewei chuckled, then turned and pointed at Miao Yingying, "Look, Miao Yingying's gotten a bit darker too."

Miao Yingying's face did darken a bit, but she still greeted Liu Chang'an with a smile, "Hey, top student... don't misunderstand, I meant short for school bully."

Liu Chang'an glanced at Bai Hui, who was standing next to him and not meeting his gaze. There was no doubt that some of the negative information Miao Yingying had about Liu Chang'an came from Bai Hui.

"A top student is a top student, what school bully? How could Chang'an bully anyone?" Gao Dewei didn't believe it and added, "I feel like it's easier to get tanned in the north. Miao Yingying and I both got tanned, but Chang'an and Bai Hui didn't."

"I'm not dark-skinned!" Miao Yingying gritted her teeth, correcting Gao Dewei's gaze. Then, she linked arms with Bai Hui and walked to Liu Chang'an, displaying a showy envy. "Of course our Bai Hui is really fair-skinned! Her face, with all the skincare and makeup she does every day, costs hundreds of dollars. How could she not be fair?"

"Several hundred?" Gao Dewei didn't believe it.

"A 75ml bottle of skin-renewing essence costs 6000, a 60ml bottle of face cream costs 2800, and a 10ml bottle of eye cream costs over 4000. I won't even mention other products like face masks, toners, serums, essences, sunscreens, cleansers, lipsticks, and mascaras—there are piles of these! Do you think these things will last long? It's not an exaggeration to say they cost several hundred every day!" Miao Yingying looked at Gao Dewei with an expression that said, "You don't understand anything," but her main point was for Liu Chang'an to hear... From Bai Hui's various accounts, Miao Yingying had already figured out that there was no progress between Bai Hui and Liu Chang'an! Miao Yingying could only tell Liu Chang'an how exquisite Bai Hui was, and that being liked by such a girl was a blessing. She hoped he would appreciate his good fortune.

"What's the use? She looks exactly the same as she did in high school." Gao Dewei and Liu Chang'an exchanged a glance, confirming this point, and became even more confident. "My dad raises a kind of black pig, feeding it the best feed every day. The cost is quite high, but after it's sold, each pig can earn at least ten thousand yuan. Look at you, spending hundreds of yuan every day, you're losing ten thousand yuan a month. You might as well use that money to raise pigs."

"Is the money spent on skincare comparable to raising pigs?" Bai Hui was almost driven mad by Gao Dewei. "I think not only has your face turned black, but your mouth has too! Can't you speak like a human being?!"

"Gao Dewei, if you make Little White angry again, I'll tell everyone all the embarrassing things you've done at school." Miao Yingying was firm in protecting her best friend and immediately threatened Gao Dewei.

Gao Dewei's expression changed slightly, and he sighed. This woman was just annoying, constantly threatening him with whatever she could find to use against him.

"What scandalous thing did he do?" Bai Hui asked curiously.

"Miao Yingying, you have to keep your word! We agreed on this on the high-speed train," Gao Dewei quickly said.

Miao Yingying snorted, but of course she didn't say anything.

Liu Chang'an smiled and said to Gao Dewei, "Miao Yingying came back with you all the way here. Did she come straight to your house?"

Miao Yingying blushed, and Gao Dewei shook his head, saying, "She went home yesterday and said she wanted to invite Bai Hui over to play today. It's a pity An Nuan went on vacation, otherwise it would have been more lively."

"Of course it'll be lively, a real battleground." Miao Yingying giggled.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Bai Hui shoved Miao Yingying in annoyance, while stealing a glance at Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an was looking at the mountain forest at the end of the waterway where they had kayaked together during the summer vacation. He seemed to sense Bai Hui's gaze, turned around and met her eyes, and smiled.

Bai Hui didn't know what his smile meant, but she thought that what happened last time was in the past, right? He wouldn't hold a grudge against her today... Liu Chang'an... maybe... probably... perhaps he's not that petty? She really wasn't very confident in him in this regard.

"Come on, let's sit in the courtyard and chat." Gao Dewei pointed to the courtyard of the farmhouse. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, and they had a lot to share about their experiences at school.

"When I came over, I saw that many fields over there were planted with grass, and cattle grazed on several hills. Is that land you contracted?" Liu Chang'an asked, pointing to the hills and fields on the other side.

"There used to be several villages over there, but now nobody farms them anymore. Only some elderly people remain; the villages feel like they've died out... My dad started a new livestock company. The town government brought in a company called Baojun to invest, and they built a huge cattle farm there. The fields and mountains are all planted with Napier grass and ryegrass." Gao Dewei said with some regret, "I remember when I was little, there were terraced fields there. Terraced fields elsewhere could even be considered scenic spots... My cousin and I used to watch lion dances and dragon lantern performances at the ancestral hall there during Chinese New Year. It was so lively! And that's only been about ten years..."

Liu Chang'an had seen many changes in the world, and the demise of a city or a country could happen in the blink of an eye. He nodded. He recognized the name "Baojun". This was the Zhu Juntang family's business. Sure enough, their business was extensive and their presence was felt everywhere.

"Is Baojun from Zhu Juntang's family?" Bai Hui asked Liu Chang'an casually.

"Yes." Liu Chang'an nodded, not expecting Bai Hui to know as well.

Seeing Liu Chang'an's calm and natural tone, Bai Hui breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Liu Chang'an was no longer holding a grudge against her for using Zhu Juntang's photo to impersonate his girlfriend that day.

"Who is Zhu Juntang?" Gao Dewei asked.

"A fairy."

Miao Yingying had heard about Zhu Juntang from Bai Hui, so she nodded in agreement. She was indeed a fairy-like figure.

Gao Dewei looked up at the sky, not really caring; he had no interest in meeting any new fairies.

The four of them had just sat down in the yard when they heard the sputtering of a tractor. Gao Yuanshan drove over in his tractor and beckoned Liu Chang'an and Gao Dewei to come and get some things.

Gao Yuanshan brought a jar of rice wine, a large basket of clean fruit, bags of dried meat, and some freshly squeezed juice, making it seem as if he was entertaining not three guests but thirty.

"You're here! Uncle wasn't home this morning. He just got back and heard you were playing here, so he brought you some food. Have fun! You must stay tonight." Gao Yuanshan was as warm and generous as ever, and finally smiled at Miao Yingying, "Yingying has become even more beautiful."

"Thank you, Uncle Gao. We're sorry to bother you again." Miao Yingying said shyly, stealing a glance at Gao Dewei.

Gao Dewei wanted to remind Miao Yingying that this was just polite talk and that she should face reality, but Liu Chang'an patted his shoulder, picked up a piece of fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, so he didn't say anything.

"Bai Hui is still very pretty. These children are all growing up to be more and more beautiful." Gao Yuanshan praised Bai Hui again. He was setting an example for Gao Dewei, because girls need to be praised.

"Thank you, Uncle Gao. You go ahead with your work, don't bother with us, we won't stand on ceremony," Bai Hui said quickly, seeing that Gao Yuanshan's tractor still had a lot of supplies on it.

"Alright, Chang'an, you eat and have fun." Gao Yuanshan said a few more words to Liu Chang'an before driving away in his tractor.

"Your dad seems to really like Miao Yingying." A best friend is someone you subtly encourage and then help out when it matters most. Bai Hui certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity; she needed to at least give Gao Dewei some subtle hints that Miao Yingying was a very likable girl!

"That's true, Miao Yingying looks a bit like my dad's first love." Gao Dewei nodded knowingly.

Liu Chang'an couldn't help but burst into laughter, then picked up a fruit and started munching on it.

Miao Yingying glared at Liu Chang'an, then stared at Gao Dewei, "What nonsense are you spouting? You're making people so embarrassed!"

"What's so embarrassing about that?" Gao Dewei said dismissively, turning to Bai Hui, "By the way, Bai Hui, I'll take you to see my family's black pig farm later. You'll see how sophisticated the feed formulation is. My dad was just about to go there..."

Bai Hui took an orange with the peel still on and stuffed it into Gao Dewei's mouth. Miao Yingying quickly came over to help. Gao Dewei, who was sitting in the chair, leaned back and fell to the ground. Miao Yingying and Bai Hui successfully stuffed the whole orange into his mouth to block it.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." Gao Dewei had an orange in his mouth, which was impossible to swallow, and he couldn't get it out either, so he hurriedly looked to Liu Chang'an for help.

Just like many people try to put a light bulb in their mouth, it's not difficult to put it in, but pulling it out... well, those who are interested can give it a try.

"You're talking nonsense..." Miao Yingying and Bai Hui laughed until their stomachs hurt, and they tried to stop Liu Chang'an from helping Gao Dewei.

Liu Chang'an, of course, wouldn't let them bully Gao Dewei. He casually picked up two smaller oranges and stuffed them into the mouths of the two girls who were laughing loudly.

Gao Dewei was stunned for a moment, then became extremely happy, but with an orange stuffed in his mouth, he couldn't laugh. He pointed at Miao Yingying and Bai Hui and slapped his thighs repeatedly.

Miao Yingying and Bai Hui had no time to laugh at Gao Dewei anymore. How embarrassing for a girl to look like that! They hurriedly came over, sobbing and tugging at Liu Chang'an, asking him to help them remove it.

"One at a time." Liu Chang'an took out his phone to take pictures.

Miao Yingying and Bai Hui quickly covered their mouths; how could they allow such embarrassing photos to fall into Liu Chang'an's hands?

"If you don't let me take a picture, I won't help you retrieve it," Liu Chang'an threatened.

Miao Yingying and Bai Hui exchanged glances and found that each other's eyes were filled with a desire to compromise. They lost their fighting spirit against Liu Chang'an and reluctantly let Liu Chang'an take pictures of them with his phone.

Liu Chang'an took the oranges from the mouths of the three of them one by one. In the room upstairs in the courtyard next to the farmhouse, a beautiful young girl was also holding an orange in her hand, coldly watching the group of people playing downstairs. Standing behind her was none other than Li Hongfang, a descendant of Li Daoren.

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