Chapter 42: Night Encounter with a Tragic Pair of Wild Mandarin Ducks!

Tang Ye was startled and hurriedly helped Tian Daming up.

He saw that Tian Daming's eyes were tightly shut, he was gasping for air, his face was deathly pale, and he was only inhaling without exhaling.

Tang Ye hurriedly pressed a few times on the Zhongwan acupoint on Tian Daming's stomach.

"Wah!"

Tian Daming vomited out what he had eaten and drunk.

The room was a mess, filled with a sour, foul stench.

"How much can Secretary Tian drink?"

"Only about half a jin."

"Damn it, he's really stubborn; I thought he could drink two jin!"

Tang Ye placed his fingers on the pulse and immediately knew he was in no serious danger.

"Hurry and send him to the health center to get an IV drip!"

When Tian Daming woke up, it was already five o'clock the next afternoon; upon hearing the full story from those around him, he slapped his head in agony!

The sky had fallen!

"That son of a bitch Tang Ye, he's killed me!"

The outcome of this drinking bout soon spread throughout the entire town.

When Wan Ming learned of this, he laughed until he doubled over, "That Big Head Tian is really overestimating his own abilities; challenging a wine barrel with a half-jin tolerance, isn't that just asking for death?"

The next day, Tang Ye and Guo Liang came to Qianjin Village again.

In addition, they brought Sun Hai along.

Qin Ge now received dividends every month, and the investments made previously were gradually being recouped.

Hearing that Tang Ye had another way to make money, Sun Hai naturally did not want to miss the opportunity.

However, his first reaction upon arriving at the village was: could this godforsaken place really be more profitable than producing gold, as Tang Ye claimed?

Tang Ye stood on the riverbank looking at the vast, misty Pinghu, finally locking his gaze onto a mudflat on the southwest side.

This plot of land was well-situated; in the town planning, a county road would pass through it later on.

A clear image suddenly appeared in Tang Ye's mind.

Bamboo groves, ponds, orchards, a farmhouse stove...

However, it was very difficult for outsiders to acquire land in Qianjin Village; whatever you planted or raised would be stolen clean.

Just as Tang Ye was preparing to leave, several sand trucks appeared inopportunely not far away.

He frowned.

Lost in thought...

Upon receiving notice from Tang Ye, Tian Daming rushed over from home, and his first words were, "You made me sleep for a whole day and night, you big wine vat, I'm never drinking with you again."

Tang Ye briefly discussed the drinking matter.

He stated his purpose to Tian Daming.

"I came today to introduce a friend to you. This is Sun Hai; he plans to contract a piece of land in Qianjin Village to run a farmhouse resort. Regarding the money for repairing the road in the village, he is willing to contribute 100,000, the town will contribute 100,000, and I ask that Village Chief Tian please look after things."

He hadn't expected Tang Ye to bring good news and actually repair the road; this was the cure for his heart's ailment!

Tian Daming patted his chest and promised Tang Ye: "Town Mayor Tang, if you can get the road repaired, I guarantee that in Qianjin Village, not a chicken will squawk or a dog will bark, and I won't give you a single bit of trouble."

The most important thing for road repair was funding, and Tang Ye had solved the key issue.

Of course, the 100,000 yuan Sun Hai put out for the road wasn't given for nothing; it could be used for tax deductions later, essentially an advance investment.

Tian Daming said land transfer was no problem, but there were a few households that still required personal persuasion.

Tian Daming brought Tang Ye and Guo Liang to one household.

There were three rooms with black tiles and white walls, a courtyard enclosed by a fence; although simple, it was kept very tidy. In the field in front of the courtyard, green vegetables and chili peppers were planted, and the trellis was covered with melons and fruits.

Tang Ye stood before the gate, staring at the "Glory Home" plaque, standing solemnly for a moment before following Tian Daming.

A middle-aged woman dressed in simple clothing was holding rice grains and feeding chickens; seeing Tian Daming, she immediately knew the purpose of their visit.

"Sister-in-law, this is Town Mayor Tang from the town; he has come to see you."

"What is there to see? I'll say the ugly words first: if you are here to persuade me to sell my ancestral land, leave quickly and don't waste time."

Tang Ye was not discouraged and patiently persuaded her, "Wu Jie, I want to talk to you about the policy; it's not selling, but leasing."

"What is the difference between leasing for thirty years and selling?" Wu Jie waved her hand at Tang Ye, "I cannot do something that will have my descendants stabbing me in the spine."

Tian Daming helped Tang Ye speak, "Other families in the village have all signed; you shouldn't be so stubborn."

"What does it have to do with me whether others sign or not!" Wu Jie glared at Tian Daming, turned around, walked into the house, and shut the door directly.

Tian Daming spread his hands toward Tang Ye.

Tang Ye smiled faintly, "We have to do the ideological work slowly!"

Afterward, the group stayed in the village to eat; because of the authority he had established at the drinking bout, the people of Qianjin Village were afraid of him and no one dared to come out to force drinks on him. Instead, Sun Hai was targeted, and the result was predictable: Sun Hai got dead drunk, and Tang Ye and Sun Hai stayed in the village.

Tian Daming and Tang Ye helped Sun Hai to the room next door.

Tian Daming turned on the light and explained, "This is my cousin's house; there are two rooms. They usually work out of town and don't come back many times a year. The quilts are clean; please don't mind them."

"How could I! Sorry to trouble you tonight." Tang Ye looked at the snoring Sun Hai and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

After Tian Daming left, Sun Hai began to vomit. Tang Ye fed Sun Hai water and cleaned up the filth on the floor. After all this tossing and turning, his sleepiness was gone, so he simply walked out of the house and along the country path to enjoy the night view.

The night was very dark and somewhat quiet. Within his line of sight, a ball of fire jumping on the ridge of a field caught Tang Ye's attention.

Fearing it might be a fire, Tang Ye headed toward it.

Upon getting closer, he discovered a man and a woman sitting side by side by the fire, looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

Tang Ye stood behind a woodpile, let out a sigh of relief, and was just about to leave when he stepped on a dead branch, making a *crack* sound. The man had sharp ears, turned around quickly, picked up a stick, walked toward the direction where Tang Ye was, and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

Although Tang Ye had done nothing wrong, he felt that hiding in the shadows was not the behavior of an upright gentleman, so he prepared to reveal himself.

A tabby cat darted out from the corner.

The man put down the stick, "So it was just a wild cat."

Tang Ye shook his head with a wry smile, preparing to leave quietly so as not to disturb the couple as they whispered sweet nothings.

The two people in the firelight leaned gently against each other, though there were no overly intimate actions.

Just as he was about to turn away, their conversation made Tang Ye subconsciously prick up his ears.

The man took two train tickets out of his pocket, "I've bought the tickets; let's go to Yunhai together to build our future!"

The woman lifted her long, straight neck, gazed blankly at the night sky, and shook her head, "If we just run away, what will happen to your mother?"

The man reached out both hands and placed them on the woman's shoulders, "I don't care; I don't want you to marry someone you don't love."

The woman's back in the firelight was beautiful; she shook her head gently, "We cannot be that selfish."

The man's emotions finally collapsed; he tore the tickets to shreds and threw them into the fire, "Stop making so many excuses. Go marry a good family; I will never beg you again. I wish you happiness."

The man then turned and sprinted toward the road without looking back.

The woman squatted on the ground and cried for a while, then slowly stood up and walked toward the river.

Tang Ye mistakenly thought the woman had been traumatized and was going to commit suicide, so he hurriedly rushed out from the shadows and grabbed her from behind.

The woman had a slender build and was quite tall, likely one meter seventy, and her shoulders were very soft.

Looking from the side-rear, the firelight shone on her face, making her skin appear white with a rosy tint.

Tang Ye had no evil intentions; he was racking his brain on how to dissuade her while also not scaring her.

The woman did not see Tang Ye's face clearly and thought the man had changed his mind and returned; her tone held a hint of surprise, "Ze, I've thought it over. I can go with you, but you must explain things clearly to your mother. Your mother has had it too hard."

Tang Ye froze for a moment, not knowing what to say, thinking to himself, as long as you aren't trying to kill yourself, it doesn't matter if you treat me as your Ze for now.

Seeing that the man behind her said nothing, the woman felt a bit strange and took the initiative to press her slender, soft fingers onto the back of Tang Ye's hand, then immediately gripped it tightly.

"Ze, my heart is yours forever. Even if we cannot be husband and wife, we can be friends—friends for a lifetime."

Tang Ye knew he couldn't let her continue to misunderstand, so he quickly pulled his hand back and said in a soft, gentle voice, "Miss, you've misunderstood. I am not your Ze. Please don't lose hope, and definitely don't do anything to hurt yourself."

"Ah? Who are you! Ah..."

The woman finally realized that the person holding her was not her lover; she struggled hard to break free from Tang Ye's embrace and sprinted away without looking back.

Tang Ye wore a wry smile, watching the woman's retreating back; he vaguely felt she looked familiar, as if she were a staff member from the Government, surnamed Xu, and a relative of Guo Liang.

The reason he had such a deep impression was not only because of her outstanding appearance and sweet looks, but also because she had a bachelor's degree and had earned her civil service position through merit.

Catching sight of the water scoop left on the ground, he couldn't help but lightly slap his forehead, suddenly realizing!

The woman had walked toward the river not to commit suicide, but to fetch water to put out the fire.

His own actions just now were a case of unrequited meddling.

Tang Ye picked up the water scoop to fetch water and doused the fire.

He was just about to leave.

A figure came sprinting toward him in a rush.

It was actually the woman from before, having turned back.

Her face was covered in tears, and she said urgently, "Can you help? He... he... was hit by a car. Please, help me."

Tang Ye's heart skipped a beat; he went to meet her and said loudly, "Where is he? Lead the way quickly."

The woman pointed in a direction, "Just ahead, about three or four hundred meters away."

Tang Ye quickly moved his legs and soon left the woman behind.

While running, he dialed Tian Daming's phone to explain the situation.

Upon hearing about the car accident, Tian Daming immediately climbed out of bed, "Town Mayor Tang, I'm coming over right now!"

Tang Ye saw the man on the verge of death by the roadside riverbank.

He jumped down the bank, squatted beside the man, checked his pulse, and examined his condition.

There were multiple fractures on his body, and the head injury in particular was extremely severe.

He had already lost consciousness and fallen into a coma.

Who could have imagined the romantic and enchanting scene from just a moment ago.

Would turn into a bloody and cruel tragedy in the blink of an eye! "During the new book period, I ask everyone to leave more comments! I will update about six thousand words a day during the new book period; once this time passes, I will speed up the updates!"