Marry a female star at a bargain price

In the latter half of December, the work of merging villages and towns in Xingguang Town entered its final stage.

Since the farce at the house selection site in early November.

Everyone thought that the work would be difficult to move forward, but in fact the opposite was true.

Later, the town established three working groups, each led by a deputy mayor, to go deep into the villages to persuade and persuade households to cooperate. The process went surprisingly smoothly, with about a dozen or twenty households being persuaded to cooperate almost every day, and sometimes even fifty or sixty households being persuaded in a single day.

The villagers' cooperation is undoubtedly thanks to the previous trending topic of "Xingguang Town villagers don't know what's good for them".

Amidst heated online discussions and moral pressure,

Even those who were previously stubborn and vehemently refused to move eventually obediently signed the papers and chose a new apartment.

Of course, it's impossible to convince villagers to spend real money and abandon their homes and land where they've lived their entire lives, just by relying on trending topics and moral blackmail, to start a new life in an unfamiliar place.

That's a bit too much.

Therefore, the trending topics and discussions online have had a very small impact on promoting the cause.

What truly played a decisive role was the competition and fear among the villagers.

As the saying goes, "With unity of purpose, even Mount Tai can be moved."

But if people are not united, even Mount Tai will collapse.

If the villagers in each village can unite as one and resolutely refuse to move, then no matter how much online criticism they receive or how much the town's work team tries to persuade them, it will be to no avail.

The key issue is that even villagers from the same village have their own ulterior motives.

At the first official house selection event, 25 households signed contracts on the spot.

Signing early means having priority in choosing a property, allowing you to select the best floor, the best lighting, and the most suitable size from among many available options.

The later you sign, the fewer options you have.

Of course, some villagers were adamant about not moving, but seeing their fellow villagers waver one by one, signing the papers and choosing houses, even the most determined people began to waver.

Especially when you see all the good apartments being taken, how can the remaining people not feel anxious?

It was this panic effect, coupled with the town officials whispering devilish words in their ears every day, that even the gods couldn't withstand it, and one by one they surrendered.

And so, the villagers who had initially made a strong show of refusing to relocate quickly fell apart and all agreed to move.

The progress was surprisingly smooth.

Of course, while it may be described as going smoothly, it involved a large number of people, including some truly tough nuts to crack.

The door-to-door work took from the beginning of November to the end of December.

Fortunately, hard work pays off.

Thanks to the joint efforts of all the town's officials, the village-to-town merger project was successfully completed on December 28. All the natural villages and villagers who were supposed to be relocated or merged according to the plan completed the house selection process on schedule and are just waiting for the handover of their houses next summer so they can move in.

Xingguang Town has successfully completed the relocation task assigned by the county.

However, the county is too preoccupied to reward or commend them, because the entire compound is in complete chaos.

The special inspection, which lasted a month and a half, yielded fruitful results.

Naturally, all sectors of Mashan County were also deeply affected, which is what is meant by "pulling up a radish and bringing up the mud along with it".

And many local bullies, including Yaofa Engineering's Yu Yaojun.

This wave was completely eradicated by the municipal inspection team.

The people in the county didn't dare to believe that the many rumors that had been circulating for more than a month were actually true until they saw the announcement.

As a result, the entire city rejoiced, and some even set off firecrackers and fireworks.

According to some shops, the fireworks and firecrackers they planned to sell for New Year's Day have all been sold out in the past few days.

Fortunately, Mashan County is famous for its fireworks and firecrackers, and there are many fireworks and firecracker factories in the county.

So they started work overnight to speed up production so that the entire city could celebrate and gather in celebration.

The factory machines hummed, and GDP soared.

This wave can be considered the last contribution that the "parent officials" led by County Chief Wan made to Mashan County before leaving office.

The entire Mashan County is filled with joy beyond words.

……

New Year's Day is coming.

This year, New Year's Day falls on a Monday, so we had a holiday starting on December 30th.

Lin Xiao took a day off and packed his bags on the 29th. He took his daughter Lin Xiaoxi and flew to Jingzhou with his mother-in-law.

He bought a business class ticket and used the VIP lounge the whole time.

During the New Year's Day holiday, ticket prices rose, and these two tickets cost nearly five figures.

It's very expensive for Mayor Lin.

But for the musical genius Lin Xiao, it's very cheap.

In this world, as long as you spend money, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary troubles.

The plane boarded at 10:00 AM and arrived precisely at 12:00 PM.

When Liu Lixia learned that her sister and nephew-in-law were coming, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep well for several nights. She took leave in advance and cleaned the house carefully several times, looking forward to this reunion of sisters and to see her little baby Lin Xiaoxi.

In the morning, Liu Lixia also arrived at the airport early to wait.

Before they could even catch up and reminisce, Lin Xiao was already being recognized by passersby at the airport.

The group quickly got into the car and sped off towards home.

The Liu sisters, Liu Liyun and Liu Lixia, hadn't seen each other for several months, so they naturally had a lot to talk about, and the car was bustling with chatter.

Lin Xiao listened intently, but his mind was on his younger brother, Lin Yu.

My younger brother is studying at a university in Jingzhou. He doesn't need to make a special trip back to our hometown for the three-day New Year's holiday.

So I'm still in school right now.

Speaking of which, Lin Xiao, as the older brother, has never visited his younger brother's school. Lin Yu always enrolled alone.

Right now, my wife hasn't even arrived in Jingzhou for the rehearsal yet, and my daughter has already been kidnapped.

Lin Xiao was relieved and planned to visit his younger brother at school in the afternoon.

At this very moment, at Jingzhou Agricultural College.

Room 306, male dormitory in Area A.

The four roommates, who had just finished their morning classes, returned to their dorm room together.

"It's holiday time, guys, I'm off!"

As soon as he entered the room, the third brother, Fang Bo, threw his backpack on the bed, grabbed his phone, and ran off.

Although tomorrow is Saturday, the official holiday day.

However, their class has no classes this afternoon, so theoretically, they are now officially on holiday.

The second brother, Geng Ziye, kicked the door open and said, "That son of a bitch, he values ​​women over friends. He abandoned his brothers as soon as he got a girlfriend, and he ran away faster than a rabbit!"

The eldest brother, Liao Haibo, laughed and said, "Don't be a sour grapes. If someone invited you to a hotel to do pile driving, you'd be the first to run away!"

Geng Ziye gave a lewd smile and agreed with this statement.

After chatting for a few minutes, Liao Haibo suddenly turned to his fourth brother, Lin Yu: "Yu, are you really not going home for New Year's Day?"

Lin Yu shook his head.

Before he could even speak, Geng Ziye interrupted, "Brother Bo, stop talking nonsense! There's only a three-day holiday for New Year's Day. A-Yu's hometown is so far away in Nanzhou. How will he get back? It would take two days just to get there and back. Is that really necessary?"

Liao Haibo chuckled: "I think A-Yu isn't going home not because the journey is too far, but because he has a beautiful woman to keep him company in Jingzhou, right?"

The two of them chuckled mischievously as soon as the topic came up.

Liao Haibo suddenly snapped, "What are you laughing at? Are we even thinking the same thing?"

Geng Ziye was stunned: "Isn't that the rich and beautiful girl from Jingzhou who often comes to see Lin Yu... There's a second one?"

Liao Haibo glanced at him with disdain: "I told you you're out of touch! Rich and beautiful women are a thing of the past. Our fourth brother is now getting along really well with the student council president, right, Ayu?"

Lin Yu looked embarrassed, unsure whether to admit it or not.

So all I could do was smile awkwardly.

Geng Ziye, who was standing next to him, was completely stunned.

"Wait a minute! Student council president... Xu Yingying?"

"No!"

"Dude, that's so unfair of you! You're dating the colonel's sweetheart and you didn't even tell the guys?"

Geng Ziye, half surprised and half jealous, challenged Lin Yu.

Lin Yu was even more embarrassed. He stammered and tried to explain, but didn't know where to begin.

Liao Haibo explained, "They haven't gotten together yet! It's the school beauty who's interested in Lin Yu. She happened to be the one who picked him up on the day he enrolled, and later she actively recruited him into the student council. At the New Year's Eve party the day after tomorrow, Xu Yingying even offered to perform a duet with Lin Yu, right? What's that song called again? It's pretty popular this year..."

Liao Haibo couldn't remember for a moment.

Lin Yu then replied, "The Magic of Love!"

Liao Haibo clapped his hands: "Yes, yes, 'The Magic of Love,' the original singer is Han Xixi, she wrote it with her husband who is the town mayor, right?"

Geng Ziye laughed: "Brother Bo, you old-fashioned guy, I didn't expect you to pay so much attention to online hot topics?"

Liao Haibo shook his head: "Hey, this couple has been trending on social media for almost a year now. I hear them being talked about everywhere I go. It's hard not to pay attention. Oh, by the way, that Lin Xiao is from the same hometown as our fourth brother, both from Nanzhou Province, right?"

Lin Yu looked embarrassed: "Uh, yes, yes..."

It wasn't that he deliberately concealed his family relationships.

The main issue is that I haven't found a suitable opportunity to be honest about it.

It wasn't made public at the beginning of the semester, and it became increasingly difficult to say as time went on. So even now, the four of them in the dorm still think he's just a poor rural boy from a central province.

The topic of Lin Xiao flashed by.

Geng Ziye then eagerly pressed Lin Yu, asking, "Fourth brother, tell me quickly, what's going on between you and Xu Yingying? Our universally acknowledged campus goddess, are you really going to win her over?"

Geng Ziye's tone was full of disbelief.

He wasn't jealous of Lin Yu; he genuinely considered Lin Yu a close friend.

But no one would have thought that a poor boy from the countryside would end up with the school's most popular girl.

Is the school beauty's taste really that peculiar? Ignoring all the rich second-generation suitors who are after her, she only seems to like the innocent, naive, and somewhat rustic type?!

Geng Ziye was very skeptical.

Lin Yu saw no need to flaunt his goddess status and told the truth: "You're all overthinking it. There's nothing between me and Senior Xu. The reason I sang a duet with her was because the student council was egging her on to perform. After much discussion, they decided to sing 'The Magic of Love,' and suggested that she sing it with Vice President Zou Kai. But Senior Xu and Zou Kai have always been at odds, and the situation was quite awkward. So I offered to sing a duet with Senior Xu, and she immediately agreed... That's all!"

Lin Yu was telling the truth, but he didn't tell the whole story.

He's not one to join in the fun, but the reason he stepped forward to help the kind senior was partly because he didn't want his brother and sister-in-law's classic song to be sung by someone he disliked.

That student council vice president, Zou Kai, is notoriously greasy, pretentious, and a womanizer.

Not only Xu Yingying disliked him, but everyone in the student council disliked him.

The thought that his older brother and sister-in-law's sweet love song would be sung by this kind of person made Lin Yu unable to bear it any longer, which is why he stood up.

However, this stop also embroiled him in controversy.

Even his roommates thought he was just a poor boy from the countryside, and his classmates and members of the student council had no reason not to think so.

Therefore, his actions that day were not seen as a heroic rescue, but rather as a toad trying to eat swan meat.

Now everyone in the student council is waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Lin Yu didn't seem to care. After explaining the whole story, Liao Haibo and Geng Ziye nodded in understanding, their faces showing an "I knew it" expression.

Geng Ziye chuckled, "I knew it! Fourth Brother doesn't seem like a womanizer. He already has a rich and beautiful girl from Jingzhou, how could he possibly fall for Xu Yingying so quickly? If you ask me, your rich and beautiful friend is no less attractive than Xu Yingying!"

Liao Haibo laughed along, rarely joining in the fun, and asked, "But speaking of which, what are you really thinking, Fourth Brother? That rich and beautiful girl clearly likes you, she comes to see you every few days, why don't you accept her... Is it because of your family background, or are you insecure?"

Lin Yu was stunned: "Huh?!"

This reaction was taken as tacit agreement by the two roommates.

Geng Ziye sighed and patted his shoulder: "Fourth brother, it's normal for you to think like this. After all, she's a rich and beautiful woman who grew up with money. How can ordinary people like us be worthy of her? If you really get together, her spending level will match yours. Two meals will empty your wallet... So, rather than suffering in the end, it's better not to start!"

Liao Haibo agreed with the second brother's words and patted Lin Yu on the shoulder with a mix of emotion and helplessness.

Lin Yu's reaction throughout: Huh?!

The two roommates imagined a whole host of things, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt sorry for Lao Si. The atmosphere in the dormitory was very heavy.

"Damn it, I don't want to think about this anymore!"

Geng Ziye slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed excitedly, "Even if there's no rich and beautiful girl, there's still the senior! Fourth brother, seize this performance opportunity and try to win her over directly, to open the eyes of those bastards in the student council!!"

Liao Haibo echoed and encouraged Lin Yu, trying his best to cheer him up.

The two decided on the spot that they would not go out to play during the holiday, but would stay with him from rehearsal to the actual performance and cheer him on.

Lin Yu felt both embarrassed and touched.

There was no way to refuse, so I had to accept it.

……

The New Year's Eve gala will be rehearsed this afternoon.

Geng Ziye and Liao Haibo accompanied Lin Yu to the auditorium.

At this moment, Lin Xiao also arrived at the school in his aunt's car.

After arriving, Lin Yu called his younger brother to ask what he was doing. Lin Yu told him the location, and then the other end hung up.

Lin Yu looked completely bewildered.

At this moment, on campus, Lin Xiao asked passersby for directions to the auditorium.

Because it's winter, I wrapped myself in a down jacket, put on a baseball cap, and wore a large, warm face mask.

His biological mother, Zhou Xiuping, came and didn't even recognize him.

He then dared to stroll around outside openly, enjoying the scenery of the Jingzhou campus and reminiscing about his youth.

After enjoying himself to the fullest, he asked a student for directions to the auditorium and then came to find his younger brother.

As soon as I entered the door, I was about to call Lin Yu.

But then, from the direction of the stage, the younger brother's name came over, both timely and abruptly.

Lin Xiaohu's body trembled.

Looking towards the stage, I put away my phone and, sure enough, found Lin Yu in the crowd.

He didn't go up to greet them immediately because he sensed a tense atmosphere on stage.

A young man with slicked-back hair pointed at Lin Yu and said coldly, "If you can't sing, then don't sing! This program represents the face of our student union. If you crack your voice or sing off-key on stage, it will be our student union that loses face! I'm telling you, junior, you should have some self-awareness. You—are not suited for singing!"

Lin Xiao, who was in the audience, turned pale upon hearing these words.

From the chatter of others, he quickly learned that the man's name was Zou Kai, and that he was the vice president of the student union.

"Zou Kai, can you speak properly? I think Lin Yu sang very well!" A beautiful woman stood up to speak for Lin Yu.

"What's so great about it? You have no energy at all, you're completely mismatched with Yingying!"

"Call me senior, or chairperson!" Xu Yingying said coldly.

Zou Kai looked embarrassed but pretended not to hear and continued to attack Lin Yu: "Junior, you come from the countryside and it's normal that you don't have stage experience. We're not discriminating against you. But the school leaders will be watching the New Year's Day performance. I won't even comment on whether you sing well or not, but you just stand there like a wooden post... If the leaders see this, they'll think that our student council is full of greenhorns like you, and there's not a single person who can hold up the stage!"

Xu Yingying was very angry: "Zou Kai, you're going too far..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yu interrupted.

"Senior, I admit to all the problems you raised!"

Lin Yu remained calm, revealing no emotion. "But what does that have to do with me coming from the countryside?"

Zou Kai was speechless when asked the question.

In front of so many classmates, he refused to admit defeat, so he braced himself and said, "Can't I tell the truth? You're from the countryside! You probably don't even have two thousand yuan a month for living expenses. You've never bought milk tea or drinks for your seniors, and you're thinking of using the student council's resources to show off... Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Upon hearing this, the classmates who had initially felt sorry for Lin Yu immediately changed their expressions.

Young people like to show off, especially those who join the student council.

The New Year's Day performance was a rare big event at the school.

This year, the student union put on a performance, and Xu Yingying, as the president and the face of the student union, naturally took on the role.

But besides her, there are many talented, good-looking, and thoughtful people in the student council, and everyone wants to go on stage.

It's not Lin Yu's turn, this country bumpkin!

Zou Kai's words resonated with everyone.

Even Xu Yingying hesitated to speak up for Lin Yu.

Fortunately, Lin Yu didn't feel embarrassed and just smiled and said, "So, senior wants me to treat you to milk tea... then I'll treat you!"

Zou Kai was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

"You want to buy me milk tea? You'd better think it over!"

"What are you thinking about?"

"cut!"

Zou Kai sneered, "There are student council members, other actors, and lighting, sound, and camera crew on site. There are at least a hundred people. Can you afford to hire them with your meager living expenses? Don't try to put on a show!"

Lin Yu laughed and said, "So, senior, you can afford to invite him?"

Zou Kai was speechless, never expecting him to ask such a question.

But having come this far, how could he back down? So he steeled himself and said, "Of course I can afford it, but..."

"That's great!"

Lin Yu interrupted Zou Kai directly, not giving him a chance to change the subject, and said to everyone, "Everyone heard that, the vice chairman is going to treat everyone to milk tea. Everyone, tell me what you want to drink... Never mind, it's too much trouble to order one by one with so many people, let's just order the same thing. The 'Bo Ya Jue Xian' drink from Ba Wang Cha Ji is pretty good, let's just order a hundred cups, and some cakes and pastries too, how about that?"

Everyone was stunned when these words came out.

Ba Wang Cha Ji is not cheap. A large cup of Boya Juexian costs 20 yuan, and 100 cups would cost a full 2,000 yuan.

Add in cakes and pastries, and even if everyone only eats a small piece, it will definitely cost more than three thousand dollars.

In the capital city where land is incredibly valuable, 3000 yuan might not seem like much.

But for a student, this is a huge sum of money; most students don't even have that much in a month's living expenses.

Lin Yu's shout startled everyone, leaving them speechless and even making Zou Kai, who had instigated the trouble, blush with embarrassment.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he had a crush on Lin Yufang.

Lin Xiao was sitting in the audience, and had already gotten up to support his younger brother.

Seeing this turn of events, he sat back down, having lifted his buttocks, and watched the spectacle with great interest.

There was an awkward silence on stage for several seconds.

Zou Kai finally exploded, "Lin Yu, are you doing this on purpose? Didn't you just say you were treating? Why the hell are you dragging me into this?"

Lin Yu smiled with an innocent and harmless expression.

"But wasn't it because you were worried I couldn't afford to treat you that you offered to treat me?"

"When did I say I wanted to..."

"Oh!!!"

Lin Yu deliberately spoke loudly, drawing out the last syllable, "So, senior, you can't afford to invite him either, right?"

A rhetorical question left Zou Kai speechless, his face turning bright red, and he nearly exploded on the spot.

The students were struggling to hold back their laughter.

After being angry for a while, Zou Kai finally came to his senses and said, "Hey junior, being poor isn't scary, what's scary is being poor and still caring about saving face. If you can't afford it, just say you can't afford it. Nobody will laugh at you. There's no need to try to muddy the waters and beat around the bush like this. It will only make you look more ridiculous!"

Lin Yu smiled calmly.

He stopped wasting his breath on this idiot and turned to his roommate in the audience, saying, "Brother Bo, could you order some afternoon tea for my classmates? They've all worked hard rehearsing, so let's skip the milk tea and have a cup of coffee each to perk them up..."

Zou Kai laughed out loud: "Junior, didn't you say you were going to order Bawangcha Ji? How come it's now Kudi for 9.9 yuan? If you can't afford it, then don't pretend!"

Lin Yu ignored him and calmly smiled, "Brother Bo, there's a Starbucks near the school gate, let's order that! One hundred cups of coffee and one hundred small cakes, make it as varied as possible, and let everyone choose when it arrives!"

After he said that, everyone on and off the stage was completely stunned.

Although Starbucks is just a roadside stall in the United States, it still represents a certain image here, especially among students.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a status symbol.

Of course, that's not the most important thing; the most important thing is the price of Starbucks.

A cup of coffee costs at least thirty yuan, and a slice of cake costs the same, so a total of seventy yuan.

One hundred portions, that's a full seven thousand yuan!

Even for adults, this is by no means a small amount. Many people work hard in society for many years and may not be able to earn seven thousand yuan a month.

Not to mention the students.

When Lin Yu spoke so casually, everyone was stunned.

Down in the audience, roommates Liao Haibo and Geng Ziye were even more panicked.

The two exchanged a glance, their thoughts surprisingly in agreement: Fourth Brother had really overplayed his hand this time!
but!

Since we've already put on this act, as brothers, we can't sabotage it no matter what.

Liao Haibo made a quick decision: he would pool the living expenses of the three of them and pay for the bill no matter what.

However, at that moment, Lin Yu simply tossed the phone over.

Liao Haibo almost missed catching it and couldn't help but complain: "Bro, before you show off, at least tell your brother!"

On stage, Zou Kai finally realized what was happening and could no longer contain his anger.

"Dude, you're not going to take out a naked loan tonight after you finish this deal, are you?" Zou Kai sneered.

Lin Yu looked directly at him, his expression calm: "Even if I were to take out a nude loan tonight, I'd need this much money in my account right now. Senior, do you have that much?"

Zou Kai was so choked up that he couldn't speak.

There were whispers on stage, and even the chairperson, Xu Yingying, began to advise Lin Yu not to act impulsively for the sake of momentary loyalty.

Just then, Liao Haibo shouted from below the stage, "All ordered! One hundred coffees and one hundred cakes!"

This shout caused an uproar on stage.

Zou Kai's small eyes widened instantly, staring at Lin Yu as if he had seen a ghost, unable to believe that this was the situation.

That's a whole seven thousand yuan!!
The order being placed successfully means... this poor kid from the countryside actually has at least seven thousand yuan in his account!!!
He probably doesn't use a credit card, right?
No, how could a poor boy from the countryside possibly have a credit card?
Zou Kai was completely baffled. The more he thought about it, the more his scalp tingled. His entire back was covered in sweat, and his whole body was burning hot.

He no longer knew how to think.

I felt like everyone was laughing at me right now, that I was a complete idiot!
At that moment, Lin Yu peeked over.

He smiled calmly and asked, "Vice President, may I rehearse with my senior now?"

(End of this chapter)