Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 442 Shall we share a room? (Please subscribe)

When Lin Yongzhen told Lü Yao that she wasn't afraid, there was a smile in the corner of her eye, and it was clear from her expression that she had made up her mind in a way that Lü Yao didn't know about.

So Lü Yao didn't try to dissuade her any further, and instead tore up the plane ticket to Shangnan that he had bought for Lin Yongzhen.

Lu Yao looked at Lin Yongzhen and said, "Then let's go back together."

When it was time to board, Lü Yao and Lin Yongzhen boarded the plane. Around noon, they arrived at the airport closest to Lü Yao's hometown, which was less than 100 kilometers away. Lin Yongzhen had arranged a convoy to pick them up in advance.

Two cars were waiting outside the airport; a Chevrolet Suburban 11 was quietly waiting in the passenger waiting area.

The Chevrolet Suburban is the largest SUV in Chevrolet's lineup. It is considered the ancestor of SUVs and has a history of nearly a hundred years. This model is not only famous in the history of automotive development, but also very successful in business. Many high-ranking officials in the Land of Light use this model.

Because of its spacious interior and the fact that the custom-built Suburban offers top-notch safety features, this car can be seen in many American TV shows.

However, this car is not very well-known in China; the Suburban's reputation is even less than that of the Chevrolet Cruze.

Lu Yao remembered this car because it was Nick Fury's car from S.H.I.E.L.D., yes, the car that was blown up by the Winter Soldier.

Aside from that, Lü Yao had no other impression of the car.

In Lü Yao's memory, this car was not even as famous as the Cadillac Escalade.

Following behind the Suburban was an ordinary Mercedes-Benz GLC. The Suburban's massive size immediately diminished the GLC's imposing presence.

The Saabban is almost 5.8 meters long, while the Mercedes is less than 4.8 meters long. This difference of more than one meter makes the Saabban the most eye-catching car in the airport exit waiting area.

Lu Yao looked at the car, somewhat speechless: "Seriously, why did you get such a flashy car?"

The Suburban is not officially imported to China. To get one in China, you have to rely on parallel imports or private purchases from overseas and customs clearance. This means that these fully imported cars are more expensive to manufacture, especially since they are not produced in China and there are also modification costs involved.

A car that originally cost over a million yuan will basically cost three million yuan after going through the whole process and entering the country.

Money is actually a minor issue; the key is having the inclination to tinker with this kind of thing—that's probably true passion.

As Lu Yao carried his luggage toward the Saabban, he asked, "Where did you get this car?"

Although there are many wealthy families in every Taibao area of ​​Jiangsu Province, there are probably not many people in northern Jiangsu who own such a car. People who own such cars are usually car enthusiasts and like to be different.

When we got to the front of the car and took a quick look, wow, it really was the Leopard.

The license plate is worth more than the car itself.

Lü Yao chuckled: "Good heavens, isn't this a bit too flashy?"

Lin Yongzhen handed her luggage to the driver, then leaned back in the car and laughed, "You're not a public official, so what's wrong with being a little arrogant? Don't you understand the concept of returning home in glory? As for how this car came about... I just spread the word that you were going back to your hometown, and a lot of people rushed to provide you with these things."

Lin Yongzhen tilted her head playfully and said, "Speaking of which, I guess I've benefited from President Lü's influence."

Lü Yao laughed and said, "Stop fooling around."

Lin Yongzhen is very powerful. Yes, not just rich, but powerful. Lü Yao has no doubt that if Lin Yongzhen wanted to use a plane, someone would agree and coordinate with the airline in the next moment.

Lu Yao and Lin Yongzhen got into the car, and soon the two cars started heading towards Lu Yao's hometown.

The Mercedes led the way, followed by the massive Suburban, which resembled a silent and imposing monarch.

Lu Yao sat in the spacious back seat. The back seat of the car was so spacious that Lin Yongzhen could sit opposite Lu Yao and cross her legs. However, Lu Yao was not in the mood to appreciate Lin Yongzhen at the moment. His eyes were fixed on the scenery outside the window.

To outsiders, Lü Yao has not returned since graduation, a period spanning five long years.

But for Lü Yao, it had been almost ten years since he had returned here.

ten years
How many decades does one have in a lifetime?

The scenery of his hometown was similar to what Lü Yao remembered. There were rows and rows of fast-growing trees on both sides of the road, most of which were poplars. On both sides of the road were vast farmlands. At this time of year, the farmlands were full of knee-high green wheat, and the wheat fields stretched as far as the eye could see.

This is a typical landscape of the Central Plains region.

Lu Yao's hometown is located at the border of Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. Continuing north from Lu Yao's hometown, in Luzhou and Yuzhou, the scenery and landscape are almost the same as in Lu Yao's hometown. Therefore, the people of Lu Yao's hometown have a much stronger sense of identity with the North than with the South.

Historically and geographically, Lü Yao's hometown should be considered part of the Jiangdong region, which is different from the Jiangnan region.

Thinking of this, Lü Yao couldn't help but laugh.

It's truly a case of "a son should be like Sun Quan," yet he's been stubbornly branded as a "rat" for thousands of years and still can't shake it off.

However, as he looked around, Lü Yao noticed that the changes in his hometown were quite significant. After the vehicle left the main national highway, Lü Yao remembered that the rural roads in his hometown in 2018 were still cement roads. He had witnessed those potholed, cracked, and collapsed cement roads all along the way.

The cement road was built when Lü Yao was about ten years old. By the time Lü Yao graduated from university, the once smooth cement road had long since deteriorated. Every time it rained heavily, the road was flooded. It wasn't until after 2020 that the road was renovated.

But now, the dilapidated country roads he remembers have been transformed into wide asphalt roads... asphalt roads that stretch all the way from the national highway...

Is my hometown really that supportive?
Lu Yao remembered that only another county or city had the financial resources and strength to sell seedlings in this area. That town, which made online seedling sales its business, was quite wealthy. By selling counterfeit and shoddy seedlings, the average person in that town was a millionaire. You could even often see luxury cars like Ferraris and Porsches in that town.

Because they have money, the roads there are very well built. Outside the towns, the roads may still be cement roads, but inside those towns, many places are asphalt roads, and even six-lane asphalt roads.

That was truly an opulent display of wealth.

It's only been a short time since he came back, and his hometown has already changed so much. Is it about to catch up with the top-tier towns in the neighboring county?

Lu Yao's hometown is located at the intersection of three cities and three provinces, so it used to be a notorious no-man's-land. Later, it became too troublesome, so it was pushed by all parties to become a county-level city and left to fend for itself. But being stuck in the middle of so many regions, how easy is it to fend for yourself? Developing anywhere is easy to be looked down upon and met with disdain, so Lu Yao's hometown has always been very poor.

The economy is not doing well.

The education system is incompetent.

As for cultural heritage, it cannot be said that it is nonexistent.

But in any place around Pengcheng City, who doesn't have a bit of history?
The neighboring Xiaxiang has the former residence of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King. A county under Xiaxiang has historical figures and traces such as Yu Ji and Mr. Mengxi. And the neighboring Ahuai is even more famous. Pengcheng itself has the former territory of Liu Bang, and Pengcheng itself has been a battleground for emperors throughout history.

Therefore, Lü Yao's hometown really has no resources at all, and its development is extremely slow.

But now, as Lü Yao gets closer to his hometown, he sees more and more factories under construction or already completed, and more and more development projects.

These changes were unknown to Lü Yao.

His hometown was like Lü Yao's "Achilles' heel," a place he subconsciously didn't want to understand or engage with. It was a blind spot that Lü Yao himself had created in his mind. So even though he would send money and buy things for his family every year and call them every now and then, he never thought about understanding the changes that had taken place in his hometown in recent years.

Now that he has finally returned on his own, he has discovered that his hometown has begun to change drastically.

When Lü Yao saw the sign "Wuxi Economic Development Zone Designated Cooperative Development Project" on the fence of a construction site, he understood that the changes in his hometown were all brought about by Rong Nianqing. Even if they weren't brought about by Rong Nianqing, they must have been approved by her. That's why Wuxi invested resources to help this area develop.

Lü Yao turned his gaze away from the window.

At that moment, he gained a deeper understanding of wealth and energy.

In a cultivation novel, this would be described as "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

For Rong Nianqing and the others, this was also a way to help Lü Yao fulfill his "filial piety." Since Lü Yao had never wanted to bring his family over, they would let Lü Yao's elderly relatives stay in their hometown and improve the prosperity of the town by changing its economic level, thereby indirectly changing the living standards and happiness of the people there.

This is a classic example of "I don't want to pluck the moon from the sky, I want the moon to come to me."

For people in Rong Nianqing's social circle, they can indeed make the moon come to them.

Lu Yao felt a pang of emotion. As the vehicle drew closer to his hometown, he realized that the place he remembered was becoming increasingly unrecognizable. The country road leading to the village was now very clean, and there were many shops on the other side of the village entrance. People working or doing odd jobs gathered there, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.

The small ditch at the entrance of the village has been repaired, and a sewage system has even been built in the village. Although the houses of every household are still self-built rural houses, the surroundings have become quiet and clean.

Some open spaces even have green plants for landscaping.

Lu Yao was speechless. Was this still his hometown?
When Lü Yao's Saabban entered the village, led by a Mercedes, many villagers curiously looked at the two cars. Although they were a little confused at first, they quickly realized that it was the return of Old Lü's son.

So after Saboban left, the villagers, who always loved to gossip, immediately gathered together and started whispering.

"Oh, it's Old Lu's son who's back. Tsk tsk tsk, look at his car, how big and impressive it is!"

"That car in front is a Mercedes! What's that car behind? I think I've seen that logo before, it doesn't look very valuable."

"What do you know? That's definitely a high-end car!"

Even though most rural areas are no longer as isolated as before, the cars they recognize are mostly Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, followed by Honda, Hyundai, and the like. Domestic cars and new energy vehicles are still in their early stages and have not yet gained much penetration in rural areas.

Only after most urban drivers and ride-hailing drivers have switched to domestically produced and new energy vehicles will these vehicles be able to penetrate into lower-tier markets.

Because of their curiosity about Lü Yao, many villagers craned their necks to look towards Lü Yao's ancestral home, but not many actually followed.

Even in the countryside, the people in Lü Yao's hometown are all very shrewd. Even if they are not highly educated and have little knowledge, they are very good at understanding human relationships. Even if the son of the Lü family has become successful, it has little to do with them. As for the changes that have been happening in the village in recent years, they did not associate them with Lü Yao, but only thought that it was a matter of government affairs.

When the Saboban finally stopped in front of his house, Lü Yao got out of the car after the driver opened the door. He saw that the gate of the self-built house in his hometown had been replaced with a stainless steel gate, instead of the old iron gate that had been demolished from the old house.

It's clear that the family's standard of living has indeed improved.

After saying goodbye to Lü Yao, the driver got into the car behind and left, very considerately leaving space for Lü Yao and Lin Yongzhen.

With mixed feelings, Lü Yao arrived at the gate and knocked on it.

"Dong dong dong."

They knocked on the courtyard gate, but no one answered.

Lu Yao raised his hand and turned the handle on the main gate and the small gate. Just like he remembered, the main gate of his old home was rarely locked. The small gate opened with a click, and Lu Yao laughed at his own stupidity.

He turned to look at Lin Yongzhen: "I think I forgot to call my parents to tell them I'm coming back, but even if I do come back, they probably won't do anything to welcome us."

Lu Yao's father was the kind of stubborn, headstrong man who always acted like he was the most important person in the world. Her mother, on the other hand, was a village woman who had never been to school and didn't know much about social customs.

of course.

The main problem that has led to this awkward situation lies with Lü Yao.

He lost his sense of proportion.

Lin Yongzhen didn't seem to mind at all, and smiled gently and tolerantly, "It's alright, let's tidy up at home and wait for you two to come back."

Lu Yao offered to help Lin Yongzhen with her luggage, saying with a hint of apology and embarrassment, "Sorry, I don't know if I left a room for her back home."

Upon hearing Lü Yao's words, Lin Yongzhen immediately leaned closer, her eyes crinkling with a mischievous glint as she asked, "Wow~~ Are we going to share a room at your house too?"

(End of this chapter)