After the college entrance examination, life began to follow one's heart

Chapter 261 Visiting Yu Xinyan's New Home: The Special Effects Caused by a Cigarette

At eight o'clock in the morning, Xu Lin and the others had a meal.

Then we drove to the county town.

Because it was time to say goodbye, Sui Sui and An An were not as lively as usual.

They really like Xu Lin, their brother-in-law.

More than an hour later, Xu Lin and his group returned to the county town.

Ning Haifeng and Wu Xiulin are both at home today.

Xu Lin stayed there for another hour before it was finally time to leave.

"Xiao Lin, why don't you stay a couple more days?"

Wu Xiulin asked him.

"Auntie, I have to go back and get busy too."

"That's it."

"Brother-in-law..."

The two children clung to Xu Lin's legs, looking up at him with their beautiful eyes full of reluctance.

Xu Lin patted the two little heads, "When it's almost Chinese New Year, I'll be on holiday and I'll come to see you again. Also, when you go back to school, the older brother has to protect the younger sister, and the younger sister has to watch over the older brother. You two should stay together, okay?"

"Yes, yes, I definitely will!"

"Brother-in-law, I will protect my sister!"

"Xiao Lin, this is a red envelope from your uncle and aunt. May everything go smoothly for you."

Ning Haifeng took out two red envelopes.

"Thank you, uncle and aunt!"

"Good good!"

May everything go smoothly!

Ning Yuhan also came over to remind her that she wasn't leaving today, but would be returning to Jiangdu in a few days.

So only Xu Lin left today.

Afterwards, everyone went downstairs to see Xu Lin off.

"Everyone, I'll be going now."

As Xu Lin spoke, he got into the car. Before driving off, he reminded the two children to study hard, and then drove away with a heavy heart, leaving behind their reluctance.

They were both young, and their world was small, so parting was a huge deal for them.

After Xu Lin disappeared, Sui Sui and An An burst into tears, and it took Ning Yuhan and the others a long time to comfort them.

the other side.

Xu Lin did not head directly to Jiangdu, but instead set off for his own provincial capital.

He drove at around 11 a.m. and finally arrived in the provincial capital at 6 p.m.

"Did you cook at home? Should we ask the housekeeper to bring an extra pair of chopsticks tonight?"

"Xu Lin, have you arrived?"

"Just arrived in the provincial capital, almost there, right?"

"I'll tell my mom!"

Yu Xinyan was very excited and immediately told Lin Yajing that Xu Lin was coming.

"That kid's coming?"

Yu Jianhua was reading the news on his foldable phone when he looked up at his daughter.

"Yes, Xu Lin is coming!"

Seeing his daughter so happy, Yu Jianhua didn't say anything.

Her daughter is probably tied to that boy for life.

Some time passed.

"Xu Lin, have you arrived? I'll come downstairs and wait for you!"

"No need for that. Just tell me the building and apartment number, and I'll go up."

"Oh okay."

"Uncle, we can't get into the residential area. Please tell them here at the entrance."

Shortly after, Yu Jianhua received a message from Xu Lin.

"Damn it, you little brat! I let you in!"

"Hehe, thanks, Uncle! I brought you some good stuff!"

Xu Lin sent a wicked emoji.

Yu Jianhua was speechless.

This is a residential area for high-ranking officials; many important figures live here.

The guards at the gate are not ordinary people; you can't just come in whenever you want.

When an outsider like him gets too close, the guards come up.

Ding Dong!

A dozen minutes later, the doorbell rang at Yu Jianhua's house.

Yu Xinyan quickly went to open the door.

"Xu Lin, long time no see!"

"haven't seen you for a long time."

"Hmph, long time no see!"

"Hello, Auntie! You've become even more beautiful!"

Xu Lin greeted Lin Yajing first.

"Xu Lin, have you grown taller again?" Lin Yajing asked him.

"You've grown a bit taller, now you're 1.9 meters."

"Oh, no wonder, that's really high!"

Xu Lin walked over to the sofa and looked around the room before sitting down.

This is company-provided housing, and it's very well-maintained in all aspects.

But that's obvious, how could the place where the big shots live be bad?
"Uncle, it's been half a year since I last saw you, I've missed you so much!"

"Ah!"

Yu Jianhua continued watching the news.

Xu Lin looked at his phone. "Why didn't you buy a tri-fold one? Wouldn't it be much more impressive to take it out?"

Yu Jianhua glared at him and said irritably, "A phone that costs over 20,000 yuan, how can you even bear to use it?"

"How about I give you one another day?"

"You can deliver it first, but you're always joking around and never serious."

Yu Jianhua reached out and grabbed Xu Lin's hair. "Did you get your hair permed?"

"After all, I'm so handsome, shouldn't I get my hair permed more often while I'm still young?"

Xu Lin touched his hair, styling it in a flamboyant manner, and as he spoke, he took out four packs of cigarettes from his bag.

"What kind of cigarette is this?"

Yu Jianhua glanced at it.

“I brought this back from the capital. Even officials of your rank might not be able to get one. See, you're the first person I thought of when I saw something good.”

Xu Lin always kept this cigarette in his car; it was top-of-the-line stuff. He wouldn't usually take it out unless he had a close relationship with someone like Yu Jianhua.

"What's this mess?"

Xu Lin was never serious, and Yu Jianhua didn't believe him. What? Someone of your level couldn't afford this kind of cigarette? He thought Xu Lin was teasing him again.

Snapped!
Xu Lin took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with Yu Jianhua's lighter.

His movements were fluid and graceful, befitting a seasoned smoker.

Yu Xinyan came over and poured tea for Xu Lin, "Xu Lin, have some tea!"

"Ok."

"Uncle, have one, don't tell me you've quit smoking."

Yu Jianhua also had one.

"The taste is really good. What kind of cigarette is this?" Yu Jianhua couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could probably say that this was the best cigarette he had ever smoked in his life, bar none.

He was actually a long-time smoker, trying to quit on and off, but never quite succeeding. However, he's not as addicted as he used to be. Now, a pack of cigarettes can last him four or five days, or even a week. When he was younger, he used to smoke two or three packs a day.

"It was brought back from the capital; it was a gift from someone."

How's it going lately?

Upon hearing Xu Lin mention the capital, Yu Jianhua couldn't help but inquire about his career.

"To be honest, my savings recently exceeded 200 million."

In August, Xu Lin's savings did indeed exceed 200 million yuan. Note that this is savings, which is cash flow.

"Cough cough..."

Yu Jianhua was choked when he heard the words "two hundred million".

Lin Yajing also showed a rather surprised expression.

Only Yu Xinyan remained calm, because Xu Lin had told her about it.

Xu Lin casually replied, "But money means nothing to me; I'm not interested in money."

"You come from an ordinary family, right?"

"I thought you were old, but I didn't expect you to still be able to use memes. Looks like you spend a lot of time online."

"I'm only forty years old. When I was young, I also played games, like Legend of Mir, World of Warcraft... well, those must be pretty old games, you probably don't even recognize them."

Yu Jianhua flicked his cigarette ash and sighed, "A year ago he was still so carefree, but now he's gotten to this point. It's incredible."

Yu Jianhua felt he couldn't see through this young man. He had been watching Xu Lin since he was twelve years old, for seven years. Now Xu Lin was in college, and strictly speaking, Xu Lin was practically his son.

Xu Lin: "Look again a year from now, the biggest boss in our province will probably have to shake my hand politely."

"so smart?"

Yu Jianhua thought the kid was joking.

Come to think of it, how could that be?
Whether it's billions or tens of billions, any policy can make you soar to the sky, or it can make you vanish into thin air. At that time, money will truly be as worthless as dirt.

"Of course, I'm not kidding!"

"Is this the legendary executive jacket?"

Xu Lin placed the cigarette on the edge of the ashtray and took Yu Jianhua's executive jacket off the coat rack.

in the country, a suit is smaller than an executive jacket and then smaller than a Tang suit.

However, Tang suits are generally seen in the capital city.

In addition, suits are of course very important; various national-level large-scale conferences are actually dominated by suits.

"newly bought?"

"Yes, it's newly bought."

"Let me put it on."

"Wear it," Yu Jianhua said indifferently.

Xu Lin didn't stand on ceremony and put it on immediately.

However, this outfit wasn't quite right for Xu Lin; it was a bit too tight and a bit too short.

Yu Jianhua is middle-aged but has not gained weight. He has a normal build, with a slight belly, but it's practically nonexistent. In addition, Yu Jianhua is 1.82 meters tall. Actually, he was 1.85 meters tall when he was young, but he has shrunk a bit now that he's older.

After Xu Lin put on the executive jacket, the "Dragon Among Men" buff was automatically triggered.

Yu Jianhua looked at Xu Lin and felt that he had a great presence and the more he looked at him, the more pleasing he became.

"Xu Lin, you look great in this outfit!"

Lin Yajing couldn't help but praise, with the feeling of a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, "It's just that this kind of clothing isn't really suitable for your age."

Yu Xinyan: "Xu Lin looks best in a suit!"

"Thank you for the compliments, ladies!"

Xu Lin sat down next to Yu Jianhua, still wearing his executive jacket.

It was very hot in August, but the air conditioning was on inside.

"With the new leader taking office recently, are there any difficulties in adjusting?"

Xu Lin acted like a superior leader caring about his subordinates.

"Get out of here, stop pretending."

"Uncle, you're not cooperating..."

"Put the clothes away for me later."

"no problem."

Meanwhile, it was dinnertime, so Lin Yajing and Yu Xinyan went into the kitchen to get busy.

"If I had to say..."

Seeing the mother and daughter enter the kitchen, Yu Jianhua suddenly said, "A new environment, a new beginning, there are some minor troubles, but it's not a big problem."

At this point, Yu Jianhua paused, then continued, "The higher you go, the more cautious you become. Sometimes, one wrong step can lead to utter ruin. It's best not to become an official."

"Someone like you, with a little money in your pocket, but not much, can easily find plenty of people richer than you in big cities. The higher-ups won't pay you any attention. Living a comfortable life is fine. When I was young, I was clueless and just pushed along. Looking back now, I can only keep going. Politics can kill people. Once you're on the boat, you can't just get off whenever you want."

The two chatted for quite a while, until they had dinner, at which point they stopped talking.

It took another half hour to eat.

After eating and drinking his fill, Xu Lin rested here for another twenty minutes.

Only then did they set off to leave.

"Xu Lin, let me take you." "No need, I can go down by myself, and it's already dark outside."

"Ok."

Yu Xinyan looked on longingly.

However, at the stairs, taking advantage of Yu Jianhua and the others' inattention, Yu Xinyan still kissed Xu Lin before returning home satisfied.

These cadre residential areas have low-rise buildings, none of them are dozens of stories high, just a few stories.

There is an elevator.

However, Yu Jianhua was on the third floor, so Xu Lin went down the stairs directly.

It was already dark outside.

Xu Lin didn't leave immediately; he planned to take a walk around the neighborhood.

In the evening, many people were out strolling in the neighborhood.

After Xu Lin had walked for a while, a man in his fifties called out to him: "Whose young man are you?"

"Hello, Uncle."

I'm from out of town.

The man sized Xu Lin up and down, finding him increasingly likable. "Young man, do you have a girlfriend?"

Yu Jianhua recently moved here, and one after another, wealthy men in the neighborhood whose sons and grandsons are still unmarried have come to propose marriage.

After all, Yu Xinyan is too beautiful, she is studying at a top university, she comes from a good family, and she is only nineteen years old, in the prime of her life. Therefore, the marriage partners she can attract could have very powerful families, perhaps even more powerful than Yu Jianhua.

It's perfectly normal for big shots like this to form marriage alliances.

In other words, civil servants are unlikely to enter the matchmaking market because they are already employed internally.

Then there are men. If a handsome man has other excellent qualities, he is likely to be noticed by a big shot if he becomes famous or stands out. This is very common in reality.

There are many such examples in history. Xu Lin has read historical books and has never seen a handsome man who did not do well in life, unless he was cerebral palsy.

Many people may not know that in ancient times, the top scholar in the imperial examination could be ugly.

However, the second and third place winners were likely to be handsome, hence the saying "the second and third place winners are often talented men." The prime minister or other high-ranking officials would choose their sons-in-law from these two ranks.

Like Yu Xinyan, Xu Lin can also attract very high-caliber marriage partners.

It's no exaggeration to say that, given Xu Lin's current overall qualities, his father-in-law could also be considered an extremely powerful figure.

This is the leverage Xu Lin can use in marriage.

While strolling around, Xu Lin caught the eye of a passing retired cadre, who assumed he was someone's child from the neighborhood.

Xu Lin thought to himself that the other party probably wanted to marry their daughter to him.

Could it be the daughter of the other party's relative or something?
Certainly not.

Why would I introduce a relative to someone I don't want to let the good stuff go to outsiders?
Another possibility is that one could be introduced to a more powerful figure as a form of capital investment, but this is less likely.

It's not that Xu Lin is exaggerating; he truly has the qualifications to do so.

"Uncle, actually I already have a boyfriend."

"That's it."

The other person looked at him, feeling a pang of regret, but he didn't give up. "Marriage?"

"Unmarried, but engaged, and expected to get married at the end of the year."

Xu Lin knew that the other party might want him to kill his beloved with his sword, so he further refused.

But then again, I'm very picky. Just by looking at you, I can tell your daughter probably won't be very pretty.

The man then abandoned the idea, feeling sorry for his daughter, and asked again, "Which family's young man are you from? I haven't seen you in the neighborhood before."

Xu Lin thought about it and realized that everyone in this kind of community must know him well. It was normal that people wouldn't know him, since he was an outsider.

“I came here to visit relatives. Up there, in apartment 301 of building 5, Yu Jianhua is my uncle.”

"Yu Jianhua, I know him."

The man nodded, looking like an elder.

Xu Lin could vaguely smell the cigarette smoke coming from the other person.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, as if to say, "Want one?"
Cigarettes are such a simple and unpretentious social tool, regardless of whether the other party is a commoner or a nobleman, and regardless of race or nationality.

In short, once it's served, it's time for one.

It is so versatile.

In the face of smoke, all beings are equal.

The latter glanced at the other person's cigarette and his pupils immediately contracted.

Where did you get these cigarettes?

"It seems your uncle is a discerning person; I brought this from the capital."

"The capital city!"

He thought to himself, "Is this the young master from the capital?"
And look at that aura, you really can't underestimate him!
He must be the son of some important figure under the emperor's nose.

He looked at Xu Lin, and the more he looked at him, the more he felt that Xu Lin was not simple!
This man is a dragon among men!

How do ordinary families raise boys of this caliber?
Of course, when he says "ordinary family," he means a cadre family like theirs.

For a moment, he unconsciously elevated Xu Lin's position to an unprecedented level, and his air of elder vanished.

"I'll have one."

"Uncle, would you like to take a couple more?"

"Ahem, I'm so sorry."

"Meeting is fate, there's no need to be embarrassed. The fact that you and I smoke means, on a small scale, that we hit it off immediately and had a great conversation. On a larger scale, we're both working hard for the great cause of our country."

"That's true!"

The height increased rapidly, and he no longer held back.

So he took three cigarettes, one in his mouth and two behind his ears.

Snapped!
Swallowing rain and spitting out mist.

"I've smoked this kind of cigarette once before, I never thought I'd see it again in my lifetime."

He sighed, "This is the kind of smoke only people in heaven can smoke."

This young man, is he from heaven?

He looked at Xu Lin and thought about his aura and presence; he was indeed no ordinary person.

Yu Jianhua?
I didn't expect he had connections in the capital.
Looks like I need to move around a bit!

dong dong!

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on Yu Jianhua's door.

A rather polite knock on the door.

Yu Xinyan came to open the door.

"Dad, an uncle is looking for you!"

"Who?"

Yu Jianhua looked up and was startled to see his superior. He quickly got up and went to greet him.

"Leader, why are you here?"

"Ahem, I'll come up and sit for a bit, I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"No disturbance, no disturbance, this way please!"

Yu Jianhua politely invited the leader to sit down.

The leaders were all prominent figures in the province, and Yu Jianhua didn't know why they had come up there.

But the leader was even more polite to him.

Finally, the two sat down.

Lin Yajing came over and poured tea for the leader.

"Boss, would you like some tea?"

The leader said, "Thank you."

As he picked up his teacup, he noticed four packs of cigarettes on the coffee table, one of which had already been opened.

There are four packs here!
He recognized the cigarette in Xu Lin's hand at a glance.

The leader was frightened, but remained outwardly calm.

He took a small sip of tea.

"Jianhua, you've just arrived here. Are you settling in well?" The other person asked with feigned concern, leaving Yu Jianhua completely bewildered. They even addressed him as Jianhua.

"The environment is very good in all aspects, and the accommodation is comfortable."

"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't be used to the place."

Then, the other party started asking some vague and ambiguous questions.

Yu Jianhua answered each question cautiously.

"Jianhua, can I have a cigarette?"

"Boss, there's some cigarettes here."

"Good good."

In an instant, both of them started smoking; it was the pack of cigarettes that had been opened there.

"Hey girl, you don't mind, do you?"

The leader looked at Lin Yajing, who said she didn't mind.

This girl doesn't mean anything by it; you can understand it as meaning "sister-in-law."

After rambling on for a while, the leader finally got to the point when he lit a cigarette: "I was walking around the neighborhood just now and I saw a really impressive young man. He shared these cigarettes with me."

That kid offered cigarettes to such a high-ranking leader?
Oh shit!

This bastard.

Yu Jianhua was speechless.

Yu Jianhua didn't speak immediately. The leader then said, "I smoked this kind of cigarette once a few years ago. I never thought I would be able to smoke it again. I thought I would never be able to smoke it again in my life."

"Boss, it's not that serious, is it, just one cigarette?"

"Jianhua, don't you know what kind of cigarette this is?" He flicked the ash off his cigarette.

"Please speak, sir."

"Hey, you know, this kind of cigarette isn't even available outside. It's so rare, you can't even find one like it. Can you taste the flavor?"

To be honest, Yu Jianhua did feel that this kind of cigarette had a certain appeal, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The other person then said, "That young man is something else!"

Yu Jianhua didn't understand what he meant, but Yu Jianhua wasn't stupid. He had come to this point, and everyone was shrewd enough not to blurt things out.

Afterwards, he rambled on with some official nonsense, and finally managed to get rid of this big shot.

However, he lost an unopened pack of cigarettes.

After the leader left, Yu Jianhua immediately called Xu Lin.

Xu Lin was driving, and there was a loud DJ playing in the car.

"Xu Lin, where did you get this cigarette?"

"What kind of cigarettes are they? Didn't I already say they were brought from the capital?"

"Who gave you this? This cigarette seems to be from a very important source?"

"Uncle, let me tell you something. A big shot in the capital has taken a liking to me and wants to marry his great-granddaughter to me. She's an absolute beauty, and with her background, she could probably be an empress in ancient times. You see, a big shot wants to marry her to me. If you don't hurry up and become my father-in-law, I might not be able to say what will happen to me later."

"How big of a boss?"

"How much do you think I could take your place with just one sentence?"

"Be serious."

"real."

"You just write novels, and now you're trying to make a living in the entertainment industry. What makes you think you're good enough for a big shot to take notice of you?"

It's no wonder Yu Jianhua had doubts.

Based on what he knew of Xu Lin's current level of development, it was actually quite low-class.

Many female celebrities are obsessed with marrying into wealthy families, but how many actually succeed? They're often looked down upon, or to put it bluntly, played around with and then discarded.

But what are wealthy families in the eyes of high-ranking officials?
In the past, the social hierarchy was called scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

Now, merchants have a higher status, but they are still ranked after "scholars," that is, scholars, merchants, artisans, and farmers.

Therefore, in the entertainment industry, when faced with people who have reached a certain level, they are really nothing.

How should we position Xu Lin?

A businessman in the entertainment industry?

"Then you don't understand, I actually have other moves."

"Tell your uncle about it."

"Let's talk about it later, we're still in the development stage..."

Xu Lin hummed along to the music.

"..."

"I'm dead."

"Uncle, tell Auntie that she can come over to my house sometime. It's a big, single-level house, much more spacious and luxurious than yours."

"You little rascal, you're never serious."

The two ended the call.

However, to be fair, Yu Jianhua quite liked Xu Lin's unserious attitude towards him.

After Xu Lin went to university, Yu Jianhua found it difficult to adjust because he could no longer see him as often as before.

(End of this chapter)