A single man checks into a couples' room; his life of ease and comfort begins.

Fortunately, the yard in front of Hao Qiangzhuang's house is wide enough for him to walk in and park right in front of his house.

Hao Qiangzhuang's father, Hao Aiguo, had just finished collecting water plants from the river west of the village and was heading home to feed the chickens and ducks. He was carrying a basket as he walked over from the western edge of the field.

Hao Aiguo is now over fifty years old. People from the countryside take their time to sunbathe every day, which makes them look older. He looks like he's in his sixties or seventies.

When Hao Qiangzhuang saw his father park the car, he immediately got out, rushed to the edge of the field to stop Hao Aiguo, and said with a smile, "Dad, let me do it!"

Hao Aiguo paused for a moment, put down his load, and handed it to Hao Qiangzhuang. His face full of anxiety, he asked, "Zhuangzi, you didn't come home for the New Year. Why are you home now?"

Hao Qiangzhuang picked up the load and walked ahead of his father, saying as he went, "The company requires us to go on a trip abroad, so they asked me to come back to get my passport."

Hao Aiguo let out a long sigh and said with a wry smile, "I thought you'd been fired! I'm relieved to see you haven't."

Hao Qiangzhuang walked in front, and Hao Aiguo followed behind. The further they walked, the more they saw the pickup truck with its back cargo full of goods.

Hao Aiguo looked at the mud-covered pickup truck and asked, "Zhuangzi, who parked their truck at our house?"

Hao Qiangzhuang turned around and looked at Hao Aiguo with a smile, then said excitedly, "Dad, that's mine. I just bought it last month."

Hao Aiguo had mixed feelings at this moment because he was afraid that his son might do bad things outside, because in those days, a car was not something that ordinary families could just buy on a whim.

Hao Aiguo stopped and asked loudly, "How much will this cost?"

Hao Qiangzhuang didn't turn around, but said with a smile, "Adding it all up, it's about 500,000!"

This startled Hao Aiguo, whose face turned deathly pale. He stood frozen in place, like a soulless puppet, staring at his son Hao Qiangzhuang's retreating figure.

Hao Qiangzhuang passed by the car, and Miss Elise had just gotten off. Seeing Hao Qiangzhuang carrying water plants, she couldn't resist her curiosity and asked, "Qiangzhuang, what are you doing carrying those water plants?"

Hao Qiangzhuang said, "It's for feeding the poultry. My dad's in the back. Go say hello!" Then, he entered the main room, walked through the main room, went to the kitchen, passed his grandmother's bedroom, and opened another door.

That's the side yard. The wall is an old one that collapsed, which just happened to surround the side yard. Actually, it collapsed because there was no money to repair it, and after it collapsed, there was no money to rebuild it.

The other side of the courtyard wall is covered with loofah vines and pumpkin vines. The pumpkins are in bloom, and pumpkin flowers are delicious.

However, Hao Qiangzhuang wasn't there to eat pumpkin blossoms; he was there to feed the poultry.

Once inside, they scooped the water plants out of the basket and scattered them over the area teeming with chickens, ducks, and geese, accompanied by the sound of "li li li li..."

Or it could be something like, "Cluck cluck cluck cluck..." That's roughly how it summons the chickens and ducks, as if it's telling them something.

This is a classic code word that people living in rural areas all know.

As for geese?

How do you summon it? How do you make fun of it?

I'm not quite sure. We'll have to talk to the elderly person and see if they have any suggestions.

When Hao Aiguo reached his doorstep, he saw another blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman, which made him feel even more depressed.

He actually started thinking in that direction, believing that his son had really done something bad.

Miss Elise smiled shyly, suppressing her unease. After all, it was her first time meeting the parents from the South, and what she said surprised Hao Aiguo.

Miss Elise called out to Hao Aiguo, "Hello, Dad!"

Hao Aiguo choked on his saliva, staring intently at Miss Iris. Overjoyed at being called "Dad," all his bad thoughts vanished, and he happily nodded, replying, "Okay, okay, you too!"

At this moment, Hao Qiangzhuang came out after feeding the poultry. Hao Aiguo anxiously walked up to Hao Qiangzhuang, grabbed him, and pulled him aside, whispering, "Zhuangzi, tell me, what exactly have you been doing out there? How come you've made so much money in just six months? Have you been doing something illegal?"

Hao Qiangzhuang scratched his head and said with a grin, "I'm the general manager of a big company, how could I possibly break the law?"

"Really?" Hao Aiguo stared at Hao Qiangzhuang's expression with a mixture of belief and doubt. He was actually very worried, afraid that his son would go down a path of no return. He couldn't help but say again, "Zhuangzi, we may be poor, but we can't do anything illegal."

Hao Qiangzhuang held Hao Aiguo's shoulder and reassured him, "Dad, don't worry, I'm a law-abiding citizen and won't do anything illegal."

Even though Hao Qiangzhuang said that, Hao Aiguo still refused to believe his son and began to have doubts in his heart.

Because this small county town is actually very chaotic. There are plenty of people who get rich in less than half a year, but they are all doing illegal things.

The people in the county town were mainly swindlers from the western route, and they were involved in the business of using counterfeit money.

Another place called Maqiao is where most of the people are pimps or engaged in illegal prostitution. Pimps, in particular, can bring a dozen or more girls to pick up clients and earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan a month during peak season.

Besides these, there is another type of person: those who engage in the illegal drug trafficking industry and sell drugs within the county.

According to Hao Qiangzhuang's aunt, his cousin's wife used to sell large amounts of counterfeit money, but now she's found that drug trafficking is more profitable than using counterfeit money, so she's switched to drug trafficking.

She was so arrogant that she always carried harmful things with her. When Hao Qiangzhuang was a child, if he visited his aunt's house and his cousin-in-law was home, there would definitely be drugs hidden in the refrigerator.

Hao Aiguo's family is very timid, and Hao Qiangzhuang is no exception. However, after going out to work, he has undergone a complete transformation in the past six months.

In fact, Hao Aiguo was worried that his son would go astray and embark on a path of no return, which is why he repeatedly reminded and explained to him.

At this moment, Hao Qiangzhuang took out his label and handed it to his father, Hao Aiguo, saying with a smile, "Dad, this is my label, take a look."

Hao Aiguo didn't even glance at it, because in his mind, money could be counterfeited so much that even a banknote detector couldn't tell the difference, let alone a small brand name.

Elise watched from a short distance as the father and son stood in the corner, whispering to each other. She felt uneasy, worried that they were talking about her, and also afraid that Hao Qiangzhuang's father wouldn't approve of her, which would be bad.