A small plot of land in a mountain village

He couldn't afford to lose face, so he chuckled and said, "Touching the crocodile? Forget it, it's too scary. Just tell me honestly what else is in this yard! If I see anything, I'll be really scared."

This time I've really seen it for myself.

We've finished the crocodile meat; this is the first time I've ever seen a tamed crocodile.

When Old Zhu asked, Chairman Zhang naturally didn't hide anything: "There are also three blue wolves here, and a mongrel that's almost a meter tall. Oh, and there's a pangolin in the sand pile."

"Wow, good heavens, I had no idea! This place is even more heavily armed than mine!" Old Zhu laughed heartily after saying that.

Xiao Dong was also surprised. One wolf was easy to deal with, but three wolves were no match for him. The encirclement of three wolves was not something he could easily break.

"Time to eat!"

Liang Shan called out from outside the kitchen door.

"Old Zhu, are you hungry? Let's eat first. Those two probably haven't sold all their ironwood, so we don't need to wait for them." He stood up and called out.

"Okay, now that you mention it, I'm really hungry. Let's see what's good to eat for lunch." By noon, Xiao Dong's stomach was rumbling.

He led the two to the newly built kitchen, which was clean and tidy. This was Old Zhu's first impression, and the environment made eating more comfortable.

"Old Zhang, haven't Fatty and the others come back yet?" Liang Shan asked when he saw that no one had followed them in.

"No, I guess they haven't sold out of the ironwood trees yet!" Chairman Zhang replied, turning his head.

"Old Zhu, come, sit here."

A round table was set with seven or eight dishes, their aroma making one's mouth water.

In the kitchen utensils, Chairman Zhang pulled out a bottle of plum wine.

"Don't take the wine. Simple food and tea are better now," Old Zhu said hastily, waving his hand when he saw the wine in Old Zhang's hand.

Old Zhang didn't mind. "I'm afraid you haven't tasted this wine before. It's different from ordinary wine. It will definitely not make you drunk. It only has a light aroma of wine, and it can only be found in this place."

Seeing Old Zhang's attitude, Old Zhu realized he really couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to agree, holding up his finger: "Just one cup."

If you drink it, don't worry about not needing another cup.

Xiao Dong enjoys drinking; as soon as the bottle is opened, the aroma of the liquor fills the air, making one involuntarily sniff.

"Good wine."

It seems Old Zhang was right. This is good wine; even the faint aroma is extraordinary.

Xiao Dong poured a small glass, which made him feel that there wasn't enough wine; the aroma was already making him crave it.

Just as we started eating, the little one darled in from outside. He landed on the stool, waving his tiny paws.

"This is..." Old Zhu stared curiously at the small animal waving its paws.

Standing up, Chairman Zhang explained, "This is the leader of all the animals in the park. He's very smart. It's lunchtime now, so naturally it's time to eat."

Chairman Zhang took out a special bowl for the little one—a wooden bowl.

The little one squeaked and pointed at the plum wine on the table.

Chairman Zhang looked at it and chuckled. This guy was taking advantage of Zhang Niu's absence and his desire to drink, taking advantage of this kind old man like me.

Helpless, he could only pour a bowl of green wine, and then take out another bowl and scoop a lot of duck meat and fresh bamboo shoots into it.

"Old Zhang, does this guy eat meat too?" I asked, watching Chairman Zhang busy putting meat into his bowl.

"Yeah, this guy always drinks first, then eats some food, he does that every day," he said with a smile.

Old Zhu looked at the bowl full of vegetables and wondered if this guy would eat it with his claws.

What happened next left Old Zhu speechless: the little one grabbed the bamboo chopsticks beside him, clumsily picked up some food, and put it in his mouth. He then took a sip of wine and made a squeaking sound.

"Are you satisfied now, little one?"

"Squeak squeak"

This is so surprising! They're eating with bamboo chopsticks and they look like they're enjoying it.

Seeing the change in Lao Zhu's expression, Chairman Zhang said rather dejectedly, "This is the first time I've seen this. I had the same thought as you. You'll get used to it after seeing it many times."

After hearing this, Old Zhu exclaimed, "No wonder you want to stay in this place; the little guy must be a psychic!"

"I'm free now. My children are all working, so I'm here to enjoy my retirement. It's lively and bustling every day, and I feel comfortable. The animals seem to be spiritual beings; they even watch TV before going to sleep at night."

The little boy picked up his small bowl and gulped down some wine. He then raised the bowl towards Old Zhu.

Old Zhu looked puzzled, wondering what was going on. He glanced at Old Zhang, as if wanting to ask what it meant.

Chairman Zhang knew perfectly well what was going on, and said with a smile, "This is a toast to you."

"A toast!" The little animal looked completely bewildered. How could it be so clever?

Chairman Zhang nodded. "Yes, this little guy would only do this if he felt you were a good person. Otherwise, he would have already come running."

Listening to Chairman Zhang's explanation, I realized that this guy could actually distinguish between good and bad people, and I burst into laughter.

The little one picked up the wine bowl again and waved its paws.

Old Zhu picked up his wine glass for the first time, took a small sip, and a fragrant aroma filled his mouth. As the wine went down his throat, a faint warmth spread through his body.

It felt like drinking water, with a low alcohol content, but it didn't taste like alcohol either. I didn't know how to explain it for a moment.

After Old Zhu finished his drink, the little one gulped it down in one go, patted his little belly, and happily darted out.

"This wine...?"

"Now you know I wasn't lying! That's how the wine tastes. Can you feel that slight warmth? You'll feel great all over when you wake up tomorrow."

"Oh, is that so? Well then, I've taught you a lesson." After downing a small cup, Old Zhu shamelessly poured himself another.

"You're lucky. This plum wine is just right. It's been buried underground for quite a long time. They say it's because of a secret recipe that it's so effective. It's best for people like us to drink it regularly." After eating a piece of bamboo shoot, he continued, "My health has been fantastic since I came here. My feet used to ache whenever it rained, but now they're completely healed."

Old Zhu knew about Old Zhang's foot pain; he'd heard it was from the frostbite suffered by educated youth sent to the countryside during the winter. "Since you have this good stuff," he said, "take some back and try it." He shamelessly asked, "Do you still have any plum wine? You said it's effective; I'm really envious."

Chairman Zhang shook his head. "This wine was stored by young Zhang Niu. I always go to him to get more when we run out. I'll get you a few more bottles when I get back."

Any wine will do; it's a health-promoting plum wine with low alcohol content, just what Lao Zhu wants.

"Oh no! Fatty and Zhang Niu have been taken to the police station!" Liang Shan ran in from outside.

Liang Shan shouted as he ran in.

Chairman Zhang, sitting in his chair, was stunned. What was going on? Why were the police looking for Zhang Niu again?

Since he wasn't at the bureau, the fat man had to beg and plead with him to make a phone call, thinking of Chairman Zhang.

"Don't rush, speak slowly," he said, standing up to pour Liang Shan a glass of water.

After catching his breath, Liang Shan said, "I went out to get some vegetables. In the vegetable garden, Fatty called and said he was going to the police station and asked me to come and ask you for help."

Chairman Zhang frowned. "That's impossible. Fatty usually likes to brag a little, but he's always careful in other matters. How could he have gotten caught like this?"

Did the fat guy say what it was about?

Liang Shan shook his head, clearly indicating that the fat man hadn't said anything.

"Is the fat guy you're talking about the one wearing plaid clothes and a thick gold necklace?" Xiao Dong, who was sitting next to me, suddenly asked.

"Yes, have you seen this before?" Upon hearing this, Chairman Zhang realized that this was the fat man's favorite attire. And that gold necklace, with its unique logo, clearly belonged to a nouveau riche.

"Yes, Secretary, this fat man is the one we met at noon. I guess that young man is the owner of this plantation," Xiao Dong replied.

It was only when Fatty and his gang surrounded him that Xiao Dong noticed the thick necklace around his neck, which was quite conspicuous.

When Xiao Dong mentioned it, Lao Zhu remembered it. He remembered that the young man who jumped out of his car back then was someone he had missed meeting.

The two men's words left Chairman Zhang and Liang Shan completely confused; what on earth was going on?

Seeing how anxious the two were, Xiao Dong told them what he had seen.

"Is the guy with the stick over 1.8 meters tall, nicknamed Steel Head?" Chairman Zhang wasn't sure if it was the person he remembered.

Xiao Dong thought about it for a moment, and realized that it was true. "Yes, I heard that bald man mention it."

He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Damn it, how did this guy get out here?"

Old Zhu was very puzzled. Old Zhang didn't usually swear. "Do you know that person? Why are you so angry?"

Chairman Zhang sighed, "The public security department is still the same. That guy is the same cop who beat someone up last time. He's back again. I heard he had a lot of problems." He then shared what he knew.

When this matter was brought up, Old Zhu was furious. He had quite a few people on the meeting list whom he admired, and that made him feel uneasy for a while.

Upon hearing this, he slammed his hand on the table, spilling a considerable amount of liquor.

"This is really outrageous. Who approved their release of people? Now they're practically ignoring what I'm saying." Old Zhu was clearly furious.

I took out my phone, ready to dial, but then I thought I should go and see for myself how these guys were doing things.

"Let's go take a look!" Old Zhu said calmly as he stood up.

This incident ruined Lao Zhu's appetite for lunch. Xiao Dong quickly followed behind.

Looking at the table full of food, Liang Shan decided he could only eat it in the evening.

Old Zhu silently climbed into the car. Chairman Zhang followed closely behind.

"Calm down, you're still as fiery as ever," Chairman Zhang, sitting in the back seat, advised.

"After so many years as an official, my temperament is still the same, but I still haven't managed things well down below," Old Zhu sighed.

Chairman Zhang was at a loss for words, and the car suddenly became quiet.

The car sped onto the road.

This time when they returned to the police station, Zhang Niu received a much better reception than before, and they even went to the same place again.

Many people still remember this guy. They didn't expect that he would come in again after such a short time. Everyone was happy to see what trouble he had caused this time.

They continued questioning him: age, home address, what crime he had committed this time, and so on. Zhang Niu said helplessly that he had been chased and beaten, which was why the police brought him in.

There were quite a few scars on his body and face, and the kid was right.

The director had just brought Gangtou and his men back when the Urban Construction Bureau called, asking why they had arrested their subordinate. Their tone was very serious.

This gave the director a headache. The news spread really fast. The higher-ups wanted to investigate thoroughly. But what was there to investigate? It was just a fight between two people, the underling got beaten up, and the boss stepped in. It was a simple matter. Why make it so complicated?

However, the director belonged to another faction, and as a result, he received numerous phone calls. (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the original version!)