Great, we're doomed now!

"Then there's nothing we can do!" Qianhua shook her head decisively.

Being afraid of the sun is not an option!

Regardless of social class or faction, anyone who wants to become a member of parliament or even a high-ranking official like a governor must cultivate a populist image. They must rush to give speeches regardless of the sweltering summer heat or howling winds, and campaigning in the rain is a basic requirement.

On this point, a prime minister who gave an open-air speech had something to say: even the most famous bigwigs are not immune to this!

"Ugh!"

The boss sighed, completely giving up on the idea, and said bitterly, "In the end, it's all the developer's fault!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Even the local names are problematic!"

"That's right~"

Qianhua simply went along with him, saying, "I hate unscrupulous merchants the most too!"

"By the way, which company is the contractor?" Ruri asked Miko. "Do you know them, Yotsuya-kun?"

"This... the sign at the construction site seems to say 'New World Heavy Industries'."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Liuli blinked and subconsciously looked at her master, while Ye Shou also widened his eyes slightly and instinctively straightened up.

"Businessmen are the same everywhere, but the county councilor definitely pocketed some benefits. Let me check, hehe~"

Qianhua opened her phone and scrolled through the search engine—

Suddenly, I stopped laughing.

"Hey, guests, why are you all so quiet?"

"It's nothing... I just think this noodle dish is pretty good."

"Isn't it delicious! This is a long-established brand! Haha~"

Chapter 103 Obik: I'm so moved I could cry.

The once delicious noodles suddenly became tasteless.

Qianhua became unusually quiet, and Liuli also became cautious in her words and actions. Ye Shouze then took over the conversation.

"Uncle, did you really like your old village?"

"Of course!"

In his excitement, the boss messed up his wig and instinctively shook his hair to straighten it. This action made Ye Shou's eyes twitch and his heart beat faster.

"It's not so much that I like the village, but that I am the village... I was born here, and I will die here, just like the villagers have for generations."

—That's what I wanted to do.

But the changes that have occurred in these decades are more than those in the previous hundreds of years. Without realizing it, I can no longer find the village I used to live in, and even the cemetery has changed.

The kids I used to play with, the guys I used to fight with, the raccoon dog that stole my fried tofu... I can't see any of them anymore~

I'm so scared!

If one day I also fall into darkness and never come out again, and I can't find my old friends inside, and am all alone... what should I do then?

This uncle doesn't look very old, but he talks like an old man on his deathbed—Qianhua wondered to herself, but dared not speak.

She just looked up information online and found that the district councilor is an ordinary politician you can see anywhere, the kind who goes to visit company presidents during holidays. The person who promotes these projects is the prefectural council, and the person who has the final say in the council is named Fujiwara.

Judging from her name, she's probably from the same generation as her father... It's best not to mess with the locals in such a remote and impoverished place.

Incidentally, Shinsekai Heavy Industries is a subsidiary of Kuse Heavy Industries—for the soba noodle stall owner, this is like enemies sitting together.

However, Chika and Ye Shou are truly innocent:

With such a large family and business, who knows what their own family's businesses or relatives are involved in!

As for garbage disposal plants, Ye Shou would never bother with such a small business!

In reality, the companies under his management all generate income automatically. He only pays attention to them when he needs to earn "Destiny Coins".

Therefore, Qianhua rarely behaved herself, and when she heard Ye Shou bring up the topic, her big eyes widened in surprise.

"Hmm...yes"

Ye Shou's toe was stepped on, but he calmly withdrew his foot and continued chatting with the stall owner.

"You'll experience these things as long as you live... but you can also make new friends."

"You're still young and can't understand how I feel. Besides, people these days don't bother with old things like mine anymore."

The boss suddenly became serious and complained to Ye Shou in a solemn tone: "Once again, I was walking on a dark path at night and went to 'care' about a drunkard as usual. But the man actually said that I was a tokusatsu weirdo and that my suit was very realistic. He wasn't afraid of me at all!"

Young man, what exactly is tokusatsu?

"..."

"People nowadays, deep down, reject darkness. They use lamps to light the way and illuminate their homes, leaving relics of the old era like me to hide in unlit corners."

The boss shook his head: "How am I supposed to make friends with people? At most, I can only 'greet customers' on the street."

“I only half understand what you’re saying. Uncle, if you’re not used to your current life, you can move somewhere else,” Chika couldn’t help but say. “Although Japan isn’t very big, there are still poor… traditional villages.”

"I told you, I'm going to die here!"

The boss pointed at Qianhua with a short stick, his anger flaring: "No one can kick me out! This is my home!"

His action startled the girls, and seeing their wary eyes, the boss suddenly showed a hint of regret.

He doesn't want to cause trouble tonight.

In this day and age, fewer and fewer people are willing to talk to him, and the buckwheat noodle stall's business can only be described as dismal. Although he doesn't rely on this for a living, he still feels lonely to some extent.

"Boss, please calm down."

Ye Shou stood up, reached out and placed his hand on the other person's wrist, gently pressing down.

The shopkeeper glanced at him in surprise, frowned slightly, and put away the short stick.

"Young man, is there something you want to say?"

"Um, I wanted to ask, if the waste incineration plant were to shut down, would that be beneficial to this village?"

"...I don't know." The boss shook his head.

He disliked the foreign construction machinery, but the project also employed many locals, making the village more lively than before, so he couldn't say the project was entirely useless.

"That's the case in the short term."

Ye Shou sat down casually and gestured for the other person to sit down as well—at this moment, it was unclear who the boss was.

He calmly and carefully explained, "Once humans enjoy a convenient life, they won't want to go back to the past. I think you understand that very well."

"Hmm~"

"But civilization doesn't always have good results just by moving forward; sometimes, if you take the wrong path, there's no going back."

Ye Shou thought of "Night City," and his words were quite sincere, which made the shopkeeper nod in agreement—he didn't really understand what Ye Shou was saying, but the young man gave people a very trustworthy feeling.

"For example, if a waste incineration plant could be built in this village, a large number of people would be needed for both the initial construction and the subsequent operation and maintenance. It would definitely boost local employment, which is why the councilors are pushing it so hard."

However, based on my experience, although Japan has high pollution discharge standards, it is almost impossible to find anyone who seriously complies with them, because strict enforcement means losing money.

Therefore, I am certain that this land will be polluted in a few years. At that time, the villagers will file a class-action lawsuit for health reasons, while the company will try to delay the process. As long as there are no victims, there will be no compensation to speak of.

Gradually, this land will become nothing but industrial zones... What a pity.

Boom!

The boss slammed his fist on the table, his jaw muscles bulging, looking like he was about to devour someone. The pot next to him seemed to be boiling, making a constant hissing sound.

No matter how strong Qianhua's heart was, she noticed something was wrong and couldn't help but secretly hug Ye Shou's arm.

Almost simultaneously, Liuli also leaned against Ye Shou, looking frightened. Only Jianzi stared blankly at the two of them, somewhat at a loss.

"but--"

At this delicate juncture, Ye Shou changed the subject: "It's not that there's no other possibility."

"Huh? What?"

The boss was taken aback, and his hostility vanished instantly: "You have a way?"

"It's actually quite simple—do you know what a 'nature reserve' and a 'world cultural heritage' are?" Ye Shou smiled slightly, like a fisherman watching his float bob.

The boss muttered, "Nature reserve... what does it protect?"

“Rare wild animals, such as pandas and red-crowned cranes.”

"That World Heritage Site?"

"This is a bit complicated. You can just think of it as a valuable natural landscape or cultural relic."

"Well……"

This touched on a blind spot in the boss's knowledge. He scratched his head vigorously and ripped off the wig in one swift motion—his shiny bald head immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Just because it's a protected area, does that mean we can stop those damn machines?"

"Of course." Ye Shou pursed his lips.

Protecting cultural heritage and rare animals—this is a universally accepted political correctness that no one dares to oppose.

Especially for politicians, if they dare to show their faces at this time, a media storm can spell the end of their political career.

—Look at the “Chang’an City” project next door at Southeast University. No matter how much investment is made, the project can be stopped at any time!

"Let alone halting the project, if it has enough value, people will even protect the village, restore its natural environment, and strictly limit the number of people allowed to enter."

"Great! That...that...hiss!"

The shopkeeper, in a panic, scratched his head and rubbed his hands together, then gave Ye Shou a fawning smile: "Young man, do you know how to set up this 'heritage protection area'?"

He still didn't understand what it was, but it didn't matter, as long as he knew the concept.

Ye Shoulue pondered for a moment, then looked somewhat troubled: "This is very troublesome..."

"Oh, this!"

The boss was filled with anxiety: "Can't you do it?"