Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Michael said tearfully to the afterlife.

"I see."

Lai Shenglei nodded, knowing full well the proper boundaries.

This time, when Li Xin returned to Shibali Village, he did not pass through the town next to Shibali Village first, but went directly to Jinghai City. This was because he heard from Fujii Takako that the road between Jinghai City and Shibali Village had been opened, and Li Xin had to take a good look and experience it – this road was built with Li Xin's money!

Upon arriving in Jinghai, Li Xin instructed his agency to stay in the city first. Lai Sheng Lei also asked Lai Sheng Ai and Michael to stay in the city for a day. Lai Sheng Ai wanted to follow, but Lai Sheng Lei pressed her back down.

After settling the others in, Li Xin returned to Shibali Village with Laishenglei and Maolixia.

By this time, the road between Shibalipu Village and the city had been basically completed. Although it was not wide, vehicle traffic was already very smooth.

Moreover, it is said that the municipal government has planned to establish a bus route between Jinghai City and Shibalipu Village and the surrounding mountain villages. At that time, it is likely that traveling between Shibalipu Village and the city will be more convenient than going to the next town.

Looking at the busy highway, Li Xin exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Finally, there's a road!"

If you want to get rich, build roads first!

Secretary Wang had considered countless ways to make Shibalipu Village prosperous, but all of them failed because Shibalipu Village had difficulty communicating with the outside world. Now that there is a road, many of Secretary Wang's ideas finally have a chance to be implemented!

"This road was built a bit too fast!"

Unlike Li Xin's vision for the future of Shibalipu Village, Laishenglei was surprised by the speed of road construction.

If this were in Europe, it would probably take more than a year to build a few meters of this road, no, it probably wouldn't even get the permits. But Jinghai City built a road that leads into the mountains and is dozens of kilometers long in just over a year. This speed is ridiculously fast!

Just seeing this road gave Laisheng Lei more confidence in investing in Central China.

Li Xin originally wanted to call a taxi, but Lai Sheng Lei, in order to better observe the situation on the road, directly called a three-wheeled vehicle.

There were no seats in the three-wheeled vehicle, only a few bamboo chairs. Li Xin was worried that Lai Shenglei and Mao Lixia would be uncomfortable sitting there, so he simply set up a horse stance in the vehicle and let Lai Shenglei and Mao Lixia sit on his lap, acting as a human cushion.

This was the first time that Lai Sheng Lei and Mao Lixia had ever seen such a "privileged seat." After exchanging a smile, they sat down hand in hand. The driver of the three-wheeled vehicle was amazed. With such ability, it was no wonder that he could date two such beautiful girls at the same time!

The asphalt road was extremely smooth, but the three-wheeled vehicle itself was very unstable, and the engine kept making a "rumbling" vibration. Fortunately, the "special seat" of Lai Sheng Rui and Mao Lixia was very stable and would automatically adjust according to the road conditions, so the three-wheeled vehicle shook, but the "special seat" did not move at all.

Arriving at Shibali Village, Li Xin led Laishenglei and Maolixia into the village, only to find that there were far fewer people. After inquiring, they learned that because the road had been repaired, most of the able-bodied men in the village had gone to the city to do odd jobs.

That's normal. It's the off-season for farming now, so there's less farm work to do. Staying in the village means there's not much to do besides chatting, gossiping, and getting into fights with people from the next village. In that case, it's better to go to the city and do some odd jobs to earn some money so you can have a more comfortable New Year.

Li Xin couldn't help but sigh. Before the road was built, such a thing was absolutely unthinkable. After all, the mountain road was dangerous, and Shibalipu Village was far from the city. The people of Shibalipu Village would only go to the town once at most, and many of them would never go to the city in their entire lives. Now that the road is open, they can actually go to the city to work.

Farming is not only hard work, but also pays little. For migrant workers, it is definitely better to work in the city. However, seeing that many familiar faces are missing from the village, Li Xin felt quite lonely. But when he thought that they would all come back for the New Year, his loneliness subsided.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xin took the hands of Lai Sheng Lei and Mao Lixia and said to them, "Little Lei, Lixia, let's go to the village chief first..."

This trip back to Shibalipu Village wasn't primarily for the Spring Festival; the most important thing was to inform the village chief and Secretary Wang about their relationship.

Although Li Xin could not abandon either Lai Sheng Lei or Mao Li Xia, regardless of the village chief and Secretary Wang's attitude, he had to tell these two elders who were the most important to him about this matter.

Before returning to the village, Li Xin had already informed the village chief and Secretary Wang when he would be back, so the village chief's family had prepared a table full of delicious food, including fish and meat, and even the village chief had slaughtered and served the free-range chickens from his own farm.

With a cheerful smile, the village chief placed the cooked chicken soup on the table, blew on his hands which were red from the heat, and calculated when Li Xin would return. Suddenly, he heard a voice from outside the door: "Village chief, I'm back!"

The village chief's smile widened, and he said repeatedly, "Come in, come in! Dinner will be served soon! Did Xiao Lei come back too?"

Before Li Xin even entered the house, Lai Shenglei walked into the village chief's house first, bowed to the village chief, and said, "Hello, Uncle Lu."

"Yes, yes, very good, excellent!"

The village chief's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, then slowly opened wide again, because he saw Li Xin leading another girl in.

"village head……"

Li Xin called out to the village chief somewhat nervously.

The village chief's smile faded, and he said to Li Xin, "Ah Xin, who is this girl...?"

Mao Lixia let go of Li Xin's hand, walked up to the village chief, put her hands in front of her, and bowed to the village chief like Lai Sheng Lei, saying, "Hello Uncle Lu, my name is Mao Lixia, and I am A Xin's... girlfriend."

The village chief stared at Li Xin with his mouth agape. Li Xin nodded slightly, then looked at Lai Sheng Lei, who also nodded to the village chief, acknowledging the relationship between Li Xin and Mao Lixia.

Staggering a few steps, the village chief slumped into a chair. Li Xin stepped forward to help him up, but the village chief shouted angrily, "Kneel down!"

The more rural the place, the higher the authority of the village chief. In a poor and remote place like Shibali Village, the village chief was almost the only one who could do what he said. Even after Secretary Wang came and established a great reputation in Shibali Village, his words often carried more weight than the village chief's.

Li Xin was raised by the village chief, who was like a father to him. No matter how powerful or influential Li Xin was, he dared not disobey the village chief's orders. So when he heard the village chief tell him to kneel down, Li Xin immediately knelt down in front of the village chief without saying a word.

"You...you...you...Miss Xiaolei is such a good girl, how could you not cherish her and instead flirt with other women? Are you even human?!"

The village chief's voice was filled with regret for his poor teaching and heartache at the disappointment of his students' lack of progress.

After scolding Li Xin, the village chief looked at Lai Shenglei, his eyes filled with cloudy tears: "Little Lei, I'm so sorry. I didn't teach A Xin well, and he turned out like this. It's all my fault!"

"Um, Uncle Lu, you've misunderstood..."

Lai Sheng Lei looked at the village chief, who was pounding his chest and stamping his feet, with a complicated look in his eyes: "A Xin and I have not broken up. I agreed to Li Xia and Li Xin being together. We... let me put it this way, Li Xia and I are willing to be A Xin's partners together. Do you understand what I mean?"

Fearing the village chief wouldn't understand, Lai Shengrui explained the relationship between the three of them in the simplest terms.

"what?"

The village chief was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to Li Xin and helped him up: "Good boy, get up quickly, the ground is cold!"

Then she looked at Li Xin with a reproachful expression: "You child, why didn't you say earlier that it had been settled? I thought Xiao Lei came to me to seek justice, so I wanted to preemptively scare you!"

Li Xin: "..."

Village chief, you have even more tricks up your sleeve than city folks!

Chapter 643 Two-way Persuasion

At the dinner table, Lai Sheng Lei and Mao Lixia sat side by side. One was a lady from a prominent family, and the other was a girl from a modest family; one was radiant and beautiful, and the other was charming and lovely... each had her own unique charm.

The village chief was increasingly satisfied with what he saw and couldn't help but say to Li Xin, "Ah Xin, well done!"

Ah... Oh!

Li Xin paused for a moment, nodded awkwardly, and then lowered his head to shovel rice into his mouth.

He couldn't respond to that, he couldn't respond to that...

After finishing their meal, Lai Shenglei and Mao Lixia rushed to clear the dishes, leaving Li Xin and the village chief to sit. Li Xin thought for a moment and said to the village chief, "Village chief, I plan to take Xiao Lei and Lixia to Secretary Wang's place later."

The village chief, who had been all smiles, suddenly frowned and asked, "What are we going to that stubborn old man for?"

Li Xin brought back two wives. The village chief, a lecherous old man, was happy to see this happen and would strongly support it. But Secretary Wang was stubborn and would absolutely oppose such a thing that violated the Marriage Law and social ethics. How could he let that guy ruin things?

"But such a big matter, I should at least tell Secretary Wang..."

Li Xin said weakly.

He knew that getting past Secretary Wang would be difficult, which was why he came to the village chief first. But no matter what, he still needed to go to Secretary Wang, since Secretary Wang was like a father to Li Xin.

"What are you saying? I agree to this, Old Wang has no say in it."

The village chief rolled his eyes: "You've been away from home for too long, have you forgotten the rules of our Shibali Village?"

"How could I forget..."

Li Xin certainly hadn't forgotten that in Shibalipu Village, matters between villages were under the jurisdiction of Secretary Wang, while matters within the village were under the jurisdiction of the village head; production plans were under the jurisdiction of Secretary Wang, while family matters were under the jurisdiction of the village head; major issues were under the jurisdiction of Secretary Wang, while minor issues were under the jurisdiction of the village head.

The two manage their own affairs, and neither can interfere with the other's responsibilities.

The village chief asked Li Xin, "Is this a matter concerning our village?"

Li Xin nodded.

"Is this a family matter?"

Li Xin nodded again.

"Is it a small matter?"

Li Xin hesitated for a moment, wanting to say that this was a major event in his life, when he saw the village chief glare at him again and shout, "You're getting a girlfriend, and you think it's a big deal? You've really made something of yourself, haven't you? I said it's a small matter, so it's a small matter!"

Left with no other choice, Li Xin could only nod again.

"it is good!"

The village chief clapped his hands and said, "Do you even need to tell Old Wang about this?"

Li Xin thought for a moment: "It seems like we don't need to..."

"That settles it!"

The village chief shrugged at Li Xin, then seemed to remember something. He put his arm around Li Xin's shoulder and whispered, "By the way, I heard that someone from the next village went to work in Hong Kong. He married a woman there, and when he came back to the village, he found another girlfriend. He got married in both places, and they're both legal... Xiao Lei and Li Xia are perfect, one in Japan and one in China. They can each get married in one place. Isn't that great?"

Village chief, what do you usually study?

Li Xin was shocked and couldn't believe that the village chief, who could barely read, could still exploit legal loopholes!

Even though the village chief said so, Li Xin still decided to bring Sheng Lei and Mao Lixia to see Secretary Wang.

If Secretary Wang only recognizes Lai Sheng Lei and not Mao Lixia, it would be too unfair to Mao Lixia. Although Li Xin knows that Mao Lixia won't care, he has decided to be with her and won't let her suffer such injustice.

So after leaving the village chief's house, Li Xin did not go home, but went to Secretary Wang's house, or more accurately, the village brigade's house.

The village office was lit up, and Secretary Wang, having finished his regular work, was repairing farm tools under the light.

Most of the able-bodied men in the village have gone to work in the city. Although women also have to do farm work in the countryside, there are some jobs that men are better at, such as repairing farm tools.

With few men in the village, Secretary Wang took the initiative to repair farm tools for each household. In addition to repairing farm tools, he would also go to the fields with the villagers during the busy farming season.

In Secretary Wang's words, he couldn't just say "labor is the most glorious" while leaving all the labor to others.

When Secretary Wang heard the knock on the door, he put down his work and said, "Come in!"

Shibalipu Village is a remote place with few outsiders; everyone there is a local. So Secretary Wang didn't bother to ask who it was and just let them in.

"Secretary Wang."

The door wasn't locked, so Li Xin pushed it open and entered. Upon seeing Li Xin, Secretary Wang immediately smiled and said, "I've been calculating the time; it's about time you came here! You've eaten at Old Lu's, haven't you? If you have, I won't entertain you. If you haven't... I have two steamed buns left; you can have them if you want."

Hearing that familiar voice, Li Xin felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He said, "Secretary Wang, I've already eaten at the village chief's."

"Alright, I can have the remaining two steamed buns for breakfast tomorrow."

Secretary Wang nodded slightly.

At this moment, Laishenglei stepped out from behind Li Xin and said to Secretary Wang, "Hello, Uncle Wang."

Secretary Wang smiled and said to Laishenglei, "It's Xiaolei, you're spending the New Year with Axin again this year?"

"Yes."

Lai Sheng Lei took Li Xin's arm and smiled slightly at Secretary Wang.

After the tears of the next life came out, Mao Lixia also walked out from behind Li Xin, bowed to Secretary Wang and said, "Hello Uncle Wang, my name is Mao Lixia. I am Xiaoxue's fellow villager and also Axin's colleague."

Secretary Wang paused for a moment when he heard Mao Lixia's self-introduction, then nodded slightly: "Hello, Comrade Xiao Mao."

However, Secretary Wang still looked at Mao Lixia with some doubt in his eyes.

Mao Lixia said she was from the same hometown as Yu Xue and was also Li Xin's colleague. The relationship sounded quite close, but it wasn't enough for a girl to go home with a boy for the Chinese New Year.

Taking a slight breath, Mao Lixia walked to Li Xin's side and, like Lai Shenglei, took his arm. She said to Secretary Wang, "Uncle Wang, I, like Sister Xiaolei, am also Xin's girlfriend."

Secretary Wang's body trembled violently, and Lai Shenglei quickly said, "Uncle Wang, Lixia and I are both willing! The three of us will live well together from now on!"

Unfortunately, Secretary Wang wasn't the village head and didn't buy into this. He said in a deep voice, "Nonsense!"

One husband, two wives? Is this a step backward in history? And Xiao Lei, he thought the girl was very open-minded and knowledgeable, how could she agree to such an absurd thing!

Taking a deep breath, Secretary Wang didn't want to scold Li Xin and the others. He simply pointed to the door and said to the three of them, "Get out!"

The word "go out" is just two short words, but it is more severe and resolute than any other words.

Li Xin wanted to say something, but Lai Sheng Lei stopped him and said, "A Xin, let's go back first."

Looking at Secretary Wang's resolute face, Li Xin understood that he couldn't persuade Secretary Wang. He could only nod slightly to Lai Sheng Lei and then say to Secretary Wang, "Secretary Wang, I'll come to see you again tomorrow."

Secretary Wang didn't say anything, but just kept pointing to the door, telling Li Xin and the others to leave, but he didn't even want to talk to Li Xin anymore.

After Li Xin, Lai Sheng Lei, and Mao Lixia left, Secretary Wang slumped into his chair, filled with endless sorrow.

How could Secretary Wang not be heartbroken that the child he had watched grow up and spent countless hours teaching had gone astray?

As Li Xin left the village committee, he felt somewhat sad. He had expected Secretary Wang to disagree, but he hadn't anticipated that Secretary Wang would be so resolute.

Lai Sheng Lei held Li Xin's hand and said, "Xin, don't worry, Uncle Wang will approve of our relationship."

Li Xin shook his head slightly: "Xiao Lei, you don't know, Secretary Wang is a very stubborn person."

A graduate of a prestigious university, and a high-achieving student who had studied abroad, would have been considered a rare and precious talent in the Central Plains twenty years ago. Yet, he chose to become the village party secretary of Shibalipu Village, a remote mountain village that might not even be found on a map, and served in that position for twenty years. This would seem strange to anyone.