In the blink of an eye, half a day passed, and Er Zhu returned to Shiliu Village. Before he even reached the village entrance, he saw Li Mei standing there, gazing into the distance.
Behind her stood Wang Xiaomei, Liu Yan, and Lin Qingqing. Their eyes were red and their brows were furrowed, looking very anxious.
Looking at the four women, a warm current surged through Er Zhu's heart. He suddenly realized that being missed by others felt quite good.
"Er Zhu, you're back!"
At the village entrance, Wang Xiaomei was the first to spot the familiar black luxury car. She waved at Er Zhu while excitedly calling out to the others.
When they learned that Er Zhu would be returning today, they dropped everything they were doing and rushed to Shiliu Village to wait for him. It had only been a little over ten days, but it felt like decades to them…
Hearing the shouts, many villagers also ran over. Everyone cheered with joy, their faces beaming with brilliant smiles.
With Er Zhu away these past few days, they felt an emptiness in their hearts when doing anything, as if they had lost their backbone. But now, their backbone had finally returned!
Seeing the black luxury car about to enter the village, Wang Xiaomei, Liu Yan, and Lin Qingqing could no longer control themselves and rushed forward as if mad. Li Mei also wanted to rush, but seeing the villagers around, she stopped.
She had forgotten that no matter how much she liked him, in the villagers' hearts, their relationship was still that of an aunt and nephew…
Li Mei wrung her hands, a flicker of loneliness flashing in her eyes. She leaned sadly against a large tree beside her.
At this moment, Er Zhu had already gotten out of the car. The three women immediately surrounded him, excitedly asking him many questions.
Er Zhu intended to answer, but he accidentally noticed Li Mei looking forlorn. He pushed aside the three women, a hint of heartache in his eyes.
Seeing Er Zhu walking towards Li Mei, the smiles on the three women's faces instantly dimmed, and the villagers gathered and whispered amongst themselves.
Feeling the approaching footsteps, Li Mei turned to leave. Their relationship absolutely could not be known by the villagers!
"Sister Mei, have you been well these past few days? Has anyone looked for me?"
Just as Li Mei was about to turn, Er Zhu spoke. Looking at the face she had longed for day and night, Li Mei's eyes were filled with reluctance.
"No… I'm fine, and no one has looked for you. Everyone knows you're out, so they come to keep me company when they have time."
Li Mei shook her head. Perhaps due to excessive excitement, her answer was somewhat incoherent.
She had thought Er Zhu would be closer to Wang Xiaomei and the others, but she never expected him to seek her out first!
And, in front of so many villagers!
The more Li Mei thought about it, the more excited she became. Her eyes welled up with tears, and just as she was about to say something more, she suddenly saw Liu Changfa and Sun Jianguo walking from a distance.
"Er Zhu, you're back. We missed you so much."
The two lightly patted Er Zhu's shoulder, laughing in a half-joking manner.
"Brother Liu, Brother Sun, what brings you here?"
Er Zhu turned his head and saw the smiling faces of Liu Changfa and Sun Jianguo. However, he didn't seem surprised, as if he had expected it.
"Yes, we have something to ask of you. Let's go to your house to talk."
The two nodded slightly. Liu Changfa was about to speak when he suddenly saw the villagers and pointed in the direction of Li Mei's house.
The matter they needed Er Zhu's help with was a major town affair, and it was also an extremely embarrassing matter for the town!
Thinking of this, Liu Changfa sighed. He actually didn't want to ask Er Zhu, but now, only Er Zhu had the capability!
Seeing Er Zhu being surrounded, the villagers' eyes were filled with pride and admiration. Knowing that Er Zhu had important matters to attend to, they slowly dispersed.
Although the three women were a bit displeased, they couldn't bear to leave after not seeing Er Zhu for so long, so they followed behind.
"Four beautiful ladies, the matter we need to discuss with Er Zhu is a major town affair. Could you please chat in the courtyard for a while?"
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at Li Mei's house. Just as Li Mei and the others were about to enter, Liu Changfa quickly stopped them.
"Yes, sister-in-law, this is a major town affair, and we can only speak to Er Zhu alone."
Seeing Li Mei about to speak, Sun Jianguo nodded apologetically and added.
"Okay, then I'll go buy some groceries. You can talk."
Seeing the troubled expressions of Liu Changfa and Sun Jianguo, Li Mei didn't make things difficult for them. She turned and left with her basket.
The other three women also expressed their understanding and sat on the nearby benches, chatting.
"Brother Liu, what kind of matter is it that requires such secrecy?"
As soon as they sat down, Er Zhu saw Sun Jianguo closing the bedroom door and asked with a chuckle.
It was as if the bureau chief of industry and commerce and the town mayor were acting like thieves, being so cautious.
"Alas, don't mention it. Er Zhu, you must help us with this matter."
Seeing Er Zhu's nonchalant demeanor, Liu Changfa and Sun Jianguo sighed, their eyes filled with pleading.
"What exactly is it that makes you two so troubled?" Seeing their difficult expressions, Er Zhu put away his smile.
The two sighed again before starting to explain. It turned out that to integrate resources and enhance the comprehensive strength of the town, the higher-ups required them to undergo industrial integration, which simply meant consolidating similar companies into one large corporation.
However, if they did that, the town's finances would definitely not be enough. In desperation, the two could only ask Er Zhu for help.
"Er Zhu, I believe this is beneficial for both of us. For me, it fulfills the task assigned by my superiors, and for you, it can rapidly expand the scale of your business."
Seeing that Er Zhu remained silent, Liu Changfa thought Er Zhu disagreed and quickly analyzed it for him.
In fact, he knew that he benefited the most from this matter. As a friend, he didn't want Er Zhu to suffer any losses, but he had no choice.
"I don't mind. As long as I can help the two brothers. This way, I'll start the integration from my own companies."
Er Zhu shook his head slightly, and as he spoke, he took out his phone and began contacting the heads of various companies.
Currently, nearly half of the industries in Liu Town were his, so this matter wouldn't cost him much. Moreover, he had actually had such an idea himself.
After contacting the heads of the various companies, Er Zhu then contacted the Miao family. Within a few minutes, he had notified all the prominent figures in Liu Town.
"Brother Er Zhu, that's amazing. You can be considered as having a thousand responses to a single call."
The matter that had troubled Liu Changfa for months was resolved by Er Zhu with just a few phone calls. His eyes were filled with shock and admiration.
He knew that Er Zhu's career had developed very well recently, but he never expected it to be this good!
To be honest, even if Liu Changfa himself called these influential figures, he wouldn't get such a response!