"I guess after my lecture yesterday, she won't let her child come over anymore. That's for the best, it saves us from having any more dealings," Liu Chunsheng said.
"What does adult stuff have to do with children?"
"Why are you asking so many questions? It's not like we're the ones stopping her child from coming. I'm warning you, don't go to her house to ask about it," Liu Chunsheng cautioned him anxiously.
He was afraid his foolish son would go to their house and ask, which would lead Li Dongmei to overthink things again.
Liu Yifeng nodded, "Dad, I know. Then I'll go to the peanut field and bring back the rest of the peanuts with the cart first."
He should have brought them back yesterday evening, but he had gone to a dinner party early in the morning, which caused the delay.
After bringing all the peanuts back, Liu Yifeng planned to go to the government office. He needed to get the greenhouse project approved quickly; otherwise, stopping construction was not a good idea.
Before leaving, he called Wang Lijie from the Urban Management Bureau.
Although Tongtong's proposal was excellent, getting it approved quickly still required connections.
Wang Lijie had mentioned that he knew some people in higher positions, so he had to find him.
The call was quickly connected. "You finished the proposal that quickly?"
Wang Lijie's voice sounded puzzled. Since he had Liu Yifeng's number saved, he knew who was calling, so he spoke directly.
"Yes, I finished it last night. I'm planning to submit the application materials now. This process..." Liu Yifeng paused, some things didn't need to be stated explicitly.
Wang Lijie said, "Just go to the government office and follow the normal procedure to submit the materials. Don't worry about anything else. I'll handle the connections, and you can just give me the money for the expenses."
Liu Yifeng nodded, "Okay. As long as it can be approved quickly, I don't mind spending a little more money!"
This was exactly what Wang Lijie wanted to hear. "Don't worry, with my help, it will be approved within a week at most."
"Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wang," Liu Yifeng said gratefully.
"It's no trouble. Then go ahead and submit the materials now. Remember they get off work around 11:40, so either go early or go after they resume in the afternoon," Wang Lijie reminded him.
"Okay, I understand." Liu Yifeng hung up and checked the time.
It was already half-past ten. Driving to the government office now would put him there around 11:20, which was a bit tight. It would be better to go in the afternoon.
At two-thirty in the afternoon, Liu Yifeng submitted the materials and was about to head home when he received a call from Su Wanru.
"Hello, CEO Su, what can I do for you?" Liu Yifeng answered quickly.
Speaking of this CEO Su, she was his benefactor.
His watermelons could be sold at such a high price, thanks to her proactively reaching out to cooperate with him.
Therefore, he couldn't miss a call from his benefactor.
"Mr. Liu, the watermelons in the stores are almost sold out. This time I plan to purchase twenty thousand jin of watermelons. Are the watermelons in your field enough?" Su Wanru asked.
Upon hearing the request for such a large quantity of watermelons, Liu Yifeng's spirits immediately lifted. He nodded repeatedly, "Enough, CEO Su. We have as much as you need, more than enough."
"Alright then, I'll arrange for more people to pick them around four this afternoon. The money will be transferred to your account as usual."
"Okay, just send your people over!" Liu Yifeng said.
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp horn blast sounded on the road.
It turned out that a car had lost control and nearly hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk. Fortunately, the driver swerved and crashed into a roadside trash can, which finally brought the vehicle to a halt.
Seeing this, Liu Yifeng's heart almost leaped out of his chest.
"Huh? Are you in the city?" Su Wanru also heard the car horn.
Liu Yifeng, still shaken, replied, "Yes, I just finished something at the government office and was about to head back!"
He didn't mention the car losing control and almost hitting someone, fearing it would alarm Su Wanru.
"At the government office? What were you doing?" Su Wanru asked curiously.
"I'm planning to build a vegetable greenhouse, and it needs to be approved before construction can begin, so I came to submit the materials."
"Normally, the approval process takes at least a month, possibly even half a year or a year. Is this urgent for you?" Su Wanru had a friend who worked at the city government.
But she didn't directly offer help, mainly because she wanted to gauge Liu Yifeng's urgency.
"It's definitely urgent. However, I've already found someone, and they said it can be approved within a week." Liu Yifeng replied.
Su Wanru was about to ask who he found, but then decided it might be impolite, as such matters were not usually discussed openly.
She then said, "That's good. If it really doesn't work out, I can help!"
"Okay, thank you, CEO Su!" Liu Yifeng didn't want to trouble Su Wanru for now.
They chatted briefly for a few more minutes before hanging up.
He arrived home around four in the afternoon.
Tongtong had already drawn several pictures, one of which was for Liu Yifeng.
As soon as he finished drawing, he sat in the living room waiting for his dad to return.
He wanted his dad to see the painting as soon as possible.
"Dad, you're back! There's something I want to give you!" Upon seeing the person getting out of the car, Tongtong immediately ran over, grabbed his hand, and led him into the study.
Liu Yifeng was very curious about what Tongtong was so eager to give him.
Entering the study, Tongtong asked Liu Yifeng to close his eyes first.
Liu Yifeng obediently complied. After a moment, Tongtong's voice rang out, "Ta-da! Dad, you can open your eyes now."
Liu Yifeng slowly opened his eyes and saw Tongtong holding a sketch.
The portrait was of him. Although it was a black and white sketch, it captured his likeness perfectly. His gaze in the drawing was exactly like his own.
"Tongtong, did you draw this of Dad?" Liu Yifeng asked excitedly, taking the sketch and admiring it intently.
He never knew he looked so handsome.
The man in the drawing had handsome features, a tall and straight figure, and eyes that were both rebellious and gentle.
This was the epitome of a domineering CEO. With this kind of looks, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could outshine all the young idols.
If he were to debut, there would be no place for them, Liu Yifeng thought narcissistically.
"Yes, Tongtong drew it. Tomorrow Tongtong will draw one for Grandpa too. Do you like this sketch, Dad?"
He didn't just like it; he loved it! "Dad is going to frame this painting and hang it on the wall by the bedside," Liu Yifeng said excitedly.
"What do you like so much, kid? Hanging it on the wall!" Qiangzi, who had come to find Liu Yifeng and hadn't seen him in the living room, walked towards the study upon hearing voices from inside.
As soon as he entered the study, he saw the sketch in Liu Yifeng's hand and exclaimed in surprise, "Who drew this?"
"My son drew it. Isn't it great?" Liu Yifeng said proudly.
Qiangzi glanced at Tongtong, who was only up to his thigh, then at the drawing, which was comparable to the work of a contemporary artist, and said disbelievingly, "Who are you kidding? This is so well done, it must be by some artist. Your son is so young, he probably doesn't even know how to hold a pen, right?"
"Believe it or not!" Liu Yifeng didn't bother to explain further.
"But are you really that handsome? Be honest, did you secretly give the portrait artist some benefits? Otherwise, why would he exaggerate all your good points? I knew this painting looked like you but not quite like you!" Qiangzi said, looking at the portrait.
Liu Yifeng rolled his eyes, "Brother has always been handsome, okay? If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."
"You're such a show-off. Oh right, I almost forgot about the main reason I'm here. There's a high school class reunion tomorrow night. Are you going?" Qiangzi asked.
"A high school reunion? We haven't attended gatherings like this for three or four years. Frankly, these reunions are the most boring, just a lot of comparison and showing off. It's pointless." Liu Yifeng had no interest in such gatherings.
"It's not really a reunion. It's mainly because our former homeroom teacher is turning sixty. Gao Shuai is using the class reunion as an excuse to celebrate the teacher's birthday, so the teacher won't refuse to attend!"
Liu Yifeng remembered Gao Shuai. He was the son of a wealthy family, and Du Qing had broken up with him because of Gao Shuai and started dating him. After graduating from high school, he had no further contact with either of them.
If it were just a normal reunion, he wouldn't have gone. But for his homeroom teacher's birthday, he couldn't miss it.
He owed his university admission to his homeroom teacher's guidance; otherwise, he might have ended up like Qiangzi, dropping out of high school and going to work.
"What are you spacing out for, kid? Are you going or not? I say you should go. Otherwise, that Gao Shuai will think you're scared. And let Du Qing see that the poor boy she looked down on back then has now become someone she can't reach," Qiangzi thought it would be very satisfying to see Du Qing's regretful expression.
Yifeng hadn't dated anyone since breaking up with Du Qing, precisely because her betrayal had made him wary of women.