After the ride started, the driver curiously asked Ming Yi, "Young man, are you back from studying abroad, or home for a visit?"
"Back from the army," Ming Yi replied. He sat on the back of the motorcycle, looking at the familiar yet strange mountain road. The terraced fields on the mountains seemed to be planted with crops, likely newly sown.
When he was little, many people here farmed, but as he grew up, fewer and fewer people toiled in the fields.
They had all gone out to work, except for the Ning family.
The Ning family was a prominent clan in the surrounding villages. It could be said that all the land Lin Xiao saw now actually belonged to the Ning family.
Most of the people living on this mountainside were Ning family members, with very few outsiders.
Of course, some people did not want to inherit the Ning family's skills and left early.
Ming Yi was different. He left only after inheriting these skills.
Normally, the Ning family helped the villagers in the surrounding villages with weddings and funerals, or with corpse driving, or with rituals. There were indeed some superstitious practices in the area.
However, now, it felt more like observing traditional customs.
Furthermore, the Ning family was indeed the largest medical family in the vicinity. Whenever there was any problem, people would come to the Ning family first for medical advice and treatment.
Whether it was difficult diseases or minor ailments like colds and fevers, they were all cured instantly.
"It's been a few years since you've been back, does it feel strange?" the driver asked, while driving.
"Yes," Ming Yi said, looking at the many new houses on the mountainside. They were three-story modern houses, with solar water heaters and antennas visible from afar. The designs were quite different.
"Of course. Recently, many people have returned with money and have renovated their old homes. My son also said he wants to build a big house for me. Look, it's over there!"
The driver patted him and pointed to a spot where the foundation had been laid.
It was indeed a quite large house. Judging by the foundation, it occupied about a hundred square meters. Once built into a three-story modern house, there would also be a huge courtyard outside.
This was something city dwellers could never imagine.
Only in these rural self-built houses could such a thing be easily obtained for hundreds of thousands.
"Yue Gong Ancestral Hall... Eh? Yue Gong Ancestral Hall!"
The driver suddenly said, "Yue Gong Ancestral Hall belongs to the Ning family. Are you a member of the Ning family?"
"Yes," Ming Yi replied.
"The Ning family is great. They are a prominent family. I've always wished to be as wealthy as the Ning family." In his eyes, the Ning family was already the wealthiest family he had ever seen.
"The Ning family... is not considered very large," Ming Yi said. "They are only big here. Outside, they are nothing."
"That's enough. I don't have any special ambitions. If I could be this wealthy in my lifetime, that would be enough. Then my children would have no worries about food and clothing, and my grandchildren wouldn't have to worry about spending money." The motorcycle taxi driver sighed with emotion as he spoke.
"That's true."
Ming Yi did not refute. The Ning family was indeed a colossus here.
"The Ning family members are all good people. We usually go to them for any illnesses or pains. It's much more convenient than going to the clinic in town, and it's also cheaper," the driver continued.