The two of them fed Xuanxuan while chatting about the child's amusing antics.
The deputy head and Wan Zhongshan's group returned.
As the deputy head walked into the living room, he caught sight of Xuanxuan with a milk bottle in her mouth. He froze, feeling as if he had seen this child's appearance somewhere before.
Wan Zhongshan, who followed closely behind, also saw Xuanxuan. He lowered his voice and exclaimed, "This child is truly beautiful. Your Li family certainly produces handsome men and beautiful women."
Tian Jing just smiled, glanced at Zeng Jingrong, and didn't respond.
It was also Zeng Jingrong's first time seeing Han Lushí's daughter. A glint flashed in his eyes.
Wan Zhongshan's interruption made the deputy head believe that the familiarity he saw on the child's face was due to the Li family's looks.
Li Zhengguo extended his hand to his granddaughter, who had finished eating. Xuanxuan reached out her little hand to be held by her grandfather. Li Zhengguo then turned his granddaughter's face to his back and gently patted her back.
Wan Zhongshan teased Li Zhengguo, saying he was excellent in any position.
Li Zhengguo also smiled without speaking, continuing to soothe Xuanxuan.
As they sat down for tea, the deputy head told Tian Jing to rest assured and put the nursery base on hold for now.
Tian Jing thanked her leader for his consideration, not even offering a false apology. She owed no one anything.
Soon, a call came from the kitchen for dinner.
Tian Jing took the sleeping granddaughter from her husband's arms and asked him to entertain the guests. She then said to the deputy head and Wan Zhongshan that the child was shy and only recognized her and her husband and mother-in-law.
The deputy head smiled apologetically. He felt he had caused trouble for the Li family. He had heard an infant crying from the east room earlier, and with two infants, the adults must be very busy and exhausted.
Wan Zhongshan had no such concerns. He said to the deputy head, "It's good to have Li Zhengguo accompany us. We're all men, so we don't need to be too formal in our conversations."
The deputy head felt even more embarrassed. Wan Zhongshan used to be quite mindful of his image, but in his old age, he had completely let loose.
Tian Jing nodded with a smile, "Director Wan is right. When men are together, a glass of wine is all it takes to start a conversation."
"Tell the other brothers to come to the dining room to eat as well. We women will have a separate table. It's like this in the countryside, Deputy Head, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
The deputy head laughed heartily, "Good! When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I haven't eaten at a villager's home in many years. Today, I'll put everything aside and experience the simple joy of a farmhouse meal again."
"Let's go," Wan Zhongshan gestured, "I haven't felt this relaxed in over ten years."
He then waved to the men in the yard, "Let's go eat together. We'll take turns on guard duty at the main entrance."
The living room fell silent.
Tian Jing placed Xuanxuan, who was asleep in her arms, onto the bed in the east room. She was about to prepare food for Ziyu when Li Mu walked in.
"I'll watch the two little ones. You all go eat. There's a table saved in the kitchen."
"Thank you for your trouble, in-law mother," Shen Jianrong said to Li Mu, who was sweating.
"It's no trouble," Li Mu shook her head. "They came all the way to see Tiantian. How can we not have them for a meal? Hurry and go eat."
...
In the kitchen, Ouyang Meihua, Li Min, and Da Mai and Xiao Mai were waiting.
After Tian Jing entered, she scanned the room and asked, "Aren't you afraid of making Big Brother and Suozhu's stomachs hurt?"
Ouyang Meihua said indifferently, "Eating at the same table as the deputy head is the greatest honor of your Big Brother's life, his only chance. What's a stomach ache worth?"
Li Min chimed in, "Exactly. Even if he doesn't say anything, it'll be a capital for Brother Suozhu to brag about to his grandchildren in the future."
Tian Jing nodded with a smile. What her sister-in-law and sister-in-law said was true; it was indeed the greatest honor of their Big Brother and brother-in-law's lives.
...
In the dining room, Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu, who were forcefully brought in by their wives, greeted the deputy head nervously.
The deputy head kindly said, "You've worked hard," to the two of them, and then diverted his gaze and attention away. He knew that the more he paid attention to them, the more nervous these two honest men would become.
His attention was focused on several other people.
Li Zhengguo introduced them one by one.
Brother Niu, although elected, had not yet officially taken office nor served a single day. Relying on his hidden astuteness, he was slightly better than Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu.
Zhou Chenbin and Zhang Shitóu were younger, with different thoughts and perspectives. However, because of this, the deputy head had little to discuss with the two young men.
It was the Deputy Village Head Ou and Secretary Yang who, despite being somewhat nervous, had reached an age where they had seen through and let go of most things.
This was also why they no longer tried to prop up Kūshān. Flowers don't bloom for a hundred days; Kūshān had its glory, and with nothing to ask for, there was nothing to fear.
The two elders were more relaxed with the deputy head and became the main hosts.
The meal, filled with conversation, lasted over two hours.
The deputy head ate his fill.
Wan Zhongshan ate until he was stuffed.
The ten bodyguards also had full stomachs.
Escorted by a group of well-wishers to the parking lot outside Kū River Bridge, the guests watched the mini-bus drive away before returning to the village, each to their own homes.
Zeng Jingrong, who had been silent throughout the entire dinner, returned to the quadrangle with Li Zhengguo. He told Tian Jing Wan Zhongshan's speculation.
Tian Jing pondered, "Perhaps there's more than one force stirring up trouble here."
"I've already had Shen Jianming take a few ginseng roots. We'll see how effective the Genshengu Benzū Maru is."
"The members of the specialized team can only be investigated in secret. Once the overall strength of the specialized team improves, and you report it upwards, there's a possibility of it being passed on."
"For Zeng Jingchu's problem, you'll need Mr. Sun's help. What I'm most concerned about are his two months under Ma Weite; there might be some clues."
Zeng Jingrong nodded, "I'll contact Lu Shi and Hao Hao. They've gone out to investigate in four directions."
Tian Jing nodded and asked Zeng Jingrong to notify her immediately if he discovered anything suspicious.
...
Li Zhengguo's dismissal was also one of the happiest occasions for Sister-in-law Niu.
Her dissatisfaction with Tian Jing and the Li family had always stemmed from her eldest sister-in-law.
Even though Tian Jing had saved her during childbirth, she felt no gratitude towards Tian Jing.
If not for her own physical weakness, she would have held a grand banquet on the twelfth day of the child's birth to show off.
Upon hearing the news of Li Zhengguo's dismissal, she felt even more excited than if she had held the banquet.
This excitement made her feel as if her recovery had accelerated.
For days, her sister-in-law had been ordered by her mother-in-law to help. She watched her sister-in-law endure it, and not only was she happy, but she also made sarcastic remarks that left her sister-in-law fuming but unable to speak.
This satisfaction of stepping on everyone who had looked down on her made her so excited that she almost burst into laughter.
However, her excitement lasted only a few days before the village announced a villager's meeting.
Although she couldn't attend, she clearly heard the announcements from the village loudspeaker.
The nursery base closing had nothing to do with her, and the end of the greenhouse cultivation for the next year also had nothing to do with her.
Her elder brother-in-law became the party secretary, and she just pouted and muttered a few sour words before moving on.
But the change in ownership of the hot spring valley scenic area was something she couldn't overlook.
Three villages only held twenty percent? That was too harsh.
Even if the twenty percent for the first and second villages remained unchanged, the share per household in Kūshān, taking into account the increased ticket prices this year, would not even be two-fifths of what they received before.
Her remuneration, all her schemes, the pain of her C-section, all became superfluous and a joke after the change in ownership of the hot spring valley scenic area.
What she received was not only less than what she had received before, but she also had to pay money to buy land for shops within the scenic area. Why? On what grounds?
All of this must have been done by Tian Jing. Tian Jing must have done this to retaliate against her on behalf of her eldest sister-in-law.
She wanted to tell the villagers the truth; she couldn't let the villagers be deceived by Tian Jing.
So, disregarding her mother-in-law's objections, she insisted on getting out of bed and leaving her room to tell her close friends her thoughts:
"Don't be deceived by Tian Jing. My mother-in-law promised me that as long as I gave birth to a son, she would give me all the dividends from the hot spring valley scenic area."
"Tian Jing, in order to retaliate against me for my eldest sister-in-law, she dragged all of you and me down with her. Her heart is too cruel."
"A few years ago, each household could receive over three hundred thousand yuan, and now only eighty to ninety thousand yuan. Are you willing to accept this?"
Her friends coldly asked her what she planned to do.
She gave her friends advice, "Let's report it to the county. In the past, the couple relied on the county leaders to cover for them, and they had absolute power in Kūshān."
"Now the leadership in the county has changed, and their era is over. Let's go to the county together to report. This time, let's also remove Tian Jing's captain position, so she can no longer stir up trouble."
"You're crazy!"
Her few friends left these three words and dispersed.