Global Film Emperor

Chapter 396 Leaving Home
"Now that the address plate has been delivered, I won't bother you any longer. Uncle and Aunt, please take care of yourselves. I wish you both good health and longevity. Lu Ze, I'll take my leave now."

A middle-aged man, probably in his thirties or forties, stood up from his seat, bowed slightly to Lu Weiguo and his wife, politely declined their lunch invitation by waving his hand, and simply held their hands and offered his blessings again and again.

"Well... Xiao Wang, take these eggplants, peppers, and free-range eggs with you. They're not worth much, but they're all from our own farm. They're tastier and healthier than what you buy outside. Daze, hurry up and deliver them."

Compared to Lu Weiguo's taciturn nature, Li Yumei was quite enthusiastic. She quickly grabbed a lot of things from the kitchen and stuffed them into Wang Qinghe's arms, leaving him unsure how to refuse. After a few polite words, he couldn't persuade Li Yumei, so he slapped his thigh, smiled, and accepted the gifts, carrying them in his hands.

Once outside, Lu Ze followed behind him. The two looked into the house, while Li Yumei was still peering out the window with longing eyes. When she saw the two turn around, she quickly smiled and waved.

"Auntie is so kind, please thank her for me when you get back."

“Aside from the villagers, you don’t see any outsiders for a year or two. My dad is okay; he plays cards with a few old men in the village, so he’s not bored. My mom, on the other hand, spends her days raising chickens and working around the stove. There’s nothing she can do.”

A cigarette was offered to Lu Ze. It wasn't high-end, but Lu Ze didn't mind. He put it in his mouth, shielded his mouth from the wind, and waited for the tobacco to burn completely before gently lighting it twice on Wang Qinghe's hand.

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do about it. We're getting old, and we can't leave our homeland. But if we stay here, we'll stay here. We're afraid the village will become deserted and fall into ruin. My parents are the same way. No matter what I do, it's not right. My father is also stubborn. No matter how we sons arrange things, he just won't listen."

The fruits were put into the trunk. The old A4 still required the trunk to be closed manually. With a bang, the car shook twice. The little girl in the back seat knelt on the seat and peeked out. When she saw Lu Ze looking at her, she quietly pulled her head back, leaving only her eyes and fair forehead above the door line.

Lu Ze didn't speak, but just smiled gently at the little girl, then turned his head to look at the house. Seeing his mother still at the window, he lowered his head, took a deep drag of his tobacco, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"By the way, are you going to Li Gao's class reunion? Da Xiang, Gaba, Lao Guai, and Huo Ya Zi are all coming back. They don't have your WeChat anymore, so they wanted me to ask if you're coming."

"When?"

"Next week, there are quite a lot of people. More than half of the class has returned. They even created a group chat. I took a look, and everyone in our class is doing well. No one is doing too badly."

"I probably won't be able to go. I'm leaving today for the capital, but I might not be able to make it back in time."

Wang Qinghe, the newly appointed deputy county head who has only been in office for a few years, is in charge of education and has considerable power. In addition, he is Lu Ze's high school classmate. Although he is three years older than Lu Ze, it is common for people in rural areas to start school late.

He wasn't too surprised to hear Lu Ze's refusal. Whether Lu Ze really had something to do or not, the chances of him going were slim. After all, they were on different levels. Although everyone had been doing well over the years, there was still no one who could stand on the same level as Lu Ze.

He was just relaying a message for those classmates who wanted to get closer to Lu Ze. He hadn't been hoping to get any closer to Lu Ze, so he wasn't too disappointed. After all, they had been classmates for a few years, and he still had some impression of what kind of person Lu Ze was.

Put yourself in their shoes. Few people like it when someone who is of no use to them tries to flatter and fawn over them. Even the most attention-seeking person will get tired of being flattered too much.

"Okay, let's get together another day. It's the weekend, so I brought my wife and kids out to play. I'll be going now."

"Okay, be careful on the road. Let's have a couple of drinks when I'm done with this busy period."

The woman in the back seat wasn't good at small talk; she simply nodded and smiled politely, took her daughter's right hand, waved to Lu Ze, and said a brief goodbye.

He stood at the door until Wang Qinghe drove away, then lowered his head, stubbed out his cigarette, exhaled the smoke slowly, patted his pockets, took out his phone, glanced at the messages, and then turned to go inside.

"gone?"

"Ah."

"We've been classmates for so many years, how come you're not close to each other? Someone came all the way to bring you things, and you didn't even chat with him or invite him to stay for a meal or something."

"We haven't seen each other for over ten years, so it's inevitable that we'll be a little awkward. He's not the type to be enthusiastic the moment we meet. If I were that enthusiastic, he would definitely feel embarrassed. Besides, he's out with his whole family on the weekend, so it wouldn't be good to keep them longer. Let's wait until I have time later." "You said you'd wait until you have time, but I haven't seen you have any free time at all these years."

Li Yumei leaned against the door frame and watched Lu Ze rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for things. She couldn't help but mutter a few words, expressing great dissatisfaction that Lu Ze was leaving after only two days at home. They hadn't seen each other for more than half a year, so he should stay a few more days until she got tired of him. Otherwise, she would miss her son in a few days.

Lu Ze paused his work without saying a word, rummaged through the cabinet, found four suitable nails, took a small hammer and went outside. On the left wall of the entrance, he held up the small sign and tested it, then hammered it into the wall in a few quick strokes. He took two steps back to make sure it wasn't crooked before casually putting the hammer down.

This is what Wang Qinghe sent over: the Most Beautiful and Happy Family Award issued by the Lühua Municipal Government. Although there is no substantial reward, this certificate has a special significance for both ordinary and wealthy families.

This should have been distributed by county committee staff, and it shouldn't have been the deputy county head's turn to deliver it personally. But he managed to find an excuse to come over on the weekend, and even though it wasn't a big deal, Lu Ze still appreciated his kindness. After all, everything related to his family was important to him.

He gently wiped the dust off the sign when he suddenly heard the sound of a motorcycle passing by. Turning around, he saw a young man park his motorcycle at the entrance, taking pictures of him with his phone. When Lu Ze looked over, the young man didn't greet him, but lowered his head and gave Lu Ze a somewhat fawning smile before riding away on his motorcycle again.

The once spirited young man in the village is now in his late twenties. He is said to be working in the county and is one of the few young people in the village. He has cut his bowl cut, removed the colored lights and stereo from his motorcycle, and replaced his jeans and loafers with camouflage pants and work boots covered in cement spots.

It turns out that this little bastard used to stand at his doorstep chatting about Lu Nan quite a bit, but now that he's all meek and submissive, Lu Ze feels a bit emotional.

"Daze, come inside and have a meal."

Upon entering the house, Li Yumei was preparing food for the lame man before bringing the hot dishes to the table. She often complained that she was like a nanny, taking care of the father and son and the livestock, but in the end, she was still the one who cuddled the cat the most.

As always, the father was taciturn and didn't say anything when Lu Ze was about to leave after the meal. However, he didn't drink alcohol at noon, but today he drank a small glass, and Li Yumei didn't stop him.

"Dad, you drank at noon, so don't drink tonight, Dad? Did you hear me, Dad?"

"Ah."

The three of them didn't talk anymore. After finishing the bland meal, he stuffed the last piece of sausage into his mouth. His mother was clearing away the dishes, and his father left the table to watch TV. He silently finished his last cigarette, rubbed it hard in the ashtray, and went upstairs to pick up his suitcase.

After placing his luggage in the car and saying goodbye to his parents, he gently pressed the accelerator and slowly drove out of the yard. Before leaving, he looked at his mother in the rearview mirror. As usual, she was standing by the window, watching until he could no longer see her face.

……

Speaking of Lu Hua's changes, what makes Lu Ze most happy is that he now has his own airport. Although Lu Ze doesn't care about the several hundred yuan airfare, the price difference between high-speed rail and airfare is only a little over a hundred yuan, which has indeed made many people choose air travel as their first choice for going to the capital and other cities.

At 2:40 PM, I arrived at the Capital Airport. After collecting my luggage, I went to the second floor of the terminal. As agreed a few days ago, Lao Song was supposed to pick me up today.

After waiting for about five minutes, a Hongqi car pulled up beside him. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Song Guiyuan's round face, who was giving Lu Ze a slightly lewd smile.

"Get in the car quickly, we can't stop here for too long, hurry up. By the way, aren't you going to say goodbye to your second brother?"

"Second brother?"

The man in the driver's seat leaned over, took off his sunglasses, smiled at the bewildered Lu Ze, and jokingly said, "What, are you at a disadvantage calling me Second Brother?"

Lu Ze was bewildered for a reason. He really didn't expect to meet this person here today, especially in this capacity. You see, this person is a top figure in China's entertainment industry, a powerful figure in the optoelectronics sector who controls production numbers. In addition, he is Chen Yongbin's second apprentice, which means he is Lu Ze's second senior brother...

"..."

(End of this chapter)