My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 71 Seventh Uncle
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Drive along the highway eastward.

Driving now is not as easy as it will be decades from now. Don't underestimate a mere 200 kilometers; decades from now, it will be a journey of at most three hours.

There are hardly any highways right now, and even the national roads are underdeveloped. There are mostly rural roads and ordinary roads. Plus, there's no navigation system, so you need to use a map and road signs to drive.

Xu Guoqing and Achang took turns driving, with one person driving while the other looked at the map and kept his eyes wide open to find road signs to avoid driving in the wrong direction.

Around 1 p.m., they passed through a town and stopped at a state-run restaurant by the roadside for a quick meal. After eating, they got some water and continued on their way. They drove at varying speeds, starting from around 8 a.m. and continuing until sunset before finally arriving in Feng County.

Arriving in Fengxian County doesn't mean they've truly arrived at their destination, because their real destination is a village located south of Fengxian County, near the sea.

It's too late today, so I can only stay here temporarily and go tomorrow.

We found a guesthouse and booked a triple room. The three of us slept together for the night. The next morning, after a quick breakfast, we got back on the bus and continued south. It took another two hours to get from Fengxian to the village, and we finally arrived.

"Stop, stop, stop! Where did you come from? What are you doing here?"

Before they even entered the village, their truck was stopped by three villagers who appeared out of nowhere at the village entrance. The villagers approached them without any politeness and asked them questions.

"Is this Ma Village?" Achang asked in the local language, politely offering a cigarette.

The other person did not take his cigarette, his eyes fixed on Achang, while scanning Zhou Jiye and Xu Guoqing sitting in the car, looking extremely wary.

“Brother, I am Da Kou Jiu’s brother. My name is A Chang. I’m from Guangzhou and I’ve come to visit Uncle Qi.”

"Big Mouth Nine's brother? A-Chang?" The other party was slightly taken aback, then asked A-Chang a few questions in a string of words. A-Chang answered fluently, and only then did the other party show a smile.

"You've come to see Uncle Qi? Is there something you need to see him about?"

"Yes, yes, come and chat with Uncle Qi about buying things." A-Chang replied with a smile, raising his hand and making a gesture of twisting banknotes.

At this moment, the other party took the cigarette from Achang, then turned around and shouted towards the village entrance. Zhou Jiye and the others then saw several figures move about on both sides of the village entrance before disappearing. This Ma Village is really something; such a small village has both overt and covert sentries, which is truly eye-opening.

"Go in along this road, turn left at the end, walk about ten meters and then turn right. The biggest courtyard is Uncle Qi's house." The other person pointed in the direction of the village. Achang quickly thanked him and then lightly stepped on the gas and drove into the village.

Upon entering the village, they found that although the village looked unremarkable from the outside, the houses inside were quite nice, and they all appeared to have been built within the last two years. The village roads were also well-maintained, unlike some places where the roads were full of potholes and mud, making them impassable when wet.

Following the directions from the man at the village entrance, Achang easily found the courtyard. When he arrived, he parked the car in an open space. Before he could even get out of the car, several young men suddenly appeared from all directions, watching them warily.

"Brothers, I am Da Kou Jiu's brother. I have come to visit Uncle Qi. Please do me a favor."

Without saying a word, A-Chang clasped his hands and bowed to everyone around him. Zhou Jiye and Xu Guoqing followed suit and clasped their hands in greeting.

Hearing what A-Chang said, the crowd's hostility lessened slightly. At this moment, a young man walked towards them, looked them up and down, and asked, "Are you looking for Uncle Qi?" After they nodded, he said, "Come with me," and turned to walk towards the courtyard.

Upon arriving at the compound, the gate was open. The young man led them into the courtyard, then told them to wait there while he went to the main house.

Achang and Zhou Jiye stood in the yard. There were a few children in the yard who were playing when they came in. They turned their heads curiously to look at the three strangers, muttering to themselves from time to time, and then covering their mouths to laugh.

After waiting for a few minutes, the young man came out of the house and invited Achang and the others inside.

They followed them into the house, and the young man asked the three of them to sit down. Not long after they sat down, a man in his fifties, short in stature, with a kind face, wearing a faded Zhongshan suit, came out from behind.

"This is Uncle Qi, who is also the Party Secretary of our village," the young man introduced to Achang and the others.

"Seventh Uncle!"

Achang and Zhou Jiye quickly stood up and bowed to their seventh uncle in greeting.

"Is the young man Ah Jiu's friend?"

Uncle Qi asked with a smile, his kind face no different from that of the neighbor.

“My name is He Yongchang, Ajiu’s brother, from Guangzhou. You can just call me Achang, Uncle Qi. These two are my friends, they came from out of town. Ajiu said that you have connections, so he specially introduced them to buy something. Please do me a favor, Uncle Qi.” Achang said to Uncle Qi with his fists clasped, and then introduced Zhou Jiye and Xu Guoqing beside him.

Uncle Qi's gaze shifted from Achang to the tall Zhou Jiye, seemingly surprised by Zhou Jiye's height. After a couple of glances, he looked at Xu Guoqing.

"Ah Jiu hasn't been back to the village in a long time. Is he doing well in Guangzhou?" Uncle Qi didn't respond to Ah Chang's question. He lit a cigarette and asked about Da Kou Jiu's situation, then smiled and offered them tea.

“Ah Jiu is doing quite well in Guangzhou. His business is going smoothly. He even told me the other day that he would take some time to go back to the village to visit you, Uncle Qi. Also, Ah Jiu has a girlfriend now, and they are getting along well. I estimate that you will be able to attend his wedding soon.”

Ah Chang answered with a smile, and Uncle Qi immediately laughed. He then asked about Da Kou Jiu's other situation with a smile. Ah Chang answered fluently and answered whatever was asked. Uncle Qi was still the same as before, with a smile always on his face. The young man standing next to him looked much more relaxed.

After chatting for a while, Uncle Qi asked with a smile, "Did Ah Jiu tell you about buying things?"

"Yes, Uncle Seven, Ah Jiu and I are good brothers. My friend came to Lingnan and planned to take some goods back with him. He trusts me, Ah Chang, so he introduced me to you. Please help me out, Uncle Seven..."

Before A-Chang could finish speaking, Uncle Qi raised his hand, frowned, and said, "This A-Jiu has been away from the village for so long, and he still doesn't understand the situation here. Buying something? Heh, no, we don't! Our Ma Village is just an ordinary fishing village. A-Jiu must have been away for so long and misremembered. I'm really sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing."

Then, Uncle Qi generously added, "Since you're all here, Uncle Qi thanks you for coming to see me. Since you're Ah Jiu's friends, please stay for lunch. After you finish eating, you should head back early, as the road from here to Guangzhou is not easy to travel."

Then, Uncle Qi turned to the young man and gave him some instructions. The young man nodded, stepped forward, and gestured for Zhou Jiye and the others to leave.

They hadn't expected Uncle Qi to have such an attitude. Seeing this, Ah Chang immediately became anxious and was about to explain something when Xu Guoqing raised his hand to stop him.

"Seventh Uncle!" Xu Guoqing clasped his hands in a fist salute to Seventh Uncle and said sincerely, "My name is Xu Guoqing, and this is my brother Zhou Jiye. We are both brothers of Achang. We came here from out of town. The reason why Achang asked Ajiu to introduce us to you is actually for our sake."

Xu Guoqing and Zhou Jiye hadn't spoken earlier, since they were from out of town. Achang and Uncle Qi were speaking in the local Cantonese, which Xu Guoqing could understand, but Zhou Jiye could only understand a little. To avoid trouble, they hadn't interrupted. But after Uncle Qi showed this attitude, Xu Guoqing knew it would be too late if he didn't speak now.

Xu Guoqing had some idea of ​​what his uncle was thinking. At this moment, he had to be frank about his purpose and dispel the other party's concerns.

Sure enough, when Xu Guoqing said this in broken Cantonese, Uncle Qi, who was about to get up and leave, paused and looked at Xu Guoqing.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, young man." The old man was still pretending to be stupid, and he was quite convincing at it.

"Uncle Qi, let's be frank. We've come here sincerely to buy something. If you could help us out for Ah Jiu's sake, we would be extremely grateful. Even if this doesn't work out, we hope you could give us some pointers and show us another way..."

After saying that, Xu Guoqing gave Zhou Jiye a wink, and Zhou Jiye understood immediately. Without saying a word, he started to unbuckle his belt in front of everyone.

This action surprised the other party for a moment, but they did not stop it.

When Zhou Jiye unbuckled his belt and reached into his underwear to reveal a thick wad of banknotes tied with rubber bands, both Uncle Qi and the young man burst into laughter.

“Look, we came with the utmost sincerity, and here is this…” As he spoke, Xu Guoqing took out his “work ID” from his pocket, and Zhou Jiye also took out his work ID. They put the two work IDs together and stepped forward to hand them to Uncle Qi.

Uncle Qi took it and glanced at it. His gaze lingered on the company and name on the work permit for a moment, then compared it with the photo on it. Suddenly, he spoke a sentence in Shanghai dialect.

Although the accent in his words surprised Xu Guoqing and Zhou Jiye, Xu Guoqing immediately answered Uncle Qi's question in fluent Shanghai dialect. Then Zhou Jiye also said a few words in Shanghai dialect. Hearing their answers, Uncle Qi's smile changed from calm to slightly warmer.

"Hahaha! Not bad, young man, very good." Uncle Qi chuckled as he handed the two work permits back to Zhou Jiye and the others, saying, "The seas are rough, and we fishermen who make our living from the sea have to be careful when we go out to sea to fish..."

"Seventh Uncle, you should do the right thing. It's always better to be safe than sorry. I admire you, Seventh Uncle!"

Xu Guoqing clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, a double entendre. Zhou Jiye made the same gesture beside him, and Uncle Qi nodded in satisfaction.

This dispelled Uncle Qi's concerns and also demonstrated his "sincerity," causing Uncle Qi's attitude to no longer be as aloof as before.

“Young men, since you were able to find this place, and it was Ah Jiu who introduced you, do you know the rules here?”

"Replying to Seventh Uncle, Brother Ajiu did tell me some rules, but I don't know if Seventh Uncle has changed them," Xu Guoqing replied neither arrogantly nor humbly.

"Oh, then tell me," Uncle Qi said with a smile, picking up his teacup.

Xu Guoqing briefly explained the rules that Achang had told him to Uncle Qi. After listening, Uncle Qi nodded in satisfaction: "That's right. These are the rules I have here. If you can accept them, I can still make an exception for you. If you can't stand these rules, then go back to where you came from as soon as possible. For Ajiu's sake, I won't make things difficult for you. Just pretend you were never here today."

(End of this chapter)