Rebirth 78: After being jilted at the altar, I reached the pinnacle!

The two spoke very softly, and the Pei family slept soundly that night. No one noticed until Pei Shuxin pulled Li Hanliang into the main room.

Li Hanliang then came to his senses and felt helpless about himself.

For someone as powerful as President Li, who has seen it all, he was actually stunned by a little girl.

"I'm so sorry," Li Hanliang said politely as he accepted the hot tea Pei Shuxin offered, his face calm and composed, before quickly bringing up his own business. "I have some urgent business to attend to tomorrow, and I didn't think I'd have time to talk to you about the pork. Luckily, there's still a little over a pound of pork left at the farm, so I brought it to you."

"Just use this to tide you over. I'll send you half a pig when the new batch of pigs comes off the market in a couple of days."

Pei Shuxin paused for a moment before realizing that she had seen him standing alone at the door, shivering from the cold, and had completely forgotten to ask him what he was doing there before inviting him inside.

Hearing that he was only delivering pork, she felt a sudden tremor in her heart, as if something had plucked a chord deep within her.

"Where's the meat?" Pei Shuxin asked, composing herself.

"Oh dear, look at my brain! I hung it on the door and forgot to bring it in!" Li Hanliang slapped his forehead and got up to retrieve it.

"Hey, sit down, I'll get it!" Pei Shuxin pressed him down and handed him the tea.

Li Hanliang was stunned for a moment. Was he being taken care of by a girl?

The warmth of the teacup emanated from his palm, and Li Hanliang suddenly felt that this life seemed more interesting.

Pei Shuxin quickly brought back the pork, and her guard was down a bit. She said directly, "When my dad was fighting in the war, he passed by a family whose pigs were fed with wine lees. To express his gratitude, the family slaughtered their only pig and gave it to the wounded soldiers to help them recover."

Her voice was soft, and her eyes revealed a longing for those war-torn years. "Later, my father told me that this was the best pork he had ever eaten in his life. I only regret that I was born too late, and that I was a girl, so I didn't have the chance to do anything for him..."

Li Hanliang's thoughts, following her words, seemed to return to that scene.

"Shuxin, don't worry, I'll talk to our factory manager when I get back and ask him to leave a whole pig for Old Master Pei. From now on, our Xiaoliangzhuang Pig Farm will take care of all the pork the Pei family needs."

Pei Shuxin realized she had misspoke and quickly refused, "No need, no need, we'll buy it according to the rules. Also, Hanliang, although my dad served in the army and fought in wars, he was just a lowly soldier, not worth mentioning."

“That’s not how it works,” Li Hanliang said sincerely. “Every soldier is a national hero. Our good life today was bought with their blood. When it comes to protecting our country, there is no distinction between noble and lowly.”

He was speaking from the heart; this was precisely why he held Han Jianguo in such high esteem.

Pei Shuxin looked at Li Hanliang with moved eyes. At this moment, she felt that Li Hanliang had a kind of light that ordinary people did not have.

"Now that people's lives are gradually getting better, there aren't many people who think like you anymore."

She sighed and quickly changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Hanliang, thank you so much for tonight. Oh, and here's some money for your travel expenses."

"No!" Li Hanliang quickly stopped her.

I brought her pork so late at night to do her a favor, not for a few dollars.

"Well, I have to go now. I have things to do tomorrow, so I need to hurry back." Li Hanliang got up to leave.

Although the two of them spoke very softly so as not to disturb the elderly in the house, it was inconvenient for Li Hanliang to stay there any longer in the middle of the night, and leaving quickly was the only way to show respect to the girl.

"It's so late, are you still going back to Xiaoliangzhuang?" Pei Shuxin asked with some concern.

In the stillness of the night, her soft, long hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore only a floral nightgown. In her beautiful phoenix eyes, her concern was both familiar and genuine. Li Hanliang felt as if he were a young boy, and his heart fluttered for a moment.

"I have to go back, otherwise where will I stay?" he joked before turning around.

"Hey, wait a minute." Pei Shuxin whispered as she caught up with him. "What business are you going to take care of tomorrow? Is it also in the county?"

Li Hanliang nodded; he was genuinely anxious. If the Pei family caught him, wouldn't his leg be broken?

As I said before, he didn't want to cause trouble before he was fully capable of handling things.

“My good friend works at the guesthouse. I’ll take you there and ask her to find you a spare room.” Pei Shuxin buttoned up her sweater and whispered to Li Hanliang, “Let’s go now, so as not to keep you from resting.”

Li Hanliang knew, of course, that the girl was simply well-mannered, warm-hearted, and kind, and that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him.

But such care still moved him deeply.

To be honest, when I returned to this era, I was always all alone, penniless and utterly alone. Sometimes, that feeling was quite unpleasant.

Li Hanliang knew she meant well, so he didn't refuse. He rode his bicycle with Pei Shuxin on the back, and following her directions, they arrived at the guesthouse in the center of the county town.

"This place must be quite expensive, right? Do you think they'll let me stay for free?" He was short of money and couldn't afford to be as carefree as before; he had to consider the price wherever he went.

"Don't worry," Pei Shuxin lowered her voice, "There's nothing much going on in the county lately. My good friend is on duty tonight, so it'll be fine to sneak a room in."

Li Hanliang nodded and followed Pei Shuxin upstairs.

She was only wearing simple floral pajama bottoms and a white knitted sweater, and her hair was braided into a thick, long braid on the street, but at that moment, she possessed a breathtaking beauty.

Li Hanliang suddenly sensed another kind of charm in this era, besides business opportunities.

"It's hardest to accept the kindness of a beautiful woman," Li Hanliang said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"What did you say?" Pei Shuxin didn't hear clearly and turned to look at him from the stairs.

That one glance sent a shiver down Li Hanliang's spine.

"It's nothing, shh..." Li Hanliang gave her a wink, and the two carefully went upstairs.

A pretty young woman in her early twenties was sitting at the reception desk on the second floor, idly eating sunflower seeds. When she saw Pei Shuxin and Li Hanliang, she was so surprised that she dropped the sunflower seed shells.

Li Yuting ran over in a low voice, "Why are you here? Did a fairy descend to earth and come up here wanting to play something big?"

The girl was quick-witted; before Pei Shuxin could even speak, Li Yuting grabbed Li Hanliang and looked him up and down.

"Young man, you are quite handsome, but what's with your clothes? A t-shirt with a suit, what kind of outfit is that? You poor boy, how did you manage to trick my Shuxin into booking a hotel room?"

Li Yuting has an oval face and small, pearly teeth. She speaks quickly and frankly, like a storyteller, which startled Li Hanliang and Pei Shuxin.

"Book a room? Me and Pei Shuxin book a room?" Li Hanliang blurted out.