RYEY -Chapter 455 Being Interviewed

“Contact the newspaper immediately. Have them report this. Liangzhou needs more private enterprises, more investors.”

The Liangzhou newspaper reporter, Lu Xiaoyan, was already on-site. She came looking for the owner of this land, rumored to be a young couple, curious about who was wealthy enough to make such a grand purchase.

Cheng Qiao was busy today, with many tasks waiting at the medical college. Ye Jun and Cheng Liguo took Mother Li and the children to Guoqing’s home.

Qin Guoqing treated Lele very well. Although it was only a small one-bedroom apartment, it was fully equipped. The bed, cabinets, and sofa were all brand-new, and Lele’s dowry had already been delivered.

A brand-new sewing machine by the window doubled as a desk when not in use. The top of the cabinet was filled with bedding, along with a pair of “Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water” hot water kettles and a deluxe Red Double Happiness chamber pot.

Opposite the sofa was a low cabinet, on which sat the radio and colorful lacquer boxes Lele had brought, filled with peanuts, candies, sunflower seeds, and snacks.

The kitchen was also stocked with Lele’s dowry: all kinds of pots, pans, stoves—filling up the small kitchen.

The bathroom held several wooden tubs stacked together, all handcrafted by Uncle Niu, with exquisite workmanship.

“Mom, Uncle Cheng and Uncle Ye, please sit down. Kids, go play on the bed. I’ll serve some snacks.”

Lele went to the kitchen to boil water and made a cup of malted milk drink for each person. Mother Li examined the house carefully. Although the space was small, it was sufficient for the two of them.

“Mom, I went out early this morning to buy vegetables. Later, I’ll set up a table here, and you can eat here—it’ll warm up my new house too.”

“Good. Let Cheng Li and the kids roll around on your bed. Next year, have a grandson to make your father-in-law happy.”

“Mom…”

Guoqing smiled at the mother-daughter conversation, already imagining his own father happily holding his grandson. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Mom, will Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law come today?”

“Your Second Sister-in-law won’t. She hasn’t been back to school in days—her coursework is behind, and she has an exam in October. After that, she graduates. Your Second Brother is at the construction site; I don’t know if he’ll come for dinner.”

Meanwhile, Li Huan leisurely rode his bicycle around his land. His wife had planned the farm near the backyard for sheep, cows, and a few pigs.

Fruit trees would be planted along the fence, vegetables in the corners, and houses built in the center like a traditional courtyard so visiting family could stay.

Between the houses and the general store, there was a large courtyard for a living room, storage, and a play area for the children—complete with small bridges, streams, rockeries, and pavilions, like a secluded garden.

Li Huan fantasized about this bright future while cycling, unaware that a woman carrying a camera had appeared ahead.

“Oh no…”

Before he realized, his bike had knocked the woman to the ground. Her first reaction was to check if her camera was broken. Seeing it unharmed, she sighed in relief.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you…”

The woman was Lu Xiaoyan, a reporter from Liangzhou newspaper. She wanted to scold him, but seeing Li Huan’s striking face, all her words caught in her throat.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention while cycling. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Oh… could you help me up? I can’t get up on my own.”

Lu Xiaoyan extended her fair hand. Li Huan hesitated, glanced around, saw no one else coming to help, and reluctantly took her hand.

When their hands touched, Li Huan was completely focused, but Lu Xiaoyan felt as if she had been struck by Cupid’s arrow—her eyes sparkled like little stars, and her heart raced with excitement. This man’s hands were slightly cool, and touching them was incredibly pleasant.

“I’m Lu Xiaoyan from the Liangzhou Newspaper. I’ve come specifically to interview the owner of this land. Could you tell me where they are?”

Li Huan was about to say he didn’t know, when Yang Jun hurried over: “Huan, we don’t have enough people. Why don’t we recruit a few more?”

“Uncle Yang, you handle it. My wife has entrusted this place to you. You’re in full charge.”

“Alright, I’ll go find people then.”

As Yang Jun was about to leave, Lu Xiaoyan stopped him. She pulled out her press badge, waved it in front of him, and started her interview.

Yang Jun had lived most of his life, but it was the first time a pretty young girl had interviewed him, and he didn’t know what to do with his hands, feeling very nervous.

Lu Xiaoyan’s eyes flicked to Li Huan, who had already walked away, and she asked:

“Comrade Yang, who is that?”

“You don’t know him. He’s Li Huan, Cheng Qiao’s husband. Cheng Qiao is the owner of this land.”

“Oh, so he’s the male owner here? I’ll go interview him then. You wait here—I’ll come back to interview you later when I have time.”

Yang Jun: “…” Is she crazy?

Watching the journalist run toward Li Huan, Yang Jun felt that something was off. Forget it, he’d better get back to work. If the convenience store was built quickly, his daughter-in-law would have a job.

“Comrade Li Huan, wait for me! I’m a reporter from Liangzhou Newspaper. Could you spare a few minutes so I can finish my assignment?”

Li Huan frowned. He hated this kind of thing, but thinking that Cheng Qiao wanted to develop the family farm, he knew a newspaper interview was the quickest and easiest way. So he patiently turned around.

As he turned, the sunlight bathed him, making him look dazzlingly radiant, and his dark eyes seemed to glimmer with golden light.

Lu Xiaoyan’s eyes widened. Suddenly, a wild thought struck her: she wanted this man, to make him hers.

“Comrade Li Huan, may I ask your age?”

“Are you interviewing me or the farm?”

“Oh, that’s just our opening line, we’re used to it. Comrade Li Huan, how do you plan to develop such a large piece of land?”

“My wife bought this land. We’re planning to build a family farm, focusing on livestock and crops. Livestock will mainly be cattle and sheep, while crops will be mostly vegetables and fruits.”

“Wow! So Liangzhou’s markets will never be short of beef, lamb, fruits, or vegetables!”

Lu Xiaoyan’s pen slid over the paper, each word from Li Huan sparking her imagination. Although she was a journalist with a decent salary, her family had heavy financial burdens. She had two younger brothers to support, and chances to eat meat were rare.

“How much capital are you planning to invest here?”

Li Huan didn’t answer. Much of it cost nothing: the fruit trees had been dug up by Cheng Qiao from the mountains, and the vegetables came from seeds.

As for the livestock, Shouhou was already looking for calves, lambs, and piglets. After spending a few months in Cheng Qiao’s care, they’d become the best breeding stock.

“I’m not sure. My wife manages that.”

“Mr. Li listens to his wife in everything—truly a model husband.”

Li Huan felt a pang of pride. He was indeed a model husband.

Lu Xiaoyan, seeing him acknowledge this, felt a little bitter. Such an outstanding man had ended up with the daughter of a wealthy family. How had this woman managed to escape him?

“Mr. Li, here’s my business card. I’ll need your contact information in case I miss anything while writing the article.”

“I don’t have any. If you need me, just come here.”

Li Huan didn’t take her card. To him, such things were just a burden.

“Alright, then please review my interview notes. I’ll write the article and it could go to press as soon as tomorrow. But I’ll need your consent, so please sign here.”

Li Huan frowned. When he was interviewed in Xiangyang County, there were no such formalities. Was this place different?

He glanced at what Lu Xiaoyan had written. It matched what he had said, so he casually signed his name.

Seeing that Li Huan was getting impatient, Lu Xiaoyan quickly said goodbye, took a few more photos on site, making sure to include him in them.

The next morning, Liangzhou Daily published a half-page feature on the ten-acre family farm, with a close-up of Li Huan enlarged across the page.

Seeing his photo in the paper, Li Huan was furious. How could they publish it without his consent? He immediately rode his bike to the newspaper office.

At the entrance, a female staffer saw him storming in and quickly approached:

“Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for… the person who published this article.”

Li Huan pointed to the photo in the newspaper. The woman was secretly pleased. He must be here to confront Lu Xiaoyan. That lucky Lu Xiaoyan—she had gotten the front-page story.

“Oh, you’re looking for Lu Xiaoyan? She’s in the office. I’ll take you there.”

Li Huan followed her to Lu Xiaoyan’s office and knocked. Lu Xiaoyan was staring at a photo in her hand, completely captivated.

It was a two-inch photo she had printed extra to keep in her wallet, so she could look at it anytime. Hearing the knock, she hid the wallet and opened the door.

Seeing Li Huan, her eyes lit up with excitement, and she instinctively reached out, trying to pull him inside.

Li Huan wasn’t expecting such forwardness. He tried to pull away, but she had already grabbed his hand. He shook it hard—yet it wouldn’t let go.

“Click…”

A camera shutter clicked. A woman had captured the moment she had worked so hard to get and ran off.

Li Huan felt her back looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her. Angrier, he forcefully pushed Lu Xiaoyan aside, ready to chase after the woman and ask why she had taken the photo.

The female staffer blocking his way frowned. “This is a newspaper office, not a marketplace. You can’t run around.”

Li Huan realized the woman had already turned a corner. Even if he chased her, he might not catch her. He reluctantly stopped, pulled out the newspaper, and pointed at his photo, demanding that Lu Xiaoyan delete it and publish an apology.

Seeing his angry face, Lu Xiaoyan thought to herself: even his anger looks good. How could she make him hers?

“Mr. Li, yesterday you agreed that our interview could be published. See? Here’s your signature.”

Lu Xiaoyan didn’t get angry from being pushed. She went into the office, found the interview notes, and pointed at his signature with a smile.

“I only agreed to the facts being published, not my photo!”

“But your photo is part of the interview. You’re the owner of the family farm. How could the owner not appear?”

Li Huan: “…”

What kind of nonsense logic was that? He was speechless, regretting his impatience yesterday that had played right into her hands.

“So this is how a Liangzhou Daily reporter works. I must say…”

Lu Xiaoyan pretended not to understand his complaint, smiling as she continued:

“Mr. Li, thank you for your cooperation yesterday. Because of this report, my supervisor highly praised me. I owe half of my credit to you. Please allow me to treat you to a meal.”

Eat a fart! Li Huan was beyond annoyed with such a scheming woman.

Li Huan closed his eyes and turned, heading upstairs. Based on his experience, the leadership usually worked upstairs. Sure enough, the editor-in-chief’s office was the first room upstairs.

“Please come in.”

Hearing the knock, a voice responded from inside. Li Huan pushed the door open and saw the entire office buried under stacks of books and newspapers.

Behind a large desk sat a middle-aged man writing something. The moment he saw Li Huan, he immediately recognized him.

A photo that large published in the newspaper—Liu Yang wasn’t blind:

“Comrade Li Huan, why are you coming in person? You could’ve just called if there was something.”

“I’m here to have the newspaper remove the photo. You’ve violated my portrait rights.”

“Uh… that’s not right. Lu Xiaoyan said you signed and agreed to it.”

“What I signed off on was the content of her interview, not my portrait. What is she trying to do—make my life difficult?”

“I see… let me check. Please have a seat and wait a moment.”

Liu Yang felt a pang in his chest. This Li Huan was the owner of that family farm. Their purchase of such a large piece of land had already attracted the attention of the relevant authorities.

So this person had to be treated well and absolutely not offended. Liu Yang personally made a cup of tea for Li Huan. If what Li Huan said was true, they had indeed infringed on his portrait rights and needed to handle it promptly.

Liu Yang stormed into Lu Xiaoyan’s office without knocking, only to find that she was ready:

“Lu Xiaoyan, explain to me—if you already had Li Huan’s signed approval, why is he coming to complain?”

Lu Xiaoyan looked completely aggrieved. She told Liu Yang it was all a misunderstanding—she hadn’t explained clearly, and Li Huan hadn’t asked—so it ended up being a mix-up.