The visitor was Li Zhenyu, Li Zhenhong's younger brother. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he politely shook hands with Xu Zifan, treating him with the utmost respect as an important elder. His brother had money and power, but he had difficulty conceiving. He finally had a son, but he and his mother almost died. It was all thanks to Xu Zifan's spiritual ginseng that they were saved. He was truly grateful to Xu Zifan, and this gratitude was evident in his words and actions.
After exchanging a few greetings, he immediately got down to business, "Uncle Xu, the house has been secured. My brother's colleague's father-in-law is going to Beijing to reunite with his son, so the house here became available. Originally, they wanted to keep it, but after my brother treated them to a meal and talked for a long time, they agreed to transfer the property."
The house is a nice one, in a quiet location amidst the hustle and bustle. It has three brick and tile rooms with a large courtyard, and the windows are large, making the interior very bright. It's fully furnished, all made of good materials, and the main house even has well-maintained wooden floors, giving it a grand appearance.
Xu Zifan smiled and nodded. "Just listen. Thank you for your hard work. Here, have some water."
Li Zhenyu took a sip of water and said, "Uncle Xu, are you free now? If you are, I'll take you to see some properties. If it's suitable, we'll finalize the deal. The transfer of ownership and household registration will be handled perfectly for you; you won't suffer any losses. Don't worry about that."
"Okay, I'll go now." Xu Zifan got up, grabbed two pheasants, tied them up, and put them on Li Zhenyu's bicycle.
Li Zhenyu hurriedly said, "Uncle Xu, what are you doing? It's only right that I run errands for you, don't take anything."
Xu Zifan stopped him from taking it down, laughing and saying, "It's nothing valuable, just a small token. I think it tastes good, take it home and try it. If you like it, come back for more. I picked them all from the mountains, it's no trouble at all."
Li Zhenyu readily agreed, "Alright then, I'll shamelessly accept it. It's been a long time since I've had wild game. Thank you, Uncle Xu. Let's go now."
"Let's go." Xu Zifan locked the yard, got a certificate from the brigade leader, and rode into the county town on the back of Li Zhenyu's bicycle.
As soon as they left, everyone swarmed around Wang Baoguo, asking him who that person was and what the old man had been doing in town.
Wang Baoguo was filled with disbelief and said somewhat blankly, "I don't know who that person is. He said that Grandpa Xu saved his family, and in order to repay Grandpa Xu, his family wants to bring Grandpa Xu to the county town to settle down. From now on... Grandpa Xu may have to live in the city."
"What? Go to the city?"
"Repaying a debt of gratitude? Grandpa Xu is just kind-hearted. He hunts wild boars and catches venomous snakes in the village, afraid that we might run into those beasts. I never expected that he would save people outside as well."
"My goodness! They repaid the debt by taking Grandpa Xu away to live out his old age. What an incredible favor that must have been! I bet it was a life-saving act!"
"Yes, yes, Grandpa Xu is truly remarkable. He's brought honor to our Fourth Team! Captain, this kind of good deed must be reported and commended. What an honor! He saved city people!"
"I wonder how Grandpa Xu will be when he goes to the city. I've only been there a few times myself. I always feel that city people think we're dirty and look down on us. Will Grandpa Xu be able to adapt?"
"It's still better than being here. Look at that Xu family, they're throwing away hundreds of dollars at a time, but they haven't even offered any tribute to Old Master Xu. And their attitude when they divided the family property was so unpleasant. What kind of people are they?"
"This is truly a case of good deeds being rewarded. Grandpa Xu will have a good life from now on. No matter what, he'll be working for the government in the city, and he won't have to hunt anymore to have enough to eat. It's a good thing!"
"That's a good thing. We should learn from Grandpa Xu. Good people are rewarded!"
After a series of events, the villagers had a very good impression of Xu Zifan, treating him as a respectable elder. Now that they knew Xu Zifan was finally enjoying good times, none of them were jealous; instead, they were all happy for him. Given the Xu family's past disrespect, this was naturally a joyous occasion for Xu Zifan, as his hardships had finally come to an end.
Wang Baoguo thought about it and agreed with everyone's suggestion. Xu Zifan had hunted a wild boar, caught a venomous snake, and even rescued someone in the city. This was enough to make him a model member of the commune and should be reported to the commune. In case Xu Shengnan's bad reputation ever reached the commune leaders, Xu Zifan's exemplary conduct could at least save face.
Wang Baoguo acted immediately. He was also afraid that if Xu Zifan transferred his household registration, he would no longer be considered a member of the fourth team. So he hurriedly wrote up the materials and rode his bicycle to the county to report the matter.
Actually, Li Zhenyu introduced himself, and the two chatted for quite a while. He was afraid that once the Xu family knew Xu Zifan had connections with the grain depot, they would try to curry favor with him again, so he hadn't told everyone. Now that he was reporting to the commune, he naturally had to make it clear.
The story of Li Zhenhong's wife suffering a difficult childbirth and how he desperately needed ginseng to save her had spread throughout the county's upper circles. When Wang Baoguo's materials were submitted, the head of the cooperative, who had initially just glanced at them, immediately took them seriously. After clarifying the situation, he called Li Zhenhong again, explained the circumstances, and asked if Xu Zifan had saved the woman and whether Xu Zifan should be awarded the honor of being an outstanding role model.
Li Zhenhong was naturally willing to give his benefactor this honor; in this day and age, honor is more important than life itself. He hadn't thought of this before, otherwise he would have given it to him earlier. However, he didn't reveal that the ginseng was bought, although everyone knew the truth. But what he told the president was that Xu Zifan had kindly given him a few slices of ginseng to save his wife and children.
This immediately established Xu Zifan as a selfless and helpful person. He had even hunted wild boars and caught venomous snakes, making him an outstanding example!
With Li Zhenhong's connection, the president directly approved granting Xu Zifan the highest honor a citizen could receive.
It was a step up from what Wang Baoguo had originally envisioned; he was to be publicly praised at the commune meeting, and the brigade leaders of each brigade would be asked to go back and spread the word, and the story would be published in the newspaper.
These days, if a good deed becomes a model, the whole country will know about it. Publishing it in the newspaper is a way to give face to their commune, and it's something to be proud of.
When Wang Baoguo returned, he was still a little dizzy. Now he wasn't afraid of Xu Shengnan causing trouble anymore. With Xu Zifan as the absolute role model, Xu Shengnan, as Xu Zifan's granddaughter, could only be blamed on her own inherent bad character, which had nothing to do with anyone else. Otherwise, how could her granddaughter be so bad when her grandfather was so good? Wang Baoguo felt much better and happily went back to announce the good news.
Xu Zifan was completely unaware that he had already been showered with honors. He was currently looking at houses with Li Zhenyu, and the houses were indeed very nice. It seemed that the Li family had been looking for him for so many days just to find him a house that suited his taste.
The house is in an alley, not far from the road. It's convenient to buy anything outside the alley, but it's not noisy inside.
There were two fruit trees in the courtyard, a path paved with blue bricks, large windows, a well-organized interior, and furniture made of good wood. Just as Li Zhenyu said, it looked quite impressive, after all, the original landlord's son and son-in-law were both officials and their family was very well-off.
Xu Zifan was increasingly satisfied with what he saw. This was definitely more comfortable than his small courtyard in the countryside. At least the walls were made of bricks, so no one could see inside just by craning their neck. The gate was also very sturdy, so no one could see inside from the outside, and it was impossible to open it even if someone wanted to. No one could come looking for him.
Xu Zifan immediately decided this was the place. Li Zhenyu told him the house price was 1,000, and Xu Zifan knew right away that the Li family had deliberately given him a discount. Although the house price was cheap, the house itself was well-built and had good amenities, so the price was naturally higher. If it wasn't for him, other officials' families would definitely have wanted the house.
Xu Zifan didn't refuse; he felt he could never repay such a life-saving debt, and he accepted it readily. Li Zhenyu immediately took him to complete the formalities. As the saying goes, having connections in high places makes things easier; in just half a day, the house was registered under Xu Zifan's name, and Xu Zifan now had a county-level household registration.
Xu Zifan treated Li Zhenyu and Li Zhenhong to a meal at a state-run restaurant. After the meal, Li Zhenyu escorted Xu Zifan back to his village. As soon as the villagers saw Xu Zifan, they warmly surrounded him and congratulated him repeatedly.
Xu Zifan then realized that Wang Baoguo had applied for an honorary title for him. People in this era truly valued honor; some were even willing to risk their lives for it. The original owner of this body was certainly pleased, so Xu Zifan didn't refuse and even sent Wang Baoguo two pheasants as a token of his gratitude.
The Xu family had also heard about it, and they looked at Xu Zifan with complicated expressions in the crowd, feeling that their old father was truly doing better and better after leaving them. Now, the eldest branch of the Xu family couldn't hold their heads high because of Xu Shengnan's misdeeds, and the couple became increasingly silent; the second branch was upset because they had lied and lent money to Zhang Wen's brother, which angered Zhang Wen's sister-in-law and strained their relationship, causing them great distress; the third branch was cautiously reselling goods, feeling resentful in comparison to Xu Shengnan's wealth, and no one in the family was truly happy.
But their father, they couldn't honestly say they hadn't complained. After they separated, their father did live a better life, while they did worse, and the gap kept widening. They didn't know how to describe the feeling; it was a mix of emotions. They felt incompetent and worthless. In front of so many people, they didn't dare to approach Xu Zifan, afraid that he would turn them away.
Li Zhenyu paid special attention to Xu Zifan's interpersonal relationships. Seeing that everyone was genuinely happy for Xu Zifan, he was even more certain that his family was on good terms with Xu Zifan. He was indeed a respectable elder.
He quickly noticed the Xu family and felt that their attitude was not quite right. He guessed that they might be Xu Zifan's unfilial children and grandchildren. After parting ways with Xu Zifan, he casually asked a couple of questions to others.
The Xu family's affairs were indeed disgraceful, and Xu Shengnan was even more shameful to mention. But things were different now. Xu Zifan was this man's benefactor and had become the pride of the whole village. They couldn't wait for Li Zhenyu to know about Xu Zifan's difficulties and how rare it was for Xu Zifan to maintain his kindness. So they all talked at once.
Not everyone is smart, and not everyone knows what to say and what not to say. Li Zhenyu quickly pieced together the current situation of the Xu family from their words: three unfilial sons, one unfilial daughter, and one unfilial granddaughter. The remaining grandchildren were not involved, but they were all rather immature and lacked compassion and filial piety.
Xu Zifan was right not to live with them. He can live a carefree life on his own. With the Li family taking care of him in the county, he won't have to worry about having a hard life.
Then he discovered something else: both of the Xu family's daughters had suddenly found jobs at the grain depot? When did grain depot jobs become so easy to find? As the younger brother of the director of the grain bureau, how come he didn't know?!