"h.e.l.lo. Have you arrived?" Chen Linyun inquired.

"Yes, Linyun. I'm here at the venue. How about you?" Xue Jinxu was in Country D visiting her friend Teng Man Rui's exhibit.

"I've also arrived in Hubei. I will be staying here for a few days. Alright, enjoy your vacation. Take care of yourself."

"Take care of yourself too. Bye." She hung up.

Chen Linyun's broad grin was as bright as the sun.

Although Chen Linyun was physically away, he never let a day pa.s.s without them catching up with each other. They were even so much closer now that they were physically apart than when they were still living in the same apartment complex.

Truly, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Xue Jinxu had been warming up at a constant rate to him.

Each phone call or video call with Xue Jinxu was enough motivation to push him further every single day. As long as Xue Jinxu was there at the other end of the line, waiting for his return, he will do his best to meet his goal at the soonest possible time.

Currently, Chen Linyun was in Hubei to oversee the harvest of the winter wheat. It was typically sown during September or October, and the harvest season was during spring, around May until June.

"Oh, the young man is here again! He's just in time for the harvest!" One old woman noticed Chen Linyun's arrival.

"Mr. Chen!" Another elderly woman was waving her hand to Chen Linyun who had just disembarked from the car. He was wearing a plain white dress s.h.i.+rt which was unb.u.t.toned at the top, partnered with black slacks. His presence was unbecoming of the surrounding farmland and local village.

"Look, it's Mr Chen!"

Chen Linyun was famous among the elderly women. They found him extremely suitable for their village's daughters and granddaughters. After all, Chen Linyun was tall, neat and shrewd. He was kind, polite and respectful of the elders and the village's culture and practices. They also viewed him as their source of hope for improvement.

"How have you been, Madame Lin! Has your gout been treated? He asked one of the old ladies.

"You remembered my name…" The old lady was deeply moved.

"Of course, ma'am." Chen Linyun retorted with a smile.

Although he had been to Hubei before, he did not stay for long since he travelled to other provinces across China.

First, he presented his business model to the local governments, and thankfully enough, the local government and the local farmers agreed to be partners with him. He's now at the stage of monitoring the planting and harvest of the crops such as potato, rapeseed, rice, and cotton.

His business was not solely farming, but it was highly related to it. It can be said that farming was actually the soul of his business.

To recall, as the Director in Tiankong Investments, the most promising industries were visible to him, and topping the list was agriculture. The country has a vast expanse of arable land which had large potential for growth if pushed a little, or if given enough support and investments. He was trying to tap this potential and to ride on its growth.

With the right packaging and platform, he was able to devise a perfect plan how to make it happen. To note, his background and strong expertise was in IT, investments and insurance. Going around across the country was only a fundamental part of his business. His other business partners scattered all around were taking care of the other equally important aspects of the business.

"Mr. Chen, my grand daughter is here visiting me. I should introduce you to her. She's a good filial daughter." Old Lady Meng volunteered.

The rest of the ladies followed suit. "Mr. Chen, my niece just finished college from the local university. She's young and pretty and knows how to manage a household. She's a good match for you."

"Hehehe." Chen Linyun laughed awkwardly while scratching his head. "Elders, I am deeply apologetic, as I am not marketable anymore. A pretty lady back home has already captured my heart." He rubbed the back of his head, a little embarra.s.sed by this little truth. The truth was, Chen Linyun was head over heels towards the pretty lady he just mentioned, and he's doing what he's doing for the sake of this pretty lady back home. The latter was the bigger truth.

"Oh, is that so? Then that pretty lady is extremely lucky to have you! Such hardworking young man!" Old Lady Meng grabbed his hand and trapped it between her own wrinkled hands. She was also quite glad, laughing a little, gently and pleasantly at Chen Linyun's words. "No worries, no worries! It's good to hear that young people such as yourself had things figured out!" She went on tapping Chen Linyun's hand understandingly. "I would have wanted you as a grand son, but no worries! Hehehe!"

At the end of each day, when he's alone in his temporary living quarters, nostalgia and loneliness kicked in. He would stare at the ceiling thinking about one lucky lady by the name of Xue Jinxu. He would scan his phone through the gallery until he could see her in the photos that he secretly and candidly took. He could only sigh with the wistful yearning that he was experiencing at the end of each pa.s.sing day.

"It will be done soon, love. Just hang in there." He would usually say to Xue Jinxu's photos, while using the tip of his fingers to gently trace her face's outline on the phone's screen.

Of course, he could always talk to or videocall her when their schedule and the signal permit. But nothing, beats seeing her in person. He longed for that day to come.

One day, Chen Linyun had sent a message to a group chat called 'Neighbors' in WeChat. After a few seconds, his phone was notified repeatedly for the replies of the other members of the group chat.