Chapter 145 The New Factory Director is a Pervert

He was busy, extremely busy. He contacted Boss Hong again, urging him to bring along more entrepreneurs and specialists from various fields. On one hand, they could come to observe the snakes; on the other hand, they could take the opportunity to inspect Longshan County's investment environment and see if they could secure some capital to invest locally.

"Leshang, how did you become a government man?" Boss Hong laughed heartily. "This is government business. Why are you meddling in it?"

"Boss Hong, County Party Secretary Feng is practically an elder as well as a friend, and he cares so much about our King Serpent," Leshang said with a wry expression. "Since it's his wish, how can I not take it to heart?"

"Well, if you do business with government backing, you can truly make a fortune. It seems you're handling this aspect quite well," Boss Hong praised him. "I've assigned a farm manager to you—his management skills are quite decent. I'm also sending six technicians. They will arrive along with the snakelets, so make sure you make proper arrangements."

"Got it."

Leshang didn't say much more, feeling rather excited. They were finally entering the substantive phase of snake breeding. After working for so long, this was the very goal they had been striving for. After chatting for a while longer, Leshang informed him that the county had specially dispatched people to the city to welcome the visiting entrepreneurs and experts.

After hanging up with Boss Hong, he called Shuya to brief her on the developments. Then, he went outside to check on the workers installing the solar water heater. Water had been pumped into the overhead tank, and the solar water heater was currently undergoing final testing with practically no issues found.

By tonight, they would be able to use heated water for showers. Leshang grinned foolishly at the water heater for a while. More importantly, Li Ying was coming back, and she had stated she would be home in three days at most.

His heart fluttered nervously. He resolved to put on his best act this time to ensure Li Ying wouldn't discover what had happened between him and Luo Yinxiang. He instructed Luo Yinxiang to wash all his bedding and replace it with a fresh set so that none of Luo Yinxiang's scent would linger. Without realizing it, he was changing—whether it was evolution or regression, he couldn't say, but he was certainly turning bad.

Luo Yinxiang was also a bit nervous. Yet, seeing Leshang make her wash the quilts and change the bedding, she couldn't help smiling secretly.

"What the hell are you grinning about like a dog's balls?" Leshang said as he helped wash the blankets with a smile. "Did you take some laughing pills?"

"Look at you," Luo Yinxiang giggled even more cheerfully. "Leshang has learned to lie and put on an act. Of course I'm happy."

"Happy my foot." Leshang felt somewhat torn, knowing full well why she was laughing. "Who doesn't know how to tell a damn lie? You're the one to blame for this."

"Sister Ying is coming back. Tonight, I'll sleep in my own room. Sister Ying won't come into my room to sniff around."

"Tonight, I'm sleeping by myself."

Leshang walked outside and headed towards the small snake enclosure with his yellow dog. He made it a point to check on the small snake enclosure every day. The snakes only needed to be fed once every two weeks, mainly with white mice supplied by the breeding farm. These wild snakes possessed an extraordinary ability to catch white mice; once released, the mice ended up in their stomachs in less than half an hour.

Yesterday, Xie Dapao called saying he was craving snake meat. Leshang had no choice but to catch two male snakes and deliver them to the Green Embroidery Restaurant, inviting Secretary Huang along and brewing a batch of snake-penis wine specifically for him.

Half of a man is shaped by women. Without women, a man could hardly be considered a man. Leshang had originally been just a pure, simple country boy, but under the shaping of two women, he had no choice but to mature. Previously, he only wanted Li Ying, but now Luo Yinxiang had completely stripped him of that choice, forcing him to cover up, deceive, and resort to lying.

Li Ying was back.

Leshang didn't act as clumsy and flustered as he had the previous time. Spotting Li Ying's car, he sprinted out to meet her by the vehicle.

"You're back."

His smile remained as innocent and amiable as ever. However, Li Ying stared at him skeptically with furrowed brows for a good long moment before finally breaking into a happy smile.

"Leshang, did you miss your elder sister?"

"Missed you, of course I missed you." Leshang opened the trunk and hoisted a large cardboard box Li Ying had brought back. "How could I not miss you when you've been gone for so many days?"

Li Ying hadn't noticed anything amiss at first, but the moment she laid eyes on Luo Yinxiang, she sensed something was wrong. Luo Yinxiang greeted her warmly and took the items from her hands. Yet, seeing Luo Yinxiang's radiant appearance, she felt a subtle discord. Beneath that radiant glow, she sensed an undercurrent, especially since she caught a hint of unease within Luo Yinxiang's smiles. What could possibly be making Luo Yinxiang uneasy?

With that thought, she glanced back at Leshang and noticed he looked somewhat awkward as well.

Nevertheless, a smile remained plastered across her face. She had even bought an outfit for Luo Yinxiang. As someone who paid meticulous attention to attire, the clothes she bought were naturally incomparable to whatever Leshang might have chosen.

"Thank you so much, Sister Ying." Luo Yinxiang appeared somewhat flustered.

"What's there to thank?" Li Ying switched back to the local dialect with a smile. "You've put in tremendous effort for the company; consider this a reward."

Leshang got his share too—a suit. Luo Yinxiang hurriedly set about cooking meals. Upon hearing the news of Li Ying's return, Feng Shuya rushed over as well. After finishing their meal, the four of them headed straight to the snake farm.

The snakelets were about to arrive, and they needed to conduct a final inspection of the snake houses.

Workers were currently sterilizing the snake farm.

"Qiangzai, do a thorough job! Make sure you don't miss a single spot without sanitizing it."

The sanitation workers were divided into three groups. It had already been decided that Uncle Shenggui and Dalong would be assigned to the brick kiln, so Leshang had appointed Jinhe as a group leader, while Jinhe and another worker each led a team, working intensely.

"Don't you worry at all." Tao Qiang laughed heartily, sweat streaming down his back as he carried his equipment. "We've split into teams and are sanitizing in sequence, marking every spot as we finish. There's no way we'll make a mistake."

He made a mark on the wall of the snake house. The workers were also thrilled; they were finally going to start raising snakes, which was fantastic news for them since they could learn new skills and earn a salary.

Li Ying was thoroughly satisfied with the brand-new snake houses built precisely to standard.

"Leshang, where did that large python come from? Was it from that cave over there?"

The stone tablet marking the Snake Pan Mountain area still stood, and Li Ying was well aware of that cave. Two small snakes were currently resting on their shoulders. Upon her return, the little snake Lele had acted somewhat unfamiliar, lingering on Leshang's shoulder and refusing to climb onto hers. It took a great deal of effort before it finally recognized her again.

So many visiting bosses wanted to see the snakes; it would be disastrous if there were no snakes to show them when the time came. Leaving Luo Yinxiang to her tasks, the three of them walked over to the cave entrance. The moment they approached, the two small snakes grew excited, slid down from their shoulders, and slithered toward the cave.

"Jin'er, come back."

Leshang stopped them. Jin'er glanced into the cave a few times, refrained from entering, and instead sprang back onto Leshang's shoulder, with the little snake Lele quickly following suit.

"It looks like the bottom of that cave is the little snakes' home," Feng Shuya remarked.

"You can faintly hear the sound of running water from inside the cave; there must be an underground river down below," Li Ying analyzed. "According to Leshang's account, that giant python must be a water python. Water pythons are only found in Africa and the Americas and have never appeared in East Asia before. To think one exists here is truly a miracle, which explains why so many specialists are fascinated. If it really is a water python, this place is well worth studying."

Li Ying spoke fluently and at length.

"And there's this unique snake species like little Jin'er, which has never been recorded anywhere in the world. Previously, only Jin'er was found, but now little Lele has appeared as well, which implies the existence of an entire population. That makes it even more worthy of research."

Hearing Li Ying's words, Feng Shuya became even more excited. What concerned her wasn't the biological population of the snakes, but rather how much public attention and what kind of economic and political dividends these creatures could bring to Longshan County.

"Could we build a tourist attraction right here?" Feng Shuya asked, looking around the surroundings. "With snake resources like this, you can't find them anywhere else in the country. If we turn this into a tourist spot, it's bound to become a huge hit."

"Pity there are no other tourism resources around here. With just this single attraction, it'll be hard to generate any substantial economic impact."

Li Ying wasn't just considering public hype; she was calculating the ultimate economic returns. There were no other tourist resources here, and since Longshan County was an impoverished area, locals wouldn't be interested in tourism anyway. As for outsiders coming in, with only this single attraction, even if they visited, they wouldn't leave behind much money.

If there were supporting tourist facilities, such as recreational farmhouses or similar resorts, there might still be some economic viability. The problem was that recreational farmhouses and the like needed to be located in economically developed regions. Longshan County town was so small that stepping outside immediately brought you into the countryside; who would travel such a long distance just to leisure here?

Hearing this, Feng Shuya realized she couldn't match Li Ying's business acumen. Nodding, the three of them left the snake cave and walked back toward the office.

At that moment, Feng Shuya's phone rang.

It was Director Ma from the county government office, notifying her that a reception staff meeting would be held at the county government office that afternoon to discuss reception arrangements. He specifically instructed that Sha Leshang must be present, and if Li Ying had returned, she had to attend as well.

"I literally just got home, didn't even have time to take a shower, and tomorrow the snakelets are arriving. This is such a hassle," Li Ying said with a bitter smile. Leshang remained silent. In his heart, he felt that Secretary Feng's endeavor wouldn't yield much practical use, but in Feng Shuya's presence, he didn't dare voice his complaints.

"Let's go wash up in the county town," Feng Shuya suggested with a smile. "With such a big county seat, surely we can find you a place to take a bath?"

Without further ado, the three of them got into the car and drove toward the county town.

The meeting proved excruciatingly tedious. It wasn't finished by afternoon, and they planned to resume it the next day. Anxious and impatient to leave, Li Ying and Leshang found themselves trapped as Director Ma kept a close eye on them.

As soon as they left the meeting hall, Leshang started cursing furiously.

"What the hell is the point of holding such a meeting? Half a day wasted and not a single thing accomplished."

Feng Shuya offered a helpless, wry smile.

"There's nothing we can do. Official business is usually like this; trying to get any efficiency out of it is tough."

"Shuya, we need to head back early tomorrow," Li Ying said. "The snakelets are arriving; we have to be back to oversee it."

"I'll try my best to make excuses and see," Feng Shuya said helplessly. "What a real headache. My dad went off to the provincial capital for meetings again."

The next day, before the meeting even commenced, Luo Yinxiang called to report that the snakelets had arrived, along with the personnel sent by Boss Hong. Li Ying hurriedly instructed Luo Yinxiang to hand the phone over to the manager dispatched by Boss Hong, telling him to exercise his managerial authority immediately and arrange the work.

The two of them merely told Feng Shuya to ask for leave on their behalf, jumped into the car, and drove straight back.

Upon arriving at the snake farm, everything was in full, tense swing. A thin man in his thirties was directing the workers in sanitizing the snakelets and moving them into the snake houses.

Luo Yinxiang stood far away from the thin man. Catching sight of Leshang's return, she pulled him aside.

"Leshang, that damn fellow is a total lech."

Leshang stared at Luo Yinxiang in surprise before shifting his gaze toward the thin man.