More than three hours later,
Qin Feng finally arrived at the village entrance.
Then,
he rolled down the car window,
turned up the volume of the Burmester sound system equipped in the Mercedes S-Class,
slowed down the car,
and took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes in advance.
Not far into the drive, he spotted a few elderly men and women sitting by the roadside, chatting idly.
This was the village's "intelligence center."
In the past, whenever he returned, he would definitely avoid these people, afraid they might see him back in the village.
But this time was different!
Qin Feng proactively stopped the car and greeted them:
"Auntie, peeling radishes?"
"Uncle, have a smoke."
"Auntie Er, not busy today?"
The group had already been drawn by the music emanating from the car. When they turned to look, they discovered it was a luxury vehicle.
Just as they were wondering who the luxury car belonged to, they saw Qin Feng sitting inside?!
They were all taken aback:
"Oh, Xiao Feng? Is that Xiao Feng back?"
"It's not even the New Year or any holiday, what brings you back now?"
"Wow, you drove back this time."
"Qin Feng, is this your car? Goodness, this car looks so 'impressive.' It must be expensive, right?"
One of the uncles, after accepting the cigarette Qin Feng handed him, asked in disbelief.
Qin Feng wore a calm and indifferent expression, as if it were no big deal, and said:
"Yeah, it's mine. Just bought it new."
"It wasn't too expensive, just over a million."
Upon hearing this, the group was so shocked their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Over a million?!
This car cost over a million?!
Good grief, with over a million, they could tear down and rebuild their houses several times over!
"I'll head over first, aha. Uncle, aunties, and Auntie Er, you all chat first."
"I'm going home to check on my parents."
Qin Feng felt a secret thrill as he noticed the expressions on their faces.
Now he finally understood why some people love to show off—because it feels downright amazing!
Especially this kind of show-off, where he remained calm and casual, while they were utterly shocked.
Hearing Qin Feng's words, the uncles and aunties set aside their astonishment and warmly replied:
"Alright, alright, you go ahead and check on your parents. We can chat when you're free."
"Come over to my place to hang out in the next couple of days. The chickens I've raised are just about ready to eat."
"Drive carefully—the roads here aren't great. Don't scratch your car. Auntie Er, pull your basket of radishes over here a bit. Don't block Qin Feng's car."
As soon as Qin Feng left,
the uncles and aunties immediately launched into an excited discussion:
"Good heavens, over a million?! The car Qin Feng is driving costs over a million?"
"That's a Mercedes! My grandson told me only big bosses drive cars like that."
"Oh my, a car worth over a million? How much money has Xiao Feng made out there?"
"Could he have rented the car?"
"Nonsense! If you're renting a car, you'd wait until the New Year. Who rents such an expensive car at this time? And when he offered me a cigarette, I saw a whole carton of Chunghwa cigarettes on the passenger seat—the soft pack kind."
"Whew, to buy a car worth over a million… how much must he have earned to afford something like that?"
"He's made it—this kid has definitely made it!"
After discussing for a while,
one of the aunties suddenly said:
"Well, I'll stop chatting with you all now. I'm heading home. It's time for my old man to take his medicine, and I'm afraid he'll forget. I need to go remind him."
As she spoke, the aunt poured the peanuts from her winnowing basket into a bag, stood up, and headed home.
"I'm leaving too—time to bring the ducks back."
"I'm going home to collect the eggs."
"My grandson should be out of school soon. I need to pick him up."
"I…"
The remaining uncles and aunties also made excuses to leave.
But they weren't really leaving for the reasons they mentioned. They were actually heading to Qin Feng's house.
As for why they were going to Qin Feng's house… well, naturally, it was because they saw that Qin Feng had made it big and wanted to cozy up to him.
…
While the group of elders were still heatedly discussing Qin Feng,
he was slowly heading home in his Mercedes-Benz.
What should have been a three-to-five-minute drive took him over ten minutes.
Whenever he encountered someone along the way, he greeted them.
The people he met on the road all showed expressions of surprise, envy, and admiration, showering him with compliments, which provided him with a significant emotional boost.
When he reached his doorstep, Qin Feng felt a tinge of regret that his home was too close to the village entrance. He hadn't driven through the entire village, nor had he let more people see his return.
But it didn't matter much.
The village elders and busybodies were quick to spread news, and it wouldn't be long before everyone in the village knew he had returned in a Mercedes S-Class—whether sooner or later was just a matter of time.
Upon arriving home,
he found the main gate locked.
After calling his father, he learned that both his parents had gone to town to buy groceries.
However, upon hearing that Qin Feng had returned, his father immediately exclaimed joyfully over the phone that they would head back right away.
After hanging up, Qin Feng's father shared the news with his mother. Both were thrilled and decided to drop what they were doing,
hurrying to the market to buy some vegetables and meat before rushing home.
Qin Feng didn't wait idly outside the gate, as he had the keys to the house with him.
After unlocking the door and stepping inside, he sighed softly at the sight of the old house, where a few more patches of wall plaster had peeled off.
This house was built when his parents got married, and over twenty years had passed since then.
"Right, I should renovate the house!"
"Build a villa!"
A new idea suddenly sparked in Qin Feng's mind.
If he wanted everyone to get on his "boat," simply returning in a luxury car wasn't enough.
Driving a car worth over a million would only make people think he had made money. They would envy him, but that envy would come with a sense of distance—like trying to grasp something intangible, like reaching for clouds.
This kind of detached admiration wouldn't push them to take action. Even if he explained to them the specific methods of leveraging online loans and clarified that it wasn't illegal, they would still hesitate.
But once his family's house was transformed into a villa,
the villagers' envy would lose that sense of distance, turning from something abstract into something tangible.
Some might even become jealous!
...And that was exactly the effect Qin Feng wanted.
It would be best if everyone grew so envious that they became jealous. That way, as soon as he hinted at his money-making methods, they would pounce on the opportunity like hungry wolves spotting prey. Even if he warned them about potential legal risks, they would still dare to take the leap.
And to achieve this effect, building a luxurious villa in the village was the best way.
Even if you buy a villa in Beijing or Shanghai, it won't achieve the same effect… In that case, people's admiration for you would still feel distant.
Only when they see with their own eyes that your old family home is about to be turned into a luxurious villa will their envy turn into jealousy.
Because luxury cars and big-city houses are distant and intangible… only a lavish villa in the village is right before their eyes, something tangible!
Qin Feng was a man of action.
He got straight to work, grabbing a measuring tape to take the dimensions of his house.
Then, he went online and found a designer, explaining his requirements and asking for an initial design draft.
Just as he finished communicating with the designer,
someone arrived outside.
"Qin Feng, why are you still in the yard? Why haven't you gone inside?"
"Hey, why is the main room's door locked?"
The speaker was the same person who had mentioned killing a chicken earlier when they greeted him at the village entrance.
"Auntie, is that you? My parents went to town—they're not home."
"Not home? Come on, come to my place and sit for a while."
Auntie felt a secret delight—wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
"I was just about to ask your uncle to kill a chicken. Stay for dinner at my place later."
Before Qin Feng could even refuse, another person showed up at the door:
"Qin Feng… Hey, Erdan's mom, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you were going home to collect eggs?"
The aunt who had invited Qin Feng to her home instantly looked embarrassed.
Just then, yet another person arrived at the door:
"Second Brother, weren't you supposed to pick up your grandson from school? Why are you at Qin Feng's place? Hey, Erdan's mom, what are you doing here too?"
One embarrassed person turned into two.
Before these two could say anything, another person showed up:
"Fugui's mom, didn't you say you were going home to herd the ducks? Erdan's mom, Brother Yonghuai, why are you all…"
Two embarrassed people turned into three.
And just then, yet another person arrived:
"…"
In no time, all the people Qin Feng had greeted at the village entrance were gathered there.
They looked at each other, feeling equally awkward.
They had all parted ways with their own excuses, yet they had all ended up meeting here.