Peter Brown didn’t sleep for a whole night and after meditating all night, he clearly felt that his spirit, qi, and vitality had reached their best states.
When the light from the sky shone into the room, Peter glanced around and realized that he was in the best room in the house, a small room separated by bamboo, which could receive direct sunlight.
Although the inside of the room was dilapidated, it was cleaned up very neatly.
Getting off the bed and pushing open the bamboo door, Peter saw his grandfather sitting outside smoking.
"Peter, why are you up so early?" The grandfather smiled as he saw Peter come out.
"It’s not that early, the air here is really fresh. It feels great."
"Well, there’s nothing good about our village except for the air. We have several centenarians in our village."
As they were talking, the grandfather said: "We don’t have much to eat here, I’ll make you some porridge."
Peter saw that the room was empty and looked at the cooking area. There was a stove with some pots and bowls laid out.
"I’ll cook it myself."
Peter and his grandfather started cooking together.
"This rice is grown by ourselves. It’s hard to find such rice outside."
The two of them cooked and then the grandfather took out the pickled cabbage that the grandmother made.
Peter participated in the prison’s chef training program when he was in prison. It was a training program to help inmates find jobs after they were released. Peter had put a lot of effort into learning it, so he had no problem cooking. He was even more skilled at making porridge than his grandfather, who was full of praise.
The rice was indeed good, with a pleasant fragrance that stimulated one’s appetite.
They sat in the courtyard with their bowls and only then did Peter get a real look at the village. The village was full of greenery, and the distant mountains gleamed in the sunlight. The sounds of birdsong filled his ears, and a small river wound its way through the lower part of the terrain in front of them.
"Grandpa, this place is like a paradise on earth!"
Peter couldn’t help but praise the scenery.
"Hehe, I knew you’d like our environment."
When the grandfather heard Peter’s praise, he also smiled.
"Peter, you’re up so early?" At this moment, his uncle came out of another yard and greeted Peter.
When Peter saw the yard from which his uncle came, it wasn’t much different from his grandfather’s, equally dilapidated. A woman and two children also came out with his uncle.
"Uncle, you’re up early too."
"Tiger, this is your cousin Peter. Say hello, you child."
"Teresa, you should greet Peter as well," the uncle scolded the two siblings, who were not much different from Peter in age.
"This is Peter. He has grown up so much!"
The woman was smiling as she looked at Peter.
Peter knew that this was his aunt Flora and quickly stood up and said, "Hello, Aunt."
"Hehe, hello, Peter. I even prepared some food for you, but I didn’t expect that you were already eating by yourselves. Your grandfather, when Peter came, should have let him eat at our house."
"It’s hard enough for you guys to get by, just live your own lives," the grandfather said sternly.
When Peter looked at his aunt and her two children, he could see that their clothes were worn and old, and he realized that his uncle’s family might not be doing well either.
Aunt Flora was a resourceful woman, and a few words soon livened up the atmosphere. She laughed, "Your uncle told me about the changes at your home. You’re quite talented. If our village develops, you’ll be everyone’s benefactor."
She pointed at the sturdy, honest-looking young man and said: "Peter, this is your older brother Tiger. Look at him, he only knows how to grin stupidly."
Peter remembered that Tiger, or Ben Taylor, was his uncle’s eldest son, and the girl was Teresa Taylor, his uncle’s daughter, who should be two years younger than him. She was probably 18 now.
Seeing the two of them looking curious and close to him, Peter smiled and said, "Hello, big brother Tiger, little sister Teresa."
"Hello, big brother Peter," Teresa shyly called out, her face turning slightly red.
Tiger grinned and said, "Hi, Peter."
After greeting each other, they all sat down.
Aunt Flora asked, "Your uncle told us about your wine last night. Can it really sell for that much money?"
His grandfather sternly said, "Don’t ask about other people’s business. That’s Peter’s skill. I specially invited Peter to see if he could help our village develop."
He looked at Peter and said, "Don’t talk about useless things. The sooner the village develops, the sooner the villagers will have a better life. I’ll take you around to see for yourself. The development of our village depends on you."
His uncle said, "Dad, Peter is not omnipotent. Do you really think our village can develop? Not to mention anything else, the seven or eight-hour trek through the mountains is enough to scare people away."
"You, how do you know Peter doesn’t have a way?"
Just as the two of them were about to argue, Peter laughed and said, "Grandpa, uncle, I really village and I’m serious about developing it. Even if there are no conditions, I will create the conditions to develop this village."
His grandfather was delighted and said, "Look, Peter has such high standards and consciousness!"
His uncle looked at Peter, not unhappy, but with a shining look in his eyes, "Are you really going to develop it?"
"Big brother Peter, can you really develop our village?" Teresa asked Peter with a surprised and happy look.
"Let’s take a look at the village’s situation first."
The grandfather eagerly said, "Are you done eating? If so, I’ll take you around to have a look."
Peter finished his porridge in a few bites and wiped his mouth: "Alright, let’s go."
"Tiger, Teresa, you should accompany Peter and have a look around. Young people should communicate more."
Aunt Flora, being a perceptive woman, called her children to follow Peter and they went out together.