The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 17 The Zhang Family

August 1st is Army Day, which is the 8st day of the sixth lunar month. The weather is quite nice today. On National Highway X06, a minivan is speeding along.

"Yang Ming, are you really planning to buy a house across from ours?" Sun Fangfang and Wei Qingqing sat together in the back seat of the van. "If you really want to buy, I'll handle it for you personally. I can save you 50,000 yuan!"

"Of course I'll buy it. I'll buy at least one, but I'd prefer to buy two, since the property can appreciate in value!" Yang Ming said, turning his head as he sat in the passenger seat.

"Okay! Let me know whenever you want to buy it," Sun Fangfang said.

"Honey, I think we should buy a house in Zhengjia Village. You didn't see it? There's a stream behind that ravine, and there are fish in it! We can catch fish with a net whenever we have free time. That would be the best life!" Zhang Yang was driving. Wei Qingqing hadn't invited him, but when Zhang Yang heard that Wei Qingqing was going to the countryside to meet her parents, he had already heard online how delicious the rural dishes were. So, he shamelessly insisted on coming along, claiming that he didn't feel comfortable letting his wife ride in someone else's car.

"What's so great about the countryside? You might find it novel for a couple of days, but you'll get tired of it after a while. Besides, Qingqing's family lives in the countryside. We can go there every few days for a couple of days, and it'll be more comfortable than if we bought a house in the countryside ourselves. We're guests, so they have to take good care of us," Sun Fangfang said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, my wife is so wise!" Zhang Yang quickly flattered her.

"Sure! You can stay at our house all the time, no problem!" Yang Ming said with a smile.

"What's wrong? Are you still nervous? What's there to be nervous about? I'm here for you! I'll protect you if anything happens!" Sun Fangfang noticed that Wei Qingqing, who was sitting next to her, hadn't said a word the whole way. She didn't respond when others were talking, and her body would sometimes tremble involuntarily. Her face would turn pale and then red, looking extremely unwell. It was clear that she was extremely nervous.

"I...I'm scared!" Wei Qingqing said in a low, aggrieved voice.

"What's there to be afraid of? Yang Ming's parents aren't man-eating tigers," Sun Fangfang said.

"What if all his relatives and aunts surround me and stare?" Wei Qingqing felt even more aggrieved.

"Who told you that all your relatives would be watching you? Is there such a custom in our village? How come I didn't know about it?" Yang Ming felt somewhat confused.

"My mom said that people in the countryside are very picky. A bunch of people surrounded me and insisted on finding fault with me," Wei Qingqing pouted, looking extremely aggrieved.

"People might find fault, but they won't say it to your face. They'll just talk about it behind your back, comparing your wife to their own. With your college degree, they can't really find anything to criticize," Yang Ming quickly comforted him.

"Really?" Wei Qingqing asked tentatively.

"Hey Ugly Sister, when did you become so pretentious? This isn't like you at all! I still prefer your adventurous spirit when you were Zhong Kui, that was truly the iron lady's touch," Zhang Yang said, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"Get out of here, Zhang Yang! You just wait, I'm not done with you yet!" Zhang Yang's words were just so unpleasant to hear. Wei Qingqing was so angry that her lips trembled. Although her face had returned to normal, she still couldn't bring herself to talk about those nightmarish days. She always felt that her current life was unreal, like a beautiful dream, and she was afraid that one day she would wake up and her face would still be that face that could scare away evil spirits.

"Honey, don't talk nonsense." Seeing her best friend's strong reaction, Sun Fangfang quickly glared at her husband and took Qingqing's hand. "Qingqing, please don't be like this. Actually, your brother-in-law is right. You've changed a lot since your acne cleared up. You used to be so strong, you never frowned no matter where you went. Unlike now!"

"Fangfang is right. If you ask me, I still like the brave Wei Qingqing the most. You know what? That day you dragged me to get our marriage certificate without saying a word. I was indeed unhappy, but I don't dislike you. Because if you like someone, you should bravely pursue them and work hard for them. That's the most adorable Wei Qingqing," Yang Ming said.

"Listen to how well your husband speaks!" Sun Fangfang patted Wei Qingqing's hand.

"Pfft!"

Wei Qingqing suddenly laughed. Her husband's words were like a spring breeze blowing into her heart, warming her soul. The dark clouds that had been hanging over her heart were instantly blown away. She gave her husband a charming glare and said, "Then why did you make that face back then? It made me feel embarrassed."

"Hehehe, I was indeed reluctant at the time, but later I came to terms with it and just thought of it as buying a portrait of Zhong Kui to put in my house to ward off evil spirits!" Yang Ming said with a smile.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Wei Qingqing was furious and reached out to hit Yang Ming.

"Ah! Wife, spare me..." Yang Ming covered his head and dodged.

"I feel better now, at least Ugly Sister didn't fight with me!" Zhang Yang thought to himself, feeling relieved as he drove.

"Beat him up! What did he just say? It sounded like our Qingqing was a bully forcing her into marriage!" Seeing that her best friend was in a better mood, Sun Fangfang started teasing her.

"Sun Fangfang, you're the bully!" Wei Qingqing said coquettishly as she pounced on Sun Fangfang...

Laughing and joking, the van quickly exited the national highway and entered Baiyun County in T City. It was already past 4 p.m.

Under Yang Ming's guidance, the van bypassed the county town and drove onto the highway leading to Hongqi Township.

The roads in the village were in poor condition, some sections even damaged, riddled with potholes and quite unsightly. On both sides of the road stretched endless jujube orchards, laden with large, green jujubes. As the saying goes, "Jujubes ripen around the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month," meaning the jujubes generally mature around that time, and would be ready in about two weeks. A thick layer of withered yellow jujube blossoms had accumulated by the roadside, crunching underfoot. The van bumped along, arriving at Yangjia Village at exactly 6:30 PM; it was already getting dark.

The quiet village is filled with neat, pointed-roof bungalows. From a distance, they look like soldiers standing in orderly rows on the ground. Between the houses are well-maintained asphalt paths. Apart from the firewood piled up by the villagers along the roadside, there is no dirt or mess to be seen. It is nothing like the dirty and messy places that people usually imagine.

Yang Ming hadn't been back for almost two years, and he couldn't believe the changes in the village. Was this still the same Yangjia Village where manure piles lined the roadside, where everyone would hold their noses and avoid it, where garbage and rotten vegetable leaves were thrown in the street, and where you could accidentally step in dog poop, where children rolled around in piles of firewood until they were covered in mud, and where you couldn't even leave your house on rainy days? Wasn't the change a bit too much?

"Your village is nice!" Sun Fangfang said sincerely.

"Well, I haven't been back for almost two years... Is this really our village?" Yang Ming asked, looking puzzled. "Brother-in-law, please stop the car first. I'll go check the boundary marker at the village entrance to see if this is our village."

"What are you looking at? It says it up there: Yangjia Village, Hongqi Township, Baiyun County." Zhang Yang didn't even stop the car. "I bet you can't find your way home either. Call your family now and have them send someone to lead us in."

So Yang Ming took out his phone and called home to tell his parents that he had returned. As for getting married, he said he would tell them in person.

Before long, a large group of people came out of the village, young and old, men and women, all waiting by the roadside. These were the men and women of the Yang family, young girls and young wives, aunts and grandmothers.

"So many people!" Wei Qingqing was about to back down again.

"What are you afraid of? They're not going to eat you," Yang Ming said, his sharp eyes spotting his parents looking around anxiously in the crowd. He pointed and said, "Those are my parents... Brother-in-law, drive over there... I'll get out of the car first and let my mom know what's going on. I'll ask her to tell everyone not to keep an eye on you, okay? You guys wait in the car." Yang Ming reassured Wei Qingqing.

"You can't always smile at me..." Wei Qingqing quickly added.

"Look at your pathetic self!" Sun Fangfang rolled her eyes at Wei Qingqing, who wrinkled her nose at her in return.

"Okay, okay..." Yang Ming readily agreed.

Zhang Yang drove over and stopped in front of the crowd. Yang Ming's parents saw the car and guessed that their son must be inside. They quickly gathered around. Yang Ming opened the car door and got out. Seeing his parents, who were over fifty years old, especially his father whose temples were graying, he felt a pang of sadness. "Dad, Mom, I'm back..."

"Sigh! Good, good!" Yang Ming's father, Yang Zhengfang, was a simple farmer who was not good at expressing his feelings. He just nodded with red eyes.

"Mingming, why did you suddenly come back? You didn't tell me you were coming back sooner, so Mom could have prepared some good food for you!" Yang Ming's mother, Zhang Shufang, saw her son get out of the car, her eyes reddening, and she went up to him, taking his hand and asking, "Is your company on holiday?"

Yang Ming's parents knew about his last job and that their son's work was very unstable after graduation.

His mother was still quite talkative, but Yang Ming felt a warmth in his heart listening to her, and he almost shed tears. He said nonchalantly, "If I didn't get a holiday, and that manager dared to give me a hard time, I would just throw the documents in his face and quit working for him."

"Can't you just be a little more patient, kid?" Yang Ming's father, Yang Zhengfang, said reproachfully.

"It's okay, I've found a new job and I'm earning more money," Yang Ming said with a smile. Then he leaned close to his mother's ear and said, "Mom, there's someone else in the car. I'm bringing you a wife."

"Really?" Zhang Shufang's eyes lit up instantly, like two 1000-degree light bulbs.

"Hmm! But she's quite shy. You should tell the older women not to let them stare at her too much or smile at her too much, lest you embarrass her and she runs away, and your son's good time will be ruined."

"What are you two talking about?" Yang Zhengfang asked, not having heard what the mother and son were whispering about.

"It's nothing!" Upon hearing that her son's wife might not be getting married, Zhang Shufang immediately tensed up. She knew all too well what kind of behavior rural women had when they looked at a new bride, because she was one of them. Looking at the gazes of the large group of sisters-in-law and aunts she usually got along with, she also became unfriendly. She impatiently waved her hand at her husband's words and whispered to her son, "Son, how about this? Don't let her get out of the car here. Just drive the car into our yard and take her straight inside, okay?"

"Okay!" Yang Ming nodded quickly. "Mom, you lead the way, I'll cover you from here." He spoke like a member of the underground Communist Party.

"No problem, watch your mom's gotta do it!" If she weren't afraid of attracting attention, Zhang Shufang would have patted her chest and given her a guarantee.

After the mother and daughter finished whispering in each other's ears, a large group of family members gathered around and greeted Yang Ming. Yang Ming was the only college student from the Yang family in the past ten years, and everyone had a high opinion of him and was very enthusiastic towards him.

While Yang Ming and everyone else were warmly greeting each other, Zhang Shufang sidled up to the car and quietly knocked on the window.

There are many mosquitoes in the countryside, especially in the evening when they swarm in large numbers. So Zhang Yang had all the car windows closed. The air conditioning was on inside, so it wasn't too stuffy. When Zhang Shufang knocked on the car window, Zhang Yang quickly rolled it down.

Zhang Shufang whispered to Zhang Yang, who was driving, "Young man, your aunt will walk in front, and you follow behind."

"Okay!" Zhang Yang nodded quickly.

"Mingming, you haven't been back to the village for a while. Chat with everyone more; they all miss you. Mom's going back to cook; we need to treat the driver well."

"Okay, go ahead! Take the driver with you. He's been driving all day and must be exhausted and hungry," Yang Ming said.

"Sister-in-law, let me go help you!"

"Auntie, I'll go cook with you..."

Several women immediately shouted that they wanted to help.

"Alright! But Mingming didn't even say a word before coming back. We're not prepared at home. Mingming's third sister-in-law, why don't you take everyone to the convenience store to buy some food? Otherwise, we won't be able to put together a feast. All the sisters-in-law and aunts should also check what they have at home. Our Yang family can put together a few tables tonight and have a good time." Zhang Shufang took out a small wallet from her pocket, pulled out five RMB notes, and handed them to a pretty young woman.

"Okay, okay, we bought a huge watermelon yesterday. It was so big that we couldn't bear to eat it. It's still chilling at the bottom of the water tank! I'll get it for you right now."

"My family just bought a new gosling this year, and it's quite plump. It's a pity it's a male. We'll slaughter it for meat today..."

"Our little rooster crows every morning, it's so annoying, we'll just slaughter it and have some meat today."

So Zhang Shufang sent away the old women from each household, and under the pretext of going home to cook, she took the "hidden beauty" van and went home. Meanwhile, Yang Ming lingered at the village entrance with a group of village leaders. They chatted as they slowly walked back, with bursts of unrestrained laughter occasionally breaking the silence.

The van slowly followed Zhang Shufang and drove into a large courtyard.

Wang Wang Wang...

As soon as the car entered the yard, a burst of barking came from the corner. The big yellow dog, tied to the corner of the yard, struggled against its chain and frantically tried to pounce. It was quite frightening to see such a large yellow dog, about the size of a calf, making such a move.

"What are you barking about? Go away..." Zhang Shufang was afraid that the big yellow dog would frighten her daughter-in-law, so she quickly grabbed a broom handle, raised it as if to hit it, and the big yellow dog immediately squeaked and tucked its tail between its legs.

The car door opened, and Zhang Yang was the first to get out. "Auntie, your dog is quite big, is it a dumb dog?"

"Hmm! A stupid country dog..."

Upon seeing a stranger, the big yellow dog would make a pouncing motion, but Zhang Shufang's broom handle was already raised, and several times it seemed about to do so, yet it dared not move rashly.

"Auntie, your dog is really clever!" The second person to come down was Sun Fangfang. Sun Fangfang was also quite interested in this big yellow dog. Usually in the city, the dogs she saw were all purebreds, but none of them had the cleverness of this big yellow dog.

"What? This dog's so silly, it barks at everyone. Girl, come inside and rest!" Zhang Shufang assumed Sun Fangfang was her daughter-in-law. She was secretly thinking, "This girl seems so shrewd and capable; she doesn't seem shy at all. She's quite outgoing!" She quickly smiled warmly, "My Mingming is a bit introverted, but he's kind-hearted and helpful. Please help him out more in the future; after all, a couple needs to rely on each other..."

Sun Fangfang was stunned by Zhang Shufang's words.

"Auntie, she's my wife. Your daughter-in-law is still in the car..." Zhang Yang said, quite annoyed.

"Oh dear, look at this mess! They didn't even explain things clearly to me!" Zhang Shufang laughed awkwardly.

"Wei Qingqing, come out quickly! If you don't come out soon, your mother will start to think I'm her daughter-in-law..." Sun Fangfang shouted into the car.

Finally, after much coaxing, Wei Qingqing emerged from the van. Zhang Shufang stared at her, dumbfounded. She was just like the people on TV. What was even more amazing was that this girl had a large bottom, clearly indicating she was capable of bearing sons.

"Mom!" Wei Qingqing called out shyly, her face flushed.

"..." After a long while, Zhang Shufang finally reacted, and immediately became overjoyed, nodding happily in response: "Oh, oh, oh, our daughter is so beautiful, our Mingming is so lucky, her name is Qingqing, right? Come in quickly, they will be back soon, and the yard will be in chaos..." As she spoke, she went forward and pulled the blushing Wei Qingqing into the house, and Sun Fangfang followed her in.

In the yard, only Zhang Yang was playing with the dog. Anyway, it was chained up, so as long as people didn't get close, it couldn't bite anyone.

The houses in Yangjia Village are all newly built as part of the county's "New Rural Development Plan," and the government provides certain subsidies. Yang Ming's house was also demolished and rebuilt. It's a large five-room brick house, and the room reserved for Yang Ming is in the westernmost room. Zhang Shufang led her daughter-in-law directly to the westernmost room.

The west room contained only a large bed and a large wardrobe, all neatly arranged. The incandescent light was not very bright, but it was warm. The large pendulum clock on the wall ticked softly with each swing, creating a lullaby-like sound.

"Mingming said you're thin-skinned. If you don't want to meet the head of the household, just hide in this room. I'll bring you something delicious when it's time to eat," Zhang Shufang said as she took several new quilts from the wardrobe and spread them on the bed.

"Okay! Thank you, Mom!" Wei Qingqing sat on the edge of the bed, nodded gently, and her face turned even redder.

"Why are you thanking me? You silly child." Zhang Shufang smiled broadly. Every time Wei Qingqing called her "Mom," her heart felt as sweet as if it were filled with honey.

"Auntie, your big wardrobe is really beautiful. It must be quite old, right?" Sun Fangfang was very outgoing and immediately noticed Yang Ming's big wardrobe as she sat on the bed. The wardrobe was painted red and stood against the north wall, its two lids and doors matching each other. In the center of the wardrobe, there was a large "Fu" (good fortune) character.

"That's right, this was made when I got married to Mingming's dad, it's been over 20 years."

After tidying up, Zhang Shufang ran to the outer room to make tea. She was so busy that she was practically running around on her feet. Seeing her mother-in-law's busy appearance, Wei Qingqing suddenly felt less nervous.

The outer room is also simply furnished. There is a row of wooden sofas along the north wall, all covered with soft cushions. The solid wood coffee table has a rustic design and a sense of simplicity. There is a water dispenser in the corner, so you can get a drink while sitting on the sofa.

"Mom, let me help you!" Wei Qingqing suddenly ran over, took the teapot, and went to the water dispenser to get hot water.

"My daughter seems like a very hardworking person," Zhang Shufang said with a smile.

"My parents are both teachers and they are usually very busy. I am an only child, so I usually help my mother with all the housework," Wei Qingqing said.

"So your parents are both teachers? Cultured people! No wonder your daughter is so well-mannered!" Zhang Shufang went to the refrigerator to get some fruit.

"No, Mom, you flatter me." Wei Qingqing filled the teapot with water, placed it on the coffee table, and put the lid on to let it steep.

Zhang Shufang came over carrying a tray of clean purple grapes: "These grew on the grape trellis at home. Last year when we were building the house, the old vine was broken by a group of construction workers. This year, new vines have grown from the roots, but there aren't many grapes. Otherwise, there would be bunches of them hanging all over the yard. When I was little, I was always so greedy. I would often move a stool to get more grapes and eat them. I would often get diarrhea from eating so many."

"Hehe..." Imagining Yang Ming clutching his stomach and running to the toilet, Wei Qingqing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

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