My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 320 Warming the New House

This foreign girl is only in her early twenties.

She had long, slightly wavy, jet-black hair, a high nose, big eyes, and cherry-like lips. She had a beautiful, aloof look and a great figure, quite tall.

In terms of figure and appearance alone, she is no less attractive than foreign actresses in movies and TV shows.

Even in China, she would be considered a true beauty.

Chen Ling hadn't encountered a foreigner in real life for a long time, and he was stunned when he saw the woman's appearance.

Then he laughed, thinking to himself, "I never thought that Old Chen would have a day when he could be a hero and save a damsel in distress."

This feels quite novel.

"..."

"Officer, don't let his young age fool you, this robber is really ruthless. He stole the goods and even tried to stab someone with a knife!"

"No, he didn't stab anyone. After grabbing the stuff, he kept trying to run away. We and this young man stopped him. The main problem was that he was carrying a knife, so we were too scared to go up to him. We just threw things at him from a distance. This young man was really brave. He went up and kicked the scoundrel so hard he fell over."

"Yes, young man, you're really brave. You even managed to subdue the robber who had a knife."

"That's right, not only is he brave, but he's also handsome and dashing. He's clearly a good young man. Young man, are you married yet?"

"..."

Soon, the police arrived, handcuffed the robber, and conducted a brief routine questioning of everyone present.

But as the questions went on, the topic veered off course.

The foreign girl could speak Mandarin, so she naturally understood what everyone was saying. After answering the police's questions, she tidied her messy clothes and hair and went forward to thank Chen Ling and the other passersby.

She seemed to have a good impression of Chen Ling. When she came over to thank him, she stared at his face. When he went to get the gifts, she even came over to help him carry them.

After Chen Ling thanked him and politely declined, the foreign girl winked at him and asked, "Are you going to visit a friend?"

"My name is Eva, I'm French, and I just started teaching at Southern Taiwan University. I speak Chinese, English, and French, and I enjoy adventure and classical culture. I hope we can get to know each other."

As he spoke, he extended his hand to shake hands with Chen Ling.

"Are you still a teacher?"

Hearing the foreign girl's very formal introduction, Chen Ling had no choice but to stop and shake her hand briefly: "My name is Chen Ling. I am indeed here to visit a friend. It's nice to meet you."

“Chen Ling? Although I speak Chinese, I’m not used to the way you address people in China, so I’ll just call you Chen.”

"Chen, may I treat you to a meal to thank you for your help?"

"No need, it's just a small favor, most people would help if they saw it."

"OK then."

Eva shrugged, looking somewhat disappointed.

But she was clearly a free-spirited woman.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have recovered from the robbery so quickly.

"Wealth."

As the two were talking, Chen Ling heard someone call his name from behind.

Turning his head, he saw Zhao Dahai's wife, Xiang Wenxia, ​​carrying large and small bags of groceries, looking at him and Eva beside him with surprise.

"What are you..."

"Oh, it's you, sister-in-law. This girl was just robbed. The police just took the robber away a few minutes ago."

Chen Ling briefly explained the situation.

After listening, Xiang Wenxia sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. Every time school starts or holidays come around, there are a lot of pickpockets and thieves here, and the police can't keep up with them all. But it's rare to see someone robbing people with a knife in broad daylight."

He glanced at Eva as he spoke, thinking that those people probably thought this girl was a foreigner, unfamiliar with the place, and easy to bully.

Eva is a girl with a cool and aloof appearance. Her bone structure has a touch of cold elegance, making it clear at a glance that she is a high-class woman who naturally exudes an unapproachable aura.

But when he talks to people, he's a completely different person; he's very outgoing and friendly.

"Young lady, what country are you from? Are you studying at a university here?"

"No, I am French, and I am a foreign teacher hired by Southern Taiwan University."

Tiannan was formerly known as Nantai, and many universities in the region like to use the ancient names of the local area as their university names.

"Oh, she's a French teacher. What's her name?"

"My name is Eva."

Eva lived not far from Zhao Dahai's house.

She and Chen Ling walked together for a while before parting ways.

Zhao Dahai's home is located on the edge of the campus of Nantai University. It is a small villa with a spacious yard, flowers and grass, and two dogs, one big and one small.

The large one was a greyhound that had once accompanied Zhao Dahai to Chen Ling's house. Upon seeing Chen Ling, it clearly remembered him. As soon as Xiang Wenxia opened the door, it trotted over, its tail wagging wildly.

"Not bad, Huahua. It wasn't for nothing that Heiwa took care of you; you still remember me."

Chen Ling patted its head and looked at the small dog lying in the doghouse. That dog was a typical Shih Tzu, a small white dog with long hair, which many families in the city like to keep as pets.

Xiang Wenxia smiled and said, "Huahua is very smart and remembers people for a long time. Qiangqiang is old, he's ten years old now. He's my mother-in-law's dog, and we usually don't let him out."

"Ten years old? That definitely means you're starting to look older."

Even if a dog lives to be ten years old, its teeth and digestive system will gradually deteriorate, making it weak and prone to illness, just like a person entering old age.

Then, remembering what Xiang Wenxia had mentioned about her mother-in-law, she asked, "Are Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao home?"

Xiang Wenxia shook her head: "He's not here. He went out for National Day. That's why he brought the dog over and asked us to take care of it for a few days."

Hearing the voices outside the courtyard, Zhao Dahai quickly came out.

Ever since Chen Ling called to say he was coming, he had been waiting at home. He even had Xiang Wenxia go out to buy groceries, worried that Chen Ling wouldn't be able to find his way home. He and his daughter waited at home for Chen Ling to arrive. Now that Chen Ling had finally come, he was overjoyed and quickly pulled him into the house.

As they spoke, upon learning of what Chen Ling had encountered on the road, the fat man was also stunned, his mouth agape in astonishment.

Then came a burst of laughter, his whole body jiggling with fat.

"This foreign girl is so enthusiastic towards you, could it be that she has a crush on you? You did a good deed this time, but you ended up playing the hero and rescuing a damsel in distress. She probably thinks you're good-looking and wants to repay you with her body."

Xiang Wenxia laughed when she heard this, but as his sister-in-law, she couldn't tease Chen Ling. After laughing, she turned to Zhao Dahai with a serious face and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Be careful Su Su finds out, or she won't let you into the house if you go to see Fu Gui."

Knowing that the couple was teasing him in various ways, Chen Ling was not annoyed. He let them talk and went to tease their daughter, Ya Ya, and then changed the subject by asking about the lynx.

"It's normal that you couldn't get through on the phone. They might not be home at this time. I'll call him over tonight, and we can have a drink here."

The lynx now lives in the suburbs, where there is a large area where they have built a dog farm and raise many hunting dogs.

The wedding house is in the city, and it's said to be similar to Zhao Dahai's half-finished villa. It has quite a few rooms, and they've been busy with the renovation for the past six months. They have to keep an eye on it every day and take care of all sorts of other things, so they've been quite busy.

"Where's Yuemin? Have you called and asked? If he's in the city, call him over too."

Chen Ling shook his head: "No, they went back to Beijing for National Day. Maybe next time."

"That works too. Then it'll just be the three of us drinking today."

……

night.

They called Lynx over, and the three of them had a big meal and drinks, making merry until late at night.

After all, it was Chen Ling's first time visiting the city, and they wanted to show him hospitality, so they were all quite happy.

During the drinking session, Chen Ling told them about the house he had bought in the city, saying that he had taken out a loan and would be able to pay it off after the new year.

They had no doubt about Chen Ling's earning power.

Naturally, there's no worry that he won't be able to repay the loan.

There was only the joy and happiness among friends.

Zhao Dahai also said that he was asked to come last year but he didn't, so he came to buy a house this year.

"How can that be the same? You were just encouraging me to open a restaurant."

Chen Ling merely rolled his eyes at this, too lazy to say anything more.

Zhao Dahai chuckled: "Then we'll go warm up your new house tomorrow."

"What new house? Didn't I say it was an old house?"

"Well, it's a newly bought house for you, so it should be warm."

"Yes, it should be warm. We should at least be allowed to sit down for a while, right?"

Warming up a new house is a custom, called "stabilizing the pot" or "entering the fire" in the countryside, it's all for good luck.

Judging from the excitement of Zhao Dahai and Shanmao, they seemed even happier than Chen Ling himself about buying a house in the city.

He said, "I don't come here to stay often."

"So what if we don't come to stay often? As long as we have a house in the city, that's a good thing. Besides, isn't this more convenient? It also makes us seem closer to each other."

"That's true."

The three of them drank wine and discussed the arrangements for warming the new house.

The next morning, I went to Chen Ling's house and helped him tidy up.

"You'll need to buy some furniture, won't you? These rooms of yours have no furniture other than beds and chairs. The kitchen sink and faucet also need to be replaced."

Chen Ling nodded: "Buy it. I came here to buy a TV for my home, so I'll just buy them all at once."

The previous owner was sentimental and moved everything out quite cleanly, especially the study, where nothing was left except for a few pieces of calligraphy given to Chen Ling.

"Let's go then, what are we waiting for? My dad has a friend who's in the furniture business, I'll take you there, you'll not only get a discount, but they'll also deliver to your door."

Zhao Dahai waved his hand loudly and led Chen Ling and Shanmao outside.

Chen Ling's side is a branch campus of Southern Taiwan University, and Zhao Dahai's side is also a branch campus, which is considered the School of Foreign Languages.

His house is also part of the family housing complex.

Not far from here, there is a residential compound for employees of a government agency, with guards standing outside the gate.

So this place is quite good; at least it's strictly managed, and petty thieves don't dare to loiter around here.

"Speaking of this, things have gotten much better in the last two years. When I was in school, young people would go out to fight every day with machetes and steel bars. There were five or six hundred people in two big gangs. They would fight without any regard for family ties. Who knows what kind of mess it would get? There were times when blood was flowing all over the ground."

"Yes, Dahai is right. But the petty theft that Fugui mentioned, such as pickpockets, human traffickers, and burglars, doesn't cause much trouble, but it's never stopped. I've even seen people practice stealing by pouring boiling water into a basin."

The lynx was talking about practicing hand speed in boiling water.

Zhao Dahai nodded: "Of course there are, but not everyone is allowed to steal. It's mostly done at train stations and during school holidays. It's easiest to steal from strangers. It's harder to steal from acquaintances because they know where there are many thieves and are on guard. Also, if they get caught, they're likely to get beaten up."

Listening to what the two were saying, Chen Ling felt that the county town wasn't so bad now; at least thieves and robbers weren't so rampant.

While chatting, the three of them drove to a furniture mall that Zhao Dahai claimed was owned by one of Zhao Dahai's uncles. The business was quite large, with three floors filled with all kinds of furniture.

Knowing that Chen Ling was Zhao Dahai's friend, the boss had someone take them around.

Chen Ling looked around and felt that Chinese-style furniture was more pleasing to the eye, so he simply picked out a set.

That's the advantage of knowing someone you know; the price is indeed cheaper, and it's delivered right to your door.

At noon, Chen Ling found a nice restaurant and prepared to treat everyone.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Dahai drove up and said, "I can't go. My parents are back. They said they haven't met my brother yet and they want you to come over for dinner."

(End of this chapter)