My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 376 Even When We're Close, We're Not Close

Upon seeing who it was, Chen Ling was quite surprised, and paused for two seconds before going up to greet them.

I really didn't expect that.

It turned out to be my aunt, Chen Junying.

No wonder Wang Susu announced that relatives had come to her house before even entering.

The person who came was my husband's eldest aunt, who was the last relative on his side of the family.

The husband's last remaining relative.

Even though this aunt hadn't visited for over three years after her father-in-law's death, and hadn't even come to celebrate her son's one-month birthday, Wang Susu didn't complain. When Chen Junying arrived, he abandoned his work at the village pharmacy without a word and brought her to the farm.

When Chen Ling saw Chen Junying, he didn't show any particular reaction.

No matter how you put it, even though this aunt isn't close to his family, she's still family, not an enemy. Since she's come to visit, he, as her nephew, has to do his best to receive her.

After greeting her with a smile and taking the bags Chen Junying was carrying, Chen Ling asked, "Auntie, how did you get here? It's such a long way, and Uncle and Xiao Yuan didn't come with you."

“Hey, they all went out to work this spring, leaving your sister-in-law and me at home with the kids. It was pretty boring. Just recently, Chunsheng’s wife from our village came back to her parents’ home and talked about what happened here. She said that a turtle king came to the reservoir outside our village. It was very lively and very effective. When I heard this, I wanted to go back to my hometown to see you guys, so your sister-in-law and I took the two kids and rode in someone’s car to come back with them.”

Chen Junying said with a smile.

She was a very robust woman with short hair, a square face, a ruddy complexion, large eyes, and a large mouth, giving her a somewhat lion-like appearance.

According to the villagers, back then, the team entrusted her with everything, whether it was training livestock or borrowing livestock from other villages. She was also very good at farm work and had plenty of strength.

However, despite her strong physique, my aunt is a skilled farmer.

In reality, she was an honest, timid woman with little opinion of her own.

He's incredibly talkative.

When talking about one thing, he can go on and on for miles, becoming even more long-winded than Tang Sanzang.

They even offer guidance on how to hold a hoe with minimal effort and how to wash dishes thoroughly.

Chen Ling's mother was extremely annoyed by this. Sometimes, when she heard her nagging, she would get so fed up that she would get angry and scold her sister-in-law, telling her to stop talking and that if she thought she wasn't doing a good job, then she should take over.

At this time, my aunt would feel very wronged, thinking that she was clearly doing it out of kindness.

Over time, their relationship deteriorated, and all their conflicts stemmed from this.

Chen Ling knew what kind of person his aunt was, and knew that if he went along with Chen Junying's words about the old turtle, it would go on and on. So he changed the subject and asked about other things.

"Oh, is that so? Where are your wife and child? I haven't seen them."

"Sigh, it makes me angry just thinking about this. Your brother's little kid is so disobedient. When he saw that the reservoir was bustling with lots of food and toys, he started crying and refusing to leave. Your sister-in-law is playing with him there."

Chen Junying smiled helplessly, "It's just that there are too many acquaintances over there. As soon as my daughter from Chenwangzhuang came back, she started gossiping about me everywhere. Just now, when we were walking this way, she was telling Susu that she saw Cunye and Xiulan at the reservoir. They were very affectionate. Seeing your sister-in-law with Xiaobo, she bought him food and toys, which made everyone in our village laugh at us. I was so embarrassed..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu took her hand and said, "Auntie, what's so funny? You've come all this way, you should buy something for the child."

“Xiao Bo is still young, and you shouldn’t let your parents waste money on him. I scolded him before I came to the village.”

Wang Susu meant what she said sincerely, but Chen Junying felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly replied.

Other people buy this and that for their own grandsons and are very willing to spend money, but they don't buy anything for their nephews or grandnieces to eat or play with.

I only brought some fabric for making clothes and a small blanket.

Especially when she thinks of the teasing remarks from acquaintances in the village, joking about what nice things she brought for her grand-nephew.

This made Chen Junying suddenly feel that the things she had gritted her teeth to buy were now somewhat embarrassing to show off.

She is an honest person. If it weren't for her troublesome uncle Chen Ling around, she would be a very kind and gentle woman.

Feeling a little guilty, he teased Rui Rui in Wang Susu's arms while remarking, "I haven't been back for the past two or three years, and I didn't even know Fugui had become so successful. Getting married and having a child really makes a difference."

"Susu, you don't know, everyone outside is praising Fugui for being capable. As soon as they hear that I'm Fugui's aunt, they all crane their necks to look at me like I'm a monkey."

Wang Susu just smiled when she heard that.

Then, Chen Ling exchanged a glance with Chen Junying, who immediately understood. She put Chen Junying's things aside and said, "Auntie, you and Susu should go inside and rest. It's getting late, I'll hurry up and prepare lunch."

Upon hearing this, Chen Junying wondered why his nephew was cooking. "Is the food he cooks even edible?"

She quickly stopped Chen Ling and told her to come with Wang Susu.

After all, it's not reasonable to expect men to cook when visiting relatives.

"It's alright, Auntie. You and Susu go inside and rest. Ruirui is very active at this age and needs someone to watch over him. I cooked at home before Susu got pregnant, so don't worry, I can cook a meal without any problem."

"Yes, Auntie, A-Ling is a great cook. You'll see soon enough."

After Wang Susu said that, Chen Junying gave up, but she didn't rush to go inside. Instead, she let Wang Susu take her around the farm.

To be honest, even now, she still feels like she's dreaming.

I couldn't have imagined that my good-for-nothing nephew would build such a large fortune in just two or three years.

A couple of days ago, when Wang Chunsheng's wife talked about her nephew, she couldn't believe it at first.

I only realized today that they weren't lying. Look at the farm my nephew built, he's obviously made a fortune.

This farm may not sound as grand as the villas outside, but once you step inside, everything you see is beautiful.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what made it so good, only that it had mountains and water, lots of flowers and grass, beautiful scenery, and exquisite buildings, which were in no way inferior to those small Western-style houses.

For a moment, she wanted to see every room and touch and look at everything. Her face showed both envy and lingering reluctance, like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden.

"Goodness, they fed so many dogs, so many birds, and so many fish..."

Chen Junying hadn't noticed at first, but now she realized how many dogs there were on the farm, how many birds hung on the long corridor, and how many fish were swimming in the lotus pond and the canal.

He was even more certain that his nephew had made a fortune.

This is not getting rich in the usual sense.

In her view, dogs and birds are just playthings. Poor families wouldn't keep such things. Only wealthy families with plenty of money and time have the spare time to keep these things.

Look at my nephew, he owns houses, mountains, and fields. He's always been playful, so it's only natural that he'd be so eager to make a fortune.

Putting aside everything else, there must be dozens or even hundreds of birdcages.

However, this was only in his mind; Chen Junying praised Chen Ling verbally.

She was amazed at how much her hometown had changed; it had changed drastically in just a few years since she last returned.

There are only a few old houses left in the village; now every household has rebuilt a new brick and tile house.

The land, which had been reclaimed for more than a decade, was transformed into a farm by his nephew.

The old graves from back then had also been moved and converted into farmland by her eldest nephew. Wang Susu kept her company and agreed with her. Later, she called Wang Zhenzhen out and asked her to boil some water and make tea. After accompanying Chen Junying on a tour of the farm, they went into the living room to drink tea and chat.

When Chen Junying saw the large television in the living room, he was startled and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

After the initial amazement, I suddenly felt a little restless.

She was quite relaxed when she arrived, but after walking around and seeing this big TV, she unconsciously became reserved.

He felt that his nephew and niece-in-law had suddenly become both unfamiliar and imposing, and he had completely forgotten his original purpose for coming and the things he had discussed with his daughter-in-law.

Chen Junying finally felt relieved when Wang Cunye and his wife returned at noon with Chen Ling's cousin-in-law and a four- or five-year-old boy.

There's a saying in the countryside: "If you don't visit for three years, even relatives won't be close."

If you live together every day, or are relatives who visit frequently, then naturally you won't feel anything.

The awkward thing is that, for various reasons, Chen Junying, as the aunt, does not have a close relationship with Chen Ling's family.

In addition, Chen Ling's side has changed a lot. After praising all the good things about Chen Ling's family and talking about the changes in the village, she suddenly didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Wang Cunye and his companion returned with Chen Ling's cousin-in-law and son; otherwise, Chen Junying would still be sitting in the living room feeling uneasy.

At this time, Chen Ling had also prepared lunch, which consisted of four dishes and a soup, with both meat and vegetables. He had also laid out a few sliced ​​salted duck eggs, which could be considered a dish.

The eldest aunt's family was not wealthy, and the uncle was a stingy man who could only afford to eat meat twice a year. When they smelled the aroma of meat, Chen Junying and his two companions couldn't help but swallow hard.

When it was finally time to eat, as soon as the rice was served, Chen Ling's taciturn cousin-in-law and the boy named Xiao Bo began to wolf down their food, constantly picking up food with their chopsticks and stuffing it into their mouths without stopping.

Chen Junying was no less impressive. When she was young, she had a large appetite, otherwise she wouldn't be so strong and famous for her ability to do farm work.

These two adults and one child completely forgot everything when they saw the delicious food. They just kept picking at the food, shoveling rice into their mouths, and then picking at more food, devouring everything in a frenzy. They specifically targeted the two meat dishes, as if they were afraid someone would snatch them away.

Not only did they eat quickly, but the two of them also kept putting meat and vegetables into the little boy's bowl, oblivious to everyone else.

There was no way around it; these days, family planning is strictly enforced. As the only boy in the family, needless to say, he was certainly pampered by the whole family from a young age, if not spoiled.

During this time, Wang Zhenzhen wanted to pick up a piece of her favorite cured fish, but before she could even pick it up, Chen Ling's cousin-in-law quickly put it into her son's bowl.

Wang Zhenzhen wanted to pick up another piece, but the woman quickly picked it up first, put it in her own bowl, and continued to eat without looking up.

Wang Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, a clatter of chopsticks filled the air as the food was devoured in a whirlwind. A plate of cured fish and a bowl of beef were already empty, and Chen Junying even poured the remaining broth into the three of their bowls.

After pouring it out, he even kindly offered to drizzle some broth over Chen Ling and the others' rice.

Chen Ling and the other three waved their hands repeatedly, saying it wasn't necessary.

Seeing this, Wang Zhenzhen pouted unhappily, on the verge of tears. She was especially unhappy when she saw Chen Junying pouring soup while the little boy had a high pile of meat in his bowl and was trying hard to shovel it into his mouth.

Honestly, my brother-in-law's family has had so many outsiders, but I've never seen anyone like this before. It's like they haven't eaten in ages.

They're just eating vegetables, why are they even fighting over them?

Chen Ling and Wang Susu, and even the elderly couple Wang Cunye, didn't react much. Why shouldn't they let their relatives eat when they've come to visit?

We don't need that much food ourselves.

They picked at the vegetables and salted eggs, and ate them with relish.

Although Wang Zhenzhen was sullen, she was still very sensible in front of outsiders. Since the adults didn't speak, she didn't say anything either.

However, after the meal, in the afternoon, something happened that made Wang Zhenzhen unable to hold back.

The adults were watching TV and talking in the living room when the little boy got restless and wanted to go out to play. So the adults let her take the little boy outside to play.

Four- or five-year-old boys are naturally playful and restless, especially after they feel comfortable with something, they will jump around and try to do everything.

The main reason was that Chen Ling's family was very easygoing, the food was delicious, and there were many fun things to do, so the boy quickly became bolder and started running around playing.

Even Wang Zhenzhen, a well-known leader of children, felt that this little kid was too noisy and didn't know any better. She told him not to touch things randomly and offered to take him outside to play, but he seemed not to hear her.

He shook off Wang Zhenzhen's hand and ran around up and down the stairs. He had never seen such tall and beautiful bamboo and wooden houses before.

So he ran around happily. The wooden building was where the film crew lived. During the day, when no one was in the room, the rooms were locked. He found it boring, so he came to the bamboo building.

Several rooms in the bamboo house had their doors open, so he went inside and ran around aimlessly.

This fun place was a whole new world for him.

They were shouting excitedly while playing.

Soon, they discovered a bunch of Rui Rui's little toys, picked them up and started playing with them—a small drum, a small trumpet, a tin frog—having a great time.

Before I could play with it for long, I accidentally broke off the arm of one of the dolls.

Wang Zhenzhen shouted anxiously, "Didn't you hear me telling you not to take things without permission?"

Hearing the commotion, Wang Cunye came out and poked his head out, shouting upstairs, "What's wrong, Zhenzhen? Xiao Bo is your nephew too. You were asked to play with him, so don't bully him, understand?"

Wang Zhenzhen was immediately both aggrieved and angry: "I didn't bully him, Dad. No matter what I said to him, he wouldn't listen. He ran around everywhere and even broke Rui Rui's little doll."

At this moment, all the adults in the living room came out.

Chen Junying called out first, "Xiao Bo, come down quickly."

Wang Susu also tried to smooth things over, saying, "Zhenzhen, come downstairs. Don't make a scene upstairs with Xiaobo. The toy is broken, so be it. Xiaobo definitely didn't do it on purpose."

Since Wang Susu had already said that, the two of them should have obediently come down and everything would have been fine.

Unfortunately, Xiao Bo, being an only child, was spoiled by his family from a young age. When the adults discovered that he had done something wrong, he was still fearless and blamed Wang Zhenzhen for telling on him.

So this four- or five-year-old boy glared fiercely at Wang Zhenzhen, ran up to her, kicked her, cursed at her, and then turned and ran downstairs.

Faced with this situation, Wang Zhenzhen was taken aback. After a moment of stunned silence, she screamed in anger, chased after the little thief in a few steps, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and beat him to the ground.

The little one suddenly lost his fierceness and lay on the ground crying loudly, calling for his grandma and mom.

Upon seeing this, Chen Junying and her daughter-in-law were startled and hurriedly ran upstairs, shouting, "Oh dear, what are you doing? Let go and get up quickly, don't hurt my Xiao Bo!"

Chen Ling followed closely behind, climbing the stairs even faster, though his expression was somewhat gloomy.

Wang Susu's face didn't look very good either.

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan exchanged a glance, then sighed slightly. This family is really something. If they weren't going to come, they shouldn't have come at all. But they had to rush here as soon as they heard that their nephew had made a fortune. This trip is just a disaster for their son-in-law.

Just now in the living room, they couldn't stand it anymore. Their son-in-law's aunt wasn't there to visit relatives; she was there to complain about being poor.

Given the son-in-law's temperament, he should have offered some help to his aunt, but who knew this would turn out like this.

Considering her son-in-law's past behavior, it will be difficult for this aunt to gain any advantage from him again.

(End of this chapter)