My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 482 Miao Village
A babbling brook.

A small stone bridge, and a tall, vigorous green tree.

Smoke was rising slowly from behind the big banyan tree.

The slightly lame old man who came to greet us had a few mud stains on his clothes and a happy look on his face.

"Haha, Rui Rui, my sweet Rui Rui, I missed Grandpa so much."

From afar, the old man opened his arms to the baby in Chen Ling's arms.

The little boy was visiting his maternal grandfather's house in Yaowangzhai for the first time. He was looking around curiously, finding the different styles of the houses quite novel.

At this time.

Upon suddenly hearing the familiar and friendly voice, my head immediately started spinning back and forth like a rattle drum.

Find the source of the sound.

"Hey, you little rascal, Grandpa's here."

Wang Cunye grinned and gently patted his eldest grandson on the head.

Then, before her eldest grandson could turn his head, she deftly slipped to the other side.

"Oh."

The little baby knew they were playing with him, and immediately let out an excited shout, then turned his head sharply to look for them.

The old man laughed and teased him while dodging him.

Back and forth, sticking out its tongue and squinting its eyes, it looks just like an old monkey.

It made the little baby squeal and cry.

No wonder Gao Xiulan always says that this old man is never serious.

"Wow, brother-in-law, Rui Rui, what brings you here today?"

Wang Zhenzhen shouted with delight and ran down the hillside in the distance, leading a small yellow dog. Her two little pigtails fluttered in the wind as she ran.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, it was beautiful and childlike.

"Hehe, I'm not here to pick you up. I'm here to deliver another batch of goods to my second brother."

Chen Ling chuckled.

She put down the little rascal who had become even more excited after seeing his aunt, kicking his legs and babbling in her arms.

Wang Zhenzhen was also very happy. She immediately grabbed the baby's ears and snuggled close to the baby's face, whimpering, "Stinky Rui Rui, did you miss me?"

The little baby liked playing with this aunt, but he was also most afraid of her because she was rough and made him feel uncomfortable.

He has no choice yet.

However, I haven't seen her for several days now, and I miss her quite a bit, so I didn't resist or try to get away.

He just let his aunt pull his ears and tickle him, making a fuss over him.

He closed his eyes tightly, hunched his chest, trying to avoid it while enduring it with all his might, his little face full of struggle.

“Zhenzhen, you’ve been playing all day long, covered in sweat, why are you still coming up to Rui Rui?”

Wang Cunye couldn't stand it anymore; he hadn't even finished getting to know his eldest grandson.

"Hmph, you always talk about me..."

Wang Zhenzhen pouted, flicked her braids, and waved to the little baby: "Rui Rui, come on, I'll take you home. I caught a nest of baby rabbits the day before yesterday when it rained. They were so much fun."

Rui Rui hurriedly ran after her with his short legs.

Wang Zhenzhen chuckled and swung the dog leash: "Dog, hurry up and follow, giddy up!"

Seeing this, Wang Cunye hurriedly chased after her, saying, "Hey wild girl, slow down! Let the dog run free, don't trip Rui Rui!"

Chen Ling shook his head and smiled, then followed.

They were in a place behind the village, where there were hardly any people.

Chen Ling came up carrying his son. His father-in-law and sister-in-law were not home; they were busy on the mountain. It was a villager from the same village who brought him here.

However, as you walk down the slope towards home, the number of people gradually increases.

Many people came specifically to see Chen Ling and his son.

After all, Yaowang Village is not a large village, and everyone there is related by blood. As soon as they heard that Cunye's son-in-law had arrived, they all came out to see him.

When Chen Ling first brought his wife back to her parents' home, no one thought much of it; they just wanted to see what kind of man Su Su had.

Things are different these past two years.

Everyone knows that Susu married a good man, that he makes money, drives a car, owns a tractor, a motorcycle, and has a big TV.

I also brought a doll with me this time.

A lot of people came out to watch.

As I walked home, I asked people all sorts of questions.

Wang Cunye didn't find it annoying at all; he was smiling so wide his mouth stretched all the way to his ears.

Chen Ling was also willing to give his father-in-law some face.

When it's time to offer cigarettes, offer cigarettes; when it's time to greet the elders, offer them greetings.

Naturally, it also received unanimous praise.

Rui Rui, that brat, is incredibly outgoing. Whenever they walk past someone's house and Wang Cunye stops to talk to them, Rui Rui peeks into their yard.

Look at the chickens, ducks, geese, or other livestock that other people raise.

Anyone who sees this child will say that he is adorable and doesn't look like a toddler at all.

They rushed over to hug them.

After a lively journey home, Wang Zhenzhen took her son to see the rabbits.

Wang Cunye poured water for Chen Ling and asked him to sit down and rest: "You brought Rui Rui with you, so you can't go back today, right?"

"Yeah, I'm taking care of the baby, so I won't be walking at night."

Chen Ling nodded, "I've already told my older brothers that we'll stay on the mountain for the night."

"Alright, Rui Rui has never been to our house before, so he should stay at his grandparents' house for one night... How are your mother and Su Su doing lately?"

“That’s fine. I told you when I came that if I can’t get back tonight, I’ll let Susu go back to the village with her mother to sleep.”

"Yes, you're very thoughtful."

The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted idly for a few minutes before Wang Cunye gently rubbed his leg and sighed, saying that he had only been back for half a month, and his legs were already a little sore again, whereas he had no problems at all back in Chenwangzhuang.

It's true... if people knew, they would definitely say that he's so old, halfway to the grave, yet he's becoming more and more delicate.

Chen Ling knew the inside story and told him that if he was in too much pain, he should go back soon and let his injured leg rest for a while, and it would get better.

However, the old man hadn't been home for almost half a year and wanted to help his two sons take care of their grandson.

He misses his grandson too.

And my two grandsons will start school this fall.

So I discussed it with Chen Ling and we decided to stay a little longer before going back.

Chen Ling said he could stay as long as he wanted, as long as the old man was happy. His family could take care of him, so why bother discussing it with him?

My father-in-law is just too kind-hearted; he wants to take good care of both sides of his children's lives.

“Dad, I know you miss home and your grandson, but you've been staying in the village for too long, and your legs are hurting…”

"Yes, that's why you've spoiled your mother and me by feeding and pampering us so much."

"Oh dear, what are you saying? What do you mean by being delicate? You used to be pampered all the time, so you didn't think anything of it. You could walk on mountain paths faster than young people, and there was no problem at all."

It had been better for a while and the pain had subsided, but then it suddenly started hurting again and again, and I felt like I couldn't take it anymore.

This isn't just being spoiled.

"Sigh, that's true. But I think Susu is almost seven months along now. The last three months will go by very quickly, in the blink of an eye."

We need to keep a close eye on things at this time.

I'm worried that your mother will be busy taking care of Susu and won't be able to leave often. If you take care of Rui Rui by yourself, he's going through a tough time right now, so you'll have to keep a close eye on him and won't be busy with other things.

"How can we leave such a mess at home unattended?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling realized that, as expected, that was exactly what the old man was thinking.

But he was just about to offer some words of comfort.

Wang Qingzhong's voice came from outside: "Dad, Lingzi, I have to say, you two are acting like a real father and son now..."

Dad, why are you glaring at me?

I was just saying a few days ago that Lingzi was too busy, so I asked Xinping to take care of Susu. My older brother and sister-in-law said they would go with her since they are on summer vacation and have nothing to do.

We can bring Mom back then.

You're still not reassured.

My mother also said that she didn't want her two sisters-in-law to serve her younger sister, because people would easily gossip about it.

They also said that such a good business has just started, and they can't afford to mess it up.

If you ask me, you guys are just overthinking things.

We're family, why are we speaking like strangers?

Let outsiders say what they want.

Although many people in Yaowangzhai are related by blood, there are bound to be a few who can't stand to see you doing well.

They say that Cunye's son-in-law is capable, making a fortune every year, and the family is very rich.

Wang Cunye's whole family put up the posters.

They deliver things to people's doors, doing this and that, and pamper their daughter and son-in-law.

This isn't over yet; they're also bringing their two sons and daughters-in-law along.

They've lost all sense of shame in their attempts to curry favor with their son-in-law and climb the social ladder.

I overheard people muttering these words behind my father-in-law's back when he returned to the village for the funeral.

This was the first time Chen Ling had heard of it.

The father-in-law is still somewhat indignant when he hears this.

Wang Qingzhong didn't care at all: "Who cares what they say? Let's just live our own lives. Dad, you care too much about what people say... How can everyone say good things about you? In the past, even the Eight Kings of the village were cursed and wished to die a horrible death or have their babies born without an anus."

We're all just ordinary people, isn't it normal for us to chat a bit?

Why don't you say that even more people will praise your good taste and your good fortune?

At this point, Wang Qingzhong smiled at Chen Ling: "Our dad has been coming back less often these past two years. Now that he's been coming back less often, he misses home and feels close to everyone in the village. He sees everyone as a good person."

As a result, he couldn't stand it when people gossiped about him.

Chen Ling smiled and nodded: "I know, our dad isn't someone who can only listen to nice things..."

In fact, my father-in-law is more open-minded than many elderly people.

Like an old child.

"Alright, alright, you two... It's a good thing your older brother isn't here. If Qingwen were here, he'd probably give me a lecture."

Wang Cunye blushed upon hearing this and quickly chased the two of them out: "Go and take Lingzi to settle the accounts of these past few days."

"Hey, good."

Wang Qingzhong chuckled and walked into the courtyard with Chen Ling. They took out notebooks from the packhorse's sack and sat on a rock under a big tree in the courtyard, sketching and writing on the ground with twigs.

Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui were feeding the rabbits near the rabbit hole in the southeast corner.

Seeing this, he came over to join in the fun, "Second brother, I'm really good at math, let me help you with the calculations."

This crazy girl wants to show off everything. If Wang Qingwen were here, he would probably give her a good scolding.

Wang Qingzhong smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, you and Rui Rui help me water and feed the packhorses first, then come over and calculate it for us, to check if your brother-in-law and I have made any mistakes."

"Okay! Leave it to me! Rui Rui, let's go!"

Wang Zhenzhen patted her chest, then, with Rui Rui in tow, untied the packhorse and led it outside to feed and water it.

Chen Ling watched this scene with a smile, but his hands kept moving as he flipped through the ledger and quickly settled the accounts.

"The last batch of defective clothes sold out, and I made a total of more than 4,000 yuan... I only spent less than 500 yuan this month on hiring workers... If we calculate the labor cost as three or five cents per T-shirt, at this rate, I can accumulate at least five or six thousand T-shirts by the end of the year."

"Lingzi, you're so fast! You figured it out so quickly!"

"Second brother, tell me first, how did this whole truckload of clothes sell out? Didn't you say that after two sales, everyone who wanted to buy them would have bought them, and it wouldn't be easy to sell them again?"

"Hehe, this is based on my past experience selling grain. I know some places where people drive packhorses to sell clothes. You don't know, there are no processing plants in these deep mountains. Even if they are called second-hand clothes, they are not much different from good clothes. Minor flaws can be sold as good clothes without any problems, and they sell very well."

At this point, Wang Qingzhong perked up immediately, his eyebrows dancing with excitement: "Let me put it this way, Lingzi, if you hadn't given me the idea to do this, I don't know when I would have figured it out."

I've walked through countless mountains and rivers in Fenglei Town, which is located at the junction of three provinces. No one knows better than me where clothes and food sell well.

"I'm telling you, now that you've delivered this truckload of clothes, I'm planning to go check it out in the Miao village in the next county."

(End of this chapter)