Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 29 Gold
September 9th, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The old Li family house, under the shade of a tree.

Wang Xiuying sat on a small stool, holding her two-year-old chubby granddaughter in her arms. The little girl's face was covered with roasted sweet potato bits, and her eyes followed the sparrows hopping around in the yard.

The little girl had just learned to walk and was at an age where she loved to move around and play. She would rush towards sparrows, and she walked unsteadily. Wang Xiuying was afraid that she would fall, so she dared not let her go alone.

Wang Xiuying held her little hand tightly. "The store is only a few hundred meters away, and your mother has been dawdling for half an hour without coming back. She must be chatting with those old women again. Just like your second uncle, she's a worry."

"Third son, have you finished your homework? Come out and play with Daya for a while." Wang Xiuying was an impatient person; she would rather cook than coax the children.

"There are still two questions left," Li Na said dismissively. Daya was so young; how could the two of them play together?

"That brat, she's always causing me trouble," Wang Xiuying complained, and could only let the little girl drag her around the yard.

"Squeak..." The courtyard gate opened, and Malay boy entered the courtyard carrying a net bag.

"Mommy...hug me." The little girl rushed over, drooling.

Malaysian Xiao Teng didn't help, saying, "Daya, be good. Mom is carrying things. I'll carry you later."

Wang Xiuying lifted the net bag to peek inside, "What did you buy? Why did it take you so long?"

"Two pounds of pork, one pound of tofu, two pounds of loose liquor, and a big carp. This fish was so fresh, it was still jumping around when it was fresh." The young Malaysian man put the things on the table, took his daughter's hand and kissed her, then lowered his voice and said, "Mother, I heard that Zhang Yuzhen's son, Hu Zi, is going to work in the factory."

"Get them into the factory! What makes them think they can get in?" Wang Xiuying frowned. "Did her eldest daughter pull some strings?"

Zhang Yuzhen's eldest daughter married into the capital, making her the first in the village to do so.

"No, it was my gossipy wife who made the connection. She said it was a factory in our town, and all the paperwork was done."

Wang Xiuying paused for half a second, then burst out laughing, "An electric fan factory?"

"Mom, how did you know? You're even better informed than I am."

"Zhang Yuzhen, Zhang Yuzhen, when are you going to get rid of this habit of snatching food?" Wang Xiuying ground her molars, both angry and wanting to laugh.

Knowing that her mother-in-law and Zhang Yuzhen didn't get along, the young woman from Malaysia didn't dare to ask any more questions and went inside with her daughter.

Wang Xiuying took out a cutting board and a cleaver and began preparing dinner, washing vegetables, cutting meat, and marinating fish with quick and efficient movements.

A moment later, Old Li came in carrying a hoe. "What are you cooking?"

Wang Xiuying glanced at him and asked, "Going to your good son's place to earn money again?"

"Aren't you afraid of being laughed at for saying that? I went to check on the corn in our field; it'll be ready to harvest in a few days." Old Li put down his hoe and came over to help pick vegetables. "What's wrong? Who upset you again?"

Wang Xiuying gestured towards the house, "The eldest daughter-in-law went to the general store to buy things. I heard that Zhang Yuzhen's son, Huzi, is going to work at the electric fan factory."

Old Li retorted, "Did the fast-talking wife find connections?"

"Who else could it be?"

"That talkative wife is a real scoundrel, she just takes advantage of the people in our village."

“People from other villages can trust her. Besides, the fast-talking wife is from the town. She has high standards and probably doesn’t consider herself a local.”

Old Li snorted, "This is going to be interesting."

Wang Xiuying stopped what she was doing. "Who says otherwise? It's like dogs fighting over a mouthful of fur. Zhang Yuzhen has been fighting with me for half her life. Back then, I wanted to contract the dealership, but she took it from me. Otherwise, our family would have made money long ago. Now she's fighting with us for a factory job. She's fallen into a trap, serves her right."

"Let's not get involved in this, let them make a fuss."

"I don't care, I'm just waiting to see the show. By the way, why isn't the second brother back?"

"When I came back, he and the eldest brother were building trellises for the cucumber seedlings, and they were almost finished."

“Zhu Zi came over just now and brought two packs of five-nut mooncakes. I asked the child to stay for dinner, but he didn’t agree.”

Old Li sighed, "It's quite pitiful that the child is spending the Mid-Autumn Festival alone."

"Who can argue with that? His mother was heartless too. She remarried with her youngest son less than two years after her husband left... I could never do that."

"I heard his mother married into Tongzhou and is doing quite well. Now she's considered a resident of the capital."

Wang Xiuying pouted, "Tongzhou is also a rural area, we still have to toil in the fields to make a living." "Mom, what are you talking about? Who's from the capital?" Li Weidong, carrying a shovel, and Li Zhe entered the yard one after the other.

"Just chatting," Wang Xiuying said dismissively, then turned to Li Zhe behind her and said, "Second brother, it's Mid-Autumn Festival today. Zhu Zi is all alone and looks pitiful. Let's invite him over for dinner."

“Zhu Zi said yesterday that his puppy has opened its eyes, and I was just thinking of going to pick one out.” Li Zhe patted the mud off his trousers.

Li Weidong put down his hoe and asked casually, "Second brother, do you know how to pick a dog? Or should I come with you?"

"Second brother, I want to see the puppy too!" Li Na lifted the curtain and ran out of the house.

Wang Xiuying spoke up, "Eldest brother, go start the fire. Second brother, take third brother with you. I get annoyed just seeing you two."

Li Weidong: "..."

The brother and sister went out. Li Na skipped and hopped, her two braids swinging back and forth. She looked much thicker than she had a month ago, and her orange plaid shirt seemed a size too small.

Li Zhe followed behind, a look of satisfaction on his face.

In her previous life, Li Na came from a poor family. She was thin, malnourished, and in poor health. After getting married, she was unable to conceive and was unhappy in her husband's family.

Fortunately, she is still young, and as long as she gets enough nutrition, her body can recover.

"Pillar."

Li Zhe shouted and pushed open the courtyard gate.

Big Yellow lay in its den, looked up once, then lowered its head and licked the puppy next to it.

"Brother Zhe, Xiao Na is here too." Zhao Tiezhu came out of the house.

"I've come to call you for dinner. Xiao Na heard that I'm going to choose puppies, and she insisted on coming along to see."

"Hey, I picked one out for you already. How about this dog?" Zhao Tiezhu walked to the doghouse, squatted down, and picked up a fluffy puppy.

"Look at this little rascal! He was the first to open his eyes, and he's the fiercest at grabbing milk."

Li Zhe was holding the puppy by the scruff of its neck. The puppy's head and back were yellow, its face and chest were white, and its legs and tail were half yellow and half white. Its two front paws were flailing in the air, whimpering, "Awooo..."

"The puppy is so cute, can I hold it?" Li Na rubbed her hands together, excited but hesitant to reach out directly.

"Be careful, don't get scratched, the puppy is fierce." Li Zhe didn't give the dog directly to Li Na, but put it on the ground so she could play with the puppy.

"Brother Zhe, what do you think of this dog? If you don't like it, just pick one yourself."

Li Zhe glanced at the other puppies and felt that none of them were as good as this yellow-haired, white-faced puppy. "This is it. You can't have made a bad choice."

Li Na stroked the puppy's fur on its back. "So soft. Have you named the puppy yet?"

"Nope."

Li Na frowned, thought carefully, and said, "How about calling it Yellow Peach?"

Li Zhe replied, "The name is quite cute. But it's a male puppy. It's fine to call it Huang Tao (Yellow Peach) when it's a puppy, but it won't be suitable when it grows up."

"Second brother, what should we call him?"

"Let's name him Jinzi (Gold), it has a good meaning, and he can guard the house when he grows up."

Li Na pouted, preferring the name she had chosen herself, "Brother Zhu, which one do you think sounds better?"

Zhao Tiezhu chuckled, "I also think gold is better; it sounds more powerful."

Li Zhe snapped his fingers, "Two to one, let's call it Gold." Li Zhe rubbed the puppy's head, picked it up and put it back next to Big Yellow, "Take good care of the pup, I'll bring you a bone tonight."

"Woof..." Big Yellow seemed to understand and looked up to bark.

Li Na grew anxious. "Second brother, shouldn't we take the gold home?"

"What are you thinking about? It's still nursing." Li Zhe pulled his sister out. "Zhu Zi, lock the door. Let's go to my house for dinner."

(End of this chapter)