The pastoral life of the grass tribe chief

"Uncle Xing, Uncle Gen, ignore him, let's have some tea."

Lu Yaochong smiled smugly and served the tea to the two elders.

"Ah Yao, you're smarter than my crazy son, so you don't have to worry about not finding a wife. You should talk to my crazy son more, tell him to be less stubborn and less demanding, and that he can help with housework."

"He's almost thirty; it'll be hard for him to find a wife after thirty."

"I became a grandfather at forty-one, while his father was sixty and still hadn't become a grandfather."

Lu Ligen put down his phone and started chatting with Lu Yao again.

"With so many of your classmates, there must be some who aren't married yet. As long as they can have children, it doesn't matter if they're ugly or divorced."

Lu Lixing also said.

Lu Yao was dumbfounded; something was off about the tone of the conversation.

"We, living a precarious existence in this world beneath the clouds, have heard countless truths and lies. Our unwavering belief, year after year, raises the question: will it ever be possible for us to reach that other side of the world...?"

Just as the madman was about to say something, Lu Yao's phone rang for a video call.

Lu Yao took out his phone from his pocket and saw that it was Zhang Lin calling.

"Brother Yao, where are you?"

Zhang Lin asked.

"I'm drinking tea at the madman's house."

Lu Yaodao.

"That's perfect. Let's get Crazy to drive out. I heard that the crispy grass carp at Maoyuan Farm is delicious and incredibly popular. Let's go try it later."

Zhang Lindao.

"Have you made a reservation?"

"I heard you need to make a reservation, otherwise it'll be a wasted trip."

Lu Yao was well aware of how popular Maoyuan Farm was; the number of crispy grass carp available each day was limited, and reservations were booked up for half a month in advance.

"I ran into my wife at the pickled noodle shop at noon today. A customer who had ordered crispy grass carp hot pot had to cancel at the last minute, so I asked my wife to hold it for me."

"Let's eat later, come to my house for tea first."

Zhang Lin and Li Yunbo are classmates.

Li Yunbo has many mahjong friends in town. They often play all night, sometimes even until noon the next day, and then go out for pickled noodles.

This guy especially loves pickled noodles. Whenever we eat soup noodles with him, he always orders a plate of pickled noodles, just like Lu Yao always orders a plate of vegetables when he eats.

When the madman heard that Zhang Lin had invited them to eat hot pot, he grabbed his car keys and headed out, not wanting to face his uncle's nagging or his father's stern face.

"Uncle Xing, Uncle Gen, please have some tea. We'll go sit at a friend's house for a while."

Lu Yao hung up the video call, said goodbye to the two elders, and then went out with the madman.

It only takes five minutes to drive from Maoyuan Township to Longchong Town.

Zhang Lin's home is in the town center, where all the houses are old-style, with one kitchen and one room. In the past, several family members lived in a tiny room of just over ten square meters.

Zhang Lin's three older brothers all moved out of the family home, and his parents lived with him. The old house was demolished and rebuilt on the original site, with three and a half stories.

The people here value their ancestral homes very much. They generally don't sell their ancestral homes, and when building a new house, they can only build upwards.

The madman parked the car in the yard in front of the village ancestral hall, climbed the gate of "Qinghe Hall", and walked through a long alley to reach Zhang Lin's house.

Next door is Zhang Wei's house, also three and a half stories high.

Zhang Wei's mother has passed away. His elderly father is helping his older brother take care of his children in Dongguan. His two older sisters are married. He is single and often goes missing. The front door of his house is always locked.

"Brother Yao, Brother Wu, please have a seat."

Zhang Lin's wife and parents warmly greeted the two.

Zhang Lin's wife, Zhang Mengting, was also from the town, and was a year younger than Lu Yao and the others.

"Do you want some rice cakes and red peach cakes? I'll make them."

Zhang Lin's mother asked.

"Mom, we're going to have hot pot later. Let's take a few for Yao-ge and Wu-ge to take back with them."

Zhang Mengting persuaded her mother-in-law, who was about to fry rice cakes, to stop.

"Did you go to visit the graves?"

Lu Yao noticed that there were many bowl-shaped rice cakes and red peach rice cakes on the stool next to him.

These rice cakes are usually only served at wedding banquets or ancestral worship ceremonies. People don't usually make so many if they want to eat them at other times. You can order them from specialty stores on the street.

"We're going to visit the graves today."

Zhang Lin brought the tea to the two of them.

Some people are particular about taboos, especially on important days like visiting ancestral graves, they will choose an auspicious date and either go earlier or later.

Those who don't follow taboos visit ancestral graves and offer sacrifices on designated traditional days.

"Mengting, no need."

"We'll be visiting the graves soon, and we've already pre-ordered quite a few."

When Lu Yao saw Zhang Mengting go to get the bagged rice cakes, he quickly stopped her.

Zhang Mengting did not force the two of them to accept it.

Young people these days don't buy into insincerity.

Even though life and the overall environment are worse now, it's still much better than what our parents experienced.

Foods that were once only available during major holidays can now be bought whenever you want, without having to cook them yourself.

Everyone was having a good time drinking tea and chatting when they heard a baby crying upstairs.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lin's parents quickly ran upstairs and came down a moment later carrying their two-year-old granddaughter.

The little guy is chubby with a rosy, round face, like a half-ripe peach, making you want to take a bite.

She was still in a daze, yawning occasionally, with tears in the corners of her eyes. But when she saw that the living room downstairs was full of people, she immediately perked up and opened her big, round eyes to look at everyone.

"hug."

Zhang Lin's father walked past Lu Yao carrying his granddaughter, and the little girl suddenly leaned over and stretched out her hands, wanting Lu Yao to hug her.

"Haha, our Xinxin still recognizes Uncle Lu Yao."

Zhang Lin's mother smiled.

Lu Yao has an innate affinity for people, and children and pets all like to be close to him.

Whenever Lu Yao comes, her granddaughter doesn't even want her mother; she just wants Lu Yao to hold her.

Children are very forgetful; they'll forget what they haven't seen for a few days.

Lu Yao last visited during the National Day holiday, almost three months ago, and his granddaughter still remembered him.

If Xinxin wakes up at this time, she won't need to sleep tonight.

Lu Yao put Zhang Xin on his lap and sat her down, teasing her as he spoke.

"There's nothing I can do but stay up all night with her."

"Luckily, my in-laws can take care of me, otherwise I wouldn't have the energy to go to work."

Zhang Mengting said.

"Xinxin, let Uncle hug you."

Seeing Zhang Xin sitting on Lu Yao's lap and having fun with him, the madman also stretched out his hands.

Zhang Xin didn't even glance at him.

Everyone looked at the embarrassed lunatic and laughed gleefully.

Lu Yao took out his phone and played a children's song for Zhang Xin.

Hearing the cheerful music, Zhang Xin slid off Lu Yao's lap and started wiggling her little bottom in the living room.

Everyone laughed, clapped, and praised.

The little guy twisted and turned even more energetically, laughing louder than anyone else.

"Kids these days are too smart and not at all restrained."

"Yes, at such a young age, they can sing, dance, recite poems, and use their phones. Unlike us when we were kids, we would hide from people when they came to our house."

"It's great to have a daughter; you can dress her up beautifully."

"Brother Yao, Brother Wu, hurry up and get married. Maybe we can become in-laws."

"A woman three years older than her husband is like holding a gold brick."

The living room was filled with a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Everyone sat at Zhang Lin's house until 10:30 before setting off for Maoyuan Farm.

Zhang Lin drives a Baojun 510 that his second brother transferred to him.

Maoyuan Farm is located in the pomelo grove at the foot of Jilong Mountain.

Jilong Mountain is located at the junction of Maoyuan Township, Longchong Town, and Linshi City.

This place not only has convenient transportation, but also beautiful scenery.

Li Yunbo has contracted a large area here to grow different varieties of Southern pomelos.

During those years of great economic prosperity, agritainment businesses sprang up like bamboo shoots after spring, with two or three almost every few kilometers.

People in southern Guangdong are very particular about food. Back then, everyone had some money in their pockets, so they weren't afraid of not having business. Every business owner made a fortune and couldn't stop smiling.

Nowadays, it's rare to see even a handful of them in the entire county.