Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 492 Concerns

Auntie said, "How can that be? Didn't they say they'd refund you after three months?"

Xiao Wei said, "You just believe him? What are they after? They're just trying to scam you out of this small deposit. If they kept their word, would they be scammers?"

Auntie Si lowered her head and pondered, then said, "I don't think so. They seem like a few very honest people."

Xiao Wei said, "Auntie, you can't use the way we villagers interact with city people, understand? It's different."

Uncle Si's voice came from inside the house: "They took him away from the police station?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, I took it."

Fourth Uncle said, "Alright, go back to Xiao Wang's for dinner. That's settled then."

Buwei took a few steps toward the door of the inner room and said, "Fourth Uncle, could you and Fourth Aunt come over to my brother's place for a while this afternoon? I need to discuss something with you."

Fourth Uncle said, "Okay, I'll rest for a bit and then come over. You go and eat."

Xiao Wei then came out with Chen Hui, Xia Maosheng, and Zhang Wang, and drove back to Zhang Wang's house.

In the car. Zhang Wang said, "Xiao Wei, aren't you going to my dad's?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's go stop by before I leave this afternoon, nothing else to say."

Ever since Uncle Xiaowei found a new wife, the families haven't been interacting much. Xiaowei's cousins ​​and other relatives don't get along with the new wife, and over time they've naturally become estranged.

Rural people are timid and know little, but they are simple, honest, and down-to-earth. In the countryside, laziness, stinginess, a penny-pincher, and petty theft are the most disliked traits; nobody wants to associate with you. This new old lady embodied the first two. Her son embodied all three.

Zhang Wang has now moved out and is living on his own. He is hardworking and down-to-earth, and he no longer has to endure the exclusion from his stepmother and stepsister. He is now living a very comfortable life. He basically only goes back to visit during holidays and rarely goes to that door anymore.

Of course, the father-son relationship between Zhang Wang and his grandfather, Xiao Wei, wasn't greatly affected. The grandfather would still occasionally drop by and slip Zhang Wang a few yuan. A few yuan was a considerable sum in rural Northeast China at that time.

When they arrived at Zhang Wang's house, his sister-in-law, Xiu'er, Xiao Hong, Chen Xiao, and Geng Hui had already eaten and were sleeping soundly on the warm kang (heated brick bed). Chen Xiao had never slept on a kang before, so his sister-in-law laid out three new mattresses for her.

Xiao Wei and the other three peered through the window into the house, then tiptoed into the outer room, closed the open door to the inner room, placed the kang table on the floor, brought out the food that was still warm in the pot, and the four of them squatted down and ate a meal together.

Rural earthen stoves can't produce any fancy dishes. Potato and green bean stew with meat, stewed fish, egg sauce, scallions, and chives stir-fried with eggs are all common dishes, but they taste delicious. Xia Maosheng's family also uses a stove, so it's a bit better. Chen Hui practically ate his tongue, nodding and making "uh-huh" sounds to express his admiration.

The steamed buns were made with a mixture of cornmeal, buckwheat flour, and wheat flour. Back then, refined wheat flour was a rarity in the countryside, and people couldn't afford to eat and drink lavishly. It was just used to mix with cornmeal and buckwheat flour to enhance the texture. Chen Hui, however, ate them with great relish.

Xia Maosheng and Chen Hui sat on the small horse saddle, while Zhang Wang and Xiao Wei squatted down.

"Brother, besides the land you were allocated, did you contract any land in the team?" Xiao Wei asked Zhang Wang while eating.

Zhang Wang shook his head and said, "No, I just cleared some land around my house on the mountain, mostly growing vegetables. I planted corn and beans on the allocated land, but it wasn't enough. There's not enough land in the village besides the land for grain production. Everyone else clears land on the mountain themselves. I didn't do anything this year."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "That's perfect. After the autumn harvest, you and my sister-in-law will go to Longcheng. Make sure everything is in order at home. Arrange the vegetables, sauces, and grains in advance. Divide up the land at my uncle's and fourth uncle's houses. Sell the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs that you can. You probably won't be coming back after you leave, so don't be sad."

Zhang Wang was still a little hesitant: "Can it really work?"

Xiao Wei nodded emphatically and said, "It'll be fine, I'm here. My brother is doing really well in Xingcheng, he's not coming back, I don't need to worry about him, and he's married. It's just you and Xiu'er here, so you two can just listen to my arrangements."

Zhang Wang said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Chen Hui finally opened his mouth and said, "It's so damn delicious! Living in the countryside is pretty good. Brother Wang, don't worry about it. You're Xiao Wei's brother, so you're my brother too. The three of us are partners in business, we're not short of money. My dad's a big official, so we're not afraid of anyone messing with us. Just relax and live your life. We'll definitely be fine."

Xia Maosheng laughed and said, "Xiao Hui can be bribed with anything delicious. In the past, he would have been a traitor. A roast chicken would have been enough."

Zhang Wang chuckled, picked up a large piece of meat from Chen Hui's plate, and said, "Eat more. The countryside can't produce anything good; it's just a makeshift meal."

Chen Hui said, "No, no, it's delicious. I hope we can eat it more often in the future."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, if you want to eat, I'll find a place in my yard and build a kitchen, using an earthen stove."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Okay, this will definitely work. I'll have my sister-in-law cook, and I'll pay her a salary."

Zhang Wang said, "Actually, I really want to go out too. When you're not home, Changyuan and Xinghai sometimes come over to stay with me for a while and talk about things in the county and city. I'm tempted. The main problem is that I don't know anything and I've never been out before. I'm afraid that if I go out, I won't be good at anything and will just waste money."

Originally, I planned to wait a few more years until we saved some money before going out to see the world. After all, things are unpredictable when it comes to children, and I wanted to have some money on hand in case they came one day. If the child came, I wouldn't have to worry about them for the first few years, and then I could go out. I could decide what to do next when the child was ready to start school. You have to have some backup plan, right?

Xiao Wei said, "You're right, we can save a few hundred yuan a year here. By the time you have a child and the child starts elementary school, it will take at least seven or eight years. Saving five or six thousand yuan shouldn't be difficult. But brother, it will take seven or eight years. Do you know what a few hundred yuan can do in the city? You can't do anything. If you go out, it will probably only take two months for food and lodging."

That's why I said we can't wait. It's perfect that I'm out here, so you don't have to go looking for trouble yourselves; I'm here. Seven or eight years is too long; we can't afford to wait. The city changes so much now; it looks different every few days. If we wait seven or eight years, who knows what it will be like? A few thousand yuan might not be worth as much as a few hundred yuan now.

We have to go out, we absolutely have to go out. Our children can't stay in the countryside waiting to farm, like our elders, guarding a few acres of land for their whole lives, just earning enough to eat, drink, sleep, chop firewood, and cook. We can't live like that. I called Xinghai and Changyuan to come over this afternoon. After autumn, you all have to go out. You go to my place, and they go to our city.

We're not any dumber than outsiders, it's just that we're tied down by this land. For generations, we've been living under this one small patch of sky, knowing nothing about what's outside. The outside world is vast, there are so many things we can do. We only live once, so we have to earn something for our descendants, don't you think, brother?"

(End of this chapter)