The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 125 The Scent of Vinegar

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When Wei Qingqing entered the house, she saw that besides Aunt Liu and Sun Fangfang, there were six other people. Three of the men looked to be in their forties or fifties. Wei Qingqing recognized them as Tao Yangdong, Li Tinggui, and Li Haishui, the village's barefoot doctor, who was very well-maintained.

There was a girl who was unconscious and two middle-aged women whom Wei Qingqing did not recognize. After they got to know each other and exchanged a few pleasantries, Wei Qingqing sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and took an apple to eat.

"Sister Zhao, don't worry. Once you're here, it'll feel like home. Let the child sleep in the room. Have you eaten yet? We'll go make some food in a bit..." Wei Qingqing said.

"Okay..." Zhao Yu wasn't one to be coy, and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Where's Mom?" Wei Qingqing asked Sun Fangfang.

"He's supervising the construction site. He'll be back in a bit. Zhang Yang is really something, he just went into the mountains without a word, leaving all the housework to me..." Sun Fangfang said somewhat unhappily.

"What kind of work is it? It's just watching over things at the construction site, right? It's not like it'll kill you!" Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes. "Do you know how I spent this morning? Aunt Dabao and I accompanied that Aunt Zhang to the market all morning. That auntie is amazing; she's obviously a shopping expert. I'm so tired, my whole body aches..."

"You didn't tell her about Uncle Liu going into the mountains, did you?" Aunt Liu said.

Maintaining confidentiality is a professional ethic. If someone chooses to keep it a secret, we absolutely cannot reveal it to them.

"Can I tell you?" Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes. "Goodness, I only understand the suffering of men today. When Yang Ming and I went shopping together, what was he feeling? He was probably so worried he wanted to cry, but he had to put on a smiling face..." At this point, Wei Qingqing couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"That's just twisted logic. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Men and women working together makes the work easier'? Are those smiles from the men just for show? They're absolutely genuine..." Sun Fangfang rolled her eyes.

Shopping with a same-sex friend is definitely tiring, but it's different with someone of the opposite sex—you're full of energy! Hehe, the excess hormones are a powerful source of strength...

"Hehe, this young lady has a point..." Zhao Yu sat on the kang (heated brick bed), holding her daughter's hand. Feeling a bit better, she chimed in, "Men, they're just like that. Before marriage, they'd accompany you shopping for three days and three nights without getting tired. But once you're married, especially after several years, they get impatient. If you ask me, these guys just need to be taught a lesson. If you made them live like monks for a few years, see if they'd still dare to be impatient! If you go shopping, they're like little shadows, you can't get rid of them. If you have anything, they'll insist on carrying it for you..."

So, a TV station once conducted a survey to find out what men feel when they go shopping with their wives. Only a young man who had been married for two or three months said he enjoyed going shopping with his wife. As for the rest, well...

"Oh my! Auntie's words are so insightful..." Sun Fangfang looked at Zhao Yu, her eyes shining.

"Cough cough, doctor, please take us to your home, I feel a little tired..." Zhao Yu's words made Li Tinggui blush, and she coughed twice before trying to escape.

"Yes, this morning has been so chaotic, I feel quite tired..." Tao Yangdong, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire, also chose to play it safe.

"Come on! Let's go to my house. Let the child wake up on her own, and don't touch her..." Li Haishui gave a few instructions and led the two away.

A group of women, except for the unconscious Li Yuting, all came out to see them off, all the way to the front gate.

"How did it go?" Zheng Dayong asked anxiously as he saw everyone come out.

"Dayong, don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. That girl already had something on her mind, and she was frightened and her nerves were on edge, which is why she fainted. She'll wake up after a good night's sleep. Don't take it to heart..." Li Haishui quickly said.

Zhao Yu's face immediately darkened. "Why are you telling a complete stranger about my daughter's affairs?" However, these days, people dared not offend doctors, so she held back and didn't say anything.

"Hehe, don't mind her, sister. Our Dayong is a bit heavy-hearted. If we don't talk to him about it, he'll think your daughter's coma is because of him..." Aunt Liu saw that Zhao Yu was unhappy and quickly said with a smile.

"You don't know, the Zheng family is all like this. Thirty years ago, there was a Zheng Yu who, because he was young and didn't know any better, pushed a little brother into the river and drowned him. As a result, he was burdened with worries and went crazy for decades. Only this year has he started to get better..." Li Hai sighed when he mentioned Zheng Yu. He had treated Zheng Yu, and that was the only case he had never been able to cure in his life. He didn't want Zheng Dayong to become the second Zheng Yu, and that young man would be ruined.

Zheng Dayong lowered his head, his face flushed red, and didn't say a word.

"Young man, you have a good heart... much better than that bastard who cheated our daughter. If that kid had even a little bit of remorse or a little bit of responsibility, he wouldn't have let our daughter end up like this." Zhao Yu's expression softened, and when she looked at Zheng Dayong again, she found him quite pleasing to the eye. Apart from not being very tall, he wasn't short either; he was just an ordinary person.

"The most important thing for a man is to have a sense of responsibility..." Zhou Yun also said.

"Of course, if Uncle Zheng Yu hadn't been so responsible, Aunt Zheng Yu wouldn't have married a madman..." Aunt Liu said.

"Alright, alright, we're leaving now..." Li Haishui and Wei Qingqing waved goodbye, and led Li Tinggui and Tao Yangdong towards their home.

"Well... I'll be going now..." Zheng Dayong muttered to himself with his head down, and then ran off without waiting for anyone to say anything.

"This young man is not bad, quite honest..." Zhao Yu nodded repeatedly as he watched Zheng Yu's retreating figure.

"Oh my? There are quite a lot of people here? What are they all doing? Standing at the gate..." At this moment, Zhang Fenghuang's voice rang out from behind everyone.

When everyone turned around, they saw three young women coming around from behind the house. Their hair was still a little wet. Luckily it was midday, otherwise they would have caught a cold.

"Oh? Is that Yueyue? How come Chief Zhang has time to inspect the countryside?" Sun Fangfang exclaimed in surprise.

"I'll spit in your face..." Zhang Yue glared at Sun Fangfang, "Your mouth is still so disgusting, are you mocking me?" She's just a lowly civil servant...

"No, no, Yueyue is the highest-ranking among us, we're too busy trying to curry favor with you..." Sun Fangfang smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared. To be honest, she loved teasing this girl who puffed out her round cheeks when she got angry. She felt that this girl was especially cute when she was angry.

"Hey, isn't that the car that was following us? Did they catch those bad guys?" Zhang Fenghuang noticed the ten-seater sedan chair parked not far away.

"This is the ten-person sedan that's been tracking you? Find Zheng Dayong and the others, and smash this piece of junk to pieces..." Liu Lili glared at the ten-person sedan and said fiercely.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..." Wei Qingqing saw the awkward expressions on Zhao Yu and Zhou Yun's faces and quickly explained, "They weren't following you, they were just following you..."

"Isn't that the same?" Wei Qingqing was interrupted by Zhang Yue before she could finish speaking. In this situation, "tracking" and "following" really do have similar meanings.

"Hehe, can you wait until I'm finished?" Wei Qingqing laughed. "They're tourists visiting our village. They don't know the way, and they heard you were going to Zhengjia Village, so they followed us. Speaking of which, you know two of them, Tao Yangdong and Li Tinggui. Remember them?"

"Those two? They deal in antiques?" The three women immediately remembered that they had toasted with these two at Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing's wedding banquet.

"Isn't that right?" Wei Qingqing said.

"So, Old Tao and Old Li aren't planning something, are they? They told me before, how could I not bring them along? Why are they being so secretive?" Zhang Fenghuang's mind started working, and her big eyes occasionally flashed with a sharp light.

"Is that even a question? Have you forgotten what they do? They must have seen some interesting stuff on our promotional website..." Liu Lili said.

In fact, the promotional website was created by Liu Lili. She knew exactly what pictures were on the website. This girl majored in computer science in college. However, no matter what major you study, you may not be able to use your expertise in your field after graduation.

"We sneaked into the village, trying not to fire, but it backfired. What a commotion..." Zhang Yue reacted quickly, her tone tinged with schadenfreude. "Serves you right for scaring us like that."

Zhao Yu and Zhou Yun were now completely embarrassed. They couldn't say anything, only managing a wry smile. Thinking about it, it was really a foolish thing to do. If they had just talked to the locals and asked them to take them into the village, they would have been just tourists, right? They could have just checked into the hotel and everything would have been fine! Now, not only do many people know that they are antique dealers, but they've also caused trouble for their child.

"Alright, alright, let's not stand here anymore, let's go back inside and cook..." Wei Qingqing quickly came to their rescue when she saw Zhao Yu and Zhou Yun looking embarrassed.

"Great! I heard from Phoenix that your family always has delicious food, so don't be stingy with me..." Zhang Yue cheered immediately.

So, the group of women chatted and laughed as they went inside to cook.

Yang Ming and Zhang Yang carried the bear slowly along the mountain path. The bear, weighing three or four hundred pounds, would have bent the shoulders of two normal people, but Yang Ming and Zhang Yang were not normal people. They were in excellent physical condition and had great strength, so carrying the bear was not difficult at all. Of course, if one person carried the bear, it would be a bit difficult, but it would definitely not break them.

Yang Ming and his group hadn't gone far into the mountains, but walking along the mountain paths was difficult. After all, the mountain paths were uneven, and even if you were walking empty-handed, you wouldn't be able to walk fast, let alone the two of them carrying a large bear. It was like performing with a lion; every step the one in front took, the one behind had to coordinate perfectly.

Yang Zhengfang and Liu Zhengfeng strolled slowly down the mountain, and when they reached the foot of the mountain, they actually caught up with the two brothers.

"How come it's so heavy?" Yang Zhengfang said, looking at his son and godson-in-law with his hands behind his back.

"It's not sinking, but the road is difficult to travel..." Yang Ming said.

"Dad, what achievements have you and Uncle Liu made this time?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Your dad and I each caught a wild rabbit..." Liu Zhengfeng proudly picked up the wild rabbit hanging from the cloth bag at his waist and showed it off to the two of them.

"No problem..." Yang Zhengfang said with a hint of pride.

They returned via the same route, from the backyard. The two brothers carried the bear out of the backyard and directly to their front gate.

"My god... this is really tiring..." Zhang Yang threw the bear to the ground and collapsed onto the ground. To be honest, carrying such a big bear out of the mountains was really tiring.

"Oh my god, you caught a bear?" Zhang Yue, who was clumsily tending the fire inside the house, saw Yang Ming and Zhang Yang throw a bear at the front door and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, running out of the house.

The women who were cooking inside also ran out, staring wide-eyed at the long-dead bear. Their eyes sparkled with admiration. It is said that women have a deep-seated admiration for capable men, and being able to defeat a large beast is the most direct manifestation of a man's ability.

The women's adoring gazes made Yang Ming and Zhang Yang feel light as a feather.

"Alright, alright, stop staring, let's hurry up and deal with this bear..." Yang Zhengfang was also feeling a bit smug.

"You actually killed a Class II protected animal! This is illegal and you'll go to jail, do you know that?" Zhang Yue suddenly turned hostile.

Zhang Yue's righteous and stern words stunned everyone. In their minds, this girl didn't seem like someone with such principles.

Yang Ming curled his lip and said, "Say it, what do you want?" Yang Ming knew this girl too well. To put it bluntly, he could tell what kind of shit she was going to take the moment she bent over. When he was trying to match him with Liu Lili, Zhang Yue was the most enthusiastic and the two of them had the most contact. Yang Ming even thought for a time that he and Zhang Yue would become a couple.

"Bear paw, as long as you give me the bear paw, I won't tell on you..." Zhang Yue said triumphantly.

"Dream on. I don't have bear paws, but how about bear whip...?" Yang Ming refused without even thinking.

"Yang Ming, you bad guy..." Zhang Yue's face flushed red, and she raised her little fist to hit Yang Ming.

The women blushed at Yang Ming's words, and Wei Qingqing glared at her husband. "This rascal! He's so mean! He doesn't even know when to joke around!"

"Haha, I'll head back now..." Looking at the young man's head, Liu Zhengfeng just laughed and handed the rifle and a bag of gunpowder to Yang Zhengfang. Carrying the rabbit, he walked triumphantly towards Zheng Dabao's house. He wanted to show off to his wife.

It is said that in ancient times, people would bring a wild goose when proposing marriage. What does this mean? It means that the young man is strong and can draw a bow and shoot down a goose. In this way, the girl will not suffer after marrying him, at least she will not have to do all the housework. It is the same now. Liu Zhengfeng brought a wild rabbit he hunted himself to show off to his wife, which is not without the same meaning.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Hurry up and get the bear out. We're going to treat the villagers to meat today. Mingming, go and ask Old Nian to untie the bear..." Yang Zhengfang stopped the two from fighting and said.

Zhang Yue finally stopped, grumbling, "Uncle is so biased and protective. Your son bullies me, and you won't even let me fight back..."

Yang Zhengfang was embarrassed. Why was there someone so protective of their own?

"My own father, of course he'll side with me..." Yang Ming said smugly, and then went to invite Zheng Laonian'er.

"I'll go instead. I'll have Uncle Da Bao announce it over the loudspeaker..." Aunt Liu's eyes darted around, she grabbed Yang Ming, and then, without waiting for anyone to say anything, she turned and ran off.

Liu Zhengfeng, carrying the rabbit, had just arrived at Zheng Dabao's house when he saw a three-wheeled farm vehicle parked in front of the gate. His wife was chatting enthusiastically with a middle-aged man, and he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

"Xiao Fei, what are you doing?" Liu Zhengfeng walked up with a smile, but he was actually feeling a little jealous.

"Brother, thank you..." Zhang Xiaofei took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket and handed them to the middle-aged man. "This is a thousand yuan, count it..." He didn't even glance at Liu Zhengfeng once.

"Hey... how could I not trust you?" The middle-aged man said this, but he still quickly counted the money, and after confirming that it was correct, he put the money in his pocket, then started the three-wheeled farm vehicle and drove away.

"Hmph, who is this?" Liu Zhengfeng's tone became somewhat unfriendly, and the sour smell in his voice made people's teeth ache.

"What? You've appeared? I thought you eloped with some woman..." Zhang Xiaofei glanced at Liu Zhengfeng and said sarcastically.

"Who did I elope with? I went hunting in the mountains, did you see? Rabbits, I hunted them, smoked them myself and ate them, enough for me to drink for several days..." Liu Zhengfeng was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, and his words started to become sarcastic.

"Oh my goodness, what a big rabbit... It scared me to death..." Zhang Xiaofei pretended to be surprised, bent down, and wanted to take a closer look at the rabbit.

"Hmph, this is what I called..." Liu Zhengfeng immediately hid the rabbit behind his back so his wife wouldn't see it.

"As if it's some great achievement..." Zhang Xiaofei scoffed, and was about to enter the courtyard without a care.

"Hmph..." Liu Zhengfeng snorted coldly, "Of course, I ordered this, I'll eat it myself..." As he spoke, he followed Zhang Xiaofei into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Zheng Dabao, Aunt Dabao, and Zheng Tong were standing in front of the pigsty, lost in thought.

"My goodness... there are rabbits this big in the world..." Zheng Dabao said in shock when he saw Zhang Xiaofei enter the yard.

"Of course, look who caught it..." Liu Zhengfeng thought Zheng Dabao was referring to the rabbit he caught, so he proudly held up the rabbit in his hand to show it off.

"Please, open your eyes, okay?" Zhang Xiaofei turned his head, glared at Liu Zhengfeng, and went to the pigsty.

At this moment, Liu Zhengfeng finally realized that the person wasn't talking about his rabbit. He quickly went to the pigpen and, with just one glance, the wild rabbit in his hand fell to the ground. Inside the pigpen, there were actually two wild rabbits the size of domestic pigs.

"This is...this is..." Liu Zhengfeng was completely stunned.

"Hey! Just two little rabbits, only a thousand yuan, incredibly cheap, nothing compared to the rabbits you hunted..." Zhang Xiaofei chuckled coldly.

Liu Zhengfeng was immediately disappointed. When he excitedly showed off a wild rabbit to his wife, she had actually bought two monster-sized wild rabbits. This was quite a blow...

Liu Zhengfeng steeled his resolve, straightened his neck, and said, "They're just two rabbits, aren't they? No matter how big they are, they're still rabbits. We even hunted a bear..."

"You caught it? Why didn't you bring it home?" Zhang Xiaofei sneered repeatedly.

"I..." Liu Zhengfeng was speechless for a long time, his face turning bright red.

"What? A bear? You killed a bear?" Zhang Xiaofei suddenly came to his senses, his face turned pale with fright, and tears streamed down his face like broken beads. He screamed and started to check Liu Zhengfeng's body, "Are you hurt anywhere? Where are you injured?" If there weren't outsiders present, Zhang Xiaofei would have even wanted to strip Liu Zhengfeng naked and check him over inside and out.

"I'm fine...nothing's wrong. I didn't even get close. It was Dahuang and the four puppies that killed the bear..." Seeing how much his wife cared about him, Liu Zhengfeng was filled with happiness and quickly comforted her.

Zhang Xiaofei checked Liu Zhengfeng for a long time but couldn't find any injuries. Only then did he feel relieved. With his mind at ease, he hugged Liu Zhengfeng and burst into tears, pinching Liu Zhengfeng's body with his little hands.

"Alright, alright..." Liu Zhengfeng winced in pain, "I'm really fine, don't cry, okay?"

"It's alright, isn't it? You can rest assured that you're going into the mountains with Yang Ming and the others..." Zheng Dabao also began to reassure them.

Upon hearing that Dahuang was there, Zheng Dabao knew that Liu Zhengfeng and Yang Ming had gone into the mountains. He didn't need to worry about their safety at all.

"Yes, with Dahuang around, there's nothing to worry about..." Aunt Dabao said.

"Brother Yang's dog is the best..." Zheng Tong also said.

The crying gradually subsided, and Zhang Xiaofei's mind became a little hazy. Great sorrow or joy can easily damage one's spirit, and Zhang Xiaofei was now feeling somewhat disoriented and wanted to sleep.

Just then, Aunt Liu appeared outside the gate, leaning on the doorframe, and said, "Uncle Da Bao, Yang Ming and his men brought back a bear today and said they want to treat everyone to meat. Could you help with the arrangements? It's only for those who join the agritourism program..."

"Oh, okay, okay, no problem, I'll take care of it right away. You really are something, you're the village chief now, don't always think about slacking off. Do more of the things you can do, it will help you take on important responsibilities in the future..." Zheng Dabao quickly agreed, but still gave Liu Sao a lecture.

"Yes, yes, I know..." Aunt Liu smiled, turned and ran away.

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(End of this chapter)