The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 137 Good News

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"I'm not going with you, I want to go home..." Wang Pingping suddenly struggled.

"No, you have to come with me..." Yang Ming didn't let the little girl have a chance to explain and pulled them away.

"You wait, wait until my dad beats you up..." Xiao Bao'er grinned smugly at Wang Pingping.

"Brother Yang... this... I'm afraid... isn't a good idea?" Wang Li took two steps forward, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

"Look at what they've become! They're covered in mud! How are you going to explain this to their parents?" Yang Ming glared at Wang Li.

"I..." Wang Li felt wronged, thinking: They didn't want them to hit her either. It was all Zhang Hong's fault...

Yang Ming carried the two little girls directly to the hot spring pool and threw them in. The originally clear water immediately became murky. Fortunately, the pool water was running water, and the dirty water was quickly washed away... The trickling water washed the two little girls several times from the inside out. Soon, the two mud-covered monkeys turned into two little dolls, and even their wounds didn't hurt much anymore. However, their clothes were not clean. Although they had been washed several times by the hot spring water, they still had a muddy color.

"Bao'er, wait here with your classmate for a bit, I'll have your mom find you some clothes..." Yang Ming said, turning and leaving the hot spring valley.

"Don't touch this, this is my dad's house..." Xiao Bao stared intently at his nemesis as if he were guarding against a thief.

"I'll move, I'll move..." Wang Pingping pouted and splashed around in the hot spring, making water splash everywhere.

"Don't you dare move..." Xiao Bao'er immediately pounced on Wang Pingping and started fighting with her.

The two little girls started a full-blown fight again. This fight was so intense that water splashed everywhere and the ground shook violently. They were practically using the pebbles from the bottom of the pool as weapons.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Aunt Liu walked over with a stern face, carrying two sets of clothes in her arms.

The two little girls immediately stopped and timidly immersed themselves in the hot spring water.

"I heard everything from your dad, and you even fought..." Aunt Liu glared fiercely at her daughter. Little Bao pouted and went into the water, the hot spring water reaching right up to her nose.

"And you, Wang Pingping, I'll definitely tell your mother to give you a good beating later..." Aunt Liu glared at Wang Pingping.

Wang Pingping immediately started sobbing; clearly, the little girl was very afraid of her mother.

"Mom, Wang Pingping's mom is really bad at hitting people. The other day, she beat Wang Pingping so badly that she didn't dare to sit on a stool anymore. My mom is so much better; she never hits me..." Xiao Bao'er poked her head out of the water and said with a grin.

"I'm going to beat you up today, let's see if you dare to fight again..." Aunt Liu glared at her daughter angrily.

"Hehe..." Little Bao chuckled and then disappeared back into the water.

"Will you dare to fight again?" Aunt Liu asked, looking at Wang Pingping.

"I won't dare to do it again, Village Chief Liu. I will never dare to hit Zheng Bao'er again. Please don't tell my mother..." Wang Pingping said, sobbing.

"If you won't hit Bao'er, then no one is allowed to hit her anymore, do you hear me?" Aunt Liu was secretly pleased, but her face remained stern.

"I understand, I'll never fight again..." Wang Pingping cried very sadly.

"You have to promise, I'll only believe you if you promise..." Aunt Liu felt like a bully picking on a child.

"Village Chief Liu, I promise you, I will study hard and make progress every day from now on, and I will never fight again..." Wang Pingping said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Really? You can do it?" Aunt Liu asked doubtfully.

"Really, I can do it..." Wang Pingping nodded vigorously.

"Okay, since you've been so good, I'll reward you with a peach... okay???" Village Chief Liu was well aware of the tactic of giving a sweet treat after a beating.

"Thank you, Village Chief Liu..." Wang Pingping smiled through her tears.

"Hmm, you seem to be a good girl, so you can call me Auntie from now on..." Aunt Liu said with a smile.

"Thank you, Auntie..." Wang Pingping replied obediently.

"What's so great about one peach? I eat two every day..." Little Bao was a little dissatisfied when his mother rewarded his nemesis with a big peach and grumbled.

"You're only allowed to eat one today..." Aunt Liu said coldly, looking at her daughter.

"Why?" Xiao Bao'er protested. She had only eaten one peach in the morning, which meant that the peach for dinner was gone.

"Why? Because you got into a fight today, and I gave that peach to good girl Wang Pingping as a reward," Aunt Liu said, looking at her daughter.

"Thank you, Auntie, you're so kind..." Wang Pingping was overjoyed. Being able to snatch food from Zheng Bao'er's mouth made her even happier than if Aunt Liu had given her ten peaches as a reward.

"Hmph hmph hmph..." Little Bao'er was so aggrieved that she was almost crying.

"What are you humming at me for? If you dare to fight again, you can forget about eating peaches and you won't even be allowed to drink milk anymore..." Aunt Liu glared at her daughter and said.

"Mommy is bullying me, I'm going to tell Daddy..." Little Bao climbed out of the pool, soaking wet, and was about to run out to find his father.

Aunt Liu, quick as a flash, grabbed her and slapped her on the bottom: "Change your wet clothes before you go..." Then she looked at Wang Pingping in the water, "Pingping, come up and change your clothes..."

"Thank you, Auntie..." Wang Pingping climbed out of the pool with a happy smile.

"Those are my clothes..." Xiao Bao'er looked at the set of clothes her mother handed to Wang Pingping and immediately became unhappy.

"What's wrong with your clothes? Can't you lend them to a child? You're so young, why are you so stingy?" Aunt Liu said reproachfully.

Little Bao was so upset. Not only did her mother confiscate one of her peaches and give it to her nemesis, but her own clothes were also given to her rival.

The little girl's big eyes were already brimming with tears.

Aunt Liu changed the two little girls into clean clothes, wrung out their dirty clothes, and put them away, intending to take them to Yang Ming's house to wash them in the washing machine. However, Xiao Bao'er left her mother behind and ran off in a flash, wanting to tell her father.

"Auntie, Zheng Bao'er ran away..." Wang Pingping was no pushover either, speaking ill of someone in front of their mother.

"Oh, let her run away..." said Aunt Liu.

"Aren't you going to punish her?" Wang Pingping asked expectantly.

"..."

Little Bao ran to Yang Ming's house, threw himself into Yang Ming's arms, and burst into tears, crying so sadly.

"What's wrong?" Yang Ming quickly picked up the little guy and wiped his tear-stained face.

"Why are you crying?" Wei Qingqing asked with concern.

"Zhang Hong is really something. She's a teacher, how could she let her students fight? Look at our poor Bao'er, her face is covered in cuts..." Zhang Shufang complained.

Everyone was about to eat when they saw the little guy crying so sadly, so they all gathered around.

"Mom isn't my biological mom, she's Wang Pingping's biological mom. She gave my peaches to Wang Pingping and gave my clothes to Wang Pingping to wear..." The little guy hugged Yang Ming's neck and cried loudly.

"..." Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what was going on, but they also found it quite funny.

"Alright, alright, let's eat first. We can talk about it when Aunt Liu gets back..." Yang Ming said, then wiped away the little guy's tears again: "Baby, let's eat now, and we'll deal with your mother after we finish eating, okay..."

"Hmm!" Xiao Bao nodded heavily, clearly harboring deep resentment towards his mother.

So everyone sat around the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to eat lunch. Just as they were eating, Aunt Liu led Wang Pingping in.

"Hmph..." When Xiao Bao saw her mother come in, she put her rice bowl on the table, hmphed, pouted, and turned her head to the side.

"Sister Liu, what did you do to offend my daughter?" Yang Ming asked, eating his rice bowl as he began to provoke her.

"Oh dear, how could I dare to offend your daughter?" Aunt Liu said with a smile.

"Then why did my daughter cry when she saw me? And she even said that you're not her biological mother, but Wang Pingping's biological mother..." Yang Ming said.

"You brat, what did you say?" Aunt Liu scolded her daughter.

"What? You want to bully my daughter right in front of me?" Yang Ming said.

"Yang Ming, shut your damn mouth! If you dare say another word, I'll break your legs..." Aunt Liu shouted at Yang Ming in a fierce voice.

"..." Yang Ming opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to say anything.

Little Bao'er's heart clenched. She hadn't expected her father, whom she relied on so much, to be so useless. She wondered if her mother would hit her. Probably not, her mother had never hit her before…

"Alright, stop scaring my husband. Hurry up and get on the bed to eat..." Wei Qingqing said at this moment.

"Hmph! I'll let it slide since you're pregnant..." Aunt Liu snorted, glared at Yang Ming, and pulled Wang Pingping onto the kang (heated brick bed).

When Xiao Bao saw his mother get on the kang (a heated brick bed), he quickly picked up his bowl and hid behind Wei Qingqing. In a critical moment, his godmother is still the most useful.

Under Aunt Liu's tyranny, Xiao Bao'er was as obedient as a kitten. All the grievances he had felt had vanished without a trace. Even if he did feel them, he dared not show them. Didn't you see how terrified his godfather was?

The news of Wei Qingqing's pregnancy caused a sensation throughout Zhengjia Village that very day. It wasn't that everyone was particularly interested in Wei Qingqing, but rather that Yang Ming, overjoyed, decided to host a three-day banquet with dozens of tables. Anyone who came to offer their congratulations, whether they knew the person or not—whether a villager, tourist, or construction worker—could sit down and feast to their heart's content. After all, with the farm space at his disposal, Yang Ming had more than enough food to go around.

Upon hearing the news of Wei Qingqing's pregnancy, Yang Zhengfang immediately informed his in-laws, Wei Jianguo, then his uncles and brothers in Yangjia Village, and even called his two sworn brothers.

Zhang Shufang was also busy. She immediately informed her family members about her daughter-in-law's pregnancy, including her older sister Zhang Yingning, who had just been married for eight years.

Zhengjia Village became lively again, but the person involved hid in the backyard and was treated like a treasure. Only Yang Zhengfang, Yang Ming, and Zhang Yang stayed at home to entertain the guests and receive the villagers' blessings.

Wei Qingqing was soaking in the hot spring, looking sullen, surrounded by a group of people.

"Qingqing, soaking in hot springs is good for your health, it relaxes your muscles and tendons, you should soak in hot springs often in the future..." Zhang Shufang carefully served her daughter-in-law.

"And you should eat scrambled eggs often too. Eating them is good for your health and can make the fetus stronger..." Aunt Liu was also serving from the side. She had a deep understanding of whether dragon eggs were good for the fetus.

"Girl, you're going to be a mother soon, so don't go crazy..." When Xue Hua received the news that her daughter was pregnant, she immediately asked for leave from school and rushed to Zhengjia Village to take care of her daughter. Wei Jianguo, however, did not come. They couldn't both take leave, could they? Although they had a good relationship with the school leaders, it would still have a bad influence.

"Ugly girl, don't be afraid. Giving birth is easy, just like a hen laying an egg..." Sun Fangfang didn't know what to say, but she remembered that when she was pregnant, she always seemed to be anxious and worried.

Sun Fangfang's vulgar language drew stares from everyone, but the woman didn't care. Instead, she was delighted and chatted with Wei Qingqing about her pregnancy experience.

"Do you think it's a girl or a boy?" Zhang Fenghuang asked Liu Lili and Zhang Yue, carefully examining Wei Qingqing's flat stomach.

"I bet it's a girl..." Zhang Yue blurted out, feeling that daughters were easier to manage than sons.

"Yueyue, go outside and see if Mingming's uncle has arrived yet?" Zhang Shufang was particularly unhappy to hear Zhang Yue's blunt words.

"Oh..." Zhang Yue knew she hadn't heard what the other person wanted, so she stuck out her tongue, blushed, and ran away.

"Hehe, let's go take a look too..." Zhang Fenghuang chuckled, then pulled Liu Lili along and they slipped away.

"When it gets cold, you can stay in this hot spring valley. Don't get cold..." Xue Hua said, feeling that the small valley was quite warm.

“My dear mother-in-law, I disagree with you. It’s warm here, but it’s too humid. We’re from the north, and it’s not good for our health to stay in this kind of environment all the time,” Zhang Shufang immediately retorted.

"Hmm! I didn't think that through..." Xue Hua showed a willingness to admit her mistake and correct it. "From now on, you can stay here during the day and go back to your room at night..."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Zhang Shufang nodded repeatedly.

"It's not that strange," Aunt Liu chuckled. "She does what she's supposed to do normally. There are so many pregnant women in the village, and none of them are this delicate."

"Yes, yes, I've heard that a mother's mood can affect her child. If my child becomes spoiled in the future, it's okay if it's a girl, but if it's a boy, how much will I have to suffer?" Wei Qingqing quickly said.

"Yes, it's okay if Qingqing suffers along with him, but if the child doesn't have any manly spirit, that would be a real disaster. His father is such a capable man, he can fight bears on the mountain and catch wolves on the mountain, how could he have such a useless son..." Aunt Liu spread terrifying information.

Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua exchanged a glance, both seeing a sense of fear in each other's eyes. If their grandson became that kind of person, it would be like burning sorghum leaves on their ancestral grave and sticking cigarettes on the grave mound.

"Sister Liu, I don't like hearing you say that," Wei Qingqing said, adding fuel to the fire when she saw her mother and mother-in-law looking hesitant. "These days, are there any kids who aren't spoiled? Even if my son is a little spoiled, he can't be a good-for-nothing. I'd be content if he had even a tenth of his father's abilities. I wouldn't expect him to be any better..."

"Girl, you're wrong to think like that. If sons are not as good as their fathers, how far will our society regress?" Xue Hua rebuked his daughter sternly.

"Qingqing, children need to be resilient, not spoiled. When I was pregnant with Mingming, I was five or six months along and still went to work in the fields..." Zhang Shufang said.

"Huh? She's pregnant, and you still want her to work in the fields? She can't do it..." Wei Qingqing said, looking aggrieved.

"You don't need to work in the fields, but you can continue doing whatever you used to do. Don't do anything strenuous like climbing high or jumping over ditches anymore..." After saying this, Aunt Liu looked at Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua, "What do you two think of what I said?"

"Okay, let's do it this way..." Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua nodded in unison.

"Hehehehe..." Sun Fangfang suddenly laughed, "How interesting, our ugly girl has gone from a precious darling to a clod of dirt so quickly?"

Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua exchanged a glance, both feeling cheated. They couldn't help but glare at Wei Qingqing and Aunt Liu, realizing they had unknowingly been led astray by the two.

A large shed had been erected at the gate of Yang Ming's house. Inside, there were electric lights and dozens of large round tables laden with sumptuous dishes, the rich aroma of which wafted far and wide.

The villagers and construction workers of Zhengjia Village chatted and laughed loudly, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. Yang Ming and Zhang Yang went from table to table greeting everyone, and everyone said auspicious words to Yang Ming, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

There was another table inside the house, where Yang Zhengfang was keeping company; they were all respected people in the village.

Relatives and friends from the Yang, Zhang, Xue, and Wei families also flocked to Zhengjia Village, and calls to Yang Zhengfang and his son Yang Ming's cell phones came one after another.

When you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come calling. In short, it's no secret that Yang Ming is a tycoon among his relatives. Of course, Yang Zhengfang and Wei Jianguo wouldn't tell anyone. Even if they wanted to show off, they wouldn't dare to. But Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua are different. They're happy to talk about their children with their relatives and friends and enjoy the sense of superiority that comes with being envied and jealous.

Everyone was eager to get closer to Yang Ming's family. After all, who hasn't had a bad time? Knowing a wealthy relative might come in handy someday.

"Dayu, Yang Ming's family is having a party, why aren't you going? Go and congratulate them..." Zhu Yuan said to Zheng Yu, who was busy in the field, while standing on the edge of her family's greenhouse.

Zheng Yu's family has two acres of greenhouses, all planted with vegetables, unlike Yang Ming's family, who grow some melons and fruits. Usually, it's just Zheng Yu and his wife who take care of it, and the work isn't tiring at all; they manage to do it half-playfully and half-dry.

"What am I going to do? Maybe my ex-uncle will come back today..." Zheng Yu pulled down a bean vine and wrapped it around the bean trellis.

Newly sprouted bean vines should be encouraged to climb onto the trellis.

"Are you that afraid of him? The more afraid you are of him, the more he will hate you. You don't even have the courage to face them..." Zhu Yuan hoped that her husband could get out of the shadow.

"I..." Zheng Yu's face darkened. He wanted to scold his wife, but when he thought about what he was about to do, he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and swallowed the reprimand that was about to come out of his mouth.

"What do you want? Look at your pathetic self... Who would want someone like you? You're a grown man, you need to have courage. Your ex-uncle doesn't have any children, right? What do you do? Can't you be their son? You can take care of them in their old age, and after they pass away, you can visit their graves during festivals. Can you do that?" Zhu Yuan wasn't a coward to begin with, and her sharp tongue was just as good as Aunt Liu's. After marrying Zheng Yu, she had been trying to untangle her husband's knots, but the results weren't very good. Her husband was a taciturn bandit, quiet and shrewd, but full of hidden ideas.

Zheng Yu fell silent again, leaving Zhu Yuan frustrated and speechless.

"Alright, alright, you can stay cooped up... If you won't go, I will. We've helped Yang Mingqing a lot in building the greenhouse. She's pregnant, how can we not show our faces?" Zhu Yuan said, leaving the greenhouse and heading towards Yang Ming's house.

Zheng Yu looked up at his wife's departing figure, sighed slightly, and silently continued tidying up the greenhouse.

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(End of this chapter)