The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 138 Searching for Mother

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Zhang Yang is now considered a tycoon, so at his strong insistence, his mother, Zhao Fen, retired to stay home and take care of her grandson.

In Sunshine Residential Area, at Sun Fangfang's home, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn to prevent sunlight from shining in, so as not to disturb the quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

A grandmother taking care of her grandson is usually a joy (of course, not all grandmothers are particularly fond of their grandsons), but Zhao Fen was sitting in the living room with a long face; she was angry with her daughter-in-law, Sun Fangfang.

Tell me, how can you be such a mother? You actually abandoned your son and went off to play in the mountain village. You have absolutely no sense of responsibility as a mother.

"Waaaaah..." The child's cries came from the bedroom.

"My little darling is awake again..." Zhao Fen hurriedly ran into the bedroom.

Zhao Fen ran into the bedroom and saw the little guy lying on the bed, crying with his mouth wide open, his limbs flailing wildly.

"Oh my, my little darling..." Zhao Fen lifted her grandson up by the back of his neck, and felt under his bottom. He hadn't peed, so she was relieved.

The little one cried for a while, then felt a bit tired and drowsily leaned against his grandmother's chest and fell asleep again.

"Ouch..." Zhao Fen wearily placed her grandson on the bed and let out a long sigh. "No, if this continues, I really can't take it anymore. I have to go find his mother..."

Children sleep a lot, but they wake up easily. Sometimes they will wake up after sleeping for three or four hours, and sometimes they will wake up after sleeping for only three or four minutes. An older person simply cannot withstand this.

"Hey! Old man, hurry up and rent me a car. I'm taking my grandson to find his mother..." Zhao Fen picked up the phone in the living room and called her old man.

"Yangyang and Fangfang are building a house in Zhengjia Village, so don't go and cause trouble..." Zhang Yang's father, Zhang Yuntong, was quite reasonable. "If you can't handle it, I'll go over and keep an eye on things for you."

"It's not that I can't take it anymore, it's just that I think they're so irresponsible, leaving the child behind and running off to play..." Zhao Fen said angrily.

"How old are they?... Okay, okay, I'll rent you a car, I'll call you when we get there..." Zhang Yuntong said, and hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Fen started putting on her coat. After putting on the coat, she wrapped the baby up tightly to prevent him from catching a cold when they went out. Finally, she thought about it and packed two bags of diapers. Generally speaking, grandmothers like her have a lot of experience in taking care of children and are more thoughtful than new mothers.

Before long, the phone rang. Zhao Fen glanced at the caller ID and saw it was her husband. Without even answering, she grabbed the baby and the diapers and went downstairs. She figured she could save on the phone bill if she could.

Carrying the child downstairs and out of the community, there was a taxi parked at the entrance. As they approached, the passenger window rolled down, and an old man leaned out: "I'm afraid you'll argue with her, so I'll go with you..." There was something he didn't say. He was worried about her taking her grandson to a small mountain village all by herself. Who knew if the taxi driver would take advantage of their old age and young age and have bad intentions?

"Okay!" Zhao Fen had no objection to going, so she opened the back door and crouched down to get in.

"Brother/Sister, can I see the child?" the taxi driver asked at this moment.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Fen was already in a bad mood, and at this moment, her face finally fell.

"Oh... Brother and Sister, don't misunderstand. I've heard of Zhengjia Village, but it's very remote. If you weren't from a respectable family, I wouldn't dare take you there..." the taxi driver said.

"Let him take a look..." Zhang Yuntong was quite understanding.

"Okay, let me show you..." Zhao Fen lifted a hole in the quilt wrapped around her grandson, revealing the little guy's rosy face.

"Hehe, your grandson is really handsome..." The taxi driver looked at the little guy's face and praised him sincerely.

"Hehe," Zhao Fen's mood finally improved, "My son is good-looking, but his mother is even more beautiful, like a figure in a painting..."

"Really? You're so lucky..." The taxi driver put the car in gear, stepped on the gas, and the car slowly drove off. "Zhengjia Village is in a remote place, I heard it's in the mountains. We'll take the main road this time, otherwise we might run into highway robbers. Robbing money is a small matter, but it would be terrible if they tried to snatch a child."

"Is it... not safe there?" Zhao Fen instinctively hugged her grandson tighter, her heart starting to waver.

Zhang Yuntong also held his breath.

"No, that's not true. Desolate places are generally not peaceful, not just Zhengjia Village..." the taxi driver said.

Zhang Yuntong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This world shouldn't be that chaotic, right?"

"Why not? Those small mountain villages usually only have a few dozen households, and there's hardly anyone around for miles. And there are quite a few villages like that. The Public Security Bureau doesn't need to set up a police station in every village, does it? That would cost so much money!" the taxi driver said.

"If the police don't have one, then there must be a joint defense force, right?" Zhang Yuntong said.

"That joint defense is worse than nothing. Most of those guys are thugs from the village, with a strong bandit mentality. If there are really a few of them, in this remote and far-off place, they'll be even more troublesome than bandits," the taxi driver said.

"That makes sense. I've heard that when the police station selects auxiliary police officers, they choose those thugs who are quite domineering in the village. These guys are idle and good-for-nothings who usually cause trouble for others. If they were to actually take power, wouldn't they turn the world upside down?" Zhao Fen said.

"That's right..." The taxi driver turned the steering wheel, and the car slowly drove onto the highway. "The police station also had this in mind. They decided not to set up a joint defense. They let each village organize its own militia for security matters. However, I heard that people in the mountains are particularly xenophobic and generally don't like to have contact with outsiders..."

"Don't like interacting with outsiders?" Zhao Fen raised her delicate eyebrows. "Really? My son and daughter-in-law get along quite well with the people in Zhengjia Village. My son even bought a plot of land there and plans to build a house..."

"Oh? Is that so? Your son is quite something to have gained the approval of the mountain people..." the taxi driver said.

People in the mountains tend to have rigid mindsets; they are used to living the same way for decades and are very unwelcoming to outsiders who disrupt their rhythm of life.

"It's not my son's ability that's impressive; it's my daughter-in-law's godfather who's capable. He's been living in Zhengjia Village for quite some time now," Zhang Yang's father said with a smile.

"Godfather?" The taxi driver raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more. These days, godfathers, godmothers, god-sisters, godfathers, and goddaughters have all been given different names.

"It's not what you think. Our daughter-in-law has a godmother, so she has to call her godmother's son 'godbrother'," Zhang Yuntong said.

"Oh..." The taxi driver finally understood. If that were the case, then the godbrother and godsister were indeed innocent.

"Speaking of Fangfang's godfather, he's really a capable man. Although he lives in the mountains, his business is huge. Do you know Yingning Hotel? It has high-quality vegetables and frozen seafood. Actually, it all comes from my daughter-in-law's godfather. Our son has made a lot of money following him..." Zhao Fen said.

"Oh? Really..." The taxi driver was quite surprised.

"That's right, our son went out to sea to fish and earned more than ten million yuan. We benefited from his success..." Zhao Fen was a pragmatic person. No one could erase the glory that belonged to her son, and she didn't care about the glory that didn't belong to him.

"Oh..." The taxi driver nodded in surprise.

"Damn it, stop talking nonsense. I'm asking you, what exactly do you want from our son and daughter-in-law?" Zhang Yuntong quickly interrupted to change the subject when he heard the conversation had turned to a sensitive topic.

Ten million?! You're tempting people to commit crimes...

"What do you want? Just give the child to his mother..." Zhao Fen said.

"Is it over once it's given to his mother?" Zhang Yuntong's eyebrows twitched.

"What else can we do?" Zhao Fen asked, puzzled.

"What about us? Should we stay in Zhengjia Village, or come back..." Zhang Yuntong asked.

"Of course we're back, what would we be doing staying there..." Zhao Fen said.

"Oh, you're leaving your grandson here so the two of us can come back? Then why did you retire in the first place?" Zhang Yuntong said.

"Yes, if it weren't for taking care of my grandson, why would I have retired in the first place?" Zhao Fen frowned.

"If you ask me, let Fangfang meet our grandson, then we'll bring him back. Let the master wait for us for a while," Zhang Yuntong said.

"What you said makes a lot of sense, but we're both getting old and can't take care of this grandson. Why don't you come back with this master, and I'll stay and help Fangfang take care of my eldest grandson..." Zhao Fen said.

"What's the point of me coming back alone? If you want to stay in the village, I'll stay with you..." Zhang Yuntong said.

"How can you do that? What about our little dog? It'll starve to death if we don't feed it for days!" Zhao Fen said.

"I..." Zhang Yuntong opened his mouth, but the words he was about to say didn't come out.

"Hehe, you keep a dog at home?" The taxi driver was also worried about returning empty, which would be a waste of gas. "What kind of dog is it? Is it a pedigree?"

"It's not exactly a rare breed, just an ordinary little clumsy dog..." Zhang Yuntong said, a smile appearing on his face as he thought of the clever little yellow dog.

"Oh, it's a silly dog. I've heard of it. These silly dogs are raised in the countryside. I think they're called 'Chinese Rural Dogs.' They're all free-breeding. Generally, these mixed breeds are quite intelligent..." The taxi driver was also a perceptive person. Seeing the expression on Zhang Yang's father's face, he knew that this man really liked that ordinary little silly dog, so he quickly started praising it.

"Right? Our little dog is pretty smart..." Zhang Yuntong nodded. "It always knows to go to the toilet to poop and pee. Even when I take it out for a walk, it holds it in even if it's really in a hurry, and it absolutely won't pee or poop outside..."

"Really? So intelligent? Is this even a dog?" the taxi driver exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course it's the dog. My son told me that our little yellow dog's mother once killed a big wild boar..." Zhao Fen said proudly.

"Ahem...that's bravery, it's a different thing from intelligence..." Zhang Yuntong coughed twice and said.

"It's one thing, it's another thing..." the taxi driver quickly replied.

His real intention was simply to avoid returning empty-handed. He didn't care whether their dog was smart or brave, as long as he couldn't bear to let it go hungry...

The car sped along the highway, then turned onto a county road at a road sign. Gradually, mountains appeared on both sides of the road. In late autumn, the mountains were mostly bare of green, with fallen leaves fluttering everywhere in the autumn wind.

"Ahead is Huai Shu Township. My cousin's wife is from Huai Shu Township. Speaking of which, Huai Shu Township really produces beauties..." The taxi driver was quite talkative.

"Is Zhengjia Village in Huaishu Township?" Zhang Yuntong asked.

"Yes, it's from Huai Shu Township. There are two major surnames in Zhengjia Village, one is Zheng and the other is Wang. I forgot when, but Wangjia Village suffered a disaster and the whole village was leveled. The Wang family members then scattered to the surrounding villages. That's how the Wang family in Zhengjia Village came about. But the Wang family members are all scoundrels..." the taxi driver said.

"I see. I heard from my son that the Zheng family and the Wang family are having a fierce fight..." Zhao Fen said.

"Right? They're all being pinched. The Wang family is obsessed with power and always wants to usurp the village's authority. They're a bunch of ingrates. People took them in because they were homeless, but they ended up taking in a bunch of wolves. Anyone would be upset about that..." the taxi driver said.

"It really is true..." Zhang Yuntong sighed.

The three of them talked as they drove toward Zhengjia Village. The journey was nothing like the desolate scene they had imagined. Taxis, private cars, and luxury cars were bumping and jolting along the country road.

"I say, you must be mistaken, right? This road really leads to Zhengjia Village?" Zhang Yuntong looked at the surrounding vehicles and felt a little dizzy.

"Absolutely right. When I took my cousin-in-law back to her parents' home, she specifically mentioned that this road leads to Zhengjia Village. She has an older cousin in Zhengjia Village who married the village secretary. Her cousin is about ten years older than her..." the taxi driver said with certainty.

"It's good that you're on the right track. If you had taken the wrong turn, not only would you have wasted time, but how much gasoline would your car have used up?" Zhang Yuntong said.

When going to the countryside, people usually hire a car, and the price is agreed upon in advance. It's not calculated using a meter, so the drivers will naturally choose the route that saves fuel.

"I heard that Zhengjia Village is opening up agritainment businesses. Maybe all these people are tourists visiting the village?" The taxi driver was also full of questions.

"Agritainment? There are so many people? Isn't this business a bit too good???" Zhang Yuntong raised his eyebrows.

"It doesn't seem like that, it looks more like a funeral procession..." Zhao Fen said, looking at the menacing 'convoy'.

"Who cares what they're doing? We'll just follow behind them..." The taxi driver was relieved. Since there was such a long convoy, there wouldn't be any robbers. Robbers wouldn't dare to come here to rob people. Looking ahead and behind, with such a long convoy, you'd need a whole gang to have an absolute numerical advantage.

The taxi was forced to stop before it even reached the village entrance. The cars in front of it couldn't move at all. The doors opened, and men and women, young and old, greeted each other and walked into the village. Clearly, most of these people knew each other.

Their hands weren't empty either; they were carrying some small gifts.

"See? What I told you? It's definitely going to be a gift-giving occasion..." Zhao Fen said, sitting in the car.

"We can't drive any further... Let's get off..." Zhang Yuntong said, looking at the taxi driver. "Driver, what are your plans? Are you going to wait here for us, or are you going to go back to the city now?"

"I'll wait for you for a while. If you're not going back, just give me a call. Don't be too late..." the taxi driver said.

"Okay..." Zhang Yuntong said.

So the couple opened the car door, mingled into the crowd, and entered the village.

"Hey! Brothers, where are you going?" Zhao Fen didn't like to pry into things. Of course, whether she really disliked it or not, she had to put on this act in front of others, so usually it was Zhang Yuntong who spoke first.

"We all have the same goal, we just need to know that in our hearts..." The speaker was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was wearing a blue cloth jacket, blue cloth trousers, and green rubber shoes. His outfit was just like the uniforms from the cooperative era.

The middle-aged man carried a basket filled with eggs, separated by soft straw. He talked as he walked, his footsteps swift and fast. It was difficult for Zhang Yuntong and Zhao Fen to keep up with him. Luckily, there were many people around, so they didn't fall behind.

"I still don't quite understand. I came to the village to find my son and daughter-in-law. But as soon as we arrived, we encountered a traffic jam, so we had to get out of the car and walk..." Zhang Yuntong was getting on in years, and he was panting heavily because he was walking too fast.

"Oh, so you're not here to offer congratulations?" The middle-aged man slowed his pace and turned around to say.

"Congratulations?" Zhang Yuntong and Zhao Fen exchanged a glance. Zhao Fen secretly stuck out her tongue. Just now she had said that the other party had come to offer a gift.

But who told them not to put red paper on the gifts...?

"Of course we're going to congratulate her! My cousin's wife is pregnant, so of course we have to come and see her..." the middle-aged man said matter-of-factly.

"Alright..." Zhang Yuntong looked around at the people, "Brothers, are they all here to offer their congratulations?"

"Of course, there are relatives of my family here, as well as relatives of my cousin's husband, and relatives of my cousin's wife... Brother, I apologize for any inconvenience caused to you..." The middle-aged man spoke quite politely.

"It's alright, it's alright. We heard that this remote place is not safe. Now that there are so many people here, we feel safer walking on the road..." Zhang Yuntong said.

"Hehe, that makes sense..." the middle-aged man laughed.

"Hey bro... what exactly does this relative of yours do?" Zhang Yuntong asked curiously.

"Nothing much, I heard he's just a vegetable seller..." the middle-aged man said modestly, though there was a hint of untruth in his words.

"A vegetable seller? The vegetable seller in Zhengjia Village, isn't that Yang Mingyao?" Zhao Fen said casually after hearing the middle-aged man's words.

"Oh? You know my cousin?" the middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course I know him. He's my daughter-in-law's godfather. Our daughter-in-law's name is Sun Fangfang..." Zhao Fen said.

"Oh...so you're Zhang Yang's parents. My cousin introduced Zhang Yang to us. He's a handsome young man, and incredibly clever..." Upon hearing that the two people in front of him were Zhang Yang's parents, the middle-aged man immediately became enthusiastic, his words filled with warmth.

"Hey! That kid is alright looking, but to say he's clever would be too kind of him. He's been a real troublemaker since he was little..." Zhao Fen said modestly with a beaming smile.

"Good lads are all made through trial and error..." The middle-aged man had a deep impression of Zhang Yang. People like Zhang Yang could create a lively atmosphere wherever they went.

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(End of this chapter)