The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 63 Cabbage (Part 1)

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"Looks like you're a drinking buddy, huh?" A voice rang out from outside the courtyard. Then, Old Huang, carrying a birdcage, walked in with Old Liu. It was Old Huang who spoke.

"Oh? Looks like we've met a kindred spirit here. I brought a few bottles of homemade wine with me this time. How about we have a good tasting tonight?" Yang Zhengfang put the persimmons in the basket and turned his head to say.

"Great!" Old Huang's eyes lit up. Besides his love for yellow birds, he also enjoys a drink. Whenever he has free time, he'll have a couple of drinks with Old Liu and Old Li.

After introductions, Yang Zhengfang became interested in the two men. After a few words, they started calling each other brothers. It is said that most men like to drink, especially men with bronchitis. Drinking this stuff... clears the lungs.

That's why they say alcohol emboldens the timid.

"Little Yang, that's not very nice of you. You guys had a good lunch, but you didn't even leave some for us two brothers..." Old Liu said with a smile as he looked at Yang Ming.

"Hehe, how could that be? We just couldn't find you two gentlemen. By the way, where have you two been?" Yang Ming said with a smile.

"Hey! Went into the mountains, but bad luck today. Didn't catch a single yellow bird, just some old thieves. They ate a lot of my perilla seeds," Old Huang said regretfully.

"Alright, alright, let's hurry up and pick the persimmons. I've heard that making wine from persimmons tastes pretty good. These persimmons are so perfectly shaped, the wine made from them will definitely be delicious." Old Liu stared at the big persimmons on the persimmon tree, looking rather envious. To be honest, these persimmons were indeed quite large, and they had a fresh and natural flavor. If they weren't still green, one would want to take a bite right away.

So, the five men, young and old, picked persimmons together under the tree. This year's persimmons were growing well, the tree was full of big green lanterns, and the branches were bent over with the weight. However, the persimmon branches were very resilient. Although they were almost on the ground from the weight of the persimmons, they did not break. As a result, picking persimmons became much easier. They did not have to climb high. They could reach the higher ones by jumping. Even if the trees were really tall, they could reach them by carrying a stool.

With the five of them working together, they quickly picked three large baskets of persimmons, but the number of persimmons on the tree remained high.

"Squeak squeak squeak..." Suddenly, a sound like mice squeaking rang out. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wangcai and his wife rummaging through a basket, picking and choosing something. Finally, the two little guys each grabbed a big persimmon, happily ran to the side, opened their mouths wide, and swallowed the persimmons whole. Then, with their bellies bulging, they waddled into the east wing.

"What is this thing?" Yang Zhengfang's eyes widened.

"Uh? I caught them in the field. I thought they were pretty smart, so I brought them home." Yang Ming was sweating. He never expected that the gray spirit rat's mouth could open so wide that it could swallow a whole persimmon.

"Are you sure this isn't a fairy?" Zhang Yang felt a chill run down his spine.

"Hmm! It shouldn't be..." Yang Ming added in his mind, you actually guessed right... This thing seems to be called an elf. In ancient myths and legends, elves and fairies shouldn't be much different, right? Elves are more likely to be plant spirits, while fairies are more likely to be animal spirits, but it doesn't matter if they are called the same.

"The way they eat? It looks so much like a snake!" Old Huang shuddered at the thought of the word "snake" and quickly looked at the birdcage hanging on his clothesline. Fortunately, the birds were still inside. It seemed that he needed to strengthen the protection of the birds. Although cats couldn't climb the clothesline, snakes could.

"It's nothing, just some strange little animal. Let's get back to work. I've always wanted to learn how to make fruit wine, and I'll learn from Brother Yang today," Old Liu said.

So the five of them got back to work.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. The environment here is really nice, with flowers, plants, fruit trees, and even a wooden house..." Zhang Shufang stood by the hot spring pool, looking around, and nodded repeatedly.

"Mom! Let's go in the water..." Sun Fangfang was quite generous, taking off all her clothes and stepping into the hot spring pool. "Hiss? Why does it feel hotter than before? But it feels so good, it's so hot it's burning my bones..."

"You're quite sensitive, aren't you? We sealed the spring yesterday, and the temperature was close to boiling. When it flows here, the temperature rises a little." Wei Qingqing also started taking off her clothes.

Xiao Bao'er had already taken off her clothes and jumped into the pool, playing around with Sun Fangfang.

To be honest, Zhang Shufang had never bathed with anyone before in her life. When the moment came, she was a little embarrassed. She hesitated and looked around, occasionally making a comment to prolong the time.

Sun Fangfang winked at Wei Qingqing and whispered with a smile, "I'm sorry..."

"Who's like you? So shameless." Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes at her and said, "Mom, she's coming down..."

"Hey! Wait a minute..." Zhang Shufang said repeatedly.

Sun Fangfang was a particularly wicked person. She quietly climbed ashore and suddenly hugged Zhang Shufang from behind. This sudden attack startled Zhang Shufang, who almost jumped up. When she realized it was Sun Fangfang, she couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You little brat, what are you doing?"

"Hehe, Mom, are you embarrassed? We're both women, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Sun Fangfang hugged her godmother and laughed.

"Who? Who's embarrassed? I'm just taking a look." Zhang Shufang rolled her eyes, looked at her naked goddaughter, and felt more at ease. She also took off her clothes and went into the pool.

The water washed over my neck, warm and comforting, the heat seeping into my body through my pores, driving away all my discomfort. It felt so good…

"Ouch, it's so hot, but it feels really good..." Zhang Shufang said.

"Of course... This is a natural hot spring..." Sun Fangfang said happily.

"Hmph, there's still a ventilation opening a meter in diameter at the spring. We won't need to heat the pot when steaming buns anymore..." Wei Qingqing said proudly when she mentioned this idea. Yang Ming didn't praise her; instead, he got angry at her. Wasn't she just waiting for her mother-in-law to praise her?

"How stingy! With so much steam, why don't you build a sauna?" Sun Fangfang spoke up before Zhang Shufang could even open her mouth.

"Can't you say something nice to hear?" Wei Qingqing glared at her best friend.

"I think Qingqing's idea is good. A housewife is just a housewife who does laundry and cooks..." Zhang Shufang said.

"Mom has such good taste. Fangfang is just too lazy, too greedy, and loves to indulge herself..." Wei Qingqing immediately became affectionate with Zhang Shufang.

"Oh my, you two mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are teaming up, aren't you? Bao'er, stick with Auntie, say together that Wei Qingqing is a big idiot, Wei Qingqing is a big lazybones..." Sun Fangfang chuckled.

"Hehe..." Xiao Bao chuckled and hid far away. If he offended his godmother, she wouldn't side with him when his godfather bullied him in the future.

"Oh, so the three of you are ganging up on me, huh...?" Sun Fangfang glared and lunged at Wei Qingqing with bared teeth and claws.

A burst of laughter came from the steam.

The four of them played in the hot spring until it was dark before reluctantly getting dressed and going home.

As soon as they got home, the four of them saw five big men picking persimmons under the persimmon tree.

"Sigh! That old man isn't that..." Sun Fangfang still had some impression of Grandpa Huang who smashed the cage, and whispered to Wei Qingqing.

"Hmm! That's Grandpa Huang, he's come to the mountains to catch yellow birds..." Wei Qingqing said softly.

With Wei Qingqing's introduction, Zhang Shufang, Sun Fangfang, Lao Huang, and Lao Liu got to know each other briefly. Then the three women went to the outer room to cook. Lao Huang and Lao Liu were guests, and since they were helping with the work, they were naturally expected to be fed.

Little Bao looked around and saw there was nothing she could do. After thinking for a moment, she ran straight home. But when she got to the door, it was still locked, and her mother hadn't come back yet. The little girl got anxious and ran back crying, grabbing Yang Ming's clothes and refusing to let go. "Daddy, did my mommy get carried away by a wolf? Why hasn't she come back yet? Waaah..." she cried.

As soon as Xiao Bao cried, everyone stopped.

"What's wrong? Your mother hasn't come back yet?" Yang Ming picked her up directly.

"Hmm! The door is still locked..." Little Bao'er's tears fell down her cheeks.

Everyone gathered around, and Wei Qingqing asked with concern, "What happened?"

"What exactly happened?" Zhang Shufang asked with concern.

"It's alright, Aunt Liu hasn't come back yet, I'll go check..." Yang Ming carried the little guy out.

"Zhang Yang, you should come and take a look too..." Sun Fangfang nodded at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang quickly clapped his hands and followed.

The door was locked. Yang Ming knocked on the door and heard the barking of puppies inside. The two spotted dogs were clearly at home.

"Isn't the door locked? Why are you knocking? Where did she go?" Zhang Yang asked.

"I heard from Liu Nannan that she went to the county town to buy silk thread..." Yang Ming was also a little anxious. He was worried that something might happen to Liu's wife if she went out alone. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful for the little Bao'er to be left alone.

"There's only one road to the county town, right? How about I drive and pick her up?" Zhang Yang said.

"You go ahead, Bao'er and I will go to her maternal grandmother's house to check. Aunt Liu might be there. If anyone finds Aunt Liu, please let us know by phone..." Yang Ming said.

"Okay..." Zhang Yang replied, and then went to get the car.

The two split up and began searching for Liu's wife.

It was already dark when Yang Ming, holding Xiao Bao'er's little hand, led her towards Liu Family Village. Five little black dogs followed at their feet; they were Da Hei and his three dogs.

After crossing two mountain ridges and then another, you'll reach Liu Family Village. In the distance, in the darkness, a figure slowly approaches. She probably saw the person on the other side as well, and her pace slowed down.

"Mom..." Little Bao recognized the person opposite him and called out in his little voice.

Yang Ming could see the figures on the other side and heard Xiao Bao calling for his mother. He visibly relaxed, even quickening his pace and eventually starting to jog.

"What's wrong? How did you get here?" Aunt Liu's voice came from over. Little Bao cried and let go of Yang Ming's hand, running towards his mother.

Finally, the mother and daughter met. Aunt Liu picked up her daughter and laughed, "What's wrong? Did your godparents bully you? Tell Mommy, and Mommy will go and argue with them..."

"No..." Xiao Bao'er sobbed, hugging her mother's neck, "Mommy, where did you go?"

"Mommy went to Grandma's house... Hmm! You're such a big girl now, and you still can't be without your mom? Aren't you ashamed..." Aunt Liu smiled and pinched her daughter's little nose.

"Bao'er will never leave Mommy for the rest of her life..." Little Bao'er choked up as she said this.

At this moment, Yang Ming walked over, somewhat reproachfully saying, "Where have you been? Coming back so late at night, don't you know how worried the kids were? We must have searched the whole world for them..."

"Hey! Aren't I going to sew Hanfu for you anymore? I ran out of silk thread while I was sewing, so I went to the county town to buy some. But who knew, there weren't enough different kinds of silk thread in the county town, so I went to my mom's to get some more, and that's how I got everything I needed," Aunt Liu said with a smile.

"Well, look how worried the child is..." Yang Ming took out his phone and called Zhang Yang to inform him that Aunt Liu had been found.

"Zhang Yangfangfang is here too? Thank you so much, children can't be separated from adults..." Aunt Liu said with an embarrassed smile.

"It's alright, it's alright. Who can be separated from their parents when they're young..." Yang Ming waved his hands repeatedly.

"Not only Aunt Fangfang and Uncle Zhang Yang came, but Grandpa and Grandma came too..." Xiao Bao'er said.

"Huh?" Aunt Liu was a little surprised; she didn't react for a moment.

"My parents are here..." Yang Ming said.

"Oh! Is that so?" Aunt Liu smiled.

Aunt Liu put her daughter down, and the little boy clung tightly to his mother's fingers as the three of them walked back together.

When I got home, Zhang Yang was already back. The yard lights were on, and a group of people were waiting at the gate.

"Oh, you're finally back... You've worried me to death..." Wei Qingqing and Sun Fangfang came up to greet her together, took Liu Sao's hand, and started complaining.

"You can't do this... You didn't even say a word, and just left for a whole day. The kids all thought you were carried off by wolves..." Sun Fangfang complained.

"Hehe, yes, yes, I was wrong..." Aunt Liu chuckled and quickly admitted her mistake.

"Still laughing..." Wei Qingqing complained.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? We've been waiting for you..." Sun Fangfang said, pulling Liu Sao away.

"I ate at my mom's, don't worry about me, I have work to do..." Aunt Liu declined.

"Eat some more after you've eaten. You're Bao'er's mother, we should at least have a meal together..." Zhang Shufang said as she walked over.

"Hello, Auntie, then I'll be bothering you..." Aunt Liu quickly greeted Zhang Shufang.

So everyone went inside to eat. The meal was plentiful, mainly consisting of wild boar meat from lunch. The main dish was stewed with potatoes and vermicelli. We didn't eat much of the ribs or offal, just chopped them up and made a few plates. We also stir-fried two vegetable dishes, and that was it.

"Oh right, where's Nan Nan?" While eating, Aunt Liu suddenly realized she had forgotten about her niece.

"Your niece is at the hot spring. Today, we caught a wild boar and treated the whole village to lunch. All the men got quite drunk, and your niece and Aunt Tie were busy working on the greenhouse. They didn't finish until seven o'clock and were covered in sweat..." Wei Qingqing said.

Iron Sister-in-law is the daughter of the Iron Girl that Yang Mingzhao mentioned.

"Those two did the work of six people, don't forget to give them a bonus..." Aunt Liu said with a smile.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes.

The men drank alcohol, and the women drank beverages. The meal was quite harmonious. After finishing the meal, Aunt Liu didn't stay long. She chatted with everyone for a while, then took her daughter home to continue making Hanfu.

Yang Zhengfang, Lao Huang, and Lao Liu went outside to make fruit wine, and Zhang Yang followed to join in the fun, leaving only Zhang Shufang, Yang Ming, Wei Qingqing, and Sun Fangfang inside.

Everyone chatted inside for a while, and the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

"Mingming, take out your marriage certificate with Qingqing and let Mom see it..." Zhang Shufang suddenly made this request.

This request wasn't unreasonable, but it terrified Wei Qingqing. The photo on her marriage certificate showed all the pimples on her face; what if her mother-in-law saw it...?

Wei Qingqing tried her best to signal Yang Ming with her eyes, urging him to find a way to bluff his way out. However, Yang Ming couldn't think of a good excuse on the spot. When Zhang Shufang asked to see their marriage certificate, he had said it was in Zhengjia Village. Could he say it was in Meili Residential Area now? Of course, he could say that, but his conscience wouldn't allow it. That was his own mother. How could he just fool her like that? Was he even human? He could only bite the bullet and take the marriage certificate out of the cabinet, handing it to Zhang Shufang.

Yang Zhengfang and Zhang Shufang's surprise attack this time was truly fruitful...

"Hmm... I'll go outside and see what Zhang Yang and the others are up to..." Sun Fangfang slipped away. She had seen their marriage certificate and knew that it contained her best friend's most 'beautiful' moment.

The moment Zhang Shufang opened the marriage certificate, she froze for a moment, then carefully scanned it, slowly closed it, handed it back to Yang Ming, and walked out silently.

"You... how did you take it out?" Wei Qingqing's face was pale, her lips were bloodless, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"What can I do? My mom suddenly asked to see our marriage certificate, how can I refuse?" Yang Ming smiled bitterly.

Yang Ming was actually quite relaxed. As long as Wei Qingqing's character wasn't flawed, he didn't think his mother would interfere in their relationship.

"..." Wei Qingqing was almost in tears.

Yang Ming put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her, "What are you afraid of? My mom is only interested in your butt. She really doesn't care what your face looks like..."

"You're so annoying... You're still joking with me at a time like this..." Wei Qingqing finally burst into tears, leaning on Yang Ming's shoulder and sobbing, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, don't cry..." Yang Ming reached out and wiped away her tears. "Do you know what Aunt Zhang said to me when she first met you? She said, 'You're beautiful. If I marry you, I'll be getting a great deal...'"

"..." Wei Qingqing kept choking up.

"...Really, I'm not kidding you. These kinds of mothers-in-law don't look at what their daughters-in-law look like. They only look at their facial bones and only care about whether their offspring are good-looking..." Yang Ming said.

"Godmother has seen Qingqing and her husband's marriage certificate..." Sun Fangfang had just arrived in the yard when she pulled Zhang Yang aside and said somewhat anxiously.

"So what?" Zhang Yang was a little confused.

"What's wrong? There's a photo on the marriage certificate," Sun Fangfang said.

"Huh?" Zhang Yang's mouth dropped open. "Why don't you make an excuse?"

"Everyone was quite relaxed at the time. Who would have thought that my godmother would suddenly want to see their marriage certificate? They couldn't think of a good excuse at the last minute. I didn't know if they had mentioned marriage certificates before, and I didn't dare to interrupt..."

P.S.: Please recommend and add to your favorites...

(End of this chapter)