Chapter 43 "She must have just come up with this idea during her vacation..."

Today is a good day for the Chen family, and it is also a good day for the Qin family.

An hour ago, Qin Yang had already called and ordered a large portion of pork tenderloin and two vegetarian dishes from the most famous spicy and sour pork tenderloin restaurant in town.

The spicy and sour pork tenderloin restaurant was a bit far from his home, and delivery took time, so the food hadn't arrived yet.

It just so happened that the Chen family had sent rice and other meat and vegetables, so Qin Yang and his mother could have some food to eat first.

"When the tenderloin arrives, take that yellow basin and bring one over to their house. We've given gifts to so many neighbors, but they seem to be the only ones who've actually given us something in return."

When Qin Yang went upstairs, his mother had already placed the half-cooked steamed bun he had just finished cooking in a large aluminum pot. Knowing that the food Qin Yang had taken was sent by the Chen family, she looked at the chicken sausage and the cold dishes that were obviously bought outside and immediately said something.

"Yeah!" Qin Yang nodded as he picked up his chopsticks. "Many of our tenants are from the city or other provinces. They are particular about food and have their own eating habits. We think the stir-fried rice balls, dumplings, cold noodles, and sweet fermented rice wine we make are particularly delicious, but maybe they don't like them at all or are not used to them.

"Mom, please don't bother with this anymore. If you absolutely have to, make enough for five or six people, and then just send it to Panpan's family and Aunt Yang. They're all locals, so at least they know what you're sending is good stuff, and they're used to eating it. If you keep bothering others every day, they might feel bothered and embarrassed. Not everyone likes an overly welcoming landlord; some people finally get off work or school, and might not want to be bothered or fed."

My mother likes to cook and send food to neighbors, which is also a problem.

So Qin Yang unconsciously said a few more words while eating the Chen family's food.

"Well, I won't make them anymore, and I won't send them anymore. No matter what others think, I don't have the energy to do it anymore."

After the operation, Qin Guihua's physical strength and energy were far less than before. When her son was talking about it, she picked up the Chen family sausage and subconsciously said something.

As soon as she said this, the atmosphere in the whole room suddenly froze.

"Mom——" Qin Yang was a little sad and a little angry!

"Is anyone there?"

The knock on the door downstairs interrupted the words Qin Yang was about to say.

"The tenderloin should be here. I'll go get it!"

Qin Yang didn't know why he was so excited, but he was glad to hear the voice below. After hurriedly saying something to his mother, he went downstairs to get his things and pay.

A serving of sweet and sour pork for five yuan, plus two vegetarian dishes for one yuan and fifty cents each, is considered a luxury in their small town.

Looking at the rice box sent by the merchant, Qin Yang saw that the plastic box was quite large. He immediately found a plate to pour out the rice, and then immediately filled a plastic box with sweet and sour pork and sent it to the Chen family next door.

When he returned from Chen's house and went upstairs again with his things, his mother had calmed down. She no longer mentioned her illness and surgery, but had a good meal with him.

Later on, they talked about how to build more houses in the future.

No matter how calm he appeared, the doctor's words during the previous checkup and surgery, that even if the surgery went well, her mother would only live for five years at most, weighed heavily on Qin Yang's heart like a huge rock.

"We need to make her happy and encourage her to exercise more. Once her mood improves, coupled with proper exercise and diet, some patients' bodies will naturally recover on their own."

The words of his mother's attending physician resonated in Qin Yang's mind. Qin Yang smiled softly as he watched his mother happily eating dinner, then forced himself to be open-minded and not impulsive.

Soon after, the Qin family started hiring someone to add to the house.

Chen Pan always says that Liuping Town is quite similar to his own village, but in fact, many things here are indeed different from their village.

For example, in Qingshui Village, people still build houses in a cooperative system. It's a primitive model where if you help me today, I'll definitely come over to help you when you need to build a house next time. But in Liuping, people no longer ask neighbors for help when building houses; they directly hire professional construction teams.

Chen Pan had no idea where the Qin family had found this construction team, but after that, truckloads of building materials, including steel and cement, were brought into the Qin family's massive courtyard. The professional construction team, comprised of approximately thirty people, worked from seven in the morning to nine at night every day.

It seemed that from the time Chen Pan's school started to announce the final exams and college entrance examinations, to the time he actually took the exams and the college entrance examinations were over, the Qin family's house was completed in less than a month.

Even on the last day of the semester when Chen Pan went to school and the final results were due at noon, she discovered that the Qin family had replaced all of their old windows with new plastic-steel windows in just one morning.

Now the workers who have finished building the house have not left yet and are tiling all the exterior walls of the Qin family's house.

The kind of tiles they used are the same long white strips that are popular in rural and urban areas nowadays.

"Panpan, you're back? Look, when your brother Qin Yang replaced the windows on the first and second floors, he also replaced ours. And as for this tiled exterior wall, your brother Qin Yang said he would have the workers also tile our exterior."

Seeing her granddaughter return, Grandma Chen, who had been standing outside watching the construction, immediately came over excitedly. After pointing out the large, newly installed plastic-steel windows, Grandma Chen came to her senses and immediately lowered her voice to ask, "By the way, Panpan, how did you do on the exam this time? What place did you get?"

"I did just barely pass the test. I ranked third in the class and ninth in the grade!" As he spoke, Chen Pan lowered his head and took out his report card from his schoolbag.

"Let me see!" Grandma Chen, who had never been to school, knew how to write her own name, thanks to her son's instruction after he learned to read and write. As for the numbers 1 through 10, she learned them gradually from watching her husband write them frequently, as well as seeing them on TV and in real life. At that moment, seeing Chen Pan hand her the red booklet, she excitedly flipped through it.

"Chinese 89, Math 92, English 90, Biology 90, Physics 80, History 90, Geography 88, Physical Education 90, Ideology and Morality 90—all pretty high. With such high scores, he's only ninth in his class. It seems the education level in Liuping is really high!"

Grandma Chen, who was standing outside the store, read excitedly.

Chen Pan was subconsciously stunned by her voice, and then she said in disbelief: "Hey, Grandma, do you recognize all the words on this? How come you know all the subjects I study?"

"What's so difficult about this? Your dad—your dad has read these before. He used to hold those notebooks every day and talk about Chinese and math every day. I can recognize these words with my eyes closed. As for the ones I don't know, I can guess based on what I saw on TV and what you said."

Grandma Chen, who had a slight pause in her speech, quickly told Chen Pan how she had learned these characters and how now that she had nothing to do, she would turn on the TV and watch cartoons that taught people how to read and count.

"Oh my god, grandma, maybe you are a learning genius who was delayed by your great-grandfather and great-grandmother." Chen Pan sighed sincerely.

Grandma Chen, who was wearing a beautiful, clean blue shirt, immediately waved her hands in embarrassment: "What kind of genius am I? Isn't it because my family opened a shop that I have to learn?"

The two chatted for a while, and then when they saw a customer coming into the store, Grandma Chen didn't bother to say anything more and immediately went into the store to entertain the customer.

While his grandmother was selling pancakes to customers, Chen Pan stepped back a few steps with his schoolbag on his back and his report card in his hand, and looked up again at the dozen or so tile laying workers hanging above.

This white tile exterior wall is a characteristic of their era.

In ten years or so, this kind of thing will be completely out of fashion.

But no matter what, this small building with all its exterior walls covered with white tiles looks really modern and high-end.

At least in Liuping Town, where most houses have gray cement or simple white lime exterior walls, the Qin Yang family's move made their small building look like the most upscale and newest place in the area.

"Our landlord is really nice. Not only did he replace the windows for the tenants on the second floor, he also replaced the windows of all our shops."

"Even if he rented the shop to us, the house is still his. Since it's his, it should be normal for him to replace the windows, right?"

"Yeah, in his eyes, we're no different from the tenants on the second floor. Changing the windows just makes things look better. Brother Ren, don't overthink it!"

"Replacing ours is part of the standardization process, and that's normal. So, replacing the windows and cladding for Uncle Chen and Brother Wang's homes is also part of the standardization process? That's normal, isn't it? How many other landlords out there would replace windows and clad their homes for free after selling them? Acknowledging them is a sign of kindness, a sign of a long-term vision, and a broad mind. Is that really that difficult?"

As Chen Pan stood outside watching the workers lay the tiles, several other tenants on the first floor of the Qin family's building came out from a distance and, like her, watched from afar. But as they watched, they inexplicably started arguing.

Chen Pan continued to stand there, waiting for a few people to argue for a while, and finally returned to their shops to continue working. Then Chen Pan returned to his shop, put away his schoolbag, and changed his clothes.

"Grandma, where's my grandpa?"

After changing out of his best-looking puff-sleeved shirt, Chen Pan changed into an ordinary short-sleeved shirt and went out.

"He should be helping the Qin family count the tiles and cement."

Grandma answered happily. After Chen Pan came closer while adjusting his clothes, she helped him adjust his clothes while lowering her voice and said, "Pan Pan, tell me, did Yangyang see that your grandfather has been helping him all the time recently, so he replaced our windows and also covered our exterior walls?"

"He probably wanted it to look good, or maybe he's been spending a lot of money lately and thought it wouldn't hurt to just replace the windows and put up some exterior wall coverings. Of course, it could also be that Grandpa has really helped him recently, so he's returning the favor!"

Even though the Qin family hired a professional construction team to build this house, they must have purchased all the building materials themselves. Her grandfather had been out a lot lately, either helping people receive the steel and cement, or helping Qin Yang and the other party carry large tarpaulins and plastic bags to cover the sand and lime outside.

Thinking about her grandfather's recent unusual busyness, Chen Pan casually answered a few questions, then suddenly changed the subject: "Grandma, how long will you stay this time? Can you come back by the 15th?"

"Ah, is there something wrong? It's rare for you to have a day off, and I wanted to stay home for a few more days. Your brother Sanbao is getting engaged, and we have to go back to help for a day. The vegetables in the plastic tent at home are getting old, and I want to dig them all out and plant a new batch of small cabbages. Also, there are a lot of weeds in our yard now, and they need to be removed, otherwise the weeds will definitely grow into the house after two more rains. And there are also the clothes and quilts at home. Although there is water here, it is still not enough to wash the large sheets. We should still take them home to wash--"

Grandma Chen quickly said that she would make the arrangements herself. When Chen Pan heard her say that, he lay down on the table weakly.

It was a rare summer vacation, so she wanted to take the opportunity to make some money.

But now her grandparents have been looking forward to her vacation and have already made their own plans for her vacation.

In this situation, what should she do?

If she told them that she wanted to find a way to make money during the holidays, they would definitely not understand. If she didn't explain it correctly, there might be some misunderstanding.

But now, no matter how much she spent, she had to ask them for money like a real minor. She felt uncomfortable, unwilling, and a waste of time when she had to spend her entire vacation like a real child, just helping her family run the store and make money.

Feeling depressed, Chen Pan's body continued to slide down the stool little by little.

When Grandma Chen went to sell pancakes again, and when Qin Yang and Grandpa Chen came over with a cart of white tiles, all they saw was Chen Pan hunched over on a plastic stool, with only his chin resting on the small dining table, looking decadent.

"What's wrong, Panpan, did you not do well in the exam this time?"

Suddenly seeing his granddaughter sitting in this position, Chen Aiguo, who was helping Qin Yang push the stroller, immediately expressed his concern without thinking.

"She probably just had her day off and wanted to go out and play, but when I told her I had something to do back home, she got upset."

Glancing at her granddaughter's quickly upright figure, Grandma Chen smiled knowingly. Then she added, "I'll just be back for a few days. Since you rarely have summer vacation, why don't you let me rest for a few days?"

"Yeah, okay!"

Chen Pan, who had always been sensible, didn't even say no. He just agreed casually and then turned his head to the other side.

“This kid!”

Seeing her reaction, Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen both smiled indifferently.

Then they asked Qin Yang how long it would take for the workers above to get to their place, what was the specific date Qin Yang signed the contract with these workers above, and whether they would wait until tomorrow to paste the last few tiles.

"It's due today, and they will definitely be finished by evening. Don't worry, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen, they will only delay everyone's work for one day, it won't be like this forever."

Knowing what they were worried about, Qin Yang took off the gloves on his hands and spoke quickly and bluntly.

But as he was speaking, he saw Chen Pan standing up and leaving the room. He paused for a moment while trying to take off his gloves.