Father Zhang thought about it and smiled, "Don't overthink it. Some things aren't just about helping or not. Things are much more complicated. Qingshan said everyone pushed him to be the team leader, but there's no capable person in the village? Do you believe that?"

Although Zhang's mother didn't understand what her husband was talking about, she still had a basic understanding of her nephew's abilities and shook her head decisively.

"And Qingfeng, the militia captain..."

Father Zhang subconsciously lowered his voice when he said this. "This time when our Xiaowu comes back, he should go and spend some time with the clan leader, the elders, and Uncle Wu first. You'll see, in a few days, he'll be collecting herbs and sending them to the clinic. If our Xiaowu didn't know how to behave, there would be many people who would be dissatisfied and jealous."

Mother Zhang laughed cheerfully and said, "That's right. Everyone who meets me always praises my son."

Father Zhang laughed and shook his head. What a silly woman!

"So, don't worry. He has it all in mind. Didn't you see him saying that his skills are not so good anymore? He just doesn't want to get involved in his hometown's affairs anymore."

Oh, it was right! Zhang's mother's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't even mentioned that her eldest son didn't intend to get involved in other matters after he mentioned it.

Father Zhang leaned against the kang, not noticing his wife's expression, and muttered to himself, "This silly boy has been following Brother Zhou for so many years, and he's finally made some progress..."

"ah?"

Interrupted from his thoughts by his wife, Zhang Dad woke up, shook his head and smiled, "Huh? From now on, try not to let the affairs of the eldest and second eldest families hinder Xiaowu. They have only so much to offer, and it's the end of the road. Any more will only bring disaster, not blessing."

"Dad, I just don't understand what you're saying. How come it's already the end? Who wouldn't say our sons and grandsons are all the best?"

"You can only eat as much as you can. How could my own sons not understand? If it's too much, they won't be able to bear it. And the next few grandchildren, I've tried them one by one, but it's still no match. If I really want to raise a promising child, I'd rather save my old face than ask Brother Zhou for advice."

Zhang's mother refused to accept the claim that her son and grandson were hopeless. Her son and grandson were so united and filial. How could she find such good children in the county?

"Don't be unconvinced. I won't talk about the other things for now. Didn't Xiaowu ask them to come back to the village to work on the farm during the summer vacation? They agreed, right? But then the three Ping'an brothers came. How old were the younger twins? Did they ever cry or make a fuss while working in the fields in such hot weather those days?"

You should know what kind of life our three grandsons have been through at home, but they have endured it all. They refused to leave even when we called them, insisting that persistence is victory.

Look at those guys, they all ran away after just two days, with all sorts of excuses. We joked about them on June 1st, calling them deserters, and that's absolutely true. They're just grandsons. If they were my sons, I'd have kicked them out long ago."

Zhang's mother was speechless after hearing this, and she laughed silently with her hands covering her mouth.

"Nothing to say, right? Not only that, I've tried many times. They're clever, but completely stupid. With a maternal family like Brother Zhou and parents like Xiao Wu Jiaojiao, I'm not exaggerating, but as long as nothing goes wrong, the three Ping An brothers will have a better future than their father. Now, their uncle has given them a ladder to interact with the three Ping An brothers, and they're doing great."

Mother Zhang frowned worriedly, "Then should I go and remind them a few words?"

Father Zhang waved his hand. "It's not appropriate for us old people to meddle in children's affairs. Do you think the eldest and second eldest sons won't remind their own children? After all, the children won't listen."

This is why I say they don't have much of a future. Look at our Xiaowu. He's known what to do since he was little, even without us. When my dad left, he knew how to hunt and make money, so he went to Old Man Wang. When he went to school in the county, he just became buddies with Lin Zitaozi and the other kids.

Look back at Ping An and his three brothers. They follow Xiao Wu in this respect. They help out in the fields every day, but they're always either with the old team leader or asking questions to the elderly.

As Zhang Dad spoke, he thought about his three little idiots and a smile appeared on his face. A bunch of grandchildren, finally there is something useful.

"What's the question?"

"You can't guess that, right?" Father Zhang said with a rather smug smile. "There are so many things. When should we plant in the spring? What are the regulations for what to plant? When should we harvest? What should we do in the event of a natural disaster? How can we tell if it will rain tomorrow just by looking at the weather? We even have to ask about the best time to apply fertilizer.

It's obvious they're learning, learning the basics of farm work Xiaowu and his wife had taught them. They follow Xiaowu's lead, each one purposeful. And that's not all; the three children are also quite perceptive. Why do they always ask the elderly? Besides the elderly's lifetime experience, it's also because during the busy farming season, everyone's hustling to death, leaving only the older folks with less work to do, and with their free time, they're happy to chat with them.

Mother Zhang smiled, clicked her tongue twice, and muttered a few words under her breath.

Father Zhang couldn't quite hear what his wife was saying, but he could tell she was probably thinking the same thing. He smiled. "So, you'd better not remind those savages or anything like that. Grandsons are different from sons, after all. They still have their own mothers. If you talk too much, even if they agree verbally, they might complain that we, the elderly, are interfering too much while they're working."

Some things have to be learned on the child's own. Take, for example, that Li something who went to school with Xizi, the one who went to military school. He was such a naughty kid, his father couldn't handle him. But now, he's even more successful than Xizi. Xiaowu said he hasn't stopped writing to him in all these years.

Let's talk about Xizi. Xiaowu and his wife taught him for quite a while before they went to Beijing. He said he wanted to apply to a university in the provincial capital. Xiaowu wrote to him and persuaded him to apply to Beijing, saying that if his score was not high enough, he would find a way. But the child said that he was the eldest son and couldn't leave his hometown. With this excuse, what else could Xiaowu say?

After finally graduating, Xiaowu said the provincial finance bureau was a good option, and that he could look after the daughter and husband of Dashan's brother. Then the kid said the machinery factory he was assigned to offered quick promotions. What else could Xiaowu say? Humph, if he didn't listen to his uncle, he'd regret it sooner or later.

Sigh... I finally understand. Some things can't be forced. The children are growing up, and they each have their own ideas. If they listen, I'll say a few more words. If they don't listen, then just let them be. Whether it's good or bad is their own choice, and we, the elders, can't blame them in the future."

Seeing her husband sigh, Zhang's mother, who had been complaining a lot, also sighed deeply. If her husband hadn't told her tonight, she wouldn't have known so many things were going on.

Her son was really wronged! No wonder he said it was bad for his uncle to meddle in other people's affairs. He didn't plan to get involved in the affairs of his hometown anymore. This was really disappointing.

It's a good thing Zhang Guoqing didn't hear about these words, otherwise he'd have to explain himself on his nephew's behalf. He wasn't as righteous as his father claimed; at most, he'd mentioned it in the letter. And Xizi couldn't be blamed. Given the overall situation, administrative officials have suffered in recent years. Being a worker is indeed more desirable than working in an administrative department.