Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Jinjiang Solo
"Aren't you in school? What are you doing back here?"
Seeing her like this, Zhang Mengzhi couldn't help but ask.
"I'm just concerned about you! And I want to know about daddy, too."
Zhang Mengyu is not stupid. She is the younger sister raised carefully by Zhang Mengzhi. There are some things she can choose not to do but she cannot fail to understand.
"Don't worry, I've taken care of it. They will accept the punishment."
Zhang Mengzhi didn't say it explicitly, but his attitude told his sister that there was something fishy going on with her father.
"Okay, since you've solved it, I won't ask anymore. But brother, are you still not going to talk to dad? I think he's about to cry."
Zhang Mengyu looked at Zhang's father who was squatting on the doorstep and constantly looking at his brother, and asked with some amusement.
"We still have to teach him a lesson, otherwise he won't learn his lesson, and what if he gets provoked again in the future?"
Zhang Mengzhi said coldly.
"That's right. He was easily fooled this time."
Zhang Mengyu agreed and was very supportive of her brother's approach.
So for the next half month, no one at home spoke to Zhang's father, and he even had to take care of his own meals.
Mr. Zhang had no choice but to eat in the factory cafeteria.
No one would notice anything if it happened once or twice, but if he kept eating in the factory for half a month, everyone in the factory would become curious.
"Ask Zhang Deyun? He is the one who doesn't appreciate his good fortune. His son is so old and a boss cooks for his parents at home every day, but he doesn't even go home after get off work. The family waited for him for a long time but didn't see him. They thought something happened to him. Not only did they call the factory, but the whole family ran out to look for him. Guess what happened?"
The insider kept the topic in suspense when it came to the key point.
"Don't keep us in suspense. Just tell me now."
When everyone heard this, they became extremely anxious and urged him on.
"Hey, you didn't know that he didn't go home after get off work, but actually went to watch others play chess. It wasn't until his family came to find him that they realized he was fine and was watching the game with great interest. This pissed off the whole family, and they stopped cooking for him. He had to come to the factory cafeteria to eat."
The insider didn't keep the story a secret any longer and told the follow-up.
"Sure, let's see if he dares to do it again in the future."
After hearing this, no one sympathized with Zhang's father. There are really people who don't know how to appreciate the blessings they have, which made the bystanders angry.
I heard that Zhang Mengzhi got a heat stroke while looking for someone. If their family had such a child, he would be spoiled to death! Thinking of the fair-skinned young man getting sick from the heat stroke, a group of grandpas and aunts felt terribly distressed. Even the workers of the same age as him felt that Zhang's father was too much.
For a time, Mr. Zhang became the target of everyone's criticism. When he was eating, the cafeteria aunt's hands were shaking a lot. There was not a piece of meat, only vegetables.
Mr. Zhang didn't dare say anything. He took his lunch box and found a corner to sit down and eat.
He really regrets it!
From then on, whenever someone asked him to play, Zhang's father refused. He could play, but he had to ask his son first. He was not smart, and he didn't know that he was being plotted against, and he also caused his son to get sick. Zhang's father felt very guilty, and from then on he never stayed outside and went home directly after work.
However, Zhang Mengzhi did not hide the matter about Zhao Gongnong. At least he had to let his father know why he was punished!
After Mr. Zhang found out, he might as well not have known!
"It turns out that I have become a tool to deal with my son!"
Mr. Zhang realized it later.
"That's not right. So Dad, you can make friends in the future, but you have to ask my brother first. Only if he agrees can you hang out with them. We are not smart, so we should listen to the words of smart people we can trust."
Zhang Mengyu was the softest-hearted, and at his brother's suggestion, he broke down the whole story and told it to his father.
"I won't hang out with those outsiders anymore. They have too many schemes."
Father Zhang was almost crying because he was angry. He thought he had made a new friend, but it turned out that the other person was just using him to deal with his son. Father Zhang couldn't accept this.
Just because he is honest doesn't mean he is stupid. If an outsider succeeds, not only will his son's business be affected, but the Zhang family might also be affected.
By then, even if he died, he would not be able to atone for his sins, and would also implicate the Zhang family.
"I'm not saying that you can't play with others, as long as the other person has good character."
Zhang Mengzhi couldn't bear to see his father like this, so he tried to persuade him.
"I don't know if they are good people! Do I have to do an investigation just because I know someone?"
Father Zhang asked pitifully.
"That's not necessary. Just come back and learn the words you don't understand from us, or think about them a few more times in your mind. If you feel something is wrong, don't associate with them. Stay away from these people."
Zhang Mengzhi also knew that his father was old, and if he were to take care of everything like he did a child, not only would he be unable to bear it, but his father would also be unable to bear it.
We are all adults, so we have to give them a certain amount of freedom. We can't always ask them who they chatted with or who they played with today.
You are not talking to your father, you are talking to the prisoner.
"I understand."
Although his son said so, Zhang's father still stopped playing with people outside. When he was really bored, he would watch TV at home and help Zhang's mother turn the soil. Now Zhang Mengzhi has bought a lot of houses, and those people have moved out one after another. The empty yards can be used to grow vegetables, raise chickens and ducks.
The Zhang family no longer grows new vegetables in their yard. Even the chickens are raised in another yard, and they have a lot of them. Zhang's father even brought back two rabbits.
"Dad, where did you get it from?"
Zhang Mengzhi took a rabbit from his hand and touched it. It was quite soft.
"When I was taking a walk, I saw someone selling rabbits. His family specializes in raising rabbits. I thought we should raise some at home! Rabbits are willing to work and grow quickly. We will be able to eat rabbit meat soon."
Father Zhang looked at the rabbits greedily, as if they were already a pot of meat.
"……oh."
Zhang Mengzhi thought his father brought the baby home as a pet, but it turned out to be food!
"Alright, leave it alone. I'll make a cage for them. These things can't be kept on the ground, or they'll dig a hole and run away."
Father Zhang threw the rabbit into the basket and went to look for wood to make a cage.
Zhang Mengxiao shrugged his shoulders and went back to the house to find a basket to pick the peaches. His peaches were ripe, big and red, and his relatives had asked about it.
"Mengzhi, there are more peaches this year than in previous years!"
When Mother Zhang and Aunt Zhang saw him picking peaches, they came out from their houses to help.
"Yes, maybe it's a good year this year, so peaches are more plentiful."
Zhang Mengzhi knew very well that fruits would indeed be like this and would reach a peak fruit-bearing period in a few years.
"Sister-in-law, the peaches at home are big and sweet, so why doesn't anyone ask you for seedlings? I have a yard at home, too. Please dig two for me to plant back home."
Aunt Zhang coveted the peaches, but she knew that the peaches from the Zhang family were a favor, so she didn't ask for them. The seedlings were different. If they were dug up and planted this year, they would have peaches to eat in two years. The seedlings from the Zhang family were grafted by Zhang's father in early spring, using a peach tree as the rootstock. They are now more than one meter tall.
Nowadays, people who have peach trees at home will graft the seedlings. This is also done to shorten the growth time of the fruit trees so that they can eat the fruits sooner.
Peach grafting has been around since the Song Dynasty, so grafting peach seedlings is not difficult and Father Zhang can do it.
"Okay, when winter comes you can just move two plants from the wooden pots back home. If you plant them now, there's a good chance they won't survive."
Looking at the big sun in the sky, Mother Zhang said to her sister-in-law.
"Okay, thank you, sister-in-law."
After getting the promise, Aunt Zhang worked harder when picking peaches.
The three of them picked peaches at the same time, and soon all the peaches on the tree were picked. The highest point was inaccessible, but there was a tree hook at home, so they could hook the branches down and pick the peaches.
Compared to previous years when we could only pick about four baskets of peaches, this year we have six full baskets of peaches, and the fragrance alone is enough to make people drool.
Mother Zhang took out some bags and divided the peaches in the house. She had to give some to her parents' home, as her husband's home was too far away. Besides, there were still saplings in her hometown, and peaches in the countryside tasted better than those in the city. So she didn't have to give the peaches away, and could just give more money later.
Zhang Deming's family has to give it, and Wu Qi's family also has to give it because they helped Meng Zhi before.
After all the goings and comings, the Zhang family only had half a basket left for themselves.
"Xiaoyu is going to cry when she comes back." Zhang Mengzhi said with a smile as she looked at the remaining peaches which were smaller in size and less attractive in appearance.
"She eats it every year, there's nothing to cry about!"
Mother Zhang didn't tolerate her daughter's bad habit, so she put the remaining peaches in the refrigerator and waited for Zhang Mengyu to come back to eat them.
“…”
Zhang Mengzhi didn't dare to refute his mother. He shrugged his shoulders and went to the yard to pick vegetables with his basket on his back. After the vegetables in the yard were eaten, his family would no longer grow other vegetables in the yard except for fruit trees.
Green beans, cowpeas, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, loofahs, peppers and water spinach.
I don’t know how so many vegetables can be grown in such a small yard.
The tomatoes and peppers were planted in wooden pots. Because they were given enough natural fertilizer, they were very fruitful. Soon, a basket was full of them.
Several baskets of other vegetables, fruits and melons were also picked, and in the end every family got a lot of vegetables, fruits and melons.
Except for Zhang Deming's family, who was visited personally by Zhang Mengzhi, the other families had someone else bring the message and let them come and pick it up themselves.
"Is Mengzhi not at home?" When Wu got up to get the vegetables and fruits, he rode a bicycle with a backpack tied to the back, because his cousin said that there were too many vegetables and fruits and the basket should be bigger. So he just brought a backpack, not afraid of not being able to fit them all.
"He went to your uncle Deming's house. Xiaoqi, do you have anything to do with him?"
Mother Zhang gave him vegetables and fruits and helped him tie the backpack again, otherwise she was afraid that the backpack would fall off halfway through riding.
"Thank you, auntie. It's nothing. I just wanted to play with him for a while."
Wu Qi shook his head. He did not mention that his mother had repeatedly told him to hang out with his cousin more and not hang out with those bad friends outside.
In fact, they were not bad friends at all. Those people were his classmates. They just hung out there because he was out of work in the city. But somehow they became bad friends in his mother's mouth. Can't they be human beings?
"Then you wait a while. He's been gone for a while and will be back soon."
Mother Zhang raised her hand to check the time and said to Wu Qi.
"Forget it, I'll come play with him next time. There will be other people coming to get food later, and I don't want to run into them, otherwise they will all listen to my mom and nag me."
When Wu Qi heard this, he shook his head quickly and ran away without saying anything.
"Okay, remember to come next time."
Seeing this, Zhang's mother did not force him and sent him away from Zhang's house. Just as Wu Qi guessed, several families came to get vegetables and fruits soon. They seemed to have made an appointment and went from house to house without anyone meeting each other.
After everyone had taken their things, Zhang Mengzhi came back.
"Yeah, what's going on today? Did you discuss everything?"
Aunt Zhang thought it was such a coincidence that she couldn't help but speak.
"?"
Zhang Mengzhi had a face full of question marks.
"It's okay, what did your uncle Ming say?"
Mother Zhang was too lazy to say anything, so she asked her son about his visit to Zhang Deming's house.
"Uncle Ming was not at home, so Auntie came out to get it. She also pulled me in to drink a bowl of sugar water and boiled ten eggs for me." Zhang Mengzhi almost ate too much.
What was even more terrifying was that after he had finished the sweet soup, the aunt brought out egg cakes for him to eat. Zhang Mengzhi quickly stood up and said goodbye and ran away. He was afraid that if he ate any more, he would die of starvation at Uncle Ming's house.
"Hahaha, your Aunt Ming likes you very much. She told me since you were a child that she wanted to exchange her son for mine. I just didn't agree."
Mother Zhang laughed loudly, and Aunt Zhang also smiled secretly beside her.
Zhang Mengzhi was the dream girl of the Zhang family, who wouldn't want one? Unfortunately, there were too few babies, one was not enough, and they could only regret that they couldn't exchange babies.
"Mom, Aunt Ming was just joking, how can you take it seriously?"
Zhang Mengzhi listened and said with a smile, whoever's child is liked by everyone, even if Aunt Ming is unreliable, she would not really exchange her own son for his.
"How do you know she's not serious? Do you remember when you were three years old? She asked your uncle Ming to take you home to live with you. You stayed there for half a month. If your father and I hadn't gone to pick you up, she wouldn't have wanted you to come back! At that time, our two families almost had a fight to get you."
Mother Zhang was speechless when she mentioned this. At that time, Sister Ming said she would not let them take Mengzhi away no matter what, and she started crying when they pulled her away!
If Zhang Deming had not returned in time and snatched Zhang Mengzhi away from his wife, the couple might not have been able to take the baby with them.
"…Why does Aunt Ming like me so much? She likes me more than her own son. I don't think it makes sense!"
Zhang Mengzhi still remembers this incident. At that time, he just thought that Aunt Ming liked him more and wanted to keep him at home for a while longer. He didn't really think that she didn't want to return the baby.
Now, after hearing what his mother said, he felt something was wrong.
"You don't know, they came to visit me on the day you were born, and they almost died. If you hadn't been born and kept them at our house to help, they would have had an accident on their way home."
Mother Zhang was frightened whenever she mentioned this incident. At that time, there were spies being chased on the street. They had kidnapped several hostages and were right on the road that Zhang Deming and his wife were taking to go home.
Because this matter was rather special, everyone who knew about it kept their mouths shut, so Zhang Mengzhi didn't know about it.
"No wonder!"
Only then did Zhang Mengzhi understand that there was a special reason behind Aunt Ming's love for him.
"Your Uncle Ming and Aunt Ming, along with your father, took me to the hospital. Because we took another road, we were able to avoid the accident."
Mother Zhang touched her son's head. They were all very happy at that time. They felt that Zhang Mengzhi was the little lucky star sent by God, who saved their family's lives before he was even born.
Half of the hostages died, and those who survived had their lives severely affected by injuries, and could only lie in bed and be taken care of by others for the rest of their lives.
"Mrs. Ming likes my nephew so much, but she rarely comes to our house. It's always Mr. Ming who comes."
Zhang Mengzhi raised another question. They would only come during the Chinese New Year and other holidays, and most of the time it was the Zhang family who went to Zhang Deming's house.
"That's because Brother Ming didn't allow her to come because he was afraid she would scare you."
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes. Every time Sister Ming saw her son, she was so enthusiastic! If Meng Zhi hadn't grown up and couldn't be deceived, she wouldn't have let her son go to Zhang Deming's house.
“…That’s not necessary.”
Zhang Mengzhi was sweating and ran away under Zhang's mother's deathly gaze.
However, he still felt Aunt Ming's enthusiasm. Next time he went, he should go when Uncle Ming was at home, or he should leave after putting his things down. He must not stay, otherwise he would suffer the same fate as he almost died of gluttony today.
It has to be said that the Zhang family's gifts touched the hearts of their relatives, and soon the return gifts from each family arrived.
After all, the festival is coming soon, so the Zhang family sent the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts in advance. It's not that the Zhang family is stingy and unwilling to send some precious gifts, but they can't send them.
We all work for the government, so he dares to give precious gifts to others but dares not accept them!
These vegetables and fruits grown by themselves are different. They are delicious and fresh. They are also not expensive. Even if the opponents see them, they will not think that they are taking bribes.
Even though we know these precious gifts are nothing to the Zhang family, we can't do this.
In Guocheng, when Zhang Mengzhi gave precious gifts to people, most people still didn't dare to accept them.
As for the top and second-in-command of Guocheng, they often have to build good relations with the Zhang family if they want to carry out their work. They are not crazy to accept Zhang Mengzhi's precious gifts.
Did you know that Zhang Deming’s former opponent was transferred to another place and promoted early because he always made things difficult for Zhang?
Therefore, even for their own future, they will not accept precious gifts from others, and usually they don't even dare to ask for a piece of onion.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the weather in Guocheng began to turn cold. Zhang Mengzhi asked someone to buy some fruit trees and transplant them. They were all varieties that he didn't have at home. It was still a long time before the manor was built, and so many yards couldn't be left empty! If he didn't grow vegetables, he would grow fruit trees. He had to let them play their residual heat!
My family loves loquats, plums, and apricots, so let's keep growing them! I also planted an orange tree. When the orange flowers bloom, you can smell the fragrance from far away. I pick up the orange flowers that fall on the ground and put them in the closet. My clothes are all fragrant.
Zhang Mengzhi likes the scent of orange blossoms the most and picks some every year to put in her closet as incense.
He feels that no matter how expensive the perfume is, it cannot compare to this pure natural fragrance.
Too much perfume can make you dizzy, but the natural orange blossom scent won’t make you feel that way. Instead, the more you smell it, the more you become addicted.
Orange flowers bloom around March and April, but in southern areas like Guangdong and Guangxi, they bloom earlier in February.
The tree Zhang Mengzhi found is the one that normally blooms in March or April. He bought a large sapling that will bear fruit next year, and it will bloom and bear fruit the second year after successful transplantation.
So after the New Year, the tree will be full of small white buds, and it will bloom soon.
By then, the whole yard will be filled with the scent of orange blossoms, and the Zhang family’s home will be filled with the fragrance of orange blossoms.
"Hello, is this Zhang Mengzhi's family?"
A young voice sounded outside the yard.
"Mengzhi, someone is looking for you."
When Mother Zhang opened the gate, she saw a young man standing outside knocking on the door.
"Who is it!" Putting down the hoe in his hand, Zhang Mengzhi went to the well to fetch water to wash his hands. After washing them clean, he wiped them dry with a towel before coming out to meet people.
"Hello, are you Zhang Mengzhi?"
When the young man saw Zhang Mengzhi, although he guessed it was him, he still asked to confirm.
"Yes, I am Zhang Mengzhi."
Zhang Mengzhi nodded, "What can I do for you?"
"Hello, Comrade Zhang Mengzhi. I am Wang Changjiang from the capital. Comrade Zhang Deshuang recommended me to come to you."
Wang Jianghe looked at Zhang Mengzhi nervously, afraid that he would reject him.
"Come in first."
Zhang Mengzhi moved aside to let Wang Jianghe into the house to talk.
"Thanks."
Wang Changjiang picked up the luggage at his feet and entered the courtyard that he would never be able to leave for the rest of his life.
"Aunt, pour me a cup of tea."
Zhang Mengzhi said to her cousin who was working in the kitchen.
"Yes."
Aunt Zhang poured a cup of milk tea that was hot on the stove and brought it to the main room, and then Mother Zhang lay aside and peeked.
"Sister-in-law, where is this young man from? His accent doesn't sound like he's from here. Why is he here to look for Meng Zhi when the New Year is almost here?"
"You're from the capital, so stop talking. It will be terrible if Meng Zhi and the others hear you."
Mother Zhang said to her sister-in-law below her.
"oh!"
As expected, Aunt Zhang stopped talking, and her sister-in-law and she stretched their heads to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"This is a letter from Comrade Zhang Deshuang to Comrade Zhang. It contains all the instructions."
Wang Changjiang took out a letter from his clothes and handed it to him.
This letter is obviously very important to Wang Changjiang, otherwise he would not keep it close to him.
"good."
Zhang Mengzhi took the letter and saw that the seal was intact, even the seal was in place. Seeing this, Zhang Mengzhi frowned, wondering what kind of thing would require a seal?
It can be seen that the matter in the letter is not simple, and Zhang Mengzhi immediately took it seriously.
Use a knife to gently open the envelope without damaging the letter paper inside, and open it quickly to read.
…
After a few minutes, Zhang Mengzhi finished reading the letter without saying a word. He held the letter in his hand and pursed his lips in thought.
Wang Changjiang did not urge him, but sat nervously opposite him, waiting for Zhang Mengzhi's judgment.
"...I understand, you stay!"
Zhang Mengzhi folded the letter again and put it into the envelope, then spoke to Wang Changjiang who was sitting opposite him.
"Really? Can I really stay, cousin?"
Wang Changjiang was so excited that he called out a name that stunned Zhang's mother.
"If you don't stay, do you have anywhere else to go?"
Zhang Mengzhi looked at him. She didn't expect that the big boss who had left that year had actually sent someone back to the mainland. She just didn't know why he suddenly came back. Her second father didn't mention it in the letter.
I guess he doesn't know the real reason, so he let the other party come to him.
"No, when I came back my mother told me to listen to my aunt. But Comrade Zhang said that you, my cousin, are the one who makes the decisions at home, so I just need to listen to you."
Wang Changjiang said while biting his lower lip.
"Since you listened to me, then stay here. This will be your home from now on."
Zhang Mengzhi looked at the cowardly young man in front of him. If it wasn't for the explanation in the letter, he wouldn't have known that the other party had almost fled back to China.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
