Chapter 47 Formal Visit
Music filled the courtyard early in the morning.
Yao Weimin hugged the tape recorder, started playing music with his eyes closed and before he was fully awake. This thing was his favorite now.
He bought the tape recorder with half of his earnings from the past few days, and even begged Yang Liu to give him a demo tape. He also gave Yang Liu money, asking him to bring him a few more tapes next time he came back.
Zhong Er banged on the door and ran into Yao Weimin's room to fiddle with the tape recorder.
"Don't press any buttons, you'll break it." Yao Weimin cherished it dearly; he would just listen and let it go, why would he touch it?
Yao Fangyuan also ran in, listening with some rapt attention, but muttering to herself, "Why buy this? It's so expensive, enough to buy a bicycle." Although she also liked tape recorders, she wanted a bicycle even more.
"What do you know? If you want a bicycle, go buy one yourself."
Yao Fangyuan stomped her foot and stopped talking, focusing on listening to the song.
Li Chunying had already thrown a tantrum yesterday, complaining that Yao Weimin was wasting money. Yao Weimin said it was to help Brother Peng, and that Brother Peng had specially given it to him, which shut Li Chunying up. However, she still muttered that it would be better to just give him the cash.
Hearing this decadent music so early in the morning, Li Chunying was extremely annoyed. She cursed Yao Deyi a couple of times before starting to cook.
He'd only set off a firecracker and smoked a cigarette early in the morning, doing absolutely nothing, yet he'd been scolded for no reason. Yao Deyi wanted to glare at her, but then chickened out. None of his children were on his side. He'd just have to bear it; it was the New Year, no need to make himself miserable. This old woman, the older she got, the worse her temper became. He'd sneak a few drinks to calm himself down.
"What are you standing there for? Don't you know how to shovel out the coal ash? All you do all day is smoke and drink. You have no skills and lots of bad habits."
After scolding her, Li Chunying felt much better.
Seeing their father shoveling coal ash with a long face, Yao Weimin and his two companions covered their mouths and chuckled in the house.
...
Wu Peng went to pick up Yao Fanghua early in the morning. The two ate breakfast at home before carrying their things to the tenement.
Wu Peng and Yao Fanghua rode their bicycles side by side, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, carrying a lot of things, making them extremely eye-catching along the way.
Entering the courtyard, he drew even more attention from the other residents.
"My nephew's here!" Fang Guizhi was the first to run out of the house, calling him "my nephew" repeatedly and trying to pull Wu Peng into her house.
All eyes in the courtyard turned to them. Some looked on with disbelief, some with blank stares, while Li Chunying was furious.
"Auntie, Hua Hua and I will go see Grandpa first." Wu Peng turned around, dodging Fang Guizhi's strong hands. Then he pulled Yao Fanghua and ran to Grandpa Yao's side.
After kowtowing and putting down the things, Wu Peng hurriedly ran to Li Chunying. Taking advantage of everyone's attention, he immediately said loudly, "Auntie, besides these things, do you remember the gold ring I promised you? Hua Hua and I picked it out together. Quickly put it on and let everyone see."
Looking at the gold ring, Li Chunying couldn't hold back her smile and beamed. Wu Peng's last sentence really hit the nail on the head. She wanted everyone to see that this was a gold ring her daughter and future son-in-law had bought for her. She had never worn gold jewelry in her entire life.
Li Chunying put on the ring, raised her hand high, and in the sunlight, a golden light shone, making even her rough fingers look beautiful.
Aunt Zhong had already run over, saying, "Quick, let me take a look."
Aunt Zhong held Li Chunying's fingers, turning them over and over, looking at and touching them. "Yingzi, you're really blessed in your old age."
Li Chunying couldn't stop smiling. Zhang Xiuxiu also ran over with her child in her arms. Li Chunying rolled her eyes at her but didn't say anything. The three of them huddled together, staring at the gold ring.
Fang Guizhi sneered, slammed the door, and went back inside. Yao Fangfang was extremely ashamed and angry, locking herself in her room and refusing to come out. She harbored resentment towards Yao Fanghua; if it weren't for her, Wu Peng certainly wouldn't have acted this way. She should have been the one with the gold ring, the one adorned in gold and silver.
Yao Fangyuan picked up the New Year's gifts Wu Peng brought and carried them back to her mother's room in a flash. Her sister-in-law had stolen a lot of that malted milk powder last time; don't think she didn't know! Only she and her mother let it go because of the children.
Yao Weimin and Zhong Er surrounded Wu Peng, offering him cigarettes and water.
Wu Peng stood by the stove, lit a cigarette, took out a handkerchief to wipe his nose, and said, "It's not easy to pretend, I've been freezing all the way here."
Zhong Er: "Brother Peng looks really handsome, like a groom."
Wu Peng glanced at him sideways, "I heard you've been going to see my Hua Hua a lot lately?" He hadn't settled accounts with this kid yet, he'd been too busy to do so. Now that he was here, he naturally had to greet the kid.
Zhong Er paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Where? I'm going to find Yuanyuan. Really, I might just be your future brother-in-law!"
This time, Wu Peng was stunned; he almost dropped the cigarette.
Is it true or false?
Not only him, but Yao Weimin was also stunned. Li Chunying and Aunt Zhong, who were looking at the rings in the yard, were also stunned. Zhang Xiuxiu looked at this and then at that, her gossip fire burning brightly. "My goodness, I've finally found my feeling of being in the village again."
"What nonsense are you talking about..." Yao Fangyuan, embarrassed and indignant, hesitated before stamping her foot and running away. Zhong Er had indeed visited her at the factory a few times, but he hadn't said anything inappropriate, nor had they done anything out of line. He hadn't held her hand, nor had he taken her to the movies. Really, really, what nonsense was he talking about? He should at least let her exchange a few flirtatious glances before saying anything more. He just abruptly said it; she wasn't prepared at all!
Wu Peng: ...Luckily, he hadn't asked Yang Liu to find someone to do it. He originally planned to make Zhong Er lose for a year or two. He didn't like playing cards, so he made him lose everything, not even his underwear.
This is a huge misunderstanding.
Wu Peng found Zhong Er more agreeable and even offered him a cigarette.
They'd known each other since childhood. Amidst the swirling smoke, Wu Peng looked at Zhong Er with a hint of scrutiny. He was a good candidate.
Wu Peng had been looking for a suitable person to keep an eye on the Shen family for him. As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and there will be plenty of time in the future." He would always find an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, and even if there wasn't, he would create one.
Zhong Er is a good fit: unemployed, flexible hours, someone you know well, a bit clever, and short on money.
This kid might not be good at keeping an eye on the other members of the Shen family, but he can definitely keep an eye on Shen Jiao.
He didn't need Zhong Er to do anything, nor did he need to get close. He just needed to take some photos to record his whereabouts. If he was caught, he could just say that he admired Miss Shen, and he wouldn't need Zhong Er to tell him anything else. The kid would be able to get away with it.
If he's really clever, give him more information and he'll give him more money.
He put his arm around Zhong Er and said, "Are you free tonight? I'll treat you to a drink. If you have the chance in the future, I'll take you to Shenzhen to make a lot of money."
Make big money! Zhong Er's adrenaline surged, and he turned into a sycophant, calling Peng Ge (Brother Peng) at every turn.
Li Chunying was very generous with lunch, serving hot dishes, cold dishes, dumplings, and wine—everything was provided.
Zhang Xiuxiu came over to help with a grin.
Yao Weimin and Yao Fangyuan were doing the work, and even Zhong Er didn't go home; he was busy currying favor with them.
This meal was the most sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner the Yao family had ever had.
Yao Weimin: "This is what celebrating the New Year should be like. What I used to eat was all I ate."
Li Chunying placed the last dish on the table and said, "Enough talk, let's set off the firecrackers."
Yao Weimin set off firecrackers in the yard. The sound of firecrackers had been going on since last night, with explosions coming from near and far, bringing a strange sense of peace to everyone's hearts.
Smelling the aroma of firecrackers, Li Chunying invited everyone to take their seats.
"Pengpeng doesn't have any family here anymore, so he'll come home for Chinese New Year from now on." She can't control her daughter, and she doesn't listen to her anyway. Luckily, this son-in-law knows how to make her happy better than her daughter. That's something to be proud of.
"I'll listen to my aunt," Wu Peng said with a smile, glancing at Yao Fanghua.
Wu Peng clinked glasses with his future father-in-law, then cautiously glanced at Yao Fanghua, "How about next time I come, I bring Uncle a couple of bottles of good wine?"
Yao Deyi got impatient. "If you want to bring it, then bring it. Why ask her? Can't you even decide on two bottles of wine?"
Li Chunying glanced at him, and Yao Deyi immediately wilted.
But she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "You're not even as good as me."
Wu Peng dismissed his future father-in-law's words as nonsense and watched with a smile as Yao Fanghua waited for her to speak.
"Okay." Yao Fanghua relented. He's getting old, he can't control himself or quit anymore, so she'll stop when he's done and let him do what he wants.
Yao Deyi was happy, his face full of wrinkles from smiling. He became very talkative after drinking, and he kept talking to Wu Peng.
Yao Weimin was always afraid of his father being like this. Once he drank, he would become incredibly talkative, spouting all sorts of life philosophies, principles of conduct, and the idea that good deeds are rewarded. He would usually slip away as soon as he heard this, but today, seeing his brother Peng suffering like this, he held back his laughter.
Yao Fanghua listened with a blank expression, while Yao Fangyuan listened with a pained look on her face. The Yao family just kept their heads down and ate their rice.
Li Chunying was itching to do something wrong, so she shouldn't have given him those two ounces of cat urine.
Fortunately, Zhong Er was there to play the straight man, which made Yao Deyi even more enthusiastic.
Zhong Er could chime in on anything, even steer the conversation from grand principles to amusing anecdotes about life. Their back-and-forth banter drew occasional murmurs of laughter from the others.
Being inside, he felt a sense of warmth and comfort. Wu Peng was content; he hadn't felt this way in a long time.
Aunt Zhong listened to her son trying to please her in the opposite room and cursed inwardly that she had wasted her life having such a son.
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