pay a New Year call
On the morning of the first day of the new year, we still have to go back to the ancestral hall to burn incense and worship our ancestors. This year, the adults still gave out red envelopes, but Chen Jin did not go to receive them, so as not to increase other people's jealousy. If she really went to collect it, some people might be so angry that they would skip their meals in the afternoon.
Because Chen Ting brought Liu Chengzhi back with her, everyone's attention was focused on Chen Ting. They were more gossipy than the other. They stopped people and questioned their family background. They also said to Chen Ting, "We are doing this for your own good. We are here to help you check. If you don't ask clearly before getting married, you will find out that something is wrong after you get married. It will be too late for you to regret it."
Chen Ting smiled awkwardly at first, but she became angry after being questioned, and asked them one by one, "Uncle Wenxing said he wanted to divorce, have they divorced now? Uncle Wensong's wife is pregnant again? Is it really a son this time? Don't go to that small hospital to get a fake certificate... Eighth aunt, your Chen Yongqiang won't come out anymore? Isn't he going to gamble again? Aunt Guihua, I heard from Third Aunt that your mother-in-law died because of your abuse. Is that true? You can do such a thing..."
Liu Chengzhi was stunned and wanted to signal Chen Ting to stop talking, but Chen Ting slapped his hand away, "Don't stop me, they are doing this for my own good. I also care about the situation of the elders in the village. I will feel uneasy if I don't ask them clearly."
The "kind" people just now looked at each other, muttered "I really can't say a word", then pouted and walked away. It would have been fine if he hadn't done this little trick. Once this little trick came out, Chen Ting became even angrier. She stepped forward and grabbed the man to get to the bottom of it, "Speak clearly, why can't I say anything? Go ahead, speak, I'm listening now!"
"Don't tell me, don't tell me, okay? There are doctors and nurses..."
"What did the doctors and nurses do to you? If you are sick, don't go to the hospital or see a doctor! If you are sick, just hold some incense and pray to the gods."
"..." Ma Guihua really...really had nothing to say. What was going on in Chen Wenqiang's family? Every one of them is this kind of sharp-tongued person.
In the end, it was Liu Chengzhi who stopped the quarrel.
When these people in the village quarrel, their fighting power is very weak. They can't even hold a finger against Aunt Zhou and Aunt Ke Xin. They only dare to say a few words to honest or civilized people, thinking that they are too embarrassed to talk back. But if they are really cursed back, they will be honest again.
Chen Jin, who had just come out of the ancestral hall, only saw the last part and said with a sigh, "I said, how can people not go crazy? It's just that they haven't met someone crazy enough."
"This future cousin-in-law is no good. He doesn't help me when I have problems, and he even wants to smooth things over."
The third cousin who followed closely behind him hummed and said, "You should keep your eyes open in the future. Don't rush ahead by yourself while the man you find hides behind you and enjoys the success. It's useless."
"She's been really irritable these past few days." But there's a limit to irritability. Her temper is clearly visible on her face, but she never loses it at home. She probably knew the people in the family well. If she got serious, she wouldn't be able to win the argument even if she picked any one of them at random.
Liu Chengzhi's family returned to Rong City these two days, and now they have tentatively scheduled a meeting and dinner between the two families on the fifth day of the New Year. Chen Jin could only postpone the gathering with Yang Qian and Lin Xinran by one day to the sixth day.
Ling Yun only had three days off for the New Year and had no time to come see her.
After returning from the village, I still had lunch at my third uncle’s house. While everyone was gathered, Chen Jin did not plan to visit every household. He just brought up all the New Year gifts he had prepared, including the oral liquid and ginseng wine that were hotly advertised on TV, for his three uncles and two aunts, all the same, without any bias.
But she didn't plan to go to her aunt's house, so she gave everything to her second cousin and asked him to do it and deliver it over.
On the evening of New Year's Day, my second uncle's family still lived in my eldest uncle's house, my aunt and Tian Miao lived in my third uncle's house, and only Chen Jin did not live in the Rose Garden. She played cards until nine o'clock and then slipped back home. Then he dialed Old Man Liu’s number.
The sound of beeping lasted for about half a minute. Chen Jin was half lying on the sofa, with her legs crossed and one foot dangling. She had muted the TV.
"You're not answering the phone? Did you recognize my number and don't want to answer it?"
After failing to get through the first time, Chen Jin called again, and this time someone answered. "Hello? Who is this?"
Chen Jin laughed, "Me, Chen Jin!"
"......" Old man Liu was drunk, and after half a minute, he said "Oh", "Calling me to wish me a happy new year? Just save yourself the trouble. You can say less so that I can have a few more years."
Tsk tsk, he dislikes her calling him like that. He didn't have this attitude when he called her before. The Liu family members just don't know how to behave. They always say things in a decisive way and do things to the extreme. Aren't there enough cases of things changing over time? What if the demolition of Qiaoxi Village is just a cover? Then when she becomes wealthy, they will come to her and say good things about her.
"Just tell me if you have something to say!" Old man Liu sighed. If she didn't say anything, he would have to guess. Normally Chen Jin doesn't call him, every time he calls he always has something. Who knows what this will be, good or bad?
Thinking of the news that the village chief's son-in-law brought back... Old Man Liu's heart beat faster and faster. According to the information channels Chen Wenqiang had, it couldn't be confirmed that Qiaoxi Village was going to be demolished, right? So you asked Chen Jin to prepare?
When Old Man Liu thought of this possibility, he forced a smile on his face again, and his tone was much better than before, "Your grandma and I were talking about you this morning. Do you have anything to do tomorrow? If not, come home and have a meal. It happens that your aunt and the others will be back tomorrow."
Chen Jin: "From the tone you spoke when you answered the phone just now, you're not going to scold me at home, are you? Tomorrow's dinner, are you going to prepare a Hongmen Feast for me?"
"......" Old man Liu was choked by her words and uttered, "You kid, you just think too much. I'm a little dizzy from drinking too much. Come to my house tomorrow. You don't have to buy anything, just come over for dinner."
Did people bring gifts when dining out in the past? He really thinks too much. It's already a rare occasion for her to bring someone with her.
The more enthusiastic he was, the more cautious Chen Jin became. "I heard that there are police patrolling Qiaoxi Village every day recently. Is that true?"
"Yes, the deputy chief of the police station is here. It's the son of the village chief of Qiaodong Village. Do you know him?"
"I know him. He's very familiar with me." Chen Jin felt relieved and said, "Okay, I'll go there tomorrow at noon. Let's make the food lighter. I'm tired of eating meat every meal. Let me be frank. If someone brings a blind date to me, I don't know what will happen if I go crazy tomorrow. You guys can handle it."
Old Man Liu was angry but had to follow her words, "Okay, okay, okay, if anyone dares to cause trouble tomorrow, I will be the first one to not let him off, so remember to come tomorrow!"
Chen Jin hung up the phone, turned the TV volume back on, and proudly stepped on the sofa with his hands on his hips, "Ahhh, Black Cat Sheriff!"
After hanging up the phone, Old Man Liu was in a very good mood. He went back to the restaurant and poured himself a small glass of white wine. He took a sip with satisfaction, and then ate a few bites of snacks.
The four Liu Shisheng brothers looked at each other, and Liu Laoer spoke first, "Dad, Chen Jin will come to our house for dinner tomorrow? What is she coming for?"
Old man Liu didn't even look at him, just laughed to himself, "Don't worry about what she's here for, it's a good thing anyway." As he said that, he glanced at the people in the room: his son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, grandchildren's wives, and great-grandchildren. The whole family was crowded in the living room, about twenty people in total. His family could be considered prosperous.
But even this energy is not put into the same direction. Each of the sons has his own little thoughts. He and his wife have no money for their future retirement, and they are afraid that they will starve to death and no one will take care of them.
Seeing someone roll their eyes when they hear that Chen Jin is coming to their house for dinner tomorrow, they warn: "Don't think about it, it's not your fault. Don't think about getting the rent from me in the future. You and Chen Jin are just relatives in name only, and people don't really take you seriously. If things get messy, who knows who will be embarrassed in the end."
Anyway it won’t be Chen Jin, she is very thick-skinned.
Upon hearing this, several people avoided Old Man Liu's gaze, and any little thoughts they had quickly disappeared. Although he didn't dare to refute out loud, he was cursing in his heart: How dare you talk about us? If they say something nice, it seems like they take you seriously, but aren't they always hitting you in the heart?
Liu Yibei muttered quietly: "He must have heard the news about the village and wanted to come back to get a piece of the pie. Now that he knows he has to come back..."
Several cousins heard it and looked up at her with disdain.
Chen Jin already had a household registration, land and a house in the village, so what was distributed was not their family's stuff.
Speaking of coming back to share the pie, isn’t it fourth uncle’s family of four? They are the only four who are not registered at home, and they have been city dwellers for a long time. They used to look down on their brothers and sisters in the village, but now that their home is going to be demolished, they have become more frequent in returning home.
Compared to the troublemaker, they now dislike their fourth uncle's family even more, especially the siblings Liu Yinan and Liu Yibei. It sounds as if they go abroad to study to bring honor to the family. The benefits will be reaped by them, and when they come back with good grades, how much credit can they get?
Just like when Fourth Uncle became a city dweller, apart from going out and saying nice things about himself, did they benefit from his influence?
There are people of all ages in the room, and each of them has his or her own thoughts.
When Chen Jin was driving out of Hanlin Garden, he saw Zhang Leye surrounded by two men in their twenties, and his pregnant wife was standing beside him wiping her tears.
They had already driven past, but Chen Jin backed up and stopped.
Zhang Leye had been speaking in a low voice, but when he suddenly saw Chen Jin drive over and stop, looking at them with a smile, he felt even more uncomfortable.
He was angry that Chen Jin was just watching the fun and making trouble, so he deliberately came to laugh at his joke. What made him even more angry was that Jin Xiufen's two sons were greedy and caused endless trouble. He gave them all the 80,000 yuan he had, 40,000 yuan each. This money was more than enough to buy the house of the company, and the two of them even wanted more!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He winked at Jin Xiufen, but Jin Xiufen just kept crying and didn't say a word to help him. Even more angry.
Chen Jin watched the dog-eat-dog drama for a while, then started the car and left with satisfaction. When leaving the community gate, he rolled down the window and said to the guard, "There are two outsiders in the community, and they are pestering the owner and making trouble. You should arrange for someone to go and take a look. We don't know if there will be any problems. If there are threats or robberies, it will be bad."
The two security guards' faces changed. They thanked her and hurriedly called for help. One of them picked up the stick he was equipped with and rushed into the community.
Chen Jin drove all the way out, driving slower than usual. Some motorcyclists really don't care about their lives. They rush around in a hurry and don't care about their lives. Chen Jin is afraid of being implicated by them.
Thinking that he was going to the house to inquire about information after all, it would not be good to go empty-handed, so he parked the car on the side of the road, bought two bags of oranges at a stall, and prepared to visit the home of Liu Mantang, the village chief of Qiaoxi Village.
When Chen Jin drove to the village, he happened to catch the village holding a show. In the evening, a stage was set up on the open space near the ancestral hall to perform opera. The village is very lively. The second day of the Chinese New Year is the day to return to one's parents' home. Now many girls who have married out want to move their household registration back. Whether they can move back or not, they have to keep an eye on the demolition work in the village, so that they can get a piece of the pie.
The car stopped at the entrance of the village, and Chen Jin first called his uncle to tell him what was going on.
Chen Jin's white Santana appeared in Qiaoxi Village again after three or four months. Those who recognized her car knew that the troublemaker had come again, while those who didn’t recognize the car were curious about whose relative she was.
Old man Liu's house is bustling now. His daughters have all returned. The children are taking care of their own children. The living room is not big enough for everyone to sit down, so they are running around in the yard.
Fortunately, there were not many tenants staying during the Chinese New Year holiday, otherwise the tenants would be annoyed by the running and screaming.
"Chen Jin is back, what good things did you buy to honor your grandfather?"
Chen Jin looked up and saw that it was her eldest aunt, a troublemaker who was controlled by her mother-in-law's family after marriage but always liked to go back to her parents' home to stir up trouble. Chen Jin had always disliked her and pretended not to hear her. He took a bag of oranges from the trunk and put them on the coffee table in the living room. "I bought them specially for you. Don't be polite. Take them all and eat them. Fruits are very expensive during the Chinese New Year. They're only 50 cents a pound. Oranges like this aren't that expensive at other times. Business is still good during the Chinese New Year."
Most people in the room had experienced Chen Jin's bad temper, so they treated her as air and said nothing.
The last time Qiaodong Village was expropriating land, they went to join in the fun, and saw that Chen Jin was doing the same thing in Qiaodong Village, scolding anyone he caught. They were really not to be trifled with. The key point is that Chen Wenhao from Qiaodong Village is now in charge of the ancestral hall of their village. If things really get turbulent, it goes without saying that Chen Wenhao will definitely stand on Chen Jin's side.
No one paid any attention to her, and Chen Jin was very satisfied. These people finally became more sensible and realized that it is useless to worry about things they shouldn't worry about.
She took the fragrant-looking apples on the table in a familiar manner. I don't know which relative brought them, but there was a small box of them, and they were wrapped in something. Chen Jin looked around but couldn't find a fruit knife, so he went into the house to wash it and ate the fruit with the skin on.
Chen Jin's uncles, aunts, cousins and their wives were all disgusted: How could there be such a shameless person? ! Does she think this is her home? !
"Why are you staring at me? If you want to eat it, just take it and wash it. It's not gone. This apple is pretty good. Where did you buy it? I'll buy a box when I get back." She took two more bites. The apple was crispy and sweet. It tasted really good. It was the best apple she had ever eaten.
Only then did Chen Jin remember to look for someone, but he only saw San Gu and not Lan Meiying.
The third aunt took the initiative to speak: "Meiying said that business is good during the New Year, so she went out to set up a stall. When she returns, I will ask her to call you. Cousins should keep in touch more often. In the future, our Meiying will need your help."
Chen Jin said: "Cousin Meiying is very well, she doesn't need my help, she can earn money to support herself, you family members should stop thinking about sucking her blood, she will live a good life. Don't contact her, I don't know how long it has been since I last saw her, I was thinking about coming here to see her, but if I can't, forget it. Third aunt, go back and explain it clearly to cousin Meiying, she can't make money from the stall and wants to borrow money to open a store, don't come to me, I don't have any money on hand now, and we are not very close relatives..."
Seeing that the third aunt wanted to explain herself, Chen Jin simply turned his head away.
She didn't have much contact with Lan Meiying, but occasional contact was enough for her to know the situation. Lan Meiying never reported the money she earned from the stall to her family, and now she only pays for her food expenses every month. She said that her family might not be able to tolerate her for much longer and wanted to use her money to help her brother buy a house and get married, so she planned to run away to Shanghai after selling all the goods in her hands during this period.
Chen Jin estimated that he was the only "family member" who knew Lan Meiying's plan. If Lan Meiying ran away, Third Aunt's family might go to her house to make trouble if they couldn't find anyone. She just wants to cut off ties with them now and doesn't want to see them at home.
The third aunt looked unhappy. She thought Chen Jin and Meiying had a good relationship and was hoping to build a good relationship with them. She took a fancy to Chen Jin's store in Qiaoxi Village and wondered if she could ask Chen Jin to transfer the store to her for business.
Who knew that Chen Jin didn't take Meiying seriously at all... He really looks down on others just because he has money!
At this time, Old Man Liu came down from upstairs and smiled and asked Chen Jin to sit down and eat.
Chen Jin looked at the crowd of people in the room, thinking that they were all his family members. He didn't want to waste time, so he asked directly, "I heard that there is news that the village is going to be demolished?"
As he spoke, Chen Jin sighed meaningfully, "The news has been circulating for a while, right? I didn't even know about it. If the news from the village hadn't spread to the city, I wouldn't have known about it until the demolition office came. The people in Qiaoxi Village are really good at keeping secrets."
Old man Liu smiled awkwardly. What she meant was that he knew the news but didn't tell anyone.
She felt a little guilty, but soon she became confident: Didn't she tell them the news?
Chen Jin snorted twice. She certainly knew what Old Man Liu was thinking, and that was indeed the fact. But she is an unreasonable person with two sets of standards. Since she is a little bit right, of course I have to take the initiative!
"So, is this news true? Could it be that someone spread it again?" Chen Jin was a little skeptical. Qiaoxi Village had experienced too many similar incidents. It was said before that she and her uncle were determined to demolish the village... The slightest sign of trouble could be interpreted in a hundred different ways. It was simply nonsense!
Old Liu also stared at her suspiciously, "Didn't you come here only because you knew the confirmed news?"
"Ah? What's the confirmed news?"
"Demolition! You came here only after your uncle received the confirmed news, right?"
All the children in the living room had been sent out to play, and the only ones left were the adults, who were all staring at Chen Jin.
Chen Jin took a deep breath, then another deep breath, and couldn't hold it in, so he suddenly stood up.
She just knew it! She knew that the people in this village were unreliable!
"Tell me why you want to demolish your house first?" Chen Jin calmed herself down. She felt that maybe there was no need to visit Liu Mantang's home again.
Old Man Liu and the others' eyes lit up. What Chen Jin meant was that the demolition was really possible?
"The village chief's son-in-law works in a municipal unit. He came back on New Year's Day and told us that the higher-ups were planning to demolish Qiaoxi Village and asked us to prepare early." Old Man Liu glanced at Chen Jin and said, "It hasn't been long since my family learned about the news. The village chief still has to go and verify it..."
"You checked it. Have you confirmed it?"
"It's very likely. Is your information source accurate? Did you say when the demolition will be carried out? Do you know the demolition standards and compensation policy?"
Chen Jin held a half-eaten apple in his hand, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed after a long time.
Old man Liu was very anxious. It’s already this late. Why don’t you tell me what news you got?
"What's so good about the ceiling? Tell me your news..."
Chen Jin said quietly, "Don't bother me. I want to see when this cow will fly to the sky."
They are really good at boasting. The uncertain news has spread to the city.
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