Finally, Yan Qingqing reluctantly agreed and said, "Then I'll take this old man with me today. I'll have someone dig up all these flowers within three days."
The woman was overjoyed and quickly agreed, as if afraid that Yan Qingqing would change her mind. Before leaving, she even saw Yan Qingqing and the others to the door.
Old Zhang sat in the car looking uneasy. Yan Qingqing looked at him and said, "Uncle Zhang, don't worry. Now that I've brought you home, I certainly won't let you be left without anyone to rely on."
Upon hearing this, Old Zhang's eyes lit up, and he asked tremblingly, "Is what you said true, Madam?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Of course it's true. Your ability to grow flowers has been a great help to me. It's only right that I take care of you in your old age. Your son and daughter-in-law may not know what's good for you, but I do. There are several precious varieties of flowers in your yard, which is more than enough for your retirement."
Upon hearing this, Old Zhang smiled and said to Yan Qingqing, "That purple rose and the black rose were cultivated by me for four years. The Wei Zi and Yao Huang peonies are also precious varieties."
To be honest, I'm reluctant to sell it.
When Old Zhang started talking about his flowers, he immediately became animated and began to recount his experiences and insights on growing flowers.
Yan Qingqing listened attentively and occasionally chimed in. Old Zhang was even happier, feeling as if he had found a kindred spirit. If at first Old Zhang was just looking for a place to stay, now he genuinely wanted to do things for Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing analyzed for Old Zhang why his flowers were not popular. First, Old Zhang hid them well and would not take them to the market to sell unless absolutely necessary. Second, there were few people in this small town who knew their value. Third, Old Zhang sold his flowers in the wrong place. The streets were bustling with ordinary people, so who would have extra money to buy flowers?
Old Zhang found Yan Qingqing's analysis very reasonable. Yan Qingqing then asked about the situation of Old Zhang's son and daughter-in-law. It wasn't that Yan Qingqing was gossipy, but she could support Old Zhang. However, she also needed to understand the two ticking time bombs surrounding Old Zhang.
Old Zhang got along very well with Yan Qingqing and wasn't afraid of her laughing at him. So he told her everything in detail.
It turns out that Old Zhang's son wasn't his biological son at all. When Old Zhang was young, his family was poor, so he never managed to get married.
He met a widow through an introduction when he was over thirty. The widow had a son who looked about eight or nine years old.
Old Zhang was overjoyed at the sight. He thought that as long as he treated his stepson well, he would have someone to care for him in his old age and see him off in his final days.
So Old Zhang devoted himself wholeheartedly to his family, raising the child as if he were his own.
But little did he know that the widow was not on his side at all. She often instigated her son to be wary of Old Man Zhang.
Old Zhang had always loved gardening, and he knew his son was unreliable. After the widow died, he devoted himself entirely to gardening.
The stepson's true nature gradually began to emerge.
The widow chose this woman as her daughter-in-law, and she's always been unreasonable and domineering. Moreover, she takes anything that's even remotely valuable from her own home to her parents' house.
Over the years, Old Zhang had accumulated quite a bit of wealth. But his daughter-in-law had taken it all to her parents' home, and his foolish son didn't dare utter a single word.
Some time ago, his grandson got engaged, but the girl's family found out that his parents were not respectful to their elders and that his mother was a "brother-obsessed" woman, so they absolutely refused to marry him.
So the couple set their sights on him again. They came to ask for a house for him many times, but Old Zhang refused to budge.
Today, Old Zhang had planned to take some flowers to the market to exchange for some money, but his daughter-in-law ruined the whole thing in front of everyone. He was forced to give them the house as well. Old Zhang even said that after giving them the house, he didn't plan to live anymore, but coincidentally, he ran into Yan Qingqing again.
Old Zhang had probably been holding back for a long time, and he got along well with Yan Qingqing, so he told her everything in one go. Yan Qingqing listened and also sighed that Old Zhang's stepson was an ingrate, and then comforted him for a few words.
Old Zhang kept rambling on and on as they arrived at Canghe Village. Yuan Huiniang, having probably learned from the gatekeeper that Yan Qingqing had returned, came running over.
When she reached the door, she noticed an old man getting off the carriage and asked softly, "Mother, who is this?"
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "This is Old Man Zhang. You can call him Uncle Zhang from now on. He's a gardener that Mother specially invited."
Yuan Huiniang was a little puzzled. They were a peasant family, and although they had a little money, they didn't have the habit of growing flowers and plants.
However, Yuan Huiniang was used to listening to her mother-in-law. Since Yan Qingqing said so, it proved that what didn't happen before would happen in the future.
Yan Qingqing then instructed, "Go and tell them to arrange a place for your old man Zhang to stay."
Yuan Huiniang quickly agreed and accompanied Yan Qingqing into the house.
Old Zhang stood at the gate of the Li family's house for a while, looking up, until Ah Da called him before he stepped inside.
Yuan Huiniang followed Yan Qingqing to the inner courtyard. Seeing her gossipy expression, Yan Qingqing briefly recounted the story of Old Man Zhang, which left Yuan Huiniang sighing with emotion.
Yan Qingqing looked at her and laughed and scolded, "Alright, stop whining. Tell a few people to go with Old Man Zhang to his yard tomorrow morning and transplant all those flowers back. Dalang should be fine lately, right? Tell him to go with Old Man Zhang tomorrow."
After the flowers are transplanted, we'll plant the more valuable ones at home, and the rest will be transplanted to our wasteland. You go ahead and do your work; I have some things to take care of here.
After saying that, he chased Yuan Huiniang out. Li Xiangping happened to be looking for Yan Qingqing and saw his wife standing in his mother's yard. So he asked, "Why aren't you inside? What are you doing standing in your mother's yard?"
Yuan Huiniang replied hesitantly, "My mother said she had something to do and kicked me out?"
Li Xiangping was stunned for a moment, then laughed twice and turned to leave. Yuan Huiniang asked, puzzled, "Didn't you come to see me about something? Why are you leaving?"
Li Xiangping touched his nose and said, "Your own daughter-in-law has been kicked out, so what about my stepson? Mother must have important things to do. Would I be tactless to bother her?"
Yuan Huiniang thought what he said made a lot of sense. Yan Qingqing was the best to her in the family. She had been kicked out, so it goes without saying that the others were even worse off.
So she quickly went up to Li Xiangping, rolled up his sleeve, and told him again what Yan Qingqing had just told her. Li Xiangping looked at his wife, who was now speaking fluently and calmly, and his eyes sparkled.
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