The next morning, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao ran around and came back. Ping'an was already doing horse stance in the yard, with Zhang's mother standing beside him watching the fun.
"Mom, Dad hasn't come back yet?"
"He should still be in the small square. He's having a great time pushing watermelons with those old guys all day long."
Zhang Guoqing immediately understood what his mother was talking about: his father practicing Tai Chi. Isn't it like pushing a watermelon? He laughed heartily.
"We play this every day, Ping An?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, "It's been a while. We'll have to practice boxing later."
"My grandson is really capable! Just like when you were a kid. It's up to you. Do you really want to go back to the village today?"
Zhang Guoqing nodded. "Let's go visit the elders in the village, and then take the children to visit my grandparents' graves. I've already found a carriage, and we'll leave after breakfast."
"How many of your nephews and grandchildren can sit here?"
"There's no other way. Even if I have money, I can't find a car. I'll take you and my dad over first to take the things, and then come back to pick us up. Mom, you'll eat at the old house these days. I won't cook at home. It's uncomfortable to have outsiders around."
Mother Zhang nodded and said, "Why don't you sleep in the old courtyard? The two rooms in the west wing are very clean."
"It's better to live at home, otherwise the youngest uncle and his family will have some ideas. Is Third Uncle planning to let them live in my house forever, or what?"
Mother Zhang frowned and said, "Last year, the canteen was disbanded, and the ancestral hall had several more rooms. We had originally agreed to let the old couple take care of the ancestral hall, but for some reason they didn't go. Your father and I were too embarrassed to ask about it. You can't just let someone move in if you want to, and now you're asking again."
Zhang Guoqing was very unhappy about having an unrelated stranger move into his home. But since things had come to this, he could only go to the village to see what the old captain had to say.
He really couldn't believe that anyone would dare to move into his empty house. His father thought his uncle was kind. Bullshit kindness! He wasn't dead, and the yard wasn't unowned. Especially since he heard his uncle wanted to buy his yard. He really thought he was dead! He was just worried that they wouldn't do anything!
Zhou Jiao said maliciously, "Mom, do you think they think our house has good feng shui? Otherwise, why would uncle want to buy the yard?"
Zhang's mother had already had this idea in mind, but unfortunately she couldn't talk to her husband about it, because he was her brother after all. Now she finally found a confidant, otherwise how could she say that Jiaojiao was so close to her?
At this time, she slapped her thigh and said, "You think so too, don't you? I think that's what they mean. When your father took the land closest to the foot of the mountain, our family lived a good life. He knew that the second courtyard had no chance, so he set his sights on your courtyard. I was wondering why your uncle said he was the eldest when you were building the house. The first house on the east side should have been his."
Zhou Jiao glanced at Zhang Guoqing guiltily. Would she tear the Zhang family apart?
Zhang Guoqing looked at her amusedly and said to Zhang's mother, "Maybe Uncle said that unintentionally. If he really thought so, he wouldn't say it out loud. Besides, he was the one who chose it first. How can he regret it?"
Mother Zhang waved her hands. "You don't understand! Your eldest cousin's wife is no pushover. She can't be compared to your eldest aunt's wife. If she keeps gossiping, your eldest uncle might not think anything of it. That's why I hate those young wives who are superficial."
Zhou Jiao laughed and said, "Is the eldest cousin's wife so powerful?"
"Alas... Every family has its own problems. She's no different from your eldest sister-in-law. Your eldest aunt is such a good person, but she was so angry that she wanted to divorce her. If she hadn't given birth to so many sons, she would have gone back to her parents' home and hanged herself."
Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Why didn't you mention it in the letter?"
"I told the second brother and the others not to write, so as not to upset you. In the past two years, there have been people beating their wives and sending them back to their parents' home every day in the village below. Several people have even died. Women are worthless. A virgin girl is worth ten pounds of cornmeal. One foot divorces the wife and the next foot marries a new man. That's why I say your sister-in-law doesn't know how to appreciate her blessings."
Compared to this, could his elder brother really get a divorce? Zhang Guoqing quickly shook his head.
"A pound of cornmeal costs nine cents, and ten pounds costs ninety cents. Ninety cents can buy four and a half bottles of soda, it's quite expensive..." Ping An finished his punches, stood quietly aside and listened, muttering to himself.
Zhang Guoqing grabbed him and said with a smile, "What's so expensive about her? She's a human being. Once you drink the soda, it's gone. She can still do housework and earn work points, and she can also carry on the family line."
Ping'an hugged his father's neck tightly and blinked his eyes. This question was so profound that he needed to think about it carefully.
Mother Zhang looked at her grandson's adorable appearance and said with a smile, "When we get married safely, we'll have to choose a wife carefully."
"I want to find someone like my mother."
"Oh, then you have a lot to choose from." Zhang's mother laughed happily.
"Don't worry, I'm still young. My grandfather said that when I'm capable, any girl will cry out to be my wife, and then I'll be able to choose well."
"Haha...it's right to listen to your grandpa."
Zhou Jiao didn't dare to listen anymore, and she didn't know what kind of ideas her father was instilling in her children. She quickly hid in the kitchen to prepare breakfast. When she opened the pot, her mother-in-law had already prepared breakfast.
Looking at the vegetable porridge in the pot, with half a circle of corn tortilla on the side, she couldn't help laughing. She thought Zhang Guoqing must be regretting suggesting eating at the old house.
After breakfast, the whole family rushed to the village. After not being home for a long time, the courtyards from the foot of the previously remote North Mountain to the village entrance were all covered with buildings.
Zhou Jiao discovered a very interesting phenomenon. When she just came in from the village entrance, she saw the courtyards of several adobe houses. The further north she went, the courtyards were all made of bluestone and tiled houses, the only difference was whether they had thatched roofs or tiles on them.
The dozens of families who moved here at the foot of Daqing Mountain a while ago really benefited from this. Now, blasting rocks is probably just a dream. The old captain is truly courageous.
The village was quiet at the moment, but in the fields not far away, there were crowds of people surging. The old captain's voice echoed through the loudspeaker. He seemed to see the group of people from the Zhang family, paused for a moment, and then shouted for everyone to work harder!
When Zhang Guoqing arrived at his yard, his mother had already opened the gate. When he went in, he found that the yard was very clean and there was no extra mess. Seeing all this made Zhang Guoqing feel better, otherwise he would always feel that someone had taken over his place.
Zhang Guoqing didn't deny that the youngest and his wife had a difficult life, and that was a sympathetic thought. But if they had to live there for the rest of their lives, and even die in their own home, he would be terrified.
This was the ancestral home for his future descendants, but he had no intention of having two more ancestors. If it were Uncle Wu, he could still accept it. After all, he had promised his grandfather that if Uncle Wu had no one to take care of him in his old age, he would take care of it.
Although the Zhang family is a single clan, they have already split into several branches. The youngest man's branch is not only incompetent, but most frighteningly, the population is dwindling. According to superstition, they are unlucky.
Zhang Guoqing had been feeling uneasy ever since his father wrote to him and told him who had moved into the courtyard. Moving in was fine, but if he really wanted to stay with the other person for life, that would mean he would have to take care of the other person until his death, and that was unacceptable!
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