Zhang Guoqing looked around but didn't find the old couple at home. Seeing his son following his cousins to the nursing home, he gave him some safety instructions.
He turned around and pulled Zhou Jiao into the main bedroom. After taking a look, he said softly, "I'm going to ask the captain what's going on at home. Don't pack up yet and wait for me to come back."
Zhou Jiao nodded. "The bottom line is that they can move in, but they can't die or be buried here. This is non-negotiable. If it really doesn't work, we can fix up the old house for them."
"I know what I'm doing. I'll go first. I won't come back after I'm done. I'll go up the mountain and take a look first."
Zhou Jiao followed him out of the room and reminded him worriedly, "Remember to put the medicine powder somewhere convenient. Be sure to pay attention to safety and don't act rashly."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, then quickly walked out of the house.
Walking along the bank of the field, Zhang Guoqing greeted his fellow villagers with a smile on his face. As he walked and looked around, he found that this year was still a year of bumper harvest, but he didn't know how much public grain he had to pay. Otherwise, he could have gotten some relief this year.
"When did you come back? I thought you didn't want your hometown anymore."
Zhang Guoqing stepped forward and said with a smile, "Third Uncle, you're really wronging me. This is my root, how could I not want it? People are not in control of their own destiny when they are out there. I think about our Daqing Mountain every day, and I want to stay in my hometown when I grow old and never go anywhere else."
After saying that, he smiled and greeted Uncle Zhang beside him.
Call him a mean person, or what? He said these words specifically for his uncle to hear. He was a smart man and should be able to understand what he meant.
The old captain laughed and said, "You really think so? I thought you had spread your wings and flown away, and I couldn't keep you anymore."
Zhang Guoqing said modestly, "That's because you think highly of me. Outside the home, we just have to make a living. It's not as comfortable as back home in our village."
The old captain glanced at him and said with a smile, "You're getting better at talking. How long will you stay this time?"
How many days? Zhang Guoqing didn't want to give people the wrong impression. He smiled and said, "I'm bringing all the kids back this time. I plan to stay until school starts."
The old captain sighed, "Well done! Letting the children interact more with their tribesmen will help them never forget their roots." He frowned, "Come over this afternoon and help the youngest and the other two move while the weather's good. It'll be inconvenient after winter."
Uncle Zhang asked, "Do you live in the ancestral hall or their old house?"
The old captain waved his hand and said, "It's better to live in the ancestral hall. They don't have much money to repair the old house."
"Why don't we let them continue to live at Xiaowu's place? Xiaowu and the others aren't home anyway."
Zhang Guoqing glanced at his uncle and smiled without saying anything.
The old captain was a shrewd man. He understood Zhang Guoqing's intention and continued, "Forget it. They are all in their seventies and eighties. What if they pass away one day..."
He didn't say everything, but everyone understood the meaning. Zhang Guoqing's yard was a new house, and who would want to have an old man several rooms away to hold a funeral?
Uncle Zhang glanced at Zhang Guoqing and asked, "What do you think?"
Look at your grandma! Zhang Guoqing found that he couldn't scold his grandma yet. He deliberately twisted the meaning of Uncle Zhang's words and said, "Okay, I'll help out this afternoon."
Zhang Guoqing had completely given up on saying another word to the other person. If it weren't for his father, he wouldn't even bother to smile.
He saw the old captain walking slowly forward and immediately followed him.
"Did you bring any wine with you this time?"
"Both bottles are at my dad's place. You guys can get together tonight."
The old captain turned around and gave him a sidelong glance. "You bastard, why did you give it all to your father? Forget it, ask your father to prepare the food. I'll go find him tonight."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, "Okay. Then I'll go back and tell him first."
The old captain waved at him with a smile and continued walking forward.
After leaving, Zhang Guoqing circled around and went up the mountain first. The main purpose of this trip was to take the children up the mountain. If it was really dangerous, he would have to find another place.
Over there, Uncle Zhang was walking home with his hands behind his back after finishing work. When he passed by Zhang's father's house, he saw the door was open. He hesitated for a moment but didn't go in and went straight back home.
As soon as he entered the yard, Aunt Zhang had already prepared water for him to wash his face. He hurriedly wiped his face, threw away the towel in his hand, went into the main room, picked up the long pipe, filled it with tobacco, lit it with a fuse and took a deep puff.
Aunt Zhang called her daughter-in-law to the courtyard to prepare dinner, and went inside to relax on the kang. She was exhausted after working all day, and what should she do when the busy farming season came?
Following Aunt Zhang's loud shout, Zhang Qingshan's three sons and two daughters rushed into the main room and sat on stools waiting for dinner.
Aunt Zhang looked at her two granddaughters and said, "Go and help your mother serve the meal."
The eldest granddaughter said coquettishly: "Grandma, I'm so tired. Let me take a breath first."
The grandson scoffed, "It seems like a lot of work."
"I just work harder than you. I cut two baskets of pig grass this morning. What about you? You must have gone out to play."
"You little girl are so annoying. Can't you learn from Mai Miao?"
"Then why don't you learn from big brother? Big brother even helps me carry the basket."
Aunt Zhang sat up, frowned, and shouted, "What idle time are you all going to have? Go help your mother."
The eldest granddaughter glanced at her grandfather, but he ignored her. She was so angry that she dragged her sister, who was refusing to leave, and muttered as they walked away, "Preferring sons over daughters..."
"Sister, you can just go, why are you dragging me along?"
In the kitchen, Qingshan's wife looked at the two sisters and glared at them. "You didn't even bother to cook when you came home, and you're still arguing. I'll starve you to death! Look at the village, which girl of your age doesn't help with the housework at home?"
"Humph, I'm not idle."
The little daughter shrank her neck when she saw her mother getting angry. The seven-year-old girl took the lead and walked out carefully with the dishes and chopsticks.
"What are you still standing there for? Go help your sister. If you drop the bowl, I'll beat you to death."
"They would scold me, saying I was picked up."
"Yes, I am still your stepmother." After saying this, Qingshan's wife rolled her eyes at her eldest daughter and walked quickly to the main room with two bowls of food.
After the meal was served, Zhang Qingshan came in. He washed his hands, sat down, and took the chopsticks handed to him by his wife. Then he heard his eldest son say, "Dad, Xizi and the others are back. I don't want to go to work this afternoon."
Zhang Qingshan nodded. "Okay, you guys take a break for two days too." As he finished speaking, he felt his wife tug at him. He glanced at her and explained, "They don't earn many work points anyway."
Zhang Qingshan's eldest son, Zhang Mingjiang, nicknamed Tiedan, immediately said, "Mom, we're not playing around. Xizi said he's going to look for herbs nearby these next couple of days, so we plan to earn some money for tuition."
Zhang Qingshan's wife scoffed, "You know what herbs are there? Your uncle picked up all the herbs nearby, and they're still here."
"Xizi said he planned to ask Aunt Xiaowu to take us to look for it."
Zhang Qingshan quickly said, "Don't go too far, it's too dangerous."
Zhang Mingjiang laughed and said, "Dad, have you forgotten? How can Uncle Xiaowu feel at ease if my Aunt Xiaowu goes out? We have already calculated that if we take one away, there will definitely be two more. Maybe we can even have some meat to eat."
The family in the house burst into laughter after hearing what he said.
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