In the yard, Father Zhang listened to the children's chatter. He glanced at his eldest grandson who was sitting there quietly and steadily, and smiled with satisfaction. "Are you going back to the village soon?"
"Well, I plan to take my brothers and sisters up the mountain to collect some herbs."
Zhang Daddy warned worriedly, "Don't run too far."
"Okay." Xizi looked at everyone and asked softly, "Master, if you really don't want to do this, just go to the capital with my grandma. The excuses are ready."
Father Zhang smiled and shook his head. "The street office is giving our family face. Refusing once is polite, but refusing again is just a joke. Besides, wearing a red armband is quite impressive."
"This work isn't tiring, and sometimes I can even help the villagers. Even though it's temporary work, I get paid. Did you notice another thing?"
Xizi looked at him in confusion.
Father Zhang whispered proudly, "I'm still younger than those retired old men. Even if something happens, people won't think I'm doing nothing all day."
Xizi grinned. He might not have understood the meaning before, but after going to the provincial capital and seeing so much, he naturally understood what hedonism was. However, he still felt a little worried, "Will others be jealous?"
Zhang Daddy couldn't have failed to think of this. He smiled and said, "Your Grandma Wang asked everyone to elect the Grandpa. What do you think they're jealous of? Originally, I didn't even want a salary. Your uncle said it was compulsory labor. But your Grandma Wang said that if I don't take a salary, the other temporary workers will have objections."
"That's good." Xizi breathed a sigh of relief. "Master, let us take care of the backyard in the village."
That could fetch a lot of money, but Zhang Dad quickly refused. "Your uncle's yard should wait until your grandma and I get back. Your grandma still has to deal with those beans. Your uncle's family loves them."
Zhang Meili, who was standing by, happened to hear this and said with a smile, "Dad, I've already sent quite a bit. Don't let Xiaowu get tired of it."
"Don't worry about too much. You have a lot of friends, so a gift from them would be great."
Zhang Meili heard her mother talk about how many of Xiaowu's friends came to visit when the twins were born, and she nodded in understanding. She wondered if she should buy some other things to send over.
These local specialties are expensive in big cities, and Xiaowu and his wife are generous, so they must exchange a lot of holiday gifts every year. Although Xiaowu's letter mentioned two wages, the amount of milk powder for two children is a large sum.
"I wonder if Xiaowu received the package?" Zhang Meili frowned worriedly. "The children are turning one. Is it really okay for one of us to not go?"
"Xiaowu said that no one in the city holds a birthday banquet. If he did, and someone came to give him gifts, he'd be easily caught." Father Zhang felt sorry for his grandson. "If he hadn't said he had to go to military school for three months and Jiaojiao had to go to work, I would have asked them to return to the village long ago."
"Alas... they are not as good as us common people."
"Don't talk nonsense, your brother and the others are just ordinary people." Father Zhang didn't want his eldest daughter to say this without restraint.
Zhang Meili patted her lips, smiled, and changed the subject. "I heard that five educated youth came to our village, right? Dad, have you met them?"
Speaking of those five young men, Zhang Dad wanted to laugh. "Why haven't I seen them? Your captain uncle must be so worried. He used to make excuses to put them off, but this time he finally showed up."
"What's there to worry about? Just work with everyone else."
When Zhang Meili said this, the people who were listening to their conversation burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at? It's true. Now that this has started, there will definitely be more educated youth coming. If we don't set up some rules first, there will be chaos later."
Zhang Laoer said with a smile, "Sister, you didn't see it when you went back to the village. Three men and two women came this time, and none of them can lift a hoe. It's almost the busy farming season, don't you think the captain is worried?"
Xizi then added, "They are very thin. Life in the city must be difficult for them. Compared to the people in our village, they are only a little paler."
"Oh my, isn't that our great ancestor?" Zhang Meili was worried about the old captain. What would happen if the work points weren't enough to feed him when he came?
Suddenly she thought of something, "Where do they live now?"
Zhang Laoer knew his sister would ask this, so he smiled and said, "Doesn't the team have a yard? We allocated two rooms for them. But I've already suggested to the team leader that we take this opportunity to ask the commune for more bricks and tiles to build a few more rooms."
"We have quite a few good things in the team, and the captain has the same idea. If we can't get one, we might have to build a few adobe houses."
Zhang Meili breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Captain, didn't you borrow the house?"
"Last time, those old couple emptied out Xiaowu's things. Now that this has happened, it's hard for the captain to say anything. But our good uncle still wants those two girls to live in my house."
Zhang's father, standing by, was so angry at his son's careless words that he picked up his long pipe and hit him with it, scolding him with a smile: "You have no respect for your elders!"
Zhang Laoer was gently tapped by his father. Knowing that his father was not angry, he continued with a playful smile: "Sister, do you know how I pushed it?"
Zhang Meili rolled her eyes at him and kept him in suspense. She even wanted to smoke!
"Uncle, I'll be back every three to five days. If one day I mistake that girl for my own wife after dark, wouldn't that be harming me?"
Zhang Meili immediately slapped him, "You dare?"
"Oh, I'm kidding! Those two girls can't even compare to my wife in terms of looks, how could I be interested in them? Only those young guys think she's a rare talent in the city."
Lin Juhua gave him a sad look, "So what you mean is that as long as she's pretty, it's fine!"
Well, Zhang Laoer knew he was wrong. He immediately sat up straight and replied, "How is that possible? Old wine is better, and old women are closer."
After hearing this, the whole family looked at him teasingly.
Zhang Laoer cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "The five of us in the team are pretty good. I heard those educated youth in the team next door are causing all kinds of trouble."
Father Zhang nodded in agreement. "That's why they say your captain uncle is a smart man. He said that he liked these five people when he went there, and his efforts were worth it."
Then he warned worriedly, "When you two return to the village, don't come into contact with these two girls. City people, especially these girls who have only been educated for a few years, are too picky and cunning."
Zhang Laoer and Zhang Guofu smiled at each other and said yes in unison. "What city girl? You'll be exhausted after a busy farming season in the village."
If I stay for two or three years, what’s the difference between me and a village girl?
Besides, if they wanted to find a woman, why would they have to go back home and embarrass themselves? If their lifestyle became problematic, their future would be ruined. They knew it without their father's instructions.
Mother Zhang sighed, "These children have it tough. They came to our remote place from the city at such a young age. How heartbroken their parents must be. One of them is as skinny as our own Jiaojiao."
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