When Qian Sheng returned home from the village committee, he saw Qian Duoduo lounging in the yard, leisurely sunbathing on a deck chair. He called out with a smile, "Old lady, old lady, get up and come for a walk with me."
Hearing the voice, Qian Duoduo opened her eyes and saw the smiling old man in front of her, whose wrinkles had deepened. She couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Dad, where are we going?"
Qian Sheng smiled mysteriously and said, "Go to the tofu shop."
Upon hearing this, Qian Duoduo immediately perked up, sat up straight, looked up at Qian Sheng, and said excitedly, "Okay, Dad, wait for me to change my clothes, and then we'll set off!" With that, she got up and went into the house.
Qian Sheng nodded hastily, secretly overjoyed. This was a golden opportunity! He hurried inside to greet Jin Jinxiu and explain that he wanted to take Duoduo to the tofu shop. Jin Jinxiu agreed without hesitation, knowing full well that young Duoduo had played a crucial role in the shop's opening. Now that Duoduo was back, it was natural to go back and visit.
Not long after, Qian Sheng came out of the house and immediately saw that Qian Duoduo had changed her clothes. His eyes lit up; today, Qian Duoduo wasn't wearing the little leather boots she wore yesterday, but instead a pair of comfortable sneakers. This combination made her look even more refreshed and neat. Qian Sheng couldn't help but sincerely exclaim, "Oh my, you truly are my old maid; you look so beautiful no matter what you wear!"
Hearing her father's praise, Qian Duoduo's face lit up with a happy smile. She said, "Thank you for the compliment, Dad. Let's go quickly then." With that, she walked forward impatiently.
At this moment, Qian Sheng noticed a small, exquisite bag hanging from her waist and asked curiously, "What can you put in such a small bag?"
Qian Duoduo said with a grin, "It's enough to carry some money! Let's go see if they sell meat later, buy some and have my mom make braised pork with eggs for me. I always miss that dish when I'm away!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Sheng nodded repeatedly and replied, "That's right! That's right! Your mother's cooking of this dish is absolutely superb! She only makes this dish when you come back. Otherwise, even if my mouth is watering, your mother won't pay any attention to me."
Upon hearing this, Qian Duoduo chuckled and said, "Dad, aren't you afraid Mom will hear you saying that?"
Qian Sheng quickly glanced warily at the door, and when he found that Jin Jinxiu hadn't returned yet, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then turned to Qian Duoduo and said, "You little rascal, can't you give your father some face?"
Qian Duoduo walked into the house with a smile and greeted Jin Jinxiu. Jin Jinxiu waved her away impatiently, so Qian Duoduo followed Qian Sheng out of the courtyard with another smile and headed towards the tofu shop.
Qian Duoduo hadn't been back for a long time. Seeing her looking around so intently made Qian Sheng want to laugh. He pointed to the newly built red brick house over there and said with a smile, "In recent years, the land in the village has been contracted to individual households, and every family is not as poor as before."
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "That's good. Although the outside world is exciting, such moments are rare. Not to mention me, even Third Brother and the others are very nervous every day. After all, as soon as we open our eyes, we know that many people are counting on us to make money for them."
Upon hearing Qian Duoduo's words, Qian Sheng said, "You guys are capable, otherwise so many people wouldn't be willing to follow you."
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "I heard from my fourth brother and the others that when they came back for the Spring Festival last time, many people in the village wanted my fourth brother to take them out to make money. My third brother and I weren't home, so they didn't dare to agree to anything."
Qian Sheng nodded and said, "I've already told your fourth brother and the others that you and the third brother are the smartest among your brothers. You two are more suited to doing business. I think the two boys from the Jin family are quite good too. As long as the weather is nice, I'll go and visit your grandparents. I've also told them that we don't know much about the outside world, so we'll try our best not to cause you any trouble."
Qian Duoduo slowly stopped walking. She looked at the old man walking happily with his hands behind his back and felt a little sad. This is what Chinese parents are like. As long as their children are well, everything is fine. Parents try their best not to cause trouble for their children.
Qian Duoduo suddenly noticed that the sleeves of Qian Sheng's clothes were frayed, and her nose suddenly felt sore. She said, "Dad, I brought you a whole set of clothes this time. I'll let you try them on to see if they fit."
Qian Sheng waved his hand and said, "Oh, why are you buying new clothes? Your father already has clothes to wear."
Qian Duoduo laughed and said, "Dad, have you forgotten what I do? You're talking about me like that, and you still want to go buy clothes? Isn't that slapping me in the face?"
Qian Sheng suddenly remembered that a few years ago, Qian Duoduo made a fortune selling clothes, and Qian Mao made a fortune. He laughed and said, "Those clothes also require capital!"
Qian Duoduo smiled and said, "I make a profit when I sell to others, but I'm happy when Dad wears it. What cost do we need to pay for our own family members to wear it?"
Qian Sheng chuckled and said, "That's great! I'll enjoy the good fortune of being an old maid too!"
Qian Duoduo turned her head and looked at Qian Sheng's happy face, noticing the wrinkles on his face. She knew that the old man had really gotten old in the past few years. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Dad, if possible, please resign from your position as village chief!"
Qian Sheng was taken aback, turned around to look at the serious Qian Duoduo, and said with a smile, "Dad knows you are all filial. In the village, Dad feels that he is still a useful person. But when we go to other places, where we are unfamiliar with people and places, we feel restricted and it is not comfortable to bring people along."
Qian Duoduo asked, "Dad, have you thought about what to do?"
Qian Sheng was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "Just manage the village well, I think that's enough."
Qian Duoduo laughed and said, "Dad's thinking is really simple. Back when those educated youth were in the village, they were always shouting to support rural development, but now they've all gone back to the city. Shouldn't our countryside just stay the same as before?"
Qian Sheng sighed and said, "Life is better now than in those years. At least everyone has some spare money, and having money in hand makes us feel less anxious."
Qian Duoduo walked backwards in front of Qian Sheng and asked, "Dad, can the villagers cultivate all the land in our village?"
Qian Sheng said, "We can plant them, but it's slow. There's only one tractor, and everyone wants to use it, so you have to take a number. Many people want their own land to be planted first, so some arguments are inevitable."
Qian Duoduo fell silent. After graduating with her master's degree, her doctoral research would likely follow Professor Yuan's lead. Although she had been doing business outside for the past two years and rarely returned to school, she had not neglected her studies. Otherwise, Professor Yuan would have dragged her back to Northeast China by the ear long ago.
Professor Yuan promised her that if she could get good grades on the exam, he would give her a year of free time, and then she could spend another year with him to research a project. This was like heaven for Qian Duoduo, so in addition to reading books in her spare time, she also studied in the farm space. Fortunately, she worked hard and did not fall behind in her studies.
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