Chapter 328: Unexpected Visitors
On September 8, Lin Heng's family continued their daily lives as normal as usual.
I get up early to exercise, eat breakfast, and then do some chores around the house. When I have free time, I eat melon and read a book. There is nothing particularly big to do.
The corn and rice can be harvested soon, but because the land is not dry yet, not much work has been done in the past two days.
The two of them mainly washed the sweet potatoes this morning, peeled them, and picked out the "yellow inside and outside" to make dried sweet potatoes, which is a delicacy made every year in the countryside.
Sun-dried sweet potatoes can be stored for one or two years without going bad and they still taste very sweet. They are very popular among children and are one of the most popular snacks for children in rural areas.
Porridge cooked with dried sweet potatoes is also delicious, and almost every family eats it in the summer.
In the kitchen, a huge bamboo steamer was placed on a large black pot, with steam rising from it, steaming sweet potatoes.
Xiulan stood in front of the chopping board and cut sweet potatoes into strips. She liked to do some work, especially with Lin Heng, otherwise the day would be a bit boring.
She often reads some books, but she can't concentrate on reading too much.
"Why don't I do it? You take a break." Lin Heng finished adding fuel to the fire and came over and said with a smile. The kitchen was too hot, and it felt like being in a sauna.
Xiulan shook her head slightly, put her head in front of him and said softly: "Your hair is blocking your eyes, lift it up for me."
She has hands, but she just likes Lin Heng to tease her.
Lin Heng reached out and pushed her bangs behind her ears, revealing her smooth forehead covered with fine beads of sweat. He wiped her face with paper and couldn't help pinching her pretty face.
"Oh, your hands are so greasy~" Xiulan complained with a pout.
"I pinched, not only pinched, I kissed!"
"I hate it so much, wipe your saliva off quickly~"
"I won't wipe it off, but also get some on your face!"
"Stop messing around. I still need to cut sweet potatoes. It won't be good if Xiaoxia and the others come in and see us~"
"Then just give me a kiss and forget it."
"Mua...you can get out of here now~"
"And here..."
Xiaoxia was having fun outside with her good friends Yang Qing and Lin Tao, while Lin Heng and his wealthy couple were also having fun in the kitchen, teasing each other as if they had just confirmed their relationship.
“Boom boom boom!!”
At this time, there was a knock on the door. Xiaoxia and the other two stopped playing. Xiaoxia shouted into the house, "Dad, someone is knocking on the door."
"Here I come."
Lin Heng agreed, pulled Xiulan up and said, "Go out and eat some melon before coming back. It's too hot here. Or you can put it on the coffee table and cut it."
"Okay~"
Xiulan nodded and let him pull her, her big eyes as gentle as spring water.
Xiulan has very slender fingers. She used to have calluses from doing farm work, but now their fingers are white and tender, and feel soft and warm to the touch.
Letting Xiulan sit down, Lin Heng cut the watermelon into small pieces and then went out to open the door.
The moment the door opened, Lin Heng was stunned, because the person who came was completely beyond their expectations.
Chen Changxia outside the door breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It's really the Lin Heng family. We were a little skeptical when we heard other people pointing at us."
"Yes, this newly built house is so beautiful." Wang Zhi also nodded in agreement.
The last time they came, the Lin family was crowded in a dilapidated old house, but this time they were told that the house with white walls, red tiles and a tall porch belonged to their son-in-law, which made the two of them hard to believe.
Lin Heng came back to his senses and quickly said with a smile: "Mom and Dad, what brings you here? Please come in quickly."
As he said this, he invited the two elders into the house. Xiaoxia in the yard recognized them and greeted them warmly: "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma."
Wang Zhi looked at her fair-skinned granddaughter with great fondness: "Oh, Xiaoxia is so tall now, and she can't speak fluently. She grows up so fast."
Both of them were a little surprised at Xiaoxia's cleverness. She was so well-behaved and sensible at the age of three.
"Yeah, it grows so fast." Chen Changxia also sighed.
Xiulan, who was in the room, had also come out, looking excited: "Mom and Dad, why are you here?"
"Hey, Xiulan, you are pregnant, how come your belly is so big!" Chen Changxia was surprised. Not only was he shocked that Xiulan's belly was so big, but he was also shocked that his daughter looked so good, as if she had grown older, and she looked even fairer and prettier than when she got married.
"Stop running around and rest well." Wang Zhi hurriedly went forward to support her daughter and looked at her with concern.
Xiulan smiled and shook her head, holding her mother's hand and said, "It's okay, Mom. I'm only five months pregnant, not even six months yet."
Wang Zhi was puzzled: "Why is her belly so big in just five months?"
Chen Changxia was also full of confusion. This situation had been going on for at least seven or eight months.
Xiulan looked at her parents and then at Lin Heng, and said with a smile, "Because I'm pregnant with twins, my belly is a little bigger."
"Twins!" Father Chen was shocked.
Chen's mother Wang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then took her daughter's hand and smiled, "This is a good thing. Not everyone can get pregnant with twins. You and Lin Heng are both blessed people."
Lin Heng smiled and said, "Mom and Dad, please come in quickly. Let's sit down and talk slowly. Xiulan really missed you so much that she will stay a little longer this time."
I brought the two elders into the house and asked them to sit on the sofa. I poured them tea and brought them some cut watermelon and a bunch of remaining grapes.
However, the two of them were not in the mood to eat or drink for the time being. They looked at the decoration of Lin Heng's house with shock in their eyes. The house was so beautiful, and the sofa was so comfortable and soft.
Before they came, they couldn't believe that their daughter lived in such a house. After looking at it for a while, Chen Changxia asked curiously, "Daughter, didn't you say last year that it was a loess house? How come it's so beautiful?"
"It's a mud house, Dad. Lin Heng renovated it bit by bit." Xiulan described the process of Lin Heng decorating and renovating the house step by step.
After listening to it, the two felt that this was the story of Lin Heng's rise to wealth, which was somewhat shocking.
Before coming, they were a little worried whether Lin Heng was just trying to show off when he went there last year, because their three daughters-in-law had said this from time to time in the past year, which had subtly influenced them.
When they really saw it this time, they realized that Lin Heng Xiulan was not only not showing off last year, but was also very low-key and humble.
Just like this house, it is obviously better maintained than many brick houses, but it is just a mud house with simple decoration.
Chen Changxia looked at the two and said, "I didn't know Xiulan was pregnant. We brought some dried fish vermicelli and rice wine. If I had known, I would have brought some yellow flowers from home."
"Dad, what are you talking about? Your presence here is the biggest surprise." Lin Heng said quickly. Although the gift looked simple, it was of very high standard. Each one of them was not cheap in this era.
They chatted for a while, Xiulan's parents drank tea, tasted the watermelon and grapes, and then they went to visit other houses, and Lin Heng accompanied them to see them.
After seeing the dark wood furniture, sewing machine and garden-like backyard in Lin Heng's house, the two were shocked once again. They truly felt the wealth of this millionaire. Many of the things he had were things they had never seen before.
The two looked at Lin Heng from time to time. They couldn't believe that such an idle person in the past could have earned such a huge fortune.
Lin Heng has always been very humble about this. Although his house is not bad, in his eyes it cannot be called luxurious, it can only be considered comfortable.
It was far from the truly luxurious houses he had seen, and one of his small goals was to let his family live in a truly top-notch mansion.
While his parents-in-law were in the bathroom, Lin Heng smiled and joked, "Luckily I didn't let you continue working in the kitchen, otherwise I wouldn't be able to wash myself clean even if I jumped into the Yellow River."
Xiulan rolled her eyes at him and said, "Hurry up and take the steamed sweet potatoes out to dry in the sun, or they will become mushy in a little while."
"Oh my God, I almost forgot." Lin Heng hurried to the kitchen to take out the sweet potatoes in the steamer to dry in the sun.
When drying the sweet potatoes, he clearly noticed that there were fewer sweet potatoes in the bamboo baskets. It was obvious that they were the ones Xiaoxia and the others ate.
He usually wouldn't talk about this kind of thing. He just took some snacks because he was greedy. There's no need to make a big deal about it as long as it wasn't stealing.
"You didn't dry sweet potato flour this year?" Chen's mother Wang Zhi asked with a smile after coming back from the toilet.
Xiulan smiled and said, "No, we haven't finished what we made last year. We have enough to last until next year."
"Oh, I'll help you later." Wang Zhi said with a smile.
Chen Changxia also nodded: "Yes, if there is anything we can help you with, don't hesitate, we are all family."
"Mom and Dad, don't worry. We will definitely not be polite if you need help." Lin Heng agreed with a smile.
After chatting for a few more sentences, Lin Heng looked at his parents-in-law and said, "Mom and Dad, you guys drink your tea first. I'll go to the breeding base to pick up my parents."
Chen Changxia asked curiously, "Is that the place where you raise shrimps?"
Lin Heng nodded: "Yes, there are some cattle and sheep there now."
"Then I'll go with you to take a look. We haven't seen it yet." Chen Changxia stood up and said.
"That's fine." Lin Heng nodded in agreement.
Chen's mother stayed to take care of Xiulan and reminisce about the past. It had been a long time since the mother and daughter had seen each other. Lin Heng took his father-in-law to Hongfeng Mountain.
The two chatted and laughed on the way. Chen Changxia discovered that although his son-in-law was young, his prestige in the village was not low at all. Many people took the initiative to greet him when they saw him, and were very envious when they learned that he was Lin Heng's father-in-law.
This made him feel very proud, as no one in their village respected him so much.
Arriving at Hongfeng Mountain, Lin Heng explained with a smile: "This is Hongfeng Mountain. It has now been converted into a breeding base. The shrimps have been raised. Dad, you can try some at noon."
“This place is so grand!!”
After entering the breeding base, Chen Changxia was shocked again.
He originally thought that it was just a few puddles and a bunch of rotten cow sheds, but he never imagined that it would be paved with cement, covered with green grass, and look like this.
Is this definitely a breeding base?
Originally he thought that Lin Heng was somewhat unfilial for letting his parents live here, but now it seems that he had underestimated Lin Heng's strength.
Even if he was willing to live in a place like this forever, he couldn't even think about it.
"The sanitary conditions for breeding must be good. I hate getting my feet in mud on rainy days so I hardened them all." Lin Heng smiled slightly.
Chen Changxia patted his shoulder and said with emotion: "It's amazing. Xiulan really didn't make a mistake in choosing someone back then."
"If it weren't for Xiulan, I wouldn't have this business. Thanks to you, Dad, for raising such a virtuous and smart daughter." Lin Heng spoke kindly without hesitation.
He had always known that his father-in-law was a man who cared a lot about his reputation. This was considered as him earning enough face for him, and he would be proud wherever he went in the future.
Lai Fu's call in the breeding base made Lin's father, who was working at home, come out. He was stunned for a moment, then he recognized him and walked over quickly: "This is... my father-in-law, come in and sit down!"
"Hahaha, we haven't seen each other for a long time. I'm sorry to bother you this time." Chen Changxia said with a smile.
The two of them obviously had more topics to talk about. After entering the house, they lit cigarettes and drank tea, and immediately started chatting animatedly. Lin Heng couldn't get a word in at the side.
He simply told the two that he would go back to prepare the meal and asked them to come over later.
Lin Heng caught two kilograms of shrimps here and picked some fresh vegetables to take back. Because they were planted late, the vegetables here are in their peak fruit-bearing period.
After Lin Heng left, Lin's father took his father-in-law Chen Changxia to visit the cowshed, pasture, chicken coop, dam ginseng garden, etc., not including the musk deer that he had forgotten.
After reading it, Chen Changxia felt a little overwhelmed. He felt that Lin Heng's family was probably not just an ordinary family with an annual income of ten thousand yuan.
A dozen cows and more than fifty black goats, how much would they be worth?
There is also the ginseng garden, and I heard there is also an orchard, which made him feel very impressive.
The Lin family has changed so much. He used to think that they were marrying above their station, but now it seems that his little daughter has found a potential stock.
On the other side, Lin Heng returned home with vegetables and shrimps. Xiulan and his mother-in-law were drying sweet potatoes.
"Mom, do you think the shrimps we raised are okay?" Lin Heng asked with a smile while holding the shrimps.
The mother-in-law nodded and praised: "These shrimps are very beautiful, each one is top-notch, but why did you get so many? Just a taste is enough."
"It's not much. We have more people."
Lin Heng said this with a smile, handed the shrimp to Xiulan to remove the shrimp thread, and ran back into the house.
Soon, a 30-kilogram ham was proposed: "This ham has been pickled for a year, so it's a good time to open it and see how it tastes."
Wang Zhi saw Lin Heng carrying the ham and hurriedly stopped him: "The shrimp is enough, don't open the ham anymore, it will go bad if you can't finish it."
Xiulan stopped her mother and explained, "Mom, don't worry about it. Just help us. We eat here often."
"Okay, okay, I don't care. You don't know how to feel sorry for things at all." Wang Zhi looked at her and shook his head speechlessly.
Xiulan spread her hands and didn't explain. Her mother wouldn't be able to accept if she said too much.
Lin Heng burned the ham, cleaned it, and when he cut it open he was shocked.
Inside is beautiful blood-red lean meat, with some white filamentous fat evenly distributed throughout, accompanied by a strong meaty aroma that makes one's mouth water.
"It smells so good, Daddy!"
Xiaoxia squatted beside and swallowed her saliva, already intoxicated by the fragrance.
"The quality of this ham is quite good." Wang Zhi was also a little shocked.
"It's made from wild boar's hind legs. It seems to smell better than domestic pig's."
Lin Heng smiled and nodded, then took a knife and cut off a piece for lunch.
After repeated tasting, he has summed up how to eat wild boar meat, and it seems to be more suitable for making bacon and ham.
This method can not only effectively remove the strong fishy smell of wild boar meat, but also retain some of its unique taste and flavor.
"Let's make a simple fried ham." Lin Heng took the prepared ingredients into the kitchen. Good ingredients will taste great no matter how they are prepared.
(End of this chapter)
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