Qingshan’s wife saw the atmosphere was good, gathered her courage, and said to Uncle Zhang and his wife: "Dad, Mom, what do you think about talking to Jiao Jiao? It will be inconvenient once they return to Beijing."
Zhang Mingjiang didn’t wait for his grandparents to answer and said, "Mom, you’d better not say anything. It’ll make people laugh. They aren’t short of money. Why would they sell the yard?"
"How are they not short of money? They don’t have enough money for school and have to use their savings. If I offer a high price of a hundred bucks, would they be unwilling? If it weren’t for their good feng shui, I wouldn’t even consider it. Kids shouldn’t ddle in these matters."
Zhang Mingjiang rolled his eyes at her, "Do you know how much Xiaowu and Fifth Aunt’s watches are worth? A single watch can’t even be bought for more than three hundred bucks. Two watches would at least be over seven hundred. Today, Ping’an was tinkering with a cara, and my Fifth Aunt didn’t bat an eye and let him play. Do you think they’d be short of a hundred bucks to sell the yard?"
Qingshan’s wife opened her mouth, then closed it.
Zhang Qingshan laughed, "I’ve told you long ago to give up on this idea, but you wouldn’t listen. Even a child can understand this, yet you insisted on having Dad and Mom speak up for you."
Aunt Zhang sighed, "Let’s not ntion it again. The last ti, even when Er Aunty said sothing in front of her, she didn’t respond, you should understand. Talking too much will only make them annoyed."
"Aren’t I just seeing the yard sitting there unused? If I had known the couple had such a deep pocket, I wouldn’t have ntioned it."
Uncle Zhang glanced at his eldest daughter-in-law, lowered his eyelids, and lowered his head to eat.
Zhang Qingshan shook his head. No matter how many tis I say it, she just doesn’t listen. A stubborn heart that won’t change until it hits the Yellow River.
"Mom, do you think this ti, with Juhua and the two sisters-in-law being dismissed, will Xiao Wu help?"
"I don’t know. Eat quickly and take a rest, don’t delay the work." Aunt Zhang finished the last mouthful of sorghum rice, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and went into the inner room.
With ti to chit-chat, she might as well lie down for a while. Young people just can’t wrap their heads around it; if she saw Second Brother’s wife’s living conditions, she’d go crazy herself.
Uncle Zhang finished eating, stood up and told Zhang Qingshan as he left, "Your Old You Gong and his wife are moving to the ancestral hall. After you finish eating, go over to Xiao Wu’s and lend a hand."
"Now?"
Uncle Zhang nodded and returned to the bedroom with his wife.
Zhang Qingshan looked at his father’s back in confusion. Why did he feel his dad wasn’t happy?
"Those two young ones really made a fierce decision. They just returned and imdiately drove people away..."
Zhang Qingshan’s face turned stern, his gaze sharpened, and he stared intently at his wife, "Enough. If these words reach Xiao Wu and he slaps you, don’t bla for not helping you. If you keep causing trouble, the Zhang Family can’t keep you."
His wife averted her guilty gaze and lowered her head to eat.
"I tolerate your antics at ho, but if you behave erratically and embarrass the Zhang Family outside, don’t bla for being ruthless."
"Alright, I understand, I’m just talking at ho."
Zhang Qingshan glanced at her, put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and left the yard.
Zhang Mingjiang looked at his dad’s unfinished bowl of sorghum rice, angrily glaring at his mom, "Are you happy now? My dad works from morning till night. Can you just calm down?"
Da Ya imdiately said, "Mom, if you want to return to Grandma’s house, go ahead and keep at it!"
Zhang Minghu saw his mom was too angry to speak and hurriedly dragged his elder brother and sister away, while the remaining kids, whether they had finished eating or not, scrambled out with them.
Qingshan’s wife hit her chest, "What did I do in my past life to give birth to a bunch of ungrateful wretches..."
In the inner room, Uncle Zhang seed to intentionally tap his pipe, and the knocking sound imdiately silenced her.
Aunt Zhang laughed and patted her husband, "Pretend to be deaf and dumb, and you can be the old man of the house."
Uncle Zhang listened to the sound of his daughter-in-law cleaning up dishes and sighed, "I now understand, back when my second brother separated from the family, why he insisted all three sons must tidy up the house for him and his wife."
Aunt Zhang chuckled, "How about we separate again?"
"Even if we separate again, we shouldn’t be like the second brother, being coaxed and pampered like ancestors by our sons."
Aunt Zhang laughed and scolded, "You old fool, your imagination runs wild. We don’t compare ourselves to the second brother but to the other families in the village. Doesn’t that make you feel more comfortable?"
Let’s not ntion Uncle Zhang and his wife’s playful banter.
Zhang Qingshan stepped out his house to Zhang Guoqing’s doorstep. Now he found the door open with only Old You Po in the yard; he glanced but didn’t go inside, heading straight to the ancestral hall.
The Old Captain and Zhang Guoqing were accompanying Old You Gong in choosing a room. The connected dining room remained the sa; material shortage was one reason, and during the busy farming season, it was convenient to gather here to save ti.
The remaining two warehouses were empty. After the previous snow disaster, clan mbers had priority to enter the ancestral hall, and the two large kangs inside were never dismantled. Now it was just a matter of picking one.
Zhang Guoqing didn’t think there was much to choose from. But seeing the elder hesitating, he couldn’t say much. Since the elderly were getting on in years, they sotis acted deliberately obstinate. Compared to their own west wing, these adobe buildings were certainly not up to par. But they were a hundred tis better than their old ho.
Zhang Guoqing kept smiling and saying nothing, knowing the Old Captain’s patience was wearing thin. If they irritated him, he might not even let them into the ancestral hall.
Honestly, Zhang Guoqing was quite disappointed in Uncle Zhang. Initially, he suggested letting them stay, but now, he just left. Without the Old Captain intervening, given the food he had control over, Old You Gong and his wife would never have left, so what would happen to his own house then? They had such good intentions; seeing how it went at noon, they seed prepared to live out their days in his ho, but based on what?
Zhang Guoqing never maliciously speculated about others, especially elderly elders, but he also despised people who overstepped their bounds. He’d rather set the place on fire than compromise.
When Zhang Qingshan arrived, Old You Gong was caressing the kang, constantly complaining how big it was and how much firewood it would consu. He imdiately understood the old man’s intent to take advantage.
He feigned ignorance and walked up with a smile, "Third Grandpa, Xiao Wu and I will go move the stuff over first. Let Old You Gong take his ti choosing between these two rooms; he can stay in whichever he likes."
The Old Captain, already fed up, quickly replied, "Good, you guys hurry up. Moving from Xiao Wu’s place is just a couple pieces of clothing. You two brothers can carry everything with one hand each."
Zhang Guoqing, seeing the situation, pulled Zhang Qingshan along and left.
As for Old You Gong talking about the big pottery jars and benches, if he spoke, Zhang Guoqing wouldn’t want them. To make it a one-ti move and minimize trouble, Zhang Guoqing directly borrowed a cart and brought everything ho. Ignoring Old You Po’s grim face, anything she claid was hers, he gave it all back to her.
After moving everything, looking at the now empty west wing and the kitchen with only an iron pot and a cabinet left, he sighed to himself. Fortunately, Zhou Jiao kept his mom busy, and Ping’an busied his dad, or else there would’ve been a fight! It’s just as well, allowing his parents not to easily agree to outsiders in the future.
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