Du Ping was rendered speechless by his wife's retort, and Zhang Sui finally got to vent the frustration she'd built up during the journey.
Du Heng chuckled, ignored them both, and led them straight to his new house.
Du Ping and Zhang Sui examined the house inside and out several tis, their eyes filled with sheer envy.
Leaning against the doorfra, Du Heng suddenly asked, "Big Bro, Sui, what do you think of the house?"
"Good."
"Beautiful."
Du Heng smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"
Zhang Sui replied without hesitation, "I like it."
Du Ping looked around again. "I don't like it. The yard at our old place is bigger."
At this point, Du Yi, who had been largely ignored, suddenly piped up, "I like it."
Du Heng laughed, ruffled Du Yi's hair, and said to Du Ping, "Big Bro, I want to discuss sothing with you."
"Go ahead."
"To co up with that 188,000 yuan, you sold all the sheep you were raising." Du Heng's eyes were full of emotion. "I offered you money, but you refused."
Du Ping waved his hand dismissively. "Why bring that up? As your big brother, it was my responsibility to contribute."
Du Heng put his arm around his older brother's shoulder. "Here's what I was thinking: since you don't have any sheep now, and you're not farming the land anymore, why don't you move down here too?"
Du Ping shot Du Heng a sidelong glance and slapped his hand away. "What nonsense are you spouting? If we moved down, where would we live? What would Sui and I do for a living? How would we eat?"
He shot Du Heng another glare. "You're full of crap, spouting nonsense without thinking things through."
"JINGLE, JINGLE, JINGLE, JINGLE." Du Heng suddenly pulled another keyring from his pocket. "Look, what's this?"
"Keys. So what?"
Seeing his brother's expression, Du Heng decided not to beat around the bush. "This key is for an apartnt on the fifteenth floor of this very building. I bought it in your na."
Du Ping was astonished. "You just paid for this place in full; where did you get more money?" Then, his brow furrowed deeply. "I know your salary, and you ntioned you had so extra inco. But you bought a car and this house, both paid in full. How could you possibly have money left over?"
His gaze turned stern. "Tell , have you been accepting bribes? Listen to your big brother, hurry up and return it! We have our whole lives ahead of us; don't throw it all away."
Du Heng once again put his arm around his brother's shoulder, a playful grin on his face. "Oh, co on, Big Bro! You know better than that. How could I possibly do sothing like that?"
"Then where did this money co from?" Du Ping asked, his eyes scanning the new apartnt again. "The apartnts in this building should all be around the sa price, probably the sa as yours. So, where did you get the money?"
"I'm in business with a classmate. I just took an advance on my share of the profits a few days ago."
Du Ping still looked skeptical and asked hesitantly, "This apartnt must cost at least 1,000,000 yuan. What kind of business are you in that you can get such a large advance? I may not have much education, but I'm not an idiot."
"We sell dicine. I developed a prescription, and it's been selling exceptionally well for the past two months." Du Heng not only wore a sincere expression, but he looked as if he wanted to tattoo the words 'It's true!' across his forehead.
"Really?"
"Really."
Du Ping sighed in relief. He knew his younger brother's character well enough to believe he wouldn't dare lie to him. "As long as it's nothing illegal, that's fine. But we don't want this apartnt. You should return it; we have no use for it."
"Big Bro, if you won't think about yourself, at least think about Du Yi! How can the educational resources in the village possibly compare to those in the city?"
This ti, Du Heng beca much more serious. "Du Yi is very smart. Every ti I test him on the material I assign for morization, he has it all down perfectly. If he just drifts around in the village for a couple more years, his potential will be wasted."
Du Ping hesitated.
He and his wife were pretty much set for this life. Although they didn't have much education, they were still able to work. They wouldn't freeze or starve, and with a brother like Du Heng around, they'd manage. But their child was still so young!
"It's good for the boy to go to school in the city, but Sui and I can't just move here. Wouldn't that just be a burden on you and Xiao Nan?" Du Ping thought it over but still shook his head.
Du Heng was getting anxious. "Big Bro, let tell you everything at once. I plan to open a pharmacy for you two. The procurent channels, sales, and everything else will be taken care of. You just need to watch the store and pay the employees on ti.
If you really can't stand being idle, then you can drive to handle the store's stocking runs. Or maybe Sui can watch the store while you go back ho and continue raising your sheep."
Du Heng had arranged everything, but Du Ping was still worried. "I don't know how to do any of that! Selling dicine is serious business; a mistake could cost soone their life."
Du Heng was exasperated. "I told you, you don't have to worry about it. My classmate's family is in this business; he'll take care of everything. You won't be responsible for any of that."
Seeing his big brother still dragging his feet, Du Heng was beyond words. He turned, went straight to his sister-in-law, and placed the keys in her hand. "Sui, here are the keys. You talk to my brother; he won't listen to a word I say."
With that, he turned and led Du Yi out of the room, leaving the space to the couple. "Co on, Little Uncle will buy you an ice cream bar."
Ice cream bars in hand, the two found a shady spot and contentedly began to slurp them down.
Under the scorching sunshine, the icy-cold treat filled their oral cavities with coolness. Each slurp seed to make even the air they inhaled feel much cooler and more refreshing.
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