Xu Zhengyang and Zhong Zhijun were both stunned.
Which topic are you referring to?
Volume 1 Land Chapter 016 We're rich, we have confidence
The clear night sky seemed very high, very high.
The stars are numerous, and the half-full moon gently leans against the pale Milky Way, watching the playful stars blink and frolic.
Xu Zhengyang lay on the straw mat with a cigarette in his mouth, looking at the starry sky, his face full of a happy and contented smile.
Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin sat beside him, lost in thought. For a moment, they couldn't quite process what their son had just said—"Our family is rich now, over 700,000 yuan! Rouyue is going to school, the family is rebuilding the house, we're opening a grain store in Fuhe City, we're getting engaged and getting married..."
More than enough!
Those two flower-patterned jars actually sold for so much money.
Yuan Suqin recalled how she had initially disbelieved her son, and how he had taken a jar out of the house to pickle eggs. She was terrified. What if she had accidentally knocked it over and damaged it? It was something worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, and she had used it to pickle eggs!
"Dad, Mom, after autumn, when the continuous rainy weather stops, before it freezes, let's tear down our old house and build a new one, shall we?" Xu Zhengyang finished his cigarette, stood up, and said with a smile.
"Ah? Right, right, rebuild the house, and get a wife for my son." Yuan Suqin nodded happily as she came back to her senses.
Xu Neng paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This is bad. Everyone in the village knows what kind of conditions our family has. If we suddenly build a house... people will gossip. The bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it."
"Hey, what are you thinking about all day? What's it to them if we build a house now that we have money?" Yuan Suqin said discontentedly. "If that's the case, then all those little villas built in the village, aren't they attracting gossip? Don't you think about it? Zhengyang is already twenty-one years old this year, it's time for him to find a wife. When matchmakers come to talk, if a girl sees our dilapidated house, who would want to marry into our family?"
"Well... well, anyway, it's not good," Xu Neng stammered.
"You're such a quiet idiot, always acting like a fool," Yuan Suqin nagged incessantly. The couple had spent half their lives in this kind of one-sided verbal sparring, and they were already used to it.
Xu Zhengyang scratched his head and interjected, "Mom, Dad is right. If we suddenly build a house now, people will gossip. How about this? I'm not in a hurry to get married anyway. Let's open a shop in Fuhe City first. After autumn, whether we make money or not, we'll say we made money and then build the house. Surely no one will gossip then, right?"
Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin were stunned, not understanding why their son would have such an idea.
It's a disguised way of putting on a brave face!
“I always felt that we’d get richer and richer, haha. Our family can’t keep living in this shabby house forever.” Xu Zhengyang lay down again, resting his head on his arm and gazing at the night sky with a soft sigh. “My mother’s health isn’t good, so I’m thinking of building a house as soon as possible. We can get a boiler, central heating, so we won’t be cold in winter; and air conditioning, so we won’t be hot in summer…”
"My son is so sensible." Yuan Suqin felt a lump in her throat as she listened, and her happy voice was choked with emotion.
"Well, this... you decide what to do." Xu Neng hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say. Perhaps he was too afraid to offer opinions because of the scolding his wife over the years, or perhaps he was self-aware enough to know that he really didn't have any opinions of his own. He said, "Zhengyang, you've grown up. Well, you've been doing well lately and making money. So you, you decide what to do."
Xu Zhengyang was speechless, but nodded with a wry smile. His father's life was just like that; it was his personality.
"Yes, yes, Zhengyang, tell your mother, are there any girls you've taken a fancy to in the surrounding villages? I'll ask someone to arrange a marriage for you..." Yuan Suqin now talks about her son's marriage every other sentence. Before, when they had no money, she was only anxious, but now that they have money, she naturally wants her son to get married and start a family as soon as possible, so that she and her husband can hold their grandson sooner.
"No rush." Xu Zhengyang shook his head, took out another cigarette, lit it, and stared blankly at the star-filled night sky.
Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin fell silent, lost in thought, a mixture of excitement, happiness, joy, and a touch of apprehension. Now that they had money, what should they do next? They decided to postpone building the house, but they needed to buy some furniture, a new TV—their old black and white one had been broken for years; and, well, they also needed two more bicycles—their old ones were too embarrassing to ride around in public…
The saying "poverty makes people lose their ambition" is probably an apt description of Xu Zhengyang's parents.
Having grown accustomed to a life of debt and frugality, hesitant to spend money freely, he suddenly found himself with money but unsure how to improve his life, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.
A gentle breeze carried moisture, driving away mosquitoes and the sweltering heat.
Xu Zhengyang comfortably squinted his eyes, rolled over to lie on his side, and looked towards the riverbank behind the house. The riverbank was lush with trees, and the cicadas, which had been noisy during the day, seemed to be asleep now, quiet and still. Only the croaking of frogs from the grass along the Mangniu River and from the rice paddies on the north bank, combined with the babbling of the water, created a beautiful and peaceful melody for the summer night…
“Zhengyang, you should go to the capital tomorrow.” Yuan Suqin sighed softly and said, “It’s not easy for Rouyue to study outside. She’s been away for more than half a year and hasn’t come home. She’s working as a tutor to earn money… If it weren’t for our poor family conditions, this girl would be suffering so much.”
Xu Zhengyang paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, I'll go to the capital tomorrow to bring Rouyue back."
“Yes, yes, we can’t let the child suffer like that outside, she’s a young lady…” Xu Neng nodded in agreement.
"It's all your fault, you good-for-nothing!" Yuan Suqin's voice choked with sobs as she complained, "If you hadn't been unable to earn money, would the children have suffered like this? And Zhengyang, he couldn't continue his schooling either..."
Xu Zhengyang sat up and said with a smile, "Alright, Mother, I'll bring Rouyue back tomorrow. It's getting late, go to bed."
The couple nodded and said nothing more, then got up and walked towards the ladder by the house.
"I'm not going downstairs. I'll sleep on the roof tonight," Xu Zhengyang said as he watched his parents go downstairs.
"Hey, cover your stomach when you sleep, be careful not to catch a cold," Yuan Suqin reminded from below.
Xu Zhengyang smiled, but didn't reply. He lay down again, resting his head on his arm and gazing at the night sky in a daze.
If his mother hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't have thought about rushing to the capital to bring his sister back. Actually, when they confirmed in Fuhe City that the two pottery jars could sell for 700,000 yuan, Xu Zhengyang had already thought about bringing his sister back. However, he was still worried these past two days, afraid that something might go wrong with selling the pottery jars, so he hadn't made a decision yet.
I received the check today and opened a passbook and bank card at the Agricultural Bank of China in Fuhe City. I deposited 500,000 yuan in the passbook, transferred 195,000 yuan to the bank card I carry with me, and left 5,000 yuan in cash on me.
That's human nature. No matter how stingy Xu Zhengyang was, he still felt a bit smug after getting money. With a bank card containing nearly 200,000 yuan on his person, Xu Zhengyang thought he could walk sideways like a crab crawling out of a lotus root field wherever he went.
With the money in hand, he went to the mall and bought a new outfit. He then treated Zhong Zhijun and Yao Chushun to a meal, excitedly bought some good wine and food, took a taxi home, and didn't tell his parents that he had made a lot of money. Instead, he just smiled and kept them in suspense, enjoying a happy dinner with them. It wasn't until after dinner, when they went up to the roof to cool off, that Xu Zhengyang, under his parents' repeated questioning, finally recounted the whole story, seemingly with some reluctance.
Of course, he didn't claim to be the Earth God, but instead acted as the Earth God's spokesperson and friend once again.
It was because the Earth God had a good relationship with Xu Zhengyang and saw that Xu Zhengyang's family was in poor financial condition and was not living a good life. So, in a dream, the Earth God told Xu Zhengyang where there was a treasure that could be sold for money.
After recounting the story once, Xu Zhengyang repeatedly warned his parents not to tell anyone about the dream from the local earth god.
Yuan Suqin and Xu Neng readily agreed. In fact, even without Xu Zhengyang's reminder, they wouldn't have told anyone about it. Aside from the envy it would cause, the main problem was how many people would beg for their help if word got out. Villagers, relatives, friends—who would help and who would refuse? It would be embarrassing, especially considering they'd have to pray to the local earth god again… What if they angered the earth god? Their family wouldn't have a good life after that, would they?
Xu Zhengyang also said that if the news of his family making money by selling antiques ever gets out, he should say that the items were unearthed last year when his family was building a pigsty and digging up the old site. They are treasures passed down from their ancestors, so as to prevent anyone from having malicious intentions out of jealousy.
The reason for giving such instructions was that Xu Zhengyang wanted to plan ahead.
Although he believed that Zhong Zhijun would keep his family's secret since he had promised, what if he couldn't help but tell his parents, and his parents couldn't help but tell trusted relatives and friends... This kind of thing is too normal, and he can't blame them.
Yes, these kinds of messages usually spread like this: "Hey so-and-so, I have something to tell you, but please don't tell anyone else, we're on the same side, that's why I'm telling you..."
So-and-so then said to another person, "Hey, I have something to tell you, but don't tell anyone else. We're on the same side, that's why I'm telling you..."
And so it got out, right?
Chapter 17 of Volume One, Land, looks very familiar.
It was not even 7:30 a.m., but the sun was already high in the sky, ruthlessly radiating its abundant heat and scorching everything on earth.
Xu Zhengyang walked out of a small supermarket on the south side of the Fuhe City Railway Station Square.
The train ticket has been bought. It's the 527 express train departing at 9:20 AM, and its final stop is Beijing West Railway Station.
Xu Zhengyang was dressed much better than before today, wearing a blue and white checkered short-sleeved T-shirt tucked into gray-blue trousers, with a black belt and black leather mesh sandals that gleamed in the sunlight. He seemed quite presentable, but he still looked like a country bumpkin.
Dressed like this in the middle of summer, it's as if you're trying to make sure people know you're from the countryside, and you're deliberately dressing up formally.
Besides, these days, let alone young people in the city, even most people in towns and villages who are slightly better off wouldn't dress so tackyly. The clothes were obviously poorly coordinated, and everything from top to bottom was clearly cheap, no-name brand stuff, with absolutely no class.
Indeed, Xu Zhengyang's shirt, trousers, and leather shoes only cost him 130 yuan, yet he was still heartbroken over it.
Xu Zhengyang took out the cigarettes he had just bought, lit one, took two deep drags, and walked towards the entrance.
Several middle-aged women who had been keeping a close eye on Xu Zhengyang pursed their lips, somewhat disappointed, and turned to look at others, hoping to spot someone spitting or littering cigarette butts or scraps of paper so they could rush forward and fine them… They were wearing dark blue skirts, white short-sleeved shirts, and red armbands with the words “Sanitation Worker” printed in white on their left arms.
"Hey, Xu Zhengyang, Zhengyang!"
Xu Zhengyang stopped and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw a disheveled, middle-aged man with messy hair running out of a small inn next door, his small triangular eyes gleaming.
It turned out to be Master Gu, Yao Chushun.
"Oh, Mr. Gu, what brings you here?" Xu Zhengyang greeted him politely.
Yao Chushun ran up to him, chuckling, and said, "It's nothing, I just came to collect the rent... Hey, do you have any cigarettes? I've run out and haven't had time to buy any."
"Yes." Xu Zhengyang smiled, took out a cigarette, and handed one to Yao Chushun.
"Going out?" Yao Chushun took the cigarette, frowned at it, seemingly disliking this cheap cigarette, but he was too embarrassed to say anything. After lighting it and taking a couple of puffs, he asked with a smile, "Where to?"
"Go to the capital to pick up my sister."
Yao Chushun's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Oh, that's perfect, I was also planning to go to the capital."
"Really? Hehe, that's good, I'll keep you company." Xu Zhengyang nodded with some doubt. Although his expression still had a polite smile, he was wary. Yao Chushun's look earlier had made Xu Zhengyang very uneasy, and he suspected that the old man had ill intentions.
This can't be blamed on Xu Zhengyang; who made Yao Chushun look like that?
If Zhong Zhijun hadn't personally confirmed that Yao Chushun's words were true, Xu Zhengyang would never have believed that such a middle-aged man who looked like a low-level conman was the once-powerful "Master Gu" in the antique world of Fuhe City and even the entire Hedong Province.
Which train?
"Oh, let me see, train T527."
"Oh, what a coincidence, me too, haha."
"Really? Hmm, what a coincidence." Xu Zhengyang became increasingly suspicious of Yao Chushun's ill intentions.
"I'm going to Beijing to visit Hujiayuan, where there are plenty of good antiques..." Yao Chushun said, explaining his purpose for going to Beijing.
"Are you making a comeback?" Xu Zhengyang joked.
Yao Chushun smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm getting old. I don't have any other hobbies in this life except for antiques. When I have a little money, I go out and wander around. If I don't have money to buy anything, I just look and enjoy the sight."
"Just to take a look?" Xu Zhengyang raised an eyebrow.
This reason seemed rather unreasonable to Xu Zhengyang. After all, a round trip to the capital would cost over a hundred yuan, not even considering the expenses once there... and Yao Chushun wasn't exactly wealthy.
"You're just looking, I'd like to buy it, but I'm too poor to afford it, haha."
Xu Zhengyang gave an "oh," thinking to himself, "You've been exposed! Trying to trick me into buying antiques with you? Dream on!" With that thought, Xu Zhengyang said indifferently, "That's true, hehe, antiques are really expensive, most people can't afford them... I don't know what the use of those things left over from before is, how come they're so valuable."
“You wouldn’t understand,” Yao Chushun shook his head. He was just about to explain in detail the value of the antiques when he heard a voice from not far away: “Hey, what’s going on with you two? Smoking in the square…”
Xu Zhengyang and Yao Chushun turned their heads and saw three sanitation workers in uniform walking over with stern faces.
"Look at all this cigarette ash you've scattered on the ground, it's so unhygienic!"
"That's right, that's right. It affected the environmental sanitation of the train station square. According to regulations, each person should be fined ten yuan."
...
Xu Zhengyang was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly. This was just too unlucky.
However, I suppose this is the rule, after all, the city is not like the countryside, there are probably more rules. Besides... the square tiles underfoot were cleaned up, but there were some cigarette ash on them, which was really inappropriate.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Xu Zhengyang apologized with an awkward smile, and reached into his pocket to take out money to pay the fine.
The three sanitation workers wore smug smiles. One of them was holding a notebook and preparing to issue a fine, while the other stared at Yao Chushun, seemingly urging him to pay up quickly.
Unexpectedly, Yao Chushun grabbed Xu Zhengyang's hand as he took out money, glared at the three security guards, and said, "What kind of fine are you talking about? Do you think I'm some country bumpkin who's easy to bully? Look at this hotel, it's my room! Don't think I don't know what you guys do for a living. Go away, get out of here!"
The sanitation worker was furious and about to explode when Yao Chushun pointed randomly at the square and yelled, "Look, look! So many people are smoking, why are they fining just the two of us..."
Xu Zhengyang looked around and saw that it was true; there were quite a few people smoking in the square.
"Hey, why are you so arrogant? If you make a mistake, you should admit it. What's with the arrogance? You have no manners!"
"That's right, pay the fine, or come with us to the police station at the station."