This made Zhang Laoda, who prided himself on being a Casanova, feel utterly ashamed. He had gone to great lengths to win Liu Yufang's heart, thinking he could proudly show off his manhood in front of all the men in the village. But he never expected that his glory would be shattered today by his silent brother, Zhou Diwa!
But then again, Diwa is a really dazzling woman!
Zhou Ying brought a cup of tea to everyone in the room. Then she turned on the TV, and Zhou Tao went to the field to pick a few large, ripe berries from a tree. He returned with them, opened the containers, and shared them with everyone.
These cuttings are a new, superior variety that was uniformly transferred from the county. They are large, sweet, and have a shorter growth period after planting compared to other varieties. This is the main crop produced by villagers in this area.
Once mature, the vast majority of the fruit is purchased by a special supplier organized by the county and sold to other places and major cities. A small portion is given to relatives, eaten by the family, or sold at stalls.
Zhou Xuan went outside and saw that there were still quite a few people watching in front of and behind his house. Annoyed, he was about to go inside and close the door when he suddenly saw Zhao Junjie, another close friend he'd met on his way back to the village, rushing over. Zhao Junjie waved to Zhou Xuan, pulled him into a room in the old house, and after glancing around to make sure no one was watching, whispered, "Little brother, what's wrong with you?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "It's hard to explain in a short time. I'll tell you slowly later."
Zhao Junjie nodded, then whispered, "Little brother, there's something else you need to be careful about. Since your pretty girlfriend came to the village a couple of days ago, that Liu De, the village chief's son, has been hanging around your house with Zhang Yong from town. I suspect they have ulterior motives. Besides, Liu De is addicted, and Zhang Yong isn't a good person either. Last year I heard he got a girl from the town's middle school pregnant, but apparently he bribed her and intimidated her to settle things. His father is the head of the town's police station; he's powerful. You need to be careful. Mainly, your wife is just too… too… it's hard not to be envied!"
"Hehe!" Zhou Xuan chuckled, patting Zhao Junjie on the shoulder. He wasn't worried about Fu Ying at all. If anyone came looking for trouble, they'd break her legs, no doubt. Besides, Achang and Ade were here too. If Liu De and Zhang Yong from Village Chief Liu's family didn't cause trouble, that would be good, but if they did, it would only cause trouble for their own families. He chuckled and said, "Second brother, we're still brothers. But let me tell you, it's nothing, hehe. Come with us up the mountain tomorrow, we have nothing to do anyway."
Zhao Junjie was immediately delighted. He chuckled and said, "Little brother, great! The girl who came with you is also very pretty," he chuckled.
Zhou Xuan understood his meaning and chuckled, "Second brother, if possible, I'll naturally introduce you to someone, but this girl... well, she's not easy to get along with." He shook his head, clearly not wanting to offend anyone. Wei Xiaoqing wasn't someone just anyone could easily befriend. However, he couldn't directly hurt his second brother's pride, so he smiled and changed the subject.
"Second brother, it's been so many years since I've seen Erniu. Is she married yet?"
"Of course she got married! She did. She married Wei Hongsen from the village down below. He's in the same grade as us at the town middle school, but in the second class. He already has two sons. But these past two years, I don't know what happened, maybe after having children, she hasn't looked as pretty as before. And she's breastfeeding, sigh, her breasts look like a shriveled sack. She's really not presentable. Sigh, she didn't look like that when I secretly peeked at her back then." Zhao Junjie sighed, scratching his head as he spoke. Zhou Xuan quickly interrupted him again. He really didn't want to talk about this anymore; those foolish things from his youth. Thinking about them only made him blush.
Sigh, finally finished the third update, but only 9,000 words today. However, seeing so many monthly votes from you guys makes me feel like I'm really putting in the effort. I'll continue tonight and add another 1,000 words. Then I'll give back a few thousand more to you guys. All because you guys are so supportive!
I'd also like to recommend my friend Gui Tu's new book, "The Great Collector," a new urban collectibles book. Even Lao Luo (a famous Chinese writer) admits his writing skills are inferior. Brothers who are interested should check it out!
Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Seventy-Six: Turmoil
He was left empty-handed. Zhou Fu called his mother and grandma into room A, then took out 20,000 yuan from the clothes rack and handed it to his mother, saying, "Mom, take this money for the next few days as living expenses. I came back to pick you up and take you to Beijing, so I didn't bring much cash. I'll open a bank account for you later, and you can just use the card to buy things. It's convenient and safe!"
Jin Xiumei was somewhat surprised, but she still took the money and asked, "Son, you've saved so much money? It's good that you're giving it to me. Your daughter-in-law is coming to our house now. I'm saving it to help with your wedding and buy some necessities. Your daughter-in-law is so beautiful, we can't let her down. We still need to prepare the necessary things!"
Zhou Cangsong snorted, "Xuanwa, I'm not trying to criticize you, but when guests come, we'll take care of things ourselves. You're spending so much money just to eat for a few days? How could you even think of that? We have what we can afford, so we'll prepare a feast for the guests. Do you expect us to take out loans to buy dragon meat just to save face?" Treating guests is all about sincerity. Your mother is right. We'll use this money for your wedding, and my second brother and I will harvest and sell the nanmu trees from the fields. That should be enough for your wedding. If we need more, I'll borrow some from your uncle's family!
Hearing his father's earnest tone, Zhou Xuan felt a mix of pain and love. Parents' love for their children was overflowing, and Zhou Xuan's heart was truly aching. His father was only in his early fifties, but his hair was almost completely white. He had worried about his children his whole life, and even in his old age, he couldn't let go of those worries. His mother was always grumbling about buying this and that for her son and daughter-in-law. She never thought about him.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry!
Zhou Xuan invited his parents to sit down by the bed, and then carefully explained, "Dad, Mom, listen carefully, your son has really struck it rich this time. I've bought a house in Beijing, a very, very big house. It's big enough for the whole family to live in, and for my brother to get married. Do you know how much those two cars we drove back and parked at the entrance of the village cost? More than a million each. If you like them, I can buy a few for each of you!"
Seeing his parents speechless, Zhou Xuan quickly added, "Of course, I'm not saying I want to buy you a car, and you wouldn't want it anyway. I'm just saying I have the money and the ability to make you live well. You've worked hard your whole lives. You should enjoy your retirement. From now on, leave your younger siblings' affairs to me. I'm the older brother, the eldest!"
Zhou Cangsong had already heard Zhou Xuan mention the idea of them going to Beijing, so he didn't react much. His mother, Jin Xiumei, was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Son, it's good that you have money, but you're unfamiliar with the place and the people. It's not as good as your hometown. They say people are cheap when they're away from home. It's better to stay at home. Look at our family now, we have seven or eight acres of oranges and we make tens of thousands of yuan a year. Let's stay in our hometown. I'm not going anywhere else."
Zhou Xuan was truly at a loss. After thinking for a moment, he sighed, turned around, and left. He could only slowly think of other methods; he couldn't force things in a hurry.
Jin Xiumei carefully locked the money in the cabinet; it was for her son's wedding, as he was deaf.
Zhou Xuan went out and called his younger brother Zhou Tao, and then called ** and Zhao Junjie, preparing to go to town to buy some vegetables. His brother and Junjie knew the way well, and Zhang Lao Lao could drive. It was six kilometers to town, so they still had to drive there.
As soon as Zhou Xuan mentioned it, Achang and Ade also said they would go along for a trip, just to enjoy the scenery when they had nothing else to do.
Zhou Xuan readily agreed, thinking it would be good to have some fun, as staying at home would probably be quite boring. He never expected that Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing would both want to go.
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, everyone go, there are cars anyway!"
Only Zhou Xuan's parents stayed at home. Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and then said to his younger brother, "Brother, you don't need to go. Stay home and help Mom, Dad, and Sister tidy up the house. I'll go. There are so many people here, and Junjie is with us."
Zhou Tao nodded and replied, "Okay!" Then he leaned close to Zhou Xuan's ear and whispered, "Brother, your wife hasn't left the house for several days. Could you buy her some clothes in town?" That's a good idea!
Although Fu Ying came from a wealthy and noble family, she was neither spoiled nor pretentious. She was beautiful and straightforward, and the entire Zhou family liked her. Her younger sister, Zhou Ying, was especially close to her, calling her "sister-in-law" affectionately.
Liu Yufang, the daughter-in-law of **, was carrying her son back to her own home when her parents-in-law also wanted to see their grandson.
The group arrived at the village entrance. **Excitedly drove one car, his heart no longer pounding and his hands no longer trembling.** A-Chang drove the other car, with Jun-Jie sitting next to **. Zhou Xuan pulled Fu Ying into the back seat. Wei Xiao-Xiao silently followed and sat next to him. Zhou Xuan was truly exasperated; it seemed Wei Xiao-Xiao wasn't going to give up until she got her money back.
Ade and Achang each took one car, and the six of them drove in two cars, heading towards the town from the village entrance.
Just as Zhou Xuan was picking up his car at the village entrance, he saw Liu De, the second son of the village chief, surrounded by onlookers. Beside him was a stylishly dressed young man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his eyes fixed on Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing.
Zhou Xuan ignored them. He was glad these petty thugs weren't causing trouble, and he didn't want any trouble himself. He just wanted to go home and pick up his family. He knew that Yi Jiushan wouldn't come back to this place, and there would be no chance of seeing him again. He simply thought, "Let's just consider this Chu Sheng Ba, why bother with them?"
Zhou Xuan hadn't been back to his hometown for six years, and to be honest, he had really changed a lot.
Junjie introduced, "Little brother, you haven't been home for several years. Your hometown is very different now. Now, basically every village is connected by roads and highways, and cell phone signals reach every village."
"Yeah, before I left, this road was a gravel road, full of potholes and bumps. Sitting in the car, I was dizzy from all the shaking. The road is really good now!" Zhou Xuan remarked, looking out the car window. As soon as Zhou Xuan mentioned cars, Zhao Junjie excitedly said, "Little brother, your car is really cool! Village Chief Liu's second son bought a double-cab Changan and is showing it off so much, haha. Liu De's car cost over 30,000 yuan. How much did your car cost?"
"Over thirty thousand?" he laughed. "Second brother, this car is an import, it costs over 1.2 million. How many Chang'an cars could you buy with that?"
Zhao Junjie was stunned for a moment, then clicked his tongue in disbelief. After a long pause, he said, "Good heavens, did you borrow this car or does it belong to your company?"
"Of course it's ours. My brother and I don't have any work units; we just work for ourselves. The car is ours too." He looked very proud, and his depressed mood disappeared immediately after returning to the village.
Zhao Lao Er was also one of their close friends, and he felt really good after showing off in front of Lao Er.
The town has changed dramatically. Two new streets have been added, along with a pedestrian street. The new houses on both sides of the road are all four-story buildings, which are very beautiful.
However, Zhou Xuan's two Hummers were equally conspicuous. The most common cars on the streets were Chang'an vehicles, which were very useful in the northern area. They could carry cargo and people, and were inexpensive.
There were a few cars parked on the side of the road, but they were all cars worth around 100,000 yuan, mostly Hondas, Chevrolets, Hyundais, etc. These two powerful Hummers were indeed eye-catching. People who don't know cars wouldn't know, but car owners almost all understand the value of a Hummer.
Of course, another striking reason was the presence of two beautiful women, Bo Ying and Wei Xiaoqing. It's rare to see such pretty girls in a rural town, let alone a county town. Strangely, the two men were mostly silent, the three men who spoke had local accents, while the two pretty girls spoke standard Mandarin.
The car was parked at the intersection. Achang and Ade followed behind, about seven or eight meters behind the five of them. Zhou Xuan, Junjie, and the two girls, Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing, slowly looked around in the shops by the roadside.