Chapter 68
He Dali and Yang Fuzhen came out at the sound of the voice and saw He Qiming and his wife standing in the yard with their four children.
“Are you back for your father-in-law?” He Dali asked, holding a pipe and taking a couple of puffs. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Have your mother cook for you.”
“Yes, yes, hurry up and come in. When did you get back? Oh my, Yangyang is back too! Come to Grandma. I haven’t seen you in over a year. You’ve grown so much,” she said. He was also a little chubbier. Yang Fuzhen glanced at Ye Qingzhi. She hadn’t mistreated their Yangyang.
But seeing He Jingyan, Ye Anmin, and Ye Anjie, who had grown a head taller, she was a little unhappy again.
These three children were raised to be fair and chubby, and it was all their Qiming’s money. And Ye Qingzhi, with her delicate skin and rosy complexion, had taken good care of herself.
“We arrived yesterday afternoon. We went to my father-in-law’s house first and rested there for a night. We only came back this morning,” He Qiming said, leading the few children into the house.
“Dad, Ma, we came back in a hurry and didn’t prepare anything. I’m so sorry,” Ye Qingzhi said, saying she was sorry, but her expression did not show it.
Seeing them empty-handed, He Dali and Yang Fuzhen were angry. Not only did they not come back to the He family first, but they didn’t even bring anything.
It was all an excuse. Ever since the second son had gotten a divorce, he seemed to blame them for finding that promiscuous woman Xu Baoli and had become very distant from them. He hadn’t even told them about such a big thing as his promotion.
Ye Qingzhi was no good either. After she married the second son, not only did she not ease their relationship, but she also instigated the second son to be more and more unfilial.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Li Hehua poured them tea and said, “Second Sister-in-law, I’ve heard about what happened to your family. Sigh, your father-in-law’s luck is really bad. I heard that at the beginning of this year, a neighbor of your parents’ family passed away. Your dad went to help that day, and it happened to be a day that clashed with the tiger, and your dad was born in the year of the tiger. Did he clash with it?”
“My dad was born in the year of the tiger, that’s right. I’m not sure about the rest,” Ye Qingzhi said. Seeing that Li Hehua was about to ask more questions, she continued, “Big Sister-in-law, this is feudal superstition. It’s better to talk less about it.”
Yang Fuzhen broke out in a cold sweat and glared at Li Hehua.
Just at the beginning of this year, an older sister from the next village had chanted “Amitabha” outside and had been heard by someone. She had been locked up for half a month. If it weren’t for her family pulling strings everywhere, she might not have been able to get out.
Li Hehua was also so scared she didn’t dare to say another word. She didn’t want to be taken for ideological re-education.
The atmosphere was a little heavy. Fortunately, He Qiwang and Wang Xiuhua came back at this time. Seeing He Qiming and Ye Qingzhi, they were pleasantly surprised.
“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, when did you get back?” Wang Xiuhua asked, putting down her basket and leaning closer to Ye Qingzhi. “Second Sister-in-law, your skin is so fair. Are you using something good? Tell me. If it’s too expensive, then forget it. My Qiwang is just a farmer. He doesn’t have the money to buy these good things for his face.”
Hearing this, Yang Fuzhen was furious. The second son had a salary, so Ye Qingzhi could afford it. But she couldn’t just spend it like that. That was the second son’s life-risking money.
“I’m not using anything! My skin is naturally fair. And now that I don’t have to work in the fields, I’ve been staying indoors all winter, so of course it’s even fairer,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile, grabbing a handful of pumpkin seeds and slowly cracking them. She turned to listen to He Dali and He Qiming talk.
As they were talking, He Dali brought up the matter of He Qiwang’s job.
“Qiming, it’s not easy to get a job now. Two thousand yuan is a bit expensive, but if you help a little, we can still make it,” He Dali said earnestly.
He Qiming put down his teacup, his expression unchanged. “How much is ‘a little’? Five hundred? A thousand? Or one thousand five hundred?”
“Second Brother, are you willing to lend it to me?” He Qiwang’s eyes lit up, his voice excited.
He Qiming shot him a look. “He Qiwang, are you going to say it yourself, or should I say it for you?”
He Qiwang’s happy smile froze on his face, then slowly faded. He looked at He Qiming with an innocent expression. “Second Brother, what do you mean by that?”
Beside him, Wang Xiuhua was also not very happy. “That’s right, Second Brother. If you’re not willing to lend it, then don’t. Why are you scaring Qiwang like this?”
He Qiming leaned back in his chair. He seemed casual, but the pressure in the room became very low. Even the few children did not dare to play.
“He Qiwang, what do I do?” He Qiming asked, staring at He Qiwang’s eyes. Seeing his eyes become more and more guilty, and he didn’t dare to look at him, he snorted lightly. “A temporary worker, four hundred yuan, and you dare to tell the family it’s two thousand? You’re lying to your own family?”
As soon as these words came out, everyone exploded, especially He Dali and Yang Fuzhen, who looked at He Qiwang in disbelief.
“Fifth, is what your second brother said true?” Yang Fuzhen asked with a heartbroken expression.
“Ma…” He Qiwang wanted to argue, but when he met He Qiming’s sharp gaze, he flinched and said in a weak voice, “That’s what I was thinking. I’ll buy the temporary worker’s job first. After I get the job, I’ll use the rest of the money to become a permanent worker.”
“How can it be so easy to become a permanent worker? I think you’re just trying to cheat the family’s money,” He Qigao said before He Qiming could speak. He looked at He Dali and Yang Fuzhen. “Dad, Ma, have you already agreed to buy a job for the youngest? Did you discuss this with me? I’m the eldest son of the He family. If we’re going to buy a job, it should be for me first.”
“Why? I found this myself,” He Qiwang said, displeased.
“Because I’m the eldest son of the He family, and because you’re trying to cheat money from Dad and Ma,” He Qigao said. He had always felt that he should have the largest share of the family’s property. For He Qiwang to take money from He Dali was to take his money.
“Alright, two thousand is not a small amount. Where would we get it? Eldest, you’re the eldest son. Be steady in your words and actions. Don’t believe everything you hear,” He Dali said, tapping his pipe, his heart very disappointed.
He had thought that his youngest son could get an iron rice bowl. That way, their family would have two workers, a first in the whole of Dayangcun. But it turned out to be a lie.
“Dad, Ma, even if it’s a temporary worker, it’s still better than nothing,” he said. Even if it was a temporary worker, He Qiwang did not want to give up.
Farming was so tiring. How could it be as comfortable as working in the city?
“That’s not right, Second Brother. Since you can find out about my job search, then you must have connections in the county town! Second Brother, please help me. If I can find a job, I’ll give you half my salary,” He Qiwang said, as if he had forgotten that he had wanted to cheat money from He Qiming before.
“Help you find a job? I don’t have that ability. He Qiwang, be a down-to-earth person. Don’t always think of taking the wrong path,” He Qiming said, getting up to leave. “We still have to tidy up at home. We’ll be going now.”
Ye Qingzhi also got up and left the old house with the few children.
“Qiming, Qiming,” Yang Fuzhen chased after them from the house. “Qiming, your dad and I really didn’t know about Qiwang’s matter. You… Qiwang is still young. Don’t take it to heart.”
“I know what I’m doing. I’ll be going now,” He Qiming said, not wanting to waste any more words with them. He left directly with Ye Qingzhi and the children.
As she turned, Ye Qingzhi saw from the corner of her eye that Yang Fuzhen was glaring at her. She couldn’t help but be taken aback for a moment.
No, she hadn’t said anything just now. Why was Yang Fuzhen glaring at her?
“What are you thinking about?” He Qiming asked, gently pushing Ye Qingzhi.
“Nothing. Your fifth brother’s job, did you know about it a long time ago?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
“Yes. He suddenly said he wanted to spend two thousand yuan to buy a job. I thought he was lying to me, but I was also worried he was being cheated, so I asked someone to investigate,” He Qiming sighed softly.
It turned out that he had indeed found someone who was selling a job, but the other party was selling a temporary worker’s position for four hundred. He Qiwang, on the other hand, had turned around and told the family it was two thousand.
“He probably didn’t expect you to investigate him,” Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly.
“The fifth is ambitious but unrealistic, and he likes to take shortcuts. It’s not a good thing for him to work in the city,” He Qiming said with a frown.
“He’ll still ask us for a loan then. Should we lend it to him?” Ye Qingzhi asked, turning to look at He Qiming.
“No. They have their own small savings, and my parents have saved a lot of money,” He Qiming said without hesitation.
Ye Qingzhi nodded and did not want to bother with it anymore. She went home and started to clean.
The house had not been lived in for a year, and there was a layer of dust everywhere, especially in the kitchen. It would take at least a day to clean it out.
She had thought that Fourth Aunt was just being polite, but just as they had rolled up their sleeves, Fourth Aunt came over with a basket of vegetables.
“Qiming, Qingzhi, these are all from my own garden. If you don’t mind, you can have them,” Fourth Aunt said, putting down the things and starting to work.
“Fourth Aunt, no need to trouble you. We’ll be done in a bit,” Ye Qingzhi quickly stopped her.
“We’re relatives. Why are you being so formal?” Fourth Aunt asked, taking a rag and starting to wipe things.
They heard a burst of laughter from far to near, and then they saw Wang Xiuhua and Li Hehua come in, arm in arm.
If Ye Qingzhi remembered correctly, just now at the old house, the two of them had been arm-wrestling. But now they looked very close.
“Qingzhi, we’ve come to help you clean,” Li Hehua said with a smile.
“Fourth Aunt is also here. Are you here to help Qingzhi clean?” Wang Xiuhua snorted coldly in her heart. She was being so attentive for no reason. She must be thinking of having her son join the army.
Their old He family had not yet benefited from He Qiming. How could it be an outsider’s turn?
“I just ran into Qiming and the others on the road. I was free, so I came over to help. You two sisters-in-law have a really good relationship,” Fourth Aunt said with a smile, complimenting them.
“It’s mainly because the two older sisters-in-law are good. Not only are they beautiful, but they also have good tempers,” Wang Xiuhua said, taking the opportunity to flatter the two older sisters-in-law.
“Then thank you today, Big Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, and Fourth Aunt,” Ye Qingzhi said. She did not know what Fourth Aunt was up to. In any case, she would find a way to return the favor and would never owe a debt of gratitude.
With Fourth Aunt and the others joining in, the house was quickly cleaned, and even the front and back yards were almost tidied up.
To Ye Qingzhi’s surprise, the saplings she had planted last year had all grown very well. In another two years, they should be able to eat the fruit.
She had originally wanted to have them stay for lunch, but there was nothing at home, so she could only owe them this meal for now.
“Qingzhi, you have nothing here. You should go back to the old house for lunch first. We’re all one family. You don’t have to be polite with us,” Li Hehua said with a smile.
Tian Xiuhua nodded. “That’s right, Second Sister-in-law. We’re all one family. Before we came, Dad and Ma said to have you go to the old house for lunch. It’s probably already ready over there. Let’s hurry over.”
There was indeed no food at home. Ye Qingzhi looked at He Qiming. Seeing him nod, she took the children to the old house for lunch.
She thought for a moment. He Qiming gave five yuan a month for their retirement. The whole commune, you could ask around, which child could give five yuan a month for their retirement? What was wrong with having a meal?
Thinking this way, Ye Qingzhi ate this meal with a clear conscience.