My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 130 New Home
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Although there is no market day in the county town, the market is still quite crowded.

Most of them are villagers from various towns and villages who come to sell their goods.

These stalls have quite a lot of eggs and duck eggs. They're all eggs they can't bear to eat themselves, so they save up enough to bring to the county town to sell for money. After selling them, they exchange them for grains like rice and flour.

There are also quite a few mountain products.

It's just some mushrooms, yams, pheasants, rabbits, and the like.

Besides these, there are also many vendors selling seasonings, pickles, and salted vegetables.

Chen Ling looked around the car but didn't find anything he liked, so he looked for a place to park.

It was Wang Zhenzhen's first time in the county town and her first time riding in a car. She was still full of novelty. After Chen Ling parked the car, she couldn't wait to jump out with the two dogs and run around like a crazy girl, shouting and yelling.

"So, Fugui has arrived too."

Just as Chen Ling unloaded the two baskets of eggs and duck eggs, someone called out to him. Turning around, he saw Cui the Cripple driving a donkey cart that had stopped not far away, with a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's Brother Cripple, here to buy more goods again?"

Chen Ling put the basket down and walked forward with a smile to speak.

This Cui the Cripple was a middle-aged man in his forties, about 1.6 meters tall, with a gourd-shaped face, puffy eyes, and a rather honest-looking appearance.

However, he was born with a congenital disability in his left leg and has been using crutches since childhood, which has caused some deformities in his body and face.

He wasn't a native of Chenwangzhuang; he came here with his sister when they fled famine.

My sister married the son of Wang Laishun's eldest brother, and they were of the same generation as Wang Lixian and Chen Ling.

This man has been called "Crippled" since he was a child. Few people know his real name. People like Liu Nier always call him "Crippled Uncle" or "Crippled Grandfather."

Cui the Cripple himself didn't take it seriously, so there was no issue of disrespecting people.

"Hmm, I'm here to stock up on some goods. This must be Su Su's sister, right? She's such a clever little girl. Here, have some milk candy."

With a grin, Cui the Cripple grabbed a handful of candy from behind him and stuffed it into Wang Zhenzhen's hand.

Things can't be kept secret in the village. If someone farts at one end of the village, the stench can be smelled at the other. So, Cui the Cripple naturally knew that Chen Ling's brother-in-law and sister-in-law had come.

"Brother-in-law..."

Wang Zhenzhen, clutching the candy, looked up at Chen Ling, her big eyes showing a hint of bewilderment.

"It's alright, take it. He's an older brother too."

Chen Ling patted the little girl's head and said with a smile.

Then he chatted with Cui the Cripple for a few words, and only after Cui left did he return to his car and continue selling eggs.

"Is the milk candy delicious, Zhenzhen?"

"It's delicious, so sweet and soft. Brother-in-law, you should have some too."

"Oh, Zhenzhen is so thoughtful. If you think it tastes good, we'll go buy some later."

The southern half of the farmers' market sells fruits and vegetables, while the northern half is a mixed area selling grains, oils, snacks, clothes, toys, and the like.

People like Cui the Cripple go there to buy goods.

"That's enough, brother-in-law, milk candy is expensive."

"Haha, what's so expensive about that? Once we sell the chicken and duck eggs, we can get a tractor full of milk candy."

A few minutes after Chen Ling finished speaking, a vendor came over.

Upon seeing Chen Ling, they complained that they had been waiting for him for over half a month without seeing him, and that they were about to miss receiving their goods.

I only came over today after seeing the two dogs; they must have been waiting for me.

"Wow, bro, you've even switched to a car."

"No, it's from a friend."

"That's amazing! If you bring over a few more truckloads of vegetables, you can easily buy a new car by the end of the year."

"I'm not selling vegetables anymore; it's too busy and tiring."

"Seriously? So what if it's tiring but makes money? Why wouldn't you do it?"

Chen Ling simply shook his head and said nothing more.

After the new house is built, we can make a lot of money every month from selling chicken eggs, duck eggs, quails, and rabbits.

As for selling vegetables, forget it.

There's enough food from your own garden; why bother getting up early and working late to grow more?

Perhaps when it gets cold and I'm idle at home with nothing to do, I'll set up a stall at the small courtyard in the south of the city a few times. Otherwise, I'm not in a hurry to make money; it's not worth making myself so tired.

"Brother, you really are..."

"I've never seen anyone like you before."

The vendors weren't very educated and didn't know what to say for a moment. They just kept shaking their heads and sighing as they led Chen Ling to the scale.

After selling the eggs and duck eggs, Chen Ling took his sister-in-law to the market, leaving the two dogs to watch the car.

For the next half day, Chen Ling took the little girl to explore the entire market.

She bought a lot of food, clothes, and toys, which made Wang Zhenzhen extremely happy.

Back in the car, she was still clinging to her things and wouldn't let go.

"How is it? Are you satisfied with the pencil case?"

"I'm satisfied. It's a three-tiered pencil case, very beautiful. Brother-in-law, you're so kind, hehehe."

The little girl's old pencil case was the same one Wang Susu used when she was in school. It had been used for almost ten years, and she was so happy to finally get a new one that she couldn't stop being excited.

"Come on, let me take you for a stroll around the city."

Today, besides buying things for his sister-in-law, he also needed to refuel the car and change his brother-in-law's tires. He didn't forget that, so he drove around the county town for a long time. After finishing these errands, he bought some meat before going home.

Before returning, he made a special detour to the middle school and had Wang Zhenzhen wait in the car. He went back to the courtyard to take a look. Apart from a few pieces of paper slipped in by the oil mill owners, there were very few people coming to buy vegetables. It was mostly the oil mill owners begging for peanuts. Some of them came more than two or three times. But he couldn't take care of this place now, as it was too much work to deal with this stuff.

Just wait.

We'll deliver them after we harvest the peanuts and soybeans from our own fields, just in time for the construction to begin on the fields.

If we're going to be busy, let's be busy together.

……

"Brother, brother, look! My brother-in-law bought me a pencil case. It's three-tiered, isn't it pretty?"

As soon as Chen Ling got home and parked the car, Wang Zhenzhen jumped out with her things in her arms and excitedly went to show them off to Wang Qingwen.

"Don't you already have some at home? Why buy more? You're just encouraging your brother-in-law to waste money!"

Wang Qingwen frowned when he saw his younger sister carrying a large pile of things.

"That one at home is old..."

The little girl's smile froze the moment she saw her older brother's expression.

He thought he was in trouble, but he got too excited.

"It's old but not broken, it still works, why spend money to buy a new one?"

Wang Qingwen was helping to mix the mud, but now he lost interest in it. He threw down the shovel, clapped his hands, and asked, "What are you holding in your arms?"

"My brother-in-law bought me new clothes and new sandals."

Wang Zhenzhen wasn't afraid of her parents at home, but she was afraid of her older brother. At this moment, she was watching her brother's expression while whispering and stammering.

Wang Qingwen frowned even more deeply. Just then, Chen Ling came over with both hands full of things. Upon closer inspection, there was food and toys, but good heavens, there wasn't a single 'proper' item.

"What's this? No, wait, why did you buy two big bags of milk candy and instant noodles?"

"I bought a lot because Zhenzhen really likes to eat it. Little kids often come over to play, so I bought more."

Chen Ling smiled. Besides candy, the little kids crave instant noodles.

At that time, instant noodles didn't have so many fancy seasoning packets, but in terms of taste, they were far superior to those of later generations.

Wang Qingwen couldn't say anything to Chen Ling in front of so many people, so he just said, "You just waste money," and then angrily went to shovel mud.

At that time, popsicles were only five cents each, ice cream was ten cents, and instant noodles were expensive, some costing three cents and others five cents. Actually, two packs of these wouldn't cost much. But my brother-in-law still had the mindset of the older generation, thinking that spending one or two dollars to satisfy a craving was already quite a lot.

What kind of behavior is Chen Ling? It's not like it's anything special, yet he bought a whole bunch of it.

I also bought him a pencil case. He always used Shuangbaosu cardboard boxes to store his pencils when he went to school, and it didn't seem to cause any problems.

"Don't be angry, Brother Qingwen. It's not easy for Fugui to come all this way. His sister-in-law is here, shouldn't he, as her brother-in-law, show his appreciation? He's just happy."

"That's right. But having a brother-in-law like Qingwen is a blessing. He needs someone to keep an eye on him so he can amount to something."

"..."

With some people offering this advice, Wang Qingwen became less angry; in reality, he was just frustrated that his son was not living up to his potential.

He's a bright young man, a natural talent, but he just doesn't learn to be good.

This is such a wasteful display of wealth.

If I don't save up some money, what will I do when I have kids?

If you accidentally have more children than allowed, it will be a hassle to pay the fines...

Just thinking about it makes me anxious.

Regardless of what his brother-in-law thought, after three or four more days of work, Chen Ling's house was finally completed.

After the front yard house was demolished, the new yard is much larger than before. The shady ground created by the jujube, peach, and pear trees used to cover most of the yard, but now it only covers a small area in the southeast corner.

The walls were built neatly and orderly, the lotus pond was rebuilt high and surrounded by bluestone strips, and there was also a beautiful courtyard and steps. At Chen Ling's special instruction, a doghouse and a chicken coop were also built, and a place was found for the duck pen and rabbit burrow to be renovated.

The cowshed was set up in the southeast corner, where rabbits used to burrow.

In addition to these, Chen Ling also planted some bamboo and enclosed a small bamboo grove in the center of the courtyard. The bamboo had been improved by his cave and was growing lushly, adding a lot of life to the newly built courtyard and making it look less empty.

Not far to the east of the bamboo grove, there is a large millstone.

Although the grape trellis and flower beds are gone from the yard now, the roots are still underground and haven't been dug up. If we water them next spring, they will flourish again.

On the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, Chen Ling and Wang Susu moved into their new house. The sun was scorching this time of year, and the wind was strong in the mornings and evenings on the mountain. The house was built quite quickly.

With the house all new, Heiwa and Xiaojin were so excited that they ran around the yard like crazy, sniffing here and there, before taking their food bowls back to their little nests and rolling around inside, unable to stay still for most of the day.

……

The house was built and he moved into a new home. On the tenth day of the lunar month, Chen Ling hosted a dinner at his home. This time, not many people invited him for drinks; they all came to see Wang Qingwen.

Wang Qingwen didn't wake up until noon the next day after drinking so much.

However, what surprised him was that he didn't experience the splitting headache he used to get after drinking too much, and his stomach didn't feel uncomfortable either.

Actually, he was quite happy yesterday. His opinion of his brother-in-law had changed a lot in the past few days. Damn it, he had connections with all the city leaders, who treated him like a brother and let him drive cars at will.

His name has even become well-known in the township and county; the leaders all know him.

He also had a good relationship with the village's family planning official; I was worried about him for nothing.

After that, there was nothing else but happiness.

I thought to myself that my sister had finally made it through.

Life is getting better and better. Over the past few days, he has seen some things. His brother-in-law is now incredibly good to his sister. To put it bluntly, he himself can't even treat his wife like that. So what is there to worry about?

This kid has no sense of budget when it comes to spending money; we need to talk to him about that.

So last night, he accepted every drink offered by anyone and got completely drunk, earning high praise from the villagers who thought Chen Ling was a truly honest man.

Some people even got so drunk that they wanted to become sworn brothers with Wang Qingwen on the spot.

Fortunately, Wang Laishun managed to persuade him to stay.

After finishing this meal, and seeing that I had been staying at my brother-in-law's house for almost a week, with the Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, my brother-in-law was planning to head home on the twelfth of August.

So after waking up on August 11, Wang Qingwen could no longer hold back what he had been holding back for days, and called Chen Ling out in front of Wang Susu.

"What are your plans for the future?"

"We'll just plant some vegetables and fruit trees, raise some livestock, and in a couple of months we'll fence off the fields and build a farm. We haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"That would be fine, but I see you know quite a few people, why haven't you thought about taking a government job?"

"My personality isn't suited to this; I'm not good at pleasing people."

Upon hearing this, his brother-in-law sighed and then offered some advice, such as to be mindful of his spending and to plan for the future, fearing that he would squander his savings and fail to build up his family fortune.

Chen Ling nodded in agreement.

Being lectured is annoying, but as the villagers say, Chen Ling is now an orphan, and having an older brother-in-law who constantly disciplines him isn't a bad thing.

If it were any other family, they'd be lucky if they didn't try to take advantage of their sister; they wouldn't care about your mess.
Chen Ling knew this himself, so he listened patiently.

Seeing that his brother-in-law's attitude was quite good and he seemed to be listening to advice, Wang Qingwen felt much more at ease.

He had high hopes for Chen Ling. He had been severely beaten up by Chen Ling at the beginning of the year, and Chen Ling had changed so much. In the past six months, Chen Ling had indeed made a name for himself. It would be a lie to say that he was not satisfied.

This kid isn't stupid; he knows how to deal with outsiders.

In his view, as long as he is down-to-earth and doesn't resort to crooked means, his brother-in-law will definitely succeed in the future.

"Brother, you should go back to class after the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?"

Wang Qingwen is a math teacher at Fenglei Town Middle School. He's been helping Chen Ling with chores for the past few days, and people keep saying that this brother-in-law doesn't look like a farmer at all. But he's surprisingly quite capable when it comes to work. This is because he's been teaching for many years, and his clothes and mannerisms are quite different from those of the villagers.

"Yes, classes will have to resume."

Wang Qingwen nodded. Their school was greatly affected this time and had to be rebuilt. The school was closed for a period of time.

“Zhenzhen, stay here a little longer. You’ll be going into the mountains with your team soon, so Susu will have company at home.”

"Okay, our village primary school also needs to be rebuilt. I'll ask around tomorrow. Let's send Zhenzhen to school in the city first. She's in third grade now, and it would be troublesome if she fell behind and had to repeat a grade."

Chenwangzhuang Primary School is too close to the village's pond, which has been flooded and collapsed. For the past few days, the village children have not been going to school and are running around everywhere.

However, they are still young, and Wang Zhenzhen cannot compare with them. She is already in the third grade this year and cannot keep delaying.

Wang Qingwen smiled upon hearing this; his brother-in-law was indeed different.

He then glanced into the yard and noticed that his younger sister seemed to be eavesdropping, so he casually handed Chen Ling a cigarette: "Lingzi, let's go for a walk outside the village. I have something I want to ask you."

Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat. Judging from his brother-in-law's tone, could something serious have happened again? Nevertheless, he nodded and followed.

After a while.

The two walked around the village and returned, entering the house under Wang Susu's worried gaze.

While Wang Qingwen wasn't paying attention, Chen Ling winked at his wife, indicating that everything was alright and that she shouldn't worry.

Actually, his brother-in-law didn't talk to him about anything else, just about having a baby. He was afraid that Wang Susu would be embarrassed if she heard, and he was also afraid that outsiders would gossip, so he didn't ask at the door of his house.

Chen Ling was also helpless about this situation. He had tried his best, but Wang Susu just couldn't get pregnant. His brother-in-law was worried that he had damaged his health last time, and was extremely anxious, which made Chen Ling both laugh and cry, but he couldn't explain it to him.

He knows best how strong his body is now. Wang Susu's inability to conceive is probably just a matter of timing. With the Cave Heaven by his side, it's not really a big problem.

Just keep working hard and never slacking off.

"Zhenzhen, I'm going back tomorrow. Be good at your sister's house, okay?"

Once inside, Wang Qingwen tugged at his younger sister's braid and gave her some instructions.

"Okay, I got it!"

Wang Zhenzhen raised her head in annoyance and complained, "Brother, why are you just like my brother-in-law? You keep pulling my braids. What if you go bald?"

Chen Ling patted his head and laughed, "What are you afraid of? I'll lend you my brother-in-law's bald hair."

The little girl's anger intensified immediately: "You stinky brother-in-law, you're just trying to fool me."

She's not a three-year-old child; her hair can't just keep changing.

Chen Ling smiled but didn't respond. His sister-in-law was already ten years old. If he didn't tease her now, she wouldn't be fun anymore when she got older.

Wang Susu watched them play with a smile, poured tea for Chen Ling and her older brother, and then took a hammer and nails to hang the oil paintings that Zhao Dahai had sent on the wall inside the room.

After hanging up the basket, she sat on the threshold, holding the winnowing basket, listening to Chen Ling talk to her older brother, watching her younger sister chase the little rabbits running back and forth in the yard, and started doing some needlework. Autumn was approaching again, and she needed to prepare her clothes for the new season early.

(End of this chapter)