Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 157 Change
night.

Old Li hosted a family banquet at home to entertain his younger brother and sister-in-law.

Li Weidong and his wife also came with their daughter, Da Ya.

Chen Shuping held Li Na's hand and looked her over carefully, saying, "Xiao Na has grown a lot, much taller than last time."

"Second Aunt, why hasn't Brother Hui come back?" Li Na is a year younger than Li Huijing.

"I came back in a hurry today and didn't bring him with me, but I'll definitely bring him back next time." Chen Shuping brought a lot of food for Li Na this time.

Li Huijing and Li Na are only one year apart. Li Huijing was particularly mischievous as a child. Chen Shuping was young at the time and didn't have the patience to raise a child; she especially wanted a daughter, so she adored Li Na and often took her out to play. It was only after moving to Beijing a few years ago that they saw each other less frequently.

"Xiao Na, when you have your vacation, let's take a truck to Beijing for fun, and your aunt will take you shopping for clothes."

Li Na smiled and said, "Yes, my second brother also said that he would take me to Beijing to go shopping when I have a holiday."

The Malaysian girl walked in carrying a plate of stir-fried mushrooms and meat: "Auntie, my mother told me that you introduced a girl to my second son. She's a college student from Beijing?"

“She is my eldest sister’s second daughter, one year younger than the second son, and she is a sophomore at Beijing Foreign Studies University.”

"Wow, studying foreign languages? That's really impressive," the Malaysian girl exclaimed. She herself hadn't received much formal education, but she admired people with education.

As the conversation continued, hot dishes were served one after another, including smashed cucumber, braised chicken with mushrooms, beef with green peppers, braised fish, cold broccoli salad, tofu with scallions, and spinach with glass noodles.

Seeing the table laden with food, Chen Shuping stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, there's enough food for us, please don't cook any more."

"There's also a stir-fried egg with chives that will be ready soon, you guys eat first," came Wang Xiuying's voice from the kitchen.

Old Li took out two bottles of wine and said, "Shuping, Zhenguo, don't stand, sit down, the food will get cold soon."

Old Li unscrewed the bottle cap and poured six glasses of wine: "We're happy today, let's all have a drink."

The drinks were poured, the bowls and chopsticks were set out, and Wang Xiuying served the last dish.

Old Li raised his glass: "Come on, it's rare for us all to get together like this, let's have a drink together."

"Cheers." Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.

Old Li tilted his head back and downed the whole glass in one gulp.

Wang Xiuying drank half a cup and then called to her sister-in-law, "Shuping, let them drink, we'll eat more vegetables."

"Okay, sister-in-law."

Everyone was drinking and chatting.

As they talked, the topic of houses came up.

Old Li originally wanted to talk to his younger brother alone, but since his sister-in-law had also come back today, he couldn't avoid her. So he said directly, "Zhenguo, Shuping, I have something I want to discuss with you."

Li Zhenguo put down his chopsticks: "Brother, you say it."

Old Li thought for a moment and said, "Don't you have a plot of land for building a house in the north of the village? Your second son also applied for a plot of land for building a house in the north of the village. He is thinking of combining the two plots to build a bigger house so that we can live with him. So, I want to exchange this plot of land for your plot of land in the north of the village. You two don't need to rush to answer. Go back and discuss it carefully."

After listening, Li Zhenguo looked at his eldest nephew beside him and asked, "What is Weidong thinking?"

Li Weidong glanced at the Malaysian boy and said, "We have no objections. The second son has money, let him do what he wants. My parents can live in a new house, that's good."

Chen Shuping said with a smile, "Brother, what's there to discuss? I agree, let's switch."

Wang Xiuying reminded her, "Shuping, this is no small matter. You'd better think it through."

"Sister-in-law, I've thought it through. The two plots of land are the same size and belong to the Li family. Why make such a big deal out of it?" Chen Shuping said dismissively.

She definitely wanted the homestead, but she didn't care whether it was in the east or north of the village, because she never thought about going back to live in Daying Village.

Li Zhenguo also said, "Brother, I have no objection either. When we have time sometime, we can have Secretary Wang witness the change of the name on the homestead."

Li Zhenhua raised his glass: "Zhenguo, Shuping, I'd like to toast you both, and also thank you on behalf of my second brother."

"Brother, we're all family, no need to be so polite." Li Zhenguo picked up his wine cup, clinked glasses with his brother, and downed his drink in one gulp. He then asked, "When are you planning to build a house, and what kind of house will you build, second brother?"

Old Li put down his wine cup and said, "We'll start construction next year when it gets warmer. This kid has big ambitions; he wants to build a two-story house."

Chen Shuping was taken aback: "Building a two-story house must cost a lot of money."

"I haven't calculated it carefully. Nobody in our village builds a two-story house, so it's hard to say." Old Li didn't initially plan to build a two-story house because he felt it would be too conspicuous.

However, in Li Zhe's words, the Li family has built more than a dozen greenhouses in a row, is there anything more eye-catching than this?
Li Zhe wasn't concerned about saving face. He knew the greenhouse would be expanded in the future, and with more people coming and going, there would need to be a dedicated place to receive friends. One-story buildings simply wouldn't be enough to accommodate everyone.

It had been a long time since everyone had seen each other, or more precisely, Chen Shuping hadn't been back for a long time. After dinner, they gathered together to chat until after 10 p.m.

After tidying up, it was already past eleven o'clock. Li Zhenguo and Chen Shuping slept in the west room.

Chen Shuping lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), unable to fall asleep, whether because the kang was too hard or because she was stunned by the dozen or so greenhouses she had seen during the day.

This dinner was even more lavish than her family's New Year's Eve dinner, and building a two-story house was something she had never even dreamed of...

Although she was unwilling to admit it, the fact was that her sister-in-law's family was indeed living a better life than her own...

She didn't have any bad intentions, but she just had a strange feeling in her heart... She even began to doubt whether she had made a mistake in choosing to return to Beijing back then.
She shook her head, thinking to herself, "What am I thinking? Going back to the capital is definitely the right thing to do!"
...The east room of the Li family.

Wang Xiuying yawned; she couldn't sleep either.

Old Li turned over and asked in a low voice, "Mother, didn't you used to say you didn't want the second son to marry a woman from Beijing? Why did you change your mind?"

Wang Xiuying smiled and said, "What? My second son isn't good enough for a wife from Beijing?"

“That’s not what I meant…” Old Li waved his hand, afraid of disturbing the west room: “Go to sleep, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

When Li Zhe first arrived in the capital, Wang Xiuying genuinely didn't want her son to marry a woman from Beijing. The reason was simple: the Li family was poor and couldn't possibly manage a woman from the capital. Even if they did, they would have to treat her like royalty.

But things are different now. Her son is becoming more and more capable, earning more money in a day than most people in Beijing earn in a year. He has also bought a big house in Beijing, and she has gradually gained confidence.

What's wrong with the people of Beijing?
Chen Shuping used to put on airs like a Beijing native, but now? Not only has she voluntarily returned to the village, but she's also introducing potential partners to her second son?

People are going to change.

Besides, if his own second son can even keep him in check, how could he possibly control a little girl?

Of course, most importantly, she can no longer make decisions about her son...

……

1 month 12 day.

The family compound of Jianguomen Police Station.

Wu Fanghua was chopping minced meat in the kitchen, the sound of her pounding the cutting board making a 'thump thump' noise. She would stop every now and then, as if afraid she wouldn't hear someone knocking on the door.

After a while, she vaguely heard some noise, turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

A petite, short-haired girl walked in and was startled: "Mom, what are you doing with a knife? You're going to scare me to death!"

"I was just chopping meat, wasn't I? I came out to see what was going on when I heard the noise. You're supposed to be a reporter, yet you're so timid."

Wei Min retorted, "If I were timid, I wouldn't be daring."

"You were quite startled, weren't you?" Looking at her daughter's dirty clothes and disheveled hair, Wu Fanghua frowned and said, "Xiaomin, you haven't cleaned yourself for days. You look like you've fled a disaster."

"I'm going on a business trip..." Wei Min was halfway through her sentence when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll go open the door." Wei Min said as she ran to the door and opened it.

Wu Fanghua tried to stop her daughter, who was in such a mess, but it was too late.

Wang Jianjun and Li Zhe stood at the door carrying some things. Wang Jianjun greeted them, "Xiaomin, are you on vacation?"

"Oh, what a coincidence! I just got home and you guys are here," Wei Min said with a smile.

Wu Fanghua grabbed her daughter's arm: "Go change your clothes quickly, and see what you look like?"

"Alright, you guys rest first, I'm going to change my clothes. That's how we reporters always do when we go on business trips, don't laugh at me!" Wei Min said, and ran back to her bedroom.

Wu Fanghua said to Li Zhe and Jianjun, "Jianjun, Li Zhe, you two sit down and rest for a while. I'm chopping meat filling right now. We'll have dumplings in a bit."

Li Zhe and Wang Jianjun weren't idle either; they went into the kitchen to help with the cleaning.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them sat in the living room making dumplings. Wei Min also washed up quickly and changed into clean clothes.

Wu Fanghua glanced at her: "That's more like it. You've been running around for days without even saying hello. Where have you been?"

"I'm going to Badaling." Wei Min picked up a peach shortbread from the table and started eating it in big bites, looking like she was starving.

Wang Jianjun joked, "You went to climb the Great Wall?"

Wei Min sat cross-legged on the sofa: "Hey, you guessed right, I really did go climb the Great Wall."

"Are you crazy? Climbing the Great Wall in this freezing weather!" Wu Fanghua thought her daughter's words were nonsensical.

"So, you didn't hear a thing? Wow, you did a really good job keeping it a secret." Wei Min's eyes widened, as if she had just realized something: "Oh no, my report probably won't get published either."

"What's wrong?" Wu Fanghua asked curiously.

“A few days ago, there was a staged murder at the Great Wall. A young couple committed suicide, and it faked the deaths of several people, including a foreigner. Lots of reporters rushed over. You really didn’t know anything about it?” Seeing everyone shaking their heads, Wei Min looked dejected. “It’s all over. All that work these past few days has been for nothing. The article I wrote overnight is definitely ruined! My big news story…”

Wu Fanghua stopped what she was doing. The explosion and the double suicide had terrified her.

Her daughter was thinking about work, but she was worried about her daughter's safety.

Wu Fanghua nudged her daughter: "Alright, stop being so obsessed. You should avoid going to dangerous places to do interviews in the future."

Wei Min sighed, "Mom, you make it sound so simple. If I don't go on business trips, where will the news come from? How am I supposed to get a permanent position?"

Wu Fanghua knew why Li Zhe had come today: "You can interview Li Zhe. He came here today specifically to interview you. Growing summer vegetables even in the dead of winter is a first in the North. What great news! It's much better than you risking your life to interview someone in another city!"

(End of this chapter)