country bumpkin

Yunya prepared to pat her little hands to clean off the dirt. But the more she patted, the stickier they became.

She frowned, thinking to herself, "Before, when I fell, I could just brush the dirt off my hands and it would be clean. Why doesn't it work this time?"

She carefully observed her aunt. Kong Xiufang, seeing her actions, burst out laughing.

Mu Shuyun stopped teasing her and said, "Yun, go wash your hands! Those candies, dried apricots, and dried plums are all sticky, and you can't pat them off."

Yunya obediently went to wash her hands. After washing them clean, she applied perfumed oil.

When she came back, she held up her little hand for Mu Shuyun to smell, and Mu Shuyun praised, "Mmm, our Yunya's little hand smells so good."

She ran to Kong Xiufang's side and held out her little hand for her aunt to smell the fragrance. Kong Xiufang deliberately said, "Wow! It really smells so good! What are you using? I've never seen it before."

Yun Ya smiled smugly, then ran to the bedroom, took out a small round box, and showed it to Kong Xiufang.

Kong Xiufang knew exactly what it was. She pretended not to have seen it before, a curious expression on her face.

Gently opening the lid, a floral fragrance wafted out. Kong Xiufang scooped out a little and placed it on the back of her hand, gently spreading it out; the entire hand was filled with a delightful aroma.

She held it to her nose and sniffed it again, exclaiming, "Mmm, it smells so good."

After showing off, Yunya looked at her and said, "Auntie, doesn't it smell good? Doesn't it smell nice? Grandma bought this for me. It not only smells good, but it also moisturizes the skin!"

Seeing that she knew quite a bit, Kong Xiufang smiled and asked, "How do you moisturize?"

Yunya opened up and explained, "It works for rough, calloused skin on the face in spring and frostbite in winter. Last year, my face was covered in dark red, rough skin from the spring. After applying this for a few days, my face is much smoother now. You can't even see the dark marks from before."

As she spoke, she pinched her own cheek, showing it off to Kong Xiufang.

Kong Xiufang and Mu Shuyun burst into laughter at the same time. Yunya didn't know what they were laughing at, but she figured she might as well laugh along, so she joined in with a "ga ga ga" laugh.

Time passed quickly amidst laughter and conversation, and at 2 p.m., Mu Shuyun went to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

Kong Xiufang said, "Mom, just make something simple to eat, that'll do! We'll have a proper meal when my younger brother and dad come back tonight."

Mu Shuyun agreed with her daughter, saying, "Okay, how about we stir-fry some chives and eggs, heat up some steamed buns, and reheat the rice porridge we had this morning?"

Yun Ya nodded, "Okay, anything is fine, as long as I can eat my fill, I'm not picky about food."

Kong Xiufang looked at Yunya and praised her, saying, "Oh, our Yunya is so sensible, she's so easy to take care of."

Yunya nodded with a smile, looking obedient and adorable.

Mu Shuyun quickly prepared the meal, and Yunya and Kong Xiufang helped bring it up.

On the table, each person has a bowl of rice porridge, a plate of stir-fried eggs with chives, and a plate of pickled radish.

Yunya held a large steamed bun in her hand and crunched on dried radish.

After chewing and swallowing his food, and taking a sip of rice porridge, he exclaimed, "Wow! Dried radish is so delicious, even more fragrant than eggs!"

Kong Xiufang glanced at her with a smile as she ate, then continued eating. Mu Shuyun picked up a piece of egg with her chopsticks and said, "Don't just eat pickled vegetables, eat some eggs too, so you can grow taller."

She placed another egg on Kong Xiufang's plate and said, "Eat more to nourish yourself. You're thinner than before."

Kong Xiufang picked up the egg, ate it, and after a while said, "Mom, I didn't lose weight because I was starving. I deliberately lost weight to lose weight."

Mu Shuyun looked her over carefully for a while and said, "You've never been fat, why are you trying to lose weight!"

Kong Xiufang smiled wryly, "Mom, nowadays it's fashionable to wear cheongsams and wedding dresses for weddings in the city. I also want to wear a cheongsam when I get married, but I'm too fat and it won't look good on me."

Mu Shuyun gestured to her waist with her hand, "Your waist is so small that it's barely bigger than a hand across it. If it were any thinner, it would be as long as a goose's neck."

Hearing this exaggerated analogy, Kong Xiufang burst into laughter, "Pfft... Haha... Hahaha."

Yunya laughed along with Shixiao, "Gaga gaga gaga gaga."

Kong Xiufang pointed at Yunya and said to Mu Shuyun, "Mother, do you see her? She's hungry here!"

Another burst of laughter echoed out of the courtyard.

As soon as Granny Zhang from across the street reached the front door, she heard the loud laughter of the mother and her children. Excited and curious, she inquired about the situation.

Mu Shuyun offered the food to Zhang Pozi first before telling her what had just happened. Zhang Pozi didn't stand on ceremony and laughed heartily with Yunya, clutching their stomachs. The courtyard was filled with laughter.

Kong Xiangyao returned in the evening, riding in the van that his childhood friend Li Fugui had just bought.

This guy made a fortune outside and bought a maroon minivan. He also carries a mobile phone.

Now even the cheapest car costs at least 50,000 or 60,000 yuan. Outside, he contracted the renovation of a large shopping mall building.

There was also the renovation work in a previous residential complex. Last time I came back, I brought several fellow villagers to help with the work.

After returning, they found several local foremen and collaborated to complete this large project.

He's now considered a big shot in the village, both influential and wealthy. Even the village chief's son has to bow and scrape before him.

The village chief's son, Kong Fujian, made a special trip to Li Fugui's house at night to deliver gifts, thinking that after the New Year, he would go out and work together with him to build a career.

Li Fugui looked at the middle-aged man with a face full of wrinkles in front of him and asked with a smile, "Brother Fujian, how old are you this year?"

Kong Fujian smiled obsequiously and said, "Not at all, not at all, only 30, still in the prime of life!"

Li Fugui said, "Oh, that's fine too. But you definitely won't be able to learn technical skills. Just do odd jobs and manual labor. It'll be more profitable than staying at home."

Kong Fujian grinned from ear to ear, “Good, good, good, thank you, brother. Don’t worry, as long as you give me this opportunity, I will definitely do my best and won’t hold you back.”

Li Fugui patted him on the shoulder and said affirmatively, "Okay, as long as you work hard, I guarantee you'll be able to buy a mobile phone next year."

Kong Fujian thanked him repeatedly, flattered him for a while, and then left.

Li Fugui's parents stayed at his eldest sister's house and didn't return. Since they only had one son who was away from home most of the year, the elderly couple went to live with their son-in-law.

He didn't tell his sister and parents before he came back, intending to surprise them.

I ate something at a small restaurant in town before driving to my sister's house the next day. I also bought some things for her along the way.

It was quite late when he finished shopping, and most of the shops along the roadside were closed. He took the new bed sheets he bought and went home to sleep there for the night.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Kong Xiangyao was talking about what he had seen and heard outside. He described tall buildings, luxury cars, and a whole host of other things he had never seen in the village.

When talking about his childhood friend, Kong Xiangyao had a lot of praise for him. He talked about how he handled things and how business-minded he was.

Kong Tongming looked at his son's excited expression and was a little worried, fearing that his son would be blinded by the allure of the outside world.

It's not enough to just know how to make money. You also need to know how to conduct yourself in society, how to interact with others, and most importantly, how to be a law-abiding citizen.

Mu Shuyun said with a smile, "Don't worry, our youngest son knows these things. He understands everything. He's always been a well-mannered and polite child. He won't go astray."

Kong Tongming was still worried, so after dinner, he took his youngest son to his room and gave him a good talking-to.

Kong Xiangyao assured him, "Dad, don't worry, I won't get involved in anything that violates government regulations or touches on laws and regulations."

With this assurance, Kong Tongming finally felt relieved.