country bumpkin

The next day, undisturbed, Kong Xiangyao slept until he naturally woke up.

Kong Tongming woke up early and made no sound. He went to the gate, closed it, and then went to Granny Niu's gate to chat with Kong Fugui.

Older people sleep very little; they usually wake up around 5 a.m., and some even as early as 4 a.m. Especially in the summer, they naturally can't fall back asleep once there's light.

In the countryside, neighbors know each other intimately. It's not like that in big cities. With high-rise buildings everywhere, it's common for residents on the same floor of the same building to live for three years without ever seeing each other.

At this moment, Kong Fugui smiled and handed Kong Tongming a cigarette, which Kong Tongming took and put in his mouth.

He started looking for matches, searching his entire body, but found none.

The top is a white cotton vest with no pockets. The bottom is a light blue polyester trouser with two empty pockets.

At this moment, Kong Fugui took out a box of matches, quickly took out a match, struck it, lit the cigarette, and did it all in one go.

Using the half-burnt match, he lit Kong Tongming's cigarette. The two continued chatting while smoking.

Kong Fugui exclaimed, "Brother, your new house is really impressive, both spacious and bright."

Kong Tongming smirked, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "Wasn't it Xiangyao who earned the money to rebuild it himself? Aren't all houses built like this from now on? There's nothing special about it. In a couple of years, your family will rebuild their house too."

Kong Fugui nodded. "Yes, we'll be rebuilding next year. Tieshuan should also find a wife and get married. We can't keep living in this mud-brick house!"

Kong Tongming nodded. "Yes, nowadays, without brick houses, it's hard for the children to find wives."

Kong Fugui then said, "Now that our youngest child is married, we can finally rest easy!"

Kong Tongming agreed, "Yes, we've been busy all our lives, it's time for us to enjoy our retirement."

The two were chatting enthusiastically when Granny Niu came out of the yard and greeted Kong Tongming.

"Come in, brother! I made some egg noodles, would you like to have some with me?"

Kong Tongming waved his hand, politely declining, "No need, Xiangyao should be awake by now, I'll go check on him. You all go back to your room and eat!"

He talked as he walked home.

Kong Fugui was about to invite him inside for a meal when he looked up and saw that the man had already disappeared into his own yard.

Grandma Niu said, "Let's go back inside and eat." Then she turned and left.

Kong Fugui followed behind and went into the house.

When Kong Tongming returned and saw that his son was still asleep, he quietly walked to the shed and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

After sitting for a while, I got bored and got up to check on the vegetable garden around the main room. The newly renovated house was larger than the old one, so it took up space in the vegetable garden. The vegetable garden was much smaller than before.

The distance between the main room and the outer wall can only be 1 meter, whereas it used to be 2 meters. That's half the original distance.

The vegetable gardens of today can hardly be called vegetable gardens anymore; they're more like narrow passageways.

The courtyard in front of the main room is also a bit small, as the new house has taken up space.

The new house is tall and spacious. Originally, there were three rooms on the left, middle, and right, but after the expansion, a small single room was added, while the main room remains the same size as before, not cramped or narrow. This way, more people can live here.

From now on, when my daughters come back for the Lunar New Year, I won't have to worry about where they'll have a place to stay.

Kong Tongming was observing the changes in the courtyard when Kong Xiangyao woke up. He stretched his arms and legs, got up, and went to the toilet.

When she returned, she asked her father, puzzled, "Dad, what are you looking at?"

Kong Tongming glanced at him and said, "It's nothing, just looking at the changes in the yard. Our vegetable garden has shrunk a lot! The east, west and north sides of the main room have all become narrow passageways."

Kong Xiangyao comforted him, "It's alright, our main room has become bigger, hasn't it? There's nothing to be sad about."

Kong Tongming said, "Yes, there's only so much space. We have to choose between building a house or growing vegetables."

Ultimately, it's because the area is small, making it difficult to expand the land.

The father and son were discussing the land when the voices of Mu Shuyun and Yunya came from outside the gate.

Mu Shuyun came to make breakfast for her youngest son and tidy up the things piled up in the kitchen.

The house is finished, and we can come back to cook and eat. It's not right to always eat at the second son's house.

Didn't you see that the second daughter-in-law started giving me the cold shoulder? Zhou Caiyun started giving me the cold shoulder as soon as I got home last night.

She greeted them warmly, but her face was grim. With a sour expression, she said, "Mom, you're back. I'll go heat up your food." But she remained seated, motionless.

Mu Shuyun could tell that her second daughter-in-law had served her enough, so she hurried off to heat up the food herself.

Mu Shuyun and Kong Tongming discussed that when they moved back to their new house, they would give Zhou Caiyun 500 yuan as a living allowance for the month, even though they would only be eating dinner there.

But now it seems I can't wait until then, so I'd better give her the money in advance. Otherwise, I'll have to stay here for a few more days while the house is being aired out, and I don't want to have to put up with her attitude.

Upon hearing the sound, Kong Xiangyao smiled and said to Kong Tongming, "Mother is here." He then went out to greet her.

As soon as Mu Shuyun entered the courtyard, she began to mutter, "Finally, I can cook at my own home. I always feel uncomfortable eating at my second brother's house." Yunya skipped and hopped behind her, holding a small wildflower she had picked along the way.

Once inside the kitchen, Mu Shuyun busied herself cooking, saying to Kong Xiangyao as she did so, "Yaozi, you've built such a beautiful house, it's just that the vegetable garden is a bit small. But it's alright, as long as we have enough space to live in."

Kong Xiangyao nodded: "Mom, you're right. Just tell me if you need anything in the future."

At this moment, Kong Tongming also walked into the kitchen. Mu Shuyun glanced at him and said, "Don't just stand there, help me start a fire."

Kong Tongming smiled and sat down in front of the stove to start a fire.

When Yunya saw that her grandfather was about to start a fire, she quickly snatched the fire stick from his hand and said, "Grandpa, you go and rest for a while, I'll start the fire."

Mu Shuyun chuckled and joked, "Oh my, our Yunya knows how to care for Grandpa now. Why don't you care about Grandma too?"

Yunya put a dry twig under the stove and said mischievously, "It hurts! How could I not feel sorry for Grandma! I'm closest to Grandma, but I haven't learned how to cook yet. Once I do, I'll cook for Grandma every day."

Mu Shuyun beamed with joy after hearing this, "Great! Grandma is just waiting for our Yunya to grow up and take good care of Grandma!"

After the meal was prepared, Yunya and Mu Shuyun carried the plates out. Kong Xiangyao went into the kitchen, brought out a large bowl of noodles, and placed it on the table in the yard.

Mu Shuyun started scooping out the noodles, giving each person a large bowl. After the noodles were divided, the family began to eat breakfast in a lively atmosphere.

A warm atmosphere filled the courtyard, as if all worries had dissipated with the warmth of the cooking.