Chapter 1386: Preparations
Hong Lin came to the village more often than Zheng Lihong, so he introduced his wife to everyone.
Neither of them were the type to be inconsiderate, so they quickly gained the villagers’ favor.
"Hong Lin’s wife, you must come back often in the future. Look at our village life. They say our days are better than those in the city."
"Auntie, I’ll definitely come back more often. Our village is already connected to electricity, which is really much better than life in the city. We have to buy even a single green onion there. Home is still the best."
"Right? I think so too."
Zheng Lihong quickly blended in with everyone.
Everyone liked this city niece-in-law. She wasn’t pretentious and didn’t look down on them as rural poor relatives.
Zheng Lihong also found them very easy to get along with. In their eyes, she didn’t see any ingratiating behavior, just normal interaction. It was the most comfortable way.
"Hong Lin, this pig is for us."
"Fourth Uncle, I’ll help you take it back."
"No need, you’re holding two kids. I’ll just take it back myself."
Li Yunqiang had been keeping an eye on things here, while the second brother and the captain were at the distillery.
Hong Lin still went back with him, but the two kids didn’t want to go, so he entrusted them to Zheng Lihong.
"Niece-in-law, is this your brother-in-law?"
"Yes, Hongpeng, this is Fifth Aunt."
The little guy smiled and called out.
"Zhibin, this is your fifth grandma." Zheng Lihong quickly told her son, fearing he would also call her Fifth Aunt.
Zhibin crisply called out.
"These two kids are really well-raised."
A few women chimed in to praise the kids.
"Lihong, your brother-in-law really resembles your father-in-law."
"Doesn’t he? Hongpeng looks just like my dad."
The two children got a bit impatient, so Zheng Lihong thought of carrying them around to look at the sights. With everyone crowding around, they couldn’t see anything, so of course they weren’t happy.
Just then, Red Army came over. Zhibin recognized him, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle."
"Haha, this little guy really is a rascal."
Everyone laughed.
Red Army came over with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I’ll take the two of them to play."
The two children laughed and jumped into Red Army’s arms.
"Lihong, your second brother-in-law is really capable."
"Yes, Red Army is nimble."
"This young man is great. He’ll surely be popular with the ladies just like Chaoyang someday."
"Right? Chaoyang and Lv Zhiqing getting together broke many girls’ hearts."
Zheng Lihong smiled on the side. Her brother-in-law Chaoyang really had high standards. Her own mother wanted to introduce her cousin to Chaoyang, but he was in the Capital. Finally, when he came back, he was already engaged.
Everyone knew Chaoyang’s future was bright, so they didn’t care about rural or urban origins.
But the woman he found was truly beautiful. Her two sisters-in-law were both very pretty.
Zheng Lihong felt happy being with this group. There were no really clueless people, although every now and then there was some jealousy, but only from one or two people. Most were quite nice.
Pretty soon, the women started working too. Everyone got to it without assignments, and no one slacked off.
"Fifth Aunt, what should I do?"
"Lihong, you can start the fire."
Lunch was served at twelve, and it was truly delicious. Everyone filled up on sorghum rice, offal, and three big pots of pork. This year they didn’t add vegetables, just pure stewed meat.
Everyone finally tasted the big fat pig raised in their village and thought it was truly delicious. The fat even oozed oil.
The dried cabbage and tofu skin stewed in meat broth was also a favorite among everyone.
"Lihong, eat some more, why are you eating so slowly?"
"Third Aunt, I’m already full. But it’s really too delicious, I’ve eaten too much today." Zheng Lihong wasn’t just flattering, it was truly so delicious, she’d never had stewed meat like this before.
"Isn’t it flavorful?"
Three hundred villagers sat down to eat together, each wearing a satisfied smile.
The zhiqing gathered together, momentarily forgetting their image. The food was so good, they didn’t even talk.
Wang Menglin ate with her cousin, "Xiao Zhen, you’ve gotten thinner, that’s not good. You need to eat more."
"Cousin, I really don’t feel like eating."
"No, if you keep this up, my brother and I will have to figure something out."
"I really don’t feel like eating."
Wang Menglin looked at her cousin’s aggrieved expression, her eyes also turned red. "Xiao Zhen, why do you put yourself through this? It’s a futile pursuit."
"I’ll surely get better gradually. Don’t worry about me, you’re not alone anymore."
"Just don’t make me worry, and I’ll be fine."
"How can you not worry about me? I just haven’t moved on yet, but that day will come."
The Wei Family gathered together, with Zhenyu being the happiest, "Shi Jing, the meat from your village is too tasty."
"Right? It’s from the pigs we raised ourselves."
Even Yang Run Tai, known for his discipline, found it quite tasty and had a few extra pieces.
However, when he saw the little girl picking through her food, pushing the fatty meat to Zhao Xiaoqiang, only eating the lean meat, and then getting a serving of tofu skin.
"Feifei, you’re being picky."
"Brother Yang, don’t joke around. I’m not picky, I just don’t like fatty meat." If her mom found out she was being picky, she’d be forced to eat her least favorite foods for a while.
Yang Run Tai was aware that Jiang Xinyu was strict about not letting the kids be picky eaters. Even if they didn’t like something, they had to eat a bit.
"I have a piece of rib here for you."
"I don’t want any more meat. The tofu skin is very tasty too."
Yang Run Tai still gave Feifei the rib, but he found the tofu skin also very delicious.
The meal went on until two o’clock. The remaining meat broth, tofu skin, and rice were all given to Liu Xuefa and the others.
The zhiqing didn’t get any leftovers. No one took care of young, able-bodied people like them.
Of course, they were used to it and didn’t think much of it.
The one who reflected the most was Yang Xiuqin. Spending a thousand yuan to come to Li Family Village was truly worth it, unlike Pan Xiaoying who was probably going to regret it. She heard they were going to distribute money in the next few days. Ten yuan, which was not a small amount.
The end of the year couldn’t be lacking either. That’s why she worked alongside the male zhiqing, earning a full share among the women. Getting a few hundred in shares could surely make Pan Xiaoying envious.
Today, she finally met the legendary family in the village, and they really were different. You could tell just by their appearance.
Although she wasn’t skilled at reading faces, just looking at them, she knew they weren’t ordinary people. How could such people be buried in this small mountain village? It was truly puzzling.