Chapter 290: Together for Prosperity

Zhang Lan quite liked Zuo Yan, finding her open and genuine nature appealing. “Yan, we came to visit briefly. We have to catch a train back this afternoon.”

Although Zhang Lan was a bit disappointed not to see Zuo Xiangqian and his wife, she had seen photos of them. The traits of the Zuo family seemed to reflect their grandfather’s handsome features. Each sibling appeared charming, and Zuo Yan, from the photos, exuded a refined and elegant aura, akin to that of a traditional young lady.

Upon hearing they were leaving in the afternoon, Zuo Chen felt a sense of urgency. “Uncle Wang, why don’t you stay overnight? My parents will be back soon. You’ve come all this way to see us. If I let you leave, my parents will scold us.”

Considering the effort Wang Zhenhe and his family had made to visit, Zuo Chen felt it would be inappropriate for them to leave so soon.

Wang Zhenhe reassured Zuo Chen, patting his shoulder. “Young man, we have plenty of time ahead of us. It’s almost the Lunar New Year, and we can’t delay here. We need to get back for the children who are waiting for us to celebrate the New Year. Will you be returning to your grandfather’s house for the New Year?”

Zuo Chen replied, “Yes, Uncle. Are you coming over for the New Year?”

After considering his travel plans, Wang Zhenhe realized he needed to catch a train in Beijing to Xinjiang. He decided to visit Uncle Zuo’s house during the New Year. “Well, I might not make it for New Year’s, but I’ll come after the New Year. As long as you’re here, you can’t escape from seeing me next year. We have plenty of time ahead.”

After enjoying a meal prepared by Zhang Lan and Zuo Yan at the Zuo family’s home, the couple, along with their daughter, left amidst the heartfelt gazes of Zuo Yan and Zuo Chen.

Seated on the train, Zhang Lan felt a strong sense of longing to return home. She wondered how their three children were doing back home. Luckily, it wasn’t the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush yet, so the train wasn’t overly crowded. Otherwise, in modern times, they might have been squished like sardines.

Upon returning home, it was already late December. Mingyuan, upon seeing his parents and sister return, excitedly ran out, asking, “Mom, you’re finally back! How is Uncle doing?”

The news of Zhang Weiguo’s condition had been weighing on the hearts of the three siblings. Mingcheng and Wang Xuan took the items from their parents’ hands, all eagerly awaiting good news from Zhang Lan.

Seeing the eager expressions on the faces of her three children, Zhang Lan couldn’t help but smile. “Your uncle is fine, and I’ve found a new aunt for you.”

The news thrilled Mingcheng and his siblings. “Mom, we’ve cleaned up at Grandma’s house. Our cousins haven’t returned from the city yet,” Mingyuan reported.

As Mingyuan began updating on the household affairs, Zhang Lan glanced around their tidy home and realized that her three children had already taken care of everything.

“Children, you’ve done a great job. Let’s head inside. Mom has brought you some nice things,” Zhang Lan said.

In addition to some delicious treats, the packages Zhang Lan brought contained new clothes and shoes for Mingyuan and his siblings. It was time for new outfits for the upcoming Lunar New Year, and she hadn’t had time to prepare upon her return.

Mingyuan and Wang Xuan were delighted with the new clothes. “Mom, the clothes you bought are so nice. We don’t have such clothes available locally.”

Mingcheng remembered something. “Mom, I’ve arranged for the butcher to come tomorrow to slaughter the pig. Wang Xuan has already prepared the pickled vegetables and dried radishes. I was concerned you might not make it back in time, so we started early. I’ve also invited Uncle Yang and Uncle Cong’s families over for dinner.”

Wang Zhenhe patted his eldest son’s shoulder, impressed by his responsible demeanor. “Well done. Inviting them over was the right decision. We were able to make it back in time, thanks to your help.”

For dinner, Mingcheng and his sister took charge. Seeing how tired Zhang Lan seemed, they immediately sent Mingyuan to boil water and themselves went to prepare the meal.

Zhang Lan accepted the help from her capable children, smiling as she led Wang Zhenhe to freshen up. Wang Qian went to help them harvest vegetables. With her parents in the shower, she had to wait until they were done before taking her turn.

As they cooked, Wang Qian shared updates about Zhang Weiguo with the siblings. Mingyuan, after boiling water in the house, also joined them to hear the story. When he learned about how his uncle had pursued his future wife, Mingyuan couldn’t help but chuckle mischievously.

“Sister, Uncle is really clueless. He needed your help with ideas to pursue a wife. No wonder he hasn’t found one yet. Turns out, he just doesn’t know how,” Mingyuan teased.

Mingcheng playfully tapped his younger brother. “Uncle isn’t clueless. You wouldn’t know about military life. There aren’t many female soldiers there, so he didn’t have many chances to meet other girls. It’s already good that he met a military nurse. Many people find wives from back home.”

Mingcheng, being knowledgeable about military life, being the only one in the family with military experience, explained the situation to his siblings. Mingyuan shook his head in disbelief. “Brother, I won’t be going to military school. It’ll be a hassle later on. There are already few female soldiers, how would I find one? You might as well have sister introduce you to someone from her university. There are more girls there.”

Mingyuan, feeling pleased with himself, received another tap from Mingcheng. “At your young age, you should focus on studying. Work hard to get into university. Learn from your sister. You’re the older brother; you need to protect your sister and stop dreaming about unrealistic things.”

After being scolded twice, Mingyuan pouted. “Brother, I’m just daydreaming. I’ll study hard. Oh, little sister, don’t forget to review my class notes. The teacher asked about you during the exam. I told her about Uncle’s situation, and she agreed to exempt you from the test.”

Wang Qian sighed. Her peace was short-lived; she needed to hit the books. Despite having attended university, she had forgotten most of the material, so she couldn’t afford to relax when it came to preparing for her exams.

“Brother, have you heard any news from Grandma recently?”

Mingcheng’s expression darkened with a hint of bitterness in his tone. “What news could they have? All they do is engage in despicable activities. I haven’t seen her do anything good. If she were a chick or a duck, I would have wrung her neck long ago.”

Upon learning from Mingyuan about their mother fainting due to the old lady’s actions, Mingcheng and Wang Xuan couldn’t contain their hatred.

Wang Xuan expressed her deep annoyance towards their grandmother. “Brother, speaking frankly, our family’s old lady… How could heaven not take her away sooner? She’s utterly useless, wasting resources and causing harm.”

Sighing, Wang Qian added, “Sister, you know what they say, trouble lasts for a thousand years. Someone like her won’t die early. She has to endure all her miseries before passing away.”

As Wang Zhenhe emerged from the shower, he noticed his three children engrossed in conversation. “What are you kids talking about? Let me join in.”

Seeing their father, Mingyuan and the others veered away from discussing the old lady. “Dad, we were talking about you. Since we’re going to make juice, how about using the courtyard where you keep the electronic devices? Move them to the house where Mom sells things. She only uses the storefront, and there are empty rooms inside. We’ve cleared out that courtyard completely, so we can hire a few people to make juice there.”

On his way back, Wang Zhenhe had also considered this idea. However, when he thought about hiring people, he remembered his elder sister-in-law. “Qianqian, what do you think about hiring your aunt for this?”

Wang Qian glanced at Wang Zhenhe. “Dad, if Aunt goes, and Aunt Han Cui finds out and decides to go too, how will you handle that situation?”

Although Wang Juan was a capable worker, the involvement of others, especially if Han Cui joined, could complicate matters. It would not only require managing their accommodation but also dealing with her gossiping tendencies that could spread throughout the community. Would inviting them lead to more troubles in the future?

However, upon further thought, if they couldn’t manage the workload from the city, they could consider having Wang Zhenhai lead another group of workers. This arrangement could also help Wang Zhenhai’s family earn an income.

Raising her head, Wang Qian suggested, “Dad, how about this? Let’s set up the factory first. If the demand increases, we can have Uncle’s family work here. We have Lin Xi’s house available to us, so we can consider using that space when the time comes.”

Wang Zhenhe agreed with this plan. He disliked his second sister-in-law and didn’t want to invite trouble because of Han Cui.

“Alright, Dad, we’ll follow your lead. We can figure out the next steps if we can’t manage everything,” Wang Qian said, glancing at Wang Zhenhe, understanding his intentions to help Uncle’s family.

“Dad, instead of focusing on the juice business, why not have Aunt raise more pigs and chickens in the spring? Perhaps the policies might relax in the future. You won’t have to worry about selling chicken and pork then. Just think about eggs; city folks can’t do without them. Pork prices are high in the black market. Mixing bran and seaweed with some grains for feed could work well,” Wang Qian suggested.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenhe immediately grasped his daughter’s idea. If they had surplus grain, they could sell it to Uncle’s family. This way, Uncle’s family conditions would improve instantly.

Beaming with joy, Wang Zhenhe praised his daughter’s idea, thrilled at the prospect of helping Uncle’s family. “Sweetheart, that’s a brilliant idea! Uncle’s family can manage the household and earn money. I’ll discuss this with them right away.”

Unable to wait for dinner, Wang Zhenhe hurried to Uncle Wang Zhenhai’s house. Upon finishing her laundry, Zhang Lan expressed her frustration at her husband’s hasty departure to Uncle’s house. She instructed Mingyuan to take some items to Uncle’s house as a gesture of gratitude for their help throughout the year.

Quickly preparing the items to send over, Zhang Lan instructed her youngest son to deliver them. Wang Qian hurried to shower, looking forward to a restful night’s sleep after a long and dusty day.