Chapter 29

“So many! Let’s pick more.”

Lin Nanxuan picked one and put it in her mouth before she started picking more. Lin Nanzhi wasn’t idle either—she carried a basket and got to work.

The basket was made by their grandfather over the past few days when he had nothing to do.

Now that he was old, he had spent his whole life being busy. But here, he didn’t need to do anything. Even their grandmother’s legs had improved significantly, so he no longer needed to search for herbs. Left with too much free time, he often complained about having nothing to do.

—-

One day, he noticed a bamboo grove by the river and, upon learning that it belonged to them, immediately grabbed a sickle and chopped down a bunch. He then carefully split the bamboo and started weaving.

He made all sorts of things—baskets, storage boxes, and even a swing for Lin Nanzhi and the others.

The baskets varied in size, but most were small. Their grandfather was quick with his hands and could weave 20 to 30 baskets a day, stacking them all in the warehouse. He said they could use them to pick cherries when the time came and sell the cherries basket by basket, confident that people would buy them.

And he wasn’t wrong.

His baskets were finely crafted, resembling the kind that Guanyin Bodhisattva used to catch fish in Journey to the West. The bottom had a tray, while the top was shaped like a large bowl. Their grandmother even added silk flowers to the baskets, making them look beautiful.

However, their mother didn’t want their grandfather to overwork himself, so they only kept around a hundred baskets and decided not to sell them. Instead, they kept them at home so visitors could use them when picking fruit.

Though small, the baskets could hold quite a lot.

The two of them continued picking while snacking, only stopping when they had emptied a whole tree. Satisfied, they carried their baskets home. Just as they reached the entrance, Lin Nanzhi’s phone rang, so they had to stop and answer it.

It was their father calling.

Lin Nanzhi answered the call.

“Hello, Dad… Okay, I got it.”

After hanging up, Lin Nanxuan asked, “What’s up? What did Dad say?”

Lin Nanzhi put away her phone and started walking inside as she replied, “Dad said Uncle needs to see me for something, so I’m going over.”

“Then why are you heading home?”

“I need to drop off the cherries. If I take them with me, they’ll be gone in no time.”

It wasn’t that Lin Nanzhi was stingy. Their family grew plenty of fruit and was happy to share with the neighbors, but she didn’t want to be taken advantage of.

Ever since their orchard started producing fruit, their father had been generously giving out strawberries and vegetables to every household in the village, trying to maintain good relations.

But some people always had a habit of taking advantage of generosity. As soon as they saw the Lin family harvesting fruit or vegetables, they would wait outside the orchard, shamelessly asking for some.

Once or twice was fine, but it had happened over ten times already. Their father, being a kind man, never turned anyone away, letting them take as much as they wanted. But even a wealthy landowner couldn’t afford to be this generous forever.

And the worst part? These people never showed any gratitude. Instead, they gossiped behind their backs. The moment they didn’t get something, they acted as if they were owed it.

As a child, Lin Nanzhi could only silently complain in her heart.

Now, she just wanted to keep her distance from the villagers.

Lin Nanxuan thought about it and realized it made sense, so she didn’t argue.

Their uncle and aunt were always kind to them. Every time they came back from working outside, they brought them little gifts. Originally, Lin Nanxuan had wanted Lin Nanzhi to bring some fruit for them to share, but considering how things were, she could already imagine that the fruit wouldn’t even reach their uncle’s hands before someone else snatched it up.

It would be better to pick a few baskets later and deliver them directly to their uncle’s house so they could eat to their heart’s content. If not, they could invite them over to pick the fruit themselves. Either way, it was better than carrying the fruit over now.

Besides, there was an event at home today. Yesterday, she had seen their father preparing the menu, and he had even written down a fruit platter. The fruit that could be eaten had already been picked and sent next door early in the morning.

With that in mind, she didn’t say anything else.

Lin Nanzhi set down the fruit and headed to the neighboring house.

As expected, the courtyard was full of people, standing or sitting in groups, chatting away. Who knew whose reputation was being ruined in their gossip now? The sunflower seeds, peanuts, and candies on the table were barely touched, but the fruit platters were completely empty. Each person was holding a large, juicy strawberry, and their pockets were bulging—it was obvious they had taken a lot.

Since they were all neighbors, and it was her family’s event, Lin Nanzhi pretended not to notice. She greeted them politely and then went looking for her uncle, finding him in the sunroom upstairs.

There were five people upstairs—her father, her uncle, and her uncle’s family.

Her uncle was only a few years older than Lin Nanxuan, barely in his twenties. Her aunt was from the same village and had been his classmate since elementary school—a love story that went from school uniforms to wedding dresses. Now, they had a son and a daughter and were living a happy life.

Though her uncle had only finished elementary school and her aunt had only completed middle school, they were both highly capable. Despite being younger than many in the village, they earned more money than most. They were the first family in the village to build a brick house, but after completing the first floor, they ran out of money and had to go work outside again.

Her uncle was tall and lean, with eyes that looked exactly like her father’s. Her aunt had a round face, a curvy figure, and single eyelids, yet she was very beautiful. Their two children were also adorable. They greeted Lin Nanzhi politely before quietly continuing to eat their fist-sized strawberries.

Lin Nanzhi had only seen the children when they were newborns, as they had moved away soon after. They had only returned this year, and her younger siblings had never met them before. So naturally, they weren’t very close yet.

But Lin Nanzhi didn’t mind.

Their two families had the closest relationship, and their children would grow up together in the future. They just weren’t familiar yet because they hadn’t spent much time together.

“Uncle, Aunt.”

“Ah, Zhi Zhi, you’re here.”

“What did you need me for?”

“Well, your uncle and I saved up some money and want to renovate our house, add a second floor. We really like your house and want something similar. Your dad said he lost the blueprints, but you might have them, so we wanted to ask.”

“I have them. Take a look—I have a few designs here. Pick one, and I’ll find the blueprints for you.” Lin Nanzhi handed over her phone, which was filled with images of different house styles, all of them beautiful.

“But if you want something like this, you might need to redo your first floor. I think my older brother would be a better fit for the job.”

Their uncle’s house was a standard brick house—two large living rooms and two bedrooms. It wasn’t just unattractive; it also wasn’t very comfortable to live in.

The designs on her phone were for houses built from scratch, so remodeling might not be easy. But her older brother was a designer—he could definitely handle it.

Her uncle and aunt exchanged glances and shook their heads.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Lin Nanye, but they didn’t want to overwork him.

At first, they hadn’t even dared to use their savings. But after Lin Nanzhi’s father reassured them that he didn’t need their money, they finally decided to renovate. The first floor had been unoccupied for too long and was now damp, so they needed a second floor to live in.

Since Lin Nanye’s health wasn’t great, they didn’t want him to overexert himself, which was why they had come to Lin Nanzhi instead.