Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 358

Zhao Tingxu was furious with Wang Guixiang. Could she even see the situation clearly? They were about to split up the family property, and she could have easily appeased the second son by tidying up the house and dishes. Instead, she had to cause this scene. When she got old and needed someone to take care of her, the second son would have already been heartbroken by her and wouldn't want to take care of her. The other children wouldn't be willing to help either. She would regret it then.

Zhao Tingxu didn't care about any of that. He stood up and said harshly, "Wang Guixiang, if you continue to be so stubborn and can't treat everyone equally, then you can leave the Zhao family and go there on your own. If no one takes care of you then, don't come crying to me."

After saying that, Zhao Tingxu left directly. With so many worries at home, he should have just drunk more at the restaurant. Drinking is more comfortable, and he doesn't have to worry about these things.

After Zhao Tingxu left, Zhao Tiesheng didn't want to stay any longer and went straight to the room where Wang Guixiang and Zhao Tingxu were staying. He was tired and wanted to rest.

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng heading towards her room, Wang Guixiang anxiously said, "You ungrateful wretch, what are you doing going into this room?"

Wang Guixiang subconsciously thought, "Could it be that he discovered she took his few dozen yuan and is now trying to rummage through the room for money?"

Zhao Tiesheng didn't think too much about it. His mind was in a mess and he was exhausted. Hearing Wang Guixiang's shout, he paused. He was utterly disappointed in his extremely biased mother. He said coldly, "Of course I'm going back to rest. My room is such a mess that it's uninhabitable. Since Dad said you should clean it up, Mom, I'll trouble you to do it. I'll sleep with Dad tonight."

Zhao Tiesheng closed the door to the room, lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest. The tears in the corners of his eyes had not yet dried. He was thinking about how Wang Guixiang treated him differently from his younger sister and younger brother, and he felt very uncomfortable.

From now on, his home will be a small family consisting of Jinxiang, Da'e, and Xiaojuan. As for the Zhao family, he has no intention of taking care of them. He has been taking care of his parents and younger siblings for so many years, and he is tired. Now his younger siblings are getting married and starting their own families. The responsibility of supporting his parents should not be borne by him alone. It should be shared by everyone and everyone should contribute money together.

Watching Zhao Tiesheng's departing figure, Wang Guixiang angrily cursed, "You brat, how dare you ask me to do something?!"

Wang Guixiang glanced around, wanting to pick up a broom and hit someone, but Zhang Cuilan stopped her. Zhang Cuilan pleaded, "Mom, calm down. After all, you were the one who made the mistake, which is why Second Brother is so angry. You really are something, why did you say such harsh things? Now look what's happened, Second Brother is making a scene about dividing the family property, and the family doesn't feel like a family anymore. Little Sister doesn't dare to do anything to Second Brother, so she asks you to stand up for her. She herself has become a coward, hiding in the back and not daring to come out. That Little Sister is no good either."

Zhang Cuilan harbored resentment towards Zhao Chunqin, and also towards Wang Guixiang. Wang Guixiang had promised to keep everyone's money safe, but unexpectedly, most of it was lent to Zhao Chunqin, who took over four thousand yuan from her family without her and Tie Gang's consent. She had even insulted Zhao Chunqin in her earlier remarks, saying she had money to repay her second brother's family but not her own. She threatened to cause trouble at Zhao Chunqin's workplace another day.

Wang Guixiang felt very uncomfortable after hearing this. "What do you mean? Chunqin is not a coward. You dare to curse her again."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuilan couldn't help but twitch her lips. "Fine, I won't say anything bad about your precious daughter. Mom, I'm leaving now. You can clean up this mess yourself."

After seeing that Wang Guixiang couldn't get the nine thousand yuan back from Zhao Tiesheng, Zhang Cuilan was too lazy to waste any more time with Wang Guixiang. Besides, compared to her own husband, Zhao Chunqin, Wang Guixiang was clearly more biased towards Zhao Chunqin. When she asked her for money to build a new house, she was refused no matter what, but when Zhao Chunqin asked her for money, she was given it without hesitation, and even a large sum of money. Zhang Cuilan was very resentful. Wang Guixiang's heart was really biased.

Seeing Zhang Cuilan about to leave, Wang Guixiang immediately became anxious, "Come back here and help me clean!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuilan not only didn't stop but quickened her pace. Staying there to work was something only a fool would do!

Wang Guixiang glanced around; everyone had run away. Furious, she kicked the wooden chair beside her, cursing, "These two are truly despicable! A bunch of ingrates!"

Despite her cursing, Wang Guixiang obediently picked up a broom and began to clean up the mess. She didn't want to sleep in this dilapidated and cold storage room, so she decided to tidy up the room first and tell Zhao Tiesheng to go back and stop getting in her way.

Zhao Da'e, who lived several streets away, was completely unaware of what had happened at the Zhao family's house. At that moment, she was happily sitting in the kitchen eating roasted sweet potatoes, fantasizing about bringing Chai Zhiyong over to see the vacant lot where they would build their new house the next day. Thinking about how many rooms she would need to build, Zhao Da'e felt that the house should at least be two stories high, otherwise, even a single-story house wouldn't have enough rooms.

Three bedrooms are definitely not enough; we need to add two guest rooms, and ideally, a storage room as well. A kitchen and a yard are also essential.

Zhao Da'e felt increasingly pleased with himself and decided to talk to his mother about the layout of the new house again tomorrow.

The next day

Chai Zhiyong arrived at Dongtaizi Village by bus. It took more than two hours to get here from the county town. Looking around, Chai Zhiyong thought to himself that this place was really not as good as the county town. As far as the eye could see, most of the area was farmland.

After asking the villagers for directions to Zhao D'e's aunt's house, and then walking for another ten minutes, we finally arrived at Zhao D'e's aunt's house.

A few days ago, Chai Zhiyong and Zhao Dage made an appointment. He would personally come to the countryside to see Zhao Dage about the location of the new house to be built, and then standardize the layout of the new house. The meeting time and place was at Zhao Dage's aunt's house at noon today.

Although Chai Zhiyong didn't quite understand why the meeting place wasn't at Zhao Dage's own house but at his aunt's house, he would take the job as long as the other party paid him, and he wouldn't ask any more questions.

Cheng Jinxiang was cooking in the kitchen. There were already chopped cabbages on the cutting board. Cheng Jinxiang scooped a spoonful of lard into the pot. After the lard melted, Cheng Jinxiang put chili peppers, garlic and other ingredients into the pot and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then he put all the cabbages in. The oil in the pot sizzled and the aroma wafted out immediately.

As soon as Chai Zhiyong entered the courtyard, he smelled a delicious aroma that made him hungry.

"Is Zhao Dage inside?" Chai Zhiyong called out to the people inside the house.

Zhao Da'e, who was helping to wash the dishes, suddenly brightened up. Chai Zhiyong had finally arrived!

Cheng Jinxiang, who was cooking, looked at Zhao Da'e with some confusion and asked curiously, "Da'e, who is the person outside calling you?"

Zhao Da'e exclaimed in surprise, "Mom, it's the old craftsman who came to help us build our new house!"

Upon hearing that they were there to help build a new house, Cheng Jinxiang immediately became excited and said to Zhao Da'e, "Da'e, go and entertain the master chef for me. I'll head out after I finish cooking this dish."

Seeing Cheng Jinxiang's anxious expression, Zhao Da'e smiled and said, "Mom, don't be so anxious. Take your time. The person is in the yard and won't run away."

Cheng Jinxiang quickly said, "Big Goose, this is an experienced craftsman who came to help us build our new house. He's special, so we must treat him well and not neglect him."

As she spoke, Cheng Jinxiang sped up the cooking process.

Zhao Da'e went out to greet Chai Zhiyong. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Chai Zhiyong standing in the middle of the yard, looking somewhat at a loss. Zhao Da'e couldn't help but laugh out loud. Why did this old master look a little dazed?

Chai Zhiyong wasn't sure if he had come to the wrong house, so he stood awkwardly in the yard, thinking that it would be very embarrassing if he had come to the wrong house.

"Master, come in quickly," Zhao Dage called out to Chai Zhiyong from the doorway.

When Chai Zhiyong saw Zhao D'e, he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, he hadn't come to the wrong place. Chai Zhiyong was just afraid he had come to the wrong place.

After leading Chai Zhiyong into the house, Zhao Dage poured him some warm tea. This tea was Lingyun Baihao tea that Zhao Dage had gotten from Zhao Chunqin. The tea tasted very good and was perfect for serving to guests. He also drank some himself, but not many people in the countryside knew how to drink tea, so he brewed this tea for himself as well.

When Zhao Tiesheng tasted the tea, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent tea!"

The moment you taste this tea, you can feel its sweetness. All your fatigue disappears and you feel refreshed. The aroma of the tea makes Chai Zhiyong want to savor it again and again. This is truly a fine tea!

Zhao Da'e smiled and said, "Master, if you like this tea, I have several packets of it left. I'll give you a few packets later."

Chai Zhiyong hesitated for a moment and said, "Big Goose, such good tea must cost a lot of money, so I think you should pass."

Chai Zhiyong is also a tea connoisseur and knows that good tea like this must be very expensive, with prices reaching around 20 or 30 yuan per jin (500 grams). Such a rich aroma must have been brewed with half a jin of tea, which is probably equivalent to his daily wage.

Zhao Da'e didn't think much of it; he had stockpiled thousands of kilograms of tea like this. However, seeing that Chai Zhiyong refused, he felt a little embarrassed. Zhao Da'e didn't insist that Chai Zhiyong accept it, but instead thought that he would often brew tea for Chai Zhiyong when he came to build his new house in the future.

"Oh, Master, you haven't had lunch yet today, have you? Have lunch here for a while, then we'll go look at the place where the new house is being built."

Dongtaizi Village is quite far from the county seat. It takes at least two hours by bus, plus some walking, so it takes two or three hours to get there, which is quite troublesome. Zhao Da'e guessed that Chai Zhiyong hadn't had lunch yet, so he warmly invited him to stay for a meal.

Chai Zhiyong didn't refuse this time. He had come early in the morning and hadn't eaten yet, so he was indeed quite hungry.

Just then, Cheng Jinxi returned from washing clothes and saw Chai Zhiyong in the yard. She asked in confusion, "Big goose, what's this...?"

Seeing this, Zhao Da'e introduced Chai Zhiyong to Cheng Jinxi, "Auntie, he's the master craftsman I hired from the county town to build our new house."

After saying that, Zhao Dage introduced his aunt to Chai Zhiyong, "Master, this is my aunt."

Cheng Jinxi suddenly realized that she had heard Da'e mention before that he would be bringing a master craftsman over in a while, and it seemed that today was the day.

Cheng Jinxi couldn't help but feel happy for her second sister. "Big Goose, the new house that has been delayed for so long is finally getting started. We've invited the craftsman to come and take a look. In my opinion, your parents should start building the new house as soon as possible, so that your mother won't suffer any grievances at your grandma's house."

Zhao Da'e felt helpless. "Auntie, my mom just gave birth to my little sister a few months ago. We didn't have time to prepare, and then it was almost Chinese New Year. Building a new house in the dead of winter isn't convenient either, so we had to wait until almost spring."

Cheng Jinxi sighed, "It's all your grandma's fault. It's not that your grandma was selfish and lent all your family's money to your aunt who became a civil servant, otherwise your family would have built a new house long ago."

Chai Zhiyong, who was watching the drama unfold, could guess why Zhao Da'e was staying at his aunt's house. It turned out that he wasn't having a good time at his grandmother's house, so he moved to his aunt's.

Cheng Jinxiang quickly finished stir-frying the cabbage and brought it to the table. Cheng Jinxi shook her head when she saw the monotonous vegetarian dish. It was too bland. So Cheng Jinxi put on an apron and said, "Second sister, you chat with the master chef over here. I'll go to the kitchen and stir-fry some cured meat. We have guests today, so we can't eat anything too bland."

Cheng Jinxi thought that she should treat Chai Zhiyong well, since he was there to build a house for her second sister. If he was treated well, the quality of the house would be better.

When Chai Zhiyong saw Cheng Jinxi put on an apron, he suddenly felt embarrassed and quickly said, "There's no need to go to so much trouble. This cabbage looks delicious, and besides, we can't finish another dish."

Besides cabbage, there were also leftover steamed buns from breakfast and braised fish from last night on the table.

Chai Zhiyong felt that this was enough and there was no need to trouble the other party too much, since he had come here for work-related matters.

But Cheng Jinxi was very hospitable. "Oh, no trouble at all. I can stir-fry the cured pork very quickly, and the taste is absolutely amazing. Master, you wait here, I'll be right back after I finish cooking."

Before Chai Zhiyong could say anything, Cheng Jinxi rushed into the kitchen and got busy.

Before leaving, she said to Cheng Jinxiang, "I'll take care of the kitchen myself. Jinxiang, you stay and have a good chat with the master craftsman to discuss how to build this new house."

Cheng Jinxiang felt a warmth in her heart. Her older sister had been busy taking care of her. Once things got better and the new house was built, she thought she would set aside a room for her older sister's two daughters as a way of repaying her for the care her older sister had given her over the past few months.

Cheng Jinxiang knew that Zhou Tianfu would be getting married in a few months, and that he and his bride would definitely need a room, since the Zhou family only had two rooms.