The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 52 Doubt

(Two updates, no more splitting...)

Xiao Bao'er was reluctant to part with her godparents and wiped away her tears. In the end, Wei Qingqing lied to her and said that she would get to hug a puppy when they got home, and then she and Aunt Liu comforted her.

So, with Xiao Bao waving goodbye, Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing left Zhengjia Village together. Aunt Liu didn't come out to see them off. Last night was too embarrassing. It was all the child's fault for speaking without thinking, making her too embarrassed to meet Yang Ming today.

The truck entered the highway and sped off towards Yangjia Village like an arrow. Because the transport truck was in excellent condition and moved extremely fast, it overtook almost every other vehicle on the highway, speeding recklessly. Fortunately, the speed was always kept within the maximum speed limit for highways, and no traffic police stopped it.

At noon, Yang Ming and his wife finally returned to Yangjia Village and parked in front of their house.

On the way, Yang Ming told his parents that he was going to take them to stay in the city. Although Yang Zhengfang and Zhang Shufang complained that their son had caught them off guard, they were also happy. After all, their son was successful and knew how to be filial to his parents. What parent wouldn't be happy?

The couple hurriedly packed a change of clothes and some daily necessities, then entrusted their home to Yang Ming's uncle for help. Today they were going to the city to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with their son and meet their in-laws. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would come back to continue decorating their new house and furnishing it. They would move to the city after the young couple's wedding.

Today, the news that Yang Zhengfang and his wife had been taken to the city by their son to enjoy a better life spread throughout the entire Yang family in less than fifteen minutes, and everyone gathered at Yang Zhengfang's house to see them off.

"Here it comes, the car is here..."

As soon as Yang Ming's car stopped, he heard a shout, and then a large group of people poured out of the yard and surrounded the transport vehicle.

Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing got out of the car and were immediately surrounded by people.

"Alright, alright, stop crowding around. See what's in the car behind? Those are Mid-Autumn Festival gifts I brought for everyone. Except for those two fish, unload everything..." The people surrounding Yang Ming were all his younger brothers of the same generation. If there was any hard work to be done, he would ask them for help.

"Well done, Xiaoming, you've made something of yourself. You managed to buy a house in the city and even brought your parents over. You've really brought honor to the Yang family..."

"Xiaoming, how big is your house?"

"Xiaoming, what floor does your apartment building live on? If it's high up, it must be a hassle; it must be so hard to go upstairs! Is there an elevator?"

"Xiaoming, when the farming season is over, I'd like to come stay at your house for a couple of days. Would you be happy to see me there...?"

"Look at what you're saying, of course we welcome you." Yang Ming had just finished giving his instructions when a group of uncles and elders pulled him aside to talk. They kept talking about this and that, leaving Yang Ming a little overwhelmed.

"My daughter is very understanding. People in the city usually value their privacy and don't like their in-laws living in their own home. It's good enough if they put them in a nursing home."

"Have you been watching too much TV? Are you possessed? Why are you talking nonsense?"

"People in the city are no different from us country folk. Haven't you seen the TV show 'I Love My Family'? It's just a family of parents-in-law and daughters-in-law living together, isn't it?"

A group of women pulled Wei Qingqing aside and started chattering away. Wei Qingqing shyly exchanged a few words with them.

"Wow! Watermelons are still around? That's rare. And these watermelons are huge, each one must weigh 6 or 70 pounds."

"Only watermelons? Look at those peaches, they look just like the peaches of immortality from Journey to the West..."

"And those apples, they're huge, all completely red, and you can smell their fragrance from far away..."

"The grapes are good too, some are so red they're almost black..."

"If all the fruit trees in our village's orchard could grow like this, our village would be rich."

A group of young men clung to the side of the car, peering inside and shouting excitedly.

"Alright, alright, stop acting like you've never seen this before. Didn't you hear what your brother said? Hurry up and unload the stuff..." In the end, it was Yang Ming's uncle who spoke up.

With Uncle Yang Ming's words, the group of young men quickly got into the car and started unloading the fruit together.

"This fish is huge! What a pity, my brother won't let us eat it..."

"Don't you understand? This is my brother's gift to his father-in-law..."

"Hahaha……"

A group of young men were carrying fruit while laughing and joking around.

"Brother, it's getting late. Please share these fruits with everyone. We'll be going now," Zhang Shufang said as she walked up to Uncle Yang Ming, carrying a large bundle on her arm.

"Okay, leave this to me, don't worry. I've also taken care of things for your family."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother..."

"Why are you talking like family? You should hurry up, it's a long way, we need to make it..." Uncle Yang Ming said, then shouted, "You little rascals, load all your fourth uncle's belongings onto the cart..."

"Oh, my dog..." Yang Zhengfang cried out at this moment.

"Dog what? Dogs aren't allowed in the city..." Zhang Shufang immediately retorted.

"It's alright, it's alright, take it with you. There are plenty of dog owners in the city..." Yang Ming quickly said.

"That's right, my daughter and son-in-law even said they wanted one of our puppies..." With his son's support, Yang Zhengfang immediately felt more confident and walked out with his big yellow dog, followed by five puppies. The other four had already been given away.

After a busy day, the truck was filled to the brim with all sorts of things.

"Check again to see if anything is missing," Yang Ming's uncle shouted.

"No, I've brought everything I need..."

"It's good that it didn't fall off. Secure it with a rope, lest it get lost on the way..."

Everyone hurriedly grabbed ropes and tied up all the luggage.

The driver's cab was spacious, but it was still a bit crowded with five people. However, it was only for half a day, so they could manage by squeezing in. Thus, Yang Ming and his family of four left Yangjia Village and headed towards S City as the Yang family waved goodbye.

As darkness fell and the streetlights came on, the car finally drove into the beautiful residential area and stopped in front of Building A.

The door opened, and Yang Zhengfang was the first to get out. The old man looked around excitedly as soon as he got out of the car, "Not bad, not bad, much better than our village..."

"Look at what you're saying! If the city is so bad, why do people all want to live there? Get rid of that country bumpkin attitude of yours! It's fine if you embarrass yourself, but if you embarrass my son, then get back to your hometown!" Zhang Shufang continued, giving her old man a good scolding.

"What's wrong with me? I'm just like this..." Yang Zhengfang probably felt embarrassed to be scolded by his wife in front of his daughter-in-law, so he mustered up his courage and retorted.

"Say what you just said again..." Zhang Shufang's eyebrows shot up.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing here. It'll be a laughing stock if people see us. Qingqing, take your parents upstairs and call Zhang Yang down to help carry things. He's a strong laborer," Yang Ming said quickly.

The elderly couple would still restrain themselves in front of Wei Qingqing. As soon as Wei Qingqing got out of the car, the two of them stopped talking.

"My dog..." Yang Zhengfang still remembered his big yellow dog, so he quickly went to the back of the car to take the dog down.

"Dog, dog, all you ever think about is dogs. You'll be living with dogs from now on..." Zhang Shufang was just being difficult, always finding fault with her old man. Perhaps this is how people are when they first come to the city; they're always afraid that their little habits will be laughed at, so they're always very strict with themselves and the people around them.

"If you want to be a dog, then be a dog; if you want to be a pig, I can't stop you..." Yang Zhengfang's words were quite sharp, but the key was that his daughter-in-law was there, so even if the old woman was very angry, she was too embarrassed to vent it.

Zhang Shufang gritted her teeth, her mind already cursing the old man to pieces, then adding water to reshape him into a human and continuing to curse him to pieces. Fortunately, Wei Qingqing was perceptive and quickly pulled her mother-in-law upstairs. Before entering the stairwell, she even called her parents to tell them to get ready.

"Dad, that's a real man..." Yang Ming gave his dad a thumbs up.

"Enough my ass, son, how many rooms do you have?" Yang Zhengfang immediately looked worried.

"Four bedrooms and two living rooms".

"Give me a room to myself..."

"..."

Wei Qingqing led her mother-in-law into the elevator and advised, "Mom, what you did today was wrong. You have to give Dad some face; he's the head of the family..."

"Hmph, that old geezer has grown up, look how capable he is..." Zhang Shufang sneered, her mind already rehearsing her husband-training plan over and over again.

"That's not entirely true. Men, after all, are all chauvinistic..."

"What kind of male chauvinism is this? Without us women, they wouldn't even be able to get a hot meal," Zhang Shufang said dismissively, curling her lip.

"You have a point... Yang Ming is just pretty lazy..."

"How did this get involved with my son? No way! Educating the old man is a private matter. You can't let your wife spoil him, otherwise, my son will be in big trouble. What if he turns out like his dad…?" It's a special sense of accomplishment to have your husband obedient and submissive, but if your son is disciplined by your wife and becomes like his father, that's something a mother won't be happy about. Zhang Shufang quickly said, "Husbands and wives should respect each other. That's how you grow old together. Your dad and I aren't usually like this, but we were just angry today. You, a grown man, acted like you'd never seen anything before. How embarrassing! It would be better if it were a child…"

"That's right, that's right..." Wei Qingqing said repeatedly, "Men are the pillars of the family, and women should be virtuous helpers. If the pillar is crooked, we'll straighten it..."

"You have to be careful with your methods when you're correcting it. You have to be gentle, otherwise if you use too much force, you'll knock down the main beam. Actually, I did go too far today..."

"No, not at all. I think you did a great job. The method doesn't matter, the key is the effect. There's a saying, 'It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat...'"

"..." Zhang Shufang was a little depressed and uneasy. Her son was honest to begin with. Would he be scolded by his wife and become as taciturn as his father?

"Hehehehe..." Wei Qingqing couldn't help but giggle as she looked at her mother-in-law's depressed expression.

Wei Qingqing smiled, and Zhang Shufang immediately realized what was happening. She lightly slapped her daughter-in-law's bottom and said with a laugh, "You little brat, are you trying to make fun of me?"

"No, no, how could I dare to laugh at you?" Wei Qingqing quickly hugged her mother-in-law's arm and said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you face and not stoop to that old man's level..." Zhang Shufang laughed as well.

As the mother and daughter were talking, they heard a "ding" and the elevator had reached the seventh floor. The two of them got out of the elevator and went straight to room 703 to let their parents meet first.

Wei Jianguo and Xue Hua had been waiting all day, and finally their in-laws arrived. When their daughter rang the doorbell, the couple immediately stood up from the sofa, and Xue Hua ran to open the door.

"Mom! These are my parents..." The door opened, and Wei Qingqing, supporting Zhang Shufang's arm, introduced them to her.

"Oh, it's my mother-in-law! Come in quickly..." Xue Hua said hurriedly.

"We've finally met! You're just as beautiful as Qingqing..." Zhang Shufang said, her eyes crinkling with laughter as she held Xue Hua's hand.

"No way, I looked alright when I was young, but I'm old now. Can't you see the crow's feet around my eyes?" Xue Hua laughed.

"Mom isn't old at all..." Wei Qingqing also praised her mother.

"Where's my father-in-law?" Wei Jianguo looked outside and asked.

"Dad and Yang Ming are moving their luggage outside..." Wei Qingqing said hurriedly.

"I'll go help them..." Wei Jianguo put on his shoes and went out the door.

"No need, no need. They may not have much else, but they are very strong," Zhang Shufang quickly replied.

"It's alright, it's alright, let him go..." Xue Hua quickly said.

"Mom, 703 is where my parents live. We live in 701, which is right next door. Can you guess whose house is 702?" Wei Qingqing said, sitting next to her mother-in-law after the three of them sat down inside.

"Now that you mention it, I can actually guess. Is it Fangfang's family? They just told you to call him Zhang Yang..." Zhang Shufang said.

"You guessed right, it's Fangfang's family. You know those two kids, right? They never consult with adults before doing anything. When we moved in yesterday, they caught us completely off guard..." Xue Hua chuckled as she scolded her daughter and son-in-law.

"Who says otherwise? We got a call from them this morning saying they were coming to pick us up. We hadn't even had time to make any arrangements before they came to pick us up." Zhang Shufang slapped her thigh, agreeing with her in-laws. In Zhang Shufang's opinion, they should at least give her some time to show off in front of the neighbors, relatives, and friends, until all the older women were green with envy, before they came to pick them up.

"Uh... I'll go ask Zhang Yang to help move things..." As soon as Wei Qingqing heard that the two old men were targeting her and Yang Ming, she immediately tried to leave.

"He's not back yet. Fangfang is working overtime. He's waiting for her at her company," Xue Hua said.

"Then I'll go help Yang Ming move his luggage..." Anyway, she couldn't sit still here any longer.

Wei Qingqing left, leaving only Zhang Shufang and Xue Hua, the in-laws, in the room.

"Your son is really capable. He bought two houses outright. Those two houses cost five million... With a son like this, you can just wait to enjoy the good life for the rest of your days..." Xue Hua chattered on and on to Zhang Shufang.

Praising someone, especially their son, is even more pleasing than praising the person themselves. Zhang Shufang was beaming from ear to ear after being showered with compliments by Xue Hua, but she quickly realized what he meant and frowned, "What did you say? These two houses cost five million?"

"Yes! What's wrong?" Xue Hua initially thought Zhang Shufang was feeling sorry for her daughter, but when she thought about the pair of bracelets Zhang Shufang had put on her daughter's wrist, that thought disappeared. This person didn't seem like a stingy person.

"Where did this little brat get the money? Did he do something illegal? No, that can't be right. Although Mingming has a bit of a temper, he wouldn't dare to do anything illegal..." Zhang Shufang's heart clenched. At first, she thought her son was like those modern homebuyers she saw on TV, buying houses with mortgages. But when she heard that her son had spent five million to buy these two houses in full, her first thought was that her son had gone astray. She desperately wanted to see her son and ask him properly where he got the money.

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