Chapter 133: Huang Lan’s Moment of Glory

“Guifang, your son-in-law’s made it big. I saw him ride back on a bicycle.”

Huang Lan’s parents were on their way home when they ran into some fellow villagers.

Hearing this, the couple was even more surprised. At first, when others mentioned it, they hadn’t really believed it. But when enough people say the same thing, it’s hard not to.

“Made it big? That bike might be borrowed,” Huang Lan’s father said.

The two quickened their pace. Before long, they were back home, and sure enough, there was a bicycle parked right at their door—and their son-in-law, Zhou Xuqiang, was wiping it down!

“Xuqiang, what brings you here?” Huang Lan’s mother greeted him happily.

Zhou Xuqiang looked up and smiled. “It’s been so long since we last came back—I missed the place a bit. Mother-in-law, why doesn’t Xinghua Village dig a few more hand pumps?”

He had checked when they came in. Xinghua Village did have hand pumps, but only two. Was that enough? He had serious doubts.

His mother-in-law smiled. “Our village struck a spring. The water flow is strong, so for now there’s no need to worry about water.”

That was indeed a stroke of good fortune.

Then, he pulled out a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes and handed one to his father-in-law.

Zhou Xuqiang had brought two types of cigarettes this time—regular ones for the average villagers, and Da Qianmen for the elders like his father-in-law.

“What, you really got rich? You’ve even got a bicycle,” Old Huang asked, unable to help himself when he saw the premium cigarettes.

Zhou Xuqiang shook his head. “Father-in-law, this bicycle belongs to my nephew.”

“Well, your nephew must be something else, then.”

Zhou Xuqiang nodded. “Exactly! Even those hand pumps were invented by him. He’s been rewarded by the state, the factory, and even the subdistrict office.”

At that, his in-laws were dumbfounded.

They knew their son-in-law had a nephew who wasn’t related by blood.

Originally, they had held a bit of a grudge—thinking, with their own family still struggling, why would he go out of his way to care for two old people? Wasn’t he just asking for hardship?

“Those pumps were your nephew’s invention?” his father-in-law asked, still finding it hard to believe.

Zhou Xuqiang was rather pleased by his reaction. He smiled and said, “Yep! He even got a bonus of several hundred yuan! Of course, this bike wasn’t bought by him—it was left to him by his father.

Nowadays, thanks to Yimin, our family is doing pretty well too.”

He wasn’t saying all this just to brag to his in-laws, but to show that his decision back then hadn’t been wrong—that taking care of those elders hadn’t dragged their daughter down into hardship after all.

Now the return had come, hadn’t it?

Because of this, he’d gotten no small amount of envy from the villagers. They said his judgment back then was amazing—latching on to Zhou Yimin’s grandparents, and in the end, making it through to better days.

Huang Lan’s parents exchanged glances.

“Dad, Mom! Come on in,” Huang Lan called out, broom in hand, having heard them talking.

After her parents entered the house, she pulled some things out of the bag.

First were two cans of canned yellow peaches.

She explained, “Mom, these were sent by Yimin—Xuqiang’s nephew. He told us to bring them back for you to try.”

Seeing the canned peaches, the two elders were visibly moved. This kind of thing was a rarity even in the city, let alone the countryside. Even the supply and marketing co-op in Anping Commune might not stock them.

“These are too precious. You should take them back.”

Seeing his father-in-law’s stern expression, Zhou Xuqiang stepped in to smooth things over for his wife. “Father-in-law, my nephew doesn’t care about this kind of thing. He works as a procurement officer at the steel factory. He’s very fond of our three kids. When he heard we were coming, he specifically asked us to bring these. We wouldn’t have dared come without them.”

Huang Lan added, “That’s right! Good thing we helped take care of his uncle and aunt back then. Now that Yimin’s doing well, our family gets to benefit too. Like Laifu—at school, he—”

“Ahem!” Zhou Xuqiang coughed twice.

Huang Lan immediately stopped. It probably wasn’t wise—or necessary—to talk about school matters. Even if her parents knew, Xinghua Village wouldn’t be able to replicate it. They didn’t have the capability or the resources.

Seeing their daughter stop, the old couple didn’t press further.

But inside, their feelings were complicated. They hadn’t expected that their earlier efforts to dissuade them had nearly caused their son-in-law’s family to miss out on a major opportunity.

Although Huang Lan didn’t say more about school, she did mention, “Later, once Laifu is grown, we’ll arrange a job for him in the city. Laitai likes to cook, so we’re planning to find him a master chef to apprentice under and learn the trade.”

Her parents were once again stunned.

Jobs in the city weren’t easy to come by. This kind of treatment meant they really must care about those three kids! And that nephew of their son-in-law—he had risen to such a level?

It was almost unbelievable.

If they didn’t already know that the boy had invented the hand pump, they would’ve thought this was all just talk, a pipe dream.

As they spoke, Huang Lan pulled out a couple of cured ducks.

Her parents barely reacted—after all, when the future of the children had already been arranged, what were a couple of ducks in comparison?

They felt incredibly lucky. Good thing their son-in-law hadn’t listened to them back then and had stuck to his own path—finally, he had something to show for it. Who would’ve thought that the grandson of that couple would turn out so accomplished?

“Mom, and here’s some corn for you to eat slowly.”

Her mother was thrilled to see the bag of corn kernels.

With a big family to feed, she knew their struggles all too well. Over the years, they had done everything they could to scrimp and save. The ones who worked ate in the village canteen, but the food was bland and watery.

The kids, though, had to eat at home—and there was no surplus food left. The little ones were always crying from hunger.

At the beginning, even kids who didn’t work were allowed to eat at the canteen. Back then, they ate like kings, without any restraint.

There were smart folks in the village who saw this couldn’t last long.

Sure enough, before long, the village’s food stores were nearly depleted. Meals became worse and worse. Now, even a thin gruel was hard to come by.

“This is great. So, so great. Thank you, Xiao Lan.”

Huang Lan said, “Don’t thank me—thank my nephew. Otherwise, we’d still be struggling and couldn’t help you out.”

“Then pass along our thanks to your nephew.”

These things—especially that half-bag of corn—meant the world to their family.

Around noon, Huang Lan’s eldest brother and his wife, among others, came home one after another. They’d heard the news beforehand, so they had high hopes for their little sister’s visit this time.

When they saw what she had brought, they were both surprised and delighted.

With this, their family wouldn’t have to go hungry.

The two sisters-in-law flattered Huang Lan nonstop, greatly satisfying her vanity. After all, the two of them used to look down on her a little.

They never said it outright, but she could feel it.

All because she had married into a family that wasn’t seen as promising—people looked down on her for it.

Now, the situation had completely reversed. They were the ones flattering her, praising her children for being so smart and capable.

Lunch was cornmeal cakes. The cured duck and canned peaches were too precious to eat just yet. Even so, everyone was content. Being able to eat pure corn cakes—there weren’t many households in the whole village who could say the same.

(End of Chapter)