Chapter 7: Mengmeng, Are You Putting on a Show?

“Mengmeng, what are you doing? All you know is how to cause trouble for me.” Cao Shujie rolled his eyes at his daughter.

This look of disdain immediately hurt Mengmeng’s fragile little heart. She stared at her dad for a few seconds, and just as Cao Shujie thought his daughter was about to say something, she unexpectedly opened her mouth and cried with a ‘waah’.

Crying, she walked towards her mom: “Daddy is bad.”

Well, she went to complain to her mom.

Cheng Xiaolin first laughed triumphantly for a while, then bent down and picked Mengmeng up: “Mengmeng, be good. If Daddy doesn’t take you, Mommy will take you, okay?”

Mengmeng’s eyes lifted, her crying gradually subsided, she nodded ‘mm-hmm’, and then a smile appeared on her face: “Okay!”

“Let’s go, back home to get the car.” Cheng Xiaolin was a complete woman of action; she turned around with her daughter in her arms and walked down the mountain.

The moment she turned around, Cao Shujie looked at his wife’s almost heart-shaped face and rounded chin, and for a moment, he was a little dazed.

“Hey, this woman is really beautiful,” Cao Shujie muttered, feeling a stir in his heart.

As they went down the mountain, they also passed their old house, which was under construction, with his father Cao Jianguo watching nearby.

“Mengmeng, why are you down here?” Cao Jianguo saw his granddaughter and called out from a distance.

“Grandpa!”

Cheng Xiaolin replied: “Dad, we’re going to the county town to buy some things. Do you need us to bring anything back?”

“Going to the county town, huh.” Cao Jianguo shook his head: “I don’t need anything brought back. You two go quickly, and come back soon.”

“Dad, we might not be back today, I’ll see,” Cao Shujie said.

He was thinking of taking the opportunity to meet up with a few childhood friends who were living in the county town and tell them, ‘I’m back.’

If he didn’t tell them, they’d find out later and would surely nag him for another year.

Cao Jianguo seemed to understand, asking him: “Are you going to find Shuyang and the others?”

“Yes, since I’m back, I should tell them. I might even need their help in the future,” Cao Shujie said.

Cao Jianguo nodded: “You should tell them. That way, you can help each other out if anything comes up later. Go on, but don’t drink too much, and take good care of the mother and daughter.”

After returning home, Cao Shujie told his mother Wang Yuelan about going to the county town and asked her if she needed anything bought.

“You’re going to the county town, huh? Help me bring back some spools of thread.” Wang Yuelan, afraid her son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t know what they were, went into the house and brought one out.

Cao Shujie saw that it was a plastic spool with a layer of thread wrapped around it, the kind used in garment factories.

“Mom, what colors do you need? How many should we buy?” Cheng Xiaolin asked.

Wang Yuelan held two hundred yuan in her hand, intending to give it to Cheng Xiaolin: “Buy a few spools of white, black, and red thread. Don’t buy other colors.”

“I’m busy cooking at home and can’t go to the county town. Use these two hundred yuan to buy Mengmeng some clothes.”

Cheng Xiaolin quickly hugged her daughter and dodged: “Mom, why are you giving money? Please take it back, we have money.”

But she never expected Mengmeng to reach out directly: “Grandma, I want it.”

“…” Cheng Xiaolin was speechless, wondering if this would make her mother-in-law misunderstand that she had taught her.

Wang Yuelan clearly had no such thoughts; she was quite happy, chasing a few steps and putting the money into her granddaughter’s hand: “Mengmeng is right, from now on, when Grandma gives you money, just take it and buy yourself something delicious.”

But it was all in vain. As soon as Mengmeng took it, she handed it straight to her mother, saying, “Mommy, here!”

“This little one is a total mommy’s accomplice,” Cheng Xiaolin thought helplessly. It felt like no matter what she did, she couldn’t clear her name — even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

Wang Yuelan looked at her granddaughter like this, and she was happy from the bottom of her heart, repeatedly saying: “Our Mengmeng is so smart, she knew how to grab money from a young age, she’ll definitely be boss material when she grows up.”

Cao Shujie, on the other hand, looked at his wife’s embarrassed expression and wanted to laugh.

After changing clothes, Cao Shujie said: “It’s getting late, let’s go quickly.”

“You two go quickly, look around a lot, don’t rush back,” Wang Yuelan said cheerfully.

Watching her son drive away with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Wang Yuelan’s smile grew even wider.

Although she wanted her son to develop outside, deep down she also wished her son was by her side.

Especially since yesterday, the news that her son was going to build a two-story house had spread throughout Cao Family Village.

When the villagers saw her, they all gave her a thumbs-up: “Yuelan, Shujie is capable! He just came back and is already spending over 200,000 to build a house.”

“Exactly, Shujie must have made money outside, otherwise where would he get the money to build a two-story house? Outside, people call them small villas.”

“Sigh, I wonder what Shujie will do after he comes back. When he makes money, he should also help us villagers out.”

People like to gravitate towards capable individuals, nothing wrong with that!

…

The black Buick LaCrosse 2010 Elegant Edition drove all the way towards Pingyuan County.

After leaving the rural road of Cao Family Village, they got onto the main road. This was a first-class highway that had just been paved two years ago, almost like an expressway, and since there were few cars on this section of the road, it was very easy to drive on.

“Wife, look, the transportation here is very convenient, and future shipping will be very easy,” Cao Shujie said.

Cheng Xiaolin looked outside. Both sides of the road were planted with fruit trees, and there were also some greenhouse vegetables, but not many.

The environment here is suitable, and the temperature is also appropriate, so it’s mainly focused on planting fruit trees.

Mengmeng hadn’t seen much of these sights. She knelt on her mother’s lap, her small hands constantly gripping the car window, looking outside. Sometimes, she would point and babble, as if she had seen something new and exciting.

In this state of extraordinary performance, Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin, the couple, couldn’t understand what their daughter was saying.

“Are you going to drink today?” Cheng Xiaolin asked out of the blue.

Cao Shujie smiled: “Later, when we get to the county town, after we finish shopping, I’ll take you two around first, and then I’ll go find them in the evening. I won’t drink much, mainly just chat.”

He explained: “Now that we’re back to develop in our hometown, it’s not like we’re going into seclusion and avoiding everyone else. We still need to socialize, right? These guys have been based in the county town for years; although they don’t have great abilities, they know a lot of people from all walks of life.”

“Hmm, I have no objections, just don’t drink too much,” Cheng Xiaolin said, her gentle gaze falling on her daughter. “I still have to look after Mengmeng. If you drink too much, I won’t be able to take care of you.”

“Absolutely,” Cao Shujie replied to his wife with a smile.

Cao Shujie had a typical square face, with distinct features. Perhaps after resigning from his job in Beijing, he had truly adjusted his routine and rested well, as his spirits were exceptionally high now, and his eyes appeared particularly sharp, subtly giving off the impression of a ‘big shot’.

“Daddy, handsome!” Mengmeng was very cooperative, acting as a perfect foil at the crucial moment, making Cao Shujie feel incredibly pleased.

He shamelessly accepted his daughter’s compliment: “Mengmeng, if you want anything, just tell me when you see it later, Daddy will buy it for you.”

Cheng Xiaolin also chuckled, listening to her husband say this.

“Mommy is also pretty!”

Cheng Xiaolin couldn’t hold back; she exclaimed: “Honey, look, your daughter is such a little flatterer! She’s so young and already knows these things. Who did she learn it from?”

“Who knows? Maybe you taught her well,” Cao Shujie praised his wife: “Other things are hard to say, but Mengmeng will definitely do well in the future.”

“By flattering people every day?” Cheng Xiaolin burst out laughing.

Mengmeng peered at her mother’s face, saw her mother laughing triumphantly, and she also giggled, then her small hand unexpectedly lifted and slapped her.

“Slap!”

The slap landed squarely on Cheng Xiaolin’s chin. Fortunately, her hand had no strength, so for Cheng Xiaolin, it was just a tickle.

But Mengmeng’s action stunned Cheng Xiaolin. After she reacted, she immediately flipped her daughter over, bottom up, onto her lap, and raised her palm to give her daughter’s little bottom two slaps.

“Mengmeng, how dare you hit me? I think you’re rebelling against heaven!” Cheng Xiaolin exclaimed: “You need to eat for another 20 years before you can do that.”

Mengmeng, instead of crying after being hit, laughed even more cheerfully.

This child is simply beyond saving.

Cao Shujie was driving in front, listening to the cheerful ‘exchange’ between the mother and daughter in the back, and he couldn’t help but be amused.

He thought to himself that escaping the fast-paced life in Beijing was precisely to spend more time with them and listen to these joyful sounds.

He felt that even if he ended up earning less in his hometown than he did in Beijing, it would still be worth it!

If he were to work himself to death again, staying up late for long hours like in his previous life, and suddenly die before turning 40, no amount of money earned would have any meaning to him!

Author Note:
I want to bring everyone a joyful, relaxed, and pleasant story, and in the process of writing, also alleviate my own stress.
(End of this chapter)