Chapter 150: I Just Like Watching Her Work

Wang Kun was the kind of person Cao Shujie appreciated. Unlike some rich folks who were stingy with their money and always dragged their feet when it came to settling payments—insisting on holding onto the cash for a while, maybe hoping to earn a bit of interest—Wang Kun was straightforward and generous.

After seeing Wang Kun off, Cao Jianguo was busy sweeping up the stone debris left from the drilling, while Wang Yuelan led Mengmeng around the house, feeling the steadily warming radiators in each room. She felt like life was finally starting to look up.

“Mengmeng, is it warm?” she asked.

Mengmeng clapped her little hands and beamed. “Grandma, it’s really warm! I’m sweating already. Can you take my clothes off?”

Her granddaughter had just recovered from a cold, so Wang Yuelan didn’t dare undress her. The sudden shift from warm to cold might cause a relapse, and if Mengmeng got sick again, the whole family would be miserable.

Cao Jianguo also wandered through the rooms, feeling the temperature rise bit by bit. The longer the heating ran, the cozier it got. He grinned with satisfaction. “This is the life. Just as comfortable as living in an apartment.”

“Dad, once we finish fixing up the house, it’ll be even better than living in an apartment,” Cao Shujie said, fully convinced.

Cao Jianguo nodded and left the house, heading out to the main road. He needed to chat with the neighbors. He just had to say a few words, or it wouldn’t sit right with him.

After all, his son had done so well. How could he not show it off a little?

Cao Shujie didn’t know what was going through his father’s mind, but when he remembered him mentioning that Grandpa and the eldest uncle’s family would be coming back next month, he figured the most urgent task was to get the new house ready and move in by the end of the month.

That way, when Grandpa and the others arrived, they’d have a place to stay. They wouldn’t have to rush back the same day or book a hotel in town, which would be a hassle.

For the rest of November, aside from pruning excess branches in the orchard on the mountain, Cao Shujie spent most of his time fixing up the new house. He also started moving over bits and pieces of their belongings.

Thinking ahead to when his eldest and second brothers returned, he knew there had to be enough beds for everyone. So he went to the furniture mall in Yiling City and bought four beds, placing one in each of the four previously empty rooms. That way, the house was fully furnished in one go.

The weather forecast had repeatedly warned of upcoming rain and snow, but there hadn’t even been a hint of rain, let alone snow. Meanwhile, the temperature had already dropped below freezing.

In the rhythm of a life governed by sunrise and sunset, the last Tuesday of November arrived.

Cao Jianguo had consulted someone to pick an auspicious day, and they said this was a good one for moving into a new home.

Cao Shujie wasn’t superstitious, but he still held a certain respect for these traditions. After all, how else could he explain his own existence?

He still remembered being a kid and occasionally falling ill. Medicine and injections wouldn’t help, but after his parents burned some paper offerings, he’d be fine in no time.

There were plenty of strange things in this world.

Cao Shujie called a few of his childhood friends who were still working in Pingyuan County Town to see if they had time to come over and join the celebration. Since it wasn’t a weekend, only Cao Tiemin, who worked in renovations, and Cao Shuyang, who worked on the highway and happened to be off shift, could make it. Cao Fei and Cao Shulun were both working and couldn’t come.

As for Cao Zhen, that guy was holed up in some small town in Xinjiang, over three thousand kilometers away. He might make it back for the New Year, or maybe not even for a few years.

Cao Shujie thought about calling him to say they’d moved into the new house, but in the end, he decided against it.

Back at his parents’ old house, a few neighbors had come to help carry things.

When the family returned from Beijing, they only brought a few suitcases of clothes. All the appliances and furniture had been sold off before they left.

But in the past six months, the family had managed to accumulate a surprising number of new items.

When Cao Tiemin saw that nearly half the boxes were filled with toys, he was stunned. “Shujie, did you guys spend all your time buying toys after you got back?”

“I honestly didn’t notice,” Cao Shujie said, unable to hold back a laugh as he turned to look at his wife.

But Cheng Xiaolin turned her head away, pretending not to hear.

—

They really hadn’t paid attention. Every few days, they’d buy Mengmeng a toy. Little by little, it had added up. Now it looked like a mountain of toys.

Cao Shujie grinned and said to his daughter, “Mengmeng, once things settle down, Daddy will take you to set up a stall and sell some toys, okay?”

Mengmeng thought the idea of selling things sounded fun. She had no idea her dad was planning to get rid of her dusty old toys. She nodded enthusiastically. “Okay! I like selling things!”

She often played pretend with her toy sets, so she picked up on the idea quickly.

Sometimes, she’d even pretend to ask her parents for money to save.

Seeing how excited she was, Cao Shujie couldn’t help but imagine the scene and laughed with pride.

Cheng Xiaolin didn’t even want to look at him, but she knew most of those toys were just lying around unused. Rather than selling them, they might as well donate them to the kindergarten when they had time.

Cao Shujie called over Cao Shuliang, who drove a truck in the village. Using his 4.2-meter truck, they managed to move everything to the new house at the north end of Cao Family Village in a single trip.

After it was done, Cao Shujie gave him 200 yuan and two cartons of cigarettes.

Cao Shuliang refused to take anything, but Cao Shujie insisted. He said that Cao Shuliang had given up a delivery job to help him out, and that meant he respected him. So he had to take the money.

Normally, Cao Shuliang ran short-haul routes. Even if he filled the truck and drove dozens of kilometers, he wouldn’t make 200 yuan. He thought Cao Shujie was giving too much, but by then, Cao Shujie had already moved on to other tasks.

As firecrackers went off, someone called out, “Shujie, now that everything’s done, where are we going to celebrate lunch?”

There was a village custom: when someone moved into a new house, they’d always treat the friends and relatives who helped out to a meal. It symbolized prosperity and good fortune in the days to come.

Cao Shujie wasn’t stingy. He smiled and said, “Uncle, don’t worry. I’ve already booked a place—Fuxing Grand Hotel in town. How does that sound?”

He added, “If it’s not good enough, we can change it.”

Cao Jianqiang, the one who had asked, replied, “Sounds perfect. I’m definitely having a few extra drinks today.”

“Haha, drink as much as you want!” Cao Shujie laughed heartily.

Before heading to the restaurant, he had Cao Shuchao feed all fifty cows with plenty of hay and feed. He didn’t bother pruning the orchard that day. Instead, he called him along to go enjoy a hearty meal at the Fuxing Grand Hotel in town. After all, life wasn’t just about working and making money. There were good days to be lived too.

By the time they returned from town, it was already past three in the afternoon.

Today, Cao Shujie was the center of attention and ended up drinking quite a bit. His father helped handle the elders, but among his peers, everyone tried to get him drunk.

In Cao Family Village, Cao Shujie was doing quite well for himself. He had spent a large sum building a two-story house with lavish interior decoration that left people dazzled. Most couldn’t even name the styles or materials used.

They all felt that the houses in the city couldn’t compare to the way Cao Shujie had decorated his home. Even some of the villas seen on TV paled in comparison.

As one elder put it, “I’ve lived my whole life and never thought I’d see such a beautiful house in the village.”

Cao Shujie had drunk too much. The alcohol was hitting him hard. When he got home, he didn’t even bother to shower or change clothes. He just found a random room on the first floor, collapsed onto the bed without even pulling up the covers, and drifted off in a daze.

Thankfully, the house had a boiler heating system. Inside felt like summer while outside was winter, so even without a blanket, he didn’t have to worry about catching a cold.

No one knew how long he’d been asleep. Still half-dazed, he felt someone nudging him. When he opened his eyes, he saw his wife, Cheng Xiaolin.

“Babe, what time is it?” Cao Shujie asked groggily, reaching into his pocket but failing to find his phone.

Cheng Xiaolin shot him an annoyed look, then handed him his phone. “Look at you, all proud of yourself. Got so drunk you don’t even know where your phone went. Real impressive.”

After scolding him, she added, “Brother Zhen called you earlier. I tried waking you up, but you wouldn’t budge. Call him back.”

“Cao Zhen?” Cao Shujie took the phone from her and scrolled through his contacts, spotting the missed call from Cao Zhen. Just as he was about to return the call, Cheng Xiaolin asked, “Shujie, what do you want for dinner?”

Ever since they moved out of his parents’ house, the first challenge they faced was cooking for themselves.

Back then, his mother did most of the cooking. They only had to pitch in occasionally and didn’t have to worry about meals. Now, there was no one to take care of them.

Cao Shujie scratched his head. “How about I make some noodles and stir-fry a dish? I honestly can’t think of what I want to eat.”

Cheng Xiaolin replied, “I knew asking you would be pointless. I’ll figure it out myself.”

With that, she headed off to make dinner.

Watching her walk away, Cao Shujie smiled. Clearly, she was annoyed that he’d gotten so drunk.

He made a mental note to himself: “I really can’t drink like that anymore.”

What did Cao Zhen want to talk about?

Still puzzled, Cao Shujie called him back. When the line connected, he could hear a lively buzz in the background.

A moment later, Cao Zhen’s voice came through. “Shujie, I heard you moved into your new house. Congrats!”

“Man, I thought you had something urgent to say. Don’t even mention it. I got so hammered at lunch I didn’t know which way was up.”

“Well, it’s a happy occasion. It’s normal to drink a little more.”

Cao Shujie grunted in agreement, then suddenly realized something. “Wait, how did you even know?”

Cao Zhen didn’t bother hiding his annoyance. “A big event like this and you didn’t even call to tell me? I only found out because Tiemin mentioned it in a group chat.”

“Come on, it’s not that big a deal. Besides, you’re so far away, you couldn’t come anyway,” Cao Shujie said. “How about this: when you come back for the New Year, I’ll throw another dinner. We’ll have a proper get-together.”

“Sounds good. I’ll definitely be back for the New Year,” Cao Zhen replied.

Cao Shujie didn’t think much of it and asked what he was up to. Cao Zhen said, “Out eating, of course. Since I missed your housewarming feast, I had to treat myself to something nice.”

Over three thousand kilometers away, on the other end of the line, Cao Zhen was sitting in Patiguli’s Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken restaurant. He sipped water while watching the busy owner, Patiguli, bustling around the place.

A thought popped into his head: “A woman at work is the most beautiful sight.”

He found the scene oddly poetic. He couldn’t even remember when it started, but at some point, he’d developed a habit of watching Patiguli work.

Did he like her? Cao Zhen thought about it. There was definitely something there, but it still felt like something essential was missing.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

Still, with the daily meal allowance from his company, he could afford to splurge on dinner here every night. He wasn’t in a frugal mood anyway. As for breakfast and lunch, he just grabbed whatever to get by.

Cao Zhen and Cao Shujie chatted for seven or eight minutes. Throughout the call, his eyes never left Patiguli.

He told Cao Shujie that the apples he mailed had arrived and were just as sweet as ever.

“Shujie, I heard from my mom that you planted a bunch of strawberries again. I’m telling you, once they’re ripe, make sure to send me some,” Cao Zhen reminded him.

It was a small favor, just mailing some strawberries. Cao Shujie readily agreed.

Just then, Cao Zhen saw Patiguli walking toward his table. He quickly wrapped up the call with a couple of sentences and hung up.

Faced with a childhood friend and a beautiful woman, he didn’t hesitate to choose the latter.

“Patiguli, you’re making a killing today,” Cao Zhen said, gesturing to the packed restaurant.

Patiguli rubbed her temples and forehead. The place was crowded, and the servers were struggling to keep up. She had even stepped in to help earlier.

“It only gets this busy a few times a month. Most days, we barely get any customers,” she said, sitting down and pouring herself a glass of water.

“You done with your call?” she asked.

Cao Zhen was surprised she was paying attention. He nodded. “Yeah, it was the friend who sent me those apples. I just found out he planted another 20 mu of strawberries. I told him to send me some when they’re ripe.”

“Patiguli, you wouldn’t believe it. That guy really put his agricultural degree to use. Everything he grows tastes amazing.”

“Heh, you two seem pretty close,” Patiguli said with a hint of envy. Her focus was elsewhere.

But Cao Zhen didn’t care. His friendship with Cao Shujie didn’t need anyone else’s approval. He muttered, “That bastard moved into a new house today and didn’t even tell me. If I hadn’t heard from someone else, I’d still be in the dark.”

He looked full of admiration as he told Patiguli, “I swear, you can’t even imagine how impressive that guy is. He spent 300,000 yuan to build a villa in our village. I was jealous just looking at it.”

“If I had the money, I’d definitely go back to Cao Family Village and build one myself,” he added.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t envious.

Patiguli smiled and nodded. “Cao Zhen, you’re managing thousands of mu of cotton fields. I can’t even imagine how much money you’ll make in the future. I believe you’ll succeed.”

Being praised like that made Cao Zhen a little embarrassed. He waved his hand and said, “Come on, I told you before, that cotton isn’t mine. It’s leased by the factory. I’m just managing it for them.”

“You’re amazing too. You’re so young, yet your company’s leadership already trusts you this much. I believe you’ll do even better in the future,” Patiguli said earnestly.

Cao Zhen felt a growing sense of pride. It was like drinking an ice-cold cola in the middle of a scorching summer—refreshing and satisfying.

Looking at the radiant smile across from him, Cao Zhen felt a lump in his throat. There was something he wanted to say, something that had been stuck there for a while. But every time the words reached his mouth, they were blocked by some invisible barrier and refused to come out.

Noticing the flicker of emotion on his face, Patiguli asked curiously, “Cao Zhen, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m fine. Just thinking about something,” Cao Zhen replied.

“Patiguli, Patiguli…”

Someone nearby called her name. She turned to Cao Zhen and said, “I have to go take care of something. You take your time eating. We can chat more when I’m free.”

“Sure, go ahead!” Cao Zhen nodded, picking up another bite of chicken.

Maybe Patiguli had really taken his advice from last time. The ‘Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken’ in front of him had barely any potatoes or peppers—just lots of chicken, living up to the name of the dish.

But then he noticed the same dish at the table next to his didn’t look any different from before.

“Whatever, I should just enjoy my own meal. No need to overthink it,” Cao Zhen thought happily. He picked up a piece of drumstick and popped it into his mouth. Delicious!

…

At the northern end of Cao Family Village, the two-story house was brightly lit.

With the door shut, little Mengmeng was running back and forth under the eaves in just her thermal shirt.

Now that the house was spacious enough, she had plenty of room to run in circles.

And since all the rooms on the first floor had connecting doors, once they were opened, she could dash through the whole floor with even more excitement.

“Daddy, look!” Mengmeng ran from the bedroom on the west side to the storage room in the northwest corner. Without stopping, she darted into the living room, spotted her father, Cao Shujie, sitting on the sofa, and threw herself into his arms.

But the moment she touched him, before he could even hug her, she wrinkled her nose and ran off, holding it tightly.

As she ran, she shouted, “Daddy stinks! Daddy pooped his pants!”

And that wasn’t the end of it. She yelled even louder, “Mommy! Daddy pooped his pants!”

The shout left Cheng Xiaolin stunned. Did her husband drink too much today and lose control of his bladder?

No way!

She was cooking in the kitchen but rushed into the living room. Even at the doorway, she could smell the lingering mix of smoke and alcohol on him—left over from lunch.

He had been napping all afternoon and hadn’t had a chance to change clothes yet.

“Shujie, go take a shower and change. The smell is making me nauseous,” Cheng Xiaolin said.

Cao Shujie gave her an OK sign, then headed upstairs to wash up and change.

Watching her dad go upstairs, Mengmeng turned to Cheng Xiaolin and asked, “Mommy, where did Daddy go?”

“Your daddy smelled bad, so I told him to go change. He’ll come play with you in a bit, okay?” Cheng Xiaolin said.

Mengmeng nodded. As long as there was playtime, she was happy.

But then she looked around and asked, “Mommy, where’s Grandfather? Where’s Grandmother?”

“Your Grandfather and Grandmother are staying at the old house. We’ll go visit them tomorrow,” Cheng Xiaolin explained.

But Mengmeng didn’t quite understand. She tilted her little head in confusion and asked, “Mommy, why won’t Grandfather and Grandmother come here?”

“They just don’t want to come over,” Cheng Xiaolin told her gently.

(End of Chapter)