Chapter 2: Rebuilding the House

“Mengmeng, look who that is?” Cheng Xiaolin also saw her mother-in-law.

She had just left home after Chinese New Year last month, and Mengmeng still remembered Grandma now.

She loudly called out “Grandma” from inside the car, but it was still a bit far, and Wang Yuelan outside couldn’t hear her.

When the car stopped, Wang Yuelan quickly walked to the back door and peeked inside, still shouting loudly from outside, “Linlin, it’s cold outside, put warm clothes on Mengmeng.”

“Grandma!” Mengmeng also jumped and shouted loudly from inside.

After her mother dressed her and opened the car door, Mengmeng didn’t care about anything else; she spread her arms and pounced towards Grandma.

Fortunately, Wang Yuelan reacted quickly enough and hugged her. “Oh, Mengmeng, you’re being naughty again. If I hadn’t caught you, you would have jumped into the ditch.”

Next to where Cao Shujie parked was a concrete-lined sewage ditch.

“Mom, it’s so cold outside, what are you doing standing here?” Cheng Xiaolin said to her mother-in-law.

Wang Yuelan shook her head, “I’ve already stewed the ribs and chicken. I had nothing to do at home, so I came out for a walk.”

After speaking, she suddenly remembered something, “Linlin, didn’t you just leave last month after Chinese New Year? It’s only been a month, why are you back again?”

Cao Shujie was afraid his mother would worry, so he didn’t mention resigning and returning to his hometown over the phone.

Now that they were home, he didn’t care anymore. “Mom, I’ve resigned from my job. I’ll develop things here at home from now on; I won’t be going out.”

“Ah!” Wang Yuelan was very surprised, then a little angry. “What are you going to do at home? Plant an orchard?”

“Yes, plant an orchard. Don’t we have a few acres of orchard on our family’s mountain? I’ll take care of those from now on.” Cao Shujie had a plan in mind.

He was tired of the endless fast-paced life in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. He wanted to slow down the pace of life, live a few more years, and not suddenly die like in his previous life.

“What about your house in Beijing? What will you do with it?”

Cao Shujie opened the trunk and started taking things out. Hearing his mother’s question, he said directly, “Sold it. I came back after selling it. If it weren’t for the procedures of selling the house, I would have been back much earlier.”

“Then what about Mengmeng’s schooling later? We don’t have any good schools here.” Wang Yuelan was also very worried.

But Cao Shujie didn’t care at all. He said, “Mom, Mengmeng hasn’t even started kindergarten yet. Why are you thinking so far ahead? Let’s talk about it in a few years.”

Cheng Xiaolin glared at her husband and said to him, “Nonsense.”

Then she held her mother-in-law’s hand and said confidently, “Mom, I can tutor her in subjects up to junior high school. It’s not a big problem.”

Wang Yuelan pointed at her son and daughter-in-law, not knowing what to say. She simply dropped the topic. “Forget it, do whatever you want, I won’t interfere anymore.”

But Mengmeng said, “Grandma, hungry.”

Hearing her granddaughter say this, Wang Yuelan immediately shifted her attention and carried her granddaughter home first. “Mengmeng, Grandma specially stewed a piece of fatty meat for you; it’s so fragrant.”

“Hehe, meat, eat meat.” Mengmeng hugged Grandma’s neck with both hands, pouting and giggling.

It was completely dark. Father Cao Jianguo returned from town on his motorcycle. As soon as he entered the door, he asked, “Shujie, why are you back again?”

“What do you mean ‘back again’? He plans to grow fruit at home and won’t be leaving anymore,” Wang Yuelan said angrily.

She had just talked with her son and daughter-in-law, and her daughter-in-law’s words were: “Mom, Shujie’s job was too tiring, he stayed up late every day. In Beijing, the mortgage alone was six or seven thousand a month, and he couldn’t save any money even if he earned some. It’s better to come back and develop things here.”

After listening, Cao Jianguo had something to say in his heart, but he didn’t know how to express it.

He finally said helplessly, “If he’s back, he’s back. Let him manage the orchard for a few days, and he’ll know how tiring it is. Then there’ll be no need to urge them; they’ll go back on their own.”

“Grandpa, where’s the little doggy?” Mengmeng watched the adults talk, and no one paid attention to her. She looked around but couldn’t find the little doggy, getting anxious.

Cao Jianguo heard his granddaughter’s cry, slapped his thigh, and said with a look of resentment, “Mengmeng, our dog was poisoned and taken away by dog thieves. Grandpa will find you a better one another day, okay?”

As soon as she heard the little doggy was gone, Mengmeng burst into tears with a “waa” sound, and no one could console her.

It was Cao Shujie who hugged her and said, “Mengmeng, let’s go, Daddy will take you to see dogs on the street.”

In the countryside, there’s no shortage of all kinds of dogs.

This trick worked. The little one stopped crying as soon as she heard it. She couldn’t wait and pulled her father’s hand, wanting to go out.

In the end, Cao Shujie put a thick coat on her, carried her out, and when they saw a local dog on the street, the little one finally stopped crying.

…

The first day of the family of three returning from Beijing to the countryside passed just like that.

Early the next morning, as soon as Cao Shujie got up, he saw his father sweeping fallen leaves in the yard with a bamboo broom.

Seeing Cao Shujie come out, Cao Jianguo called out, “Shujie, come here.”

Cao Shujie went over, curious, “Dad, is something wrong?”

“You really don’t want to go out again? It’s so good out there, there’s nothing at home…” Cao Jianguo tried to persuade his son not to stay at home again.

But Cao Shujie had made up his mind. “Dad, I’m not going out. Life is the same wherever you are. It’s so much better that I can spend more time with you at home.”

“But you don’t make money at home. It’s all expenses year-round. You can’t just live off your savings every day, can you?” Cao Jianguo was a bit angry at his son’s lack of ambition.

He said, “Everyone else is going out and doing better and better, but you, you’re doing the opposite, coming back. Where am I supposed to put my old face?”

Hearing his father say this, Cao Shujie smiled, “Dad, how am I embarrassing you? Just wait and see, by next year at the latest, you’ll be the most prestigious person in Cao Family Village.”

“Forget it, do as you please.” Cao Jianguo couldn’t persuade his son, so he stopped bothering with him.

He brought up another matter: “Your mom and I have discussed it. If you’re really not leaving, then we’ll leave this house for you to live in, and your mom and I will move to the house at the foot of the mountain.”

“Dad, you’ve got it backward.” Cao Shujie quickly shook his head. He had already planned to renovate the house at the foot of their family’s mountain.

He said, “Dad, give me the house at the foot of the mountain. In a few days, I’ll find someone to tear it down and rebuild it. It’ll be beautiful and well-decorated, comfortable to live in.”

Seeing that his son wasn’t joking, Cao Jianguo didn’t say anything else. He finally warned him, “Don’t waste money carelessly, buying this and that. You’ll spend all your money.”

“Dad, don’t worry, I’m not a child anymore.” Cao Shujie leaned closer to his dad and said with a smile: “Dad, how come you look younger and younger? You look quite handsome.”

“Get lost.” Cao Jianguo raised his hand and slapped his son. He couldn’t quite stand his son praising him for being handsome.

But he didn’t know that this was Cao Shujie’s sincere opinion.

Cao Jianguo 12 years later, not only had his skin tanned dark from the sun, but his whole person also looked incredibly old, completely unlike what someone his age should look like.

After the father and son finished talking, when Cao Shujie returned to the bedroom, his wife had just woken up and was getting dressed. Looking from the side, Cao Shujie saw a round little football, which might turn into a rugby ball in a few more years.

“Close the door quickly, it’s freezing.” Cheng Xiaolin said.

Cao Shujie quickly closed the door. He said: “Wife, I just told Dad to tear down the house at the foot of the mountain and rebuild it, make it bigger and better, so it’s more comfortable to live in.”

(End of this chapter)