Chapter 11

Although the drama was extremely refreshing and the results were as expected, because Tang Chunming’s previous health is too deficient, after the drama Tang Chunming had to rest in bed. So the villagers who were watching the dispute with the Li family also saw Hu Langzhong carrying his medicine box to see Tang Chunming.

Some enthusiastic or good villagers stopped Hu Langzhong and asked what happened to Tang Chunming. Hu Langzi was so annoyed that he blew his beard and stared at them, “Isn’t this nonsense? His health is so bad and the fetus is in a dangerous place, I don’t know if I will be able to save it. I didn’t expect Zhao Dahu, who looks like a good person, to treat him so badly.” Hu Langzhong angrily walked away with the medicine box on his back.

There were sighs and gloating from everyone, if it weren’t for the Li family incident, Tang Chunming would firmly occupy the top of the gossip spot for a long time.

Tang Chunming, who was jointly scolded by Zhang Xiu, the village leader’s wife and his stepmother, laid slumped on the kang. His arms were occupied by little Lin’er. Now he doesn’t want anyone to hold him but his mom. Tang Chunming was also reluctant to let go and satisfied all his son’s requests.

“Ah-Lin, don’t you want your uncle anymore?” Tang Chunrong teased his little nephew by the side of the kang.

Zhao Lin’er poked his head out and looked at his uncle’s sad expression, but after all he was reluctant to leave his mother, so he had to say, “Ah-Lin, tomorrow, no, I’ll accompany my uncle the day after tomorrow.” Uncle is very good to him, will hold him and fly, would feed him porridge, will talk to him very tenderly, more than a hundred times better than the people over there, so Zhao Lin loves this uncle who he has never seen before. Uncle, he couldn’t bear his uncle being sad.

Tang Chunrong’s mouth twitched, Zhang Xiu smiled, while the village leader’s wife laughed, “Our Lin’er is smart, alas, I really like him. I want to take him back and raise him.” Even Wang Ying, who saw his son with a dumbfounded expression, couldn’t help holding the corner of his mouth. This could be regarded as his grandson, much more sensible than his mother.

“Okay, okay, let’s accompany mother first. Ah-Lin is really my good son.” Tang Chunming said triumphantly, he took his son’s head and gave a big kiss. Zhao Lin’er shyly hid in the quilt.

“Okay, I can rest assured that there is Ah-Xiu here taking care of you and your mother. There is still something to do at the Li family. I come back and see you when I have time. We also sent some things over, don’t be polite towards your uncle and refuse them. Take care of yourself and raise your body well.” The village leader’s wife pointed to the items placed on the table when he entered the room and Tang Chunming could not refuse it.

Tang Chunming had to give thanks and knew that he had received eggs and fine white flour. This is not a light gift in the countryside. Tang Chunming secretly wanted to have a good relationship with the village elder’s family, in the future if he wants to live well in Pingshan Village, there must be someone to depend on. It is impossible for Ah-Rong to come over often and there are things that need to be done in a timely manner.

Tang Chunming turned his gaze to his stepmother again, “Mom, thank you for today, your words topped all my nonsense.” How much effort did he put in for today, but when his stepmother came out, things were much simpler. The natal family is very important, not to mention in ancient times, even when he lived in the modern country side. If anyone has a wife and fights, who would dare bully someone with a sturdy mother-in-law?

“I can help you but it is limited,” Wang Yinggang has helped but he has to make it clear. “If you can’t live this life on your own, don’t expect me to come forward to help you in the future. It depends on your performance. You should know what I value, but I’m not like Grandma Zhao.”

Zhang Xiu didn’t know what to say for a while. He didn’t expect Mother Wang to show up today, and he was also grateful in his heart. At this time it is not good to pick a side, although he still hopes that Mother Wang and Ah-Rong can help Brother Ming a little more.

Tang Chunming is not annoyed. In his opinion, his stepmother is the most insightful of all the people around him. He has a clear view of everything and doesn’t fool around at all. He doesn’t want to deceive anyone or to rely on someone one-sidedly and also has a sincere desire to have a good relationship with his stepmother and younger brother. Of course, one party cannot always depend on the other, if only one party is rewarded, even if they are from the same family, the heart will become colder and colder. Then the relationship will become superficial.

“Mother, rest assured, I understand everything you are saying, and I also know what you think in your heart. In the future, can I have a relationship with Ah-Rong? Mother just wants to keep him safe and I don’t have any complaints. Mother, have I ever said that you are actually a person with a hard mouth and a soft heart?”

When Wang Ying heard the words, he was more satisfied than before, and this step son suddenly became enlightened and he hoped that he could do it. He couldn’t help but feel stress out about his stepson. Let’s wait and see how he schemes in the future, could Ah-Rong be his opponent?

“Ah-Rong, let’s go!” Wang Ying grabbed Tang Chunrong and walked out.

“Mother, brother can’t live without people here.” Tang Chunrong was anxious. Just as his brother spoke kind words, why did his mother suddenly change his face? This conversation between his mother and brother made him confused.

“Ah-Rong, you should go back with your mother first. The classes in the school can’t be delayed too much, otherwise I won’t spare you. Listen carefully to what your mother said? Everything your mother does is for your good. “Tang Chunming raised his voice and sent away his stepmother and younger brother. When they walked far away, he could still hear the voice of stepmother reprimanding Tang Chunrong and arguing with Tang Chunrong. Tang Chunming was lying on the kang with secret joy.

Zhang Xiu took a long time to come back to his senses. Although he didn’t understand too much, he could see that the relationship between Brother Ming and Mother Want was indeed easing, and Ah-Rong was the key figure between them. He couldn’t help but be happy for Brother Ming, but he thought that in Brother Ming’s eyes the behavior of Mother Wang may be unpleasant and make him feel helpless. He reached over and poked Brother Ming’s head, “You really know how to provoke your mother. In fact, just like you said, Mother Wang really has a hard mouth but is soft hearted. Compared to Grandma Zhao, he is much better. In the future you can’t be so soft, it made me so angry before.”

The current Brother Ming, it is as if the whole person is now alive. Of course, it’s not that it was bad before, but Brother Ming had been suffering alone. However, now it seems that he has thrown away his worries and his heart has become clearer. Just because of this reason, he didn’t bring any objections to Brother Ming’s move of setting up an independent household.

Tang Chunming grinned and tickled Ah-Lin’s nose with his finger, teasing him and said, “Ah-Lin, mother has chased your uncle and grandmother away, how can this be good?”

“Mother don’t be afraid, Ah-Lin will accompany mother.” Zhao Lin reached out and hugged his mother’s hand, comforting him like an adult.

Zhang Xiu couldn’t help but chuckled, “Ah-Lin, don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense, grandma’s house is busy, and your uncle will also need to go to school. I will come to see you and your mother in the future.”

Zhao Lin looked back at Zhang Xiu and blinked, before saying to his mother, “Mother, uncle is not angry, uncle is good to Ah-Lin.” Grandma [Wang] is very fierce, and he is a little scared, but Grandma [Wang] is better than Grandma [Zhao]. He will not separate him from his mother. Children’s intuition is often very sensitive and although Wang Ying is fierce, Zhao Lin did not feel he was as malicious as Grandma [Zhao].

“You clever little ghost,” Tang Chunming hugged his son happily. His son may be small but he is as smart as him and cannot be fooled.

&&&

Tang Chunming was reluctant to lie down on the kang after a day. The spring water from the space helped nurse his body and he felt better than he looked. The spring water was also used as the water for his medicinal decoction. Li Dashan helped his family by bringing them water and Tang Chunming quietly transferred the water to his space and replaced it with spring water from the space. Therefore, the last few days the family has been using the spring water. Even Zhang Xiu talks about it constantly, saying that the water from Brother Ming’s house tastes sweeter.

Even though he felt physically and mentally exhausted after the battle yesterday, he also felt that the gloom that had accumulated in his body had also disappeared. He only felt extremely relaxed. This may have been the last obsession of the original Brother Ming remaining in the body. When he was able to get rid of the Zhao family and take care of Ah-Lin, he must have finally felt relief and completely dissipated. Because of this, Tang Chunming’s body was much better after a nap than when he first arrived.

The next morning, Tang Chunming got up, and Ah-Lin, who was rubbing his eyes and wanted to get up with him, was forced to lay back and sleep for a while. The child should sleep more to grow his body. Tang Chunming is now pursuing the principle of pampering his son.

In the meantime, Zhang Xiu came over and gave him an uneasy look. He didn’t agree with Tang Chunming getting up, but he was indeed looking better today, so he just had to be more careful. He didn’t know that because Tang Chunming slept seriously last night and didn’t use his mental power, his expression naturally recovered.

Zhang Xiu’s family has a lot of things that needed to be done, so after a few words with Tang Chunming, he hurried back, saying that it may be slack farm season, but the really hard working people still tried their best to make more money for the family. His Dashan said that he would go into town as there is a family looking for workers. Onc can get twenty or thirty cents in one day and he will feel distressed if he throws it away for nothing.

Tang Chunming was also happy that there were no longer any outsiders watching him. He could now take things out of the space to eat with confidence and he had to give Ah-Lin a good boost. Zhang Xiu had already given him 18 taels of silver after Li Dashan made a special trip to the county town for him and got a good price [for his dowry jewelry]. He did lose a bit of money due to the workmanship and the weight of the pieces. These pieces belonged to the original family and had some history of being passed down, but unfortunately, nowadays the family is long gone.

Tang Chunming intends to ask Zhang Xiu to help him find a milking ewe. In terms of raising people, sheep’s milk is the best. Moreover, for him, raising sheep is also a good way to live. They also need to catch and raise some chickens at home as early as possible.

Tang Chunming stewed an egg, and used the rice in the space to boil thick white porridge. Finally, he put the diced apples in it. Then he returned to the room and called Ah-Lin.

“Mom, it’s delicious.” The little Zhao Lin’er sipped the porridge, his eyes were bright, and he couldn’t bear to eat it all at once. He stopped after eating half of the porridge and stewed eggs in front of him and said, “Mother, I’m full.” But that little son’s tongue licked his lips intently, and his eyes refused to look, fearing that he could not help eating up all the remaining food.

Tang Chunming ate the same breakfast as his son. Otherwise, he was afraid that his son would not eat it alone. His son is afraid that after this meal, the next meal will be gone. At this time he had mixed feelings and planned to pamper them more. In the countryside, children at this age are not usually hurt by their family members. When they become a little older, they will no longer care and just go out to play by themselves.

He is a compassionate person and does not want to hide the good things in the space from his son. He now treats Ah-Lin as his own son. It is impossible for the family to live in secrecy. In fact, now they no longer have to worry about food, and he doesn’t need his son to take care of him like this.

“Be obedient and eat well. Only when Ah-Lin is full can he grow up quickly so that he can help Mommy work and earn money. Don’t worry, Mommy will certainly not starve A Lin and ……” Tang Chunming’s mouth twitched and continued, “The little brother in my belly.” It’s a little sad that calling himself a mother is getting easier and easier, and the existence in his belly is a constant reminder, along with the constant need for bedrest.

“Look, mother will eat up too. If Ah-Lin doesn’t eat anymore, then mother will have to accompany Ah-Lin.” Tang Chunming pointed to the bowl in front of him playfully.

“No mother, h-Lin wants to eat.” Little Zhao Lin turned his head back and took a bite as he looked at his mother. He narrowed his eyes as he ate, making Tang Chunming feel cute when he saw it. In the end, he even licked the bowl reluctantly.

Tang Chunming smiled and said, “Is it delicious?”

“It’s delicious.”

“If you want more delicious food again, Ah-Lin can’t tell other people. If others know about it, there won’t be any delicious food.” Tang Chunming pretended to mysteriously tease good son.

Zhao Lin became nervous, “Not even Auntie Xiu?”

“Only Mom and Ah-Lin can know.”

“Okay, Mom.” Although Aunt Xiu treats Ah-Lin very well, Zhao Lin is still very good. He happily agreed, otherwise he and his mother will be hungry again, and it was hard to be hungry.

“Good boy, Ah-Lin. In the future, Mother will buy you some sweets.” Seeing the nervous look on Zhao Lin’s face who was serious about keeping the secret, Tang Chunming smiled staggeringly inside. His son, who was only three years old, was too good to cheat.

In the morning, when Tang Chunming was holding Ah-Lin and talking on the kang, Zhang Xiu brought his two sons over. As soon as Zhang Xiu entered the room, he giggled at Zhao Lin (1), rubbing his stomach and laughing, making him unable to speak.

Tang Chunming beckoned Da Mao and Er Mao to come over, let the two of them go to the kang to accompany Ah-Lin, and asked, “What’s wrong with your mother? What happened?”

Da Mao was calmer and watched his mother twist the little ger and said, “It seems that my mother heard about Uncle Gen’s house.”

“I know, I know,” Er Mao said eagerly. “They all said that the nephew of Uncle Gen’s family would rob Uncle Gen of the house and the land when he came back.” As he spoke, he looked at Tang Chunming begging for praise.

Tang Chunming touched Er Mao’s face and said happily, “Our Er Mao is still a know-it-all. Later should Auntie teach you to read? It will be good to have someone studying together with Lin’er.”

“Really?” Zhang Xiu also stopped laughing, and quickly caught Tang Chunming to clarify. He also wanted to send his sons to the school, but the family couldn’t afford it. Of course, if only one was to go, he could barely afford it, but he didn’t want to. It would make the two sons feel that their mother was partial and so he didn’t send either of them. He had forgotten the previous situation of Brother Ming’s family and that Brother Ming was also literate. It was only yesterday that the account book made him remember, but he didn’t expect that Brother Ming would take the initiative to actually propose the idea.

In the countryside, being literate is not just for taking the examination, after all the probability [of passing] is too low. However, if you are literate, you may be able to find a decent job in town and save yourself a life in the fields.

Tang Chun understood Zhang Xiu and said, “It doesn’t take much effort. Anyway, I am going to teach Ah-Lin, it doesn’t make a difference if I teach one or three. However I am only at this level so don’t expect too much.”’

“Is your level not high enough? You don’t know how many people’s eyeballs were lost when you took out your ledger. Even those knowledgeable men said that your level is no worse than the accountant in the store in town.” Some people regret that Brother Ming is a ger, otherwise there is no need to stay in the countryside. With his ability, he could make a living in the town and of course, some people were envious. No matter how talented he was, he was still a widow with a dead husband. This life is not a good life, even if he is literate, it is still better to work hard in the fields.

Although Tang Chunming said this, he was still smug in his heart. This ger was also a graduate of a key university and coupled with the memory left behind by his original body, teaching a couple of children would be easy to deal with. “Alright, you can let Da Mao and Er Mao come over. They can also help take care of Ah-Lin. Ah-Lin is starting a little later and in the future they can teach him.” He was doing this because Zhang Xiu’s family helped him out a lot and he has a clear sense of gratitude and grievances. In the future, he will have more places that he will need help from Zhang Xiu and Li Dashan’s family and they will have a long relationship.

“Mom, I want to learn.” Zhao Lin’er pulled hard on Tang Chunming’s clothes.

“Okay, okay, our Lin’er will also learn.” He doesn’t care about whether or not his ger son should learn, he just doesn’t want his son to be blind.

Da Mao and Er Mao looked at each other and cheered together. This is great! They’ve always envied the little guys who can go to school. One by one, they raised their small chests in front of Tang Chunming to ensure that they would study hard. Zhang Xiu looked at the excitement of the two sons and also smiled.

After this matter, Zhang Xiu talked about Uncle Gen’s family, whose wife had instigated trouble yesterday. In the village there are the reasonable Li families, Li Dashan and Village Leader Li. Li Conggen is also related to them and he is the cousin of the Village Leader and has a closer relationship with him than Zhang Xiu’s family. However the daily exchanges are not as good as Zhang Xiu’s.

All the elders in Li Conggen’s house have gone. Originally there were two brothers and a married ger that is not counted. It is a pity that Li Conggen’s younger brother passed away and left only one nephew. This nephew was named Li Feng.

“This matter,” Tang Chunming recalled the memory of the original body. It happened before the original body got married. He had only heard people mention it, and he had never had a good impression of Li Conggen’s family. “It happened five years ago.”

“No,” Zhang Xiu said, sitting cross-legged on the kang, facing Tang Chunming, and patted his thigh. “He entrusted [his son] to his elder brother, but this person has a bad heart. When they were conscripting, they came up with a horrible idea.”