Who knew, Mom and Brother both came back, and the person next to Brother surprised Lin Wan even more.
"Brother Ah Zhi, how come you are here?"
"Xiao Wan, Han Yi is also at home." They hadnât met for a few years, and Liang Zhi had grown taller and more mature.
"Brother Ah Zhi came suddenly. Uncle was afraid Brother Ah Zhi wouldnât find the place alone, so he sent a telegram to the house. Thatâs what you received when you went to pick up Xiao Yi today. Mom called my workplace, and after work, I went to the train station to pick up Brother Ah Zhi."
"Why didnât Mom tell us about this?" Lin Wan glanced, holding back her words.
"You went to pick up Xiao Yi, we didnât have time to tell you," Liang Hongmei gave Lin Wan a sidelong glance.
Their daughter knew Han Yi was coming back today, so she started busying herself early in the morning to pick up Han Yi.
She felt too embarrassed to say, "Itâs a coincidence today, the whole family is here and hasnât eaten yet. Our yard kitchen is cooking, and Iâll bring it over. Letâs all sit down, eat, and chat." Han Yi handed the child to Lin Wan and pulled Lin Yinghui towards the backyard.
Liang Zhi couldnât sit still. It was his first time in such a big city, and even more unexpected, his cousinâs family had bought such a large courtyard here.
Curious about Lin Wanâs home, Liang Zhi got up and followed Han Yi and them, "Iâll go check out Xiao Wanâs house."
"Go on, go on, Iâll handle these shrimps and lamb chops here. After a while, you brothers have a good drink together," Liang Hongmei was in a good mood with Liang Zhiâs visit. Her son-in-law came back, and her nephew was here.
Lin Wan didnât follow them. She placed Little Star in the stroller and helped Mom busy in the kitchen.
...When a few people brought the dishes to the table, Liang Zhi admired, "Ah Hui, you all have settled here, right? If I had known this, why even build the house back home? Itâs been a year since it was finished, and you wouldnât go live in it."
"Building a house is for having a place to stay when we go back home in the future. We still need you all to look after the house back home and occasionally have Uncle help manage it," Lin Yinghui said.
"You donât need to tell me that."
"Brother Ah Zhi, howâs the mountain youâve contracted? What are your plans?" Lin Wan asked curiously.
"The village party secretaryâs family grows tea, but I donât have that expertise, nor much money. After thinking it over, I decided to raise some poultry on the mountain. There are plenty of insects and grass, so it doesnât require much investment in feed. I fenced off a few acres, built some simple chicken and duck sheds, and collected some chicks, ducklings, and goslings from a few villages. Theyâre being raised on the mountain. Once the chickens, ducks, and geese grow to two or three pounds, we take them to town and sell them. Nowadays, peopleâs living conditions are better, and these things are in great demand, especially in the factories. Sometimes they want to improve the workersâ meals, but the meat factories canât supply enough. So, some factory buyers try to source from villages. Thatâs how I gradually got in touch with a few unit buyers. Now, I basically have a fixed supply of purchasers. Whenever they need anything, they call the village, and we deliver directly. Besides chickens, ducks, and geese, there are many mushrooms on the mountain. Last year, just from mushrooms, we earned a few thousand yuan. Now, Iâve also hired a few people from the village to help manage the mountain, spending all day slaughtering chickens and ducks. I came this time to pay back your money and brought last yearâs dividends for Ah Hui as well." "You even hired people! Thatâs impressive," Lin Yinghui patted Liang Zhi, pleased for him. "No rush on the money. Youâve just started, and there are plenty of places where youâll need funds."
"Even after paying you, the family still has a surplus. Weâre having a new base built in the village and have already built a new house. My dad and momâs idea is to have my marriage done this year."
"Oh, Brother Ah Zhi, you have someone special?"
"We met during last yearâs Spring Festival. At that time, Mom and I both saw her," Lin Yinghui smiled.
Thinking about it, itâs been three years since their family came out, and Brother Ah Zhi isnât young anymore; itâs time to get married. She wondered what kind of person Brother Ah Zhiâs girl is.
In her past life, when she returned to the village, Brother Ah Zhi and his wife were already forty or fifty years old. Brother Ah Zhi seemed to have been doing poultry business in the past life too, and being a shrewd person, his business was quite good. Lin Wan hadnât interacted with his wife, but she appeared good, dutifully sticking with Brother Ah Zhi. Sheâd given him two sons. Of course, the second son resulted in a lot of fines. "How are Little Grandmother, Uncle, and Aunt?"
"Theyâre all doing well. My mom and dad are now running the rice noodle shop in the county. Though the shop may seem small, it brings in quite a bit each month, so my mom canât bear to let it go. I had no choice but to let Dad go help her. I can manage the land at home alone. Itâs just that Grandma got angry about something with my aunt earlier, and she was sick for quite a few days. Sheâs been much better these past few days."