pertwk Chapter 46 The Xu Family Road is Open
Chapter 46 The Xu Family Road is Open
In the fields, envious voices could be heard constantly:
"Xu Chunsheng is remarkable. I should have planted some when he suggested planting Ophiopogon japonicus."
"Look at those companies that failed, didn't they all make a fortune along with them?"
When I passed by the brigade, the blue "Yuejin" truck had already driven away, but there were still some people who weren't in a hurry to go home gathered in the brigade's open space.
Seeing Xu Chunsheng arrive in his tricycle, the atmosphere instantly became even more lively, with people jokingly greeting them:
"Boss Xu sold the Ophiopogon japonicus this morning, and he brought it all back in his tricycle this afternoon. Let me ride it next time."
"Yes, yes, Uncle and Aunt, have you had lunch yet?"
……
Watching the tricycle chug forward, no one found the scene funny; they only thought the family was capable.
Everyone knows that the Xu family was so poor before that they had to borrow money to pay for their children's tuition. In just one year, they became rich and could afford a tricycle.
After the Xu family left, the threshing ground became lively again:
"The Xu family is truly lucky; they've caught a good wave. Why aren't we so fortunate?"
"Luck? It's also because the Xu family was willing to support Xu Chunsheng in doing this; only when the whole family is united can things be accomplished!"
"If your kid had asked you to plant two or three acres of Ophiopogon japonicus last year, wouldn't you have done it?"
"Hahaha, I have to do it! I might even beat him up!"
"Let's go, let's stop this. Let's go home for dinner. Living our own lives well is the most important thing."
……
"Squeak—click"
Xu Chunsheng and the others did not get home.
He stopped the truck and reached out to help his family members down from the truck bed.
The family is no longer as excited as they were when they first got in the car; all that's left is a tingling, numb feeling from being jostled around all over.
Of course, there is one exception:
"Second brother, riding in the car is so much fun! I'll keep 'uh uh uh' and my body will feel sore."
Xu Yaomei was referring to the sound people make when they are jolted in a car.
Xu Chunsheng placed his hand on his younger sister's head and said:
"That was fun! I'll let you sit next time."
The adults exchanged glances, thinking to themselves: If you think it's fun, then so be it.
Mr. Xu pounded his lower back twice and said to the others:
"You guys go back first. I'll go and ask someone to help us fix the road. It's not good for the car to be parked on the road."
At that time, the roads had not yet been built to every household. Basically, several families would pool their resources to build a section of the road, and the rest would either be built by themselves or they would continue to follow the old paths.
Xu Chunsheng's house is like this: a narrow road goes straight up and down to the main road, and tricycles can't get to the house.
Xu Chunsheng said to his father:
"Dad, don't rush to call for help. We might end up taking up some of Second Aunt's land. Dad, why don't you go and talk to them and see if we can exchange some land with them to build the road?"
Mr. Xu nodded and said with a smile:
"You little rascal, you're even bossing me around. Do you think I wouldn't know about these things?"
These words amused the whole family. Xu Yaomei looked at the adults with a blank expression, not understanding what they were laughing at, but she was quickly infected by her family and started laughing along with them.
Xu's mother slapped Xu's father on the back:
"Forget it, there's no rush. We're hungry, even if you're not. Let's go back and eat first."
We've been so excited all day that none of us thought about eating. It's past 2 PM now and none of us have even had a sip of water.
Xu Chunsheng locked the car and walked slowly behind his family, his mind racing with thoughts:
If only Sanwa were here, the whole family could be together. No, no, no, it's better that he's not here. Such a smart brain should be in school!
As soon as they arrived home, Xu's mother began making arrangements:
"Eldest son, put away the things you bought on the street."
"Erwa, go get some tape and cover the car up."
"Jun'er, fetch a piece of cured meat, we'll stir-fry it with garlic leaves."
After finishing her sentence, Xu's mother prepared to go to the kitchen to steam rice.
A crisp voice called out to her:
"Mom, what should I do? I want to do chores too!"
When Xu Yaomei saw that her mother had assigned tasks to everyone except her, she started to get anxious.
"Hehehe, little sister, wash two of the apples you bought today."
"Yes, I want it!"
Under the arrangement of Xu's mother, the family members each did their own thing, creating a warm and beautiful atmosphere.
In the past two days, witnessed by the village chief and several witnesses, Xu Chunsheng and his father signed a "land exchange agreement" with his second aunt's family.
The Xu family also officially began building a road that led directly to their own courtyard.
Early the next morning, the Xu family father and son took their tools and began preparing to repair the road. In addition to the eldest brother's family and some relatives whom Xu's father had called in advance, when the villagers heard that Xu Chunsheng's family was going to repair the road, although not every household mobilized all their members, each household sent a strong laborer to help with the road repair.
They're all from the same village, and we run into each other quite often. Now that Xu Chunsheng's family has prospered, everyone is even more willing to lend a hand.
Some people were responsible for measuring and drawing lines, some for digging soil, and some for moving stones to lay the roadbed. Everyone worked together in a lively and bustling manner.
Seeing this, Xu's mother stopped working on the road repair and hurriedly called her sister-in-law and daughter home to prepare lunch.
Each family sends one person, totaling sixty or seventy people, so they have to go back and prepare the meals in advance.
After agreeing to Xu's mother's request, the eldest aunt called out to her son and Xu Chunsheng:
"Chunping, you go with Chunsheng to carry down the big steamer from our house to cook rice, and also bring down the big round table."
At this moment, Second Aunt Yuan Ping called out to the two brothers who were about to retrieve their belongings:
"No need to come all this way, just get it from our house. You two brothers, come with me."
……
When Xu Chunsheng and Xu Chunping were carrying things like the steamer and table home, they overheard Xu's mother and a few others talking:
"Luckily, I soaked a lot of beans last night. I'm planning to make tofu pudding today, enough for two or three days. Looks like that'll be enough for today."
Aunt You Fang said as she washed the cured meat in the basin:
"There are so many people, the work that you could finish in two or three days can be done in one day, saving you the trouble of cooking for two or three days."
"Yes, thank you all for your help."
"Of course, your family used to like helping others with chores; it's all thanks to the good relationships you've built up over time."
"Time to eat!"
Xu's mother called out from beside the house:
"Everyone, take a break and eat first."
Several people glanced at the distance of a few meters from the Xu family's courtyard and said:
"Let's all put in a little effort and finish fixing these few sections of road before we eat, okay? It'll save Aunt Xu the trouble of cooking dinner, won't it!"
"Hahaha, that's right, everyone, let's give it our all."
What would have taken two or three days of work was repaired in half a day thanks to the villagers' spontaneous help. The road surface was now solid and wide.
When Xu Chunsheng drove his tricycle onto the road, everyone who came to help laughed heartily.
"Chunsheng, you've bought the car and fixed the road, when are you planning to get married?"
Even the uncles and aunts in the village teased Xu Chunsheng.
Xu Chunsheng didn't seem flustered at all; instead, he smiled and said:
"Getting a wife isn't the priority. Fellow villagers, please help me repair the road. I'll try my best to pave a road to prosperity for the village!"
"Well said!"
At that moment, applause broke out.