Chapter 1414

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"What? Third Brother isn't going back?"

Wang Erhai had just hung up the phone when Wang Dashan asked.

"Yeah, he's at work, so he's not going back."

Wang Erhai answered honestly.

Wang Dashan, however, became somewhat displeased:

"He's right in town, the distance is so close, can't he ask for leave and go back?"

In Wang Dashan's understanding, grave relocation is a major event.

So even though he was far away in Guangzhou, he still had to personally run back for a trip.

Yet Wang Xiaohua did not attach that much importance to this matter of grave relocation.

He even felt it was feudal superstition, that it not only disturbs the dead but also exhausts the living.

So naturally work comes first; he would not delay his own duties for the sake of grave relocation.

This is a clash of two different values.

"Eldest Brother, don't put it like that. Everyone has their own difficulties, especially after going out to work."

Wang Erhai didn't really mind whether Wang Xiaohua went back or not.

As long as the grave could be relocated according to his wishes, improving his feng shui, that would be fine.

Li Xiulan also said:

"Eating someone else's rice, you have to listen to their management. Don't go blaming your Third Brother either. It's not a weekend; he probably really can't get away!"

Wang Dashan spoke again:

"I really don't know why he wanted to return to Shangang Town. He's a Tsinghua student, with plenty of good posts and good job opportunities to pick and choose from, yet he insisted on coming to this mountain backwater. If you ask me, Dad was right — he really studied himself stupid!"

Wang Dashan was huffing with anger.

He felt it wasn't worth it for Wang Xiaohua.

He studied so many books, yet in the end came back to be a grassroots civil servant!

To speak the truth, it truly wastes talent!

He had inquired about it; the grassroots poverty alleviation cadre post Wang Xiaohua holds now is generally done by junior college graduates — undergraduates are few, let alone a Tsinghua graduate!

Wang Xiaohua doing this job, he even felt it lost face!

"Eldest Brother, you can't say that. Everyone has their own aspirations; Third Brother chose this way, so naturally he has his reasons."

Wang Erhai was comparatively open-minded.

Most importantly, he wasn't like Wang Dashan, so concerned with face, nor did he have such strong self-esteem and vanity.

So whatever Wang Xiaohua did, he would respect Wang Xiaohua's choice.

Wang Dashan, however, kept nagging on and on:

"I really can't figure out what he's thinking? If he really can't find a job, he could tell us. I can get him into my wife's company, you can get him into Liguo Mountain — which of those two roads isn't better than going to Shangang Town to be a grassroots cadre?"

Wang Erhai chuckled:

"Eldest Brother, still that same sentence: everyone has their own aspirations. Third Brother chose this way, he has his own reasons. Let's not interfere so much."

But Wang Dashan seemed not to have heard Wang Erhai's words, and continued talking to himself:

"No, I'll have to persuade him later! Tell him to quit. In Shangang Town, he'll never amount to anything even if he works a lifetime, and he'll just waste time! Pull him into Xiao Du Technology — my wife said as long as he's willing, she can give him a high-salary position!"

Wang Dashan also said to Wang Erhai:

"Second Brother, later you help persuade him too."

Wang Erhai gave a dry laugh:

"Would that be appropriate?"

Wang Dashan said:

"What's inappropriate about it? We're real brothers! We're not harming him, we're saving him! He studied himself stupid, doesn't understand things — can we just watch him ruin his life?"

Wang Erhai didn't know what to say for a moment.

Wang Dashan now turned to Li Xiulan and said:

"Mom, you help persuade him too! We finally got out of Shangang Town, and Third Brother goes back again — that won't do. People will laugh! If he were a junior college grad I'd have nothing to say, but he's a Tsinghua grad — it's too much overqualification!"

Li Xiulan didn't know what to say for a moment.

She felt her eldest son's words had some reason.

Yet she also faintly felt something was off.

As for where it was off, she couldn't put her finger on it.

Just an intuition.

Wang Dashan spoke again at this point:

"Third Brother is coming back for dinner tonight, right? Then we'll all persuade him together! Everyone has to speak up — don't leave me talking alone! I know Third Brother looks down on me. I didn't study much, so he won't listen to my opinion. So we have to rely on you two!"

Wang Erhai and Li Xiulan both didn't know what to say.

Before long, the vehicle returned to Shangou Village.

Wang Erhai drove the car into the house doorway, let Li Xiulan, Wang Dujin, and Kang Yi off, then hurried off with Wang Dashan to the neighboring town to find Wu Banxian.

Li Xiulan pushed open the living room gate, only to see a thick layer of dust settled on the floor, the table, and the chairs inside.

She couldn't help but sigh with emotion; it had only been this long since she lived here, yet it had actually become like this.

They all say a house needs people living in it, needs human presence to nurture it, so it won't easily go bad.

Otherwise, it would go bad very quickly.

Look, right at the entrance to this living room, a floor tile has actually cracked.

Don't know how it cracked; anyway, it just cracked.

Li Xiulan had Kang Yi take Wang Dujin outside to the courtyard to play.

She herself picked up a basin, filled a basin of water, and used a cloth to wipe the tables and chairs.

After wiping the tables and chairs, she went to mop the floor.

When she finished mopping, she suddenly remembered her vegetable garden.

So she ran off to the vegetable garden to take a look.

The vegetable garden was actually doing fine.

Because Yao Aina had promised Wang Erhai to help look after this vegetable garden.

So to this day it is still neat and orderly, and the vegetables inside are growing very well.

Only the vegetables have long since been replaced batch after batch; they are long no longer the vegetables Li Xiulan originally planted.

"Xiulan, you're back?"

At this time, Yao Aina walked over with a hunched body.

She was carrying a basket, clearly coming to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, preparing to make lunch.

"Auntie Aina, thank you for helping me manage the vegetable garden so well!"

Li Xiulan hurriedly smiled and thanked her, then said:

"Today my two sons came back to handle some matters, so I came back along with them."

Yao Aina laughed heartily:

"Erhai is back too? Later I'll have to personally go find him."

"What do you need him for?"

"I want to thank him face to face. Although he transferred the farm away, he still counts as having helped me keep my job."

Yao Aina's face wore a simple, honest smile.

Although that job of hers had already dropped from the original 1500 a month to 700 yuan a month, she still held gratitude toward Wang Erhai in her heart.

Because she knew, if it weren't for Wang Erhai putting in a good word, she estimated she wouldn't even get the 700 yuan salary.

"They went to the neighboring town; estimated they won't be back until noon, possibly not until afternoon, not sure."

Li Xiulan said it like this.

Yao Aina then said:

"Then I'll wait until I'm off duty in the evening, and come over to your place again!"

Then she said again:

"The vegetables in this vegetable garden, you pick whatever you want. This lettuce is growing really well, and these sponge gourds, cucumbers, peppers — can't eat them all. You pick some and take them down, give them to your three sons!"

Li Xiulan said with a smile:

"Then I'll pick some in a bit, not too many, just afraid you won't have enough to eat!"

Yao Aina, however, said:

"Enough, I can't eat that much. My own vegetable garden still has vegetables growing too. This vegetable garden was originally yours anyway; you want to pick however much, just pick however much!"

Li Xiulan heard Yao Aina say this and was very happy.

Yao Aina saying this is her Li Xiulan's vegetable garden shows Yao Aina still has a sense of propriety in her heart.

Unlike some rural people, farming someone else's vegetable garden, farming and farming, they just treat it as their own vegetable garden, even as their own land.