Chapter 826: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 826: Times Change, the Countryside Almost Has No People Left

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Yes, yes, it's not easy to come by once, how could we not bring a gift?"

Li Jianjia said with a smile.

She also said:

"Do you need help? If so, I'll put my things down and come over to give you a hand."

"No need, no need, it's filthy here. You and Xiao Hua go inside and have some tea!"

Li Xiulan hurriedly urged Wang Xiaohua:

"Xiao Hua, quickly take the guest inside. The chicken coop side reeks!"

"Okay, Mom. I'll take Jianjia inside right away!"

Wang Xiaohua led Li Jianjia into the house.

They still lived near the old small shop at the village entrance and hadn't moved into the new house yet, so this house's living room was very narrow.

But the inside was tidied up very cleanly.

Li Xiulan cleaned the house every day, organizing everything inside neatly and orderly.

It was all so that when the three sons brought their wives back, they would leave a good impression on the daughters-in-law and not embarrass the sons.

Whether a home is messy or not reflects the family ethos and upbringing, as well as the family's quality.

Li Jianjia entered the house, sat down, and looking at the neatly organized living room, couldn't help but praise:

"Your mom is really diligent, keeping the house this tidy."

Wang Xiaohua brewed tea for her while saying with a smile:

"My mom is indeed diligent. She's just like that — can't stay idle. Once she's idle, she always wants to find something to do."

The two sat down, turned on the ceiling fan, and drank tea for a while.

At this time, Li Xiulan finished shoveling chicken manure and returned.

She washed her hands and feet clean at the faucet in the courtyard outside, and walked in smiling:

"Xiao Hua, our house is pretty much finished. Your dad said we'll do the housewarming on National Day. Will you come back then?"

Wang Xiaohua said:

"We'll see. If I have time then, I'll come back."

Then he added:

"Actually, just moving in is fine. No need to make such a big fuss. Making too big a fuss invites a lot of gossip."

Li Xiulan said with a smile:

"Don't blame your dad either. Your dad and I, this whole lifetime, have been longing for a good house. Now that it's finally built, he definitely wants to celebrate."

Wang Xiaohua smiled helplessly:

"That's just his stubborn nature — dead set on face, loves to show off."

Li Xiulan then asked:

"Right, do you want a rooster or a hen? It's about time to kill a chicken now too."

Wang Xiaohua asked Li Jianjia:

"Do you want a rooster or a hen?"

Li Jianjia said:

"Either is fine."

Li Jianjia said:

"How about I stew an old hen soup for you? Coincidentally, yesterday in the vegetable garden corner, I dug up two big powdery kudzu roots. Stewing old hen with powdery kudzu is delicious!"

Wang Xiaohua asked:

"Do you need us to help kill the chicken?"

Li Xiulan said:

"Just help hold the chicken to drain the blood later. I can handle the rest myself."

Li Xiulan went into the chicken coop and picked an old hen raised for nearly two years. This old hen was originally kept for laying eggs, but today the youngest son brought his girlfriend back, so it had to be sacrificed.

Wang Xiaohua went to help grab the chicken's feet and drained the old hen's blood.

Then he returned to the living room.

Li Jianjia said she wanted to go out for a stroll.

Wang Xiaohua took her strolling all around the village.

They strolled for a long time, yet surprisingly didn't see a single young person in the village.

Besides the middle-aged and elderly, there were only children.

There weren't many children either, just a few.

All very lonely, each playing by themselves in their courtyards.

Not like when Wang Xiaohua was a child — groups and groups of them, everyone playing together, very lively, very joyful.

Before they knew it, they walked to the village center's Cultural Room.

The huge Cultural Room sat atop the pond.

The lotus flowers in the pond were blooming brilliantly, extremely beautiful.

But the square outside the Cultural Room's gate had long since become overgrown with weeds.

Those fitness equipment pieces carefully built for the elderly had also long been abandoned.

The basketball court prepared for young people had also turned into a grain-drying ground.

Back then Zhang Zhongtian expended enormous effort, responding to the government's call, and vigorously carried out New Rural Construction.

The purpose was to attract young people to return to the village to develop.

But now the New Rural Construction is built.

Every household has cement pavement in front of their door.

Tap water has also been connected to every single household.

The Cultural Room was even done up beautifully.

Yet it simply failed to attract a single young person to return and develop.

However, this also cannot be blamed on the village's young people.

Mountains surround Shanggou Village on all sides; returning, what development could there be?

Could it be that relying on that one acre three points of land, one could support a family?

It is very obviously impossible.

Ten or twenty years ago it couldn't be done, let alone now?

Now pesticides, chemical fertilizers, seeds and such have all risen quite a bit in price.

But grain prices haven't been seen to rise much.

Rural people farm; plant one season and lose money on one season.

So now large batches of farmland have all been abandoned.

Only a few, the good fields near the village, still have people cultivating them.

Those are all grown for their own eating, not calculating whether it's a loss or not.

Just simply thinking that one's own grown grain is comparatively healthier, comparatively safer.

"Your village's Cultural Room is done up pretty nicely!"

Li Jianjia came over to the elderly fitness equipment area, shaking an iron rotating disc used for Tai Chi.

"Indeed done up pretty nicely, estimated to have cost quite a lot of money, only now basically no one uses these fitness equipment, letting them go to waste like this, what a pity."

Wang Xiaohua spoke thus.

Li Jianjia said:

"Everyone's gone out to work; rural people will only become fewer and fewer."

Wang Xiaohua sighed:

"Yeah."

Then laughed and said:

"But even if there were many people, these fitness equipment, estimated also wouldn't get used; rural people do farm work every day, exhausted half to death, who still has energy to exercise?"

Li Jianjia laughed and said:

"That's true too."

Wang Xiaohua couldn't help but complain:

"They're all face projects ah, don't know which talent first thought of putting fitness equipment in rural Cultural Rooms, this person simply has great wisdom like the one who suggested sticking tiles on the Great Wall, or installing elevators on the Himalayas."

Li Jianjia was amused into laughter by his words.

"Your metaphor is used well, just don't let your village's village cadres hear it, otherwise they'd get angry."

Wang Xiaohua laughed and said:

"I'm just venting in front of you; in front of them, I definitely wouldn't say this."

Then added:

"But these things, though they seem absurd, definitely have their inevitability. New Rural Construction, for township cadres and village cadres alike, that's a huge piece of fat meat; the oil and water to be skimmed inside is probably not little. Look at that most luxurious villa in our Shanggou Village — that's the Village Committee Secretary's house!"

Wang Xiaohua had just finished speaking when, at this moment, a BMW car happened to slowly pass by the road beside the Cultural Room.

The car window rolled down, and the one sitting in the driver's seat was none other than Village Committee Secretary Zhang Zhongtian.

Zhang Zhongtian showed Wang Xiaohua an amiable smile and greeted:

"Xiao Hua, when did you come back?"

Wang Xiaohua hurriedly smiled in response:

"Uncle Grandpa Zhang, I just came back today; at Spring Festival I still saw you driving a black Toyota, how come now you're driving a white BMW?"

Zhang Zhongtian laughed heartily:

"Switched it; that Toyota didn't drive smoothly, so switched to a better one."

"Oh oh, where are you headed?"

"Going to the town to my restaurant for a trip; is this your partner?"

"Yeah."

"Your partner is really pretty! When's the wedding?"

"Not that fast yet; estimate it'll take a while; we're both still in school."

"When free, come eat a meal together!"

"Okay okay, later when free we'll talk! You go be busy."

"Alright then, I'm off!"

Zhang Zhongtian and Wang Xiaohua chatted a few simple sentences, then drove away.

Watching the taillights gradually recede, Wang Xiaohua said to Li Jianjia:

"He's our Shanggou Village's Village Committee Secretary — the most carefree person in the whole village!"