Chapter 383

Just as their words fell, Su Lie and the big-bellied Ma Xiangzhang walked in from outside together.

After seeing Zhou Weiguo's family, Ma Xiangzhang voluntarily extended his hand, smiling and saying, "Hello, I am Ma Daha, the township head of Su Zhuang township, welcome to our Su Zhuang village."

Then he glanced at Su Yang, smiled again and said, "You must be Su Zhenzhang, right? I've been saying I'd like to have a chat and a meal with you whenever the chance arose, but I never found a suitable opportunity."

Su Yang said, "There will be chances, Ma Xiangzhang, you get on the kang…"

Ma Xiangzhang still hesitated a bit, saying, "How would that do, eh? Uncle Su goes up, I'll just sit by the kang, that's fine."

Just a moment ago he was Old Su, and now he's Uncle Su.

Moreover, his age is about the same as Su Lie's.

"Ma Xiangzhang, just get on the kang." Old Su shoved and pushed, getting Ma Xiangzhang onto the kang.

This is the person he invited to give face; how could he not get on the kang?

"Yeah, Ma Xiangzhang, sit on the kang." Su Yang added another sentence.

Only then did Ma Xiangzhang take off his shoes and get on the kang; in the countryside, people of status usually sit on the kang.

As the township head, he naturally had status and position, and he was also here to give face, so sitting on the kang seemed quite appropriate.

Moreover, it was also quite necessary to modestly show off some prestige and ambition in front of Su Yang's father-in-law.

"I'm just so happy that you could come to our home today."

"Thank you, Ma Xiangzhang; I also wanted to chat with you and thank you for looking after our family." Su Yang also added a polite remark.

He also brewed a cup of tea for Ma Xiangzhang.

"This is your wife; she's quite pretty." Ma Xiangzhang began to show off.

Then he said to Zhou Ruohan, "Miss, you still have good taste; our Su Zhenzhang is renowned as a handsome young man in the surrounding ten miles, and besides being the township head, he's so young with a limitless future."

He went on like a chatterbox, telling Zhou Weiguo and his wife, "You're also city folks, right? To be honest, finding a son-in-law like this is as hard as searching with a lantern; you've really gotten a bargain."

Zhou Weiguo laughed and said, "Yes, yes, yes, Su Yang is excellent, truly outstanding; if it weren't for our daughter's good eye, we really wouldn't have found him."

He didn't pay much attention to Ma Xiangzhang's status; he also knew a bit about rural affairs, and tried to give face as much as possible.

Ma Xiangzhang leaned casually against the nearby windowsill and said, "With Young Su's age, in a few years he could possibly become a county magistrate or even a vice mayor; you've really picked up a treasure."

In his view, he really didn't see Zhou Weiguo as a high-ranking cadre; at most he was just an ordinary city worker, or someone doing a bit of small business who seemed to have a little money.

But in his mindset, no matter how much money you have, you can't compare to someone Within the System; that alone makes him look at people askance.

Although Zhou Ruohan was a bit displeased with Ma Xiangzhang inside, we came just to chat more with Su Yang's parents; I just wanted to perform well in Su Yang's home—what's with you suddenly jumping out like this?

Just then, Guo Xiaocui said, "You go ahead and chat; I'll go to the kitchen and bring over a few more dishes."

Zhou Ruohan said, "Auntie, let me go with you."

Don't look at how little housework they do at home; of course she doesn't need to do it, since they have an auntie who basically just reaches out for clothes and opens her mouth for food. But when she's at Su Yang's home, she ought to still put on a show.

Guo Xiaocui repeatedly said, "Oh no, no need, I'll go myself; how could I let you work?"

Qiao Yindi said from the side, "Sister-in-law, if you want to go, let her go; anyway, she'll have to do these chores later, so just consider it practice."

"'In our family these years, she's basically been spoiled rotten, but now she's your daughter-in-law, so we can't keep indulging her—let her do what she ought to do.'"

Zhou Weiguo said, "What kind of talk is that? Ruohan's grown up this big; although she hasn't done much housework, that also depends on the situation. In our family she certainly doesn't need to do it. You've taken over all the work she does; once they form their own little family, could anyone still be expected to wait on them?"

"'Sister-in-law, from now on you let her do the work; from now on this is her own home, no need to indulge her.'"

Zhou Ruohan really wasn't being pretentious or just being polite.

She indeed wanted to put on a good showing in Su Yang's home, although she knew that whether she performed or not wouldn't affect their affairs.

But thinking back, Su Yang's parents' impression of Fang Jingwen was extremely good; she wants to make Sun Yang's parents know that she is also excellent.

Of course, others couldn't possibly know what she was thinking, but since the conversation had come to this point, Guo Xiaocui couldn't really refuse; moreover, Su Yang also said, "Mom, just let Ruohan go with you; isn't that how it always is in our village?"

Indeed, in the countryside, especially nowadays, women are generally busy in the kitchen; when guests come to eat, they don't sit at the table, and they're responsible for cooking the food and serving it.

Keeping guests company while talking and eating is the men's job.

Furthermore, with Ma Xiangzhang here keeping them company, the household certainly gains extra face.

Su Lie's smile also gradually increased; evidently, as soon as he arrived, his whole person began to show more confidence.

That's how it is in the countryside, especially at red-wood furniture funerals and weddings; if our side has some tough folks, then our side's backbone also becomes straighter.

Ma Xiangzhang saw that Su Yang's status today made it inconvenient to keep chatting, so he simply started chatting with Zhou Weiguo.

"'Where is your family from? What do you do in the city now? Does Su Yang's partner have a job?'"

Just hearing that tone, it's clearly condescending.

Logically, with Zhou Weiguo's presence there, he shouldn't be asking such a silly question.

Even Su Lie and those farmers could sense it, so at first they were a bit nervous.

Ma Xiangzhang is basically a Local Tyrant around here, so even if he could sense a bit of aura from Zhou Weiguo, in his view it's nothing more than a slightly wealthy merchant; if he truly had status Within the System, he wouldn't personally come to Su Yang's home.

Normally, if the other family's circumstances are just a bit better, the man would definitely come to the door proactively.

Su Yang is now a township head; if a family were better than his, they'd definitely have someone Within the System, at least starting as a vice-county-level cadre.

Now that they've come to the door, it shows their family has nothing Within the System; at most they're just a small merchant, so their status doesn't compare to Su Yang's—that's why the situation is reversed.

He's precisely seized on that point, which is why he acts so arrogantly; in his view, this is giving Su Yang face.

Zhou Weiguo also wasn't angry; he gave face by saying, "Oh, we're just ordinary office workers, currently working in the provincial capital. Um, maybe after a while we'll go elsewhere."

Those relatively modest words of his, heard by Ma Xiangzhang, were nothing but him looking for a decent excuse for himself; at most he's just a petty clerk, and not even from a particularly impressive unit.

If they were really people from a provincial-directly affiliated unit, they wouldn't even bother going to the countryside or villages; even just going to the county to see people, they'd look down their noses.

So he continued asking, "What unit are you from? Exactly what work do you do?"