Chapter 167: Xu Kun's Transformation

Zhang Ping'an picked up his wife and children, returned home, coaxed the two children to sleep, and placed them in the next room. The kang was large enough that he didn't worry about them falling off, and besides, he had installed wooden guardrails along the edge.

The two had not seen each other for five days, so naturally, they had much to confide in one another. After a long while, the battle subsided, and Zhang Ping'an could not keep his hands off Wang Xiaoling's smooth, supple skin.

"You go to sleep first, I'm going to check on the children."

"Mm."

Zhang Ping'an kissed the limp Wang Xiaoling; after all, their movements just now had been a bit loud, and he didn't want to wake the children.

Zhang Ping'an entered the room and saw the two little ones sleeping like little piglets, one lying horizontally and the other vertically.

Zhang Ping'an was caught between laughter and tears. Clearly, when they had just fallen asleep, they were leaning against each other, so how was it that in just over an hour, one was at the head of the bed and the other at the foot? It was only because the kang was large enough; otherwise, who knew where they would have ended up. He carried the two children to the center of the kang, and only then did Zhang Ping'an go back to sleep.

At 6:30 in the morning, Zhang Ping'an took Wang Xiaoling to exercise as usual. Every time he watched his little wife stretching her muscles and bones, Zhang Ping'an felt full of a sense of accomplishment. Once she reached Body Refining Great Success, he would teach her some self-defense techniques.

After reaching Body Refining Great Success, not only would one's strength increase, but memory would also be enhanced, making learning basic self-defense techniques twice as effective with half the effort.

Upon returning to Procurement Section Three in the morning, Xu Kun's resentful gaze made Zhang Ping'an's scalp tingle.

"Ahem, Kun, if you have something to say, just say it."

"You've been gone for five days, and I've been looking at documents and organizing them every single day. My head is spinning; I can't do this stuff."

In truth, after becoming a Section Chief, one was responsible for the general direction of the section and did not need to go out for procurement in person. The daily pile of long-winded documents was enough to keep a Section Chief busy.

"Here, if you're tired, brew some tea to drink and refresh yourself." Zhang Ping'an handed over a bag of tea leaves.

"Alright! You can rest assured and go out for procurement; everything in the section is left to me."

"..."

Heaven knows, he had it so hard. After entering Procurement Section Three and finally managing to get a bit of tea, he had shown it off at home only for his father, Xu Baisheng, to confiscate it. Having learned his lesson this time, he absolutely could not bring it home.

Originally, Xu Kun didn't care much about tea. When Zhang Ping'an brewed tea in the office, he could drink some too, and he felt his mind was just a bit clearer after drinking it.

But after drinking tea in the office with Zhang Ping'an for over a year, he discovered that his memory seemed to have strengthened significantly; it was as if he had grown a brain.

He used to be bad at math when studying, but now, when looking at the reports submitted by the people below, he could summarize the answer almost as if he were scanning them, and he could immediately identify if there were any errors in the middle.

This discovery was incredible, so Xu Kun drank until his stomach was bloated every day, and he never tired of running to the restroom constantly.

Putting on this act this time was also to get more tea leaves. Is it easy for me, Xu Kun?

Over this year or so of getting along, Zhang Ping'an discovered that besides being a bit arrogant at the start, Xu Kun didn't have any major flaws. After all, he was the grandson of an older generation figure like Xu Qianshan, so his character couldn't be that bad.

Zhang Ping'an felt that this was quite good; at least they were all his own people who wouldn't stab him in the back, and not only could he handle the affairs of the section in an orderly manner, but he could also procure big, fat pigs at any time.

Subsequently, Xu Kun brewed the tea like a sycophant and placed it on Zhang Ping'an's desk.

"Brother Zhang, here are the documents for this week. I've processed them all. Take a look and see if there's anything wrong."

"Done."

Zhang Ping'an was quite satisfied with Xu Kun, so he took the documents, scanned them briefly, and set them down.

"I have to go out again in two days. You'll have to keep an eye on things in the section."

"Alright, no problem." Xu Kun patted his chest with a loud thud.

"Mm."

This little brother Xu Kun is not bad; he can be groomed for important tasks in the future. Not only can he help him process documents, but he can also cover for him. What a good guy.

In July, Zhang Ping'an went home to transplant rice seedlings again, while Xu Kun sat in the office happily drinking tea and processing documents. The documents that used to give him a headache were now a piece of cake—he could handle them with ease.

"Son, are you soaking in a tea mug every day? You smell like tea when you talk."

"It's all Brother Zhang's tea. Isn't it normal to drink some in the office? Besides, there's a pile of documents to process every day, so drinking some tea helps refresh the mind."

"Ahem, son, don't drink it anymore in the future. Drinking too much bloats your stomach. Pack up the saved tea leaves and bring them to your father."

"..."

Do you want to see what you're saying? A dignified leader in the ministry, yet you're coveting the tea leaves of a tiny Procurement Section.

"Old man, what nonsense are you spouting? But grandson, when you have time, invite Ping'an to be a guest at home. He is your leader, after all."

The tea leaves Xu Qianshan brought back last time had long been carved up by several comrades in the compound. The tea he drank every day now was still swindled from Li Huaide.

Xu Kun watched the abacus beads of the two old men clicking right in his face and said helplessly,

"Brother Zhang gave me a bag a while ago, and I haven't been able to bring myself to drink it."

"Where is it?"

"In my office."

"Remember to bring it back tomorrow."

"Oh, alright."

"Grandson, don't listen to your father and grandfather. Keep it for yourself to drink; it's a waste to give it to them."

"..."

"Mom, you are... you're absolutely right."

Xu Baisheng had wanted to say that she was too biased, but as soon as his mother gave him a look, he immediately changed his tone, secretly thinking it was a close call.

How could he have forgotten the fear of being beaten by his mother when he was a child? He didn't notice that his own father didn't dare to speak again, yet he himself had charged in. He had been careless.

"Grandma, I can't finish it all either. I'll bring it all back tomorrow for Grandma to distribute."

"Hehe, that's fine too. My good grandson has grown up."

Although Xu Kun was married and had children, he had always been like a child who never grew up. In the past, he would have been showing it off to his grandmother long ago. Being able to say these words now meant he had truly grown up.

Xu Qianshan also looked at his grandson with a face full of gratification, though Xu Baisheng had a resentful look in his eyes, which Xu Qianshan completely ignored.

The next day, Xu Kun brought back that half-catty of tea leaves. His grandmother took three-tenths, his grandfather Xu Qianshan took one and a half taels, and his father also took one and a half taels. The remaining two taels were his own.

"Grandma, I'll give you all of mine."

"Good grandson, Grandma doesn't drink this stuff. You have to process documents at the factory, which is mentally taxing, so drink more to refresh your mind. Besides, if Grandma wants to drink some, I can just find your grandfather."

"Alright then."

However, Xu Kun thought that he was still young and would have many opportunities to drink this tea, so in the end, he quietly left it for his grandfather, but all of this was seen by his father.

"This brat."

Zhang Ping'an did not know the effect this tea had on Xu Kun; at this moment, he was already standing at the edge of his own field, admiring his masterpiece.

The seven-plus mu of paddy fields had been completely finished by the family of three in a single day, which had also exhausted Zhang Ping'an.

"Ping'an, the corn harvest from the dry land over there last year was quite substantial, and I see that Laiyou also intends to change the seeds."

Besides the seven mu of land where they planted wheat and rice every year, the Zhang Ping'an family also had over three mu of dry land, where they usually grew seasonal ingredients like melons, fruits, and vegetables.

"Change them then, we have enough grain to eat anyway."

Zhang Ping'an was not afraid of being investigated, as he had not lied; even if someone with ulterior motives were to trace it back, the plot of land in his courtyard did indeed have a pond, which the old people in the nearby alleyway all knew about.

"Fine."

Zhang Ping'an rested at home for the night; he prepared to use his younger brother's schooling as an excuse within these two years to move the whole family to the city to live.