The Little Life of a Big Landlord

August 7th, the 8th day of the sixth lunar month, is another Saturday.

Today marks the beginning of autumn in the twenty-four solar terms, signifying the arrival of autumn, a season of harvest.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and dewdrops rolled on the leaves. In the peaceful Zhengjia Village, a large truck drove in, carrying furniture.

The truck drove all the way to the innermost part of the mountain village and stopped under the big willow tree in front of Yang Ming's house. A man and a woman opened the truck door and jumped out.

"Is this the young couple who bought the house from my ex-uncle's family?"

"I heard they're from the city. You know, city people are really strange; why would they go to some poor mountain village for no reason?"...

In Zhengjia Village, the women who got up early to cook gathered in groups of three or five, whispering among themselves.

Next to Yang Ming's house was a farmhouse. A mother and daughter lived there. The mother, Liu Fen, was about thirty years old and very pretty. She looked like she was eighteen or nineteen, probably because of the nurturing environment of the mountain valley. Her husband had died two years ago when he encountered a pack of wolves while going into the mountains. Because the trip was organized by the village, the village usually took good care of the mother and daughter and would think of them whenever there was good news. The daughter, Zheng Bao'er, was only 10 years old and very pretty. She was in the third grade at the village primary school.

When Liu Fen got up to cook breakfast, she noticed a large truck parked outside her neighbor's house. She had heard from the villagers that her neighbor had sold the house to a young couple from the city, and that they would be her neighbors from now on. She wondered what kind of people they were.

Thinking about it, Liu Fen pushed open the door and looked outside, just in time to see a man and a woman unloading furniture from a car.

At this moment, another vehicle came from the gravel road in the village. This vehicle was a minivan. The minivan stopped behind the truck. First, several strong young men got out of the vehicle, followed by a beautiful woman. The beautiful woman directed the strong young men to help the couple move the furniture.

Seeing this, Liu Fen shook her head, shrank back, and closed the door. She had originally wanted to help and get to know her new neighbor, but there were too many people, and she didn't like the atmosphere.

The furniture was all old and simple in style, but it was mostly made of solid wood and quite heavy. However, some of the household appliances were new and still in their packaging, so we had to be careful when carrying them. It wasn't until noon that we finally managed to move all the furniture into the house.

After everything was tidied up, the small mud-brick house had been completely transformed. In the main room, two large pots had been installed in the two stoves, with mud smeared around their edges. Two water vats stood to the left of the back door, already filled with sweet well water. On the other side, there were also two large vats, but they were for noodles, one for rice and the other for noodles. Next to the two noodle vats was a large cupboard containing bowls, chopsticks, tea trays, and the like. Next to the cupboard was a large, square kang table.

In the east room, against the north wall was a large wardrobe, the same one from Yang Ming's old home. On it sat a 60-inch LCD TV with a satellite dish attached. A DVD player and other entertainment equipment were also placed nearby. Although they lived in a mountain village, they still had plenty of spiritual activities.

In the center of the north wall hangs a large pendulum clock, flanked by two large mirrors. With these two mirrors, there's no need for a dressing table.

There was a horizontal clothesline in the middle of the room, with one end on the east wall and the other end on the door frame, where clothes and towels were usually hung.

There was a large, cool mat on the kang (heated brick bed), woven from bamboo. Lying on it naked was refreshingly cool, a real treat on such a hot day.

The quilts and mattresses were neatly folded and piled on the kang (a heated brick bed). They weren't new; they were the ones Yang Ming had used before. According to Yang Ming's mother, if the couple used the quilts Yang Ming had used before, they would have more sons.

"You shouldn't have put a TV in this room! It ruins the whole atmosphere!" Sun Fangfang sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), eating a peach the size of a sand bowl, while pointing and criticizing the LCD TV.

"I'd love to!" Wei Qingqing climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), snatched the big peach from Sun Fangfang's hand, and began to eat it with relish.

"You can't do this! This was given to me by your husband! If you want some, go ask your husband..." Sun Fangfang protested, got up, and tried to snatch it.

"What are you fighting over? There's plenty of it!" At this moment, Yang Ming walked in carrying a large plate of peaches and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"My godfather is still the best!" Sun Fangfang smiled and grabbed a big peach, taking a big bite. The soft, sweet taste spread in her mouth.

After the upgrade of the farm space that night, Yang Ming took advantage of his time back in his hometown to plant a lot of fruit trees in the abandoned orchard in the village. There were five kinds of trees, including peach, apple, pear, apricot and jujube trees, with about ten trees of each kind. Since the trees were transplanted from mature trees rather than from seeds, they blossomed and bore fruit in just two days. Two days later, they were ripe, with plump fruits hanging heavily on the branches. Their abundant appearance made people want to eat them.

In addition, Yang Ming took advantage of his time in his hometown to obtain a lot of seeds for grains, vegetables, and fruits, including wheat, millet, chestnuts, sorghum, corn, sesame, cucumbers, loofah, chili peppers, scallions, cabbage, radishes, chives, coriander, watermelons, pumpkins, grapes, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, and dozens of other varieties. He planted them all on the purple soil in the farm space, and they grew to half-grown size in just two or three days. The ones that bore fruit were harvested directly when ripe.

Although the crops and fruit trees in the farm space were growing well, Yang Ming still noticed a problem. Although the time flow in the farm space was 10 times that of normal time, wasn't the space too small? The small space limited the types of crops that could be planted. Yang Ming asked Ya Ya about this issue and received the answer that the large landowner's farm space was only a space for cultivating and optimizing seeds. To expand the planting and breeding area, it was still necessary to do so outside. If the planet was not in a special cosmic environment, these optimized crops would always maintain this advantage.

To expand the planting area, the only option is to plant outside the local area.

Yang Ming also took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up a peach and started eating. He didn't know why, but ever since he ate the peaches grown in the farm space, he was full of energy. After eating the apples grown in the farm space, his mind became clear. After eating pears, apricots, and red dates, although the effects were not as obvious as these two fruits, he was still full of energy and felt much stronger.

All these phenomena made Yang Ming realize the value of these five fruits. The couple used to eat them secretly, but today was the first time they had taken them out. Although it was just peaches, Sun Fangfang was attracted by their appearance at first glance. The pink skin was just like the peaches in the old version of "Journey to the West", making people want to eat them just by looking at them.

"How's the west room coming along?" Wei Qingqing asked, leaning against the pile of quilts and eating a peach.

"It's all set up. I've laid an oilcloth on the kang (heated brick bed), and put the two large leather trunks I brought from your house on it. All the household appliances are piled up in that room, and the fruits, vegetables, pork, eggs, and everything else are in the refrigerator..." Yang Ming said.

"Zhang Yang's second aunt's cousin got married, and that bastard ran off three days ago. He didn't even come when you moved. I hope your godfather and godmother aren't angry with him?" Sun Fangfang said with a smile.

"How could that be? After all, business is more important!" Yang Ming said with a smile.

"I knew my brother-in-law was the most magnanimous..." Sun Fangfang said with a smile.

"Why do I feel like your smile is a little strange?" Wei Qingqing knew Sun Fangfang well. "What kind of trouble are you up to now?"

"What nonsense? There's a saying that husband and wife are birds of the same forest... No, no, not that saying. Husband and wife should share happiness and hardship, support each other, and live in harmony. The peaches at my brother's house are so delicious. I ate some today. If Zhang Yang didn't eat any, I would feel a little sorry for him..." Sun Fangfang said with a smile.

"Just say you want to bring some back, why are you making up all this nonsense?" Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes at Sun Fangfang. "Knowing you as I do, if I give you ten peaches and Zhang Yang manages to eat even half of one, I'll take your surname."

"I'm his wife, so of course he'll save the best food for me. I'm a hero of the Zhang family; I gave him a big, healthy son," Sun Fangfang said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright! We have plenty at home anyway, I'll bring you a few back!" Yang Ming said.

"Isn't it customary to light a stove on the first day of moving? Let's light a fire and cook. Those young men outside are waiting to eat!" Wei Qingqing looked out the open window and saw the group of strong young men who were helping with the move resting and cooling off under the persimmon tree outside, eating peaches.

"Give them a meal and then send them on their way!" Sun Fangfang said.

These young men were all movers hired by Sun Fangfang from a moving company under Longteng Real Estate Company. The department manager only needed to issue a note to hire them, and did not need to pay them wages. It was a case of using public office for private gain.

"What are you standing there for? Go cook!" Wei Qingqing got off the kang (heated brick bed) and put on her shoes.

"I'm a guest..."

At 3 p.m., Sun Fangfang sent the group of young men away, but stayed behind herself. Tomorrow, Zhang Yang's cousin would be getting married, and Zhang Yang would come here to pick her up.

"Don't you drive your truck into the yard?" Sun Fangfang asked as she strolled in the front yard and noticed the large truck outside.

"It won't get stolen even if we leave it outside," Wei Qingqing said. The truck has an anti-theft system, and without the key, the doors can't be opened at all.

"I feel this place is so quiet, it makes me uneasy... I can't stand living here long-term," Sun Fangfang said.

"I think it's great. They say that living deep in the mountains is good for your health. If you live here, you won't need to do any beauty treatments..." Wei Qingqing said.

"Hey! Who's that? Why are they always looking into your yard?" Sun Fangfang nudged Wei Qingqing with her elbow and pointed to the outside of the fence.

Sun Fangfang pointed, and a figure flashed past outside the fence, giving Wei Qingqing a clear view. She was immediately terrified: "Who? Who's outside?"

"Auntie..." A timid child's voice rang out, making the two women breathe a sigh of relief: it was a little child...

"Who is it? Come in!" Wei Qingqing said.

A girl with pigtails pushed open the fence gate and walked in from outside.

The little girl was about 1.23 meters tall, wearing a blue floral dress. Her big eyes blinked and sparkled, revealing a delicate and charming air. She was incredibly cute, like a porcelain doll. Wei Qingqing and Sun Fangfang were immediately struck by her beauty.

"Come, come, come to Auntie." Wei Qingqing waved to the little girl.

The little girl ran up to the two women, looking up at them with her tiny face, and asked, "Auntie, will you be living here from now on?"

"Yes! Little friend, tell Auntie, what's your name? How old are you? Are you in school?" Sun Fangfang squatted down and asked gently.

"Auntie, my name is Zheng Bao'er, I'm ten years old and in the third grade," Zheng Bao'er said.

Wei Qingqing went back inside and brought out a large peach, handing it to Zheng Bao'er. "Were you outside just now? Where do you live?"

"Auntie, I was outside just now. My house is right next to yours... Auntie, can I come to your house to pick persimmons and chestnuts again in the future?" The peaches smelled so tempting that Zheng Bao'er swallowed hard, but she couldn't bear to eat them. She held them in her arms like treasures and asked timidly.

Upon hearing this, Wei Qingqing understood. Before, Grandpa Zheng's house was vacant, and the two trees in the yard bore fruit that no one picked when ripe, becoming snacks for the children. This little girl must have often jumped into the yard to pick persimmons and chestnuts. Now that she and her husband had moved in, the children couldn't just eat them so freely anymore. She quickly said, "Of course you can! Auntie welcomes you to come and play often. Why aren't you eating peaches? Eat up! They're very sweet!"

"Thank you, Auntie. I'll save this peach for my mom..."

"No need, no need, we have too many peaches at home, I'll get you a few more..." Sun Fangfang quickly got up and ran into the house. This little girl had a kind of pitiful charm about her, and Sun Fangfang's eyes always felt a little itchy when she looked at her.

Yang Ming was cleaning the well in the backyard. The water in the well was still clear and not murky at all. There wasn't even a speck of moss on the well wall, which clearly meant that someone cleaned it regularly. However, leaving it in the open like this wasn't a good idea. Yang Ming planned to build a small shed here to cover the well opening. From now on, the family would use water from this well for drinking and other purposes, so hygiene had to be guaranteed.

The front and back yards of the small courtyard are all fenced. The fences cannot bear weight, so it is not easy to build a shed. It requires four pillars. Fortunately, there is a lot of wood in the backyard. This wood is relatively thin, only as thick as an adult's wrist. It is not suitable for making roof purlins, as it cannot bear the weight. However, it is more than enough to build a large shed.

These pieces of wood weren't heavy; Yang Ming could easily carry two in each hand. He dug four holes around the well, drilled a hole at the smaller end of each of the four relatively straight pieces of wood, threaded a rope through them, measured the dimensions, buried the larger ends in the holes, and then began to fill the holes with soil. The holes for threading the ropes were a good 2.5 meters from the ground. He then made four thin purlins, measured them, drilled a hole at each end, threaded ropes through them, and connected them to the ropes on the four support pillars. He tied them together at right angles four or five times, thus creating a simple support structure. To increase the stability of the shed, he tied the diagonal sections together with ropes and placed them in the shed of the donkey cart, with bundles of hemp rope as thick as a thumb.

Small sheds are usually covered with reed mats, but Yang Ming searched the backyard and couldn't find any. He did find two rolls of tarpaulin, but looking at how dark they were, he decisively gave up on the idea of ​​using tarpaulin for the roof. Oh well, that's it for today. Tomorrow is the 28th, the big market day in Majiagou, Liujiatun, and the township. If he needs anything, he can buy it at the market. But he'll need to find someone who knows the way, otherwise, he might not be able to find the place.

Yang Ming dusted off his hands and used a windlass to draw up a bucket of water. The bucket was made of sheet metal and weighed about 40 kilograms. It was quite strenuous for Yang Ming to crank the windlass.

After washing his hands and face, Yang Ming returned to the house and was surprised to find four women inside: three adults and one child. The three adults were Wei Qingqing, Sun Fangfang, and a woman who looked quite young. The three of them were eating peaches and sunflower seeds while chatting and laughing.

The little girl was Zheng Bao'er. She was standing close to the young woman, eating peaches in small bites.

The young woman stood up immediately when she saw Yang Ming walk into the room.

"Honey, let me introduce you. This is our neighbor next door, Aunt Liu. You wouldn't believe it, would you? She's already a mother of a ten-year-old. This little girl is Aunt Liu's daughter, Zheng Bao'er... Aunt Liu, this is my husband, his name is Yang Ming." Wei Qingqing introduced excitedly.

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I received my first-ever "tips" and I'm incredibly excited. I'd like to say thank you to that kind friend, "Lu Han"...