The Little Life of a Big Landlord

"Spring goes and autumn comes, how many times has the moon been full? The Mid-Autumn Festival is here again, the moon is as round as a plate." The Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for people to admire the moon and reunite with their families. In the bright starry sky, a bright moon hangs, like a bright and dazzling silver plate held up by a vast blue sea.

As night fell, Zhang Yang and his wife Sun Fangfang went to Zhang Yang's parents' house to celebrate the reunion festival together.

A dim light shone on the balcony, the screen window was open, and a refreshing autumn breeze caressed our faces. The balcony was large enough to fit a large table, on which were placed mooncakes, melon seeds, peanuts, a large plate of clean fruit, and a bottle of Yang Zhengfang's homemade fruit wine. Everyone enjoyed the moon and chatted together.

"As the saying goes, the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month determines drought or flood, and the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month determines the harvest. Today the moon is round enough, and the weather is good too. This year will be another bumper harvest." Yang Zhengfang looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky and felt a little uneasy. In previous years, at this time, he would set up a couple of tables of wine in his own yard and invite a few brothers to have a lively time. There was a good atmosphere. Nowadays, although there are still quite a few people, it always feels awkward to admire the moon on the balcony. It is not as comfortable as being in his own yard.

"I don't feel anything. At this time of year in previous years, we would all be in our own yard, enjoying the moon and eating mooncakes with our family. Even if we were covered in mosquito bites, it was still wonderful..." Wei Jianguo shook his head regretfully.

"Hey Lao Wei, you're living in a big house now, what else are you dissatisfied with?" Xue Hua was a little unhappy to hear this, although she also felt that watching the moon from the balcony was a bit of a regret.

"My father-in-law is right. In the past, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, we would gather a group of people in our courtyard in the evening, chatting and having fun together. That's how we truly enjoyed the festival," Zhang Shufang said with some regret.

"How about we move the table to the garden? We can celebrate this reunion festival there," Yang Ming suggested.

"Okay, okay, it would be best to lay down a cardboard box so that anyone who gets tired can lie down there for a while," Wei Qingqing agreed.

The four old men exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Alright!"

So, the location for moon viewing was moved from my own balcony to the community garden.

The lights in the residential area cast a dim yellow glow, which, when it reached the garden, only created dappled shadows of the trees. In the shadows, six people sat around a large table, eating and drinking, chatting and laughing quietly. Several bottles of beverages and fruit wines were placed at their feet, within easy reach of anyone who wanted a drink. Next to them, on an open space, was a large cardboard sheet covered with a thin blanket, where anyone who got tired could lie down for a while.

"Now that's more like the atmosphere!" Yang Zhengfang chuckled with satisfaction.

"Yes! People still yearn for nature. It's comfortable to live in a reinforced concrete building most of the time, but it just doesn't feel right when it comes to traditional festivals. We Chinese are closest to the land and love nature the most," Xue Hua said with a smile.

"I love hearing that. Back in our hometown, the yard would be piled high with golden corn cobs, and just looking at that would make me happy." Zhang Shufang felt a surge of joy as she thought about her family's bountiful harvest.

"If there were two lazy puppies lying at my feet, that would be even better," Wei Jianguo chuckled, peeling a peanut and popping it into his mouth.

"Are you all spending the Mid-Autumn Festival here?" At that moment, a rather friendly voice rang out. Everyone turned to look and saw a young man in a security guard uniform standing in the shadows.

"Oh! It's the security guard. You're really dedicated, staying here even on the Mid-Autumn Festival." Yang Ming stood up and smiled.

"Hehe," the security guard chuckled, "Sir, the park is a place for everyone to relax, with plenty of trees and grass, this..."

"I understand what you mean," Yang Ming smiled, pointing to a plastic bag filled with trash on the table, "The trash is all stored in there."

"Well, sorry to bother you..." The security guard chuckled and was about to leave.

"Hey, young comrade, it must be tough being here on the Mid-Autumn Festival..." Zhang Shufang handed the young security guard two cans of beer, two mooncakes, and a bag of melon seeds and peanuts.

"Thank you, thank you..." The security guard's eyes were wet with tears. It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, and who wouldn't want to go home and spend it with their family? But his home is in another city, and he can't leave here. Seeing other families reunited makes him feel sad. This woman's actions are so heartwarming, reminding him of his own mother.

"That kid has had a tough time." Watching the young security guard walk away, Xue Hua shook his head.

"Who has it easy living in this world?" Wei Jianguo sighed.

Perhaps inspired by Yang Ming's family, more people came out of their buildings and set up tables in the courtyard of the community. Families enjoyed the moon and celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival together. The whole community suddenly became lively. Every now and then, children would point to the moon and tell their mothers that they saw Chang'e on the moon.

"Haha, now that's more like it!" Yang Zhengfang stood up, looked around, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! Grandpa, we came down here because we saw you celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival..." A young man greeted Yang Zhengfang cheerfully.

"Young man, what a joyous family reunion!" Yang Zhengfang said with a smile.

"You too, a family reunion." The young man clasped his hands in a fist salute towards them.

Yang Ming and his group were the ones who took the lead in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival outside, so many people greeted them. Yang Zhengfang simply took a bottle of fruit wine and went around greeting people one by one. This old man may seem quiet and reserved in front of his wife, but he is also a person who loves to join in the fun. He is not afraid to strike up a conversation with people at all. In the future, we will all live in the same community, so we should try to get along well. A harmonious neighborhood makes life more interesting.

Caught up in the atmosphere, Wei Jianguo, Xue Hua, and Zhang Shufang chatted excitedly, leaving Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing, the two young people, out in the cold. The young couple simply sat on the cardboard and whispered to each other.

The next morning, Wei Jianguo locked the door early. The couple were both teachers, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was over. School was going to resume today, and they had to supervise the students' morning self-study.

Yang Zhengfang drank too much last night, so he's still asleep. Zhang Shufang, on the other hand, got up early to make breakfast. Her son and daughter-in-law are going back to that small mountain village today. Although she really wants to go with them, she's just arrived and wants to get familiar with the environment first.

Zhang Shufang had just finished preparing breakfast when Yang Ming came out shirtless.

"Look at you, why are you out shirtless? What if you catch a cold?" Zhang Shufang complained.

"It's not cold inside, Mom. Qingqing and I are going back today. If you need anything, just call Zhang Yang and Fangfang. We'll go to my father-in-law's house later and dig up that pomegranate tree to take to Zhengjia Village. We'll come back again. If you need anything, we'll bring it back for you," Yang Ming said.

"Your dad and I have everything we need. If we need anything, can't we just go down and buy it ourselves? Do you really think we're country bumpkins?" Zhang Shufang rolled her eyes at her son.

"Hehe, no, no..." Yang Ming quickly smiled apologetically.

"Bring the dog along," Zhang Shufang said softly.

"How can that be? My dad would be furious with me!" Yang Ming dared not touch his father's dog, Da Huang.

"I told you to take those three little ones with you. Qingqing's dad took one, Zhang Yang took one, so there are still three left, aren't there?" Zhang Shufang said.

"Okay, I'll take it with me when I leave." Yang Ming nodded, turned around and went back to his room to get dressed.

When Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing arrived downstairs, Old Yang was already waiting in his car.

The two got into the car, and Lao Yang started the engine, driving towards Wuyi Lane in the western part of the city. Before long, they arrived at Wuyi Lane. The three of them walked into the small courtyard. Sure enough, in just two days, the house had become dilapidated, a kind of dilapidation that lacked human presence.

Wei Qingqing felt a little sad, after all, this place held her childhood memories. Yang Ming and Lao Yang worked together, taking iron picks, and dug up the pomegranate tree in the yard, not even letting go of the new seedlings that had been split off from the branches.

Old Yang was a skilled farmer; with each stroke, he wouldn't damage the tree roots at all, as if he knew where the roots were beforehand. On the other hand, Yang Ming broke several tree roots.

With a large mud pot attached (when transplanting trees and flowers, the roots are always covered with some soil to help them survive; in some places, this soil-covered root is called a mud pot), the pomegranate tree slowly fell down. The two of them then wrapped the mud pot in a plastic bag and lifted it onto the transport vehicle together.

After all that fuss, quite a few fruits fell off the tree.

Wei Qingqing took one last look at the small courtyard before turning and leaving.

Back in the beautiful neighborhood, after talking with his parents for a while, Yang Ming and his wife left with their three puppies.

"Did we make a mistake?" Zhang Shufang looked at the delivery truck driving out of the community, feeling somewhat irritated.

"I don't understand what you mean," Yang Zhengfang replied sullenly, leading his dog, Da Huang. Da Huang was also taking care of his own children.

"We wanted Mingming to live in the city, and he did buy a house there and brought us over. But now they've moved to the countryside. If we had known Mingming didn't want to live in the city, we should have let him go back to the village in the first place," Zhang Shufang said, somewhat frustrated.

"Then who's to blame? You're the one who makes all the decisions in our family, aren't you? Now our son can't even go back to the village." The delivery truck drove out of the residential area, turned onto the main road, and was no longer visible. Yang Zhengfang muttered to himself as he led Dahuang upstairs.

"You old man, you've grown some guts, haven't you? Now that our son and daughter-in-law are gone, and our in-laws aren't here either, shouldn't we settle our scores?" Zhang Shufang said, hands on her hips.

Yang Zhengfang quickly took a few steps and got into the elevator.

Liu Sao and her daughter spent the Mid-Autumn Festival at Bao'er's maternal grandmother's house. They returned to Zhengjia Village the next morning, accompanied by a beautiful little girl. This girl was youthful, beautiful, and budding, with a face that resembled Liu Sao's by seven or eight points. She was Liu Lei's daughter, Liu Nannan.

Originally, Liu Sao had never spent the Mid-Autumn Festival with her parents since she got married. After her husband died, she was even less likely to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her parents in order not to upset her in-laws. However, she made an exception yesterday.

The mother and her two children returned home chatting and laughing. Little Bao'er took her older sister's hand and went to her godfather's house.

"Sister, I'll take you to eat something delicious..." Xiao Bao'er pulled Liu Nannan and squeezed into Yang Ming's yard. Yang Ming's yard didn't have a locked gate, and there were more than twenty dogs in the yard. Anyone who dared to go in would definitely be bitten. It was only because Xiao Bao'er was an acquaintance that she could lead people in.

Xiao Bao'er recognized Yang Ming as his godfather, and he was no longer reserved here, just like he was at his own home.

After unlocking the large lock on the outer door, the two sisters crawled inside. Xiao Bao'er led her sister directly to the west room. On the kang (a heated brick bed) in the west room, there were several large baskets covered with thin quilts. Xiao Bao'er climbed onto the kang, lifted the quilts from the baskets, and revealed their contents: a basket of large peaches, a basket of purple grapes, a basket of large apples, a basket of large pears, a basket of large red apricots, and a basket of large dates.

"Sister, this was left to me by my father. I'll treat you to it." Little Bao'er said generously to her sister, acting like a local host.

"Did your dad leave this? Can you eat it?" Liu Nannan didn't know that Xiao Bao'er had recognized a godfather. She thought that Bao'er's father was his uncle. Isn't that a ghost?

"Of course I can eat it, it's delicious..." Bao'er didn't think much of it, took a big apple, took a bite, then jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the east room to watch TV.

"It smells pretty good..." The thin blanket was lifted, and the fruity aroma burst out. The rich fragrance made Liu Nannan swallow hard.

"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits; there are no ghosts in this world..." Liu Nannan repeatedly told herself, then took a bunch of purple grapes and followed Xiao Bao'er.

"If I give in to your wishes, won't I become a slut in the eyes of the villagers, hooking up with random men? I'll tarnish my reputation, so why should I give you the child? If my belly really gets bigger, the first ones to make trouble will probably be you two old hags. And after the child is born, you'll probably be the first to take it away..." Aunt Liu returned home and lay quietly on the kang (heated brick bed), thinking about her specific plan to deal with Bao'er's grandmother. The two old women's behavior was infuriating. If she really let them manipulate her, she would never get over this in her lifetime. There were three reasons why she didn't remarry after her husband's death. First, it was because of her son, Xiaobao, whom she was afraid would be mistreated in a new home. Second, it was because of her husband; she had lived a relatively happy and fulfilling life with him for over eight years, and remarrying would mean completely saying goodbye to her previous life, which she was always reluctant to do. Third, it was because of her parents-in-law; they had lost their son in their old age, and as a daughter-in-law, she should take on the responsibility of supporting them. However, she was met with indifference; not only did they not consider her family, but they didn't even treat her like a human being.

Liu's heart, stimulated by her parents-in-law, has changed without her realizing it. It's as if a heavy burden has been lifted from her shoulders, and she feels much lighter.

"Did you see where they went?" Grandma Bao'er was hiding behind a woodpile, with three young men squatting beside her.

"Auntie, my sister-in-law is home. Bao'er and a little girl went to that city family's house. Are we really going to steal Bao'er? Bao'er is a child of our Zheng family. What are we going to steal?" A burly young man with a dark face said somewhat unhappily. This young man was called Zheng Dazhuang.

"Auntie, what if we steal Bao'er and your sister-in-law calls the police? My brother is gone, and instead of protecting your sister-in-law and niece, we bully them. Even my brother won't have peace after he dies." A thin young man was also somewhat unhappy. This young man was Zheng Dayong.

"Auntie, I'm not going. My sister-in-law is good to me, I can't bully her..." A simple-minded young man squatted down silently. This young man was named Zheng Dahan.

"Are you three trying to upset me over an outsider? I know better than you whether my son is safe or not. Let me tell you, Bao'er is my granddaughter. What's wrong with me taking her to raise her? Isn't it a grandmother's duty to take care of her granddaughter?" Bao'er's grandmother scolded the three of them with a dark face. Although Aunt Liu had agreed to their request, she still felt more at ease keeping her granddaughter under her control. If they dared to play any tricks, she would make sure that the mother and daughter never saw each other again.

The three of them immediately fell silent. They were all honest and kind children who had always been very obedient to adults.

"Come with me, take Bao'er to my house." Bao'er's grandmother said, getting up and walking towards Yang Ming's house.

"Auntie, is it appropriate for us to go? That city guy isn't home. If we go to his house, won't Uncle Zheng Yu break our legs?" Zheng Dazhuang said in a muffled voice.

"What's inappropriate about it? Me, take care of my granddaughter? Let's see what that city guy dares to say. As for Zheng Yu, that madman dared to hit you, so you should beat him up. What kind of person is he?" Grandma Bao'er was consumed by jealousy and couldn't stand Zheng Yu no matter what she did.

Grandma Bao led the way, followed by three young men who dawdled behind.

When the four arrived at Yang Ming's house, they pushed the door open and went straight in. Bao'er's grandmother walked across the yard in a carefree manner, and even picked a large persimmon and put it in her pocket.

"Bao'er, Grandma is taking you home." Bao'er's grandma said softly from outside. She was afraid that Aunt Liu would hear her voice and come over to stop her. However, she did not notice that all twenty-seven puppies were looking at her at the same time, and the little bear that had been sleeping under the tree had even stood up and was growling.

Xiao Bao opened the outer door a crack and said somewhat warily, "Grandma, Mom said I can't talk to you." Clearly, Xiao Bao had received a warning from his mother and had already associated his grandmother with the Big Bad Wolf.

"Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. We are the family, we are the Zheng family." Grandma Bao'er's face darkened, and she scolded in a low voice, "Come out now, Grandma will take you home."

"This is my dad's house, I'm not going anywhere." Little Bao didn't even come out; he just talked to his grandma through the door.

"Fine, so that shameless bastard and that city guy really are having an affair. Da Zhuang, Yong Da Han, break down the door and take this little girl who recognizes a thief as her father away!" Grandma Bao'er was almost furious, and even four-character idioms came out, though she used them rather inappropriately.

Although she didn't like Xiaobao'er, she was still furious when she heard that her granddaughter had recognized someone else as her father.

"You're the shameless one! Get out of here or I'll call my aunt..." Liu Nannan's voice came from inside.

Uh...

At this moment, Little Bear first strolled to the front door, glaring menacingly at Grandma Bao'er. Big Black and the other five silly dogs also surrounded her, growling in their throats. The spotted dogs scattered throughout the yard also growled and slowly surrounded her. The other three mixed-breed dogs squatted straight at the door, cutting off the enemy's retreat.

"Auntie... Auntie, the dogs are surrounding us. Why do they have so many dogs?" Zheng Dayong stammered, tugging at Bao'er's grandmother's sleeve. He wasn't afraid of the puppies, but the puppies were so aggressive that it made him uneasy. Not only him, but even Zheng Dazhuang and Zheng Dahan were a little worried.

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