Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Another New Year

Neither Wang Lianqi nor Wang Lianfa are fools. Ling Chengyan made his point so clear, how could they not understand what he meant?

Wang Lianqi asked, “Are you suggesting we build houses for others? But I’m not very good at that…”

Ling Chengyan laughed, “In the old days, every craft had its head; they would gather work and distribute it to craftsmen under them, or lead them to do it. Nowadays, although that system isn’t practiced anymore, big brother can connect with the masons and carpenters in the village who are good at this, along with the laborers who assist.”

Wang Lianfa nodded repeatedly, looking at his big brother and said, “Brother, I think it’s doable.”

Wang Lianfa nodded but didn’t immediately express his opinion.

Ling Chengyan noticed his receptive attitude and said no more, bowing her head to eat, letting the brothers chat away.

The children somehow found out that it was time, and they all ran from the dinner table, carrying stools to watch TV. It’s Saturday, and there’s half an hour of cartoons.

Ling Chengyan noticed Xiaoxing’s half bowl of porridge remaining, brought it inside, and found the kids with their faces almost glued to the TV screen. She came in without any of them turning around, not even blinking an eye.

Ling Chengyan laughed and pushed the children back, drawing a line and said, “You can’t watch TV too closely; you must be behind this line. Xiaoxing, finish your porridge.”

“Mom, I’m full,” Xiaoxing tried to act spoiled, lifting her eyes to meet Ling Chengyan’s, and quickly took the bowl obediently.

Their mother usually didn’t nag like the eldest and second aunt, but once she said something, it wouldn’t change easily. Moreover, mom didn’t like children wasting food.

Wang Lianqi stayed in Huicheng for two nights before returning, as Hongjun’s school wouldn’t start for another half month. Ling Chengyan and Zheng Xiaotian both invited him to stay, so he left his youngest son, saying he’d come to pick him up before school started.

Wang Lianfa suggested taking Hongjun over with him, but Wang Liansheng stopped him.

“You’ve missed your stall for several days now, you shouldn’t keep putting it off. Let the children stay here, I’ll tidy up the storage room, put in two small beds, it’ll be perfect for the three brothers to sleep.”

The children were still young, and all were boys; two double beds were enough.

Wang Liansheng led his second brother to the storage room, which was not large but tidied up systematically. After cleaning, it was neat with mattresses and mats on the beds, mosquito nets hung, obviously thoughtful.

“Again, I’m troubling you and sister-in-law,” Wang Lianfa was genuinely grateful to this cousin.

Wang Liansheng patted his brother’s shoulder with a smile, “We’re family, no need to be so formal. …I’ll tell you, I’m not planning to let the kids play around dumbly, I’ve enrolled them in a swimming class at the gym—sending Xiaoxing and a few boys to learn to swim, all with proper coaches. Learning to swim can be handy for them in the future.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea, it’s not just about learning something, but being in the water is refreshing too,” Wang Lianfa laughed joyfully and proactively asked about the tuition fees.

Even though he has been going in and out of the weather these months, he’s made quite a bit of money, paid fines without borrowing money, and judging by the looks, still has some spare cash in hand.

The brothers were doing well, Wang Liansheng was happy for them.

“You don’t know, I discussed with your sister-in-law, she’s even thinking about practicing at the neighboring playground.”

“That’s also a good idea, let the rascals learn some discipline, they can be more steady in the future.” Wang Lianfa was completely on board, with no objections at all.

Wang Liansheng couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re quite a father, truly not worried about your sons.”

Wang Lianfa laughed, too, and said, “I’ve been thinking, I want to take the eldest to the stall nearby and let him experience how tough it is to earn money.”

All Wang Liansheng could do this time was smile wryly. He had already seen that Hong Ming was clever like the second cousin. When they bought a TV yesterday, that guy said they could sell tickets as quite a few people came to see it. If the second brother really took Hong Ming to the stall, the kid might not read anymore, just dreaming about making money.

Wang Liansheng was straightforward with the second brother, collected the swimming class fees for Hong Ming, Hong Liang, and Hongjun, but promptly used the money to buy swimsuits and gave the kids fifty cents each day for pocket money, letting them get snacks and drinks after swimming practice.

Time flew by quickly, in a blink of an eye the summer break was almost over, and the school transfer for the children was sorted. Wang Liansheng discussed with both cousins, and decided to transfer Hongbing here too.

At that time, it wasn’t too difficult for children to attend school. Hong Ming, Hong Liang, and Hongbing were all placed at Xinghuo Primary School—not because they couldn’t attend the family primary school, but because the second cousin Wang Lianfa had rented another small courtyard nearby, less than a hundred meters from the Xinghuo Primary School.

Moreover, importantly, Wang Liansheng revealed to Wang Lianfa that a farmer’s market was soon to be developed not far from that house, with stalls for selling meat and vegetables, and some for clothing and small commodities. There would also be two rows of shop rooms built on the sides, rented to merchants for operation.

Wang Lianfa had long set his sights on the shop rooms, ambitiously planning to open Huicheng’s first specialty clothing accessories store.

Ling Chengyan initially helped by introducing him to some suppliers, but Wang Lianfa quickly got the hang of it. Now he not only sources from Liu San but also brings in some small trinkets girls like; he no longer needs her assistance.

The children had all started school, and Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng were busy with their own affairs, each day was fulfilling. In the blink of an eye, the year 1980 was coming to an end.

The children adapted faster than the adults; the three boys quickly got used to the environment after starting school. With the three brothers together, no one dared to bully them. The only headache for Wang Lianfa and Wang Liansheng was Hongbing’s studies weren’t going well; even with Wang Liansheng tutoring them on weekends, Hongbing’s mid-term exams barely passed. Hong Ming did better, scoring above eighty, and surprisingly Hong Liang was the budding scholar, achieving dual top marks in quizzes and mid-terms, which made Wang Lianfa extremely happy.

The farmer’s market hadn’t been built yet, but Wang Liansheng found a shop room first, and the location was very nice—right beside the department store, originally a private house with three rooms including east and west annexes, a well-organized three-courtyard layout. The owners were an elderly couple, whose children were settled in the south, and the elderly couple moved to be with them in their retirement, so they sold the house.

The house was priced at two thousand five hundred, and this time Ling Chengyan contributed one thousand yuan for support. Wang Liansheng owed too much to the fourth brother and sister-in-law, and said little but remembered this in his heart.

On New Year’s Day, which had only one day off, the day before Wang Liansheng had brought three nephews over, and this time Ling Chengyan was also home, all of them went to the government compound to watch the New Year’s gala together.

On New Year’s Day, Wang Lianfa and Zheng Xiaotian brought their youngest son Hong Hui over as well, while the kids watched TV, the four adults chatted while making dumplings.

Wang Lianfa said, “…The elder brother said, this year’s harvest has been good, most households in the village have some spare money, and quite a few families are planning to build or renovate houses after the year…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep