Jiang Changhai had just cheered up his mother when he turned his head to see his father walk out, "Dad, you should also drink more honey water, it’s good for your health."
Jiang Dashan glanced at him before saying to everyone, "Tomorrow, our whole family will ask the village for a half-day off. Eldest is moving to the city with his family, and we shall help them move their stuff."
Spring’s busiest time had passed, and recently there had been less work in the village, so it was easy for the Jiang family members to take time off.
"Got it, Dad," Jiang Changhe and Jiang Changtao both nodded.
In fact, nobody was surprised that Jiang Dashan would compromise.
After all, Eldest had bought a house in town, and he would be a city-dweller from then on. Such an event would be considered a grand occasion worth celebrating in any family.
Although there had been an unsightly quarrel the previous night, parents always wish for their children’s well-being. If it had been up to them, they would have agreed as well.
The matter was settled, and Zhang Guihua knew there was no use in being angry anymore, so she accepted the reality.
And once she had accepted it, she started to worry again, "Eldest, is there anything your city house is still lacking? Anything we have at home, we should take from here. Everything in the city is so expensive; there’s no point in wasting money."
As soon as Jiang Changhai heard this, he immediately said, "Mom, I knew you cared about me the most. The new house still needs a dustpan, straw mats, sieves, brooms—these kinds of things."
He blurted it out as if he had been waiting for his mother to say just that.
In fact, the items Jiang Changhai had just mentioned could all be made at home with bamboo, and many rural people sold them for dirt cheap.
He mentioned these items because he wanted to please the old lady. This feeling of being needed by their children gives parents a sense of comfort.
And indeed, Zhang Guihua’s face brightened after hearing this.
"That’s easy. Leave those to me. The village has a day off today and there’s no work, so after lunch, I’ll go with your brothers to the back mountain to cut some bamboo."
This morning happened to be free of any pressing chores.
"That’s great, Mom. The stuff you make is both lightweight and durable—much better than anything bought from outside," Jiang Changhai flattered her opportunistically.
The Second and Third Branch had no chance to speak before they were clearly assigned their tasks by their mother and resigned themselves to contribute their labor.
There was nothing to be done about it—Eldest had a persuasive tongue and knew how to make their mother happy.
So right after lunch, Zhang Guihua took the people from the Second and Third Branches to the back mountain to cut bamboo.
When the Jiang family members were dragging the bamboo back, some villagers saw them and casually asked, "Auntie Guihua, what are you cutting so much bamboo for?"
Zhang Guihua had been waiting for someone to ask her just that and immediately responded, "Well, Changhai has made some money and bought a big house in town. They’re moving there tomorrow, and I’m making them some small items to save them from having to go out and buy them."
"What? Changhai bought a house in the city? When did that happen? How come I haven’t heard any news about it?" the villagers asked in shock.
The reason the villagers were so surprised was that in their village, news such as a hen laying a double-yolked egg would spread throughout the entire village in less than a day.
Yet now they hadn’t heard about Jiang Changhai buying a house in the city, which was an incredibly significant event, it seemed utterly unbelievable.
However, it couldn’t be helped—as rural folk, they wouldn’t go into the city unless they absolutely had to, so news from the city naturally reached them later.
Zhang Guihua thought to herself that it wasn’t just them who were uninformed; as his own mother, she had only found out yesterday.
But she, being so mindful of her own image, would never say this out loud for others to ridicule her.