“Dad, Mom, you really raised a wonderful son. He actually lets his own son go against his eldest brother. Now look at this. Their family is happily hiring workers while Ningkai’s girlfriend is about to break up with him because of them. If they really split up, where is Ningkai supposed to find another girlfriend as rich as Lisa?” After hearing what Madam Zhang said, Madam Li hated the third son’s family even more. The bright future their household had been looking forward to had been ruined just like that.
“If I’d known the third son would grow into such an ungrateful, unfilial wretch, I should’ve strangled him to death back then.” Old Madam Wang completely sympathized with Madam Li. Just look at how their family had been living lately. Where was any of their former glory? It was all the third son’s fault.
Wang Hongwei sat on the sofa smoking. He said nothing after hearing his wife and mother, but his silence seemed to indicate agreement. In his heart, he probably blamed the third son’s family too.
“Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, if you ask me, this is mainly that brat Wang Cheng’s fault. He must have heard something before deciding to contract North Mountain. Now he’s openly hiring workers. He clearly doesn’t take either of you seriously.” Madam Zhang poured more oil on the fire from the side.
“Exactly. The third son can say whatever he wants, but who knows whether any of it is true? Maybe he resents us and deliberately did all this to retaliate.”
A lot of people had heard what Papa Wang said to Old Madam Wang that day. Old Madam Wang herself did not dare repeat it, but Madam Zhang only had to ask around outside to find out. She told Madam Li, and Madam Li told her husband. That was how everyone learned that the third son had carried resentment toward them for many years.
“Enough. Stop talking about it.” The old man tapped his cane against the floor, cutting off everyone’s indignant complaints.
“What, you old man, don’t tell me you feel sorry for the third son? He’s made Eldest Son’s family suffer this badly. If you dare say one good word for him, I’ll have words with you.” Old Madam Wang seemed to think of something and immediately grew displeased.
The old man snapped back, “What nonsense are you talking about? It’s already settled. No matter how much you complain now, nothing will change. You’d be better off thinking about how to help Ningkai win his girlfriend back.”
At that, everyone fell silent again.
What they truly cared about was not North Mountain but the golden goose that was Lisa. No matter how valuable North Mountain was, it could not compare with the company behind Lisa’s father. It was a well-known building-materials company in Shanhai City, a large business worth more than a hundred million yuan.
“It’s not as though there’s no solution.”
To everyone’s surprise, Wang Ningkai walked in. His face had still looked somewhat haggard the day before, but now he seemed full of energy. The moment they saw him, everyone was first startled and then delighted.
“Ningkai, why are you back? Did you settle things with Lisa?” Madam Li reacted first. She quickly stood, pulled him over, and made him sit down.
Wang Ningkai shook his head. “Not yet, but I thought of a good way to win Lisa back. Whether it works depends on this.”
“What way?” Madam Li asked urgently.
Everyone in the room turned their attention to him.
“It’s simple. Didn’t Youngest Uncle say before that Wang Cheng only contracted North Mountain because of the medicinal herbs? We only want the trees. The two things don’t conflict, do they?”
Wang Hongwei immediately understood what his son meant. “You mean we can negotiate with your youngest uncle and have him authorize us to harvest the timber from the mountain?”
“Exactly.” Wang Ningkai looked pleased with himself.
“That’s good. That’s a great idea.” Madam Li clapped her hands in approval. As expected of her son, he really was clever. This way, he could win Lisa back and she would not need to break up with him. They might not be able to contract North Mountain themselves, but they could still accomplish their goal. Best of all, they would even save a large sum of money.
Old Madam Wang’s gloomy expression finally brightened, and the family regained hope. Only Madam Zhang was unconvinced. She did not believe the third son would agree. Even if he softened for a moment, that little brat Wang Cheng certainly would not. Still, she did not tell Eldest Uncle’s family. For one thing, they would not listen. For another, she wanted to watch the two households keep fighting.
Wang Cheng and Papa Wang returned from the market with the back of their three-wheeled vehicle piled high with fruit-picking tools. There were baskets and crates for the fruit, long ladders, and long poles fitted with nets because some fruit grew too high to reach by climbing. They had also bought more than a dozen small knives for cutting stems and softer branches. All of this had been recommended by fruit growers who picked fruit regularly. Without their advice, Wang Cheng and Papa Wang would never have known they needed so many things, and the next day’s harvest would have been a headache.
Father and son carried everything into the house together and piled it in a corner on the first floor. Once the villagers arrived the next morning, everyone would be able to take one or two tools up the mountain.
Mama Wang and Wang Ziyu came home relatively late. They had stopped along the way to buy vegetables for dinner. The two had found several pieces of furniture they liked and already paid deposits. Mama Wang arranged a delivery date, so all they had to do was wait for the furniture shop to bring everything over in a few days.
After six, once the family finished dinner, Wang Ziyu and Wang Cheng prepared to go for a walk and take the pig out at the same time.
They had been busy for the past two days, so the miniature pig had been shut in the chicken pen and felt terribly wronged. It had thought Wang Ziyu’s return meant freedom, only to end up confined there anyway.
More and more villagers in Guanjia Village knew their family now. As they walked, more than a dozen people greeted them, and some even kept asking Wang Cheng whether he truly could not hire one more worker. They pestered him so relentlessly that he gave up on the walk altogether and dragged the miniature pig straight home.
Before bed, Wang Cheng spoke with Chu Yifeng on the phone for a while. In the days without him, Chu Yifeng could only eat Auntie Liu’s cooking. Unfortunately, Wang Cheng had spoiled his palate, so nothing tasted good anymore.
“Boss Chu, looks like you’re almost unable to live without this young master.” Wang Cheng immediately replied smugly after hearing that.
“Good that you know. When are you coming back?” After spending so much time around Wang Cheng, even Chu Yifeng had developed thicker skin.
Wang Cheng choked on his own words. He really had brought this on himself. Why had he raised that topic? “Well… I’m only starting the fruit harvest tomorrow. I probably won’t have time to go back anytime soon…”
“You’d better judge the timing carefully. My patience has limits.”
Having such a forceful lover, Wang Cheng could not decide whether it was good or bad. He could not help envying Yuan Xia a little. He had never met Yuan Xia’s lover, but from the way Yuan Xia spoke, his lover seemed to treat him very well and respected him too.
At exactly seven-thirty the next morning, the villagers arrived to gather. Some brought homemade tools of their own. A few minutes later, Wang Cheng and his parents came over carrying the tools they had bought, handing one or two to each person before everyone headed up the mountain together. A few children thought it looked fun and followed along too.
The fruit mountain was different from North Mountain, where the medicinal herbs grew. The terrain was similar, but the fruit mountain had more paths and was easier to walk. Several villagers who knew the fruit mountain well volunteered to lead them to areas where more fruit had ripened.
From a distance, bright red fruit hung across the trees: jujubes, persimmons, apples, pears, and more. Huge stretches were covered with different varieties. Once they harvested everything, the amount would certainly be substantial. Wang Cheng was glad he had had the foresight to hire so many people. If he had hired only a dozen or so, they truly would not have been able to keep up.
Once everyone divided the work, Wang Cheng took a large basket and a long pole himself and went to pick fruit from the higher branches.
Because the fruit grew wild, some had developed very well, large and sweet, while others were a size smaller than what was sold in markets and tasted rather sour. They would only rot if left there, however, so Wang Cheng and Papa Wang told the villagers to pick everything.
Wang Cheng came to one of the fruit trees, which was already laden with produce. It was a plum tree. The plums were only about half the size of his fist. Some had begun turning red as they ripened, while many were still mostly green. Several nearby trees were plums as well.
Since the ripe plums were high up, Wang Cheng used the long pole and net to collect them. It was his first time doing this kind of work, and he was not very skilled. After half an hour, he had not even filled one-fifth of the bamboo basket.
At that moment, a man who looked nearly thirty ran over. “Brother Chengcheng, need some help?”
The man was clearly older than Wang Cheng, yet he still called him Brother. Wang Cheng was not surprised at all. This was He Ping, the son of his eldest maternal aunt, Guan Meifang. Although He Ping was nearly thirty, his cognitive development remained around the level of an eight-year-old child. Physically, however, he had an adult’s strength and coordination, so straightforward work like fruit picking suited him well. When they discussed hiring workers the day before, Wang Cheng had immediately thought of this older cousin.
“Cousin Pingping, you know how to pick fruit?” Wang Cheng did not treat him like an ordinary adult. Like his aunt, his parents, and his maternal grandparents, he called He Ping by his childhood nickname.
“Of course.” He Ping said proudly, “I used to come into the mountains with Mom to pick fruit. Mom taught me and even praised me. I’m really good at it.”
“Wow, Cousin Pingping is that good? Then help me pick the fruit up there.” Wang Cheng handed him the long pole.
Once He Ping took it, he proved genuinely skilled at picking the plums from the tree. What had taken Wang Cheng half an hour, He Ping could finish in fifteen minutes. His efficiency was twice as high.
Wang Cheng watched for a while. Once he was sure He Ping could handle it, he left with peace of mind.