Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 869 - 859 Back on Track

The next morning, Li Hongjun started the SUV and took a carload of relatives onto the road back to Z Province.

But this time, due to the addition of Erdan and a lot more luggage, the vehicle was unbearably crowded. Since Pangpang and Manman were small, they could only sit in the trunk with the big hemp bags all the way, giving their seats up to their older brother Erdan. The two kids felt pretty glum about it. Just because they were smaller, they had to sit in the trunk—how unfair was that?

After a whole day of driving, they finally arrived at the compound of the Z Province Military Region just as dusk was setting in.

It was the usual time for an evening stroll, and their arrival caught the attention of many people.

Usually, the men would ask Li Hongjun, and the women would ask Shen Yunfang. Everyone’s gaze inevitably turned to the mourning bands on their arms.

Shen Yunfang would then explain to everyone the reasons for their trip back home with a smile. After all, there had been a similar occurrence over two years ago, so she was somewhat experienced with this.

Upon hearing they had gone back home for a funeral, whether sincerely or not, people offered their condolences.

Shen Yunfang expressed gratitude for each sentiment, then found an excuse to lead her family back home grandly.

After sitting in the car for an entire day, everyone was exhausted. They urgently needed food and rest.

Once home, as they had previously agreed upon during the drive, they hurriedly made a simple meal to eat, and then Li Hongjun drove Goudan and his wife, along with the newly arrived Erdan, back to the farm.

Erdan would stay at the farm for now. The Li Family didn’t have spare rooms, and instead of squeezing in at their place for a few days before moving, it made more sense for him to settle in straight away.

After everyone had left, Shen Yunfang simply washed up the kids and herself at home, then went to bed with them, disregarding whether the men had returned or not.

The next day, the family was revived and full of energy. Pangpang and Manman got up early, clamoring for their mom to make them delicious food. During their stay in their hometown, they mostly ate at Wang Dan’s place. Her cooking skills, paired with an innate frugality, meant that the food was edible but far from delicious. The kids had been repressing their appetites for over ten days and, finally back at their own home, could indulge in tasty meals again. How could they not shout for joy?

"Early in the morning, where am I to find so much to delight you? Just make do with what we have for now, and I’ll make you a feast for lunch when I get back," Yunfang was also up early cooking, but when she heard her daughter and son’s menu requests, she immediately scowled them into submission.

It was too early to eat braised pork knuckles; they’d surely get sick of the richness.

Pangpang and Manman pouted, but still swiftly shoveled the steamed buns and the salad their mother mixed into their mouths.

After breakfast, the kids went to school, and Li Hongjun had to report back to the military. Yunfang glanced at her watch and decided it’d be better to ask the school for a few more days off—she wanted to visit the farm first.

Last night, once Goudan and his partner returned, leaders like Zhang Chunwang had seen them. Therefore, this morning, they were already waiting in the office for their boss’s arrival.

The morning session was the time for everyone to report their recent work. Fortunately, the farm was basically on the right track now. As long as the plans were followed, even if Shen Yunfang, the boss, was away from the headquarters for ten days or half a month, there wouldn’t be any problems.

After everyone had reported, Shen Yunfang asked Zhang Chunwang to stay and handed over the matter concerning Erdan to him. The standard was the same: even though the employee was brought in by her, the boss, everything still needed to be handled according to the farm’s rules. It couldn’t be that just because Erdan was the boss’s relative, he got to cut corners. Feiyang needed to develop in the long term and couldn’t become such a family business.

Zhang Chunwang understood and nodded, indicating that he knew what to do.

Afterwards, Shen Yunfang saw there was still time, so she took it upon herself to visit the various departments of the farm. After all, seeing was believing, and she liked to personally check on her property whenever she had the chance. freewёbnoνel.com

By noon, Shen Yunfang called Goudan and his wife, as well as Erdan, to have lunch together back at the military region’s compound, also as a welcome for Erdan.

From then on, Erdan was truly settled in at the farm.

A month later, Shen Yunfang suggested finding Erdan’s supervisor to understand his work performance. Zhao Dabao was an honest man and said whatever needed to be said. Erdan was not as quick and perceptive as Goudan in his work; "mediocre" was the word that summed up his performance.

Shen Yunfang listened and nodded. That was fine, as long as the kid wasn’t lazy or expecting everything to be handed to him, she could accept it.

Meanwhile, the sale of the old family house back in their hometown finally settled.

Shen Yunfang learned from a phone call with Wang Dan that Li Hongqi had never given up on trying to sell the old house to his older brother at a high price. However, with Wang Dan in the middle, his hope was doomed to be dashed.

Later, when an outsider offered to buy the old house for only four hundred yuan, Li Hongqi was not pleased and stalled for quite some time. Perhaps seeing that his elder brother really had no intention to buy, or perhaps realizing that there was only one interested buyer, after much bargaining, he sold the two rooms of the old house to them for four hundred and fifty yuan.

Then, within three days, the family packed up and moved to the city. It was said they were going into business there, but the specifics of what they were going to do, and where, were unknown.

Wang Dan was overjoyed on the phone; the buyer of the house was someone she found through her parents. She immediately transferred the ownership of the house to herself and her husband for five hundred yuan. Even though she had to pay a finder’s fee, it was a steal compared to the thought of one thousand yuan.

"Hehehe, Yunfang, you have no idea, I wake up laughing when I think about it. Back then, Li Hongqi was so confident, saying he wouldn’t sell for a penny less than one thousand. Now, didn’t I get it for just five hundred? Hmph, I’m thinking, if he ever found out the house ended up in my hands, he would be so furious he’d spit blood," Wang Dan chuckled uncontrollably at the thought, shaking with laughter.

"Hmm, knowing his personality, I’d say if he doesn’t make something of himself, he definitely won’t be able to return to his hometown. When he does go back, it will have to be in glory," Yunfang thought Li Hongqi cared a lot about face; he couldn’t stand being looked down on. She was even surprised to see him openly falling out with his brothers back home; that really wasn’t his style.

On reflection, perhaps he was truly desperate. Without money in hand, he wouldn’t have the freedom to throw his weight around.

"Hmph, if he really makes something of himself, then I’ll accept no one else will. Alright, let’s talk about something happy, forget about him," Wang Dan, not pleased with these thoughts, decided to change the subject, "Yunfang, Erdan is doing well there, right? I was saying, none of our kids are lazy, surely he’ll do fine. While you’re there, also keep an eye out for my sister-in-law and see if there’s a suitable girl for Erdan..."

"Big sister, Erdan is only seventeen, isn’t it a bit early to be considering this?" Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but interrupt her.

"Not early at all, according to the household registration, he’s already eighteen. Besides, looking for a partner doesn’t mean getting married right away, don’t they have to date for a while..."