Chapter 61: 61. A Long-term Worker Acquired
Song Tan burst out laughing.
She remembered promising Qiaoqiao that she would show him Ultraman, but because everyone in the house had been too busy lately, the silly child had moved on to a few other toys and completely forgotten about Ultraman. He still hadn't seen it!
Peppa Pig had ultimately maintained its status.
Just then, she heard her eldest aunt ask in a hesitant, coy manner
"Tan Tan, look at your brother Yanping's build and stature. Why don't you take him back home to do some farm work?"
"We don't care about anything else, as long as he stays in the mountains and works hard."
"If he performs poorly, don't give him food."
"Let him realize just how hard it is to earn money!"
There is a saying that "spoiling a child is like killing a child." Now, the entire wholesale market knew her son was good-for-nothing. He hadn't even been introduced to a single potential partner in two years, leaving her aunt feeling both anxious and frustrated.
Hearing that her sister's family was farming—farming was good! It was hard work and could temper a person. Working under the scorching sun was perfect for her son!
Zhang Yanping, who was familiarly rummaging through a box for fruit, immediately grew agitated: "Mom!"
Song Tan had the same thought—after all, Zhang Yanping was over 1.8 meters tall and built sturdily. Wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't use a hoe or a shovel?
Even if he didn't adapt immediately, he would be a great source of labor in the long run!
The two of them were in complete agreement!
Song Tan made a full promise: "Auntie, have you ever seen me be unreliable? Don't worry, once Brother Yanping comes home with me, I definitely won't let him go hungry."
"But the work in the fields is quite heavy. Don't feel bad if he gets tanned later."
However, this time even her uncle agreed: "I won't feel bad. I'll breathe a sigh of relief just knowing he's out of the house."
"Besides, who hasn't done farm work? Strength is like a servant; you use it and then it returns. With a physique that big, instead of staying home every day eating, drinking, and playing games, he might as well go get some exercise!"
Zhang Yanping was worried to death. He turned around to bolt upstairs: "I'm not going—hey, hey, hey!"
But Song Tan grabbed him by the collar, smiling as she said, "It's almost noon, Auntie. I'll take Brother Yanping back first. We'll have lunch, he can adjust this afternoon, and he can start working tomorrow!"
"I'll even film videos to show you guys!"
"Good, good, good!"
The "hot potato" son had been successfully offloaded. And despite Tan Tan's small stature, Zhang Yanping, caught by the collar, couldn't move an inch!
The couple grinned from ear to ear, as if they could already see their son transforming into a hardworking man of resilient character.
The uncle quickly dove back into the warehouse. By the time Song Tan pulled the resisting Zhang Yanping into the car, several more boxes of fruit—all expensive ones—had been piled into the truck bed.
Song Tan locked the tailgate and looked at the aggrieved Zhang Yanping, her words particularly provocative: "Brother Yanping, look at you. You're working for our family for free, and Auntie even has to subsidize you with fruit."
Zhang Yanping instantly fell silent. The aggrieved expression vanished, replaced by a smile on his fair, chubby face that even made his dark circles look cute.
He familiarly pulled his phone, charger, and earphones from his pocket
"My mom always uses that routine; I've been on guard for a long time."
"Little girl, I'm your older brother. Even if I don't work, can your aunt actually eat me?"
Just as he finished speaking, Qiaoqiao, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and looked at him joyfully: "Brother, I'll take you to dig in the vegetable garden!"
Zhang Yanping: "..."
Song Tan simply smiled without a word—once they entered the village, whether he worked or not would no longer be up to him.
...
As expected, Zhang Yanping was a man who could even pose a challenge to his aunt.
As soon as he got in the car, he started playing games. His hands moved so fast they were almost a blur. Qiaoqiao, sitting in the passenger seat, nearly broke her neck twisting around to watch, her curiosity reaching its peak.
Song Tan glanced at him: *With hands that nimble, it would be a waste if he didn't pick tea!*
However, that kind of work was the easiest for slacking off, so... for a grown man, it had to be real, heavy labor!
Qiaoqiao would finally have a companion in her vegetable garden.
However, the gaming session only lasted about an hour. Next, the car turned onto the mountain roads, where the pickup truck's shock absorption was practically non-existent.
The mountain roads were winding and bumpy; with the constant swaying and jolting, even a deity would find it hard to maintain a gaming session at a time like this.
Zhang Yanping stared at the screen until his eyes went dizzy, eventually forced to lie flat in resignation
"Tan Tan, tell me, why did you choose to go back home to farm?"
Song Tan asked him back, "Brother Yanping, then why did you choose to stay home and be looked down upon by your aunt?" He was, after all, a university graduate from a 211 institution!
Zhang Yanping said nonchalantly, "What do you know? In this life, you have to enjoy yourself while you can. I have no worries about food or drink right now; it's so comfortable being at home. Why go be a miserable worker?"
"My mom is the one who can't let it go. Whether there's money or not, as long as we live comfortably, that's what matters."
"She and my dad are dead set on me taking the civil service exam. These days, taking that exam is like thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge! You can't do it without connections. Even if I did get in, with our small family background, I'd either end up doing poverty alleviation in a county or working in a rural area..."
He exuded an aura of a "salted fish": "Anyway, I'm not doing it."
Truth be told, who doesn't have these hedonistic thoughts?
Song Tan nodded, understanding her cousin's mindset.
However, upon arriving home, she saw Wulan with a face as cold as frost, while her own father, Song Sancheng, was huddled there soaking seeds, not even daring to lift his brow.
Grandmother was leading several tea pickers in weighing the harvest. The lush green buds were packed in baskets, layer upon layer—it was a sight to behold!
Several tea-picking aunts from the village said with smiles, "Your family's tea grew so well this year. Such a small plot of land, yet we pickers couldn't even keep up with the growth."
"Of course!"
Wulan said loudly, "We take extremely meticulous care of that tea field!"
As if! They had only applied fertilizer once half a month ago. Regardless, this year's crop was unpredictable and quite mysterious.
As the crowd left laughing and chatting, the atmosphere in the house remained tense.
Song Sancheng still didn't dare speak, sitting there soaking seeds one by one; anyone walking in might have thought he was soaking ginseng berries.
Song Tan didn't rush to ask questions. Instead, she said loudly, "Mom, I brought Brother Yanping! Auntie said he should work for our family."
Wulan rushed out. Seeing the sturdy young man, she immediately broke into a smile: "Yanping is here—oh, don't listen to your mother. Can I really make you work when you're at my place? We'll have dinner in a bit."
After a thought, she looked a bit embarrassed
"But Yanping, since Tan Tan didn't give notice, I haven't prepared any vegetables—is it okay if we just have some dumplings for lunch?"
Zhang Yanping was very picky about food, but he wasn't unreasonable, so he nodded without hesitation.
"Sure, I'm not a picky eater."
Only then did Song Tan seize the opportunity to ask, "Mom, what is Dad doing?"