Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 686

Chapter 686: Chapter 561: Arrival at Jiang Village

Jiangnan Water Village is filled with paddy fields. It rained a couple of days ago, and the dirt road leading to the village is full of potholes, splashing mud everywhere if one is not careful.

Zhang Guoqing honked the horn and controlled the speed of the car. It took him over ten minutes to cover a distance of less than a kilometer. He finally stopped at the bridgehead at the entrance of the village.

Across this stone bridge is the old home of Old Master Jiang.

At this time, the sun was setting, and many people were busy with farm work. On both sides of the bridge, there were children swimming and fishing in the river.

Seeing a military vehicle stop, everyone halted and looked their way.

Zhang Guoqing got out of the car and waved to the children by the shore. After a while, finally, a seven or eight-year-old naked and barefoot boy came forward.

"Hey kid, do you know where the old man Jiang Tongshuo from the city lives?"

The little guy nodded and shouted to his little friends not far away, "It’s the relative of the old grandpa at the east end of the village."

With a clamor, a bunch of children ran over to the car, chattering away asking various questions in a mix of standard Mandarin and local dialect.

In the midst of the chatter, Zhang Guoqing could only roughly understand that the kids were asking if they came from Beijing or were waiting for them to hold a ceremony.

Just then, a small and lean old man, about sixty years old, walked over from the bridgehead. Without waiting to ask, he loudly called out in dialect, "Are you the grandsons of the Old Jiang Family? Hurry up and get over there, they’ve been waiting for you."

At this point, Zhang Guoqing understood that they should hurry over. He let Aunt Chen carry Ping’an while he and Yi Jiefang each carried their luggage toward the bridgehead.

The old man walked ahead with his hands behind his back, leading the way briskly. Zhang Guoqing and the others followed, asking questions as they walked. They quickly realized they couldn’t understand much of the local dialect.

He had to resort to accented Mandarin, asking, "The stubborn old guy was adamant. The old lady was getting worse by the day, and I suggested he write to his granddaughter, but he insisted the kids were too busy and didn’t want to make you travel back and forth. By the way, where’s the Jiang girl?"

Zhang Guoqing explained, "My wife was sent on business by her superior, and I couldn’t reach her. So I had to bring our child over first. This is my son."

"No wonder that old guy bragged about his granddaughter every day. Good for her! At last, our village has someone who made something of themselves. See that locust tree up ahead? That’s the place. I see your family is doing well. I suggested him to build a decent house, but he wouldn’t agree, sticking with a thatched house. Sigh..."

Zhang Guoqing looked at the three adobe houses with thatched roofs up ahead, feeling both frustrated and anxious. This old man sure knows how to complicate things! As far as he knows, putting aside his salary over the years, even his father-in-law had been sending money.

What exactly are they saving the money for?

"Sir, is there any empty courtyard in the village for sale?"

"There’s none anymore. A few years ago, yes. But after joining the commune, all the villages built houses on shared land. Don’t waste money on that. Find a few people and treat them to some meals, and very soon, you’ll have a house built."

After saying this, the old man noticed Zhang Guoqing’s hesitant expression and continued, "Worried you don’t have time yourself? Go find the team leader and pay him; he’ll arrange everything for you."

Zhang Guoqing nodded. Now there’s only the old man left; he has to handle the aftermath properly. He wonders if there are any orphans nearby and considers consulting the team leader.

Under the large locust tree, the three adobe houses with thatched roofs were surrounded by a small courtyard made of bamboo fences, where a few middle-aged and elderly people were going in and out, helping out.

Zhang Guoqing took Ping’an from Aunt Chen, dressed him in a white shirt, pinned a green gauze to it, put on small white shoes, and tied a mourning band. When tying it, he ensured the two ends hung down at the same length.

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