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Chapter 126: Poverty Spurs Change
Chapter 126: Poverty Spurs Change
Ever since his daughter married into the Deng family, Zhang Zhenfa’s status in the village had unknowingly risen several notches.
In the past, due to his family’s poverty and his lack of significant skills, Zhang Zhenfa had almost no say in village affairs. The only thing that might have earned him a bit of respect was the fact that he had four sons.
In the countryside, families with more sons were generally more respected than those with fewer.
After all, there was strength in numbers!
While it was common for families to have five or six children, many families with six or seven children didn’t necessarily have four sons. Zhang Zhenfa, who had five children, four of whom were sons, already stood out from many others in the village.
However, there were still about ten families in the village that had four or five sons, and Zhang Zhenfa was not particularly prominent among them.
It wasn’t until his daughter got married that, with the support of her in-laws, Zhang Zhenfa finally gained some standing in the village. The most noticeable change was that more people started to approach him with friendliness. People would occasionally drop by his house with a few bundles of vegetables or other small gifts.
This transformation brought immense joy to Zhang Zhenfa and his wife, who had always been relatively invisible in the village.
Although Zhang Zhenfa and his wife were not well-educated, their decades of life experience taught them that everything they had now was because their daughter had married well. If she hadn’t married into the well-off Deng family, they would never have achieved their current status in the village.
Today, their daughter was bringing her new son-in-law back to visit, and Zhang Zhenfa and his wife were extremely happy.
Zhang Zhenfa had prepared a lot of good things to entertain the son-in-law, whom he had yet to meet but who had already brought him much face.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Zhang’s mother had already cut the glutinous rice cakes and had the water boiling, ready to serve tea and fry the cakes as soon as the daughter and son-in-law arrived.
Zhang Zhenfa, meanwhile, sat at the door with his water pipe, constantly watching the village entrance and occasionally smoking a pipe.
Zhang’s eldest and second daughters-in-law had cleaned the table and placed some candies, cookies, and sunflower seeds on it.
The four Zhang brothers, with nothing else to do, sat at the door with their father, craning their necks to look towards the village entrance.
Around ten-thirty in the morning.
Zhang Shoujun, with his sharp eyes, spotted two bicycles approaching from the village entrance. The riders were none other than his sister and her husband. He immediately shouted, "Look, sister and brother-in-law are here!"
Zhang Zhenfa and his other three sons immediately turned their attention to the village entrance. Zhang’s mother and the two daughters-in-law also heard the shout and quickly came out of the house.
Soon, Zhang Xiuping and Deng Yuntao arrived.
The usual pleasantries and greetings were exchanged.
The bicycle that Deng Yuntao was riding was familiar to the Zhang family, as Deng Shirong had ridden it to their house a few times. However, the brand-new bicycle that Zhang Xiuping was riding was something they had never seen before. Even those who had never seen a Phoenix brand bicycle could guess what it was from the national emblem on it.
After the greetings, Zhang’s mother couldn’t help but ask, "Xiuping, is that a Phoenix brand bicycle?"
Zhang Xiuping nodded and smiled, "Yes, it’s a Phoenix brand bicycle my father-in-law bought before the New Year."
The eldest daughter-in-law looked at the bicycle with envy, "The Phoenix brand bicycle is so beautiful."
The second daughter-in-law’s eyes sparkled, "Yes, it’s really beautiful!"
After the initial greetings, Zhang Zhenfa began to observe his son-in-law. While his appearance was quite ordinary, he had a very good spirit and an ideal height. Considering his abilities and family background, Zhang Zhenfa was very satisfied with this son-in-law.
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Mother and her daughters-in-law, Zhang Dacao and Zhang Ercao, went to help unload the baskets. Seeing the baskets brimming with various gifts, the Zhang family members couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
Zhang Mother couldn’t resist asking, "Xiuping, what are all these packages?"
Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "The wrapped items are candies, cookies, dried fruits, and pastries. At the bottom, there are braised pork dishes. Dacao and Ercao, could you fetch some baskets to carry them out? Bring two more baskets; I need to send some to Uncle Si’s and Uncle Man’s families."
Zhang Dacao and Zhang Ercao responded promptly and hurried to the kitchen to fetch the baskets.
Once the baskets were ready, Zhang Xiuping started dividing the gifts for Uncle Si’s and Uncle Man’s families. Her father-in-law had prepared two slabs of braised pork, one of which was uncut, and the other was halved. Each family would receive one slab. She also took some glutinous rice cakes and large rice cakes.
Next were the steamed rice cakes, which came in two sizes: large and small. The small ones were about the size of a duck egg, while the large ones were as big as an adult’s fist. Typically, daughters returning to their parents' home would bring large rice cakes, so the Hakka people in Bobai would say that having a daughter meant having rice cakes to eat.
Zhang Xiuping gave each family one large rice cake and eight small ones, along with a package of candies, cookies, dried fruits, and pastries. Of course, she also included two bunches of garlic.
After dividing the gifts, Zhang Xiuping asked her husband to carry them to Uncle Si’s and Uncle Man’s families. Seeing their niece and her new son-in-law bring so many gifts, Uncle Si, Aunt Si, Uncle Man, and Aunt Man were all overjoyed and vied to set a date for a feast.
According to Hakka customs in Bobai, whenever a daughter brings her new son-in-law back to her parents' home, any uncles who receive gifts must take turns hosting a meal for them.
After delivering the gifts and returning, Zhang Mother had already brewed the tea and was frying the glutinous rice cakes.
Zhang Zhenfa welcomed his daughter and son-in-law, and Zhang Shouguo and Zhang Shoumin, the elder brothers, also joined them. Zhang Dacao helped pour the tea, while Zhang Ercao arranged some of the pastries on a clean lid.
Zhang Xiuping asked, "Big Brother, Second Brother, have you opened your shops yet?"
Zhang Shouguo shook his head. "Not yet!"
Zhang Xiuping followed up, "What’s the problem?"
Zhang Shouguo explained, "Mainly, we haven’t reached a consensus at home. I found a small house in a good location and wanted to buy it for the shop, but Father thinks the price is too high, and we can’t negotiate it down. Also, Father is still hesitating about buying bicycles."
Zhang Xiuping turned to her father and asked, "Father, what do you think?"
Zhang Zhenfa took a sip of tea and said, "I’m not sure if the shop will be profitable. Putting so much money into it makes me uneasy. You know, this money was originally saved for Xiaojun and Xiaoshan’s weddings. If we lose it, what will we do?"
Zhang Xiuping reassured him, "Father, don’t worry. My father-in-law said the risk of losing money is low. As long as we put our hearts into it, there’s a good chance we’ll make a profit. The books say that when you’re poor, you must think of ways to change your situation. Our family’s circumstances aren’t great, and if we don’t dare to take a chance, how will we ever find a way out?"
(End of Chapter)
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