Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 120.2

She started mentally going through her upcoming tasks—

The mountain needs peach trees to be planted. The fields that have been plowed need to be leveled and seeded. The rice paddies need to be flooded and plowed to prepare for transplanting. Meanwhile, there are pigs, chickens, ducks, and dogs to feed.

Tea leaves must continue to be picked. The spiritual energy array can help, but because her current ability is limited, some manual work like weeding and pest control still has to be done.

Is that all? Not even close. When this round of work is done, the peach blossoms will bloom, and the early crops like baby bok choy will need harvesting. Then there’s more plowing, planting different crops, and Tan Tan still needs to sell vegetables…

Given this schedule, the household would need to continue hiring help for a long time.

The food was so good that everyone’s appetite had doubled or tripled. Cooking for a dozen people felt like preparing meals for twenty or thirty.

Wu Lan was now stuck in the kitchen every day. Even though it was just one meal a day at noon, she had to start preparing in the morning and clean up afterward. Tan Tan had already thought of hiring someone to help out.

She and Qiao Qiao were busy digging and hoeing on the mountain, taking care of the spots the machinery couldn’t reach… At home, no one was idle.

Didn’t you see that even Zhang Yanping had been sent to the mountain for some training?

Therefore, when Song Hongmei praised the chef to the skies, Tan Tan couldn’t help but feel tempted.

“Aunt, what is Seventh Granduncle doing these days? Is he still taking on banquets?”

Song Hongmei’s face fell. “He lives in the new residential area across from mine. The housing price there has already gone up to 8,500 yuan per square meter!”

She said this, but her expression did not look pleased.

“Your Seventh Granduncle is really something. When he was young, he secretly bought a house in the city. Later, that area got redeveloped, but instead of taking cash, he took another house.”

“It was meant for his son, but the son ended up moving to Xinjiang and settling there.”

“Your Seventh Granduncle is old now, and seeing that his son probably won’t be coming back to care for him, he adopted a disciple, hoping to pass on his skills and have someone to take care of him in old age.”

“But the disciple was ungrateful. After learning the craft, he packed up and ran off to a coastal city.”

Song Hongmei snorted angrily. “Back then, that boy’s family was too poor to feed him. They had four sons. The boy was thin as a skeleton. Your Seventh Granduncle took him in, taught him, fed him, and even helped him get into high school.”

“When the family sent him over, they were so grateful they even wanted to kowtow to your uncle, promising they’d take care of him for life.”

“But when the boy ran away, his family accused your uncle of exploiting their son for free labor, saying five years of his life was wasted…”

“Such nerve!”

Tan Tan was speechless.

Honest people have their own troubles, while those with black hearts enjoy their own peace.

She could only comfort, “Don’t worry, Aunt. Think positively. Seventh Granduncle is now living in the city, with no worries about food or clothing. He’s quite comfortable.”

Song Hongmei sighed again. “There are good things about living in the city, like easy access to hospitals. But your Seventh Granduncle and Aunt feel unsettled… You know how it is with new residential areas, the property management is strict. They’re not even allowed to have a vegetable patch.”

“Last time, during an inspection, they pulled out all the cabbages he had planted in the cracks between the bricks… It upset him so much. Now he just wanders around the neighborhood, with nothing to do, and complains that even the food doesn’t taste good anymore.”

He was growing vegetables in the cracks between bricks? What kind of expert is that?! Tan Tan was truly amazed.

“Why don’t they sell the house and buy one with a yard?”

Song Hongmei glanced at her. “Your Seventh Granduncle is already sixty-seven. He’s not young like you, able to move easily. I think they want to come back to the village but are worried that if they get sick, there’ll be no one to take them to the hospital…”

Then, she suggested, “Tan Tan, you’re farming now, but you can’t farm forever, right? Why not discuss it with your parents and bring your Seventh Granduncle over to be the head chef?”

“If he’s healthy, he can cook. If not, you can drive him to the hospital. Don’t worry, you won’t have to spend a dime. The two of them have savings.”

“If you take good care of them, and when the time comes, they’ll find someone else to take over. But if you treat them well, they’ve secretly said that whoever cares for them well will get the house.”

Song Hongmei’s eyes sparkled at the thought of the house. “Think about it—getting a big house for free! You’d have so many options when you get married!”