Entering the main hall, Tian Jing distributed gifts to the children.
Li Weili unwrapped her princess dress. "Mom and Dad, do you still remember the season?"
Tian Jing waved it off, "It's okay, Mom will teach you how to match it."
Chen Fu wasn't interested in the game console gift. "Little Aunt, where are Hao Hao Ge, Yan Yan Ge, and Xiao Bo?"
Tian Jing turned back and looked seriously at the Chen Fu brothers.
"They've joined the army. And not just any soldiers. If you don't have any special skills, you'll grow further and further apart from them."
"The only way to close the distance is to study hard. You can only see them when they have leave. When you meet, your conversations and the information you exchange might not even be on the same wavelength."
Chen Fu shook his head. "Little Aunt, I can't focus on my studies. I want to go home and help. My dad works so hard."
"Then why don't you tell your dad yourself?"
Chen Fu pursed his lips. "My dad tells me to work hard, just like you. I… I'm really not cut out for it."
Tian Jing crouched down in front of him. "Don't feel inferior. Work hard to earn money. Staying grounded by the land is also a great thing."
Chen Fu nodded. "Okay, okay. When I have my break, I'll talk to my dad seriously."
Tian Jing asked Chen An, who was silent, "Chen An, what about you?"
Before his younger brother could speak, Chen Fu quickly interjected, "My brother's grades are good, not much worse than Lili's."
"Then study hard. Having culture and knowledge will let you earn money just as fast as growing watermelons."
Chen An nodded and gave the game console to his older brother. "You can handle this."
Li Weiyu also gave her game console to her older cousin. "Fu Ge, take it and sell it."
Tian Jing was speechless.
Li Weili pointed at her younger cousin. "You're the tattletale among all of us."
"I didn't."
Li Weiyu wouldn't admit it. "Fu Ge and An Ge don't play, and I don't play either. If we don't play, why keep it to rust?"
"I saw a classmate showing one off, saying they cost over a hundred yuan each?"
Tian Jing was speechless.
She had bought the wrong gift.
After teaching her daughter how to style the gauze dress, Tian Jing asked, "How is it?"
"Like a fool." Li Weili tugged at the gauze skirt outside her pants.
"I've already put on pants. Even if they're covered by the skirt, I know myself. I feel like I'm deceiving myself."
"And I'm not cold anymore, so why do I need to wear a skirt?"
"There's an outer coat over the skirt, covering it completely. What's the point of me wearing it?"
"Finally, my classmates will surely say I'm showing off, not saving new clothes for next year, and wearing them out of season."
Tian Jing was speechless.
Had she bought the wrong gift again?
No, she and her daughter had a generation gap.
Li Zhengguo chuckled. "Alright, save it for next year. If it's too small, ask your grandma to alter it."
Mother Li came in with the food. "Time to eat."
After the meal, Tian Jing and her daughter lay on the bed for a nap, listening to her daughter talk about school and classmates.
Li Zhengguo lay on his younger son's bed, accompanying him.
When it was time for school, the couple took the children to school.
On the way back, Tian Jing sighed. "In the blink of an eye, the elder two have flown the coop. Just as you said, in a few more years, who knows where these two will end up. Alas!"
Li Zhengguo secretly squeezed his wife's hand. "You still have me."
Tian Jing glanced at her husband. "You're not going anywhere, are you?"
"No."
In the afternoon, they did a thorough cleaning of the children's rooms, and then went to pick them up from school.
The couple then drove their car back to Kushan.
As soon as the car crossed the bridge, the whole village knew.
The villagers dared not wander around; they had to guard the greenhouses.
The Hygiene Group, Civilization Group, and Seedling Group had it easier.
They waited quietly at the Li family's doorstep.
Tian Jing asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Sister-in-law Niu couldn't hold back. "When will the matter of the back mountain be resolved? It's inconvenient to gather firewood, and we're not allowed to pick wild vegetables. They say we're deliberately defying them, but with so many vegetables in the greenhouses, why can't we eat wild vegetables?"
"What's wrong with us eating wild vegetables? We just like the taste."
Tian Jing looked at her husband, who had parked the car and gotten out. "It should be soon. Our back mountain plan has been put on hold by them, so this matter won't drag on for too long."
With Tian Jing's assurance, the three-team members left.
After the Seedling Group members settled Tian Jing, they went to check on the seedling nursery, as their seedlings weren't growing very well.
Tian Jing went to give Le Xia the gift her brother had brought.
Le Xia was relieved to know her brother had gone to the capital with Ouyang Lei.
She felt that following Ouyang Lei was like following Team Leader Tian; nothing would go wrong.
After opening the gift her brother had brought for her son, she couldn't help but laugh. "My brother must think Zhicheng is only five or six years old."
Tian Jing also smiled when she saw the toy gun. "It's okay, boys, no matter how old they are, they love guns."
Le Xia set the toy gun aside and organized the gifts from her brother, her eyes welling up as she did so.
"My brother always remembers what I liked when I was little."
It had been more than ten years, and Le Xiao Di hadn't returned, but he still sent gifts according to his sister's childhood preferences.
"Put them away. They're full of love."
"Yes."
Le Xia wiped away her tears and carefully packed the items. "When I'm old, I'll take them out and reminisce."
Tian Jing chuckled. "You feel that way too?"
Le Xia nodded. "Yes, the children are getting bigger, and I feel like I'm getting older. Especially now that I have wrinkles on my face, I feel like the wrinkles on my heart are more numerous than those on my face."
A slap landed on Le Xia's shoulder. "See, you're just too idle."
Le Xia looked up. "Sister Ouyang."
Ouyang Meihua waved her away impatiently. "Lin Si Lai and Lin Guang De are busy with the greenhouses with your two silly sisters-in-law. You're at home making meals, looking after your silly mother-in-law, and you're talking about wrinkles on your heart? Have you seen them?"
"Hahaha." Tian Jing couldn't help but laugh.
Her moment of existential reflection had been thoroughly dispelled by Ouyang Meihua.
"You too."
Ouyang Meihua turned her attention to Tian Jing. "To avoid tiring you, Li Zhengguo actually gave the greenhouses to the village to plant. Was he so full of money that he couldn't hire people?
Tian Jing shot her a look. "If I hired you, could you handle it? Even the villagers are too busy, and outsiders are inconvenient."
"Next year, we won't be planting because we'll be busy with the back mountain. Isn't all this for the village?"
Ouyang Meihua didn't believe her. "It's because you have money and don't want to be busy. What about my little brother? What does my nephew look like? Who is that woman, and why is she willing to follow him without any status?"
Tian Jing shook her head. "It's alright? I didn't ask too many questions. Ouyang Lei is very capable. He disbanded a large group of brothers and only took four people to the capital..."
Ouyang Meihua was displeased. "Liu Yuelian is willing to follow my little brother like that, she must have her reasons. Why didn't you find out clearly?"
Tian Jing didn't have the habit of digging into people's ancestral past.
"The watermelons are almost sold out. You can go to the capital yourself to see."
Ouyang Meihua puffed out her chest. "I will go. I'll go next month."
Before Ouyang Meihua could go, in late November, Liu Yuelian arrived.
She was brought by Sun Liyang.