Living on a Mountain with my Husband

Chapter 48: The Zhang Family

Wei Meng decided to head back home, while LongWei and Mrs Lin went to the Yan house. Along the way they heard some yelling.

"Scum! Where's my money. Don't think you can get out of paying your debts today! You useless thing." Yelled an older man as he kicked a younger man. The younger man was probably around fifteen or sixteen.

"Oh my, that's the Zhang family's youngest son." Mrs Lin said.

LongWei looked at the boy. The boy was short with sharp eyes. He didn't look anything like Zimo.

"His name is Zhang Xiaoba. He often gambles at the Fengs house. It's really terrible. The Zhang family are carpenters the father works hard and makes enough money to live well, but the wife gives all of it to Zhang Xiaoba to gamble away. It's really terrible."

As Mrs Lin was talking a older heavier set woman who resembled the young man came running.

"Xiaoba! What are you doing to my baby? Get your hands off him." She shrieked.

"Mrs Yuan, this thing you call your baby how's me money. I ain't letting him go till I get my money." The older man said.

"I understand, just let my baby go and I'll get you the money." Mrs Yuan said. As she pulled on the man's arm.

"No. Money first." He answers back angrily.

"Oh my baby, wait for mommy. I'll get you the money. Mr aren't, how much does my baby owe?"she asked almost crying.

"Three silver, and not a cooper less." Mr Feng said.

Mrs Yuan looked at her XiaoBa. Three silver was a lot of money. She wasn't sure if she had enough. She would need to ask her husband or someone for money.

"XiaoBa you wait for mommy, I'll be back soon with the money. Mr Feng don't you hurt my baby." She shrieked as she ran back to the Zhang house.

LongWei watched this event. He thought about his little birdie. "How was my little birdie treating in that family? Did he suffer because his younger brother was loved by the stepmother? What about his father, does his father not care about Zimo? That XiaoBa is just like my father h and older brother, just wasting their money away on gambling and women." LongWei thought.
Tied of watching the show LongWei turned to Mrs Lin and said,

"Mrs Lin is the Yan family house far from here?"

Understanding LongWei's hint. Mrs Lin started walking again towards the Yan house.

...

Arriving at the house, LongWei quickly got to the point and asked if she had any quilts.

"We certainly do. I have some thicker ones and some that are thinner. The thinner ones are perfect for summer." Mrs Yan said as she went inside to gather the quilts she and her daughters had made.

LongWei gave it some thought and saw a little girl sitting in the corner sewing a quilt. The work she was doing wasn't great, but if it was for the wolf pups it might be better to buy something like that for cheap.

"Sorry, but do you have any quilts that are old, or not appropriate to sell? LongWei said nodding towards the little girl.

"We do. Is it something you want to buy?" Mrs Yan asked.

"Yes, my spouse has decided to raise some pups and we need to quilts for bedding. Naturally, I also would like a set of thicker quilts for our own use, but something of lower quality would be better for the pups." LongWei explained.

In that case we have a few you can use. I won't charge you much, just the cost of the materials should do.

LongWei placed the quilts in his basket, and returned to the Lin house to pick up the goat before returning up the mountain.

...

Returning up the mountain LongWei couldn't help but rush a little. The goat was slow so he grabbed it in his arms and quickly went up the mountain. He wanted to give his little birdie a big hug.

Zimo at this time was sitting on a chair in the yard. He had finished moving the everything back to the main house, prepared the ingredients for dinner, tended to the garden, washed the bedding and clothes, fed the animals... zimo went through the list of things in his head. There really wasn't anything more he could do.

He sat in the yard feeling a little restless. "It would be nice if we had some fruit trees in the yard. I could pick them and dry them. The flowers would look beautiful. Are there any peach trees growing nearby? The yard is actually pretty small. If we make it bigger wouldn't LongWei feel more comfortable leaving me home alone.
A bigger yard means I have more places I can go and it would be safer. I'll talk to LongWei later about building the new fence further."
Zimo walked over to the west wall. This was were the new house would be located and the direction of the river. Standing on the chair Zimo could see over the wall.

"If we expand this way past the trees we can build the wall all the way to the river. We won't have to cut the trees down leaving our own little forest. The wolf pups can play in there or LongWei and I can relax in the shade. And if we build to the river, I can go fishing without worry. Maybe we can even get some ducks?" Duck eggs are also tasty and healthy. I wonder if we can get some honey and make honey roasted duck." As Zimo imagined all the possibilities, LongWei had returned.

LongWei saw Zimo poking his head out over the west wall like a cute little birdie perched on a branch. Seeing him obediently staying in the yard despite clearly wanting to go out and explore, LongWei's heart felt warm.

"My little birdie, really is the best." He thought as he walked over. Zimo hadn't noticed him yet, so LongWei planned to surprise him.

LongWei walked up against the wall were Zimo couldn't see him. Reaching directly across from Zimo he grabbed the wall and pull himself up.

Suddenly, longWei popped out in front of Zimo,

"Yah!" He screamed as he pushed away from the wall. LongWei quickly reached out and grabbed Zimo before he could fall. With a mischievous smile LongWei gave Zimo a passionate kiss.

"Baby, did you miss me?" He asked.

Zimo smacked LongWei in the shoulder. "Do you plan on giving me a heart attack? Don't ever do that again." Zimo yelled, clearly not happy with LongWei's prank.

"Sorry baby, don't be mad. I brought back a nursing goat and some quilts just like you asked. LongWei said, feeling a little guilty but also amused at Zimo's reaction.

"Really?! Where is it? Is it fat?" Zimo said pulling away from LongWei and jumping off the chair.

"What are you standing there for, quick bring the goat in, the pups are starving." Zimo aid heading towards the front gate.

LongWei looked at his little birdie, not knowing if he should laugh or cry.

...