Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 183 - 56 Moving or Not Moving_1

Chapter 183: Chapter 56 Moving or Not Moving_1

With a combination of nervousness and hope, Yan Fei mustered up his courage and knocked on Lin Baoguo’s front door.

After a few knocks, someone responded from inside. Fortunately, the person who opened the door wasn’t Xiang Rui, but her mother.

The elderly woman was delighted to see Yan Fei and welcomed him with great enthusiasm, chiding him for not visiting more often. Yan Fei chattered on various topics for a while before clarifying his purpose for visiting. Upon hearing his intentions, the elderly woman immediately ran inside to call for Xiang Rui.

It was noon and Xiang Rui was probably putting her child to sleep. She responded after being called a couple of times.

When the elderly woman turned back, she had already agreed to Yan Fei’s proposal on behalf of her daughter and reassured him over and again that she would make sure everything was done perfectly.

She then started showering praises on Yan Fei, the same old lines she had spoken hundreds of times, commenting on how chubby and adorable her grandson was. In reality, she was still grateful for the soup Yan Fei had brought over.

Although life was slightly better now, the lack of breast milk for new mothers during the post-natal confinement month was still commonplace. Some families, whose babies didn’t have enough milk, had to resort to feeding them with lotus root powder while poorer families fed their children the thin layer of soup scooped from the top of cooked porridge. There were even families that fed their newborns with flour soup.

Those with less financial means still couldn’t afford formula milk, and many people treated it as a precious gift when visiting the elderly. It was considered a luxury.

When Xiang Rui came out, her mother spoke of Yan Fei’s purpose before he had a chance to. She then insisted Xiang Rui set off immediately to sort out the matter, not even allowing her to let the child wake first from his nap. The elderly woman reminded Xiang Rui that she should say she was representing both herself and her husband, Lin Baoguo, and to bring him up in conversation several times.

She even went inside and brought out two bottles of wine for Xiang Rui to take along. Yan Fei should have been the one to accompany Xiang Rui for the proposal, but after a few questions, the grandmother made the decision and didn’t allow Yan Fei to accompany her.

During the conversation, Xiang Rui’s aunt finally stopped giving Yan Fei a cold face and gave him a somewhat smiling one. Yan Fei thought it probably had something to do with her noticing that he had lost some weight.

Although the elderly woman was a country person with limited exposure, she was clear-headed and tactful about this matter. She knew that the higher the status of the person proposing, the more face it would bring to both families, and the greater the chance of acceptance. As for not allowing Yan Fei to accompany her, everyone knew the reason so there was no need to explain.

Yan Fei didn’t understand this at first, but the elderly woman explained it to him after Xiang Rui left. Seeing Yan Fei’s unease, she told him to go about his other business as this matter wouldn’t be resolved in a short while, but was just a way to gauge the other party’s intentions.

While walking, Yan Fei also realized the elderly woman used Lin Baoguo’s status to boost his own social standing, and there was an underlying intention to suppress others using Lin Baoguo’s reputation.

Moreover, her eagerness in giving gifts showed that regardless of Xiang Rui’s success, he would owe the elderly woman a favour which wouldn’t be repayable anytime soon. Those two bottles of wine could perhaps be exchanged for many bottles in the future!

No wonder this old woman could marry her daughter off to the rather sought-after Lin Baoguo, she was shrewd indeed!

Thinking in this way might be a bit petty. Yan Fei didn’t really mind material things. Besides, considering the relationship between their families, they were just being kind to him. However, this taught him that one should not underestimate anyone, even an old woman.

Lin Baoguo was already the deputy director at Sancha River police station and had discretely taken over his post. The man surnamed Wang, who had claimed that the exam results were somewhat skewed, had been transferred quite some time ago. Yan Fei couldn’t care less where he went, as long as he was gone.

Yan Fei held no fondness for this division director who, while friendly to his face, had ’betrayed’ him at the next available opportunity. He still remembered the incident where the man had bought his game meat and then ’complained’ to Lin Baoguo. That was his first attempt selling stuff in the market, and he remembered it clearly.

Rushing back to the cattle ranch, he found a surprisingly large crowd gathered there. It felt like everyone who could come, did — and even those who shouldn’t have.

The familiar faces included classmates like Jiao Bing and Yang Qian, as well as those he vaguely recognized from past encounters, like Pang Fa, Heizi, and others. Those included people who had helped during the Si family brothers’ incident and some who had watched him carry the massive stone that morning. The unexpected guest was an affable-looking man, somewhere between youth and middle age.

Through introductions, he learned the man was Granny Dazui’s son, who came seeking reconciliation with no pretexts.

When Yan Fei initially placed the massive stone, Granny Dazui’s family was in for a rough day as they couldn’t even open their front door. Even when they closed the door, it didn’t keep out the endless stream of onlookers — drawn to the spectacle outside their home.

The sporadic burst of laughter and incessant whispers from outside left them restless within their home.

Rarely is there anything unusual happening in town, so idle folks quickly gather around curiosities. Even the busier ones couldn’t resist a peek. Some had just returned from the market and decided to stop by when they heard the news.

Granny Dazui’s son came to apologize and brought gifts in a bid for peace. But no matter what he said, Yan Fei refused to budge, and a group of young people eventually "persuaded" him to leave.

As for the remaining crowd, Heizi took charge of hosting them. On a roll, he energetically described how the giant rock was placed. His story was supplemented by the young folks who had followed them earlier, making for a lively scene.

Yan Fei paid little attention to Heizi’s theatrics. Instead, he wondered about his girlfriend Xiang Rui’s trip to Xu Xiaoyan’s home. Regardless of what her father said, they had decided that she wasn’t running away.

Now, Ma Yongming kept pestering him to move the enormous stone, much to his annoyance.

Not only Ma Yongming but also Pang Fa tried to persuade Yan Fei, "Yan Fei, what you did was admirable, everyone should be impressed. But now Granny Dazui’s son has come and bowed his head. It’s best to show mercy when one can. If you move the stone now, it doesn’t mean you lose face; it’s Granny Dazui’s family who lost face. Others will see you as generous and dignified."

That argument seemed to strike a chord with Yan Fei. Ma Yongming immediately realized he was too persistent earlier and changed his approach, "We’re all from the same town. Even if they were wrong, one day of punishment is enough. Remember the Si brothers, once they admitted their mistake, they left some room for mercy, didn’t they? You can’t be worse than them, can you?"

"Exactly, after this incident, I’m sure nobody would dare to propose a marriage against your wishes. There’s no shortage of potential wives, and there’s no sense in taking such a big risk, right? Once you’ve made your point and they’ve come to apologize, it’s overkill to keep the stone there. It’s just bullying," one chimed in.

"Yep, it’s market day today. There’s a fair bunch of people on the streets. Not to mention the folks from the countryside coming to market upon hearing the news, and turned to see the spectacle. If they spread the word when they return, everyone within the surrounding area will come to know about it. Who would dare to vie for your wife? Now you should show your magnanimity. There’s no need to be deemed as someone who doesn’t know when to stop."

When the two began alternating their reasoning, it became clear that they wouldn’t stop until Yan Fei did as they suggested.

Off to the side, Miss Xu Xiaoyan had been listening. She now felt that the two men made sense. People from the same town shouldn’t block each other’s doors with a big stone. Briefly doing so to make a point is fine. But now that the purpose had been achieved, it was improper to keep it there indefinitely. It was time to stop while they were ahead!

With these thoughts, she tugged at Yan Fei and whispered, "Maybe we should move the stone away now! We’ve made our point, after all ..."