Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 171: Busting Another Pair

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Busting Another Pair

When the cheerful afternoon sunlight streamed through the slightly worn-out door into the house, the young men and women inside and Yang Fan at the door were all stunned. It was as if time had frozen, their six eyes locked in a silence as awkward as death itself.

"Sorry, I didn’t know you were... you continue, I’ll wait."

Yang Fan glanced quickly at the young couple pressed tightly together and shut the room door.

The games that young men and women play these days seemed even wilder than his own.

Compared to these two kids, he felt like he was forcibly squeezed into the ranks of middle-aged people.

The layout of this household was in the form of a traditional courtyard house, with the north room being the ancestral shrine where the offering table stood.

And yet, this young couple was actually fooling around right next to the offering table.

With the ancestors’ spirit tablets shaking left and right to their rhythm on the table, Yang Fan was nearly losing his mind.

Engaging in this act while looking at the ancestors’ tablets, could this be some kind of alternative thrill?

Yang Fan did not recognize the boy, but the girl, due to a few previous occasions of gathering herbs, he was quite familiar with.

She was the eldest daughter of this household, and her name, unsurprisingly containing "di," was Wang Zhaodi.

In Yang Fan’s memory, this girl seemed to still be in school, and from what he overheard her father mentioning, her academic performance wasn’t very good.

But, judging by their actions just now, having no respect even for ancestors, her academic performance probably couldn’t be good either.

This was the second time Yang Fan had stumbled upon such a scene, making him start to doubt his own constitution.

He did hope his own love life would be more prosperous, but he would rather not be involved in such situations, which were embarrassingly awkward.

As he stepped out of the door, Yang Fan lit a cigarette and was just considering which family to visit next when Uncle Wang, carrying a bundle of firewood on his shoulder, happened to walk in through the wicket gate.

"Oh, Fanzi, when did you get here?"

Uncle Wang, whose face was deeply etched with wrinkles like thousands of ravines, greeted Yang Fan with great enthusiasm as soon as he saw him.

"Just got here, I called out a few times but no one answered, I was about to visit somewhere else. What a coincidence that you happen to come back just now, Uncle Wang. We must be mentally aligned, destined to make a deal," Yang Fan said with a chuckling smile, offering a cigarette.

He concealed what had just happened inside the house; that awkward situation was better left unmentioned.

Just in case that reckless young couple continued their antics in front of the ancestors and got caught by Uncle Wang, Yang Fan wouldn’t know how to face Uncle Wang ever again.

Having someone catch his daughter fooling around with someone, Uncle Wang’s pride would also take a hit.

Uncle Wang set down the firewood and, with a mouthful of uneven yellow and white teeth, chided with a smile, "My eldest girl is at home, perhaps she is reading with her ears plugged with those electronic donkey hairs and didn’t hear."

Yang Fan smiled faintly; he hadn’t seen whether or not there were earphones in her ears, but he knew for sure that something was plugged in somewhere else.

"Come on, let’s talk inside the house; it’s so hot outside. I’ll slice a watermelon for you to cool down," Uncle Wang invited.

Yang Fan waved his hand, "No need, Uncle Wang, I just had lunch before coming over here, really can’t eat anything else now; sitting here and enjoying the cool is pretty good."

He certainly didn’t dare to go inside now.

I was sure going in would be awkward as hell.

"Well... okay then," Uncle Wang put the firewood down on the ground and motioned for Yang Fan to sit.

"Fanzi, what are you here to collect today? The little stuff I got recently has all been shaken out and cleaned."

Yang Fan laughed, "Uncle Wang, are you hiding something from me again? I know those Codonopsis of yours are still nicely tucked away, they’ve gone up in price, so are you selling today?"

Uncle Wang took a drag on his cigarette, mouth splitting into a grin, "Doing business with someone too familiar isn’t that good either. You know all about my stash, so how can I still haggle with you?"

"Knowing is one thing, but we can still talk about the price, can’t we?" said Yang Fan. "It’s not related, right?"

"If it’s too obvious, it’s hard to save face," Uncle Wang said. "What’s the price today?"

Yang Fan said seriously, "Uncle Wang, we know each other so well, I can’t bring myself to cut the price too much. Let me just give you a straight deal: it’s gone up by six yuan, but let’s keep this between us, okay? Otherwise, my business will suffer."

"Six yuan, so it’s ninety-six now? Come on, you can give me a solid number; I know it has to be higher than that," Uncle Wang said.

Yang Fan stomped out his cigarette butt under his foot and said with a wry smile, "Uncle Wang, you gotta let me make something too. I’m sweating buckets out here in the midday heat, that’s worth a couple of yuan."

"You know it too, my Codonopsis are plenty, and the quality is top-notch, almost as thick as a child’s arm. So, add one more yuan and take all of it. The price, well, it’s really good right now, a rare high price, and I won’t hem and haw over it with you," Uncle Wang said with a wave of his hand.

He swung his arm, and instantly assumed an air of boisterous authority.

Yang Fan spoke with some difficulty, "Uncle Wang, your Codonopsis, even if they turned into spirits, they aren’t that thick. And this price isn’t normal, you understand? It’s ninety-six now, but by the time I take the stock to the city, it could drop to ninety, or even lower – who can say?"

"It’s like the oil prices, a sharp increase doesn’t always mean a real hike; sometimes it could be ready to plummet, just trimming the leeks, my dear Uncle Wang. Buying at this time, we are gambling. Win the gamble, make a windfall; lose, and it’s certain doom."

Uncle Wang nodded thoughtfully, "A six yuan increase all at once, this price really isn’t normal. Just like last year’s Yin Chen, right? When everyone was scrambling to sell, it became worthless as grass."

"How about this, let’s raise it by fifty cents, and I won’t argue with you anymore."

"Speaking of last year, I lost quite a bit," said Yang Fan with a laugh. "Alright, make it ninety-six and a half. We’ve been doing business for so long, I’ll give Uncle Wang that fifty cents."

"That settles it, come on, I’ll help you pack the herbs," Uncle Wang said readily.

While the two were weighing the herbs in Uncle Wang’s storeroom, Wang Zhaodi, in her school uniform, suddenly walked in.

As if nothing was out of the ordinary, she feigned surprise, "Brother Fanzi, when did you get here?"

Yang Fan was taken aback, this girl sure had a good mentality.

Not only did she not hide away, but she also showed up so brazenly to see him.

She was probably worried he’d complain to her dad about her and Gao Lanlan, scrambling to get ahead of any gossip spilling out.

"I haven’t been here long," said Yang Fan with a slight smirk. "I called out for you a few times outside and you didn’t respond; your dad said you had electronic donkey fur in your ears, are you busy studying hard?"

Wang Zhaodi’s face flushed slightly, and her eyes shifted awkwardly to the side as she twisted her body and said, "Ah... Brother Fanzi, you called? I didn’t hear a thing. Well, you guys are busy, I’ll go back to doing my homework."

Yang Fan nodded, just as long as you don’t keep shaking your ancestors as you do your homework.