Reality proved that Old Man w.a.n.g was indeed a popular figure in the village. As soon as he appeared at the entrance, his position was thoroughly exposed… This was largely because the sea village was rich enough to equip every main road with a surveillance camera, and the village was also part of the "Divine Eye Project"; generally speaking, remote villages wouldn"t have this sort of status.But as the wheel of modernization continued to turn, there would come a day when even the most remote villages would become well-off.
With Old Man w.a.n.g"s return, the whole village seemed to become more lively.
Old women from every household came to the village entrance, each one beaming at Old Man w.a.n.g. Some of them had lost their spouses like Old Man w.a.n.g, while some had come to act as matchmakers… The most exaggerated were the old ladies who wanted to introduce their daughters to Old Man w.a.n.g…
"Yo, Uncle Old w.a.n.g has been gone for so long, but why do you look younger?" The very first person at the village entrance was an old woman called w.a.n.g Dongmei. Everyone in the village had the surname w.a.n.g, since the sea village was established in ancient times by a n.o.ble w.a.n.g clan. Although the clan had gradually declined, the sea village community persisted.
Nowadays, there were some villagers with different surnames, like the old man"s two mahjong buddies Old Wu and Old Liang. They were outsiders who had settled here and got along well with the other villagers. However, the villagers were still mostly made up of w.a.n.gs.
Seeing how someone had been keeping watch for him from so far away before he even stepped foot into the village, and that the person was w.a.n.g Dongmei, Old Man w.a.n.g"s spirits instantly deflated, and he couldn"t even feel emotional about returning to his hometown. Right now, he felt like those young people who went on blind dates in the corners of the cultivation community parks… but the difference was that they were free to choose their own matches, while Old Man w.a.n.g"s partner would be selected by someone else.
"Uncle w.a.n.g, you"re already so old and your daughter-in-law lives so far away. If you have someone to take care of you, wouldn"t that be rea.s.suring for your son and daughter-in-law?" w.a.n.g Dongmei pulled on Old Man w.a.n.g"s hand as she earnestly tried to persuade him. Father and Mother w.a.n.g could only stand on the side and smile diffidently. Based on seniority, they had to call her aunt; as juniors, they didn"t dare act rashly in front of this old woman.
It was largely this Aunt w.a.n.g who arranged the matchmaking interviews for Old Man w.a.n.g, and she was just as enthusiastic with other people… She was like a central heating system: not only was she like a torch that never went out, she also lit up the lives of others.
"Aunt w.a.n.g, how about we chat inside?" Father w.a.n.g intervened gently as he did his best to prop up Old Man w.a.n.g. It was obvious that this Aunt w.a.n.g Dongmei was a huge psychological trauma for Old Man w.a.n.g when he had stayed in the village previously – he stumbled even at the mention of the matchmaking.
When everyone in the village found out that Old Man w.a.n.g was back, they poured out of their homes excitedly to line the street in welcome. It wasn"t more than a kilometer from the village entrance to Old Man w.a.n.g"s place, but hundreds of people had come over to stare, men and women, young and old…
"Uncle w.a.n.g is pa.s.sing through, make way! Don"t block his way!" Aunt w.a.n.g Dongmei cleared the way for them of her own enthusiastic accord. "Whose family"s brat is this?! Hurry home and do your homework! Don"t make things worse! Have you finished your summer homework?"
"I… I have!" a chubby kid among the crowd said weakly, a lollipop in his hand.
Aunt w.a.n.g Dongmei smiled as she looked at the kid. "Yo, so it"s Tiger w.a.n.g"s Fat Tiger! Our Fat Tiger is so well-behaved and has never been sloppy! Everyone, learn from him! I have to give him some reward!"
"Th- thank you, Aunt W"
Fat Tiger flushed at the praise and was about to thank her for the reward when Aunt w.a.n.g went on to say, "Don"t forget to come to my office later to receive a copy of Summer Vacation Life as your reward."
Fat Tiger was a little aggrieved. "But… but I"ve already finished it…"
Aunt w.a.n.g: "You"ll learn new things when you review the old, understand? You should write more! Taking notes is always better than having a good memory!"
Then came the sound of Fat Tiger"s crying in the crowd…
Seeing this, some of the villagers carried him off in a hurry.
Aunt w.a.n.g making a direct example of Fat Tiger scared some of the other brats watching, and they scattered in the wind to go hide at home.
Father w.a.n.g and Mother w.a.n.g: "…"
...
Old Man w.a.n.g"s place had been turned into an office when he became an official, and it had been overhauled several times. Someone would sweep the yard every now and then when he was away. Opening the door after the place had been vacant for half a year, Father and Mother w.a.n.g could see the dust that had gathered inside.
Aunt w.a.n.g Dongmei frowned and directly threw out a Dao talisman to thoroughly clean up the entire place. The bubbles formed by the talisman dissolved in the air and swept away all the dust in the room, leaving behind only a faint and pleasant fragrance.
Father and Mother w.a.n.g helped the old man into a bamboo chair. As Aunt w.a.n.g Dongmei directed people to get rid of the onlookers, she didn"t see herself as an outsider at all and straightaway made tea. "Uncle w.a.n.g, since you brought your son and daughter-in-law back this time, let"s not beat around the bush."
Father and Mother w.a.n.g: "…"
Aunt w.a.n.g sipped her tea and smiled. "Uncle w.a.n.g, in perfectly completing my work for the better part of these six months, I also found a lot of matches for you. Some are young and some are old. The young ones might not have experienced or understand as much, and the older ones might look a little frail, but they"re all good at doing things, especially when it comes to taking care of you. How about…"
"Aunt w.a.n.g…"
Father w.a.n.g coughed at that moment.
Aunt w.a.n.g: "Go ahead."
Father w.a.n.g: "Aunt w.a.n.g, it"s like this: my dad and I came back this time to honor our ancestors, and to see my mom… Arranging for my dad to attend matchmaking interviews now wouldn"t be very good, would it? Also, my dad isn"t actually interested in this."
"How do you know Uncle w.a.n.g isn"t?"
Aunt w.a.n.g was unhappy. "Uncle w.a.n.g is the backbone of our village! When Uncle w.a.n.g is around, the sea village thrives! As a junior, it"s best that you watch what you say! We"re all hoping that Uncle w.a.n.g will have another child!"
Father and Mother w.a.n.g: "…"
But after saying that, Aunt w.a.n.g did feel that she was coming on too strong, and she softened her tone. "I actually do understand Uncle w.a.n.g"s feelings… But Aunt w.a.n.g is already gone, after all, and can"t come back! Our hope is for Uncle w.a.n.g to walk out of the shadows as soon as possible. If he isn"t interested, we can talk about it another time."
Considering that she was at someone else"s place and it was now an important time for the w.a.n.g family as they honored their ancestors, it was indeed a bit inconsiderate to force Old Man w.a.n.g to attend matchmaking interviews now… An idea struck w.a.n.g Dongmei as she decided to try for the next best thing.
Old Man w.a.n.g"s brow had remained furrowed the entire time as he gazed at Father w.a.n.g with an expression that pleaded for help.
Father and son were united in heart.
Father w.a.n.g already understood.
It wasn"t often that he came back to the countryside.
He really had to figure out a way this time to resolve this issue of his dad"s matchmaking interviews for good… Otherwise, his old man might not even have the heart to honor their ancestors.
It was just that in terms of fighting strength, this Aunt w.a.n.g was indeed formidable and hard to deal with…
What should he do?
He didn"t have any book fans here to help him out…
Father w.a.n.g suddenly felt a little worried.A summer diary for children to fill in.