Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 756 - Chapter 756 746. Recognize Reality_1

Chapter 756: 746. Recognize Reality_1 Chapter 756: 746. Recognize Reality_1 Zhang Yanping frowned as he emerged from the kitchen, intending to protest, but to his surprise, when Wu Fang saw him, she let out a cry of alarm, “Good heavens!”

And then she took two hasty steps back!

This series of actions left everyone stunned.

It took a moment before Wu Fang, under Zhang Yanping’s wounded gaze, snapped back to reality, and in disbelief, she said:

“Yanping, how did you end up looking like this?”

Zhang Yanping subconsciously touched his face, then looked at her skeptically, “Mom, do you think I’m good for nothing because I’m not taking the civil service exam? It’s not like I suddenly turned out this way. Haven’t I always looked like this at home?”

“How can that be the same?!”

Wu Fang was too flustered to articulate:

“Even though you were also dark and sturdy at home, you still appeared good-natured. But look at yourself now, even darker than before, and why are you all muscle now? If you try to go for a civil service job, who would dare hire you!”

Wu Fang was a sensible person. Since ancient times, she had not heard of any government officials looking like they were from the mafia!

Even with her deep filter, she was having trouble filtering this out.

Zhang Yanping, already feeling down, almost laughed when he heard this, his brows twitching!

He fought hard to hold back his laughter, then forced himself to put on a face that was both wronged and fierce:

“Mom, it’s not what I want. Isn’t this what I inherited from you and dad? What can I do?”

Wu Lan watched from the side, quite puzzled, “Exactly! Isn’t Yanping looking quite fit now? Why do you say he’s changed so much? Haven’t you noticed during your frequent video calls?”

“He didn’t look this fierce and dark on the video! He was much fairer,” Wu Fang said, feeling wronged.

Little did she expect that during video calls, the beauty filter would smooth out the skin, and even though the effect was slight, it was enough to soften Zhang Yanping’s sharp features and make him look a bit fairer.

It was Zhang Hong who noticed that the mood between the mother and son was a bit off, and he quickly said:

“What’s there to fear about being a bit dark, son? My father was dark too; he was just born like that… come on, Yanping, help move some fruits.”

He also comforted him, saying, “Yanping, if you don’t pass the civil servant exam, then you don’t pass. People at the wholesale market are saying it’s very difficult these days…”

“Dad…” Zhang Yanping was incredibly touched, having even one family member on his side meant so much to him,…

“–but they say if you want to pass, you must work exceptionally hard–think about it carefully. Your mother and I don’t expect you to earn much, the main thing is stability! It’s good to live off the government, and it will help you find a partner, too.”

Zhang Yanping: …

He packed away the surge of emotion, and with a cold face, said, “Dad, let’s stop talking about it. Our family simply doesn’t have the genes for ‘living off the government’–otherwise, look at our grandfather, our great-grandfather, why is there not one village official among them?”

Zhang Hong: … That hurts!

With nothing left to say, the father and son simply got on with moving the fruit.

Just as they had finished tidying up, they saw Song Hongmei returning merrily with a basket and a bunch of plastic bags, not yet through the door but her satisfied laughter could be heard from afar:

“Wu Lan, the vegetables from your garden are really good. The hollow heart vegetables looked so tender that I just pinched a handful to take home and have fresh.”

Knowing that this vegetable didn’t keep well, Song Hongmei, ever the penny-pincher, didn’t want to waste it, so she had made an exception.

“And these amaranth greens, they are wild amaranth, right? The bottom leaves were old, so I only picked the tops–we’ll eat baked amaranth bread tomorrow night.”

As she planned, she murmured, “Turn down the fire and bake slowly, it’s delicious when the outside is crispy and the inside is soft and tender!”

Song Tan silently listened, and at this moment couldn’t help but wonder as she looked at Seventh Uncle: “I haven’t eaten rice and amaranth bread yet this year.”

Seventh Uncle did not care for her words, now haughtily huffing, “And have you eaten too few eggplant breads?”

Song Tan immediately quieted down.

The aunt went on to open another plastic bag, “Your chilies here are so spicy! I pinched a few, and now my fingertips are burning and bright red.”

“Right, those few dogs in the field, what were their names? They’re so well-behaved. Wherever I went, they followed, as if they were afraid I’d steal something.”

The aunt talked on and on, also looking satisfied with the vegetables in her hand, clearly having already planned the menu for the next week in her mind.

Not to mention, just the two thick, yellow old cucumbers in the bag could be stewed with meat for several meals!

And that sauce–wow, ten pounds per jar, and she got two and a half jars. The perilla sauce wasn’t much, but the aunt was thoroughly satisfied nonetheless.

This bean sauce was spicy, and it was very flavorful! Later, she’d need to snatch up some celery from the supermarket. Stir-fried celery sticks with bean poles, minced celery leaves stir-fried with sauce beans, all especially good with rice!

But hearing all this, Song Youde didn’t think it was proper: “Damei, you can make money too, so why are you still so stingy, acting like you’re stocking up when returning to your hometown?”

Her morning egg pancake business didn’t look like much, but she should be earning quite a bit! So why was she still like this?

At that comment, his son-in-law Zhu Jun chimed in, “Dad, that’s just Damei’s character–oh, the weather has cooled down a bit recently. Why don’t you go to the city for a couple of days? The grapes in the supermarket are also tasting great lately!”

Song Youde snorted, “I’ll have to wait until the supermarket opens at 8:30, right?”

Clearly, he knew the couple’s nature well.

And just at that moment, his grandson Zhu Lingqi came over carrying a large water cup, “Dad, did you bring your cup? The herbal tea at Uncle’s place is so good! I want to take a pot back with me.”

Song Youde: …

What’s that saying again? If it’s not one family, there’s no reason to enter one door!

While they were engaged in enthusiastic conversation, Wu Lan didn’t show any favoritism and took out a few plastic bags: “Dinner won’t be ready for another half hour, take a moment to go with Zhang Hong to the vegetable field, pick whatever you want.”

However, Wu Fang’s mind wasn’t on the vegetables. Instead, she asked quietly, “Where does Yanping’s girlfriend live? I’ve brought a box of mangoes especially for her, as young girls these days love them. Later, you should nudge Yanping to deliver them!”

She sighed, “This Yanping, the older he gets, the less reliable he becomes. Dating a girlfriend and he can’t even say what she likes to eat. I even prepared a box of dried fruits!”

Wu Lan thought to herself, indeed! Yanping is usually so articulate, but when it comes to dating, it’s as if he’s not dating at all, showing no enthusiasm even when pushed…

Doctor Xiaoguo is so good! If he doesn’t get a move on, he could end up like Tian Tian–without a chance!

Just as she was about to respond, Song Tan came over, “Aunt, come and try our sauce. See which one you like and I’ll pack more for you.”

Wu Lan was taken aback–the sauce was already packed, wasn’t it? But seeing Song Tan’s expression, she paused, then still urged Wu Fang to go.

While Song Tan took the opportunity to say earnestly, “Aunt, why don’t we stop pressuring Brother Yanping to take the civil service exam? He doesn’t like working at all.”

But the aunt didn’t seem to care much, “What do young people know? A civil servant’s salary may be lower, but there’s more free time, and it sounds good when mentioned… And after starting a family, one can still care for the family, isn’t that good?”