"..." Why couldn't he make them understand?
"Uncle Zhao, he doesn't want to give it to me!"
"And me! I can take care of you in your old age, care for you when you're sick, as long as you give me this motorcycle."
"Me too, me too."
"Uncle Zhao, look at us! He doesn't want it, but we do!"
"..."
As the three men were in a standoff, the young men who had been crowding around the motorcycle surged forward. They all expressed their willingness to take it.
Zhao Zhijie glanced at the youths in the yard and rolled his eyes. "Stop causing a scene here. Go do whatever you should be doing."
They all knew each other well enough. Who didn't know who?
Despite their fine words now, if the time truly came, they couldn't be relied upon. That was why he hadn't chosen them but Zhang Liunian.
Seeing this, the crowd sheepishly insisted they were serious, but they only dispersed after Zhao Zhijie yelled at them.
However, the displeasure in their eyes was almost overflowing.
Zhang Liunian's gaze flickered at the scene.
"Liunian, this is my gift to acknowledge you as family. If you don't accept it, does that mean you don't recognize me as your uncle?" Zhao Zhijie was getting anxious and resorted to a strong statement.
"And don't you recognize me as your uncle either?" Yan Guiguo followed suit.
"..." No! How did this suddenly become about a family acknowledgment gift? Even as a gift, it was too extravagant!
"Don't say anything else. If we give it to you, you must accept it. If you refuse, you don't recognize us as your uncles." Zhao Zhijie, seeing Zhang Liunian about to refuse again, immediately cut him off.
Zhang Liunian chuckled wryly, feeling he could still make a stand, but in the end, he was forced to accept the motorcycle.
Looking at the keys in his hand, Zhang Liunian gave a wry smile. "Alright, we are family from now on. If you need anything, just call me. With me here, I won't let anyone bully you."
His words carried a deep meaning. Zhao Zhijie understood immediately and his laughter boomed, "Hahaha, good! With those words, I can finally rest easy."
He wasn't disappointed in his chosen godson. On his first visit, he discovered Zhang Liunian was surrounded by wolves.
Yan Guiguo also knew Zhao's predicament and was very happy for his old friend upon hearing Zhang Liunian's words.
"Liunian, you probably don't know how to ride a motorcycle yet! After lunch, I'll teach you." Yan Guiguo said, leading the way into Zhao Zhijie's house.
The food was already prepared and kept warm in the pots, just needing to be served.
Twelve savory dishes were laid out on the table. As everyone sat down, Zhao Zhijie opened a bottle of 1981 Maotai. Just as he was about to pour for Zhang Liunian, Zhang Liunian snatched the bottle.
"I'm the younger one, I'll do it." There was no reason for a senior to pour for a junior. Zhang Liunian couldn't bring himself to do that.
Zhao Zhijie and Yan Guiguo exchanged glances, filled with satisfaction.
Their interaction today had been exemplary, and Zhang Liunian's performance had greatly pleased them.
"From today onwards, we are officially foster relatives. We should visit each other during holidays. Hua Bao is also my foster granddaughter. You can come and stay with me when you have time, or if you don't have time, Hua Bao can come."
Although he hadn't known Hua Bao for long, Zhao Zhijie had taken a great liking to her.
Zhang Liunian glanced at his daughter, who was engrossed in her meal. He smiled and replied, "My house will be rebuilt soon. I'll reserve a room for each of you then. If you have days off, I can pick you up for a stay."
Zhao Zhijie paused with his chopsticks in hand, then burst into laughter again. "Good, good, good. I'll look forward to that day."
"Uncle Yan can also visit often." Zhang Liunian remembered the kindness of their gesture in giving him the motorcycle and intended to truly treat them as uncles.
Yan Guiguo smiled. "That's wonderful! We'll have company then."
"Indeed," Old Zhao also felt this was good, at least it would keep the people in the yard from being so fixated on him.
"It's settled then, don't back out when the time comes!" Seeing they didn't object, Zhang Liunian raised his glass to toast each of them.
Zhao Zhijie and Yan Guiguo also raised their glasses, smiling in agreement.
The meal was a happy one for everyone. After eating, they chatted for a while longer, and then Yan Guiguo finally began teaching Zhang Liunian how to ride the motorcycle.
"This motorcycle has a twin-cylinder, four-stroke engine, with a power output of 11 kilowatts at 11,500 RPM, and a maximum torque of 9 Newton-meters at 10,000 RPM. It's a first-generation 125cc. The starter... kickstarter..." Yan Guiguo explained the basic performance of the motorcycle, then personally demonstrated how to start it, brake, and accelerate...
Yan Guiguo had expected Zhang Liunian to take the whole afternoon to learn, but to his surprise, he grasped it after just one demonstration.
This made Yan Guiguo stare at Zhang Liunian for a long time. "How did your brain develop like this?"
He recalled how long it had taken him to learn, yet Zhang Liunian made it look like child's play.
"If you study seriously, anyone can learn." Zhang Liunian finished speaking and began circling the yard on the motorcycle.
"Dad, I want to ride! I want to ride!" Hua Bao watched her father ride the motorcycle, looking incredibly cool, and held out her hand, indicating she wanted a turn.
Zhang Liunian stopped, placed his daughter in front of him, and continued circling.
"This kid learns so fast. He's already daring to give rides," Yan Guiguo couldn't help but tease Zhang Liunian to Zhao Zhijie.
"We're just getting old." If he wasn't old, he'd also want to get a motorcycle to ride.
Unfortunately, old bones couldn't withstand falls. It would be terrible if something happened.
"Dad, faster, faster! Faster!" Hua Bao, sitting on the motorcycle, clapped her hands excitedly and yelled.
Zhang Liunian smiled but didn't accelerate. The yard wasn't large, and accelerating could easily lead to an accident.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wenxue and his wife, having just hung up the phone with their second son, were discussing the matter on their way home.
"It seems the second son really needs the third son's braised meat recipe." Otherwise, the second son wouldn't have agreed to compensate the youngest son with some money, Zhang Wenxue sighed inwardly.
"Isn't that right? We absolutely cannot let the second son down." Yu Xiaohua decided she had to help her second son get that recipe.
Zhang Wenxue remained silent. When they returned home, they heard from their eldest daughter-in-law that their household registration book had been taken by their eldest son.
"What does he need the household registration book for?" Zhang Wenxue was puzzled, as was Yu Xiaohua.
Their three sons had all moved out independently. Only their youngest daughter's household registration was still with them. What use was it for their eldest son to steal it?
"I heard he took it to get the marriage certificate for the youngest sister and the mute." Wu Gudai deliberately waited until now to say this, because only then would her in-laws become even angrier.
And as long as they were angry, they wouldn't notice her subsequent actions, nor would they pay attention to her brother's affairs.
"What? The youngest sister and the mute? Do they really have a secret affair?" Yu Xiaohua's mouth fell open in shock, her face filled with disbelief.
"I'm going to find my youngest sister right now." Zhang Wenxue knew the seriousness of the matter and got up to go find her, but Wu Gudai's next sentence made them all stop in their tracks.
"No need to look for her. They're already back from the county town; they must have completed the paperwork. We should go congratulate our youngest sister."