Chapter Twenty Good Person Card

  Liu Chao and Zhao Nan practiced horse riding for two days, and Ju An followed behind them running for two days. Their calves were almost worn out from running, especially since they had just learned to ride horses and were like kids who had just learned to ride bicycles - they were addicted and always wanted to go ride.

  It's all messed up. Originally, I had planned to go fishing every morning and practice horse riding in the afternoon, but my senior brother changed it to horse riding in the morning and still horse riding in the afternoon.

  After two days of doing so, Ju An was finally liberated.

  Put the laptop on the table under the corridor, pulled a chair, and made a pot of tea for myself. I was preparing to sort out the photos taken by Zhao Nan in the past few days, which would be sent to him when they returned.

  As soon as I opened my QQ, I found many avatars flashing randomly, with a large number of messages.

  "Lao Liu, aren't you dead yet? Even if you're dead, come out and say something!" This is a message left by dormitory senior Ji Qing.

  "I was wondering why you haven't been online, did you quit your job and disappear? Our horse riding team is missing one person because of you. When I saw this, I tried to call you but it's been switched to someone else." Li Ge left a sweating expression.

  "Anzi, are you lost? If you're lost, go find Uncle Policeman!"

  University class monitor's message: "In October, Wang Lei is getting married. I counted and almost everyone will be there, let's take the opportunity to gather together."

  "Sorry, apologies to everyone, I haven't had a computer for over a month, just got one now, and will be online almost every day from now on."

  Just after answering, another message came over. Ji Qing said: "You're messing around in the old mountain forest? Not even a net?"

  "It's not that there is no internet, it's just that there are no Chinese books." Ju An replied.

  "Damn, are you messing around in Ethiopia or something? You didn't even bring a Chinese dictionary." Ji Qing responded with a sly smile "My display shows your IP is from the US, you little brat, you can't be abroad, right?"

  "Uh-huh, I'm actually online at home right now. Liu Chao, do you remember that guy who often came to my dorm to hang out? He's the one who brought me this laptop, otherwise I would have had to wait a while before bringing one back from abroad."

  "Great, you're going to infiltrate the US and harm the American people, while China's happiness index rises by two percentage points!" Ji Qing responded with a big laugh: "Also, Wang Jianming might go to Canada at the end of the year to join his sister and brother-in-law. His brother-in-law started a company, which is said to be pretty good, and wants him to help out."

  "Didn't he just get married last year and the kid is only three months old? I haven't heard anything about him going abroad," Ju An replied.

  "A week ago, I just went on a business trip to Jiangnan. A few of us had a small gathering and couldn't get in touch with you. When we were having dinner, he mentioned that you're in the US, what are you doing there?" Ji Qing asked.

  "I bought a ranch and now I'm raising some horses, cows and sheep." Ju An replied, then sent him a few photos.

  "You little rascal just find a few pictures and think I'm your brother, but I'm actually running business, my eyes are shining brightly" Ji Qing fired back.

  He didn't believe it, so he casually clicked on the video and then turned the book around to face the stable, then turned back to himself "Brother, I didn't cheat you, did I?"

  "Go ahead, kiddo, this is a developed place. Wait for your brother to finish his work and take his annual leave, then go there to enjoy the autumn breeze," said Ji Qing.

  "Go ahead, food and accommodation are covered, transportation is on your own." Ju An replied.

  "You're a big spender, the transportation fee is very expensive, okay? I really misjudged you. I'll have to spread the word about this. By the way, can we go horseback riding at your place? I've never ridden a horse since I was little. Next time, bring Zhang Ning along and book two spots."

  Just thinking about what happened these two days happening to Ji Qing again, Ju An's legs went weak and he forced himself to say: "This isn't a hotel, why are you making reservations? Just bring Zhang Ning along, there will be plenty of horses for you to ride later."

  They were chatting when Thomas appeared with an old cowboy, walking towards them. Ju An hastily apologized and got up to greet them.

  "An, this is Tyler from Gray Bear Ranch, Tyler, this is my boss, An, living..." Old Thomas introduced the two to each other.

  He shook hands with Taylor and asked him to sit down, while old Thomas sat on the railing of the veranda, then poured a cup of tea for Taylor and Thomas.

  Taylor held the cowboy hat in his hand and said, "Mr. Ju, tomorrow my ranch is preparing to transfer cattle, I hope you can let us pass through your ranch." He looked at Ju An with a smile.

  The complacent and bewildered Thomas looked at him with a puzzled expression.

  "Taylor's ranch needs to go through our ranch to get to the summer range on the other side of the valley, and they move once or a couple times a year, that's just how traditional ranching is," Thomas explained.

  "Since it's a tradition, I agree, you can pass through my pasture tomorrow." Ju An nodded and said.

  Taylor seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Mr. Ju, this will save us a lot of time."

  "Nothing, since I'm also a rancher, I'd like to follow tradition. You can just call me Mr. An."

  Taylor smiled and said, "Actually, I came here with a try-on attitude. If we didn't go through your ranch, we would have to spend several more hours going around it. You've really helped us out."

  Then after exchanging a few pleasantries, Tyler stood up and bid farewell.

  After seeing Tyler off, he asked Old Thomas in a relaxed tone, "What's going on here?"

  Old Tom chuckled as he explained, "In the past, there weren't many irrigation systems on ranches. Every year, they'd have to move from one pasture to another several times just to protect the grass. It wasn't a big deal for cowboys to ride through someone else's pasture; they'd just give a shout and everyone would lend a hand. But over the years, some rich folks bought up ranches and didn't care about running them - they just used them as vacation spots. They wouldn't let anyone cross their land, emphasizing private interests too much. That's why people's relationships with each other have become thinner and thinner. The owner of the ranch in front of our Creek Water River Ranch is like that. Taylor and his gang were refused several times when they tried to cross the ranch, so every time they had to spend a lot more time going around the smaller ranches nearby."

  "Can't they discuss it together? I think letting others go down isn't a big deal anyway." Ju An replied with some surprise.

  Old Thomas shrugged: "This is America, private property is sacred and inviolable. Even if Obama wants to pass through your land, you say no, Obama has to detour. Taylor and his team can only spend a few more hours or even a day detouring. The reason they came to me first was to ask me first. They don't have a good impression of billionaires. Both the previous owners of this ranch refused them."

  "Then tell them that if they need to move in the future, they can go through the pasture. If there are any requirements, follow the old tradition. We're all neighbors, don't make it so awkward."

  "Ah, you're different from those eastern rich folks, there's no discomfort around you, you know? In the past, western ranchers used to call those guys from the east ***, and now these resort ranches, cowboys used to call them *** ranches. When Taylor mentioned it to me earlier, I told him not to worry, I said our boss, An, is different from those eastern folks, you're a good person." Thomas's face was full of smiles.

  It's ridiculous to hear Thomas boast that he is a good person, how awkward is this? He just got a "good person" card. We can't blame Thomas for not understanding the context of being a good person in Chinese culture. When you hear this sentence, it's like a cup on a tea table.

  Depressed, looking at Old Thomas riding Jefferson away with high spirits, Ju An could only let out a long sigh.

  "What's wrong with you?" Liu Chao came over, picked up the teapot and took a big gulp, while Zhao Nan patted Liu Chao hard and told him to use a cup to drink.

  "I was given a good man card by Old Thomas," said Ju An with a wave of his hand.

  "When did your appetite become so good?" Liu Chao said in surprise, "This is ready to play a bit, coming to the US for less than two months and you've already become the trendsetter of the times."

  "What are you talking nonsense about?" followed by a detailed explanation of the whole story.

  Zhao Nan asked with a smile: "Isn't it good to have a Good Person Card?" which made Ju An feel slightly depressed again.

  "When a young man confesses to a girl in general, if the girl wants to reject him, she usually says 'you're a good person', but then follows up with a bunch of stuff, so the 'good person card' is equivalent to the 'rejection card'" Liu Chao explained.

  "Oh, I see," Zhao Nan nodded.

  The two men drank some tea and continued to groom their horses shoulder to shoulder.

  Just sat down and was about to continue our previous conversation, but then I saw a message left by Lao Ji: Let's talk again sometime.

  Better stay at home and continue to sort out the photos, pick out a dozen or so from Zhao Nan's photos, take good ones, put them in their own space, and then write their new phone number in the comments.

  Then left a message for her sister, and in July she would return to the country to pick up her parents and live here for a while. If they still adapt, Ju An thought of bringing her parents over to live together. Before, there was no condition to be filial, now that she has the ability, Ju An hopes her parents can follow her to live.

  I chose to return home in July mainly because I wanted to pick up my parents and bring them over. Another reason is that all the students are on summer break, so it's a good time for my sister and brother-in-law to bring their daughter Tongtong to visit. Since neither I nor my older brother can be by our parents' side, they have to rely on my sister and brother-in-law to take care of things at home. My brother and I both feel a bit guilty about this, so it's good that they can come and relax for a while.

  If possible, it would be even better if we could get my older brother's family to stay with us for a few days. Even if my brother and sister-in-law are busy, their son Rongrong can still come. My mother has been thinking about Rongrong many times, and it's been a year since she last saw her grandson. Our parents really miss him.

  We'll be living together for two months, so I want to make sure our parents feel cherished. Also, I've prepared some money to help my brother and sister pay off their mortgage, and we're also setting aside money for the two kids' education expenses. I know that I can support my sister's and brother's families without any issues, but if they can accept this money from me, I'll be relieved.

  Note: Some names have been translated to English (e.g., Tongtong, Rongrong), while others remain in their original Chinese form (e.g., 居安).

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