Chapter 438 The Best Drinking Buddies

He Chuan sat on the steps outside, drying his hair.

The night was cool in mid-September, but he was still sweating from his work.

A simple wipe on the neck reveals clumps of mud, and when winnowing, dust is everywhere.

Listening to the lively sounds from the upper house, I looked up at the bright Milky Way. The stars in the night sky over Liangzhou were so bright.

He felt empty inside.

Why didn't the brothers ever have such a lively time?

It's been more than half a year, and I don't know if my parents and older brother have thought about him or mentioned coming to see him.

Although it's a good place here, no one cares about him or scolds him, and he can't hear his mother hitting or scolding him.

But this is not his home.

At this moment, the curtain of the main house was lifted.

"My brother-in-law is here."

"Brother-in-law, why are you sitting in the yard eating with us?"

The fourth and third brothers came out of the house, preparing for He Chuan's arrival.

The second brother also came down the steps. "Brother-in-law, it's been many years. You've gotten stronger than before."

He went over and helped He Chuan up, saying, "Don't stay outside in the wind after washing your hair, it will hurt your head."

He Chuan laughed and said, "What are you guys doing out here? I've already eaten. I was covered in dirt when I came in, so I was going to wash up before going in."

The second brother pushed him from behind, saying, "Come on, come on, we're all farmers. What's wrong with being from the soil? Didn't we all grow up in the soil?"

Song Chunxue lifted the curtain and saw that He Chuan's hair was still wet. "Why did you blow-dry your hair after washing it? You think you're young? You'll have a headache later."

"I'll find you a thin blanket to wipe yourself down, it'll dry quickly."

As she spoke, she took a clean, thin blanket from the cabinet and gave it to Hongying, saying, "Hongying, wipe He Chuan down so he can eat some more."

Hongying was a little embarrassed and tossed the thin felt blanket to He Chuan, saying, "You wipe it yourself, I'll bring you a bowl of noodles."

He Chuan dried his hair and took the wine that Lao Si poured for him.

"Drink up. My mother not only doesn't stop us from drinking now, but she also invites us to drink. This is my mother's favorite apricot blossom wine. It's bitter, I don't know if you like it." The fourth brother smacked his lips. "Pear blossom wine is better, and the name sounds nicer."

"I don't drink much, it tastes about the same." He Chuan took a small bite. "Hmm, it really tastes like apricot blossom, very fragrant."

“Exactly, it smells so good, but the fourth brother doesn’t know its value and just complains.” Song Chunxue looked at the third child and said, “You should drink less; you have to go to school tomorrow.”

"Mom, I'm fine. It'll all be digested by tomorrow morning." Sanwa looked at Jiang Yehui, "Second brother, do you know how to play rock-paper-scissors?"

Before the second brother could speak, the fourth brother patted his chest and said, "I know how. When Old Man Zhang camps in the wild, he always invites people to play drinking games and have a couple of drinks. He says that even if a wolf comes, it will scare them away."

"Wait a minute, Sanwa, you're not behaving yourself. You didn't study properly at school, and you've even learned to play rock-paper-scissors?"

"When the teacher talked about drinking games, he gave us two lessons on them, saying that if we didn't study in the future, playing drinking games would be more useful than studying. However, the headmaster overheard this and fined our teacher half a month's salary."

The fourth brother was filled with envy. "Where did such an interesting teacher come from? If my teacher back then had been this fun, I definitely wouldn't have skipped school. Second brother, do you remember Teacher Cao? When he taught, he would sing in a high-pitched voice, like he was performing in an opera, no, like a chicken that was about to choke to death."

The second son glanced at Song Chunxue's expression and lowered his voice, saying, "You still want to be beaten? Your mother spends money to send you to school, but you complain that the teachers are not good enough."

The fourth brother met Song Chunxue's gaze guiltily, "Well, let's have a drink. I've already reaped what I sowed."

Sanwa laughed and said, "I know, back then, Mother really wanted to break your legs."

“That’s right. I regret not beating you to a pulp back then. If I wasn’t counting on you to herd sheep, I would have made you lie on the kang for months.” Song Chunxue poured herself a glass of wine. “Neither you nor your second son remember me as their mother. I originally didn’t plan to take care of you.”

The second and fourth brothers exchanged a glance, quickly lowered their heads, picked up their wine glasses, and stood up together.

"Mother, let's toast you. We were ignorant before. I'll drink first as a sign of respect." After saying that, the fourth son tilted his head back and downed a glass.

"Mother, I was wrong. I will definitely work hard from now on and settle down in Jincheng. I will never go to the south." The second son stammered, wanting to say that he would not become a live-in son-in-law, but when he saw his brother-in-law He Chuan, he swallowed his words.

Song Chunxue waved her hand, "Don't say such things, you guys drink yours, I'll just listen."

"Hehe, drinking alone isn't fun, let me teach you how to play a drinking game." The fourth brother pulled up a stool and moved closer to Song Chunxue. "First, I'll teach you the rhyme: 'One mind, calm; brothers, good; three, yuan, yuan...'"

Sanwa and He Chuan had already started paddling, and He Chuan actually won twice in a row.

Sanwa scratched the back of his head, full of fighting spirit, "Let's go again, let's go again! Brother-in-law is a hidden master, his reaction is so fast."

Xia Mulan and Jiang Hongying sat to the side watching. After a while, they took out their handicrafts to study. Xiujuan walked back and forth between the two of them, while Xiaoxu and Xiaolong sat on the ground, struggling with two Luban locks.

Sanwa had a great time tonight, but the thought that his mother had suggested drinking the wine made him feel both warm and heartbroken.

Mother probably indulged them in their playful antics because she felt it was a rare occasion for them to get together and didn't want to spoil the fun.

He always felt that his mother had something on her mind.

They drank until late at night, and the fourth brother accidentally let slip that his second brother had almost become a live-in son-in-law.

Oh!

How ironic! Mother gave my elder sister and brother-in-law a courtyard and land, and everyone said that my brother-in-law was a live-in son-in-law, but my second brother was thinking of becoming someone else's live-in son-in-law.

No wonder, no wonder.

...

After sobering up, Song Chunxue went to the kitchen, where Mulan had already made fried dough sticks.

"Aren't you going to the shop today?" Song Chunxue asked. "You go ahead with your work, I'll prepare lunch."

“Anyway, there’s no shortage of people over there. There are a lot of people today, so Mom will definitely have to prepare some good food. My sister is too busy taking care of the children, so I’ll help Mom.”

Mulan wore the new clothes her mother made for her, and she looked radiant, quick-witted, and sensible.

Song Chunxue agreed, "Okay, we'll go buy meat later. Buy it whenever you want to eat it, don't be stingy."

She couldn't find any meat at home last night, neither cooked nor raw, which told her that Mulan was usually very frugal.

After all, in the countryside, people only eat fresh meat after slaughtering a pig for the Lunar New Year.

“Hmm,” Mulan suddenly remembered something, “Oh right, the Taoist priest has already come out of seclusion. When he learned that you went out, he said he was going to the countryside for a while and would be back in a few days.”

"Okay, I understand."

Song Chunxue sighed. She was deeply entangled in worldly affairs and couldn't extricate herself. The more anxious she was, the more things she had to deal with.

At noon, they bought two chickens and cooked a delicious meal.

After her afternoon nap, Song Chunxue took some incense and went up the mountain in the warm orange sunlight.

After burning incense, she sat outside the Taoist temple, looking at the golden leaves, the sun-baked hills, and the uneven courtyards, feeling deeply distressed.

After all the excitement, it's still more comfortable to be alone.

I wonder when my senior brother will be back.

The only drinking buddy who made her feel comfortable and at ease was her senior brother.