Chapter 99 Taking the Opportunity to Get It Back

At the end of August, the autumn air was crisp and clear, with a high sky and light clouds.

In the afternoon, Song Chunxue, who was picking corn in the field, saw a man carrying things into the village from afar on the main road to the west.

Judging from his figure and gait, he looks a bit like Hongying's husband, He Chuan.

Judging by the time, if he doesn't come back to pick her up soon, Hongying will be giving birth.

She hitched up the donkey cart and hauled the husked corn home.

Sure enough, when they got home, they saw Jiang Hongying sitting under a big tree, watching Xiujuan play with her father.

"Auntie is back." He Chuan saw Song Chunxue pulling the donkey cart and quickly ran over.

"Yes, you're back. It must have been a long and difficult journey."

He Chuan ran to the back of the cart to help push it. "Yes, we set off yesterday morning. If we hadn't happened to catch two buses, we wouldn't have arrived until dark."

Song Chunxue looked up and saw Hongying stand up, one hand on her waist, a smile unconsciously on her face.

She was relieved that as long as the young couple were of one mind, they could get through any trouble caused by the older generation.

Moreover, He Chuan is an honest man. In his previous life, when he was in his fifties, Hong Ying would come to stay at his home for a while, and He Chuan would always write back every few days.

He really liked Hongying; she was a rare find.

So Song Chunxue thought that since her only son-in-law had come all this way, she should kill a rooster.

"Daddy, Daddy, hug me."

Xiujuan followed behind He Chuan and saw him enter the yard to help his grandmother with the corn. She felt a little disappointed and stretched out her little arms, wanting a hug.

"You hold the baby, I'll do these things."

Song Chunxue raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Xiujuan misses you terribly. She's speaking better and better now and talks about her father every day."

Hongying, standing to the side, smiled shyly with her head down; it was she who had been teaching her all along.

"Mom, the sweet fermented rice is ready to eat. I've boiled some sweet fermented rice water; I'll go get you a bowl." Seeing her mother sweating, Jiang Hongying went to the kitchen, supporting her back.

"Okay." She had made sweet fermented rice a couple of days ago, and having a bowl of sweet fermented rice water at this time would quench her thirst and fill her stomach.

She drank two bowls of sweet fermented rice water in one go, sat in the courtyard and exchanged a few pleasantries with He Chuan, asking about her in-laws' health.

With the sweating stopped and her energy restored, Song Chunxue stood up.

“He Chuan, you’re not in a rush to leave tomorrow, are you? I’ll kill a chicken for dinner. Tell Hongying what you want to eat or drink; we’re all family.”

As she spoke, Song Chunxue picked up the knife blade from the kitchen windowsill, took a bowl in her hand, and walked out.

He Chuan laughed and said, "Auntie, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. Hongying's belly is too big to delay."

Farmers feel that calling one's mother-in-law "your mother-in-law" is too formal, so they usually call her "auntie".

"Yes, that makes sense." Song Chunxue didn't linger and quickly left the courtyard.

Before long, a commotion came from the chicken coop.

Jiang Hongying worked quickly, draining the chicken blood into a bowl, then went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water. In less than half an hour, she chopped the chicken into pieces and put it into the pot.

He Chuan sat on the steps in the courtyard, holding Xiu Juan and letting her play with her hair, and whispered to Hong Ying:

"I saw someone living in the thatched hut outside. Is it your eldest son?"

"Yes, the eldest son's wife gave birth half a month ago."

Jiang Hongying looked towards the door and lowered her voice, saying, "It's causing quite a commotion. My mother didn't take care of her during her postpartum period. We're killing a chicken tonight, and I reckon there'll be a big scene. Be prepared."

He Chuan nodded. He had seen these things many times and was used to them.

The sun had just set when Sanwa returned from school.

Upon entering, she saw He Chuan sitting in the courtyard. She paused for a moment, then smiled and went up to greet him, "Brother-in-law is here. Why don't you come inside and sit down?"

“Sanwa’s back. Are you reading with that cloth bag on your back?” He Chuan looked at Hongying in surprise. “I heard from your sister that Lao Si is herding sheep now. I didn’t believe it at first.”

Sanwa smiled and said, "Yes, Mother has given me another chance to study. Now it's the fourth brother who's herding sheep."

He Chuan was greatly shocked, but dared not say it outright.

As they talked, they went into the north room and exchanged pleasantries.

Although the north room is not the main house, it is spacious and bright, warm in winter and cool in summer. My mother lives there now, so we are used to talking in the north room.

Because this is a mountainous area, the courtyards are all located on the mountain, and generally the side closest to the mountain is the main house.

Their house is located next to a large mountain to the east, so the east wing is the main house.

Some people disregard these rules and consider the house facing north as the main house regardless of which side of the courtyard is closest to the mountain, but this is rare.

Unless the yard is situated in a wide, flat area.

After chatting with her brother-in-law for a while, the usually taciturn Sanwa stood up and said, "Brother-in-law, please sit down first. I'll go to the kitchen to light the fire for Mom. She might not be able to manage by herself."

"Okay, Sanwa, go ahead and get busy."

Looking at Sanwa's tall and straight back, He Chuan couldn't help but sigh, "Reading books really makes a difference. Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. I used to think Sanwa was good-looking, but I didn't expect him to be even better now. It's a bit of a pity that he was sent to herd sheep."

Hongying nodded, "Yes, if it weren't for Sanwa, the eldest, second eldest, and fourth eldest would never have been able to go to school, but they don't understand Sanwa at all, let alone feel grateful. If my mother hadn't suddenly changed, Sanwa would have been herding sheep for the rest of his life."

kitchen.

Song Chunxue, who was kneading noodles, saw Sanwa come in to start a fire.

"Mom, it smells so good! What did you put in the pot? It smells much better than before."

Sanwa leaned close to the iron pot and sniffed it. "Mom is more generous now than before. With seasonings, the food tastes much better than before."

"Yeah, I used to be so stubborn. Actually, seasonings don't cost that much."

Song Chunxue looked at her third child, whose skin tone resembled hers; from the side, his skin was yellowish-white, and he was quite handsome.

She couldn't help but tease, "No wonder everyone loves reading. Regardless of whether you can make a name for yourself, at least it's pleasing to the eye. If Xia Mulan saw you now, she would definitely blush."

Sanwa's face flushed red. "Mother, I'm not that dark anymore."

Seeing his cheeks turn bright red, Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, let's not talk about Xia Mulan. Anyway, we'll be marrying her in a couple of years." Song Chunxue smiled and changed the subject. "How's your studying going lately? Is your teacher treating you well?"

"Hmm, very good." Mentioning his studies, Sanwa's expression turned serious, and he straightened his back. "The teacher said I can study for another year next year, and the year after that I can go to the village to study. I'm thinking..."

“If you want to study, then study. Anyway, you have enough tuition money to pay for it yourself. Getting married won’t interfere with your studies. As long as you want to study, you can study for as long as you want.” Song Chunxue’s attitude was firm. “Since you are so serious, you should at least take the imperial examination once.”

"But I'm not young anymore, and there's so much work to do at home. It's too hard for Mom to do it all by herself..."

"Next year I will plant less grain. I will not plant on those steep hillsides where there is little harvest. Whether my fourth son goes to school or goes out to make a living, the family will not eat much grain, so I will be more relaxed."

At this point, Song Chunxue smiled and said, "Actually, I was quite happy about the eldest son splitting up the family property. Before, I was the only one farming those lands."

Sanwa nodded, "Seven acres of land have been allocated, so Mother will have a much easier time next year."

Just then, the faint sound of things being smashed could be heard coming from outside the courtyard.

"I'll go take a look."

"Don't go, let them argue. It's definitely about killing the chicken. Chen Feng has been clamoring for chicken these past two days, but the boss didn't kill one for her." Song Chunxue sneered, "It just so happens that I regret giving them a pig before. Tonight I'm going to take it back."