Chapter 266 Daily Life in the Countryside

No one expected two funerals within four months.

But everyone in the village said that Wang Zongsheng and his wife were blessed.

First of all, both of them are over 80 years old, which is considered a long life.

Besides, both of them died without suffering any pain, especially Li Xiuying, who died in one sleep, which is very rare.

After the burial, the three brothers Wang Xiuren returned to the old house and sat in the room where the old couple had lived when they were alive, and together they tallied up the funeral expenses.

This time the funeral didn't cost much.

The old couple used the money they had saved before, plus the gifts they received from their last funeral and this time, to not only give Li Xiuying a grand funeral, but also give each of the four brothers around 10,000 yuan.

"Okay, if you have nothing else to do, go back."

After the bill was divided, everyone went home as Wang Xiude left first.

Wang Xiuxin locked the room and would never open the door again. All traces of the old couple's existence were completely sealed with the locked door.

Wang Xiuren didn't cry this time, he just looked a little unhappy.

Wang Shan and her boyfriend stayed with Wang Xiuren in his hometown for nearly a week. Finally, they were urged by phone calls to leave and could not stay any longer, so they had to leave first.

Lin Qiu and Wang Xiuren were not in a hurry to leave this time.

This year is the first year since the old couple passed away. We have to go to the mountain to visit their graves on New Year’s Day. It’s only two months away from the New Year now.

Furthermore, after coming back these two times, I found that the old house was still a bit inconvenient to live in. For example, the toilet and bathroom had to be renovated to avoid the whole family having to boil water for washing during the New Year.

Without further ado, while the weather was still good, Wang Xiuren consulted several brothers from his family and found a few craftsmen to renovate the toilet and bathroom.

The toilet was soon equipped with plumbing and a washbasin, and the bathroom was tiled and equipped with a water heater.

But when Wang Xiuren saw the newly renovated toilet and kitchen, he became dissatisfied with the old kitchen.

So a cabinet was built in the kitchen and a gas stove and range hood were installed.

To facilitate cleaning, the entire kitchen is covered with tiles.

After the kitchen became clean and bright, Wang Xiuren felt that since the kitchen was ready, the main room and the bedrooms must also be modified.

So, not only was the entire house renovated inside and out, a garage was also built at the east end.

Wang Xiuren himself was not idle either. While the craftsmen were renovating the house, he bought materials and tools and made cabinets in the room.

Just having a cabinet was not enough, so he took Lin Qiu to the furniture store in the city to buy small items such as beds, sofas and curtains, and then sent all of Lin Qiu's dowry to the attic for storage.

Lin Qiu looked at the records in the account book and couldn't help but say to him, "How can you say this is a renovation? You can build a new house with this amount of money."

Wang Xiuren pointed at the newly renovated house and asked her with a smile: "I just want to ask you if you feel comfortable living in this house now?"

"It is quite comfortable." Lin Qiu said truthfully.

"That's it! We can spend some money and live comfortably." Wang Xiuren looked complacent.

"The main thing is how long can we stay here? After the New Year, we don't know when we will come back next time." Lin Qiu felt that it would be a shame not to live in the house after spending so much money to build it.

Wang Xiuren paused before speaking, "Let's come back and stay for a while every year. My parents-in-law are getting old, and we have more time. It would be good to spend some time with them."

Lin Qiu didn't expect Wang Xiuren to be so thoughtful. She suddenly felt that she was somewhat incompetent and lowered her head silently.

They have been married for almost 30 years. How could Wang Xiuren not know what Lin Qiu was thinking? He quickly took her hand and whispered, "I just thought of this in the past two days. I said before that I would take care of them in their old age. I can't go back on my word, can I?"

Lin Qiu knew that he was trying to comfort himself, "Well, I think it's nice to live in the countryside. The air is fresh, and the vegetables, fruits, etc. are tastier than those in the city."

"When the time comes, we'll live in the countryside for a while and in the city for a while. We'll stay longer wherever we feel comfortable." Wang Xiuren followed suit.

"Then do you think we should grow some vegetables?" Lin Qiu also became interested.

"Do you know how to grow vegetables or do I know how to grow vegetables?" Wang Xiuren was a little unsure. "If I grow vegetables and still have to buy them, I'm afraid the villagers will laugh at me."

"They can't laugh at me. I'll go ask Mom when the time comes." Lin Qiu decided to find help.

"Let's turn the two east ends and the front into vegetable plots. Sow some spinach seeds and Chinese cabbage seeds in a couple of days. Then we can have hotpot when Shanshan comes back."

Seeing her enthusiasm, Wang Xiuren readily agreed.

Within two days, two vegetable plots were opened at the east end and the front of the front yard, and several paths for picking vegetables were paved with bricks left over from renovating the house.

Lin Qiu admired his efficiency and invited Lin Ting and Zhou Qing to help the next day.

Lin Ting and Zhou Qing, two old farmers, couldn't help but join in the fun when they saw the vegetable fields.

Lin Ting took his son-in-law to the mountains to cut two bundles of thin bamboo. Cut it into pieces and surround the vegetable garden with a fence.

Zhou Qingze led his daughter to plow the land again, sow seeds, water it, and cover it with plastic film.

Two decent vegetable gardens were ready.

Afterwards, the four of them each held a cup of tea and sat under the eaves to bask in the sun, feeling very comfortable.

On the day of the winter solstice, Lin Qiu saw the villagers start to slaughter pigs and make wind pork, so he also bought a lot of local pork, pickled it, and hung it in a ventilated place to dry.

A few days later, when smoke was rising from every household in the village as they smoked bacon and fish, Lin Qiu was also busy in the kitchen. He followed the method found on the Internet and asked Wang Xiuren to throw a few pieces of grapefruit peel into the stove.

As the New Year approaches, Lin Qiu and Wang Xiuren also experience the feeling of longing for their daughter to come home for the New Year.

Finally, as the couple had been waiting for, Wang Shan brought Yan Shen back to celebrate the New Year.

When Wang Shan saw her parents whom she hadn’t seen for several months, she hugged them tightly as soon as she got out of the car and refused to let go.

After she had fully enjoyed the warmth from her parents, she remembered her boyfriend whom she had left in the car.

At this time, Yan Shen had already spontaneously moved his luggage into the main room.

Wang Xiuren looked at this sensible boy and couldn't help but nodded in his heart.

The consequence of being recognized by my girlfriend’s father is that more food is added to my bowl all the time during meals.

Yan Shen couldn't refuse Wang Xiuren's enthusiasm, so he could only bite the bullet and eat it all with a full stomach.

After dinner, Wang Shan took her boyfriend, who had a bulging belly, to visit the renovated house and her mother’s vegetable garden.

Lin Qiu couldn't help but pinch Wang Xiuren, "Look at what you've done! If you really make Yan Shen sick, I want to see how you'll end up!"

Wang Xiuren was grimacing as he was pinched. "How could I know he was so honest? If you can't eat it anymore, just tell me. I won't say anything about him."

"Does he dare? Remember when you came to my house, my father picked up some food for you. Did you dare to leave any?" Lin Qiu waited for him in a bad mood.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I will go to the health center to buy him some digestive tablets." Wang Xiuren quickly begged for mercy.

On New Year's Eve, Lin Qiu's family, along with Yan Shen, happily enjoyed a New Year's Eve dinner with a strong Hunan flavor.

After dinner, Wang Xiuren brought out a large pile of fireworks and lit them in the front yard.

Huge fireworks bloomed in the night sky, colorful and dazzling.

The two couples held hands and stared at the sky.

The new year is about to begin.