Chapter 10: Cleared out? As always!
As soon as the village party secretary left, Xiaobai kicked open Old Lady Lin's door.
"move!"
She spoke briefly and to the point, then threw a hemp rope that she had picked up from somewhere to Lin Guohua and Lin Xiaoan.
"Little sister, the branch secretary just said that it is our filial piety..." Lin Guohua was a little hesitant, not knowing who to listen to.
"That's what he said. I didn't agree." Lin Xiaobai interrupted him, showing his little tiger teeth again, "Besides, my grandma said it herself - as long as I come back alive from the back mountain, I will get double the money I had before!"
"You're talking nonsense. I only said I would return it to you. I never said double it!" Old Mrs. Lin was so anxious that she yelled without thinking.
"That's right," Lin Xiaobai smiled harmlessly, turned to Lin Guohua and said, "Did you hear that? Grandma said to return the things to us, move them quickly, don't let her kindness go to waste."
Lin Guohua looked at Xiaobai, then at Old Lady Lin, rolled up his sleeves, picked up two large sacks from the west room and walked out: "Grandma, you keep your words, and you are a very nice person."
When Xiaobai spoke, Lin Xiaoan rushed into the kitchen and searched the corners for peanuts, noodles, chicken... He knew where all the good things were hidden.
Old Mrs. Lin hadn't recovered from the fact that the family had been divided yet. When she saw this, she was furious. What they took wasn't food, it was clearly her heart and soul!
“Put it down! Put it down!” She slapped her thigh and howled, “This is going to kill us old couple!”
Lin Xiaobai ignored her and walked straight into the inner room. He chopped open the cabinet on the kang with a knife and found an iron box. Inside were three neatly stacked stacks of food coupons and a stack of cloth coupons and money wrapped in red silk.
"It's hidden so well, it must be a treasure!" Lin Xiaobai stuffed them all into his arms, then turned around to ask Xiao Anzi what they were for.
Lin Xiaobai and his two brothers emptied the old house of anything of value like a swarm of locusts.
There was not a single bag of wheat or corn left in the granary;
The iron pots and kitchen knives in the kitchen... nothing was left behind;
Even the jar of pickled vegetables that Old Lady Lin had hidden in the kang hole was dug out by Lin Xiaoan, with a few coins stuck to the bottom of the jar.
"That's my coffin book!" Old Mrs. Lin rushed forward to grab it, but Lin Xiaobai dodged by leaning sideways and fell to the ground.
Chen Cuihua huddled in the corner, watching the camphorwood box in her room being carried away by Lin Guohua, not daring to cry out loud - she had not forgotten how Lin Dazhuang's arm was broken, nor had she forgotten who the original owner of the box was.
Lin Dazhuang wanted to stop him, but as soon as he took a step forward, Lin Xiaobai shook the kitchen knife in his hand: "Uncle, the other arm... don't you want it anymore?"
Lin Dazhuang suddenly froze in place.
Finally, Lin Xiaobai stood in the empty yard and brushed the dust off his hands.
"That's enough." She glanced at Old Lady Lin, who was lying on the ground crying, and said with a smile, "Grandma, don't worry. We are filial and have left a kang mat for you - after all, it's cold, and you'll catch a cold easily if you sleep on the floor."
Old Mrs. Lin couldn't catch her breath and almost passed out.
Lin Xiaoan held back her laughter, leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Sister, are we too cruel?"
Lin Xiaobai glanced at him and said, "Cruel?" She pointed at Lin Shuhua, who was lying on the ground, the effect of the drug not yet wearing off. "This is just the beginning."
Old man Lin said nothing, as if it was none of his business. He sat aside smoking his water pipe and saw that they had almost finished moving.
He stared at Lin Guohua with cloudy eyes, "I've thought about it. Now that these things are moved away, we won't have any contact anymore. I'll just pretend that I don't have a grandson like you."
Lin Guohua clenched his fists and said in a deep voice: "Master, these are our own things."
He turned around and saw that Xiaobai and Xiaoan didn't notice this side, then turned back and whispered: "My father said before he died that Grandpa is a man with gold. If you want to keep your gold, you should take care of Grandma and don't cause trouble for us again."
Old Man Lin's eyes instantly turned fierce. He stared at Lin Guohua intently, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! From now on, we will keep out of each other's way!"
Xiaobai moved his ears and pretended not to hear. He had been busy for most of the day and had not had a complete meal yet. No matter how important it was, he had to fill his stomach first.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window covered with newspaper, casting patches of light on the freshly scrubbed wooden table.
Lin Xiaobai squatted in front of the stove, fiddling with the firewood with the tongs in his hand out of boredom. The rabbit meat stewed in the iron pot was bubbling, and the aroma mixed with wild mushrooms filled the whole room.
"Sister! The onions are peeled!" Lin Xiaoan rushed in from outside the door, holding a handful of shiny wild onions in her hand, with water droplets scattered everywhere.
Lin Guohua was squatting in the corner repairing the lame bench. Hearing this, he looked up and smiled: "Put it on the chopping board, I'll cut it later."
Lin Xiaobai looked at them busying around and suddenly felt a little dazed.
——So this is family.
In the end of the world, she lived alone at first. She had to hide her food, sleep with one eye open, and even to make a fire she had to find the most secluded corner.
Later, she gradually had her own followers and her own territory, and it was bustling everywhere, but she still felt that something was missing.
As for what was almost wrong, she couldn't say.
Until now, she actually found it interesting to sit in front of the stove and make a fire out of boredom. Listening to the two brothers arguing about how long the onions should be cut, she felt even more heartwarming.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Lin Guohua came over and waved his rough hands in front of her eyes. "The soup is about to overflow."
Lin Xiaobai suddenly came back to her senses, and the moment she lifted the lid of the pot, the steam blurred her vision. She subconsciously reached for the dagger at her waist, but instead touched the wooden spoon that Lin Xiaoan had stuffed in her hand.
"Try it and see if it's salty enough?" The boy's eyes sparkled. "I secretly put some Sichuan pepper in it, it must be fragrant!"
Lin Xiaobai scooped a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and passed it to his mouth: "Try it."
Lin Xiaoan was flattered. He leaned over to take a sip and stuck out his tongue because it was so hot. "Hiss—it tastes so good!"
Lin Guohua laughed and took out a small paper bag from his arms: "Look what I found?"
——It’s half a pound of white sugar.
He carefully pinched a handful and sprinkled it on the steamed corn cakes. "You and Shuhua love sweet food the most. I didn't have the conditions before, but from now on, I'll leave it all for you to eat."
Lin Shuhua leaned against the door frame of the inner room. The effect of the drug had worn off, but some of its effects were still there. His hands and feet were weak, and he could only wait and do nothing to help.
Looking at the three of them crowding in front of the stove to grab the spoon, a smile unconsciously appeared on my face.
"That's great." she said softly.
Golden corn tortillas, a pot of tender rabbit meat, and a dish of wild vegetables drizzled with sesame oil.
Lin Xiaoan reached out to grab the pancake like a hungry wolf, but Lin Guohua hit the back of his hand with a chopstick: "No rules, let me eat first."
Lin Xiaobai was stunned.
In the end times, people who couldn't get food deserved to starve to death. But now, someone actually let her eat first?
She lowered her head and took a bite of the biscuit. The sweetness of sugar mixed with the fragrance of corn exploded on the tip of her tongue, burning her eyes so much that they became sore.
"How is it?" Lin Guohua asked nervously.
Lin Xiaobai didn't say anything and directly put the largest piece of rabbit meat into his bowl.
Lin Shuhua suddenly chuckled: "When did we become so polite when eating at home?" She weakly raised her chopsticks and put some dishes in everyone's bowl, "Eat quickly, it will get fishy if it gets cold."
In the flickering candlelight, four pairs of chopsticks crossed above the coarse porcelain bowl. Lin Xiaobai looked at the mountain of food in the bowl and suddenly realized——
She has a home!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
