"Young man, come in quickly, come in quickly. Yinhua will take her to the fields to check, and she'll be right back."
Qiao Guilan warmly welcomed the young man in, only to find that he was carrying several fish and a lot of snacks. She was overjoyed.
"It's enough that you're here, why did you bring so much stuff!" Qiao Guilan enthusiastically took the fish and snacks from Huo Jianguo's hand and handed them to Song Caixing. "Xiao Si'er, take them inside quickly and pour a glass of water."
"No need to trouble yourself, I'll head back now." Huo Jianguo took out the grain and meat coupons from his pocket and handed them to Qiao Guilan. "I came to thank Song Yinhua, these are just a small token of my appreciation."
"Thank you?" Qiao Guilan asked, puzzled. "What happened? What did my Yinhua do?"
"She saved my mother today and took her home." When he got home from get off work, he found that half of his mother's face was swollen.
The madwoman took him to the house of Old Man Wang, who had bullied her.
When the old man saw him, he was so frightened that he blurted out everything.
Children in the village who knew Song Yinhua said they saw her taking her mentally ill mother home.
He then guessed what had happened and came over in person to express his gratitude.
"What happened to your mother? How could my daughter Yinhua, a young woman, save someone?"
Qiao Guilan inquired.
They asked all sorts of questions, like they were checking someone's household registration.
"How old are you? What do you do for a living? How much do you earn each month? Who are your family members? Are you married?"
Huo Jianguo listened patiently and silently, saying nothing more, nodded politely, and then left.
"This young man is really strange." Qiao Guilan looked at the pile of grain coupons and meat coupons in her hand, and then looked at the place where the young man disappeared.
Song Caixing ran over and saw a pile of grain coupons and meat coupons in Qiao Guilan's hand. She exclaimed in amazement, "Mom, he's so generous. He gave us so many grain coupons and meat coupons, and so much good food."
"You greedy girl, all you know is eating. Those were given to your older sister." Qiao Guilan returned to the courtyard and put away all the snacks.
Song Caixing's hopes were dashed, and she remained angry but dared not speak out.
The father and daughter had just returned home after checking on the rice in the fields when Song Caixing rushed over and told them everything about how someone had brought them grain coupons, meat coupons, and lots of food.
Both Song Erzhuang and Qiao Guilan pressed Song Yinhua to tell her who she had saved that day.
"I didn't save anyone, so return all the things to them." Song Yinhua didn't immediately recall saving the madwoman in the back mountain.
"That young man said you saved his mother and even took her home. He said these food and meat coupons were his way of thanking you. I don't know where he lives. He's just being kind and thanking you. How can you refuse his kindness?"
When Qiao Guilan spoke of this young man, she was full of praise and compliments.
"That young man is really good-looking, tall and handsome. Mom thought he was your boyfriend and was wondering why you were keeping it a secret from the family!"
Song Caixing: "Big sister, Mom is still asking where he works, how much he earns, how many people are in his family, and whether he's married..."
Qiao Guilan bared her teeth at Song Caixing, who immediately hid behind Song Yinhua.
Song Erzhuang scolded Qiao Guilan, "Why are you asking about these things!"
“It’s because our girl is still unmarried at this age, that’s why I’m anxious!” Qiao Guilan said, then started to mutter, “When the matchmaker Wang brought Han Youcai’s son from the next village to propose marriage, she said that we were deliberately not letting Yinhua get married so that she could be a free laborer for the family.”
Qiao Guihua began to complain about Song Erzhuang.
"Yinhua isn't married, and it's all your fault! Your sister-in-law has been ruining Yinhua's reputation all over the village. The matchmakers are introducing her to all sorts of ugly and bad men, and some are even old men who are older than us and could be her grandfather!"
“My sister-in-law has already apologized over the radio, can you please stop bringing it up!” Song Erzhuang was very protective of his older brother and younger sister in front of his wife.
Under the pavilion in the courtyard, a family of four was having dinner.
Song Erzhuang and Qiao Guilan chatted about their families while eating.
"The rice in the fields isn't growing very well, and I'm afraid there won't be much of a harvest this year," Song Erzhuang said, looking very worried about the situation in the fields.
Farmers rely on the grain grown in their fields to feed their entire families.
Halfway through dinner, a sudden downpour began.
The family of four hurriedly carried the porridge and pickled vegetables into the main room. Qiao Guilan wanted to light a kerosene lamp for illumination, but Song Erzhuang scolded her for it.
"You can even eat it up your nose? Kerosene is free?"
There was a ticking sound coming from inside the room.
In the dim light, the family saw that the roof was leaking and water was dripping into a basin, making a dripping sound.
Qiao Guilan complained about her husband, "He doesn't even know how to fix the leaky house."
“I’m out working every day, I’ll have to wait until I have time!” Song Erzhuang replied.
"They say they'll fix it every year, but nothing's happened yet."
"Doesn't it cost money to repair a house?"
The couple started arguing as soon as money was mentioned.
Past debts, how the money was used, the son's marriage, the relatives of the couple, and so on.
Every time we argue, we bring it up again and argue about it.
"Yinhua, Caixing, you two be the judges..." Qiao Guilan turned her head and found that only she and her husband were left in the dimly lit main room.
Song Caixing pressed her ear against the door; the arguing outside seemed to have stopped.
"Big sister, Mom and Dad seem to have stopped arguing."
She turned and ran back to the bedside, hugged Song Yinhua's arm, and rested her head on Song Yinhua's shoulder. "I really want to get married soon, so I won't have to watch my parents argue every day and be dragged out to judge them."
Whenever her parents argued, they would ask her and her older sister and brother to judge the matter.
They spoke up for their father, which hurt their mother's feelings.
Their pity for their mother chilled their father's heart.
The parents had just finished arguing, but then they made up again.
After making up, they both criticized their parents for speaking ill of them, which ultimately turned out to be the parents' fault.
The eldest sister had a job and handed over her salary, the second brother was a boy, the third sister was an excellent student, and only she was the unlucky one who ended up as cannon fodder in her parents' war.
"Elder sister, I really want to get married right away." Song Caixing looked at Song Yinhua and tentatively asked, "Elder sister, what do you think of Xie Daguang?"
Song Yinhua turned to look at Song Caixing in surprise, "Why are you suddenly asking about Xie Daguang? Has he been looking for you?"
"No, no." Song Caixing's expression was unnatural.
“Cai Xing, Xie Daguang is not the right man for you. You two are not suitable. There are plenty of good men in the world, but Xie Daguang is definitely not a good man. Don’t be foolish.”
"I know, big sister. Xie Daguang even attacked us with a tranquilizer dart and got arrested. I know he's not a good person, that's why I'm not stupid enough to marry him!"
-
The rain has stopped.
Song Yinhua was fetching water to wash up. The sky was overcast when she ate dinner, but it immediately brightened up after the rain stopped.
The moon appeared overhead.
"Hello!"
"Hey!! Song Yinhua!"
Song Yinhua looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person standing outside the wooden gate of the courtyard, which was more than a meter high.
The man was acting suspiciously, sometimes whispering her name, sometimes imitating bird calls to get her attention.
"Song Yinhua, it's me..."
Suddenly, a basin of foot-washing water was poured over my head.
"Who is it?" Song Yinhua shouted, knowing it was Han Zhiyuan.
Han Zhiyuan, who was caught off guard and had his head splashed with foot bath water, was about to get angry, but he held back.
He wiped the water droplets from his face. "Yinhua, I am Han Zhiyuan. Just three days ago, I stood up for your family and made your aunt apologize to you. Don't you remember me?"
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