Xia Chunmei is unaware of what happened to Xia Honghua yet, as she followed Xia Ping'an all the way to Xiaojiaping.
"Aunt."
"You are... Chunmei!" Xia Hongfen exclaimed in surprise. "What brings you here? Where is your father? Is he feeling better?"
“My father…” Xia Chunmei squeezed out a few tears, “My father has been gone for almost three months.”
"What"
Xia Hongfen also burst into tears: "Then why didn't you send someone to deliver a message to your aunt? Your aunt didn't even get to see your father one last time."
Xiaojiaping is a two-hour walk from Yijia Village, and Xia Ping'an has a slight foot injury, so the two families can only meet once a year during the Spring Festival and on each other's birthdays. Otherwise, they basically don't meet.
The original owner and her younger sisters were all still young and didn't actually know where Xiaojiaping was, so when Xia Ping'an passed away, no one came to deliver the letter.
Xia Hongfen knew Chen Erlan and the Chen family's nature, so she hurriedly asked, "Where's your mother?"
"She remarried. I heard she married into Gengjia Village. When she left, she took everything she could from the house, leaving nothing but the house."
"What a stinking woman, a worthless slut who gave birth to a son but didn't have a father..." Xia Hongfen launched into a barrage of insults, giving Chen Erlan a thorough dressing-down.
Seeing the fiery Xia Hongfen, Xia Chunmei glanced at Xia Ping'an: "Is this the honest person you were talking about?"
“I told you long ago that Chen Erlan was no good, but your father was blinded by lust and only wanted her looks. He insisted on marrying her. Now look what’s happened. All the family’s belongings have been taken away, leaving behind several children. How are we going to live now?” As she spoke, Xia Hongfen’s tears streamed down her face again.
Xia Ping'an, standing to the side, blushed and retorted, "I'm almost thirty and still don't have a wife. It's not easy for someone to be willing to marry me, and she's so good-looking... how could I refuse?"
Chen Erlan is famous for her good looks. Xia Ping'an is thirty years old and still hasn't gotten married. He also has two adopted daughters who are his burdens.
If a beautiful woman suddenly says she wants to marry him, wouldn't any other man be unable to resist?
“Aunt, it’s all in the past now, and my sister and I are doing fine,” Xia Chunmei comforted her.
"What's so good about it? You sisters are all young, and there are no adults at home. Who knows how you'll be bullied in the future?"
At this moment, Xia Hongfen's daughter-in-law, Fang Xiaoyan, said, "Being bullied is a minor matter. We have no land, no grain, and no poultry. We're afraid we'll starve to death."
Fang Xiaoyan looked Xia Chunmei up and down, a little worried that Xia Chunmei had come to ask for food.
It wasn't that she was stingy; it was just that they had a large family to support, and their household output was limited. Plus, Xia Chunmei had four sisters; how could they possibly afford to feed them all?
Xia Hongfen finally realized what was going on: "Yeah, what are you going to eat? You don't even have anything to eat yourselves, yet you're bringing us eggs. You can take them all back for Yaomei to eat later. Eldest sister, pack twenty catties of sorghum rice for Chunmei."
Fang Xiaoyan was very reluctant, but she didn't dare to disobey her mother-in-law, so she obediently got up to pack the grain.
"No need, we have food." Xia Chunmei pulled Fang Xiaoyan along. "Auntie, sister-in-law, my sisters and I can earn money now. I'm lucky. Every time I go fishing, I can catch a big fish weighing five or six pounds. I also caught a few pheasants. The pheasants are laying eggs every day now. My dad sometimes appears in my dreams and tells me when to go fishing. I caught several hundred pounds of fish and exchanged them for a lot of supplies at the market."
"Your father appeared to you in a dream." Xia Hongfen and Fang Xiaoyan looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Yes, I have no reason to lie to you about this. Everyone in our village knows it. You can ask around and you'll find out that Grandma Ming, Aunt Lihua, and Uncle Tianji all went fishing with her."
Oh, and my dad also said it'll be very cold this year, with heavy snow starting in November, so you should tell your uncle and Quan to prepare plenty of firewood.
People in ancient times were superstitious, and Xia Hongfen and Fang Xiaoyan easily believed what Xia Chunmei said.
"So you came here today specifically to tell us to prepare more firewood?" Fang Xiaoyan asked.
"Of course not. I work as a chef now, and business is pretty good. I was wondering if you'd like to come and learn from me. After you learn, you can take on banquets. You won't become rich, but you can at least make a living."
It's unrealistic to lead them in this endeavor. If they see that Xia Chunmei is earning more, they might feel resentful over time.
Moreover, the market for banquets in rural areas is huge, and it's no problem to bring out several more teams, especially since Xiaojiaping is so far away from Yijia Village.
Of course, another point is that they live too far away and don't have a phone. They can't possibly walk eight hours round trip to notify people after receiving an order, that would be exhausting.
However, Xia Chunmei will not pass on her skills in making longevity peach buns for the time being.
Xia Hongfen and Fang Xiaoyan were so shocked their jaws almost dropped.
"Chunmei, did I hear that right? You said you'd run a kitchen for someone, and that you'd be the head chef so we could learn the trade from you."
"Yes, I'm in charge of cooking. If you don't believe me, Auntie, you can come back with me and see for yourself."
"We'll talk about this later. Eldest sister, hurry up and cook some food. Steam two eggs for Chunmei, and remember to pack twenty catties of sorghum rice," Xia Hongfen said.
Fang Xiaoyan hurriedly got up and went to the kitchen to cook. Regardless of whether Xia Chunmei could really help her make money or not, just because she had this intention, Fang Xiaoyan was willing to pack twenty catties of grain for her.
During the meal, Xia Chunmei finally met all the members of her aunt's family.
Xia Hongfen had seven children in total, but only five survived: three daughters and two sons. All her daughters were married, her eldest son Xiao Quangui and Fang Xiaoyan got married at the end of last year and do not have children yet, and her youngest son Xiao Quanfu is eleven years old and is still unmarried.
When it was time to eat, Xia Hongfen first served Xia Chunmei a full bowl, which was the thickest of all.
You could see your reflection in everyone else's porridge, and Fang Xiaoyan even steamed a big bowl of egg custard for Xia Chunmei.
How can I possibly eat this?
“I’ve been cooking for someone lately, and I’m tired of fish, meat, and eggs. I’ll just eat some vegetables. My sister-in-law is pregnant, so let her have the eggs.” Xia Chunmei pushed the steamed egg custard in front of Fang Xiaoyan.
"Xiao Yan, you're pregnant!" Xia Hongfen looked at Fang Xiao Yan in surprise.
"No, Chunmei, don't talk nonsense."
“I’m not making this up. If you don’t believe me, go see a doctor and you’ll see if I’m right or not,” Xia Chunmei said. “I can read faces and calculate birth charts; everyone in our village knows that.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Quangui and Xia Hongfen were both disappointed, as they had genuinely believed they could be promoted.
Fang Xiaoyan laughed and said, "Chunmei, you can fish, cook, and make money, and now you can even tell fortunes and calculate horoscopes. Which of these things you said is true?"
“Everything I said is true. I have no reason to lie,” Xia Chunmei said. “I’m going to Shiniu Village to run a kitchen on the 25th. You need to come to my house on the 24th, Aunt. We’ll set off at dawn on the 25th. Then you’ll know whether what I said is true or not.”
Seeing how serious Xia Chunmei was, the Xiao family fell silent.
After the meal, Xia Chunmei took her leave.
Before leaving, Xia Hongfen insisted that Xia Chunmei take the twenty jin of sorghum rice with her.
"Auntie, I appreciate your kindness, but I really don't need the things. I'm not short of food or drink right now."
"That's right, it's so far, you really can't carry it all. Here, your aunt will pack you some eggs..."
Before Xia Hongfen could finish speaking, Xia Chunmei ran away.
Xia Hongfen's family wasn't doing well either, so how could she possibly take her eggs?
"Chunmei, Chunmei..." Xia Hongfen slapped her leg in anger, "That child!"
Fang Xiaoyan: "Mother, Chunmei is having a hard time. How about we have Quan Gui deliver the grain to her tomorrow?"
Xia Hongfen waved her hand: "I'll go myself tomorrow."
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