Chapter 4646 Xiayazi Village

After an unknown amount of time, Wu Chunmei saw a sudden noise coming from the direction of the village entrance.

Then, a loud voice came:

"The old lady from the Qin family is back!"

Wu Chunmei stood up quickly.

Her legs were not in good condition, and when she stood up suddenly she felt her legs were a little weak.

But Shuigen had already led Niuzi and a group of little monkeys to run ahead.

Qin Lian rubbed her hands on her clothes, walked over to support Wu Chunmei, and the mother and daughter hurriedly walked towards the village entrance.

Before he had taken a few steps, Qin Yue had already led a beautiful girl in a tweed coat over.

They walked along the village road, carrying bags full of things.

On both sides of the road, there were villagers chatting and enjoying the cool breeze. When they saw them, they stood up as well. Behind them were many little monkeys, young and old, laughing and making noises.

Shuigen led Niuzi in the front and when he saw Wu Chunmei and Qin Lian, he called out:

"Auntie, Brother Qin Yue is back, and he brought his sister-in-law with him."

He spoke loudly to begin with, and the word "sister-in-law" made people around him laugh.

There was a talkative auntie who kept asking:

"Shui Gen'er, you already know about sister-in-law at such a young age? Can you bring a sister-in-law back for Niu Zi in the future?"

Shui Gener said seriously:

"Okay. Then I'll find a good-looking one too!"

The people around burst into laughter again.

Wu Chunmei's originally uneasy heart was also infected by the joyful atmosphere, and she grinned unconsciously.

While we were having fun, we heard Wu Chunliu, who was eating a handful of melon seeds, saying:

"So you recognize her as your sister-in-law? That's how boys are. When they see a pretty and charming girl, they can't even walk away. They won't even recognize their own mother!"

This instantly destroyed a lot of the joy in Wu Chunmei's heart.

Just as he was hesitating and hadn't stepped forward, Qin Yue and Xia Tang were already at the door in the blink of an eye.

Qin Yue didn't avoid people and distributed everything in his hand:

"Mom, this is the sweater Xia Tang bought for you. It's very thick and made of pure wool. Please be careful when you wash it."

"Mom, this is the radio Xia Tang bought for our family. You can just turn it on and listen to it when you are at home."

"Qin Lian, these are the clothes and books your sister-in-law bought for you. She said they will be useful for the college entrance examination. Keep them for now."

"Shuigen'er..."

He knew that Xia Tang might not understand what he was doing.

But he had lived in this small mountain village for so many years that he understood best the country folk's ability to flatter the powerful and bully the weak.

To say that the villagers are simple and honest is indeed true. In the summer, they will share the vegetables grown in their own gardens with their relatives for free.

However, no matter how simple the villagers are, they also have another side: they bully the weak and fear the strong, and they are jealous of others and laugh at others who have nothing.

Qin Yue had no father when he was a child and his mother was weak. He grew up in the village and suffered countless contempt from others.

Now that his mother and sister still lived in the village, he could not fall out with them, nor could he let them be bullied by others.

This time I came back to bring honor to them.

As expected, when Qin Yue did this, Wu Chunmei immediately burst into laughter.

The villagers nearby were so envious that their mouths were watering.

Qin Yue distributed the cigarettes and candies he bought from the department store, which aroused unanimous praise from the people around him:

"Qin Yue, you've really made it!"

"That's right, Qin Yue. You didn't come back to the village after you retired from the army. We thought you didn't recognize us! That's great! You haven't forgotten your roots!"

"Brother Qin Yue, you really are a city dweller! You are so generous!"

"It's not just Qin Yue. Isn't the one he bought someone's wife? Xia Tang was from our village before! I held you in my arms when I was a child! Remember?"

The yard was filled with people from the village who came to watch the excitement, and the whole yard was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

There were only two people who felt weak in their hearts.

Wu Chunliu was originally standing next to Wu Chunfang, but as more people came, she was squeezed out.

She stood outside the crowd, drumming and calling Hu Fang:

"Qin Yue is back, why don't you say a few words to him?"

Hu Fang rolled her eyes:

"Other people have brought their wives back, and I'm going to join them. Am I a loser?"

"Tsk, how can you be so short-sighted? If there is no wedding banquet, it is not considered a marriage! Are you stupid?"

Wu Chunliu was so disappointed with his girlfriend that he blamed her for the millionth time in his heart.

I don't know who this kid takes after. He has grown up without learning any of the skills I had back then!

If she could really learn the basics, why would she be standing alone in this corner?

It’s such a big occasion, she has to stand in the middle!

Hu Fang knew what her mother was thinking, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

When Wu Chunliu told her about Qin Yue before, she was indeed moved.

After all, the two grew up together and knew each other well. Now that Qin Yue was employed by the factory and was eating royal food, it would be good if she could find him.

So when her mother finished talking to her, she waited for Qin Yue to come back with joy.

But I didn't expect that the person didn't come back, but I actually got news that he had a partner!

And... are getting married soon!

Not only was she too enthusiastic, but she was also poured a basin of cold water on her head. Hu Fang felt so upset that she even started to blame her mother.

I said it so confidently before!

It seems like it would be so easy to become close relatives, but now it is!

You are at a loss!

Qin Yue's return made the small Qin family yard lively for a while, and it was not until the afternoon that there were fewer people.

Wu Chunliu led Hu Fang and finally got to Qin Yue's side.

She wanted to say a few warm words, but she saw Qin Yue holding Xia Tang's hand and saying to Wu Chunmei:

"Mom, I'll take Xia Tang to see her grandma."

Before Wu Chunmei could nod, Wu Chunliu became unhappy and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Hey, the new daughter-in-law has just come home, so she has to cook and serve her parents-in-law at home! I have never seen a daughter-in-law who ran out immediately after arriving home. Are all you city people like this?"

"Second Aunt."

Qin Yue frowned.

When she wasn't smiling, her eyes were cold, which scared Wu Chunliu, who was not covering his mouth.

Xia Tang was neither annoyed nor angry, and still said with a smile:

"Aunt, I grew up in Xiayazi Village, so I'm not considered a city dweller."

Wu Chunliu's expression softened a lot after she said this.

The next sentence, she said:

"But I've never seen it before. People from Xiayazi Village come to congratulate the newlyweds, but before they say anything nice, they start by helping the mother-in-law set the rules."

"you!"

Wu Chunliu was left speechless by Xia Tang's words, but because of Qin Yue's cold face, he didn't dare to say anything.

I could only wait until the young couple had gone far away before I murmured unhappily:

"I just got married... and I'm already the wife... Life as the third child in the future... will be so unbearable..."

On the other hand, Xia Tang was not affected by Wu Chunliu's episode.

Instead, he saw Qin Yue with a sullen face, and he even went up to coax him a few words.

The couple walked in the village, one after the other, and gradually recalled some childhood memories.

Xia Tang walked to the foot of a big banyan tree. From below, the whole tree had already grown tall and majestic. Long roots hung down, and it was unknown how long it would take for the tree to become a forest.

As she watched, she seemed to have traveled back to the time when she had nothing but was free from worries.

At that time, her parents were working hard in Yuncheng, so they entrusted her to her grandmother for upbringing.

Grandma said it was her great-grandmother, but in fact it was the woman that Grandpa married later, and she had no blood relationship with the three siblings of the Xia family.

But grandma was a good person. Grandpa died early, and she was alone in the city picking up coal briquettes and collecting garbage, and she had to support her three siblings.

However, after the three siblings got married, Xia Dafang and Xia Dashan began to dislike the fact that their grandmother was a farmer.

In the end, it was only Xia Tang's parents who took care of her grandmother until her death, and she finally returned to her roots.

Childhood memories are sweet even if they are just a mouthful of honey or a piece of candy.

What's more, whether it was grandma or Qin Yue, they gave her the best they had ever encountered.

Xia Tang looked at the big tree and thought about her grandmother, her heart softened.

Together with Qin Yue, she bought candles and paper money at the sales outlet at the entrance of the village.

The paper money of this era was not like the later "Tian Di Bank products", which were just rough yellow paper waiting to be cut.

Xia Tang and Qin Yue worked together to cut the yellow paper into small pieces that were easy to ignite, and stacked them one by one.

Xia Tang also bought some peach cakes and snacks that grandma loved to eat when she was alive.

She even bought a small bottle of rice wine and tucked it in her arms along with the wine cup, preparing to go to the mountain to offer sacrifices.

Even Qin Yue couldn't help but ask:

"Xia Tang, does grandma drink?"

As far as he could remember, there had never been a scene where an old lady drank alcohol.

Xia Tang smiled:

"I never saw him drinking before, but now he loves to drink even though he wasn't prepared. Who can say for sure?"

Qin Yue also laughed.

The two of them walked towards the back of the mountain, one in front and one behind.

Grandma’s grave is not far away.

At the time of the burial, because Xia Tang's grandmother had already been buried with her grandfather, the people in the Xia family did not want her to be buried in the ancestral tomb.

In the end, Xia Tang's parents paid some money and bought a piece of land next to the Xia family's ancestral tomb for grandma to bury her, so that she could rest in peace.

Now, grandma's tomb is actually bigger and brighter than the Xia family's ancestral tombs. I wonder if grandma feels it in the afterlife.

The mountain road is very winding.

After passing through the layers of bamboo forest and going up a winding path, you will arrive.

That raised earthen mound is where grandma is buried.

Xia Tang half-knelt gently, took out the peach cakes and snacks and placed them on the table. He also poured rice wine into a wine cup and carefully placed it in front of the bricks at the head of the grave.

Afterwards, she lit the candles again and asked Qin Yue to take out the paper money and burn it on the grave.

The firelight reflected people's faces.

Xia Tang chattered about his recent situation, how his life was, whether he was happy, and even pulled Qin Yue over:

"Grandma, I'm married to Qin Yue."

"Do you still remember this little kid you grew up with?"

"Grandma, I'm very happy."

As Xia Tang spoke, his heart was calm.

The lush green bamboo forests all over the mountain made her and Qin Yue's figures seem even smaller, getting smaller and smaller.

All was silent.

However, Xia Tang was strangely not afraid.

It seemed that here, she was like a child. No matter how small she was, she was in her grandmother's arms and had her grandmother's protection.

They stayed on the hillside for a long time before slowly walking down the mountain.

Qin Yue held Xia Tang's hand and slowly walked down the hillside, his palms broad and warm.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Xia Tang turned around and saw grandma's grave again.

She saw a tiny butterfly slowly flying up from the direction of the grave amidst the lush greenery of the mountain.

It is like the ashes that flew up with the flames when the fire just started burning, and also like a piece of letter, a memory, and a warmth that will never be forgotten.

Xia Tang looked at grandma's grave and smiled.