Chapter 596 Aunt Mountain is Back
Dahe Village is prosperous and bustling.
The rice in the fields has been harvested, and many farmers are threshing the rice under the big locust tree.
There are two threshers in the village, which were built with the village's own money and can be used for free by the whole village. However, one needs to queue up, and they can only thresh 100 kilograms at a time. Every household takes turns.
While they were busy threshing the rice, they were busy picking cotton. The cotton flowers had all bloomed by mid-August, a sea of white blossoms. After they bloomed, they had to be harvested and dried as soon as possible, otherwise the cotton would easily mold and rot if it rained...
Cheng Wanwan sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain to look at the scenery outside, feeling very content.
Although she has only been here for two years, she has already regarded Dahe Village as her hometown in her heart. Only when she returned here did she feel at ease.
Upon reaching the village entrance, the patrol team members exclaimed in surprise, "Guard Cheng, why did you suddenly return? Is the person in the car Aunt Zhao?"
Cheng Wanwan got out of the car: "Dagang, you've grown taller in the months I haven't seen you."
The person guarding the village entrance at this moment was Zhang Wulai's eldest son, Zhang Dagang. When he saw Cheng Wanwan, he scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "Auntie, you're not mistaken. I've grown taller. I'm about the same height as my dad now."
He didn't dare look at Cheng Wanwan, feeling that Aunt Zhao's air of nobility made him afraid to look directly at her. He turned around and called out, "Uncles and aunties, stop what you're doing, Aunt Zhao is back!"
This shout immediately brought Dahe Village to a lively atmosphere.
People busy in the fields looked up, people working at home went out, and people working in the workshops couldn't help but run out to see what was going on.
"Grandma Dashan is really back! I missed her so much for over four months!"
"Grandma Mountain, you're finally back! I even dreamt about you yesterday, and I never expected to see you today."
"Are you tired from the journey back? Come to my house and have a drink of water and rest."
“Auntie Dashan, why don’t you come to my house? We just bought some roast chicken. Have some before you go back.”
The villagers warmly surrounded Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Thank you everyone. I'd better go back and see the kids first. We'll talk later."
"Hey, where's that kid Si Dan?" Old Mrs. Zhu craned her neck to look back. "And what about Granny Qi and the others? Why didn't they come back with us?"
"The servants who serve Aunt Dashan were bestowed by the Emperor, but they disappeared after she went to the capital. Could it be that the Emperor took them back?"
"Si Dan didn't come back with us. Did he get into trouble in the capital and get detained?"
"Sometimes you can't be too ostentatious. It's fine to act like an official in Dahe Village, but if you do that in the capital, you'll definitely get into trouble."
"Returning to the village without bringing anything feels like fleeing back. I wonder if I've lost my title as a Sui'an resident..."
The people who were talking were a few women from Guihua Village who came to Dahe Village to work. They chattered non-stop.
"You gossipy old hags, if you dare say another word, pack your things and get back to Guihua Village!" Old Mrs. Zhao shouted, pushing through the crowd. "If our village weren't short of labor, we wouldn't be hiring people from Guihua Village. Get out of here, all of you!"
The women dared not say anything more and shrank back as they walked out of the crowd.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you've lost weight." As soon as Grandma Zhao came over, she grabbed Cheng Wanwan's hand. "Don't say anything else, go back and eat first, then get a good night's sleep."
Cheng Wanwan was deeply moved.
She has indeed lost a few pounds. She hasn't been sleeping well these past few nights due to traveling, so of course she's lost weight. Only those who truly care about her can notice.
Just then, Zhao Dashan arrived. He had just come back from the fields, and he was covered in dirt. When he squeezed through the crowd and saw Cheng Wanwan, his eyes immediately welled up with tears. He said without crying or laughing, "Ergou doesn't know that his mother is back yet. I'll send someone to inform her right away."
"Oh my, Aunt Dashan, you're really back!" The village head squeezed in with great difficulty. "That's wonderful, that's wonderful! I was really worried that you would stay in the capital and not come back because you kept postponing your return! This afternoon, the whole village will take a break, and we'll all cook and eat together as a welcome back party for Aunt Dashan."
Cheng Wanwan wiped the sweat from her head and said, "That's not necessary..."
"It's necessary, absolutely necessary!" the village headman exclaimed. "Our village has had a bumper harvest and made a lot of money. Let's take this opportunity to have a meal together as a way to welcome back Grandma Dashan. How about we call it the Autumn Harvest Feast?"
He knew that Da Shan's mother didn't like being too high-profile, so he came up with a pretext, which immediately won the approval of the whole village.
No matter what Da Shan Niang experienced in Beijing, whether good or bad, she's back now, and with her comes Dahe Village's greatest treasure. They're determined to show Da Shan Niang that there's no place like home, and they hope she'll never move away...
Knowing she couldn't refuse, Cheng Wanwan said, "I know how good the villagers are to me. I've brought gifts for everyone, but the gift convoy is behind us. Xiao Zheng and Si Dan will be responsible for transporting them back."
Hearing that Sidan was alright, the villagers all breathed a sigh of relief. They were really worried that Dashanniang had angered the Emperor in the capital.
The village head laughed out loud: "Mother Dashan, go back and rest first. Come back to dinner with us in the evening. It's a good opportunity for you to tell us all about your experiences in the capital and let us peasants see the world."
Cheng Wanwan nodded and started walking home.
Before they even reached the front door, they saw Cao Yingying carrying Chenchen in one arm and holding Xiaozhuzhu's hand in the other as she walked out of the yard.
"Grandma..."
Little Zhuzhu shook off her second aunt's hand and pounced on Cheng Wanwan, then climbed up using all four limbs.
Zhao Dashan quickly lifted her down: "Your grandma has had a long and tiring journey back, she can't possibly carry a chubby girl like you."
"Waaah, I want Grandma!"
The little girl stretched out her hands and stared at Cheng Wanwan pitifully with her dark eyes.
Cheng Wanwan's heart softened all of a sudden. It felt so good to be missed and cared about by someone.
She scooped the little girl up in her arms: "Grandma missed you too, but you'd better eat less, you're gaining weight everywhere..."
As she spoke, she looked at Cao Yingying's eldest grandson in her arms, "Why is Chenchen acting like he's stupid? Does he not recognize his grandma?"
When she left, Chenchen was just over a month old and didn't remember anything. Now he's almost six months old, and to the little guy, his grandmother is just a stranger.
Cheng Wanwan didn't force herself to hold her grandson. She took out some candy from her pocket, one for her grandson and one for her granddaughter, and after making the two little ones happy, she went into the house, returned to her room, and lay down on the bed to rest.
She slept until dusk, when the setting sun shone through the window, giving her a sense of tranquility and peace.
She sat up, walked to the door of the room, and heard people talking in the yard in front of her.
The family members had all returned. Zhao Ergou was holding his son, Zhao Dashan was playing with his daughter, Wu Huiniang, heavily pregnant, was talking to Cao Yingying, and Cheng Yuanyuan was also sitting and chatting. The maids and servants in the house were all doing their jobs, and everything was in good order.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com