Xia Jianshe drove Chen Chunhua home. Xia Jianguo and a man were airing quilts in the yard. "Jianguo, it's been a long time."
"Yes, it's been a long time."
Since returning home for the Spring Festival in 1995, Xia Jianguo has returned every year to pay respects to his parents, but he always comes back at noon and leaves by sleeper train in the afternoon or evening without staying.
Xia Jianshe looked at the man in the courtyard and said, "Is this our brother-in-law?"
"Yes, this is my younger sister's husband."
Xiao Wu extended his hand to Xia Jianshe, who wiped his right hand on his clothes before shaking it.
"Hello, elder brother. I am Xiao Wu, the husband of my younger sister. My surname is Xiao and my given name is Wu. We got our marriage certificate not long ago. I came back this time partly to pay respects to our parents and partly to meet our elders."
Xia Jianshe's eyes were a little red. "He really is a handsome man. My little sister is finally happy."
Chen Chunhua said, "Jianguo, Xiaowu, have you guys had lunch yet? Would you like to come and get something to eat with us?"
Xia Jianguo quickly declined, "No need, sister-in-law, we've already eaten in the county town, you guys go ahead and eat."
Chen Chunhua and Xia Jianshe parked the car under the eaves and went inside to eat.
At this moment, Xia Minmin is playing with Xiaobao. Although Xia Minmin disdains playing with these children, she has no choice. Li Chunmei and Xia Xiaomei are in their respective rooms, which have been unoccupied for too long and are too dirty.
Xia Minmin called out to the two people who came in, "Uncle, Aunt!"
Seeing Xia Minmin, who had grown up, Jianshe couldn't help but exclaim, "Little Min, I didn't expect you to have grown so much. Have you eaten yet? Would you like to eat something with your uncle?"
Xia Minmin shook her head, "Thank you, Uncle, we've already eaten in the county town."
Xia Xiaobao then ran over and hugged Xia Jianshe's leg, shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, you're finally back!"
Xia Jianshe picked up Xia Xiaobao and said, "Since that's the case, Xiaomin, you can play here by yourself for now. We're going to have lunch first."
After no longer needing to play with others, Xia Minmin moved a chair out of the main room and placed it under the eaves to bask in the sun. She also held dried lychees that she had taken out of her suitcase. She looked incredibly content.
Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu took the entire bed board off and carried it outside to air it in the sun. The bed board had been moldy for several years since they had been home, and airing it in the sun would help it a bit!
Chun's neighbor, Aunt Chun, was sweeping the floor at the doorway. "Oh, isn't this Jianguo? When did he come back? Did Chunmei and the others come back with him?"
Xia Jianguo could only stop cleaning and exchange pleasantries with Aunt Chun, "Yes, the whole family came back together this time. Sister-in-law, did you just finish eating?"
Aunt Chun stared intently at Xiao Wu. "I just finished eating, but your older brother hasn't finished yet; she's still eating. And who is this?"
Xia Jianguo quickly introduced the two to each other.
"This is my younger sister's husband, his name is Xiao Wu. He's here to pay respects to his parents and elders."
"This is Sister Chun, she is a relative of ours who is within five degrees of kinship."
Xiao Wu nodded to Aunt Chun, "Hello Aunt Chun, I'm Xiao Wu. I'll be relying on you a lot from now on."
"Little sister, this man is really nice, so polite."
The voice calling for Chun's wife came from the next room.
Xia Jianguo said, "Sister-in-law, your brother is calling you. He probably wants to talk about something."
"Okay, let's talk again later."
After saying goodbye, Sister Chun swayed her hips as she walked back to her own home.
After finishing his meal, Xia Jianshe also came out to help. "Second brother, what's the deal with that monument? I only heard a little bit from your sister-in-law, so I don't know the details yet."
After thinking for a moment, Xia Jianguo said, "I dreamed about my parents these past few nights. They said they wanted to erect a tombstone, because without one, they would be like wandering ghosts. So I thought I'd take advantage of the Qingming Festival to get this done."
Xia Jianshe frowned deeply. "Alright, then have your sister-in-law go to town to buy some meat and vegetables. Invite the elders in the family for dinner tonight and see how to get this settled."
"Thank you, brother."
The two brothers hadn't seen each other for so many years. They felt like complete strangers and didn't know what to say. For a moment, the atmosphere was a little awkward.
The atmosphere at home was much better than the last time I went home for Chinese New Year. This was because Li Chunmei had given him some time ago, and Xia Jianguo wanted to let go of the past and not hold grudges.
While the three men outside were chatting and laughing, the three women inside felt a little awkward.
Chen Chunhua paced back and forth in front of the two people's room, unsure of how to greet them.
After all, they had a falling out when they came back a few years ago, so their relationship is quite awkward.
As Li Chunmei stepped out of her room, she saw Chen Chunhua pacing back and forth. "Sister-in-law, is something the matter?"
Upon hearing Li Chunmei's words, Chen Chunhua asked, "I was just wondering if there's anything I can help you with?"
Li Chunmei said, "No, no, we're almost done with everything."
Chen Chunhua: "Xiaomin is only one year older than Xiaobao, but she's much taller than him."
Li Chunmei explained, "Xiaomin has always drunk milk, and she also practices Sanda (Chinese kickboxing). She exercises a lot, which is probably why she is so much taller than Xiaobao. In addition, girls develop earlier than boys. This is normal."
Seeing that Chen Chunhua seemed to want to continue the conversation, Li Chunmei had no choice but to put down the rag she was holding and chat with her for a while.
"Is Xiaomin in second grade now?"
Chen Chunhua was unaware of everything that had happened to her family in Shenzhen. According to her age, Xiaomin should indeed be in the second grade.
"Xiaomin is now in sixth grade, having skipped two grades in the process."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chunhua's mouth dropped open. "That's incredibly clever! The location of their ancestral graves is truly excellent. No wonder Jianguo spent a fortune to erect a monument and repair the graves."
Li Chunmei explained, "The matter of erecting a monument and repairing a grave has nothing to do with Xiaomin. Before, Jianguo dreamed that his parents said that a grave without a monument is like a wandering ghost. Jianguo felt very sorry after hearing this, and decided to close the shop and come back to handle this matter."
"Oh, okay, I know."
But seeing the disbelief on Chen Chunhua's face, Li Chunmei didn't want to say anything more.
Xia Jianshe walked in from outside. "Take some money and go to town to buy some meat and vegetables. We'll invite the elders in the family for dinner tonight and talk about repairing and erecting a tombstone for Mom and Dad."
Chen Chunhua looked a little unhappy, but she didn't say much. She took the money, rode her bicycle, and headed to town.
Xia Jianshe shouted, "Little sister, little sister, keep an eye on Xiaobao, he's sleeping in the house. I'll ride my bike to tell my older sister to come over for dinner tonight."
"Okay, big brother, you go ahead! I'll keep an eye on Xiaobao."
Xia Jianshe borrowed a bicycle from a neighbor and went to find Xia Damei's family.
Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu were packing up the cigarettes and alcohol they had bought from the county town, preparing to visit their elders after Xia Jianshe returned.
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