Chapter 254 Another Year 2
Chu Hong and the others also went to the grave to pay respects. After they came back, Gu Ci was thinking about the farm: "Dad, are we going out to pay New Year's greetings today? If not, I'll go to the farm to take a look."
"It's snowing so hard, we won't go out today." Secretary Song walked out with him: "I'll go with you to take a look."
He warned Gu Ci: "The snow is too heavy, and the farm is full of thatched houses and sheds. You have to sweep the snow in time to prevent the roof from collapsing."
Gu Ci nodded: "I remember it."
Then he couldn't help but whispered, "Fortunately, the rabbit dug a few holes and stuffed some hay in them. I wonder if we can make it through."
Last winter, we still kept rabbits at home. We built a low shed, put thick straw as the cushion, and covered the roof with thick straw. It was really warm.
This year we keep them outside. We dug a few holes and built a low shed on top of them, covered them with thick hay. I don’t know if they will freeze to death.
Chu Hong was not interested in the farm, so she just stayed in the house drinking hot water, warming herself by the fire, and chatting with her sisters.
She asked Wu Xiu: "Mom, on New Year's Eve, Grandpa and Grandma said they would move back home, right?"
Last year, when my second aunt gave birth to a baby, my grandparents went to my second uncle’s house to help take care of her during her confinement and look after the baby.
Nowadays, there is no such thing as a full month sitting period after giving birth for women in the countryside.
Some women lie down for three to five days and then get up and do whatever they need to do.
Those who have better financial conditions and care more about their wives can stay in bed for ten days or half a month.
But Second Aunt had a difficult delivery, and she was already quite old, so she was well recovered after a month of confinement.
Wu Xiu was also drinking brown sugar water: "The child is already half a year old. Your grandparents want them to go back home to live. If your second aunt wants to go to the fields to earn work points, she can send the child over to your grandmother to take care of him."
My second uncle's house originally had two rooms, and last year they added another one, so even if my grandparents want to live there, they can accommodate them.
But the old couple is still more accustomed to living with the old family, and when they had dinner together on New Year's Eve, they agreed to move back after the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Chu Dan was also very happy after hearing this: "That's great. When grandma comes back, there will be one more person to cook and sweep the floor."
"With grandpa here, we don't have to water or fertilize our private plots."
There was little rain last summer, so they had to water them almost every day.
And the fertilizer we use now is all farm manure, which is the farm work they all want to avoid.
Chu Tong was also eating peanuts leisurely. When she heard this, she glared at her and said, "Grandpa and grandma are old, can't you be more considerate to them?"
The mother and her friends were chatting, and soon people from the village came to visit, and the house became lively for a while.
People who come to visit on the first day of the Lunar New Year usually bring some food, such as homemade fried tofu puffs or steamed cakes with candied dates.
When it was time for them to go back, Wu Xiu would not let them go back with empty bowls. Instead, she would fill them with a bowl of rice candy and a handful of hard candies.
They cut the rice candy themselves and added peanuts and soybeans, which makes it taste especially delicious.
Not to mention sugar nowadays, it’s a good thing everywhere.
Even though it was still snowing on the second day of the Lunar New Year, it did not stop everyone from visiting relatives. They went to every aunt and uncle's house. The happiest person was probably Xiao Yuer, as he could get a red envelope wherever he went to pay New Year's greetings.
Although the New Year’s money in the red envelope is either one or two cents, the children are very happy and satisfied.
Even Chu Hong, although she complained that the food was not good enough, could not deny that the New Year atmosphere was very much like that now.
However, they don’t have many relatives in their family, and by the sixth day of the New Year, all of them had left.
The heavy snow lasted from the first day of the New Year to the evening of the second day. Now the snow has almost melted, so the yellow mud road outside is full of mud wherever you step.
Not to mention, it started raining again in the afternoon of the sixth day, making the muddy road even more difficult to walk on.
Chu Hong is a lazy person who doesn't want to go out: "I want to sleep in tomorrow, so don't call me."
"Then I want to sleep in too," Chu Dan said, "Don't cook our breakfast."
Chu Tong looked at them helplessly: "Who else has someone as lazy as you?"
If this lazy reputation gets out, I'm worried that my sister will be in trouble and won't be able to get married.
Secretary Song didn't care. Instead, he looked at Wu Xiu and said, "It's too cold and raining. You and your mother should all sleep in tomorrow."
Wu Xiu was not a diligent person either, so he smiled and nodded.
Chu Tong was not used to sleeping in, so on the morning of the seventh day, she woke up before six o'clock again.
It’s no wonder that she woke up early. She had slept enough since she went to bed at around 8 o’clock last night.
Besides, her daughter slept with Chu Dan last night, and she didn’t want to stay in bed alone, so she got up after waking up, lit the oil lamp and went to the kitchen.
Chu Tong looked at the sky which was still dark and the heavy rain, so she didn't open the door.
I first poured hot water from the kettle and washed up before starting to cook breakfast.
For breakfast, I cook yesterday’s leftovers and chopped sweet potatoes in a pot, and then cut some vegetables when they are almost done.
Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Ever since Chu Dan almost got into trouble, even she has become much more cautious. Chu Tong didn't dare to open the door directly, and asked cautiously, "Who is it?"
Jiang Mingche immediately said, "It's me, Jiang Yu's father."
Chu Tong then opened the door and saw that he was dripping with water in his raincoat: "Come in and talk first. What's the matter with you coming so early?"
Jiang Mingche wiped his face and said, "A group of people went to the farm earlier. We found out too late and some chickens and ducks were stolen."
It was three or four o'clock in the morning, when people were sleeping soundly, and it was raining heavily. Even he let his guard down, not expecting those people to come at this time.
Chu Tong was also shocked when she heard the bad news, and asked in panic, "Are you all okay?"
"We are all fine, and we caught someone." Jiang Mingche's eyes darkened: "The guard dog is missing. I guess they fed it rats laced with y."
Chu Tong took a breath and said, "Sit down first. I'll go call my dad."
Secretary Song originally wanted to take advantage of the rainy day to sleep in. Even if he couldn't sleep, the couple could still do some harmonious things.
Although he refused to admit that he was getting old, he still felt a little tired afterwards, so he simply hugged his wife and continued to sleep.
I didn't expect that just as I fell asleep, I heard a knock on the door and my eldest daughter's anxious cry: "Dad, something happened at the farm."
Secretary Song was immediately frightened away by the bad news. While putting on his pants, he said to the outsider, "Go and get Xiao Gu to get up quickly."
Chu Tong responded and went to call Gu Ci again.
When she wanted to go back to the kitchen, she saw Jiang Mingche still wearing his straw raincoat, standing under the eaves a little stiffly to avoid the rain.
She went to the kitchen and served him a bowl of freshly cooked sweet potato porridge, adding a piece of lard, and brought it to him: "Take off your raincoat first and have a bowl of porridge to warm yourself up."
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