Chapter 54: Dud
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone went into the mountains to worship as if they were trying to cover up their crimes. Even if they met villagers on the road, they would either pretend not to see them or just nod and go their separate ways.
After Secretary Song and his family came down the mountain, Grandma Song and her daughters-in-law and granddaughters began to prepare lunch.
Song Laoer and his two companions ate at their eldest brother's house from New Year's Eve to New Year's Day.
After they went down the mountain together, Wu Qiaofang even went home to pick up New Year gifts.
Ten years ago, when things were difficult, it was a good thing to be able to get some sweet potatoes and corn when visiting relatives, as it could be considered life-saving food.
Life is better now. When visiting relatives, we usually bring four kinds of snacks: a pound of biscuits, a pound of sugar, a can of food, a pound of twisted dough sticks, or red dates, or eggs. If there are noodles, candies, and fruits, it would be particularly decent.
Last night, Wu Qiaofang was scolded by her husband because she greedily took the hot water bottle that was meant for her mother-in-law. He also threatened that if she did such a thing again, he would not let her manage the money.
So she looked at the bag of four or five pounds of apples, a can of biscuits in an iron box, a pound of dried red dates and a pound of twisted dough sticks prepared by her man.
Even though it hurt, I still didn't dare to take out a few apples or pour out half of the biscuits.
She simply carried the two expensive New Year gifts and walked around the village, making sure everyone saw how rich the gifts her family had prepared for the elderly were.
Fortunately, Wu Qiaofang didn't know that her husband secretly gave red envelopes of 11 yuan to his two nieces.
That’s right, Song Lao Er is so partial. He gave Chu Hong a red envelope with ten yuan in it, but only one yuan to Chu Dan, and also gave his biological mother twenty yuan.
The main thing was that two years ago, my son met a scoundrel near the supply and marketing cooperative in town. The scoundrel demanded money and when he refused to give it, he got his head broken.
Fortunately, Chu Hong saw it and kept shouting "Catch the six hooligans" to scare those people away.
He sent his son to the hospital again, and used the little money they had to pay for the hospital fees. Then she hurried back to call him.
The doctors said it was fortunate that he was sent to the hospital in time, otherwise it would have been more than just a mild concussion.
Song Laoer felt that Chu Hong had saved his son's life, so whether it was last year or this year, the red envelope he gave to Chu Hong was always ten yuan.
He felt that as long as he had money in his pocket, he would never forget the life-saving grace.
Now, after Wu Qiaofang had wandered around the village and earned everyone's envy, she finally came to Secretary Song's house.
Secretary Song, Second Brother Song, and two cousins of similar age were playing cards. When they saw her coming, they were speechless: "I thought you went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy it temporarily. Why are you here now?"
Wu Qiaofang lowered her head and said, "I've talked to the aunt in front. I've got all the things. Can I put them in my mother's room first?"
The people who were playing cards with Song Lao Er and those who were watching the game saw Wu Qiaofang bringing several gifts and praised them: "You are really filial to your uncle and aunt. So many good things must have cost a lot of money."
"No matter how you make money in the future, don't forget us brothers, brother."
The obedient wife and the generous gifts satisfied Song Laoer's vanity. He waved his hand to signal his wife to take the gifts away, and pretended to be indifferent and agreed: "Okay, we are all brothers, we should share the happiness together."
Secretary Song remained expressionless, but he stepped on his own brother.
Song Lao Er didn't dare to say much and immediately focused on the cards in his hand: "It's my turn, right? A pair of eight."
Song Weibin was lighting a fire behind the stove. When he saw his mother coming, he couldn't wait to say, "Mom, can you help me light the fire? I'm going to go play with Xiaoqun and the others for a while."
Wu Qiaofang was very dissatisfied, not with her son who had disappeared, but with Chu Hong and Chu Dan who had not shown up.
It's really too much that the girl doesn't hang around the kitchen stove, but instead lets her son make the fire.
She asked Grandma Song who was frying tofu, "Where are Chu Hong and her sisters?"
"Is he going to change his shoes?" Grandma Song added a spoonful of water to the pot. "It's cold, there's a lot of frost on the mountain, and his cloth shoes are all wet."
People like them can just wear old shoes and change into cotton shoes when they come back.
But the two sisters were wearing cotton shoes. When they came back they complained that their feet were frozen, so they went to warm themselves by the fire.
Wu Qiaofang asked again: "What are we having for lunch?"
Since she brought so many delicious foods, she naturally hoped that her mother-in-law would cook the meat.
But she knew that her elder brother and sister-in-law bought a lot of meat last year.
Grandma Song read out the menu: "Carp and tofu soup, meat bones stewed with radish, fish jelly, green vegetables and tofu, and a pot of rice."
Grandma Song was thinking that since they were all family members and there were no outsiders, this kind of food was the best.
Wu Qiaofang secretly thought that she was stingy. Her husband spent 15 yuan to buy a generous gift, but her mother-in-law didn't even make a bowl of braised pork and only cared about saving money for the old lady.
Song Weibin, who had just run out for less than ten minutes, came back, panting: "Uncle, it's bad. Shuanzi's eyes were hit by firecrackers. Uncle Song, please help me ride my bike to take him to the hospital."
It’s not that Shuanzi’s father wanted to ask for help, but he didn’t know how to ride a bicycle and the ox cart was slow, so he could only ask Secretary Song for help.
Secretary Song immediately put down the cards in his hand and said, "Okay, I'll leave now."
Wu Xiu, who was hiding in the house and warming herself by the fire, immediately came out with a medicine box. Chu Hong and Chu Dannu also followed her to Shuanzi's house.
Chu Hong also had the idea of the danger of a dud yesterday, but nothing happened yesterday and she thought she was overthinking it, but she didn't expect that something would happen to her child on New Year's Day.
Nowadays, most people in the countryside prefer boys to girls, but Shuanzi's family is an exception. Because Shuanzi's father was injured a few years ago, the doctor said that it might affect fertility.
After seven years of marriage, they finally had a son and named him Shuanzi, because he had a humble name so that he would be easier to raise.
Shuanzi is seven years old this year. Chu Hong still remembers that when she met Shuanzi last year, the little boy was sniffing his nose and asked herself if studying was difficult.
Now we see a pale-faced child being held in the arms of his trembling father, who is covering his forehead with a towel, a large part of which is soaked with blood.
Shuanzi's mother also collapsed on the ground, not knowing whether she was frightened or afraid, her teeth were chattering. When she saw Wu Xiu, she cried and shouted, "Sister-in-law, save my Shuanzi."
When Wu Xiu saw this situation, he knew that his trip was in vain.
"I'm not a good doctor." She could only comfort him: "Don't worry, my family has food and I can take the child to the hospital by bike. The doctor is here and the child will be fine."
Before she finished her words, Party Secretary Song came over on a bicycle, asked Shuanzi's father to sit on the back with the child in his arms, and then rode away quickly.
Many villagers who heard the noise stayed behind and ran to watch the fun.
Chu Hong glanced around and saw people in groups of three or four, whispering to each other.
There must be at least two hundred people, which made her suspect that someone from every household came to watch the fun.
While there are so many people here, Chu Hong took the opportunity to remind everyone.
She shouted loudly: "Grandpas, aunts, uncles and aunts, everyone has seen that small firecrackers can also be very destructive. Everyone should watch the children at home when they light them. It is best not to let children play with firecrackers."
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