26 Wake Night
◎You street shrew◎
The two villages are close to each other, and an incident like that happened some time ago made Village Chief Li known to almost everyone in Tianjia Village.
Except Qi Mi and Qi Hengan.
Having just returned here, Tian Nongxi was not familiar with other people, and he did not tell anyone about this matter, so he only heard some rumors and did not know what exactly happened.
Seeing that everyone had stopped eating, he looked towards the door and saw a man about the same age as Grandpa Tian coming in. Qi Hengan picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and gave it to his mother without caring, but found that her eyes were looking elsewhere.
Tian Nongle left his seat, walked to the door, took the gift from Village Chief Li, and smiled dignifiedly, "My father just passed away, and I didn't want to disturb Village Chief Li today. Why did you come?"
Li Kangbo sighed heavily and patted Tian Nongle on the shoulder. "How could such a good person just be gone?"
"This...ah, it's really too sudden." Tian Nong Le brought Li Kangbo into the courtyard and asked Tian Nongxi to pour tea.
Tian Nongxi put down his bowl and chopsticks and stood up obediently.
She didn't know what Li Kangbo's intention was, nor did she know whether he was secretly communicating with Tian Nong Le. She could only secretly hope in her heart that this man was not back to ask for money or land.
"If you want to be pretty, be filial."
This is true. Tian Nongxi was born good-looking. She was wearing plain clothes, her palm-sized face was pale, and her almond-shaped eyes were dull and lifeless, which made people feel distressed.
Li Kangbo originally came to pick a fight, but his eyes were fixed on Tian Nongxi. When he took the tea, his hand rubbed her fingers intentionally or unintentionally.
Tian Nongxi rolled his eyes in his heart and wanted to wash his hands immediately, but was stopped by Tian Nongle.
"How can you be so ignorant of etiquette, kid?" Tian Nongle grabbed her and gave Li Kangbo an embarrassed smile before putting on a serious expression. "Call for help."
"...Hello, Village Chief Li." Tian Nongxi lowered his eyes, looking submissive.
"Okay, okay, good for you too, Second Mother." Li Kangbo smiled happily. Even though so many people knew about it, he still pretended to be a kind elder. "Everyone has their own destiny. Don't be too sad."
Tian Nongxi hummed softly.
Li Kangbo: "We are not destined to be together, otherwise I would have to observe a year of mourning for your grandfather."
After he said that, he laughed.
Tian Nongxi read the title deed in the cabinet and finally managed to restrain himself from punching him in the face.
Tian Nong Le was ashamed to marry his child to a man of his grandfather's generation as a second wife. This was something that would be criticized if people talked about it. Li Kangbo was an old man and had no shame, but he was a man of status and could not be treated so badly.
He laughed dryly twice and signaled Tian Nongxi to leave with his eyes.
Tian Nongxi was just about to leave when he saw the fat lady who was cracking melon seeds coming forward. With a "Pooh" sound, she spat the melon seed shells right in front of Li Kangbo.
"Oh, look at me—I didn't see you, did I? Don't mind me, Village Chief Li." The fat lady sat down next to Li Kangbo and said while eating, "My uncle has been farming all his life, but he can have such a good relationship with the village chief. It's amazing. Village Chief Li, you came all this way, it must be because you have a deep relationship with my uncle, so you are not afraid of hardship."
Li Kangbo looked at the saliva floating on the teacup, his eyes twitching and he nodded repeatedly.
"Then why didn't I see you burning incense?" The fat lady gathered the shells of the sunflower seeds with her feet and pointed at the tablet in the main room with her head.
Li Kangbo stood up helplessly and offered three incense sticks to the lowly poor man whom he had never looked down upon. Since they were of the same generation, he did not kneel.
He felt that he had lost face, so after finishing his worship, he hurriedly put the incense into the incense burner and went to find the culprit to settle the score.
After washing her hands, Tian Nongxi looked at Li Kangbo and Qi Hengan who were walking towards her at the same time, feeling overwhelmed.
Qi Hengan walked up to her first, but before she could say anything, Li Kangbo approached with a pace that was not suitable for his age.
With others around, his tone wasn't much better. He asked with his hands behind his back, "Second Mother, do you still like my land?"
"Yours?" Tian Nongxi asked, "Why do I remember the title deed is in my hands?"
"Have you forgotten so quickly how you got it?"
Qi Hengan stood aside and was accidentally hurt by the tense atmosphere between the two. He didn't know how to react for a moment.
Tian Nongxi was helpless. "At your age, why don't you just pack up and go back to accompany your son? Why are you still making such a fuss?"
"You, you street shrew!" Li Kangbo lowered his voice and approached for fear of attracting other people.
"What is this?" Qi Hengan was confused and stood in front of Tian Nongxi to block the person who was coming at him aggressively.
He had never seen Er Niang's sister act aggressively, but he also accepted it out of instinct and protected her.
Li Kangbo glanced around, then suddenly smiled and asked calmly, "Why isn't the third place winner here? Did you fall out of favor so quickly?"
"I don't understand what you mean, Village Chief Li. Do you think the government relies on emotions to make judgments?" Tian Nongxi blinked and his voice suddenly became louder.
"You, you..." Li Kangbo snorted heavily, his gray beard fluttering in the wind, like an old actor on the stage.
Looking at his back as he walked away, Tian Nongxi was amused by what he was thinking.
No matter what he wants to do, as long as he doesn't get the land and money back, it's fine.
Seeing Qi Hengan's hesitant expression, Tian Nongxi pulled him over to the empty chicken coop and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I just want to tell you not to be too sad." Qi Hengan waved his hands hurriedly, fearing that he would annoy others by asking too many questions.
After dinner, most people were still there, gathering in groups of three or four to play leaf games.
Tian Nongxi, the Zhuang family's servants, and the Tian family's relatives cleaned up the mess together.
It was already dark, and there was a red candle on each table.
Tian Nongxi swept the fruit and vegetable peels on the table to the ground, and then used a broom to collect the garbage together.
Under the candlelight, a small-faced man was working very hard, standing out from the crowd at the card table.
Occasionally, there would be someone who won more, and he would be particularly happy to see such a girl, and would insist on arranging to marry her off.
Tian Nongxi was extremely sleepy. She worked quickly at this moment and just wanted to have a good rest after finishing the work. Therefore, no matter what she heard, she just nodded and shook her head, like a mute beauty.
Everyone didn't find it boring and asked her all kinds of questions.
Finally, a stranger looked at Li Kangbo at the next table and asked, "Can I give you to Village Chief Li?"
Tian Nongxi was pouring water for him. After hearing this, the boiling hot water accidentally spilled over the man's hand.
He jumped up because of the burn, cursing and looking for cold water everywhere. Finally, Qi Hengan, who was about to go home, saw a bowl of muddy water in the chicken coop and brought it out to pour all over the man.
No one knew when this water came from, but it had a foul smell that made everyone else at the table vomit.
The man had no choice but to stand outside the kitchen and call his wife who was washing dishes, asking him to go home and wash himself.
Tian Nongxi also went to the kitchen and was washing vegetables for tomorrow. When she saw the man who smelled terrible, she smiled at him.
The man was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he had to give up because men were not allowed to enter the kitchen.
The small kitchen was crowded with many people.
Looking closely, many people look like one person.
A woman with a sallow complexion, rough skin and a smile on her face.
Tian Nongxi had not washed two vegetables when the fat aunt patted her on the shoulder and said, "Go out quickly, I'll do it." Neighbors always help each other when there are big things happening at home. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative.
The fat aunt thought of this, pushed Tian Nongxi away, and asked, "Is your aunt going to be home tomorrow?"
Tian Nongxi thought about it, shook his head and said, "I don't know."
She was squeezed so tightly that she had no place to stand, but suddenly she didn't want to walk anymore.
Tian Nongxi was an orphan and had very few opportunities to attend funerals. She didn't know if it had been like this since ancient times, but she just felt embarrassed, as if she had really become the little granddaughter of this family.
Therefore, one person not only washes and selects vegetables, but also washes dishes and cleans the stove, which makes others marvel.
By the time the work in the kitchen was almost done, it was already midnight.
After leaving the kitchen, the yard was still bustling with activity.
Huang sat alone beside the coffin, looking as if she was tired of crying. Her eyes were empty and lifeless, as if the noise around her had nothing to do with her.
Tian Nongle was standing by a table watching people play leaf games. When he saw his niece coming, he hurriedly called her over.
"Tell your grandma to stop watching over you and go back to sleep. I will keep watch over you." Tian Nongle felt that his filial piety was so touching that he started laughing to himself before he finished speaking.
Tian Nongxi said "oh" and went to call Huang, who said, "I'll keep watch. You go and take your brother to bed."
Tian Nongxi nodded quickly and went to find Tian Yaozu again, bringing Tian Yaozu to his room.
Her little house was divided up among her relatives, and before she knew it, it was filled with four beds.
When Tian Nongxi arrived, there were already seven or eight people sleeping there. Only a child about the same age as Tian Yaozu was lying on the bed on the outside. She stuffed Tian Yaozu into the bed as well, half-instructing and half-threatening him to go to sleep obediently.
He went out, found two empty chairs in the yard, went to the main house to move a thin quilt, and slept in the corner of the hut.
Instead of squeezing with others, it’s better to sleep in your own “little bed”.
Tian Nongxi's idea was simple, but she forgot that sound can be transmitted without physical contact.
The people playing leaf games outside were shouting and screaming, and the people sleeping inside were snoring loudly. Tian Nongxi, with dark circles under his eyes, forced himself to stay awake for another hour before finally falling asleep.
When he was woken up in the morning, Tian Nongxi was still confused. He sat in a chair and took a cup of tea before he remembered where he was.
"Sister, sister." Tian Yaozu pulled his sister's sleeve and whispered, "It's time to eat."
"good."
Before dawn, the Tian family courtyard was filled with the aroma of brown rice porridge.
The fat aunt's house is nearby, so she went back to sleep last night. However, she did not slack off today and came early. Now she is standing by the wooden barrel and distributing porridge.
"Second Mother, come here." She waved a shovel and called Tian Nongxi, and without saying a word, she stuffed a bowl full of porridge into Tian Nongxi's hands who had not yet washed.
Tian Nongxi thanked him, put the porridge aside, and prepared to find a secluded place to wash up first.
Before anyone moved, there was a loud noise at the door.
Although it was early in the morning, the Tian family had already been bustling with people, so any noise would not be surprising.
Only at this moment, everyone raised their eyes and looked over.
A woman in her thirties or forties, carrying a dark gray bag, staggered into the room.
She first saw Huang sitting at the door of the main house and howled, "Mother——"
Only then did he see the coffin placed inside the room. His legs went weak and he slid down against the door.
Yanagida had been exhausted from the long journey, and now she finally burst into tears, "Dad, Dad..."
【Author’s words】
You finish your performance and I will take the stage
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