Yue'e looked at Jian Ning, and when Jian Ning smiled back, she nodded. She liked the atmosphere of Jian Ning's place, which made her feel like she was back in her childhood.
Before the Ganao tribe was exterminated, the young and strong men of the village would hunt together, and the prey would be distributed by the tribe leader under the supervision of the saint. The strong laborers were ensured to have enough food, and the old, weak and young were ensured to have good food.
At night, they lit a bonfire and the adults sat around it. The grandpas and dads smoked water pipes and exchanged experiences in raising Gu. The grandmas and mothers worked and talked and laughed, while their children chased and played on the side.
Those days were far away from her, but with Jane Ning she seemed to feel the long-lost warmth again.
She is willing to stay here.
"Then you can stay for now." Yuechan had no objection. Then he asked Ma Fuquan, "Is it possible to quit my job as a constable with you at any time?"
"Okay." Ma Fuquan nodded. "If you need to leave for a while, I'll give you leave. If you don't want to work anymore and want to leave, I won't stop you."
"Then I'll do it with you first."
"Okay, it's settled then."
Ma Fuquan raised his glass, clinked it with him, and took the wine pot to fill it up again. Several men present were good drinkers, including Tian's second brother.
This was the first time that Second Brother Tian had tasted Yunshan Cui wine. Years ago, Ma Fuquan had bought a jar from Jian Ning as a gift for him, but he couldn't bear to drink it himself and gave it to the boss of his former escort agency. As they were now in the same business, he naturally wanted to maintain a good relationship with his former escort agency so that they could look after each other.
He took a sip of wine and gave Ding Youtian and Jian Ning a thumbs-up. "I've heard of Yunshan Cui's reputation for a long time. Today, I tasted it and it really lives up to its reputation."
"Good wine, it's indeed top-grade wine!" He smacked his lips and shook his head.
"Brother Ding, you know what will happen tonight." Ma Fuquan drank a few glasses of wine and pointed at Ding Youtian.
Ding Youtian really didn't want to play chess with him tonight. The government office was closed for the New Year until the fifth day. If he lost, he wouldn't let go. Wouldn't that delay his work?
But it was Chinese New Year, and he had no good reason to reject him. He could only smile vaguely, neither saying yes nor no.
He didn't express his opinion, so Ma Fuquan took it as his tacit agreement. After dinner, he yelled and pushed him onto the chessboard. Yue'e and Qiaofeng rushed to clean up the floor and wash the dishes. Jian Ning made tea for Ding Youtian and the others and, as usual, began to teach the children about the Three Kingdoms.
Ding Youtian was playing chess, and Blind Liu was transcribing it himself. Yuechan first watched the game with Tian Erge in the main room. Hearing the cheers of a few children coming from the cafeteria from time to time, he couldn't help but come over and join the group listening to the story.
I was soon fascinated by it.
Occasionally, the sound of firecrackers could be heard from far and near outside. This year, most of the people in Dingjia Village had a prosperous New Year. With extra money at home, they naturally bought firecrackers for their children to hear the noise and have some fun.
In previous years, Old Ding's family was the most enthusiastic about setting off firecrackers. Others were reluctant to buy them, but he was willing to do so. Because in Old Ding's opinion, others could not afford to set off firecrackers, but he could, which was his ability.
In life, stomach is important, but face is equally important.
He loved to enjoy the glory that he alone could afford, a life that no one else could afford. But this year, his home was completely silent, with not a single sound of movement.
It cannot be said that there was no movement at all. There were laughter in other people's homes and crying in his home.
Suppressed crying.
Liu and Gao were standing by the brazier, wiping their tears. One was crying for their daughter, Ding Zhu, who had been sold by Wu Fengfu to an unknown place and had no news from her since. The other was crying for their eldest son, Ding Gui, who was not only lame, but also unable to use any strength in his body, becoming a cripple.
The eldest and third sons squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands. The second son and his wife also had no expression on their faces. They were holding another family meeting.
The theme of this meeting is separation.
It was Fang from the second house who proposed the division of the family. She was very determined and said that if the family was not divided, she would never live with Ding Laoer even if she died.
Old Ding and Mrs. Meng sat at either side of the table, both with gloomy faces. Old Ding smoked silently.
As he smoked, the scene of the day Ding Youtian was sent out suddenly surfaced in his mind. He fluttered his eyelids and looked at the eldest and third brothers squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands. That's where Ding Youtian had been sitting since he was sent out.
Crying and wiping tears.
But now, their family was getting more and more prosperous, while looking at his own family, there was no trace of the prosperity in the past. He didn't know where the fifth brother and his wife had died. He felt that something was wrong. Even if the fifth brother didn't miss the kids, there was no reason for the Lu family to ignore them.
However, he didn't have time to think about the affairs of Lao Wu and his wife. He now suspected that Ding Youtian was the lucky star of this family and had taken away all the fortune of this family.
Thinking about it more carefully, it seemed that the family's situation had only gradually improved since Ding Youtian was born. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.
"Ouch!" He slapped his thigh suddenly, startling everyone present. Several eyes were focused on him.
"What's wrong? Dad."
The eldest and the third brother looked up at him, their hands raised to their ears, their eyes full of surprise.
Old Ding said nothing and smoked his cigarette again. He remembered that Ding Youtian had severed ties with them, and the document of the severance was kept on file in the government office.
It’s too late to say anything, it’s useless, what else is there to say?
After a while, he tapped the pipe with the sole of his shoe, slowly rolled the pipe, and stood up. He first glanced at Meng, who had a long face, then glanced at his sons and daughters-in-law, and then threw the pipe on the table.
"You can split up the family if you want, but there's one thing you have to do: until Old Five and the others come back, you have to take care of the children from the Fifth House. Each family can take turns taking care of them for a year or a month. It's up to you all to decide."
"Sixth son hasn't married yet, so for now, you three families will take turns. The family has only so much money and land, so let your mother decide and divide it among you."
After saying that, Old Ding put his hands behind his back and walked out of the house.
The eldest brother shouted "Dad", stood up and chased after him for two steps, then stopped again.
Old Ding was feeling very upset. Which family in the village had parents still alive and their children were fighting over the separation of the family property? I was afraid it was only his family. It was really shameful, so shameful!
On second thought, it wasn't the first time his family had been embarrassed. They had already lost face, so they didn't care if they lost face again.
He unknowingly staggered to the foot of the slope of the old house again.
He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the light coming from the courtyard from afar. Why did the light in the courtyard look so prosperous? So full of life?
The night gradually deepened. Second Brother Tian had said goodbye and taken the three Ma brothers home. Blind Liu also took Yuechan to the town to rest. Jian Ning arranged for Yue'e to sleep in the west room with Da Niu and the others, and after washing up, he also lay down.
Ding Youtian was taken downstairs by Ma Fuquan until late at night. When he returned to the room, Jian Ning was already asleep. He couldn't bear to wake her up, so he went to sleep on the couch himself. Jian Ning poured a bottle of boiling water into his quilt from a medicine bottle. The quilt was warm, and his heart was warm too.
In the early morning, Jian Ning woke up. After she finished practicing with Ma Xiaomai, Dabao and others, breakfast was not ready yet. A hunchbacked old beggar came into the yard.
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