After walking more than 100 meters south along the path and then a few dozen meters west, we arrived at the gate of a large courtyard. The courtyard wall was about one person high and made of earth bricks. After entering the solid wooden door, there were three upper rooms with two side rooms, as well as the east and west wing rooms, all made of blue bricks and black tiles, which were very impressive. This courtyard was one of the largest mansions in the entire village.
The yard was also quite large, with a jujube tree, a willow tree, a stone table and four stone benches. A large local dog tied to a tree was barking at them.
This large courtyard was built with money paid for by my third uncle Chen Shi, who runs a small business in the city. It was completed last year and is now brand new.
Beside the stone table, a little girl of about twelve or thirteen was leading two children to play. The little girl was wearing a bean green vest and white undershirt and pants. Although the vest was faded and the undershirt and pants were a little yellowed from washing, at least there were no patches. She was barely pretty, with phoenix eyes, drooping eyelids, and fair skin, but the savagery and hatred in her eyes were much less.
When she saw the family, she snorted and said, "How dirty! They come here as guests without even washing their faces." Then she raised her head and went into the east wing.
This should be the famous Chen Aju.
A little girl over two years old looked at Chen Afu and said, "It's dirty, let your mother help you wash it clean."
A little boy about four years old was as arrogant as Chen Aju. He snorted and followed her into the east wing.
These two little guys should be my eldest cousin Chen Agui's son Chen Dahu and daughter Chen Daya. Although their attitude is not friendly, the children are innocent. If it weren't for the instigation of the adults, they would not have done so.
A girl of fifteen or sixteen came out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "Second uncle, second aunt, Ah Fu, don't be angry, my sister has been spoiled by the family. Come on, sit inside, my grandma and dad are waiting for you." She should be the eldest cousin Chen Alan. She looks a bit like Chen Aju, but her eyes are much calmer.
Chen Ming was so angry that he kept shaking his head.
Wang seemed to have long been accustomed to Chen Aju's rudeness, and forced a smile, "Second Aunt knows that Aju has a childish nature."
Entering the upper room, the hall is right in front of the door. There is a large eight-person table in front of you, two chairs next to the table, and a few more chairs on both sides. There is no one in the room.
They went to the west room and saw a big kang next to the window. An old lady in her fifties and a man in his thirties were sitting on the kang table. A young man in his twenties was sitting on a chair on the floor. These three should be Grandma Chen, my great uncle Chen Ye, and my great cousin Chen Agui.
Old Lady Chen was wearing a grey dress, looking thin and with a silver hairpin on her head, a typical smart old lady from the countryside. Chen Ye and Chen Agui were both dressed like typical country peasants, wearing blue short-sleeved brown clothes without patches, and had rosy complexions, looking like they were living a good life.
Chen Ye smiled and got off the kang to greet Chen Ming and others. He also said, "Everyone is here, let's go to the living room to celebrate mother's birthday."
Like Old Lady Chen, Chen Ye's smile to Chen Ayuan was much more sincere, and his gaze only paused for a moment on Chen Afu and Chen Dabao.
Chen Ahfu could understand the attitude of Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye. People are selfish. From Wang's implication in the past few days, it can be heard that since A Lu's leg became lame, they have never treated Chen Ahfu and Dabao well.
But Chen Dabao was quite disappointed. He called "Great Grandma" and "Great Grandpa" louder than anyone else, but he didn't attract any attention.
Fortunately, my eldest cousin Chen Agui came to the rescue. He called out "Afu, Dabao" with a smile and even held Chen Dabao's hand.
When they arrived at the living room, Chen Ye opened his voice again and shouted, "Mother, call everyone over quickly. We need to celebrate my birthday."
Old Mrs. Chen had just sat down at the eight-immortals table with a smile on her face when she saw her aunt-in-law Hu, her eldest cousin's wife Gao, and her eldest cousin Alan coming out from the kitchen, and Chen Aju leading Chen Dahu and Chen Daya coming out from the east wing.
Hu, Chen Ye, and Wang were all thirty-six years old, but they looked much younger. They were neat, fair-skinned, and looked a lot like Chen Aju. They wore a brown embroidered fine cloth jacket, an apron, a silver hairpin on their heads, and a pair of golden cloves on their ears. This kind of dress was considered fashionable in the countryside, and some landowners' wives did not necessarily wear such extravagance.
Chen Ye and Chen Ming stood at the front, Chen Afu, Chen Alu and Chen Dabao stood at the back, and the whole family knelt down and kowtowed to the old lady to wish her a happy birthday. Chen Afu had some difficulty kneeling down and kowtowing, so he asked Alu and Dabao for help.
After bowing, Wang presented the clothes she had made to Old Lady Chen. Old Lady Chen smiled and said, "Oh, it's made of fine cloth. The word 'Fu' is embroidered so beautifully, just like the ready-made clothes bought from the embroidery workshop in the county town."
Mrs. Hu curled her lips and smiled, "Mother-in-law, although my stitches are not as good as my brother and sister-in-law's, I show my filial piety to you every day and serve you by your bedside every morning and evening. It's easy to do a good deed, but it's hard to do good deeds every day."
Old Mrs. Chen didn't want to get angry today, so she smiled and said, "Yes, I know my eldest daughter-in-law is filial."
Chen Ye frowned and said, "You woman just talk too much nonsense."
Chen Ming took out another fifty copper coins and gave them to Chen Ye, saying, "It's not good to let my eldest brother's family spend money on my mother's birthday celebration." After saying this, he lowered his eyelids in embarrassment.
Chen Ye evaded the question, "Second brother, you are being too polite. You and third brother have to pay mother food rations every year. How can you give her extra money?"
Old Mrs. Chen said quickly, "Son, take the money. Your brother is right. It's not right to let your family spend money on Mom's birthday celebration."
Mrs. Hu was still afraid that Chen Ye would not accept her, so she said, "Master, when you were still very young, you supported your second and third uncles to study, and I served them like a servant when I entered the house. They have all started their own families and careers, so they should also contribute to celebrating mother's birthday. How can you let our family do it alone?"
Chen Ye cursed with a gloomy face, "You are such an annoying woman. You always have to talk too much about everything."
When Mrs. Hu saw that her husband had received the money, she felt relieved and said to Mrs. Gao and Alan, "Let's go to work. Alas, we are not so lucky that we can sit down and have our meals served to us."
Gao and Alan responded and followed him out.
Wang also hurriedly followed him out and said, "If there is any other work, just assign it to me, sister-in-law."
Chen Ye, Chen Ming, and Chen Agui returned to the west room to chat with the old lady. Chen Aju led the two children out, and in a blink of an eye, only Chen Afu and the other two were left in the living room.
After a while, Old Mrs. Chen realized belatedly and said, "No, I have to go and see. Wang's hand is the one that the second son's family uses for food. Don't let that prodigal mother force her to do any rough work and hurt her hand." She hurriedly got off the kang and walked towards the kitchen.
Chen Ye added, "Ms. Hu doesn't learn her lesson, so I scold her. She's stupid and never learns to be careful."
Wang was particularly careful about her hands. When she did rough work like carrying water for watering the fields, she would use a handkerchief to pad her hands.
The kitchen in the upper room is the annex next to the west room. As soon as the old lady entered the kitchen, she heard her cursing voice, as well as Mrs. Hu's explanation, as if Mrs. Hu asked Mrs. Wang to light the fire.
For most people, making fire is the easiest job in the kitchen, but for Wang, who is very careful with her hands, it is not an easy job.
Farmers like them usually pick up some dry firewood and break off long or many branches while making fire. This can easily hurt hands and make them rough. At home, they never let Wang make fire.
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