Chapter 103 Wandering Taoist
The next morning, Jiang Hongying and her family of three packed up and prepared to leave.
Sanwa was going to school, and Song Chunxue didn't want to see them off, lest she cry again.
The fourth brother threw a large bundle of hay into the sheepfold, tied it to a donkey cart, and sent them to the village, where they could then transfer to another donkey cart.
After they got on the donkey cart, Song Chunxue told them to be careful on the road and to take good care of the children.
Xiujuan suddenly burst into tears, demanding to get off the bus and stretching out her arms for Song Chunxue to hug her.
Jiang Hongying's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"Xiujuan, go home with your parents. You can come see me again next year, okay?" Song Chunxue wiped away her tears. "Xiujuan, you can come back to see me anytime you miss me."
Sanwa conjured up a handful of candy from nowhere and handed it to Xiujuan, saying, "Xiujuan, don't cry, have some candy."
The child stopped crying instantly upon seeing the candy, and began to smile while holding it.
"Xiujuan, come here and let Mommy hold you." Jiang Hongying clapped her hands. "Don't you miss your grandfather? Don't you miss your brother?"
With tears streaming down her face, Xiujuan hesitated for a moment before reaching out and burying herself in Jiang Hongying's arms.
"Be careful of your mother's belly. Be good on the way home, and I'll ask your father to buy you candied hawthorns when we get home."
Xiujuan's eyes lit up at the mention of candied hawthorn.
After watching the donkey cart leave, Sanwa hurriedly went to the school.
The courtyard suddenly became very quiet and empty.
But Song Chunxue had no time for sadness, nor did she want to be.
People experience joys and sorrows, separations and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes. Everything she has now is stolen, and she is already very content.
Before leaving, she locked the door, just as she had done before Hongying arrived.
As she turned around, she caught a glimpse of the eldest brother.
The eldest brother seemed about to say something, but Song Chunxue quickly left, out of sight.
Her relationship with her eldest son was already shallow, and she would not show any more mercy in the future.
Separating the family means each person living their own life, right?
The meat that Sanwa served last night was just to shut Chen Feng up.
A slap followed by a sweet treat will give her some peace and quiet.
After they moved away in a few days, Song Chunxue was happy to be free.
On her way to the fields, she ran into several villagers who all asked her why she had suddenly slaughtered a pig.
"Madam Song is confused. Why is she slaughtering a pig so early? Is she just greedy or is she just being stubborn and doesn't want to raise it anymore?"
"I heard you've been having a big fight with your eldest son and his wife lately. Your daughter-in-law is still in her postpartum period. You're an adult, why don't you know how to give them some space?"
Song Chunxue chuckled and held back her curses.
"If they hadn't pushed me to the brink, would I have done this?" She slapped her thigh angrily. "You have no idea how infuriating those two have been these past few days. That Chen Feng treated me like I was her enemy before, and she even wanted me to take care of her during her postpartum period..."
She used to disdain wasting her breath, but now Song Chunxue has learned her lesson.
Why let others slander you when you can solve the problem with your words? If you open your mouth and don't explain, even the wildest rumors can become the truth.
If she doesn't explain herself to the malicious rumors, no one will.
Only she and her fourth brother came home for lunch today. She waited for her fourth brother to come back in the field, loaded the broken corn onto the truck, and went home.
"Mom, I bought some seasonings at the market today. The roasted meat on the street smells so good, I'm really craving it. I was thinking that we can roast our pork too. Mom, would you like to try roasting it once?"
The fourth brother looked at Song Chunxue with expectant eyes.
"Okay, I don't know how to do it, you teach me."
If it were the old Song Chunxue, she would definitely think he was wasting meat, and might even get angry when she heard him say that.
“Really?” the fourth brother said as he loaded corn onto the cart. “Mother feels so unfamiliar to me now.”
"What, do you want me to beat you up before you get used to it?" Song Chunxue picked up a donkey whip and pretended to lash his leg. "Stand still, let me help you get used to it."
"Hahaha!" The fourth brother laughed and ran off. "I'm going to fetch the donkey. Will we still be able to eat meat when we get home today?"
"Eat, meat is what we eat, and we still have a pig." Thinking of the meat, Song Chunxue became a little anxious. "It's just that meat spoils easily in this weather. This afternoon I need to stir-fry most of it until dry and put it in a jar, and then make some cured meat to hang up."
Do you need my help?
"You?" Song Chunxue asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
"Huh? You're going to stir-fry things instead of taking a nap?"
Song Chunxue laughed, "You little rascal, you've rested for two days and don't want to herd sheep anymore, huh? Go herd sheep properly this afternoon."
The fourth brother grumbled reluctantly, "Fine, herding sheep is really boring."
Song Chunxue knew that his enthusiasm wouldn't last long.
"Then you go work in the fields, and we'll take turns releasing the animals."
"No, no, it's easier to herd sheep." Thinking that after picking corn comes digging potatoes, the fourth brother would rather herd sheep every day.
"Think it through yourself. If you don't want to herd sheep anymore, you can go out and make your own way. Anyway, I can always do all these jobs by myself. When you were young, we went through the same thing."
Seeing the fourth brother's smug smile, Song Chunxue sneered, "But I won't give him much money for his journey. Do you think that working outside is easier than herding sheep, since you don't have to support yourself with your own hands?"
"How many people who toil like oxen and horses for local tyrants dream of going home to herd sheep, but they can't do it? Do you know why?"
The fourth brother, holding onto the handlebars, descended the slope. "Why?"
"Because they don't own land, they can't be considered poor peasants. Most of them are slaves, didn't you know?"
The fourth brother certainly knew, but he went to the market today and saw his former classmates.
He suddenly couldn't understand why he had gone from a respectable student at the village school to a shepherd boy.
After being mocked by his classmates, he had no desire to herd sheep.
"Okay, I'll herd the sheep."
"Good to know. I'll give you a share of the money when the lamb is sold. Stop thinking about making big money all the time. You can't even study properly, what great things can you accomplish?"
The fourth brother picked at his ear in dissatisfaction.
Song Chunxue was too lazy to say anything more, and followed behind the car, occasionally lending a hand to push it.
When they got home, they saw a ragged Taoist priest sitting under the big willow tree outside the courtyard gate.
"Mom, he's definitely trying to scam us. I'm going to kick him out." Having been fooled before, the fourth son gets angry whenever he sees someone like that.
"Don't talk nonsense, you can't afford to offend this kind of person."
Song Chunxue lowered her voice and pulled him back a little, "You take the corn to the yard first, I'll go take a look."
Song Chunxue dusted herself off and walked over with a smile.
"You're back," the Taoist priest leaning against the tree opened his eyes, and was stunned when he saw Song Chunxue. "Believer, how old are you this year?"
longevity?
Song Chunxue almost said she was seventy-eight.
She carefully examined the Taoist priest. Although his clothes were not clean, his tall, black hair looked as if it had just been washed. His eyes were very bright, his face was radiant, and he had a faint smell of herbs on him.
"What do you mean by old age? I'm only thirty-six this year," she laughed. "Are you here for a meal? I..."
“No, I’m not a fake Taoist priest who scams people out of food and drink,” he said, pointing to the door of the thatched hut. “There’s a talisman in this house that can cause harm. If you believe me, I can remove it for you, and then I’ll eat your meal. How about that?”
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