Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Arriving at the Fan Family
When Kang He arrived at the fence gate, he didn't have time to take a closer look at the Fan family.
A little girl about ten years old ran into the yard. She had sparse yellow hair. She was very surprised to see Fan Jing and called him "big brother".
Fan Jing hummed.
He turned his head and saw Kang He at the door, but he didn't follow him in. He raised his chin and motioned him to come in.
"Brother, who is this?"
Fan Zhener saw a stranger coming in through the door and asked in a low voice.
Fan Jing didn't answer. He just put down the backpack and said to Zhen'er, "Pour some water."
When Zhen'er saw the bundle in Fan Jing's hand, she suddenly understood something.
When he thought about who was coming, he was surprised and happy at the same time, and quickly ran into the kitchen to get some soup.
Before Fan Jing could greet Kang He, Chen and Fan Qiaoer in the room heard the noise and came out together.
Chen was shocked when she saw Kang He and cried out:
"Why are you here so early? We said we'd pick you up at the village entrance on time!"
She was still telling Zhen Yatou in the house that her father would be back soon and she must urge him to go up the mountain to call Fan Jing back.
Wangshui Township was a long way away, and it would take several hours for the visitors to arrive. It was just right for them to go to the official road outside the village to greet them after noon, but they didn't expect Kang He to come by car.
Kang He had no idea what Chen was talking about, and he had no way to answer, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
I had no choice but to respond with a smile to show my friendliness.
"He doesn't understand. There's no point in talking to him."
Fan Jing said this and took Kang He's bag into the main room.
Kang He smiled at Chen again. It was useless to stare at her, so he simply followed Fan Jing.
When Chen saw the two of them like this, her eyes moved.
I thought it wasn't strange at all.
The Kang family is really interesting. After receiving the gift money, they hurriedly sent people over. After all, money makes things easier.
".......Alright. As long as they come."
Chen thought that the sooner she arrived, the sooner she would feel at ease.
Although the family did not give much to this son-in-law, they still performed the etiquette and gave six strings of cash to the Kang family.
She was also afraid that she would not be accepted after giving the money.
Chen Sanfang was happy in her heart. She introduced the person to the two maids and happily went into the house to open the cabinet.
She took out four pieces of honey cake bought from a store in the city, a handful of homemade dried bayberries and a handful of dried wild cherries, put them on a plate and brought them to Kanghe.
The second girl saw that her brother-in-law in the main room was tall and big, not the ugly one with strange eyebrows and eyes, and she was happy for her big brother.
There was no way to express it. She was too embarrassed to get close to peek at Kang He like the third girl did, so she simply ran to the field with her head half buried and called out "Dad Fan".
When Fan Shoulin heard that someone had come to his house, he was surprised. He dropped his hoe and hurried back without even taking off his trouser legs. One leg was higher than the other, and he was wearing a pair of straw sandals.
He stood at the door and glanced at Kang He sitting in the main room. He looked just like the one he saw on the blind date. No one had sent him a fake one, so he was no longer anxious.
The man nodded, put his hands behind his back, and calmly went to the water tank at the edge of the yard to scoop water to wash off the mud on his feet.
"My family thought you weren't coming until the afternoon, so they didn't prepare anything. You must be hungry after coming all this way. Eat some fruit first. We'll cook dinner soon."
Although she knew that Kang He might not understand, Chen still treated Kang He like an ordinary person.
Firstly, she didn't know how to entertain like this; secondly, she was entertaining for Fan Jing to see.
Look at the teacher Fan Jing brought back, the two of them seem to be getting along very well.
She wanted to embarrass Kang He. She had messed up the house on the first day of the visit. Not only would it embarrass Kang He, but it would also bring shame to Fan Jing.
Kang He just couldn't understand what Chen was saying, but when he saw Chen constantly sending fruits to him, he also understood the procedure of being entertained at someone's home.
So he stammered, "Thank you...thank you."
Chen was even more delighted when she heard this: "We are a family, and I am so polite."
Then he called Zhen'er and Qiao'er over and introduced them to Kanghe.
Kang He saw two little girls. He could tell from their looks that they were members of the Fan family and guessed that they were Fan Jing's sisters.
However, he had not previously planned to marry into the Fan family, and had not made any preparations for this.
Now, two little girls, one lively and the other quiet, were calling him. As a brother, he couldn't even offer any gift when they met for the first time. That would have been fine, but he couldn't even say a few polite and nice words, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
Fan Jing, who had been standing silently by the door frame, suddenly said, "Eat."
Chen, who was chattering about the two maids, paused for a moment and said, "Yes, my eldest brother has returned from the mountains, and Kanghe is here again. Let's have something good to eat today."
"Zhen'er and Qiao'er, go help mother cook. Big brother, please make sure Kanghe is settled and pack up the boxes and bags and bring them into the house first."
There were only two people left in the main room.
Kang He couldn't help but look at Fan Jing. The two looked at each other. Fan Jing didn't say anything. He walked straight over, picked up the bag on the table and the boxes on the ground, and went into the house.
Kang He paused and followed.
Fan Jing's house was not bright. It only had a small window on the east side, and half of the light was blocked by a pepper tree in the backyard.
The house is not facing the sun, and unless it is sunny, the house will be dark during the day and you have to light an oil lamp to brighten it up.
The room was not big. There was a wooden bed against the north wall, covered with an old-fashioned but dirt-resistant coarse cloth bed curtain, so the inside could not be seen.
Near the window was a small square bamboo table like the ones in the main hall, with cups, bowls, twine, and carving knives scattered on it...
Fan Jing walked straight forward, put the box in his hand on the ground, pushed away the clutter on the table, and placed the bundle on top.
When I turned around, I found that Kang He had also followed me.
He didn't come in with them, but stood at the door, his eyes drawn to the walls of the room.
The bows, arrows, stone spears, rabbit furs, deer antlers, and black boar tusks hanging above dazzled him.
And placed in the most conspicuous place is a black bear skin with shiny fur, which is particularly fierce.
Kang He opened his eyes wide and was amazed. He only thought Fan Jing was capable and didn't know that he was a craftsman.
When I first saw his house, I felt it was very strange.
Fan Jing stretched out his foot and hooked out a four-legged stool from behind the door, brought it to Kang He and motioned him to sit down.
Kang He didn't sit down, but pointed eagerly at the things on the wall.
Fan Jing hesitated for a moment and nodded.
After getting permission, Kang He immediately went into the house and went straight to the black bear's fur. He touched the rough fur, turned to look at the deer's head, touched the long antlers, and pinched the wild boar's teeth that were as hard as a cone.
Curiously, he took out the bow and arrow, pulled the hemp string to test it, and then pulled out the bamboo arrows from the basket... It was like a monkey entering an orchard of flowers and fruits.
In the kitchen, Chen tied a piece of scrap linen apron around her waist, quickly cleaned the pot, and boiled rice.
Holding the kitchen knife, he stepped on the stove stool and cut a palm-sized piece of bacon from the stove.
The meat had been smoked on the stove for a long time, and the outside and inside were black like a piece of charcoal, but when the knife cut it, the fat was crystal clear, the lean meat was bright red, and it had a salty and fragrant smell.
Zhen'er, who was chopping wood and making fire under the stove, and Qiao'er, who was sitting by the stove door and picking vegetables, stopped what they were doing when they saw the piece of meat in Chen's hand.
The family hadn't eaten meat for more than a month, and it was so cool to see her mother willing to cut off such a big piece of bacon.
Her mother was very generous when her husband came to visit.
Qiao'er put her legs together, with a small round winnowing basket placed on her knees, which was filled with a handful of plump water chestnuts, also known as茭白.
She peeled the outer skin of the radish melon and said to Zhen'er, who was stoking the fire, "Mother must be frying the radish melon with bacon."
The wild gourd is white and as crisp and tender as bamboo shoots, but without the astringency of bamboo shoots. It is the most delicious dish in autumn.
When the watermelons in the fields at home are ripe, most of them are peeled and sold in the county. I can't bear to eat them at home, so I pick up some that are not of good quality to enjoy.
It is late autumn, and this is the last crop of wild gourds. They are not as big and strong as those in the current season, but the market is about to close, so the price has risen again.
Chen originally wanted to sell it in the city, but when Kang He came, the family had to serve some delicious food to entertain guests, so she had to use it to cook.
Qiao'er's stomach started to feel nauseous just thinking about the aroma of fried radish and meat.
Although Zhen'er didn't say anything, she was thinking in her heart that her mother could make stir-fried rice and pork.
Chen soaked the bacon in the rice washing water, preparing to soak it for a while before scrubbing it with a dried loofah net.
The outer layer of the bacon is dirty and it is difficult to clean it by soaking it in water.
Fortunately, it is still early and there is no rush.
She wiped her greasy hands on her apron and glanced towards the stove door.
The backpack that Fan Jing brought back from the mountains was still under the eaves outside the kitchen. No one knew what was inside. The linen cloth covering the backpack seemed to be moving, as if there was something alive inside.
"Zhen'er, go see what your elder brother brought back from the mountains today."
"Big brother couldn't move the mountain products he brought back."
The second girl said timidly that her elder brother was very serious and no one in the family dared to take his mountain products without his permission.
In the past, Chen took mountain products to her family without asking for permission. Fan Jing was waiting at the door, and when he saw her come back, he asked her for money.
Chen felt humiliated and cried to Fan's father, saying that Fan Jing disrespected her and did not treat her as his mother. She cried and made a fuss.
Fan Jing didn't buy it and kicked the stool away in front of Fan's father.
Although Chen was not asked to pay the money in the end, from then on, the family never touched the prey he brought back without Fan Jing's permission.
But after living under the same roof for a long time, Chen also figured out Fan Jing's personality and knew that he would not care about serious matters.
Only when the matchmaker came that day did she dare to give his pheasant to someone else.
Chen urged, "Your brother-in-law and his wife will be family from now on, but since he's visiting us today, it would be inappropriate not to prepare some delicious food to entertain him."
"In the future, as a family, we must not make others feel unhappy the moment we arrive."
"There's not much food at home. I'd like to kill the hens in the yard for meat, but they're laying eggs now, so killing them now would be a waste."
In a few days, they will have to invite their relatives to their home for a good meal. Although their poor family cannot hold a grand wedding, they still want to have a small celebration.
We killed chickens and fish today and ate them, but we still have to prepare food to entertain our relatives. Where can we get so many chickens and ducks?
Zhen'er felt that what Chen said made some sense, so she stood up and said, "I'll go ask my eldest brother."
Chen hummed and watched the little girl walk towards Fan Jing's room with a smile.
She was too embarrassed to speak, so she could only point at the little girl.
Qiao'er waited eagerly for an answer. She couldn't bear to eat the wild gourds at home, and she was even more reluctant to eat her elder brother's mountain products.
If all of them can be served today, it would be Chinese New Year.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
