Qian Xiao looked over and rushed over in a few steps: "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, what brings you two here?"
Qian Erbao and Qian Sanbao quickly took the luggage from Qian Xiao: "Uncle Zhou's son-in-law sent a telegram saying that you are arriving today. Your second uncle and I were thinking of coming to pick you up and take you home. If you two walk for a long time, when will you be able to go back?"
Sun Kaicheng also came over: "Second Uncle Qian, Third Uncle Qian."
"Hey, you've grown quite a bit, you're a big boy now. Hurry up and put all the stuff on the oxcart." Qian Sanbao patted Sun Kaicheng on the shoulder.
"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, the road is so difficult to travel, why did you bring an oxcart here?"
In winter, the snow on the road to the village is so thick that it's faster to walk than to catch a cart.
At this point, even the usually lively Third Uncle sighed: "There were only two snowfalls this year, and the snow was barely ankle-deep, so the roads were easy to walk on." But next year's harvest is going to be tough.
This year is a bit better. With the waterwheel, the fields don't lack water even if it doesn't rain. But now that it's not even snowing, how much water will be left in the river next year?
Oh right, how could she have forgotten about that? It seems a drought next year is inevitable.
"Get in the car quickly, cover yourselves with the blankets, let's hurry back now, your grandma and the others are waiting."
The two of them were obedient. They got on the oxcart, sat down, and covered themselves with a large quilt, which was obviously prepared by their grandmother.
"Why did you two bring so much stuff back? It's a good thing we came to pick you up."
"It's not that everything looks new and we just want to buy some as gifts."
"Erdan, are you still going to your dad's place?"
"I'm not going. It's inconvenient to go out in the dead of winter. I'll visit my parents during summer vacation. They won't be coming back this year."
"Yes, the letter I received a few days ago said that I won't be coming back for the Chinese New Year this year."
"How are you doing at school? Are you settling in well? Is no one bullying you? Are you getting enough to eat?"
"It's all good, and we're well-fed. How's the harvest in our village this year?" Grandpa and Grandma never talked about these things in their letters; they always said that everything was fine at home.
"The harvest is a little less, but not much different from previous years. We can still make a living. I don't know what next year will be like."
"Our village is considered good. Those villages that share a river with us are doing alright, but those that live far from the river are suffering terribly. They say that as long as they pay their grain tax, they can at least keep from starving. You haven't seen it, but it's almost the end of the year, and there are so many girls marrying into our village. They're visiting each other so frequently."
"They've come to borrow grain? If they start borrowing grain at this time, how will they survive the next six months?" You should know that if you don't want to have grain stored up, you'll have to wait until after the autumn harvest next year.
This is assuming favorable weather next year. She knows the weather will be even worse next year, with little to no rain, let alone a good harvest. Yet she's already asking for grain at this point, without any preparation whatsoever!
"That's for sure. Tell me, which village elder wouldn't have experience? They don't know to prepare their own life-saving food in advance, and they're just thinking about borrowing from somewhere else."
Sun Kaicheng frowned. Is it already this serious this year? What about in two years? I wonder how many people will starve to death by then.
"What about in the mountains? How's the situation there?"
"Not much has changed in the mountains. In fact, as long as people are diligent, the families living near the mountains will not starve to death." But some people don't know how to find food for themselves. They just think about relying on others and want to get something for nothing.
"That's good."
Hearing the noise, Grandma Qian tiptoed out the door quickly: "Oh my, my eldest granddaughter is back! How are you? Are you tired? I see you've gotten thinner."
Sun Kaicheng, who knows that Qian Xiao has gained five pounds... Do all elderly people say this when they see their children returning home?
Grandma Zhou came out later and, knowing that the Qian family's two sons had gone to pick up their grandson, the old couple came to the Qian family to wait: "Let me take a look, and sure enough, Erdan's face looks so small."
Sun Kaicheng... How come he didn't know that his own grandmother had started lying through her teeth? Also, is Erdan your granddaughter or am I your grandson? Can't you see me, a grown man?
Qian Xiao touched her rounder face. Could it be that the scale in her space was inaccurate? Had she really lost weight again?
Auntie Er chuckled and pulled Qian Xiao's hand, saying, "Come inside, it's cold outside." She hadn't noticed that Er Dan had lost weight; he had clearly gained weight. She guessed that her mother-in-law missed Er Dan too much.
Grandma Qian nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, hurry up and come inside to talk. You must be freezing after coming back from here. Chengcheng is here too? Come inside and warm up on the kang (heated brick bed).
Sun Kaicheng... So, you didn't even see me just now?
Grandma Zhou waved her hand: "Alright, there's plenty of time. I'll take Chengcheng back to get ready first. Come to my house for dinner tomorrow, and I'll make some good food for the two kids to nourish them."
"That's fine, let the second brother drive the cart and take you back."
"Okay, you should go back and have a good talk with the child. It's been so long since I've seen him, I miss him terribly," said the Qian family girl, who kept mentioning Erdan's name all day long, showing how much she missed him.
Qian Xiao entered the main room, and Aunt Qian quickly helped him take off his cotton-padded coat. Qian Xiao kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the kang (a heated brick bed). Old Man Qian even took a small quilt and covered his son Erdan's legs with it, as they were probably frozen through in the dry, cold weather.
"Master"
"Hey, you must be exhausted from this journey?"
"Not tired at all. I came back on a sleeper train and there are beds where I can lie down and sleep. I'm not tired at all."
Aunt Qian San brought in a bowl and said, "Drink this quickly to ward off the cold."
Qian Xiao took the bowl of brown sugar ginger water, which contained three poached eggs. Without any hesitation, Qian Xiao slurped it down, and after finishing the bowl, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Just give me the bowl, you sit still and stay warm, otherwise you might easily get sick."
"Hehe, thank you, Third Aunt."
"You silly child, why are you being so polite with your third aunt?" Third Aunt Qian tapped Qian Xiao's forehead. Not to mention her own mother-in-law, even she herself couldn't help but think that way.
At this moment, the four little ones on the kang (a heated brick bed) finally found a chance to speak: "Big sister, big sister, which train did you take back? What was it like taking the train? Were there many people on it? What does the capital look like?"
Qian Xiao hadn't seen her four younger brothers for almost half a year, so she was particularly patient and told them about her experiences one by one. The whole family sat around listening to Qian Xiao's stories.
At that time, rural people could boast about going to the provincial capital for half a year, let alone Qian Xiao going to the heart of the country. Who wouldn't be curious about what the outside world was like?
Qian Xiao instructed her third uncle: "Third uncle, bring me a bag, yes, that one."
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