Chapter 47 The Temptation of Returning to the Village
Returning home from the city is a major undertaking. During the May Day holiday, more than a dozen members of the Meng family split up into several groups and embarked on the long journey back to the village.
Meng Lirong, having borrowed her second sister's new BMW, was the first to leave, leaving at dawn with her bags slung over her shoulders. Jiang Ranxu and Meng Weishen borrowed their uncle's old Santana, taking Meng Weishen's grandmother with them. They left last, so they could only try to get the last seat for lunch.
The northern countryside was vast and desolate, with endless roads stretching across thousands of acres of farmland. They switched from provincial roads to rural roads, from asphalt to dirt roads, and the car jolted like a pirate ship. They encountered one obstacle after another along the way. Farmers herding geese straddled two rural roads. The domineering birds spread their white wings in front of the car, their quacking cries competing with the whistle.
Jiang Ranxu was forced to step on the brakes and was in a very gloomy mood.
He regretted it before he even reached the village.
He shouldn't have fabricated that long string of cold courtyard stories to fool the soft-hearted straight man. But Meng Weishen had a three-hundred-round battle with Meng Lirong without telling him, and insisted on taking him back to the old Meng family to feel the "warmth of family."
Thank you. The family he meant was a small family of two, with a dog at most.
The Meng family's house was a bit too big, so warm it could melt you. Just Meng Weishen's aunts, uncles, aunts, cousins, and cousins alone would take Jiang Ranxu a while to recognize (even Meng Weishen couldn't recognize his own one-year-old cousin). Not to mention the multitude of people with the surname Meng in the countryside. Mendel's genetic experiments wouldn't even require that many peas.
Besides, the closest thing Jiang Ranxu had ever been to a rural area was Miyun, a reservoir resort, the kind of idyllic urban fantasy. He'd been worried about rural hygiene for days. Wouldn't they be washing clothes upstream, emptying urinals midstream, and bathing downstream?
The farmer stretched out his thick, pliers-like hands, as if to snap the geese's necks. Finally, the geese half-succumbed and clucked, making way for them.
The grandma in the back seat was anxious to video call her old classmates. While the car was moving smoothly, she quickly took out her phone:
"Hello, family. I'm in the car. I'm going back to my hometown today to visit my old man and our old house."
She pointed the camera at Meng Weishen and said, "Let me show you my eldest grandson. He has been beautiful since he was young. I raised him and he is very close to me. He got married this year and found a wife. I will show his photo to the family next time."
Then he turned to Jiang Ranxu: "Driving? The driver is my eldest grandson's wife's brother. My eldest grandson said that his wife works in the hospital and has to work shifts during the May Day holiday, so her brother came to play for a few days in her place. Our country is fun, with cats, dogs, old cows, and geese... Oh, should I call him uncle?"
Meng Weishen was very embarrassed and muttered softly: "Grandma, there is no need to explain it in such detail!"
The old lady then turned to share the blood pressure medication her eldest daughter had bought her. After a few elderly people chatted away, she turned off the video call, slowed down her pace, and re-recorded her usual conversation: "Hi, everyone. I'm in the car, heading back home today..."
Meng Weishen dodged the camera and continued to protest: "Grandma, your beauty filter is too strong. The human face has been twisted into a pink flower curl. How can the flower curl have cat ears?"
However, the old lady was completely immersed in her short video art and ignored him.
In the rearview mirror, Jiang Ranxu saw his smiling face.
The disguise of "brother-in-law" fit the bill perfectly. Meng Lirong could save face, and he could also successfully disguise himself as an ordinary relative of Meng Weishen. The entire Meng family extended a warm welcome to him.
When Meng Lirong made the second urgent call, their Santana arrived at the gate of the old house.
Meng Weishen's uncle was the first to rush out from the next yard, shouting:
"Attention, children! The top scorer in the college entrance examination from our Meng family is here!"
Several little cubs the size of beans rushed out of the yard, biting their fingernails, wanting to see if Meng Weishen was a smart monster with three heads.
Under the bewildered yet admiring gazes of the other children, Meng Weishen grew increasingly embarrassed. "Keep your voice down, uncle. I only managed to get first place in the district, and it's been ten years. Can you tell me something new?"
"Okay, okay, let's talk about something new today." The uncle continued to shout, "Ladies, please pay attention. Although the number one scholar's wife is not here, the eldest brother-in-law is here! The eldest brother-in-law is so handsome, and his sister must be beautiful too. I heard that she is a native of the capital. Our number one scholar has good taste!"
This time it was the turn of the mothers of the cubs to rush out of the yard, pretending to catch the cubs, but actually to observe the live handsome men.
The uncle never changed his habit of being so familiar with others. Without asking Jiang Ranxu's opinion, he would put his arm around his shoulder and invite him to drink the homemade white wine from the countryside.
Jiang Ranxu felt a chill down his spine. The touched shoulder was about to breed a large number of germs. He had to escape immediately to find clean water.
At this moment, Meng Weishen pulled him to his side and drove his uncle away:
"Uncle, drinking culture is a bad habit. Don't force people to drink at every turn. Besides, he can't drink, and I don't want to drink either. You old guys can have fun by yourselves."
My uncle was asking for trouble. He said angrily, "Don't want to drink? If not, you two can go to the kids' table."
The sunny days of May were perfect for a dinner party, with plenty of sunshine and a pleasant temperature. The adults moved the dining table into the courtyard, where there was plenty of space for them to enjoy drinks, eat meat, chat, and laugh.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ranxu was destined to be a sociable person. He saw unfamiliar faces as unknown sources of infection, and crowds of strangers as giant petri dishes. He was like a monster terrified of popularity, always seeking a quiet retreat.
Fortunately, Meng Weishen was an exception. He desperately clung to Meng Weishen's arm and let him lead him to the children's table, away from the main table.
The men and women in the village all loved to drink, and at this moment, they were so intoxicated that they had no time to watch the children. The children, uninterested in eating, lay on the ground, manipulating their plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex into beating up their plastic Triceratops. A semi-free-range dog, taking advantage of the chaos, tiptoed over and singled out Meng Weishen, the most vulnerable person at the table, with a furious wag of its tail. As expected, Meng Weishen threw several chicken bones at it.
Jiang Ranxu gradually came back to life. He still felt dizzy, but his breathing gradually calmed down, and he was able to eat the mushroom stewed chicken that Meng Weishen had prepared.
——
Meng Lirong and her brothers and sisters had agreed to build a formal tombstone for their father during their return home, engraving the names of all the younger generations on it. However, something went wrong during the custom-made process; the store mistakenly engraved the character "惟" (only) instead of "惟" (only), and the tombstone would not be delivered until tomorrow.
There were too many people returning home, and the bedrooms in the old house were not enough, so Meng Weishen took the opportunity to suggest sleeping with his brother-in-law. Except for Meng Lirong, who looked like she was watching a Durex advertisement on the street, no one else thought there was anything wrong with it.
Likewise, the two of them only had one thin blanket to share. The nighttime temperatures in May were sneezing-inducing, and even though the bed was spacious enough, the two of them had to huddle together for warmth. The mattress and blanket smelled clean, and Jiang Ranxu hadn't sprayed them with extra alcohol, so they felt quite comfortable.
Neither of them could sleep, so Meng Weishen started talking about his grandparents as a bedtime story.
Meng Weishen's grandfather left home early and, upon graduation, was assigned to a railway bureau locomotive job, where he slept more on the locomotive than at home. Meng Weishen's grandmother, a fellow villager, was an announcer at the township radio station. After they met and married, they spent less time together, leaving her to raise four children alone.
The old man rarely stayed home when he was young. After retirement, he lived in a comfortable city apartment, but he missed his old house in the countryside very much. To show his filial piety, his four children spent money and effort to renovate the old house, which was overgrown with weeds, into a large bungalow with water and electricity.
Last May Day, the old man insisted on going back to the countryside to live in a bungalow. While his children were not paying attention, he climbed a ladder to the roof to weed. As a result, he fell from a height of three meters and landed on his head.
In accordance with the old man's instructions, his children buried him in the farmland at the gate of the yard.
The fragmented story ended, and the village had fallen asleep, waiting for the arrival of daylight. There was an occasional rustling outside the window, not the footsteps of the moon's shadow, but the sound of the wind blowing through the cornfield.
Amidst the chaotic darkness, Meng Weishen's pupils remained clear. He stared at the ceiling, his tone somewhat melancholic, "Seeing the stray dog in the village reminds me of Qin Shi Huang. I wonder how it's doing in the foster care center."
Is it time to think about the dog now? Jiang Ranxu said sinisterly, "It's useless for you to think about it. Qin Shi Huang won't miss you. It must have found a new girlfriend or boyfriend these days. Unlike you, you only think about the stinky dog at home wherever you go."
It was rare that Meng Weishen understood the hidden meaning in his words. He came over and hugged him amidst the rustling noises: "Don't be angry. If you were sent to a foster care center, I would miss you too."
"I'm not angry." Jiang Ranxu deliberately turned his back. "Wait, I'm not going to the foster care center either."
Meng Weishen chuckled softly and bit the back of his neck. "I can't sleep. Brother-in-law, let's do something."
Jiang Ranxu cursed inwardly, "Straight men just can't control their lower body." His eighty-year-old grandmother was sleeping next door, yet he dared to be affectionate with his brother-in-law.
He was determined to teach the other man a lesson. He pretended to be asleep, ignoring his overtures. When Meng Weishen left the back of his neck, he suddenly turned over, pressed Meng Weishen against the hard bed, and bit his lips. Meng Weishen just groaned, but the root of his tongue was crushed by him, and he had to endure not to leak any sound.
After the kiss, Meng Weishen let out a few breaths as if he had just learned how to breathe.
Meng Weishen was still unsatisfied: "No follow-up?"
"No. Unless you can buy a set at your village store right now."
Meng Weishen came over and hugged him again: "I'm actually very curious, how did you do it? I tried to find some movies to watch, but they were all ugly..."
"If you keep making trouble, your grandma will come and catch you."
Jiang Ranxu's teasing had barely finished when he heard a rustling noise from next door. Feeling guilty, he quickly pulled Meng Weishen away from him.
The faint rustling next door stopped, and the content of the conversation could not be heard. Then a set of footsteps sounded, stepping from the adjacent bedroom into the connected living room.
The living room had excellent sound transmission, and they finally heard Meng Lirong's voice clearly:
"Mom, I dreamed about my fourth sister."
silence.
"She was always like a little baby, crying in my dream. She blamed us for not writing her name on Dad's tombstone, and she couldn't find her home."
silence.
"I always feel sorry for Fourth Sister. I shouldn't have taken her to play by the pond. Oh, I haven't forgotten her for decades. Sometimes I also feel sorry for Weiwei. Mom, you don't know, he is now..."
An old voice cut through the woman's sobs: "Young lady, please let yourself go. You've been worrying too much in this life, and living too hard."
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