Chapter 376: Warm Sunshine on Earth
Xu Guoliang smiled and said, "I slept well. The air is good in the morning. Let's get up and take a walk."
Li Guangwen felt much better after the night. Not only was he able to greet them, he also introduced Zheng Xiulan to the father and son: "She lives in a big courtyard. Her surname is Zheng. I call her aunt, and Lai Yu calls her grandma. Lai Xi and Lai Yu were born at the same time, and they've gotten along well since they were young."
Xu Guoliang smiled and greeted Zheng Xiulan: "Aunt."
Zheng Xiulan responded quickly, "Hey, well, we're all from the same yard, don't be so polite, come inside and sit for a while and warm yourself by the fire."
Xu Qingming nodded: "Okay, I'll come back later."
Zheng Xiulan looked at them and felt as awkward as the city people who were dressed like their leaders, so she greeted them twice and went into the house.
Li Guangwen took a basin and invited Xu Qingming and the others into the house to warm themselves by the fire, and then poured them water to wash their faces.
Just as he picked it up, Xu Qingming took it over: "Uncle, let me do it, I can do it myself."
"Hey, hey, do it yourself. Be careful not to burn your hands."
"No, no."
Xu Qingming and Xu Guoliang had just finished washing up when Li Laiyu came over.
Xu Qingming poured her some water and brought it to her, then squatted with her on the bumpy eaves. Li Guangwen was stunned for a long time and his nose felt sore.
Lai Yu is a child who will never be reborn into a family like theirs. He has suffered since childhood and has not had a good day at home for more than ten years. Now he can finally enjoy happiness after all the suffering.
After Li Laiyu finished washing up and the water in the pot was boiling, Li Guangwen quietly asked Li Laiyu: "How do you cook breakfast?"
Li Laiyu glanced at the stove and said, "The water is boiling, so let's cook the corn porridge."
"No, people from big cities can get used to eating this."
Li Laiyu pursed his dry lips and said, "People in big cities are just like us. Corn porridge is also food, why can't we eat it? It's just a good opportunity for them to experience our big pot cooking over a wood stove. If they go back, they won't even be able to eat it if they want to!"
Since she said so, Li Guangwen naturally didn't say anything else. He ordered her quietly: "Then I'll cook this. You go and serve the people. Don't let them sit there idle. If you don't mind the cold, you can go outside for a walk. Don't go too far."
Li Lai Yu knew that he was still uncomfortable, nodded, turned around and went outside to ask Xu Guoliang and the others: "Uncle, do you want to go for a walk around?" Although it was snowing and it was not easy to go up the mountain, it was okay to walk around on the small path.
Xu Guoliang said, "You take Qingming with you. Your aunt and I will stay at home for a while to warm ourselves by the fire. We'll go together after dinner."
They came back this time to settle the affairs of the two young people, so the couple had to have a good contact and talk with Li Guangwen.
After sending the two young men away, the couple went into the house.
Xu Guoliang took the initiative to talk to Li Guangwen: "What are you doing? Let me help you."
Li Guangwen waved his hands hurriedly: "No, no, please sit down, sit down and warm yourself by the fire."
Okay!
Seeing that he was uncomfortable, Xu Guoliang did not force him and sat down with Wang Mengfang.
Wang Mengfang looked up at the dark roof and the meat hanging above the fire: "Is this smoked bacon?"
Li Guangwen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, bacon. You actually recognize this."
"Of course I know him. We used to live in the countryside together. But you can smoke so much bacon by yourself. That's amazing!" It's not easy to get some meat in the countryside nowadays, especially since Li Guangwen is alone.
Li Guangwen sat behind the stove and said, "That's nothing special. It's just the blessing of Lai Yu. We have to hand in the pigs we were tasked with. If you raise one, you'll get half a pig. If you raise two, you'll get one."
"When Lai Yu was home, she was very diligent and could feed two pigs. Later, she went away to school, and it became difficult for me to work and feed the pigs at the same time. The team took special care of me and allowed me to feed one pig. At the end of the year, we would complete the task together with the pig farm. After feeding the pigs, they would kill them and give me half of the meat. So I never lacked oil all year round."
Xu Guoliang praised, "That's impressive. How can one person take care of anything when he's busy with this and that?" He then turned to look at Li Guangwen and said, "Are you feeling well?"
"It's okay, it's okay."
Xu Guoliang said, "It's not easy for anyone! It's not easy for Xiaoyu, and it's not easy for you either. But now the child is older and has made progress, and you can relax a little. Everything will get better in the future."
Li Guangwen chuckled. "It's not easy, but Xiaoyu is the one who has it the hardest. To be honest, I don't worry about her that much. It's all her own fault."
"But there's nothing we can do about it. It's her bad luck that she couldn't be reincarnated into our family."
"When she was born, our area was in the most difficult time. There was a great famine, and we had to eat everything from tree bark to roots. Our family background was not good, and my father was a DZ and an intellectual. Her mother had fled the famine from other places and was picked up by my mother. She died after she gave birth to her. My brother was shocked and basically ignored her. She was raised by my parents. But when she was only eight, my father passed away. Later, my mother and my second brother also passed away. We were the only two left."
"The one born in the yard with her is her granddaughter Hu Laixi who spoke to you this morning. The life she leads is the same as Lai Yu's."
"But the two children have a good relationship. Lai Yu was able to study and go to college thanks to Lai Xi. In those years, no one in the team was willing or dared to associate with our family. Only Lai Xi was around Lai Yu every day. She would come back and teach Lai Yu whatever she learned in school. Lai Yu was also smart and could learn quickly."
"At only six or seven years old, she would stand on a chair and lean over the stove to help cook for the family. By eight, she could pull grass and feed the pigs. Later, her mother-in-law became ill and her father went crazy. She was also only a little old, and I had to go to work, so I couldn't take care of the family. She was the one who took care of everything."
As Li Guangwen spoke, his nose began to feel sore. The man in his forties still couldn't help choking up when talking about the past.
"I'm not saying this to play pity on you. I just want to tell you that Lai Yu's life growing up has been really hard. You city people will never understand how difficult that kind of life is. Our family is poor, and our conditions will never be as good as yours, and we don't expect to marry someone better than you. Lai Yu is a good girl who knows how to live a good life. No matter who she is with or where she is, she can live a good life."
"I was thinking, regardless of whether her family is rich or poor, she should at least find someone who cares about her. She can't choose her birth. She's suffered for so many years because of being born in the wrong family. She can't let anything go wrong with her marriage. If she continues to suffer for the rest of her life, that would be too unfair."
Xu Guoliang sighed and said after a long while, "If you're talking about marrying above your station, it's our Qingming who's marrying above his station. We all know what you're talking about. That girl is very kind. She's known Qingming since she was in school, which means it's been four years. You should know your own child well. If she hadn't been determined to become a family with us, she wouldn't have let Qingming come here, and we couldn't have just come here on our own initiative."
Wang Mengfang followed suit, "Yes, we only have Qingming as our child, so we wanted a girl. I like Xiaoyu from the bottom of my heart. I'm not just trying to show off, I really treat her like my own daughter. She's alone in the capital now, and once she settles down, she'll have a family. If you have the chance, you should go over there and take a look."
Li Guangwen waved his hand: "This is all I have achieved in my life. The farthest place I have been is the commune. Life is much better now than before. I don't ask for anything else, as long as she is well. Our family line will not be cut off."
Xu Guoliang asked him, "Are there any special requirements for getting engaged here?"
Li Guangwen thought for a long time: "I don't know either. Ours is simple. We are all introduced by matchmakers. The girl's family asks for it, the man agrees and gives the gift, and then we just agree on a time to pick her up."
After saying that, he felt that this was inappropriate: "But Lai Yu is different. She is a college student, the only one in our commune who passed the exam to go to the capital. She is also a city dweller, so she definitely can't follow our ways."
Xu Guoliang smiled and said, "Of course."
"We came back this time just to discuss this matter with you. Xiaoyu only has you as an elder, so naturally we have to listen to your opinion on such a big matter as marriage."
Li Guangwen opened his mouth and said, "That's not the case. This is a major event in her life. It depends on her opinion."
After that, he asked Xu Guoliang: "How long can you stay here?"
"I can't stay for a few days. Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. It's a rare opportunity for me to come here. I have to spend the New Year with Xiaoyu here and leave on the second day of the New Year."
Li Guangwen nodded.
He really didn't understand such things, so he had to ask someone and find out how to do it.
It was still snowing outside, and Li Laiyu and Xu Qingming didn't walk far. They just wandered around. When they turned around, they ran into Hu Wenhai, the third son of the Hu family.
Hu Wenhai is five years older than her, and the child is running all over the floor at this moment.
Seeing her stunned for a moment, he grinned and greeted her: "Laiyu is back!"
Li Laiyu nodded without responding.
She didn't interact with anyone here. Among the families in the yard, she had nothing to say to anyone except Hu Laixi.
Hu Wenhai obviously knew that this was her personality, and he didn't mind her indifference. He continued to ask her, "Is this your partner?"
Li Lai Yu just said "hmm" and didn't even plan to introduce himself to him.
Hu Wenhai nodded and said, "Sure. I'll go back first. I'll bring your partner home to warm up by the fire later. Lai Xi will be back in a couple of days, so you two can get together."
Li Lai Yu nodded: "Okay!" It's just right that Hu Lai Xi came back. If she didn't come back, she would go see her.
After Hu Wenhai left, Xu Qingming spoke up, "Are you from the same courtyard?"
Li Laiyu nodded. "We live in the same courtyard, but we don't interact much. When we were little, he brought me and Laixi with him. Later, something happened at home, and the adults in his family didn't allow them to play with me anymore, so we didn't interact much anymore. The only exception is Laixi. No matter what the family says, she won't listen and always comes to see me."
Hu Laixi is the only ray of sunshine that has been with her for more than ten years here.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
