When Yang Wanlin returned home, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Only Li Xiaomei was waiting for him in the main room. He took out a pheasant and a rabbit from the basket and handed them to Li Xiaomei.
Li Xiaomei took the chicken and rabbit and said with some dissatisfaction, "I've been away for so long, and this is all I got!"
Yang Wanlin rolled his eyes and said, "If you don't want it, give it to me. If you have the ability, go to the mountain yourself!"
Yang Wanlin was about to grab the food after he finished speaking, but Li Xiaomei turned around to avoid Yang Wanlin's hand and was about to go into the room with the food. Yang Wanlin held her hand and asked, "Where's my dinner?"
"In the kitchen?" Li Xiaomei said and closed the door.
Yang Wanlin went to the kitchen and opened the pot, only to find that there were only a few cold sweet potatoes inside.
After Yang Wanlin lit the fire, he put the sweet potatoes in the pot to steam. When the sweet potatoes were steamed, he closed the kitchen door and took out three pheasant eggs from his arms. He found them in the mountains today and planned to make egg soup with them tonight.
After Yang Wanlin finished dinner and everyone in the family went to bed, Yang Wanlin secretly ran to the vicinity of Yang Fan's house and waited for almost half an hour. Then he saw Yang Cai sneaking up to the door of Yang Fan's house.
While Yang Cai was not paying attention, Yang Wanlin put a newly bought sackcloth bag over him from behind, dragged him into the bushes nearby, beat him up, and then left.
When Yang Cai was beaten, he didn't dare to say a word because he came here tonight to do something guilty. This is why Yang Wanlin dared to beat him next to Yang Fan's house.
Yang Wanlin discovered the affair between Yang Cai and his cousin's wife when he returned from the commune one night last winter.
After beating the man, Yang Wanlin returned home, went to the kitchen, took a shower with hot water, rubbed his clothes, sewed the money he had earned that day into his cotton-padded jacket, and then went back to his room to go to bed.
But Yang Wanlin did not sleep well at night, and the same was true for the next two days. He was worried every day.
On the morning of the tenth day of the first lunar month, Yang Wanlin told Li Xiaomei that he was going up the mountain right after breakfast. He set a few traps and snares on the mountain and then went to another mountain.
Yang Wanlin walked to the grave of Mr. Yang, put down his backpack, and first cleared the dead grass and newly grown weeds on the grave. Then he sat in front of the tombstone and wiped it with the corner of his clothes. Yang Wanlin looked at the tombstone in silence for a while, and finally said with a firm face: "Grandpa, I want to fight for myself again!"
After Yang Wanlin finished speaking, he started digging behind Yang Gong's tombstone with a sickle. Soon after, Yang Wanlin took out a wooden box from the hole he dug. After opening the wooden box, he took out an iron box from it.
The tin box contained the money Yang Wanlin had saved over the years, which he deposited every six months. He opened the box and counted the money inside. It totaled 115 yuan, 36 cents. He still had 5 yuan, 67 cents on him, bringing his total to 122 yuan and 3 cents.
Yang Wanlin closed the iron box, put it in the wooden box, put the wooden box in the backpack, then filled the hole he had just dug with soil, and then carried the backpack down the mountain and walked towards Liujia Village.
…
At the Liu family, as soon as they finished breakfast, Liu's father took Qingya and her two siblings to start mixing mud and making mud bricks.
When it was almost eleven o'clock, Father Liu said, "Qingya, are you three tired? If you are, take a break and then continue!"
"Dad, we're fine. We'll get the remaining mud bricks together with you. It'll be almost time for lunch when we're done!" Qingya shook her head and said, Ruirui and Feifei nodded.
Ruirui sighed and asked, "Dad, when do you think my eldest sister and brother-in-law will come back? Today is their eighth day in Beijing."
"I miss your eldest sister and brother-in-law. They should be back in a few days. Beijing is too far away from us. It will take six or seven days to go back and forth. Your eldest sister and her husband will have to stay in Beijing for a few days, right? They should be back before the Lantern Festival?" Liu's father replied.
"It's been so long. By the time they come back, we'll be almost going to school." Ruirui said a little disappointedly.
"I want to know what Beijing is like. I'm so curious. Feifei, what about you?" Qingya said.
"I'm curious too. Before my brother-in-law left, he told me that he would go to the library when he had time and bring me some books about mechanics!" Feifei replied with his head down.
"I don't know what delicious food my elder sister and the others will bring. I have forgotten what the Beijing specialties I tried last time tasted like. I also want to ask my elder sister whether the Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall in Beijing are as magnificent as those depicted in the books!" Ruirui said with a look of longing.
"I want to know too!" Qingya said, and Feifei nodded.
Father Liu looked at the three children's envious expressions, smiled, and said, "If you study hard and your grades satisfy me, next time your eldest sister and brother-in-law go to Beijing to visit relatives, your mother and I will pay for you to go with them."
"Really? Dad!" Qingya asked happily. Ruirui, Feifei and Feifei also looked at Father Liu with anticipation.
"Of course it's true. Feifei should stay in the top three in the grade, Ruirui should strive to be in the 15th grade and get admitted to high school. Qingya, you should strive to be in the top four in the class. As long as you do it, the next time your eldest sister and brother-in-law come back to Beijing to visit relatives in two years, you can go with them to see the world!" Father Liu said seriously.
"Dad, you are so nice. I will go read a book in the afternoon!" Qingya said.
Ruirui looked at Feifei with a worried look on his face. Only when he saw Feifei confidently nudging his shoulder did he feel relieved. With Feifei's help, he was no longer afraid of not getting into high school.
Just as Qingya and her two siblings were immersed in the fantasy of going to Beijing, there was a "bang bang bang" knock on the door outside the yard.
Outside the Liu family's courtyard, Yang Wanlin thought for a moment and decided it would be better to go to Liu Guanghui's house. He could say he was there to look for Han Chen, who had come to their Yangshu Village to help out for a few days and was someone he knew. If things didn't work out, it wouldn't affect her reputation.
Yang Wanlin stood at the gate of Liu's courtyard, straightened his clothes and pants, and wiped the mud off his cloth shoes with a straw.
Yang Wanlin felt a little nervous, not only because of what he was going to do today, but also because of what he was wearing.
His coat and trousers were already worn, yellowed from washing and covered in patches. Only his cloth shoes were in better condition. Unlike the last time he came to the Liu family, he wore new clothes. Although the length of the new clothes was not right, with the trouser legs and sleeves a little short, it was still better than today.
Yang Wanlin took a deep breath, straightened his clothes again, and dusted off his sleeves. Then he stood at the gate with his head held high and chest puffed out. He extended his finger and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, no one opened the door, so he called out, "Han Chen, Han Chen, is Han Chen here? I'm Yang Wanlin from Yangshu Village!"
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