Chapter 45: Grandma, even if you don’t leave, I will let Qi Fang carry you away...
The long-distance bus has already left. There is no village or shop nearby, so why would they suddenly shout "stop"?
Everyone in the car gave her a surprised look, but Yan Xue didn't care. She pushed her way to the front of the car and said, "Master, could you please stop the car? We have something to go back to."
He didn't care at all that he had already bought the ticket, let alone where he was now.
Fortunately, there was no ban on parking on the road in those days, and the driver finally let her get off.
Qi Fang followed closely behind, first carrying Yan Jigang down, then going back to get his things, without asking any further questions. Yan Xue, however, checked with her brother again, "Are you sure Grandma's box is empty?"
Yan Jigang nodded and wrote on her hand: "I saw this when grandma opened the box to find money for me to see the doctor."
Yan Xue was deeply impressed by the big box of the second old lady. She said it was the property that the old lady got when the two families separated. It was locked with a copper lock and had always been a mystery.
Every time the old lady secretly took out something to make clothes and shoes for her and Jigang, or to give them some money, she would always look at the box and say, "Grandma has a lot of money."
Even this time, she said the same thing, and even refused to take more money from Yan Xue. But it turned out that the box was empty?
Well, the Yan family was not very rich at the beginning, so how much wealth could they have to withstand the old lady's spending over the years?
Yan Xue walked faster and faster. Yan Jigang was young and had just suffered a serious illness, so he could not keep up. Qi Fang picked her up and carried her on his back.
It was twenty or thirty miles to the county, and the car drove for a while. The three of them managed to get back in less than an hour and a half.
When she arrived at the gate of Yan's courtyard, Yan Xue's lungs were aching. She reached out to hold on to the door frame and barely managed to avoid tripping.
As soon as I entered the yard, I heard Bai Xiuzhen sweeping chicken manure while swearing in a roundabout way, "You raise a dog and think it only knows how to guard the house? You feed it water and food all day long, but now it learns to peck people at the critical moment. Why doesn't it fly to someone else's house with such a talent? You've already lost all the eggs, why don't you hurry up..."
The phrase "all the eggs are gone" really hit the second old lady in the heart. Everyone knows that her two own children died young, and she couldn't keep the son she adopted with great difficulty.
And what does it mean to order quickly? What do you order quickly?
Yan Xue glanced over and said, "Shut up!" Before Bai Xiuzhen could ask why they came back, she quickly walked in.
It was a hot day, but the doors and windows of the west room of the main house were closed. Maybe Yan Xue didn't want to hear what Bai Xiuzhen said, but she pushed it and found that the door was locked from the inside.
"Grandma!" She knocked on the door. "Grandma, I'm back again. I have something to tell you!"
I knocked several times, but no one answered. The silence was so unsettling.
Yan Xue was anxious and started banging on the door, "Grandma! Grandma, did you hear me? If you did, answer me!"
"Are you crazy? Whose door are you coming back to smash?" Bai Xiuzhen followed in angrily.
Yan Xue didn't care about her at all and looked around for something to open the door.
"I'll do it." Qi Fang had already put Yan Jigang down, came over to pull Yan Xue away, and kicked her.
The old wooden door was surprisingly sturdy. After a second kick, the latch inside finally broke open.
Bai Xiuzhen was so angry that she almost died. "Whose house are you destroying? Is there any justice in the world?" Yan Xue had already rushed in. "Grandma!"
Not only Yan Xue, but Yan Jigang also ran in. Soon, the sound of a young boy crying with unclear words could be heard from inside.
Bai Xiuzhen finally realized something was wrong. She went inside to take a look, and her legs felt weak. "Why, why is this happening?"
The second old lady was lying on the kang in a purple dress with her belt untied and her buttons undone, just hanging loosely. She also wore a small melon-shaped hat on her head. It was clearly an old dress that only the dead would wear.
Yan Xue was so close that she could see the old lady's purple lips and the white foam at the corners of her mouth. There was also a pesticide bottle standing on the kang not far away.
Her head buzzed, and she quickly held onto the edge of the kang to feel the second old lady's breathing. "It's okay, she's still breathing."
It was unclear whether this sentence was meant to comfort Yan Jigang, who was completely panicked, or to comfort himself.
Yan Xue looked at the pesticide bottle again, but a hand was faster than hers and picked it up first.
"It's the organophosphate Dichlorvos." Qi Fang took a quick look and said, "It's too late to send him to the hospital. Let's try to induce vomiting by giving him water first."
It is twenty or thirty miles from Yanjiazhuang to the county. Even with an ox cart, it will take a lot of time. It is really too late.
Yan Xue was about to stand up when Qi Fang turned around and left. Not long after, he came back with a large bowl filled with water. "You pinch it."
Yan Xue understood what he meant, and she opened the second old lady's teeth. The man immediately poured a bowl of water into her mouth.
Just as he was about to go out to pour more, Yan Jigang stumbled in with another bowl, "Water... milk..."
Qi Fang said nothing, took the drink and continued to drink. When he saw Bai Xiuzhen standing there blankly, he said coldly, "Why don't you go find a car?"
Bai Xiuzhen finally woke up from a dream and ran out quickly, "I'll go right away!"
Even though she spoke harshly, she was still a little scared if the second old lady really died in front of her, and in this way.
Besides, a healthy person suddenly drank the medicine. It would be embarrassing. The villagers didn't know how to report the incident to their family.
After drinking three bowls of water in a row, the second old lady finally showed symptoms of vomiting.
There was a spittoon in the room, and Qi Fang immediately picked it up, while Yan Xue quickly helped the person over.
After the second old lady finished vomiting, Bai Xiuzhen continued to force her to drink. When Bai Xiuzhen came back with the carriage, the old lady had already vomited twice.
Qi Fang carried the man into the car, and several people rushed to the county hospital. The doctor knew what had happened at a glance, "Did you drink 666 or DDVP?"
"Dichlorvos."
The doctor prescribed atropine and injected 1 ml into the patient through intravenous injection.
This thing is most effective in treating DDT poisoning. Mild to moderate cases can be treated with intramuscular injection. The old lady's case was serious, so we used intravenous injection.
After pushing the old lady's eyelids and listening to her heartbeat, the doctor's face finally relaxed. "It's nothing serious. I'll give you another injection later."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Yan Xue hurriedly thanked the other party. The doctor waved his hand and said, "It's thanks to you that you discovered it in time and induced vomiting immediately. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether he could have been saved."
Thinking of the old lady still wearing her funeral clothes, I couldn't help but say, "The old lady is old, so please be more accommodating."
He has seen a lot of this kind of thing. Every year, there are a few people in the surrounding area who drink poison, hang themselves, or jump into wells. Most of them are because their children and grandchildren do not take care of them.
Filial piety is a traditional virtue, but it has endured for millennia because family property is held by the elderly, divided only after their death. How much each person gets depends entirely on the elders' preferences, so of course one must be as filial as possible and please them.
Now we have entered the small family model. The elderly have no property and no labor force. Whether their lives in their later years are good or not depends entirely on the conscience of their children and grandchildren, but conscience is not something that can be relied upon.
Yan Xue didn't say anything. As soon as she got back, she changed the old lady's burial clothes and burned them.
She wasn't a person without a temper, but she was usually very good at controlling her emotions, so it was rare to see her showing them so much. Qi Fang looked at her tense face and added two more handfuls of hairy grass to the brazier.
When they returned, the second old lady had already woken up. Seeing them, she sighed weakly, "I'm already half buried in the ground. Why are you still trying to save me?"
"Half buried isn't even half buried yet, is it?" Yan Xue said to her for the first time without smiling. "Besides, if you're really gone, I'll find out about it and think it's all my fault."
The second old lady was really afraid that she would think so, "What does this have to do with you? I've had enough of life..."
Yan Xue didn't listen to what she said next and interrupted her directly, "Then you should live well and come with us. I will burn your old clothes for you anyway."
Yan Jigang stood by the kang with tears in his eyes. He nodded vigorously when he heard the words, and held the old lady's hand, uttering a few words with great difficulty.
"If you... don't... leave... I... won't leave... I... will stay... with you..."
It was so difficult that he was so anxious that sweat soaked his forehead and also wet the second old lady's eyes.
The old man closed his eyes and said, "I can't go. My husband, my child, and your parents were all killed by us. I can't..."
This was the real reason why she didn't want to leave. She obviously cared about the siblings, but she didn't dare to get close to them before.
She even blamed herself for Yan Jigang's shock this time, "If it weren't for me, Jigang wouldn't have... You'd better leave me alone..."
"So, if you say so, do I also have to find a bottle of pesticide to drink?" Yan Xue interrupted her again.
The second old lady was stunned. Yan Xue was already pointing at herself, "I, my biological father, mother, and stepfather have all died. I only have one younger brother left, and he's almost..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" The old lady hurried to cover her mouth, but her hands fell down again because she had no strength left.
"Then don't talk nonsense." Yan Xue held her hand. "When you get better, we'll go back together. Qi Fang and I both have work, so you can help look after the house for us."
The old lady wanted to say something else, but Yan Xue had already stood up and said, "Your words don't count now. Even if you don't leave, I will let Qi Fang carry you away."
Qi Fang's face still didn't show much expression, but he didn't say anything. He handed Yan Xue a glass of water and said, "Drink some before continuing."
This performance makes it seem as if Yan Xue is the parent who is scolding a naughty child, and the second old lady is the naughty child who has made the parent angry.
The second old lady didn't know whether to laugh or get angry, "Okay, stop scolding me, it's giving me a headache."
The fact that she said this clearly meant that she was no longer determined to go with them. Yan Xue breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then I'll go get you a letter of introduction." He immediately made this a reality.
If Yan Songshan's family had been more tolerant, the old lady would have been able to hatch eggs and chicks. It wasn't like she had no income at all, so she wouldn't have ended up in such a desperate situation. Then he looked at the two rooms on the east side and said, "Let's sell the house too, so that no one will still be thinking about it and causing so many troubles."
Since the second old lady stayed, she had to leave some room for herself and not be too ruthless. After they left, she would take revenge on the old lady.
Now that everyone is leaving, there is no way she can let the old lady come back, so what is there to worry about?
Yan Xue did what she said. The next day, she went to get a letter of introduction for the old lady and spread the word that she wanted to sell the house.
Rural incomes are low and it is difficult to have cash. If she sells it too high, she is afraid that no one will buy it, so she didn’t set the price too high, just one hundred yuan.
At the beginning, she owed the team only a little over a hundred yuan, and Wangjia Village compensated her with two hundred yuan. She fought hard and was bloodied, but Bai Xiuzhen and Yan Songshan were only willing to give her a hundred yuan for her medical treatment.
Later, in order to pay back the money and take her brother away as soon as possible, she married herself off as soon as she came of age, and the betrothal gift she received was still one hundred yuan.
When Bai Xiuzhen heard this, she knew that Yan Xue was disgusting her, and she immediately ran to Yan Xue to reason with her.
But Yan Xue didn't want to fall out with her. She had never gotten any advantage, and now that her face was broken, Yan Xue could make her get high blood pressure on the spot.
Bai Xiuzhen went back and kept complaining about liver pain. Yan Songshan also had a gloomy face, but he was not Bai Xiuzhen and was very good at judging the situation. "Then let's buy it."
"We still have to buy hers?" Bai Xiuzhen couldn't believe her ears. "It's our own house, why should we give her money?"
"So you want someone else to live in your yard?" Yan Songshan's question stumped her.
Seeing that she was still angry, Yan Songshan added, "The matter of Jizu can't wait."
Bai Xiuzhen was completely speechless now. "This damn girl is here to bring bad luck to us, right? Nothing good ever happens when she comes back. Even now, when I go out, there are still people talking about her outside."
He really didn't want to face Yan Xue's annoying face, so he simply asked Yan Songshan to take the money and discuss buying a house with Yan Xue.
As soon as Yan Xue saw that they wanted to buy it, she immediately raised the price to two hundred.
Yan Songshan was very patient, his face darkened at that moment. "Let's not talk about the relatives for now. Xiaoxue, two houses this big in the county are only sold for 200, and they are the main house."
Yan Xue just smiled and said, "Because we are relatives, you should take care of us orphans and widows. Can you give us more? If not, let step-grandfather pay for it and let him compensate us."
Yan Songshan hit a snag and went back, "If it doesn't work, we can find someone to buy it for us first and then get it back later."
"Will this work?" Bai Xiuzhen was clearly worried. "What if they regret buying the house?"
"If it doesn't work, just add a little more so that they don't work in vain."
As a result, Yan Xue acted faster than them and spread the word that the house was worth two hundred in the main house.
Now there are suddenly more people looking at the house, several of them coming a day. I don’t know if they really want to buy it or just want to sell it to them at a high price.
In the end, Yan Songshan bought it, but he only had 150 yuan in cash. He also tried to bargain with Yan Xue, "You also know that it's not easy to make money in the countryside. Your step-grandfather has no money to get married."
"That's easy," Yan Xue just smiled, "Can't you just write an IOU?"
It just so happened that the second old lady wanted to die at home and be buried in the ancestral tomb. Maybe they would send her back to be buried with her husband in the future. With this IOU, they would always be in the right.
Yan Songshan had a very good expression on his face at the time. After returning home, Bai Xiuzhen didn't know whether she was in pain or angry, and she didn't even cook that day.
All that was left were some household items. The second old lady picked them out and gave away all that could be given away.
Taking this opportunity, she also visited several places to say goodbye to old acquaintances, including Yan Xue's great aunt.
"You and my great aunt knew each other before?" Yan Xue had never heard them mention this before.
"Yes," the second old lady said, "she met him when she first got married. At that time, your father had just gone to school at the Shan family and was not adapting well. He always cried when he came home. I was worried, so I went to see him, and that's how they met."
But Yan Baishan never mentioned it. Even considering the unfamiliarity between the two of them, it is hard to say whether Yan Baishan knew about it.
Yan Xue looked at the second old lady and said, "Back then, my great aunt acted as a matchmaker for my father and mother..."
"I asked her to do that," the second old lady sighed. "Back when we were recruiting soldiers to fight against the Japanese, every family had to send at least one soldier. Your uncle wasn't in good health at the time, so we couldn't send him. So we sent your father instead. When his childhood sweetheart heard about it, she immediately called it off. After he finished fighting, your grandparents weren't in a hurry to find him a partner, so they kept putting it off until he was twenty-eight."
In this day and age, 28 is definitely considered an older youth, and it is difficult to find a partner. That's why the young man married a divorced woman with children.
It turned out that the second old lady had been silently caring for this adopted son and worrying about him. The reason she didn't dare to get close to him was that she felt that her fate was not good and she was afraid of bringing trouble to him...
People used to say that feudal society is cannibalistic, feudal society is cannibalistic. Yan Xue never felt anything about it until she traveled back to the 1960s and saw the bound feet of the old ladies in the village.
Bound feet restricted their walking, and not reading limited their knowledge. They were trapped in this small piece of land, and their spirits and thoughts were also bound.
Yan Xue snuggled into the old lady's arms and said, "Then you should also worry about our Jigang and find him a daughter as good as my mother."
"How old is Ji just now? Are you so anxious to find him a wife?" The old lady couldn't help but pat her, but her eyes couldn't hide the joy.
This time they were really leaving. Yan Xue carried the things, Qi Fang carried the second old lady on his back, and Yan Jigang followed beside them with a military green schoolbag.
When the four of them entered the Guo family's courtyard together, Aunt Guo was stunned for a moment, "Have they picked up the people?"
"Yes, I have taken them all." Yan Xue introduced them to her with a smile, "This is my brother Jigang, and this is my grandmother."
Then he introduced Aunt Guo to the two of them, "This is Aunt Guo, the landlord. She's such a nice person. It's a pity that we have to move out soon, and I'm a little reluctant to let her go."
"You are the only one who can talk." Aunt Guo was so angry that her teeth were gnashing. She hurriedly welcomed the people in and helped them open the door.
After entering, Yan Xue discovered that the cans she left behind had been moved to the kang, and transparent mycelium had grown inside.
A thin young man in his early twenties was sitting on the edge of the kang, adjusting the position of some bottles that were not well heated with one hand, with his right arm bent unnaturally. It was Guo Changan.
As soon as he saw a few people, he immediately lowered his head, and Aunt Guo also looked a little uncomfortable.
Yan Xue didn't look at him, but instead looked at the cans neatly arranged on the kang, looking very surprised. "Are you helping me cultivate the original seed too?"
Qi Fang acted as if he didn't notice. He just put the second old lady on the ground and pulled out a chair for her to sit on.
Yan Jigang didn't even bother looking at her any longer. He was also afraid of meeting strangers. Although he didn't show it on the surface, his hands were already tightly grasping the corner of his sister's clothes.
This made Auntie Guo breathe a sigh of relief. "It was Chang'an who helped me with this. I don't know how to do this."
"That's all thanks to you and Chang'an," Yan Xue said. "I was wondering what would happen if I came back so late and delayed the cultivation of the original seed."
Seeing that she appreciated it, Auntie Guo smiled again, "Chang'an said the same thing. Time waits for no one. We will help if we can."
Without disturbing them, he helped Guo Changan up and said, "Let's go back. If you need me, just let me know."
Guo Changan's legs were obviously still weak, but he still walked very slowly with his lips pursed. Yan Xue saw that he was stubborn and did not rush to help him.
For strong-willed people, sympathy and pity are also a kind of harm. What they want more is recognition and admiration, and they want to be treated like normal people.
As soon as the person left, Yan Jigang was obviously relieved.
Yan Xue smiled and waved at him, then took out a pencil case from the cabinet and said, "Look what this is."
Yan Jigang's eyes lit up instantly. He took it and touched it. He found that it was heavy inside, so he opened it carefully.
There were neatly arranged new pencils in the box, as well as a new ruler, a new eraser, and even a pencil sharpener. He touched them again and again, and couldn't help but hold Yan Xue's hand.
Yan Xue pinched his face and said, "Now that you have new stationery, you must study hard. I'll ask your brother-in-law to watch you."
Yan Jigang immediately remembered that his sister had said that his brother-in-law was a college student. He looked over and his big eyes sparkled.
Although they are half-siblings, their eyes are surprisingly similar. Qi Fang looked at Yan Xue and reached out to pinch the place where Yan Xue had pinched his eyes.
Then he waited for Yan Xue to come out and help him pack up, and while Yan Jigang and the second old lady were not paying attention, he pinched Yan Xue's face again.
"What are you doing?" Yan Xue immediately glared at him.
Qi Fang didn't say anything and continued to clean up. After a while, he said seriously, "Jigang needs to gain some weight."
It means that Yan Jigang is too thin and not as good to touch as Yan Xue, so Yan Xue glared at him again.
Unfortunately, the deterrent effect was not very good. In the evening, Yan Xue took out the pickled bear meat and cooked it. The man kept giving Yan Jigang meat and eggs, saying, "Eat more."
Yan Jigang's bowl was piled high with food, so he could only nod vigorously. His cheeks were bulging with food, and he also picked up some for his sister, brother-in-law and grandmother.
After dinner, he found a moment to secretly write on his sister's palm: "This brother-in-law is good."
Seeing this, Yan Xue pinched his face and said, "Just pick some food for you?"
Yan Jigang just smiled, found the rag with his sharp eyes, and went into the house to wipe the dining table.
Seeing that the dishes had been cleared away, the second old lady took over the dishwashing job and said, "Give it to me. Don't you two still need to move things into the new house?"
The kang was covered in cans of cultured bacteria, so it was truly uninhabitable. Just now, while we were eating, we discussed moving our luggage to the new house, sleeping there for a couple of days, and then picking a good day to officially move in.
But the old lady was feeling better, so Yan Xue still insisted on finishing washing the dishes.
When they went out, they ran into Aunt Guo. When Aunt Guo saw that they were carrying things, she hurried over to help move some.
In fact, Auntie Guo had bound her feet, but they were removed after only two years because of the foot-liberation policy. She had no problem walking normally, but could not walk far. So when Guo Changan was hospitalized, it was his sister-in-law, Jin Baozhi, who took care of him. She never went up the mountain and only stayed at home to wash clothes, cook, and take care of her grandson.
"Oh, right," Auntie Guo thought of something on the way, "After you left, someone came to look for Xiao Qi and asked if there had been a girl visiting your house."
When Yan Xue heard this, she guessed that he was most likely here to see Miss Yan and see Qi Fang.
Qi Fang had obviously guessed it, "What do you mean?"
"How can I tell them more?" Aunt Guo said, clearly not wanting to reveal all their information to anyone. "But they might ask other people about it."
This was inevitable, but Qi Fang still thanked her.
Yan Xue also said, "We are too busy here, so I may need you to take a look at the fungus strains. I will settle the accounts with you tomorrow."
"Why are you in such a hurry? It doesn't matter if you don't count it." Aunt Guo helped them move again, and only went back after seeing that there was nothing left.
Yan Xue whispered to Qi Fang, "I guess she left here and didn't return to Yanjing."
If Miss Yan had gone back, the Yan family wouldn't have come here. After all, the two of them had almost no interactions, so it took a lot of effort to think of Qi Fang.
Qi Fang just responded with a casual "hmm", obviously not very interested in Miss Yan's affairs.
In contrast, he was more interested in the solar calendar cards at home, which he hadn't turned over in more than ten days. He stood by the wall and flipped through them. "We've been gone for nearly half a month."
Seeing Yan Xue wasn't paying attention, he flipped back to the one he had left with, "Thirteen days."
"It's been quite a few days." Yan Xue continued this time.
However, when she put the quilt aside and prepared to go to bed at night, she moved the two pillows outwards and added a smaller one in the middle. "Ji is not used to it yet and I'm afraid he will have nightmares. Let him sleep with us for a few days first."
Qi Fang, who was about to go out to wash up, was stunned at that moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
