After dinner, he didn't stay long and walked home in the dark.
The village had no electricity, so many families lit kerosene lamps. The yellow light was like a hazy moon, barely illuminating a person's silhouette. Those who couldn't afford kerosene or sleep would bring their small stools to the eastern side under the large poplar tree to chat. Their gossip could be heard by half the entire team. With few entertainment options available at this time, they simply chatted in their free time, a welcome respite from the grueling daily grind of the fields.
His home was in the middle of the village, and he passed many houses along the way. Someone sitting on the doorstep would call out to him, asking if the tractor was repaired. He would answer, quickening his pace. Finally, he arrived home and found the whole family preparing to eat.
"You're back. Have you had dinner? Come and help me move the table to the yard. It's stuffy in the room." Liang Yuan greeted him.
"I'm afraid it's going to rain. I've already eaten at my mother's place." Zhu Youliang said as he walked into the house.
On the way, Zhu Yuetong hugged his legs and said, "Dad, they said you were going to repair tractors? Are you going to work at the agricultural machinery station? If you work at the agricultural machinery station, will you have money to buy me candy?"
Zhu Youliang pinched his cheek and said, "Who told you that? But Daddy is going to work at the agricultural machinery station. I'll buy you some candy when I get paid." Then he went to move the table. It was a square table made of poplar wood, painted green, and very heavy.
Zhu Xingtong came out with the bowl and chopsticks. Before he even put the bowl on the table, Zhu Yuetong rushed over and said, "Sister, Dad will have money to buy us candy next month."
Zhu Xingtong freed a hand and placed it on his head. "Next time, don't run around like that. Walk properly."
"Oh. Sister, let me help you get the bowl." Zhu Yuetong said obediently.
"No need for you, go sit on the stool." Zhu Xingtong said as she walked to the table and put the bowl down. Then she looked up at her father and said, "Dad, do you want another bowl?"
Zhu Youliang had been eating more and more since arriving here. Plus, with so much work to do, he couldn't handle the heavy lifting without food. He could have added another bowl of porridge, but thinking he'd already had a bowl of rice, he shook his head and said, "Your grandmother's family is cooking meat today, and I ate a big bowl of rice. I'm full, so you guys can eat."
Liang Yuan also came out with a plate of wild vegetables. Hearing this, he said, "That's perfect. I'll split your bowl of rice with A-Tong."
After hearing this, Zhu Youliang couldn't help but say, "Yuanyuan, you've suffered."
Zhu Yuetong: "You two should be careful, Tongtong and I are still here."
Liang Yuan glanced at Zhu Youliang with a reproachful look, but said, "A-Tong, you are seven years old now, not fifteen. You don't understand these things."
Zhu Xingtong: "I don't understand outside, but I understand at home."
Liang Yuan: "You're jealous. You're jealous that your father treats me so well. Tell me, what are you going to do in the future? I'm afraid there won't be another man in this world who loves his wife as much as your father does."
Zhu Youliang was overjoyed when he heard this, "Yuanyuan, you are also the wife who loves her husband the most in this world."
Zhu Xingtong: “…” It’s too shameful to watch.
"Mom and Dad, what are you two looking at?" Zhu Yuetong suddenly raised his head from the bowl and asked.
"Ah? There is some dust on Mom's eyes. Let your dad take a look at it. By the way, Tongtong, how do the dishes taste today?" Liang Yuan asked hurriedly.
"Just like yesterday, not as delicious as what dad cooked." Zhu Yuetong replied honestly.
"Hey, you little brat, why do you take so much food when it doesn't taste good?" Liang Yuan said as he moved the plate towards him.
Zhu Yuetong turned to look at Zhu Xingtong, "Sister, help me pick it up."
Zhu Xingtong: "I forgot again. I'll do it myself. I got off the stool and went over there to pick it up."
"Oh." Zhu Yuetong said as he slipped down from the stool and walked towards Liang Yuan.
Liang Yuan moved the plate in front of him and asked, "Why don't you ask me for help?"
Zhu Yuetong: "Mom is angry, I dare not."
Liang Yuan rubbed his head and said, "He's smart. He knows I'm angry."
Zhu Youliang watched Liang Yuan arguing with the two children with a smile, and suddenly felt that coming here was not a bad idea.
While eating, Tongtong suddenly heard a child's sharp cry from the opposite side, which scared him so much that he almost fell off the chair.
"What happened?" Liang Yuan looked towards the source of the voice, but saw nothing. Instead, he heard a burst of scolding mixed with the crying of a child. There were both men and women, and the noise was so loud that it was difficult to hear clearly.
The mother of the big dog next door seemed to respond to her, "The old Chen family beat the child again, and he cried so pitifully."
Big Dog's wife said, "You're just too soft-hearted. She's just a little girl. It's her fortune that she wasn't thrown into a piss bucket when she was born. What's more, she has such a shameless mother. That's why all the anger of Chen Laoer's family is directed at her. If you want to blame someone, blame her mother for being so cruel. She couldn't enjoy a good life, but she had to run away with someone. If it had happened two years earlier, she would have been paraded through the streets. Besides, the child is just like her mother, so naughty and frivolous. If she's not taught a lesson, she'll definitely be like her mother in the future."
Big Dog scolded: "What nonsense! You are telling me to make up stories like this just because I am only eight years old."
Big Dog's wife slammed her chopsticks on the table in anger, "You're such a good fellow, Chen Big Dog! Jiang Lianhua ran away, and you're taking it out on me because you're upset. Don't think I don't know. No wonder people say you two are always flirting with each other. You're not worth talking about me for an outsider. I think you're just that kind of person who loves his father and loves his own son. You think he's pitiful, why don't you bring him home and let me raise him? You don't even earn as many work points as I do in a whole year, and you have the nerve to do that."
"Enough, stop talking nonsense. The children are here." Chen Dagou angrily threw the bowl to the ground, scaring the children so much that they dared not breathe.
The big dog's mother stood up and picked up the bowl. Looking at the half-eaten bowl of rice on the ground, she wiped her tears and said distressedly, "Stop arguing. It's all my fault for saying one more thing. Why did you start arguing?"
Chen Dagou hurriedly said, "Mom, don't cry. It's all because of this woman. I'll beat her up tonight."
Big Dog’s wife, “Come on, with your skinny body, it’s hard to say who will get beaten.”
Daddy Dog couldn't help but said, "What are you arguing about? Go back to your own room and argue."
"Hmph." Although Big Dog's wife was angry, she didn't put down the bowl.
In the courtyard, Liang Yuan heard the crying that continued diagonally across the street and said to Zhu Youliang, "Do you want to go over and take a look?"
"Then I'll go and ask what's going on." Although I know that this kind of thing is difficult to deal with, I can't just ignore it.
"Dad, I'll go with you." Zhu Xingtong said and drank all the porridge in the bowl.
Liang Yuan did not stop her, but reminded her: "Enough is enough."
"I understand." Zhu Xingtong nodded and followed Zhu Youliang out the door.
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