"Come, come, have a seat. It'll be more spacious once you sit down!" Butcher Hu invited.
After the man and woman behind them entered the house, they finally understood why the people in front had stood there dumbfounded and wouldn't leave—because they were the same way!
Both are houses, but why is Fan Jin's house not only spacious but also so warm? Their houses also have small stoves and charcoal fires, but none of them are as comfortable as Fan Jin's.
On the square table, a small red clay stove burns, and on top of it, an iron pot bubbles and simmers, filled with hearty ingredients and a rich broth. Around the stove, large, rough earthenware bowls are piled high with glistening white rice, each bowl overflowing with tiny peaks.
When the bowls were served and we started eating, we discovered that there was not only tofu, but also a lot of cured meat!
Fan Sizhu got up early to help send his grandmother off to her funeral. When he returned, his second uncle and aunt invited him over for a meal. He wanted to refuse, but for some reason, seeing the villagers heading to his second uncle and aunt's house in a lively atmosphere, he followed them over.
He held the rice bowl, unable to believe that it was really rice. He then picked up a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks, only to find it was a piece of glistening, oily cured meat!
It's mostly fat with very little lean meat, and even the tofu and cabbage are exceptionally sweet and delicious. Everything tastes wonderful!
The large earthenware bowl was filled with rice in abundance. He thought one bowl would be enough to fill him up, but after finishing one bowl, he wanted more. He shamelessly filled a second bowl and found that the iron pot, which had been almost empty, was now overflowing with vegetables.
The amount of cured meat inside was still the same as the first batch, not a bit less.
While picking up food, Fan Sizhu glanced at his neighbors at the table. He saw that the men, who usually ate rudely at home, were now eating in a more refined manner. They didn't fight or grab, but silently shoveled their food into their mouths, quickly finishing their second bowl of rice without asking for more.
With dishes containing meat and glistening rice, the villagers hadn't yet stuffed themselves full. He paused for a moment, realizing that his family and himself were truly growing further and further away from his second uncle's family and even the other families in the village.
They were going uphill, while he remained at the bottom of the valley...
Fan Dazhu lay on the bed, so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back, while Erzhu and Sanzhu were equally hungry next to him.
They had injured their legs and feet, and had previously struggled to sit in the main room to keep vigil for their grandmother, which they considered to be very filial. They felt it was unnecessary to keep vigil or go up the mountain today if they couldn't do it.
Grandma is gone, but those of us who are still alive must live well. We can't make things worse for Grandma's sake.
However, "Why haven't the Four Pillars returned yet?"
Fan Erzhu listened intently for a while, then asked uncertainly, "Are you sure Second Uncle and Second Aunt set up a tofu rice stall in the open space in front of the study? I didn't hear a sound at all."
"Besides the open space in front of the study, where else is spacious enough to put things up?" Fan Sanzhu said irritably.
At the same time, he looked at his elder brother with resentment. In the morning, Sizhu was supposed to cook porridge and make flatbread, but his elder brother was afraid that the villagers who came to carry the coffin would not be able to eat it, so he refused to take out any food to cook. Now, they are also starving.
Fan Erzhu's expression changed, and he hesitated before asking, "What about my second uncle and aunt's family? They have an eldest son."
The other two also changed their expressions.
Before they could even eat, the sound of a gong rang out at the village entrance!
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