The group was completely bewildered. They carried the "utterly drunk" Huang Mancang to bed and stared blankly at him. "What do we do now? Should we still send him away?"
Huang Xiaoguo seemed hesitant; just now, he appeared to be genuinely repentant.
"No way!" Huang Xiaomin rejected the idea outright. "You know Dad's temperament. If we put on a good show now, who will know what he's really like tomorrow? He has to be sent away!"
Huang Mancang's flushed face twitched almost imperceptibly. That brat, he really has no conscience.
"Then I'll go buy the tickets, bring them back, and send them away overnight."
After Huang Xiaoguo finished speaking, he turned and ran out. There was always something going to happen if he waited too long, so he should get rid of him as soon as possible.
Li Jin'e reached out her hand, "Then I'll write a note. Mom sent a telegram with the address last time. I'll copy it down and you can put it in Dad's clothes so he'll know when he wakes up."
Huang Xiaomin nodded. "Okay, go ahead."
For a moment, only Huang Mancang, who was fast asleep, and Huang Xiaomin, who was still sleepy, were left. The drink from earlier still had some effect; the quiet room had a hypnotic effect.
Huang Mancang peeked through the crack in his hair at Huang Xiaomin, then quietly slipped down and, taking advantage of Huang's nap, crouched low and sneaked out along the wall.
After writing the note in her room, Li Jin'e looked at the empty bed and froze on the spot. Huang Xiaomin, who was sleeping soundly next to her, was suddenly woken up by being pinched on the arm.
“It hurts, it hurts.”
He squinted at Li Jin'e and asked, "Why did you pinch me?"
Li Jin'e pouted, "Where's the person you were looking at?"
Huang Xiaomin turned his head and was stunned. That's right, where is everyone? He got up and looked all over, even under the bed, but there was no one there.
"Hurry up and chase after our brother! Tell him not to buy tickets yet, and to say he's run away!"
Huang Xiaomin chased after him without stopping.
Looking at the table full of barely touched food, Li Jin'e could only console herself that at least she would have meat and vegetables to eat tomorrow.
The Huang family is in constant turmoil, with minor disturbances every three days and major ones every five days. Ever since Old Lady Wu left, there has been no peace and quiet.
After this escape, Huang Mancang disappeared for a full month and a half.
When Old Lady Wu received the news, she was humming a little tune while washing the pigsty with water.
Huang Xiaofu and Huang Xiaoqiang each caught a piglet and gave them a bath.
That's right, giving the pig a bath was what Old Lady Wu ordered.
She said that pigs, like people, are less likely to get sick if they are kept clean.
The Huang brothers seemed to believe it but were not entirely convinced.
However, no one is as meticulous when bathing pigs; they usually just wash off the pig manure and mud with water.
After cleaning the pigpen, rinse it with water.
Seeing the dry ground, Grandma Wu felt much better and was able to answer their questions.
"It's okay, let him run if he wants to."
Huang Xiaoqiang hesitated and said, "But what if he incurs more debts outside? We'll still have to pay them back."
Old Mrs. Wu sneered, "Pay back?" She clapped her hands, jumped out of the pigsty, and said, "Where would I get so much money to pay him back? I'm not pulling money."
"Let him pay back what he owes, whether he works illegally or donates his own blood. It's none of my business since we're so far away."
Huang Xiaofu cast a protective glance in the direction of Changping City, but he felt sorry for his eldest and third sons at home; they were really unlucky.
Huang Xiaofu suddenly had a bizarre idea, "Why don't we let the eldest and third sons come together? We can just leave Dad alone in Changping, since he's incorrigible anyway."
"Take back your stupid idea."
Huang Xiaoqiang turned his head and glanced at him before releasing the squealing pig.
Looking at the newly renovated pigsty and the lively piglets, Grandma Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems this direction is correct; raising a child is quite similar to raising a pig.
Grandma Wu looked at the two brothers in the pigsty and asked, "Have you finished your work?"
"We've finished. The weeds in the fields have been cleared away these past few days. The village secretary said that things can stop for now and everyone can take a break."
Grandma Wu nodded.
After a month and a half, she had learned to recognize most of the pig feed and was thinking of setting up a pot to cook pig feed.
Huang Xiaofu twitched his lip. "Mom, is that really necessary? You're really raising this piglet like a baby?"
With a smile on her face, Old Mrs. Wu waved him over and slapped him on the back of the neck, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? Hurry up and build the stove for me."
Huang Xiaoqiang shook his head, pulled him out to carry soil, and said, "Why can't you learn to be obedient and just do whatever you're told?"
Speechless.
The work in the pigsty proceeded smoothly, and seeing how well Old Lady Wu managed it, the villagers' perception of her family, who were outsiders, changed considerably.
"Our village hasn't slaughtered a pig for the New Year for many years. Now that's great, we can have a pig-slaughtering feast this year."
"That's right. Qi Niuhua has been guarding the pigsty for years. She lets the village secretary approve the pigs, but they all die. She's ruined them all."
Qi Niuhua lay in the grass under the shade of the tree, listening to the group of old women go on and on, belittling her as if she were worthless, as if she had desecrated their ancestral graves.
What, the pig can't be raised, is it her fault?
The piglets were clearly sick to begin with, but the blame was placed on her.
"I think Wu Mingxia, who came from the big city, is quite capable. Look, he's managed to keep the pigsty in perfect order in just over a month."
"Yes, I went to see it before. The little pig was made by Qi Niuhua. It was unrecognizable. It was self-produced and self-consumed. It made me feel disgusted."
"I went again a couple of days ago, what do you guys think?"
"How's it going?"
After whetting everyone's appetite, he slowly said, "The pigsty was cleaned so thoroughly, there wasn't a trace of stench left."
Qi Niu Hua pouted. It was already outdoors, so any smell would have dissipated long ago.
Another person asked the same question.
"Are you stupid? When Qi Niu Hua was tending to the plants, you went to peek and see for yourself. The smell alone made your head spin."
"That's true."
Qi Niuhua's eyes narrowed as she watched as she clenched her teeth, trying to speak well of Old Lady Wu.
Some people have keen ears; they stretch their necks and scan the surroundings, but find no source of the noise, so they pull their necks back in.
I parted the bushes and looked inside, but there was no one there.
I scratched the back of my head. It sounded like I was hallucinating. I heard someone grinding their teeth.
"Okay, okay, keep going. What happened next? We didn't say anything about how the pig was."
"Pig..."
As they were getting into the conversation, Qi Niuhua stormed off towards the pigsty. During this time, she hadn't had a chance to get close to Old Magistrate Wu.
All I know is that the stench seems to have disappeared.
That pig must be dead; she's just putting on an act.
As I approached within thirty meters, I saw Grandma Wu and her two children setting up a stove and cooking pot next to the pigsty. A hint of doubt flashed across my brow. Why were they cooking next to the pigsty?
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