Yan Aidang was a restless person. When he heard that his second uncle was coming today and asked Southwest to pick him up, he volunteered to go and pick him up as well. Southwest agreed with a smile. He already knew Yan Aidang's temperament and personality. He was just a playful person.
Ma Mingchun arrived in an oxcart, bringing with him meat-filled pancakes made by his own mother. This was a dish that Yan Xiaonan had come up with, similar to omelet rice, but with meat wrapped in a pancake.
When Ma Minghua first brought this food back home, her sister-in-law smacked her lips, saying, "How much rice, flour, and meat must you have wasted like this?" But after tasting it, she kept saying how delicious it was. "How did Nan Nan, this girl, get such a brain?"
The children in the family all loved to eat it, and even Village Chief Ma kept thinking about it after trying it once. So Ma Minghua went to the Yan family to learn the craft. She didn't know until she learned it that the Yan family was living a really good life.
Cut the pork belly into thin slices, fry until both sides are slightly browned, then add seasonings and water to stew. Once fully cooked, remove and chop the pork, mix with shredded cucumber to make minced meat. Then fry the pancakes in a pan, add the minced meat, drizzle with a little sauce, fold the pancakes together, flip a few times, and it's ready to eat.
Ma Da Sao didn't stand on ceremony. She took the meat pie from Cuihua's hand and stuffed it into her mouth. Freshly baked pie tastes much better than cold one. From then on, whenever there was meat at home, Ma Da Sao would make these kinds of pie.
Ma Mingchun handed a basket of meat-filled pancakes to Cuihua: "Aunt Cuihua, this is what my mother asked me to bring you."
Cuihua readily accepted, believing that reciprocity promotes unity and friendship.
Yan Aidang happily got on the oxcart, swaying back and forth. If someone were carsick, they would probably throw up. His eyes were looking around, and his mouth was chattering incessantly. Southwest told him not to open his mouth, as the cold wind was bad for his throat.
Yan Aidang didn't care about any of that. He covered his mouth with his thickly gloved hand and spoke, which made Ma Mingchun laugh out loud. Then Ma Mingchun started rambling on, telling a story with great enthusiasm about a group of people going up the mountain to catch wild chickens and rabbits and eat beggar's chicken.
This talk really got Yan Aidang thinking. He decided that when he got back, he would ask Nan Nan to take him into the mountains, and he also wanted to see Zhong Nan, who had already returned to the mountains.
Seeing Yan Aidang's expression, Southwest knew what he was thinking and couldn't help but pour cold water on him: "Aidang, the heavy snow has already blocked the mountain, we can't get in."
Yan Ai, who was always daydreaming, was a bit taken aback by the cold water from the southwest. What does it mean to have a mountain blocked by heavy snow? If mountains can be blocked by snow, what about the animals in the mountains? A series of bizarre thoughts kept changing, but luckily she didn't say them out loud, or she would have been laughed at again.
Yan Erqiang excitedly led his family off the bus. After so many years, his mother had finally let him go home. As for his younger brother coming to pick him up, that was out of the question. He would go out of the station and see if there was an oxcart. If there was, he would rent one to go home.
As soon as I stepped out of the station, I heard Yan Zheng's excited shouts: "Brother Southwest, Brother Southwest, over here, over here!"
He quickly looked up and saw that it was indeed the southwest and the north. The north seemed to have changed a bit. Erqiang walked up quickly.
Southwest respectfully greeted them: "Hello, Second Uncle; Hello, Second Aunt; Hello, Brothers."
Yan Aidang glanced at them. These were the ingrates her father had been talking about. But she still had to be polite: "Hello, Second Uncle, Hello, Second Aunt, Hello, Brothers."
Yan Erqiang understood. The man in front of him must be his elder brother's son. He looked quite like Bei Nan, but he didn't know if he was the eldest son or the youngest son: "You are my elder brother's child, right? Do you love the Party or the country?"
Yan Aidang glanced quickly at their luggage. There were only two bags, enough to hold clothes for a family of four. She felt a little disdainful. After so many years away from home, she wondered if they would come back empty-handed again. "Second Uncle, I am Aidang. Aiguo is my brother. He didn't come this year."
Yan Erqiang noticed the somewhat blatant look in Yan Aidang's eyes, and felt a little helpless. The expenses in Chuncheng were too high, his salary was not increasing, and Yan Aidang had already graduated from junior high school. He needed to save money to get him a wife.
When Ma Mingchun first picked up Yan Daqiang, there were a full twenty bags of luggage. He couldn't even lift two of them, which was quite a lot for his small frame. This time, when he picked up Yan Erqiang, they only brought two bags of luggage, which he found strange.
"Second Uncle Yan, is this all the luggage you have? You didn't forget it on the train, did you?" Ma Mingchun's innocent words made Yan Erqiang blush. Now he suspected that he had masochistic tendencies. He felt bad when his mother wouldn't let him go home, and he still felt bad when she did let him go home.
Southwest's eyes flickered. He no longer had any thoughts about this second uncle. He would treat him as an ordinary relative, being polite if he came, and not caring if he didn't.
Cai Min has learned her lesson. She keeps quiet and follows her man, eating and drinking as she pleases, without worrying about anything else.
Yan Ge snorted inwardly. When he was in junior high school, he and Yan Zheng asked their parents to give them and their younger brother pocket money every month. It wasn't much, just 50 cents each per month.
At first, Yan Erqiang was unwilling, but he couldn't handle the two boys' fuss, so he had to squeeze out one yuan from his food allowance every month and give it to Yan Ge.
After discussing it with Yan Zheng, they decided that apart from the one yuan that Grandma gave them, they should save the rest of the money. That would amount to twelve yuan a year, and they had already saved it for two years, which would amount to twenty-four yuan. They would then give this money to Grandma as a filial gift from her two grandsons.
Yan Zheng nodded. Grandma and Nan Nan had been very good to him and his brother, so it was only right to give Grandma money as a token of respect. When they learned that they could go back to their hometown to see Grandma this year, the two of them took out the money they had hidden under the bed, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and sewed it inside their padded jackets so that it would never be lost.
Ma Mingchun was young, and all his expressions were written on his face. His disdainful look made Yan Erqiang wish he could walk back. Looking at Cai Min's indifferent expression and the two boys' nonchalant expressions, he felt a little uneasy.
Apart from the sound of the oxcart traveling along the way, all was quiet. Even Yan Aidang, who usually loved to joke, kept his mouth shut, wondering if Grandma would be sad and disappointed if they went back empty-handed.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier. Southwest looked at the sky and realized that this year's snow seemed particularly heavy. He would have to climb onto the roof to shovel snow when he got back. The newly built houses were fine, but the old houses would be in trouble. The snow was too thick and heavy and would cause the roofs to collapse.
When they got home, Yan Xiaoqiang and Yan Daqiang were shoveling snow on the roof, while Dongnan was shoveling in the yard, where the snow was piled up in heaps. Yan Xiaonan was building a snowman with Liujin, who was dressed like a ball.
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