Grandma Yan was overjoyed. What a wonderful daughter-in-law! She was willing to spend so much money on clothes for Nan Nan based on just one photo. Even Nan Nan's own mother, Cui Hua, wouldn't be so generous.
So he asked, "Daqiang, where is your wife from? I couldn't attend your wedding. I feel so bad for you."
Yan Daqiang quickly said, "Mom, what are you saying? I wouldn't have felt at ease if you had come back then. It's such a long journey, and there's a whole family to take care of. My wife is from Beijing. Her name is Xue Ying. She's a doctor in the army. She's the youngest daughter of my old commander. He introduced us, so we got married in the army. Now I have two sons, and I'm just missing a daughter."
Yan Daqiang opened several more packages. One package was full of local snacks and specialties from Beijing, another was full of clothes, hats, scarves and other items for Grandma Yan, and there were six or seven other packages full of things for Yan Xiaoqiang, Cuihua and the boys. He even remembered Xuemei's package.
"Mom, all of this was prepared by my wife and two sons over time. They knew I was coming back, so they prepared for half a year. They bought one thing today and another thing tomorrow, and they've accumulated this much in just six months."
Grandma Yan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded, saying, "You are good, your daughter-in-law is good, and my grandson is even better."
Yan Daqiang took the handkerchief and personally wiped away Grandma Yan's tears: "Mother, you have worked so hard all these years. I feel uneasy. I can't take care of my family when I'm focused on the country. I also feel guilty towards my own little family. I haven't taken good care of the children. Xue Ying has been managing them all. Sigh."
Grandma Yan said, "Without a country, there is no home. I support you. I haven't met your two sons and their wives yet. When are you going to meet them?"
Yan Daqiang pressed his temples and said, "The journey takes too long. They don't have that many holidays. Sigh, things will be better in a couple of years when the country is more developed."
Grandma Yan nodded, her hand constantly stroking Yan Daqiang's arm as she asked, "You wrote in your last letter that your hand was injured, how is it now?"
Yan Daqiang's eyes flickered. He had been shot in the chest, so how did it become an arm? His comrade probably said it was an arm so his mother wouldn't worry. He quickly nodded and said it was all healed.
Yan Xiaonan's consciousness shifted to Yan Daqiang. Goodness, there was a scar on his chest, less than two centimeters away from his heart, two on his back, and one on his calf. His respect for Yan Daqiang grew stronger. The man sitting next to him was definitely a true hero.
He quickly climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed), ran into the house, and soon brought out a bag of snacks, placing it in Yan Daqiang's hand: "Uncle, eat."
Yan Daqiang looked at the snacks in his hand, then at Yan Xiaonan's unbelievably beautiful face, and felt a warmth in his heart. He was indeed a little hungry. Sure enough, a rumbling sound came from his stomach. Grandma Yan secretly scolded herself for being so happy to see her eldest son that she forgot to bring out the food.
Xuemei and Cuihua were waiting for Grandma Yan to give the order. Everyone cleared the table, took bowls and chopsticks, and served dishes. When Yan Daqiang saw the dishes served, he was also surprised. Wasn't there supposed to be a famine? How come there were so many dishes in the house?
A large basin of wild boar meat, a large basin of roe deer meat, a large basin of rabbit meat, a large basin of steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, and a large basin of rice, wild vegetables, eggs, and so on—there was everything. Could it be that Mom came back to borrow grain or flour because I was here?
Grandma Yan could tell what her eldest son was thinking from his expression, so she quickly said, "Qiangzi took Southeast and Central South to hunt this meat. The wild vegetables were dug up by North and Southwest, the eggs were laid by our old hen, and the rice and flour were bought by Qiangzi in the county town."
Yan Daqiang nodded, realizing they were all from the mountains: "Mother, who is Zhongnan? Did Qiangzi have another son?"
Yan Xiaoqiang had just taken out a bottle of old liquor from the house when he heard his older brother's words and almost smashed the bottle. Just then, Zhongnan crawled in through the dog hole, a big fat rabbit dangling from his mouth. Hearing someone call his name, he quickly stood up and knocked on the door of the main room. The knocking made Xinan jump up. "Zhongnan is back!"
Yan Daqiang was eager to see his younger brother's youngest son. When he opened the door, all he saw was a gust of cold wind. But Southwest caught the rabbit that Zhongnan had been holding and said, "Zhongnan is really capable. He can still catch rabbits in this cold weather."
After saying that, she handed the rabbit to Cuihua. Yan Daqiang took a look and saw that the rabbit was really fat, at least eight or nine pounds. Grandma Yan felt that the rabbit was too fat, and she quickly took the rabbit and examined it carefully. After looking at it, she said to Cuihua, "Cuihua, we have to keep this kind of rabbit. Look at its belly, it seems to have gotten bigger."
Cuihua took the rabbit and examined it closely. Overjoyed, she exclaimed, "Mother, you're amazing! You noticed right away. This rabbit is really pregnant! Once it gives birth, we won't have to worry about meat anymore!"
Southwest hugged Zhongnan tightly and said, "Zhongnan, you're amazing! You'll get rabbit meat as a reward today." Then he ran to the kitchen, with Zhongnan following happily behind. Only then did Yan Daqiang realize that Zhongnan was a dog. Looking at Zhongnan walking into the kitchen, Yan Daqiang felt something was wrong; this guy didn't seem like a dog.
"Mom, are you sure Zhongnan is a dog and not a wolf?" Yan Daqiang said seriously to his mother. You know, you may have good intentions in adopting a wolf, but the wolf cub's parents don't think the same way. They will think you stole their cub, and their revenge will be really fierce.
Grandma Yan was surprised that her eldest son had such good eyesight, able to tell at a glance that Zhongnan was a wolf. She patted his hand and said, "Zhongnan is a wolf. He came to our house when he was two or three months old. Let's eat first, and I'll tell you slowly after we finish eating."
Yan Daqiang nodded. It seemed there were still many things he didn't know. His mother had it so hard, having to worry about everything in the family. Fortunately, Qiangzi and his sister-in-law were good, and the three boys were hardworking and filial. And then there was Nannan, whom his mother always called a lucky charm. He would ask her about her good fortune tonight.
There was a knock at the door. Yan Xiaoqiang quickly put on his shoes and went to open it. It must be Uncle Village Chief. As soon as he opened the door, it was indeed Uncle Village Chief, carrying a basket in one hand and a bottle of old liquor in the other. He told Uncle Village Chief to come in and warm up quickly, closed the gate, and went inside.
The main room was filled with laughter and chatter, with glasses clinking and the atmosphere incredibly harmonious. The village chief opened the wine bottle, filled his own glass first, and then filled the glasses for Grandma Yan, Yan Daqiang, and Yan Xiaoqiang. Everyone enjoyed a good drink, which warmed their bodies and their hearts.
The village chief arrived with the gratitude of the entire village. He carried a basket, and when everyone looked inside, they saw a jumble of things: a few eggs, small bags of cornmeal and sweet potatoes, wild vegetables, a finger-length piece of dried meat, and all sorts of other things.
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