Yan Erqiang was furious. "I'm not a violent maniac. Why would I hit my wife and kids for no reason? It's just because I'm afraid you'll be unhappy." But what he thought in his heart was, but what he said out loud was, "Of course I have to hit them if they don't listen."
Yan Xiaoqiang shook his head: "Second brother, you paid for your wife yourself. She will bear your children and take care of you. You can only love her and not hit her. As for the children, you can scold them for small mistakes. How can you really bring yourself to hit them?"
Yan Erqiang nodded. He really didn't want to hit his wife and children, but for some reason, his wife was too short-sighted and stupid. He hadn't noticed it before, but it was especially noticeable when they went back to their hometown. Could it be that his sister-in-law was too capable and outshone him? No way, his sister-in-law was just a country bumpkin, while his wife was a city girl.
When the two returned home, Yan Erqiang saw Dongnan and Xuemei tidying up the table, Beinan and Xinan sweeping the floor, Cuihua and Nannan doing something in their own room, and the eldest brother talking to his mother in her room. The dog was squatting at the door with its face to the wall, as if it had been punished and was extremely well-behaved.
Yan Erqiang suddenly realized that his wife and children were simply sitting in the main room, watching them work without offering any help. They were completely out of place in the family. He was already married and had his own family. Although his mother was here, it was just a familiar inn.
He no longer felt the anger he had felt towards Cai Min. He only felt that he was a terrible person. How could he blame his wife and children for something he himself couldn't do? He walked over, patted Cai Min on the shoulder, and said, "Are you tired? Go back to your room and sleep if you're tired."
Cai Min was startled as if she had seen a ghost. How could Erqiang have changed so much after being bitten by a dog? Had the bite damaged his brain? Seeing Cai Min's horrified expression, Yan Erqiang gave up. He would just let things be as they were, wherever they would lead him.
Yan Daqiang was talking to Grandma Yan in her room. She hadn't wanted to eat the noodles, but Yan Daqiang coaxed her into eating most of the bowl. Yan Daqiang had his eye on Zhongnan and wondered if he could take Zhongnan with him. He thought it was a good wolf and if it bred with the wolfhounds in the army, it would definitely produce a litter of good wolfhounds.
Grandma Yan shook her head: "Daqiang, you can't take this wolf with you. It belongs to the mountains. If you want to breed it with puppies, you should have someone send the dog over. After it's been bred, you can take it back. Zhongnan was only a few months old when it came last year, and it's two years old this year. It should be ready to breed."
Yan Daqiang nodded. He had seen it clearly just now. The moment Zhongnan pounced, it was aiming for Yan Erqiang's throat. Only after hearing Nannan's cry did it bite the back of his hand. So this wolf was definitely trained. But Nannan was only two years old. How could she have trained a wolf? There was something wrong with this wolf.
But her mother said that the wolf had been here since it was a few months old, so there shouldn't be any problem. Her mother was right. The little girl was truly a lucky girl; even the wolf was willing to play with her.
Just now, when Nan Nan raised her little fist to hit him, the wolf hugged its head, looking like it had done something wrong, which was hilarious. Nan Nan didn't actually hit it, but instead made it squat at the door and not move. Now it's obediently squatting at the door.
Grandma Yan has endless jokes to tell about Zhongnan and Nannan, such as how Zhongnan got its name, how Beinan wet its pants in fear, how Zhongnan went fishing in the river and made Beinan and Xinan scream in anger, and how it took Dongnan and Xiaoqiang to the mountains to hunt wild boars and catch pheasants.
Yan Daqiang's eyes widened in disbelief. This was no wolf at all, but a little helper in daily life, even more capable than a human. Grandma Yan nodded in agreement, "It's more capable than a human."
Yan Erqiang entered his mother's room, lowered his eyes and said, "Mother, I was wrong. I know what to do. Please don't upset yourself."
Grandma Yan nodded: "Erqiang, life is what you make of it. Whether it's good or bad, you have to keep your mind straight. If you're healthy, your children will be healthy too. Go on, everyone's tired today. You two brothers should go to sleep."
The two came out, and Yan Daqiang patted Yan Erqiang on the shoulder, sighed and said, "Erqiang, take your wife and children to rest early. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. You should have a happy New Year."
Yan Erqiang nodded, picked up Yan Zheng, and led Yan Ge into the house. When they reached the door, he turned back to Cai Min and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep and become an owl?" Yan Ge chuckled, and Yan Zheng laughed too. "Mom is an owl!" Amid the children's laughter, Cai Min stood up, followed Yan Erqiang into the house, and closed the door.
Yan Daqiang next door was also secretly happy. As long as his mother was well and his two younger brothers were well, then everyone would be well. He drifted off to sleep with this hope.
Yan Xiaonan didn't go back to her grandmother's room today. She fell asleep directly in her parents' room. She originally wanted to go to the hot spring for a soak, but somehow, she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes and slept very soundly. This made Yan Xiaoqiang feel like a thief when he went to bed. He climbed onto the bed quietly, pulled a blanket over himself, and dared not move.
Every evening, Dongnan and Xuemei would make sure to walk around the house, checking if the yard gate was locked, the chicken coop door was closed, the windows were closed, the fire in the kitchen was kept low, and that the kang (heated brick bed) in each room was warm before they could finally go back to their room to rest.
Xuemei told her grandmother that Nannan was asleep in Cuihua's room. Grandma Yan nodded. The little girl was exhausted today. It was almost New Year's Eve. Time really flies. The little girl is already two years old.
Remembering the clothes her eldest son had bought for Nan Nan, she quickly got up, lit the kerosene lamp, and started to find the clothes so that Nan Nan could wear them tomorrow. She also found clothes for Nan Nan, Dong Nan, Xi Nan, Nan Nan, Xue Mei, Cui Hua, and Qiang Zi. Tomorrow, they would wear new clothes to worship their ancestors and tell them that their family had enough to eat and drink, and thank them for their blessings.
Xuemei nodded and immediately found Grandma Yan's clothes. Grandma Yan had many more clothes this year. The cloth she got from exchanging rice was used to make a set of clothes for everyone in the family, and the extra scraps of cloth were used to make several pairs of shoes.
Yan Daqiang bought his grandmother a thick cotton-padded coat so she wouldn't be afraid of the cold when she went out this year. She also bought a lined jacket for her to wear indoors, but she could wear it out when the weather got warmer. Lined jackets are very practical clothes in the north, and they can be worn for three seasons without wasting cotton.
"Grandma, wear this padded jacket tomorrow. Uncle bought it for you, but we'll make it ourselves and wear it in the spring," Xuemei said to Grandma Yan, holding up the jacket.
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