The day after receiving her eldest uncle's letter, her second uncle also wrote. It turned out that he was also coming back this year with his wife and children. Grandma Yan was a little reluctant, but after all, he was her son, and he had sent her retirement money on time this year, so she was quite thoughtful.
Grandma Yan invited Xuemei to stay in her room, since her kang (heated brick bed) could comfortably accommodate several people, and she was willing to give the room to Yan Erqiang and the others. Xuemei was reluctant, but Grandma's words were law, so she packed some of her personal belongings, rolled up her bedding, and went to Grandma's room. However, Xuemei also mischievously put all the commonly used items in the room into a box and locked it with a large padlock.
Cuihua found the bedding they used last year and replaced it, making both rooms warm before she felt relieved. Yan Xiaoqiang resignedly went to fetch water and chop firewood again. With several more people suddenly added, the firewood would probably be insufficient, not to mention the water. Sigh, maybe we should discuss with Nannan about taking a bath once a week?
Yan Xiaonan readily agreed. She was already able to soak in the hot spring for ten minutes, and if she trained her superpowers every day, she estimated that she could extend the time in the future. There was no place as comfortable as a hot spring to take a bath at home, and it was just in time for her father to make this request.
On the 26th of the year, Yan Xiaoqiang and Yan Dongnan borrowed an oxcart from their third uncle and headed to the town's train station. Their eldest brother's train was scheduled to arrive at 9:00 AM, so it was just in time to get there.
Winters in the north are particularly cold. The north wind howls and cuts into people's necks, while snowflakes flutter down, adding to the cold. Yan Xiaoqiang and Yan Dongnan are wrapped up like two rice dumplings, struggling to drive the oxcart forward. After eating the grass that Yan Xiaonan conjured up, the old ox works especially hard, pushing forward against the wind and snow.
Yan Dongnan and Yan Xiaoqiang covered themselves with a cotton quilt, and there were also hats, cotton-padded coats and other warm clothes for Yan Daqiang, because they were worried that their eldest brother, who had not been home for more than ten years, would get cold because he was not familiar with the local climate.
The two brothers finally met. When Yan Daqiang left home, Yan Xiaoqiang was already a teenager. Of course, he recognized his older brother, but his older brother no longer recognized Yan Xiaoqiang. A teenager had become a farmer, and his physique and appearance had changed a lot. Fortunately, the boy next to him, Dongnan, looked exactly like Yan Xiaoqiang when he was a teenager.
Yan Daqiang didn't have time to chat with them right away, so he asked Yan Dongnan to get in the car and help him move the things. Yan Xiaoqiang took them at the window, and they carried more than a dozen bags before they were done. Yan Daqiang was still looking through the numbers written on the packages, from number one to number fifteen, not a single one was missing. Yan Xiaoqiang and Yan Dongnan looked at each other in disbelief. So much luggage!
After getting out of the car, Yan Daqiang hugged Yan Xiaoqiang tightly: "Qiangzi, my good brother, I thank you, thank you for taking care of our mother all these years."
Yan Xiaoqiang was a little embarrassed: "Brother, taking care of Mom is what a son should do, there's no need to thank me."
Yan Daqiang liked his younger brother's simple and honest appearance. He picked up three bags on his back and two bags in each hand, carrying seven bags of luggage by himself. Yan Dongnan admired him. After all, he was a soldier and his strength was even greater than his father's.
Yan Xiaoqiang carried five bags of luggage on his back, and asked Dongnan to carry the remaining three bags. Fortunately, the oxcart was being managed at the entrance of the train station, not far away. After putting the luggage on the oxcart and giving the manager two cents, Yan Xiaoqiang drove the oxcart home.
Seeing that his uncle was only wearing a military uniform, plus a military overcoat and cap, Yan Dongnan was worried that he would be cold, so he quickly took out the old cotton-padded coat that his grandmother had prepared for him: "Uncle, Grandma was worried that you would get cold, so she asked me to bring this to you."
Yan Daqiang took the old cotton-padded coat and put it on. A warm feeling flowed into his heart, and his eyes became a little moist. There is no one better than a mother in the world.
Along the way, he asked about the situation at home, and his face changed when he learned that the winter wheat had frozen to death and the spring rice had withered due to drought. "You believed it, so why didn't you mention it?" Yan Daqiang asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Mother doesn't want me to mention it, afraid you'll worry." These simple words caused Yan Daqiang unbearable pain in his heart, and he continued to ask, "Do you have enough food now? Are you going hungry?"
Yan Xiaoqiang laughed: "Big brother, you'll know when you get home. Mother told me not to tell you, but she'll tell you herself when you get home."
Yan Daqiang nodded in agreement, then suddenly laughed and said, "Qiangzi, your daughter is really beautiful. I've never seen such a beautiful daughter before."
Speaking of his daughter, Yan Xiaoqiang got excited: "Big brother, you don't know, my little girl is not only beautiful, but also very smart. Dongnan taught her to read, and she remembered it after just one lesson. I thought she would forget it after one night, but who knew that the little girl remembered it so well. She can remember words that I can't even remember."
Yan Daqiang became interested. This little girl is so capable, I'll have to test her properly when I get back.
Yan Xiaoqiang became nervous: "Big brother, you can't be mean to her. Also, you can't spend more than ten minutes recognizing characters."
Yan Daqiang was puzzled: "Why can't it exceed ten minutes?"
Yan Xiaoqiang gave him a look that said, "You wouldn't understand," and said, "Staying too long for such a young child can damage their brain."
Yan Daqiang had never heard such a tune before, and he burst into laughter: "Qiangzi, who told you that? That's utter nonsense. A child's brain only gets smarter the more you use it, and you can only get hurt by hitting their brain."
Yan Xiaoqiang looked somewhat confused. That's exactly what his childhood friend had said. His son was already five years old, but he wouldn't allow his older son to teach him to read, saying it would hurt his brain.
Yan Daqiang waved his hand dismissively, saying, "No, that's not true. Just teach her. Unless the child refuses to learn, you absolutely won't hurt her." But in his heart, he was actually wondering if he could teach this little girl himself and see if she was really as clever as Qiangzi had said.
The oxcart slowly made its way into the village. The village was still the same village, but his own home was no longer the same home. It seemed like there was an extra row of houses. No, the houses on the west side weren't there before. Hmm, there were three more rooms.
Qiangzi has three sons, so the back row should be for the three sons to live in. But wait, the youngest son is going to live with Qiangzi, so there's an extra room. Does that mean there's a fourth son?
Thinking of this, he asked, "Qiangzi, do you have another son?"
Yan Xiaoqiang was a little confused by his question. What did he mean by "another son"? He already had three sons, wasn't that enough?
Yan Dongnan understood his uncle's meaning, but smiled with his lips pursed. Seeing his nephew's mysterious smile, Yan Daqiang simply stopped asking and asked his mother instead.
Thinking of his mother, he quickly looked up at the courtyard in front of him and saw several figures standing at the gate, looking in the direction of the oxcart. A small figure in the middle made Yan Xiaoqiang's tears flow down his face. He took off the old cotton-padded coat draped over his body, jumped off the oxcart, and ran towards the figure by the edge of the courtyard, calling out "Mother, Mother, I'm back, Mother, oh Mother" over and over again.
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