Eight small streams capsized
Li Wei had vented her anger, killed the chicken, and planned to divide it in two, giving half to her grandfather to take home and keeping the other half for herself. Her grandfather had been instrumental in their successful chicken feast today. She would be counting on him to back her up in the future.
Although Li Ma (Cheng Min) felt sorry for the old hen, she was still very filial. Well, the hen couldn't be brought back to life, and she wasn't the petty-minded typical of housewives. She gave Li Wei a few words of gentle criticism and didn't scold her further. Besides, no one knows a daughter better than her mother; her eldest daughter was probably craving it, and her motherly heart was acting up, secretly sighing for her poor child.
But Li Zhaoxing, Li's father, couldn't let out the breath that his daughter had stuck in his throat. This was the second time this girl had killed a chicken for him to see.
Last time, her neighbor, Fourth Brother, helped her out, and he thought he'd let her off the hook this time since it was her first offense. But just a few days later, that brat dared to do the same thing again! Does she really think her father is a paper tiger?!
Li Zhaoxing abruptly stood up, his hand instinctively grabbing the broom and ruler beside him, intending to administer family punishment. Across the table, a wine cup clattered onto the dining table, and Old Master Cheng glared at him with fierce eyes:
"Why are you standing up? Who are you trying to scare with that thing?"
If there's anyone Li Zhaoxing, who's been single since his teens, truly respects, it's his father-in-law, Cheng Enjiu. Back when he was discharged from the army penniless, he was assigned to work at a collectively owned winery in the town. Cheng Enjiu took great care of him, eventually marrying his eldest daughter to him and helping him settle down and buy a house. This kindness, etched in his heart by someone who had experienced the harsh realities of life since childhood, made him regard his parents-in-law as his own.
Of course, what he didn't know was that his mother-in-law, who had once been troubled by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, liked him most not only for his character but also for his being a lonely, carefree man with no parents or brothers.
Now, even though Li Zhaoxing was seething with anger, he couldn't vent it in the face of his father-in-law's imposing presence. Feeling quite stifled, he reluctantly put down the ruler and sat down. He then picked up the small wine pot and had to refill his father-in-law's small wine cup, saying deflated and unwillingly:
“Dad, you have no idea how arrogant this little brat is now. A few days ago she said she wanted to change her name, and I said a few words to her. She jumped three feet high, grabbed a kitchen knife, and went to kill a chicken. Judging from her posture, if I weren't her father, she would have dared to come and teach me a lesson. If I don't keep an eye on her now, what will she be like in the future? Last time someone stopped her, and I didn't do anything to her, but now she's killing the chicken to scare the monkey!”
Something about those words just didn't feel right. Li Zhaoxing realized this and got even angrier. He was so angry at that brat that he was completely confused.
Cheng Enjiu didn't laugh. He took a sip of wine and a bite of food before slowly saying:
“Zhaoxing, you do need to take care of your child. But it depends on the situation and the time. He's still young. If he gets bullied outside, his parents need to stand up for him. Otherwise, he'll grow up timid and cowardly. What kind of future will he have? People say that heroes come from the wilderness, and good men come from snotty-nosed boys. I think that makes sense.”
“We have to be reasonable. We can’t always solve things with violence. It’s unacceptable to resort to violence at the drop of a hat.” Li Zhaoxing disagreed with his father-in-law’s philosophy on raising children, as his father always preferred force over diplomacy.
Cheng Enjiu scoffed dismissively, "Reason? Nonsense! It's all about the victor. If you defeat him, you're in the right. If you get beaten up, even if you're right, it's useless. At most, you'll have a reputation for being right, but you'll definitely suffer the loss. Who told you to be reasonable! So, you little brat, if you can reason with someone, then reason with them. If you can't win, then don't. It'll save you from suffering." He turned to Li Lianhui and finished the rest of his sentence, then placed a piece of egg on Li Lianhui's plate.
The ungrateful Li Lianhui even nodded, "Mm!"
Li Zhaoxing, a scholar, couldn't reason with a soldier. And it was an old soldier who was above him.
Based on past experience, if he were to stammer out a few more words, the old man, who'd had a few drinks, could easily slap him under the table like he was swatting a mosquito, without him even breaking a sweat. And afterward, he might even exclaim in surprise, "Hey! Kid, what are you doing under the table? Get up, get up! What kind of physique is that…?"
Then, he would pound it a couple more times with a fist the size of a bowl, and bruises were inevitable. Sometimes, when he was in the mood, he wouldn't pound it, but would directly pinch your biceps, leaving two finger marks. If he were to pinch some other smaller biceps, Li Zhaoxing estimated that he could pinch it away completely.
Therefore, Li Zhaoxing wisely kept his mouth shut.
The two little rascals, initially startled by their dad and cowering like mice, now, seeing their father looking rather deflated and with their grandpa in charge, perked up again. Hearing their mom and older sister boiling water and preparing the chicken, they playfully pushed and shoved each other, secretly making their own little fuss. Their faces lit up with joy—more chicken to eat! (*^__^*) Hehe…
Meanwhile, Li Wei, who was plucking chickens with her mother in the outer room, overheard her grandfather's eloquent remarks and almost rushed in to support him, but her mother held her down and even slapped her a few times.
If her maternal grandfather had been born in the old society, at the very least he could have become a bandit leader, and if he had been more successful, he could have been the second Marshal Zhang! Then she would have been the granddaughter of a high-ranking official.
It's a pity he was born at the wrong time; he had no chance of becoming a general and ended up as a cook.
A famous person once said, "You're either a tycoon or a cook," and that's certainly true.
She always felt something was strange. Back when she was in college, she was secretly molested by a pervert on the bus, but she didn't dare to say a word. It turned out that her father's benevolence and morality had suppressed her mother's tough family tradition. The east wind prevailed over the west wind, and without courage, what future could she possibly have?
Those who don't heed their grandfather's advice will suffer the consequences.
Look at how energetic my uncles and aunts are, living such a prosperous life. It seems that life is similar to fighting a war: you must go all out, then you will lose momentum and eventually be exhausted.
It seemed she should stay close to her maternal grandfather and away from her paternal father. Fortunately, her mother was off work the next day. So, that evening, Li Wei carried half a chicken, sat on the back of her maternal grandfather's bicycle, and Grandpa Cheng had a cloth bag of white steamed buns hanging from the front handlebars. The two of them made their way back to Baima Village in Wenquan Township, Wenquan Town, more than ten miles away, in the dark.
Li Wei was initially quite pleased with herself. Hey, by going to her maternal grandfather's house, she saved her family from having to eat chicken, while her grandfather gained someone to eat steamed buns – a win-win situation, hehe… Even better, her father couldn't vent his anger on her, and she could finally relax for a day free from the two little brats. At her maternal grandmother's house, she was a treasure; she'd killed several birds with one stone, hehe…
Not long after, Old Master Chen's hiccup gave Li Wei a bad feeling; she discovered a major safety hazard she had overlooked:
Her grandfather just drank alcohol at her house, which is drunk driving!
Wait a minute. Although there are no traffic police and few motor vehicles now, can her grandfather's brain, which has been swayed by alcohol, accurately judge the road conditions? There are quite a few ditches and canals along the way.
Thinking of this, Li Wei quickly jumped off the back seat. She startled Grandpa Cheng, who was focused on riding, and he swerved the handlebars, quickly stopping the bike by tapping the ground with his foot. Turning back, she said:
"Girl, what's wrong? Did you forget something?"
Li Wei wasn't afraid of her maternal grandfather attacking her biceps; he was very kind to the younger generation, and she directly questioned his technique.
"Grandpa, are you sure you're okay? You just drank some alcohol. Don't drag me into the ditch. I can wash myself out of the ditch and come out fine, but if the steamed bun goes in, it'll be inedible."
Her maternal grandfather spoiled the child, but he didn't like to hear the child question his driving skills. With his skills, back in his youth, he could travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles at night. He was a legendary speedster. When has he ever fallen?
"Don't worry, little girl, sit tight. I've been riding a bicycle for half my life and I've never been embarrassed before. But once, three clueless guys stopped me on the road, trying to rob me..."
So Li Wei, feeling uneasy, sat in the back seat of her grandfather's car again, listening to him tell his heroic tales. She preferred to stay there and worry rather than go home, where her father's complexion might not have subsided yet.
Grandpa Cheng got so excited talking that he even did a couple of tricks with the handlebars, which terrified Li Wei. Luckily, the back seat was quite stable, and she clenched her fists, cowering on the back seat, too scared to move. But she immediately regretted it, thinking that she shouldn't have provoked her grandfather with words of distrust.
The journey was uneventful, and as they entered the territory of Wenquan Town, Li Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were almost there; her maternal grandmother's home was located in Baima Village, the closest village to Wenquan Town. Reaching Wenquan Town meant they were practically home; it was just over two miles to her grandmother's house.
Although Grandpa Cheng spoke casually, he was actually very careful the whole way. Now that they were almost home, he still couldn't resist showing off his expert skills to his granddaughter.
"See? Girl, your grandpa wasn't wrong. I've weathered countless storms; how could I capsize in this little ditch? I've crossed more bridges than you've walked roads, and you..."
Ding-dong... Ouch... Thud!
Li Wei, who had fallen into a puddle under a small stone bridge, suddenly remembered a famous saying of her grandmother:
Your grandpa drank cat pee, then he's no longer your grandpa, he's just a Liangshan hero, and he sees Liangshan everywhere!
Grandma was right. Alas, I'll suffer the consequences if I don't listen to her.
How could she have forgotten about that!
Now that he's old, he was afraid Liangshan wouldn't accept him, so he sent her here.
Just now, when they were crossing a small stone bridge, her grandfather's car wheel hit a small stone, causing the car to lurch. This sudden jolt caused Li Wei, who had let her guard down, to fall off the bridge where there was no railing.
Fortunately, the bridge was not high, less than a meter from the ditch below.
Li Wei still had half a chicken in her hand, and it stayed in the ditch with her.
Old Master Chen panicked; his boast had just been made when it fell apart.
He hurriedly abandoned his bicycle, jumped into the ditch that had just reached his ankles, and pulled his granddaughter out. He asked anxiously:
"Hey girl, how are you? Did you fall?"
Li Wei handed the chicken to her grandfather; she didn't have time to look after it now. Although the weather was still quite hot in September, getting muddy on her skin wasn't pleasant.
I shook the water off my clothes and suddenly felt something wriggling in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a frog!
This frog was a purebred frog, definitely not a toad. Under the moonlight, you could see light blue patterns on its delicate skin. She hadn't seen this kind of frog in over twenty years, so she released it.
After finishing cleaning up, I looked up and saw her grandfather holding a chicken, his hands clenched, waiting for her to report on how she felt after falling into the water. I said irritably:
"I'm fine, I'm not hurt, but I feel really cold inside."
Who was it that just told her to put her mind at ease?
The old man was embarrassed, but said solicitously, "Are you a little cold? Let's hurry, we'll be home soon. I'll ask your grandma to find you some clothes to change into."
This time, Li Wei refused to let him ride the bike; she pushed it while she sat behind him. They were almost home anyway.
However, looking at her maternal grandfather's tall and robust back, which was even taller and more imposing than her father's, Li Wei couldn't help but laugh for some reason, wondering how many more storms her grandfather would see in the future.
The grandfather and granddaughter were of one mind; the old man also realized that he had embarrassed himself this time, and hesitantly asked, "Girl... tell me, how has Grandpa usually treated you?"
"Except for this time, everything else was good." The flaws do not detract from the overall excellence.
"That's right... Um... when we get home, if your grandma asks..."
Li Wei perked up, her eyes darting around, and declared resolutely: "My mom said I can't lie!"
The old man was a little embarrassed. How could this brat react so quickly? He said angrily, "I didn't say you had to lie."
There was a moment of awkward silence, so Li Wei quickly tried to smooth things over for her grandfather: "My dad said that when you talk about something, you should get to the point and not say anything useless."
The old man chuckled twice: "Not bad, your father is educated. What he said makes sense."
I don't know who just said that truth comes from fists.
"Grandpa, my two siblings and I have never been to the city before. I want to go and have some fun."
Let's get to the point; we can't just say things for nothing.
"You little brat, you know how to bargain now. No wonder your dad wants to beat you up. You're such a rascal!" The old man chuckled and scolded, but he wasn't angry.
Li Wei chuckled twice without saying anything. She remembered that she was already in the third grade when she went to the city park on a spring outing organized by the school on Children's Day. She went a few more times before graduating from elementary school. Apart from the park and her aunt's house, she didn't really have any impression of the city at that time. Now she was going back and forth between home and school every day, which made her very bored. She wanted to go out and see what the outside world was like now.
"It just so happens that an old friend of mine is getting married next Sunday. You can come with me then, but don't come if it's a boy and a girl, they're too noisy."
"Hehe, thank you, Grandpa. Then I'll tell Grandma that the important thing is that I accidentally fell into the ditch," Li Wei said decisively.
If she gets in the way of her grandfather's occasional little drink, he'll definitely get angry with her.
The father and son were overjoyed and happily walked home under the moonlight.
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