Seeing their brother-in-law standing nearby, Zhang's two brothers didn't dare to ask why he didn't come over that day. They guessed that something had happened and prevented Zhang Dani from coming over.
"Then you and your brother-in-law can come home with us and stay for a few days. It just so happens that your three younger brothers and sisters are missing you. They wanted to come with us, but I declined." Uncle Zhang said.
Uncle Zhang was chatting with his brother-in-law and overheard them trying to persuade them to stay in Zhangjia Village for a few days.
Liu Dazhu chuckled and looked at Aunt Zhang. He listened to his wife; for decades, she had the final say between them. Besides, he wanted her to go back to her parents' home to rest. He felt bad for his wife, who was always busy.
"I will go back to my parents' home during the first lunar month next year, and your brother-in-law and I will stay for a few more nights. I can't go now because there are a lot of things going on at home. You can go back and tell your brothers and sisters-in-law that I have accepted the gifts and thank them for thinking of me." Aunt Zhang was very tempted but still refused. Without her before the New Year, who knows what will happen to the family if they rely on the eldest daughter-in-law.
After Aunt Zhang finished speaking, she suddenly thought of something. She pulled Father Zhang aside and whispered, "I heard that Xiaowu's father-in-law is not dead and has returned. What happened to Xiaowu and his wife? It's like a story in a book, and the story has spread like wildfire, even throughout this county. Can you tell me what's going on?"
Father Zhang looked at her helplessly. He had been afraid she would mention this before he came. Ever since the news that Zhou Xiaozheng was not his biological son was exposed, everyone at home and abroad, relatives, friends, and even people who seemed familiar to him had been asking him about it. Now he was afraid of being asked about these things.
Uncle Zhang looked at his second brother with amusement, and when he saw his eldest brother, smoking a pipe and staring at his second brother with a smile, he laughed heartily. Damn it, even he was tired of being asked that question.
Father Zhang was really worried about whether the story would be spread in a wrong way. He knew that his son Xiaowu and his wife would have a different future than others.
"Sister, what do you guys say about Xiaowu and his wife?"
"...Anyway, the rumors were all over the place at first. They were saying that the third branch of our Zhang family scraped together 800 yuan to redeem Jiaojiao. If Jiaojiao hadn't been protected by our Zhang family, she would have been swallowed up by the Zhou family long ago. They said all kinds of things, and even had a bunch of excuses. They said Jiaojiao's father was our father's personal disciple, and Xiaowu and Jiaojiao were engaged since they were babies. Others said Jiaojiao's father saved our father. Why didn't I know about this?"
After hearing this, Zhang's two brothers burst into laughter and fell against the wall.
Aunt Zhang herself found it amusing and continued, "After a while, everyone stopped talking about these things. But a few days ago, it started again. When I went to the market, some people started saying that Jiaojiao's father was not dead and had returned, and that he was not the Zhou family's biological son. Some people also said that Jiaojiao's grandfather was a high-ranking official and brought a lot of soldiers to settle accounts with the Zhou family, saying that the Zhou family had stolen Jiaojiao's father. Many people are saying that the entire Zhou family will be executed in Mucang. What is the situation over there now?"
Father Zhang briefly mentioned that Zhou Xiaozheng had returned to work. Some things couldn't be disclosed to outsiders. He didn't mention that his eldest and second sons were already working, nor did he dare even broach the subject of the family division, fearing she would ask too many questions. He then turned his attention to his sister's children. This time, his nieces and nephews' wives arrived later than usual, presumably because they hadn't finished work yet and were afraid to wander around.
Uncle Zhang looked at Zhang Da thoughtfully and said to Aunt Zhang, "Everything is fine at home. You'll see when you have time to go home and take a look. The packages Dayou just brought are gifts from Xiaowu and his wife as a token of their filial piety to you. Don't be reluctant to use them. If you and your brother-in-law encounter any problems that cannot be resolved, just go back to your mother's house."
Uncle Zhang really hoped that his eldest sister would understand and visit her parents' home more often. As long as she came back often, not only the three brothers, but also Xiaowu and his wife would give some gifts, which would be enough for the couple to work for the next month.
Father Zhang understood what his eldest brother meant. But he was happy to take care of his only sister. He smiled and said, "Yes. You and your husband should go home when you need help, and come home often when you don't. The four of us siblings are all old now, so we need to get together more often. No matter how old we are, we won't be able to leave. Even if we want to, we won't be able to go."
Wang Lihua, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu family, was eavesdropping in the east room at first. She heard some insignificant conversation inside. She curled her lips, sat down in the kitchen, opened the bag, and excitedly stood up and went into the west room.
Inside the house, she kept stuffing the wooden box with things. After closing it, she thought about it and gritted her teeth, opened the lid, picked out some meat and went back to the main room to cook.
Before they got off work, Aunt Zhang and several of her daughters-in-law finally heard the news and rushed over. Coincidentally, they all met in front of the yard.
Looking at each other, the second daughter-in-law raised her chin and said to her two aunts: "Your legs are long enough, you can run faster than us."
"Second sister-in-law's legs are not short either, and her nose is especially impressive." After saying that, Aunt Zhang's daughter rolled her eyes at her and immediately pulled her sister to go inside first.
The Liu family's second daughter-in-law was about to burst into anger when her sister-in-law tugged at her and pointed inside the house. She kicked the fence in anger, muttering to herself, "I'll show them the difference between a sister-in-law and a younger sister-in-law."
Before the two sisters-in-law entered the main room, they smelled the aroma of meat.
The two looked at each other, and the second daughter-in-law quickly lifted the door curtain and ran to the stove. The youngest daughter-in-law looked at her sisters-in-law with contempt and followed her two aunts into the east room.
The eldest daughter-in-law saw the second brother's wife lift the lid and was about to say something, but after glancing at the east room, she glared at them fiercely. How shameless!
She didn't want to look at him any more, and ignored him, paying attention to what was happening in the east room.
"Sister-in-law, please cook more food. My wife and the children will be here soon."
The second daughter-in-law shouted deliberately. She made her request as if she hadn't seen her eldest sister-in-law's unhappy face. She didn't believe she would dare to say no today. Her husband was the old man and the old woman's biological son, not a person who lived off the old family's food.
Father Zhang lowered his head, unable to bear the sight.
Just now, when the two nieces came in, they called me uncle affectionately and greeted me, but their eyes looked around the room. When they found there was only a small package, their faces changed immediately.
Especially the nephew's wife who came in later kept staring at his new cotton-padded jacket without blinking. She wanted to take it off. He had never encountered such an embarrassing thing in his life.
Zhang Dani saw that her three younger brothers were uncomfortable, so she immediately said to them, "Don't crowd in the house if you have nothing to do. Go out and help your sister-in-law and ask her to cook a few more dishes."
Seeing her daughter and daughter-in-law go out, Zhang Dani gave them a helpless smile. Suddenly remembering that they always quarreled when they met, she immediately stood up and said, "Dad, you stay with them. I'll go check outside. This journey is too far. We should eat early and go back early."
Seeing her hurriedly get off the kang and go out, Liu Dazhu smiled and shook his head at Zhang Dad and the others, "I'm sorry to show you a joke. These people are always at loggerheads when they meet. Without their mother around, they'll start arguing in no time. Let's ignore them. What do you think of these tobacco leaves? We'll take some back later."
"Okay. That's great." Uncle Zhang avoided family matters and talked about the village's grain harvest this year. He learned that the Liu family had received a large share of food rations, which reassured them.
After lunch, the arranged carriage arrived. Seeing that Zhang Dani was living a good life, Zhang's father and the other two finally said goodbye to Zhang Dani, who was reluctant to leave, and went back.
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