After leaving Zhang the tofu maker's house, Qian Sheng and the old Party Secretary strolled slowly along the village road. The old Party Secretary said slowly, "Come on, let's go to my house. Your auntie fried some peanuts. Take some home for Duoduo."
Qian Sheng said with a smile, "That's great! My Duoduo has always said that when it comes to roasting peanuts and melon seeds, no one can beat Auntie."
The old Party Secretary turned around and glanced at Qian Sheng, then snorted, "You look honest, but the girl in your family who's most like you is Duo Duo."
Qian Sheng said, "Look, I've gone through so much trouble to have so many sons, but now I have this daughter. How could she not resemble me!"
After hearing Qian Sheng's words, the old Party Secretary laughed and said, "I can see it now, Duo Duo doesn't look like you anymore, but that brat Lao Si's shamelessness is just like yours!"
Qian Sheng chuckled. The old Party Secretary and his father were sworn brothers back then. Even though his father went to join the army and was injured when he returned, it was his father who went to the county town to pick him up.
After retiring, the old Party Secretary led the villagers step by step to where they are today. Although he is old, the villagers have great faith in his words. Sometimes, one sentence from him is much better than a lot of rambling on on their own.
As Qian Shenggang followed the old Party Secretary into the courtyard, he saw an elderly woman with gray hair walk in. He immediately went up to her, took the slop bucket from her hand, and said, "Auntie, I'll take care of this." After saying that, he took the bucket and walked towards the gate.
The old lady watched Qian Sheng return carrying a bucket of swill and said, "What brings you here today, lad?"
Qian Sheng laughed and said, "My nose is really sharp. I could smell Auntie's roasted peanuts, so I followed my uncle here. Even when my uncle chased me away, I wouldn't leave!"
These words made the old lady laugh and say, "Your nose is really sharp. I'll really fry some peanuts. When I go back later, I'll bring some for Duoduo."
Qian Sheng readily agreed and followed the old Party Secretary and his wife into the house. However, the old Party Secretary led Qian Sheng to the west room, while the old lady went to the east room.
The old Party Secretary sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) making breakfast. He took a basket filled with tobacco and a stack of rolling papers. He picked up a piece of white paper, placed the tobacco on it, and began to slowly roll it up.
Qian Sheng didn't stand on ceremony. He took a stool and sat down opposite the old Party Secretary. Behind him, he tore off a piece of white paper and started rolling a cigarette, following the old Party Secretary's movements. As he rolled the cigarette, he asked, "Uncle, is this tobacco from that company in the county?"
The old Party Secretary hummed in agreement, and the two continued rolling the peanuts. Finally, it was the old lady who broke the silence. Qian Sheng immediately took the peanuts and said, "Auntie, you don't need to pack so many. Keep some for yourself."
The old lady smiled and said, "Duoduo likes this flavor."
Qian Sheng chuckled and said, "Then I'll thank you on your behalf. I'll ask Duoduo to come over and chat with you when she has time."
The old lady nodded: "Your wife has been gone for several months, why hasn't she come back yet?"
When Qian Shengyi mentioned this, his face lit up with a big smile. He said, "My second son's wife is pregnant. She wrote to us saying that his parents have passed away, leaving only his grandfather to depend on him. He didn't even know his wife was pregnant until more than three months into the pregnancy. When she started experiencing morning sickness, he panicked. That's why he sent Jinxiu to his place to take care of her."
Two days ago, my second son wrote a letter saying his wife gave birth to a girl named Qian Yufei. Jinxiu said the name was chosen by her father-in-law, and Duoduo said it came from a book, something like...
The old lady chuckled and said, "Oh, that's wonderful! It's like flowering before bearing fruit!"
Upon hearing this, the old Party Secretary smiled and nodded, saying, "That second brother of mine hasn't come back for so many years. If he hadn't gotten married, we wouldn't know how he's doing."
Qian Sheng said with a smile, "Uncle, Aunt, the team that the second brother leads is quite special. I heard from the eldest brother that they are all on special missions. The second brother was selected because of his excellent marksmanship."
The old Party Secretary said, "The second brother is just like us when we fought the Japanese back then; he's a sharpshooter."
With this sharpshooter, even the Japanese devils are terrified!
The old lady laughed and patted the old Party Secretary, who was still trying to continue telling stories, saying, "Alright, I'm tired of hearing all those stories from you."
The old Party Secretary grunted, but didn't say anything more.
The old lady smiled and said, "You stay with your uncle for a while, I'll go cook."
Qian Sheng said, "Auntie, no need to trouble yourself. After I finish discussing things with my uncle, I have to go home to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed), otherwise Duoduo will have to do more work when she gets home."
The old lady rolled her eyes at him, then turned and left.
The old Party Secretary watched his wife leave and close the door, then glanced at Qian Sheng, who was rolling a cigarette with his head down, and said, "Are you still holding anything back about the Zhang family's matter?"
Qian Sheng nodded and said, "Well, actually, the idea of making tofu was Duo Duo's. Lao San also gave me some ideas, but I thought we shouldn't reveal everything all at once. That way, we'll have room for compromise."
The old Party Secretary nodded: "That makes sense." Then, he asked, "Is the future of making tofu good?"
Qian Sheng said, "Uncle, I think Old Zhang's tofu is pretty good. It's been in our village for over ten or twenty years and it's always tasted the same. If we want to develop, we need to walk on two legs. Not only do we need to grow our main crop well, but we also need to build up this tofu workshop. That way, we can make more money, and the villagers can also get more money."
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