Chapter 49: Monsters always accuse others of being monsters
"Mom, are we going to grandma's house to pay New Year's greetings today?" Wen Jing asked after setting off firecrackers.
"Of course I will go." Deng Xiuzhen replied.
In the past, they would spend New Year’s Eve at her husband’s house, and go to visit Deng Xiuzhen’s parents on New Year’s Day.
This year is a special case. Tan Yanlin is missing, and her in-laws blame her. She will not be able to have a peaceful New Year if she goes back. But she still has to go to her parents' home to pay New Year's greetings.
It is a Chinese tradition to bring gifts to one's parents' home to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the New Year, and Deng Xiuzhen keeps it in mind.
Perhaps because of the child's understanding, or perhaps because of the news she received about Tan Yanlin, Deng Xiuzhen slept soundly at night.
The next morning, after Deng Xiuzhen let off the door-opening whip, she took her children out to her parents' home. However, there were few buses on the first day of the new year, so she still had to walk some distance to her parents' home.
(Opening the door with firecrackers is a traditional Chinese New Year custom. In the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household gets up at dawn and the first thing they do is to rush to set off firecrackers, which means good luck in opening the door and also announces the beginning of the new year.)
By the time they arrived at Deng's house, it was already past eleven in the morning.
Xiumei was washing vegetables at the door. When she saw Deng Xiuzhen, she quickly pulled her aside and said, "Xiuzhen, why are you here?"
Deng Xiuzhen said: "I am here to wish my parents a happy new year."
Xiumei said, "You should go back quickly! Otherwise, Mom will get angry when she sees you."
"Lose your temper?" Deng Xiuzhen was puzzled. There are several rules about the first day of the lunar year. First, you cannot throw garbage on the first day of the lunar year, which means wealth. If you throw garbage on the first day of the lunar year, you will lose wealth for the whole year. Second, you cannot lose your temper on the first day of the lunar year. If you lose your temper, there will be no fire, both fireworks and incense...
He Taoxiu is very traditional and superstitious. Just like she favors boys over girls, she takes the Chinese New Year very seriously. In her opinion, on the first day of the 30th month, everyone must be harmonious and happy, so that everything can be prosperous and complete. He Taoxiu cares a lot about these things, so why would she lose her temper on the first day of the new year?
“Before the New Year, my mother went to several temples. The monks and Taoists said that the Bodhisattva said that there was evil in the house, which would not only cause loss of wealth, but also bring disaster to the family and cut off the incense.
Mom secretly invited a Taoist priest to come to our house to perform a ritual and figured out that you are the evil star. Now Mom firmly believes that it is you who caused Chunlin to go to jail and it is you who caused Yanlin to disappear.
If it wasn't you who did it, how could Yan Lin suddenly disappear and be nowhere to be found?" Deng Xiumei explained in a low voice.
"Isn't this superstition?" Wen Jing came over and said.
"Hey, why did you come over here so suddenly? You scared me!" Deng Xiumei said, patting her chest.
"Aunt is so scared, could it be that she has done something wrong?" Wen Jing said with a smile.
"Are you talking nonsense?" Deng Xiumei said this and then realized she was wrong, so she cursed "Pooh, Pooh, Pooh" repeatedly.
"Mom! Mom! Run!" Wen Xin suddenly shouted.
Deng Xiuzhen looked up and saw He Taoxiu walking towards her with a bowl of something in her hand. It looked like she was going to throw something at her.
"Mom, get out of the way!" Wen Jing said, pulling Deng Xiuzhen so that she staggered. However, she avoided the things that He Taoxiu threw at her.
Deng Xiuzhen turned her head and saw blood all over the floor!
Deng Xiuzhen knew that what Xiumei said was true: He Taoxiu was throwing blood at her, and the blood was either chicken blood or dog blood. She probably thought she would come today, so she prepared it in advance to throw it at her to exorcise evil spirits.
Deng Xiuzhen pulled Wen Yu and ran away. She knew He Taoxiu. If her mother thought she was a bad luck star, she would have prepared more than one bowl of blood for her return today. Maybe there were other tricks besides splashing blood.
Wenjing and Wenxin ran closely behind her.
I ran a long way before I dared to stop and breathe a sigh of relief.
I had originally planned to pay New Year's greetings to my relatives, but now I don't have to. Although feudal superstition has always been resisted, some people only resist it openly, but there are still many people who believe in it. Especially those who regard their daughters as bad luck stars, there are many who believe in it.
They were relieved when they went straight to the shuttle bus stop and got on the bus.
The family looked a little embarrassed. Wen Yu was young, and after running around all the time, he was so tired that he opened his mouth and gasped for breath.
One of Wenxin's shoes fell off, but luckily she found it and was putting it on at that time.
Deng Xiuzhen looked at this scene, feeling somewhat sad and her eyes slightly reddened.
Fortunately, it was New Year's Day and there were not many people on the bus. After the conductor bought tickets from them, he sat next to the door.
Wen Jing approached Deng Xiuzhen and whispered, "Mom, don't think too much. Some people are just superstitious. We should stay away from those superstitious people.
Look at grandma, she looked just like the witch in the Seven Dwarfs. I think they are hiding something from each other!"
"That's right, it's shown on TV. Bad people like to say that others are bad, and monsters always accuse others of being monsters. But grandma herself is the monster!" Wen Xin came over to help.
Deng Xiuzhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Don't talk nonsense, that's my mother."
Wen Yu finally calmed down and said loudly: "Only my mother is the best person!"
The conductor heard this and teased him, "Are you saying we are bad?"
Wen Yu blushed suddenly, causing everyone to laugh.
The sadness that had just risen in Deng Xiuzhen's heart disappeared just like that.
When I returned to the alley, I ran into Old Man Zhao and asked them why they were like that.
Deng Xiuzhen told what happened at her mother's home.
Old man Zhao laughed and said, what era is it now, how can there still be such superstitious people?
I heard that they hadn’t eaten yet, so I told them to hurry up and eat because they hadn’t finished yesterday’s food, so we had to cook more today.
They didn't refuse to be polite. Firstly, Old Man Zhao was alone and it would be a waste if he didn't eat so many dishes. Secondly, it was already two o'clock and they were indeed a little hungry.
After dinner, Old Man Zhao asked Deng Xiuzhen about the dream she had.
Deng Xiuzhen thought of Wen Jing's instructions and what she said. If she was wrong, others would think she was crazy; if she was right, others would think she was a charlatan.
I also thought about how I was almost covered in blood by my own mother today.
She really didn't dare to say it.
She pretended to think about it seriously, and then said, "The dream was vague. It seemed that there were only those two things. I have no impression of the rest."
Old man Zhao looked a little disappointed, but it wasn't obvious. However, Deng Xiuzhen paid more attention to it because of Wen Jing's words and noticed it.
During the Chinese New Year, everyone would prepare a lot of supplies, but Deng Xiuzhen and the others didn't have the energy to prepare because of Tan Yanlin's matter.
But thanks to Wenjing's care, the family also prepared some food, plus the cured meat bought to be smoked together with Old Man Zhao, so it should not be a problem to wait for the vendors to set up their stalls after the New Year.
For the next few days, they stayed at home and did not go out.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Deng Xiuzhen went out to find a job.
After listening to Tian Guoqiang's words, she believed that Qin Yanlin would come back, but no one could tell when he would come back.
For children to go to school and for the family to live, there must be income.
Now she has lost her numbness and can't afford to buy another one. Not only does she have no capital to run a business, but it's also hard to run one alone.
She has three children to take care of, and although they can cook for themselves now, it is not good to have no adults watching them at home. She can only find work nearby.
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