Zhao Yunxiang didn't understand why her father had kicked them out today, using the excuse of "no chicken for Chinese New Year." However, Zhao Yunxiang had always been a well-behaved child, generally obeying Zhao Qingshan's decisions. The only time Zhao Yunxiang had insisted on marrying Zhou Zhixin was when she insisted on marrying Zhao Qingshan.
It was already noon at this time, and Zhao Guohui and his group went down the mountain in a mighty manner.
Zhaojiagou, which usually looks a bit deserted, now has white smoke rising from the chimneys of every household. The sound of children setting off firecrackers can be heard from time to time in the sky above Zhaojiagou. The small mountain village is full of vitality on New Year's Eve.
No matter how poor a family is, they will cook a lot of dishes on New Year’s Eve. The whole family will happily eat half of them and save the other half for New Year’s Day. This is called “abundance every year”.
On New Year's Eve, the custom in Yuyuan County is to worship ancestors in the afternoon, set off a few firecrackers, and eat the New Year's Eve dinner before the sun sets. After the dinner, families place a plate with melon seeds and candies, waiting for the children from the village to come and pay their respects early the next morning.
In recent years, efforts to combat superstition have largely abolished the practice of ancestor worship before New Year's Eve dinner. However, many villagers still lay out a table full of food, light a few incense sticks, and offer a few random bows to the sky and a blank wall before eating, as if to pay respect to passing gods and their own ancestors.
When passing by Gu Tiezhu's home at the foot of Daqing Mountain, Zhao Guohui specially brought a pheasant in to see Tiezhu's mother.
Before Zhao Guohui went to work in Sanhe Town, he was the head of the children in Zhaojiagou. Although Gutiezhu was older than Zhao Guohui, he also obeyed Zhao Guohui's leadership.
After Gutiezhu was arrested, Zhao Guohui bought a dozen meat buns and made a special trip to the police station. Lao Jiang said Gutiezhu's case hadn't been tried yet, so he couldn't visit him. Zhao Guohui asked Lao Jiang to give the buns to Gutiezhu before returning home.
Zhao Guohui had been living a life worse than death the previous two days, and hadn't even considered visiting Gu Tiezhu's house. Now that he happened to be passing by, Zhao Guohui was determined to go there to feel at ease.
Gu Tiezhu's home was deserted, not even the fire was lit. Tiezhu's mother lay in bed, lost in thought. Two children, tears still on their faces, lay beside her, sound asleep.
After Tiezhu's arrest, his mother was devastated. She'd been lying in bed for days, unable to get up, and her hands and feet had been weak. Fortunately, village chief Zhao Youtian arranged for someone to take care of her, saving the family of three from starvation. To conserve food, Tiezhu's mother had been keeping her two children under control, preventing them from running around. They'd eat when hungry and then go to bed.
Seeing Zhao Guohui send her a pheasant, Tiezhu's mother was so moved that she wept. The young people raised by this old secretary were really good. Previously, the old secretary's granddaughter sent her a pheasant, and now the old secretary's son also sent them a pheasant!
It's easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to help someone in need. Ever since Gu Tiezhu was arrested, few people have visited Tiezhu's home, save for a few women assigned by village chief Zhao Youtian who take turns helping out. Today is New Year's Eve, and the women who came to help have their own chores to attend to, so naturally, no one is coming to help with the chores.
The villagers were timid and unaware of Gu Tiezhu's crimes. In their eyes, Gu Tiezhu, who had been arrested by the police, was a bad guy. Naturally, Tiezhu's mother and two children became the family members of a bad guy in the eyes of the villagers. Aside from the women Zhao Youtian had arranged, no one else in the village would approach Tiezhu's home. Even the children in the village were repeatedly told by their parents not to play with Tiezhu's children.
After Tiezhu's mother fell ill, Aunt Gu did visit a few times, bringing some food. But Aunt Gu's daughter-in-law was no pushover. She had always been unhappy with her mother-in-law's frequent visits to her parents' home, and after Tiezhu was arrested, Aunt Gu's daughter-in-law's rage only intensified. Whenever Aunt Gu visited Tiezhu's house, she would scold him. She accused Aunt Gu of disregarding her family's well-being and associating with the families of criminals, and that even if she wanted to die, she shouldn't have burdened the entire family.
This time, Aunt Gu's husband did not help her suppress her daughter-in-law. Instead, he advised her to distance herself from her family. Their family could not be implicated because of Aunt Gu's kindness.
As a result, Tiezhu's family had become the people that the villagers of Zhaojiagou shunned. Zhao Guohui's gift of a pheasant warmed not only the stomachs of Tiezhu's mother and two children, but also their hearts.
Seeing that the stove in Aunt Gu's house was deserted, Zhao Guohui was afraid that Aunt Gu didn't have the strength to get up and cook, so he stayed to help Aunt Gu clean a pheasant, then cut it into pieces. He also peeled some potatoes and cut them into pieces, put them into the pot together with the pheasant, and stewed a large pot.
The aroma of pheasant aroused the appetite of Gutiezhu's son and daughter. After waking up, the two children did not want to sleep anymore and surrounded Zhao Guohui, calling him "Uncle Guohui".
Seeing that Aunt Gu still had a few kilograms of rice at home, Zhao Guohui specially cooked another pot of rice for her.
The chicken was stewed in the pot and the rice was simmered in the pot. After cleaning up all these, Zhao Guohui returned home.
After Zhao Guohui left, Tiezhu's two children watched over the kitchen eagerly, lighting the fire and waiting for the meal to be cooked.
Seeing that the children were not around, Tiezhu's mother took out a packet of rat poison from under the mattress with trembling hands and looked at it again and again.
If it weren't for Zhao Guohui, Aunt Gu was planning to take her two children and eat the bag of rat poison for dinner tonight.
My son! There are still many kindhearted people in this world. I will drag this broken body through for a few more days, waiting for your return. Tiezhu's mother gave up the idea of taking her children with her to die. After hiding the rat poison carefully, she clasped her hands together and bowed to the sky several times. A light gradually appeared in her dull eyes.
After Wen Ziqing and his group returned from hunting, the entire Zhao family became lively.
Zhao Qingshan stood in the corridor and was very happy to see several children returning home happily with full loads.
Zhao Qingshan was afraid that the noise would disturb Zhou Yuanyuan in the room, so he made a few gestures to ask everyone to be quiet.
When everyone entered the door, they received Zhao Qingshan's gesture, and everyone walked lightly and stopped talking.
Zhao Qingshan didn't see Zhao Guohui and felt a little disappointed. Could it be that Guohui, after going out for a walk, couldn't get rid of the haze in his heart?
Wen Ziqing held a pheasant in each hand. When he entered the door, he glanced around the yard but couldn't see the little figure.
Is Yuanyuan not at home? Wen Ziqing felt a little disappointed.
Wen Ziqing's glance could not escape Zhao Qingshan's experienced eyes. Seeing a trace of loneliness flashing across Wen Ziqing's face, Zhao Qingshan immediately felt in a good mood.
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