At this moment, the Wei family...
Wei Er was changing TV channels at home when he heard shouts coming from the doorway.
Wei Caixia ran out first.
"Mr. Wei, your wife is fighting with the old lady from the Li family..."
Wei Er's brow twitched upon hearing this. Fighting with an old man was the worst thing you could do; if something happened, you'd have to pay a lot of money in compensation.
"What a spendthrift woman, she can't even behave herself during the New Year..." he muttered as he went into the kitchen to find a fire poker.
Wei Caixia had already followed the others to the local temple.
When she arrived, the village doctor was feeding medicine to Granny Li.
“She scratched my face, so what if I kicked her a few times…” Li Zhaodi argued from the side.
Not seeing any members of the Li family around, Grandma Li woke up with a terrible pain in her chest.
It's one thing that the youngest son didn't come, but even the eldest son and his family didn't come.
"I'm fine, everyone go home!" Granny Li stood up, her voice trembling.
She had only taken a few steps when she saw Wei Er rushing over with a fire stick.
Grandma Li gave him a cold glance, not even a look, and the two passed each other.
As for what happens at the local temple, that's none of her business.
Grandma Li returned home, took the whole chicken out of the pot, and prepared to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.
She turned on the TV to listen to the sound, but didn't watch anything; she just kept her head down and ate her rice.
Soon, tears welled up in her eyes and mixed with her food, so she quickly wiped them away.
During holidays and festivals, her son and daughter-in-law never came, leaving her feeling like a lonely old woman.
After recovering, Granny Li's heart gradually grew cold.
She believed she was fair to all her sons, but that may just be wishful thinking on her part.
Grandma Li washed the dishes and chopsticks, changed her clothes, and then sat down at the door to mend her clothes.
The village paths gradually became deserted as everyone ate their New Year's Eve dinner.
There were a few people walking on the road, and they looked like strangers.
Grandma Li felt a tightness in her chest. Two of them looked like children in height, but their faces were those of adults.
She put down her needlework and hurriedly followed.
…
On the other side
Several tables were set up in the Lin family's courtyard, and everyone was chatting animatedly.
"I'll go find Granny Li in a bit," Lin Tai sighed after hearing the villagers talk about the local temple.
Grandma Lan ate half a bowl of rice, then put down her chopsticks and stepped aside to eat fruit. "Okay, let's go together."
The two talked about the Li family, shaking their heads repeatedly.
At this time, things were not peaceful for the Li family either.
Because of Xiao Pang's incident, Li Liu and his older brother never spoke to each other again.
The other brothers also distanced themselves from Li Liu, feeling it was bad luck.
Big Fatty kept his head down and ate his rice, not daring to say a word. The atmosphere at home was always strange during holidays.
"Your mother is fighting with Li Zhaodi, aren't you going to go and see?" Li Liu's wife said calmly.
She couldn't resolve the conflict with her mother-in-law. She resented her mother-in-law for not taking good care of Xiaopang, but she resented herself even more for not staying home to take care of the child.
Hearing Li Zhaodi's gloating remarks today, she almost picked up the sacrificial knife...
"No, my brother and his group will go. It wouldn't be good if we ran into them." Li Liu took a few sips of wine, and his frustration eased a little.
After Ah Jian left the seafood market, he also resigned and left.
Now I run a small commodity workshop with a friend, and I earn more money than before, so I'm even less interested in taking care of things at home.
Of course he knew what the villagers said about his family behind their backs.
But Li Liu couldn't get over that hurdle in his heart, and no amount of persuasion from anyone could change his mind.
"After you finish eating, bring her a plate of chicken." Li Liu's wife seemed a little dazed.
She used to work in an electronics factory, often working overtime. When she got home, she would just collapse into bed and never think of her youngest son.
Now that I've stopped, I can't sleep at night thinking about it, and my temper is getting worse and worse.
Li Liu's wife knew she was sick, but she kept telling herself that she would feel better once she went back to work.
Li Liu said, "Big Fatty, bring it over after you finish eating."
Big Fatty nodded vigorously, ate a chicken leg, and then stopped picking at the food.
We only cut one chicken leg at home now, whereas we used to have two...
Li Liu glanced at his eldest son, feeling annoyed but unable to lose his temper during the New Year.
The family ate in silence, the only sound being the chopsticks tapping on the plates.
"I'm full." Big Fatty couldn't hold back any longer. He wiped his mouth with his hand, picked up his plate, and ran out.
He was running so fast that he didn't pay attention to his footing, tripped over a stone, and the plate flew off.
The meat fell into the mud...
The fat man's pupils dilated, and his lips trembled as he shook his head.
He has been beaten by his parents almost every day since his younger brother passed away.
The chickens at home weren't fed, the bowl was broken, the clothes were too dirty, and so on.
If his family finds out he spilled the chicken meant for his grandmother, they'll definitely beat him again.
Big Fatty glanced around and then ran into the old house.
There was no one on the dirt road in the village at this time, and he was sweating profusely from running.
The old houses in the village are mostly inhabited by elderly people. Some of the vacant old houses are used to store miscellaneous items or to raise chickens and ducks.
When Big Fatty saw the dark old house, he immediately crawled inside and hid.
I can't let my parents find me tonight.
That was the only thought in his mind.
…
On the dirt path in the village, Lin Atai carried a bag of candy toward Li Apo's house.
"Who dropped this chicken? What a waste of food..." Grandma Lan stepped on a piece of chicken butt meat and looked down to see that there were still quite a few left beside it.
Lin Atai's eyelids twitched, and she quickened her pace toward Li Apo's house.
They called out a few times at the door, but received no response, so they walked inside.
The main room was dark, with needles and thread and clothes to be mended placed on the threshold.
It doesn't look like anyone's home at all...
Lin Atai called out a few more times.
"Maybe she went to her son's house?" Grandma Lan glanced suspiciously at the doorway.
Where could she go with the door open? Surely Grandma Li isn't that careless?
Lin Atai said, "Let's go look for it, just in case something happens."
She had a very bad feeling, just like when her daughter had the accident.
Grandma Li may no longer be here.
As soon as the two stepped out of the main room, they ran into Li Liu's wife, who had come looking for them with a flashlight.
"Didn't your mother-in-law go to your house?" Grandma Lan frowned.
"He didn't come. Big Fatty brought the chicken over, but he didn't come back until dark, so I came to check." Li Liu's wife was very flustered. She had seen the chicken on the ground on her way here, and she had almost run over.
"My mother-in-law isn't home?" Li Liu's wife looked anxiously into the house and was about to step inside.
Lin Atai sighed, "Let's go look for her in the village, she should be..." gone.
She didn't say the last few words, but Li Liu's wife seemed to have guessed them, and her body swayed slightly.
Lately, she's been feeling dizzy and can't sleep. She's been feeling weak all day and extremely irritable.
Grandma Lan was shocked. She grabbed Lin Atai's hand and looked at her questioningly.
Lin Atai shook her head.
"Quickly go home and fetch the Li brothers..."
After finishing her sentence, Lin Atai followed the village path to find her way out.
Soon, the Li brothers gathered at Grandma Li's place, all of them pale-faced.
Li Liu had drunk quite a bit and was still hiccuping; he had to hold onto the door frame to stay upright.
"Maybe Lin is lying..." he muttered, but he was still uneasy.
They all knew it wasn't true, but they were all stubborn.
The eldest brother of the Li family said, "Let's look for it in the village first..."
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