Chapter 35 Uncle Visits
Chapter 36 Uncle Visits
The Fang family’s sale of the house was finally finalized.
The next morning, the old lady left with her eldest son's family. She seemed to never want to see her second son again, so she asked her eldest son's family to help move all her things away, even the pots and pans in the house.
In the end, if the eldest son hadn’t said that the house couldn’t accommodate so many things, the old lady would have even wanted to take away a few broken stools.
Looking at the empty house, Fang's mother sat on a small stool and cried silently. Fang's father walked over and they sat together, staring at the old house in a daze.
Fang's mother wiped her tears for a while and sighed, "When I saw you guys like that yesterday, my heart was shaking with nervousness. We are brothers and sisters, how could it become like this today just for a house?"
Father Fang sighed and patted his wife's hand full of cuts. "People's hearts are hard to predict. Let's break up. You have suffered all these years following me! I am useless. I can neither make mother happy like the fifth child, nor be loved by mother like the eldest sister. Instead, you and the others have to suffer with me... From now on, we will work hard, and life will get better..."
Fang Qing hid in the attic, listening to his parents reminiscing about the past. He finally understood many things that he didn't understand when he was a child, such as why his mother didn't like to go to his grandmother's room for dinner, why his father always went there happily but came out with a sad face, and now he insisted on dividing the family...
Although he didn't understand the grudges between his parents, their family would face more difficulties in the future, and it was time for her to do her part for the family.
That day, Fang's father found a house for sale, and Fang Qing followed his father to check it out.
The house is located behind the Furong Street of Jingtan No. 1 Middle School. A dozen meters along the alley facing the street, you will see a gray stone wall. Entering the big red iron gate, you will see a row of old tiled houses. The house faces north and south, and the house is also built with a whole piece of bluestone. There is a rusty copper bell hanging under the eaves.
Uncle Zhang, who was accompanying us, was an architect. As they walked, he whispered to my father that although the house was old and simple, its main structure was very solid. If we bought it and renovated it, we could live in it for a few more decades without any problem.
My father nodded as he walked into the house. The inside was as dark and dilapidated as the outside. Apart from the thick spider webs in the corners, the dust everywhere and the shiny black bedding on the kang, everything showed how sloppy the owner was.
The owner of the house was a skinny man. At first, he was bragging about how good his house was. But after the uncle next to my father pointed out various problems, the owner finally became a little uneasy.
"Well, this house will eventually get old. It can still be used after some repairs..."
The uncle shook his head and said, "If you buy this house, you have to renovate the walls, windows, floor tiles, and even the beams before you can live in it. Otherwise, no one can stand the bugs in the house."
As they were talking, a big spider slowly walked past Fang Qing's feet. She was so scared that she jumped and hid behind her father, making the landlord's face turn red and white.
The landlord refused to give in on the price, which my father thought was unreasonable, so he decided to take another look and then leave with his friends.
But the owner was getting anxious. Many people came to see his house, but in the end they all thought the house was too old and the renovation was not reasonable, so they didn't make the deal. He didn't have much time left, so he made up his mind and chased after them, calling out to Fang Qing and his daughter, saying that the price could be discussed again.
Fang Qing stood aside and watched his father arguing with the homeowner. In the end, the house was sold for 5,800.
The homeowner was happy, but his father was worried. After all, this amount of money was too much for their family.
In the following days, my parents started borrowing money again.
Early in the morning on the 14th day of the first lunar month, Fang Qing got up to help her mother prepare the ingredients for making Yuanxiao.
In previous years, the whole family celebrated the Lantern Festival together, but this year everyone was unhappy because of the house issue, so everyone celebrated the Lantern Festival separately.
Although it was not as lively as in previous years, Fang's mother had a rare moment of leisure. In previous years, she not only had to prepare food, but also clean up after the festival. After each Chinese New Year, Fang's mother would be exhausted for a few days. Fang Qing also wanted to make her mother more relaxed, so she took the initiative to take on the work of making Yuanxiao at home this year.
In fact, there are people selling Yuanxiao on the street, but the price is high and the fillings are nothing new, either five kernels or sesame. Fang Qing drooled when he remembered the fruit-filled glutinous rice balls made by the ugly grandmother in the mental hospital in his previous life, so he decided to try making them himself.
Fang Qing skillfully cleaned the hawthorns, removed the cores, added a handful of rock sugar to the pot and boiled it into jam, then added jelly powder and mixed it evenly, covered it with a piece of cloth and placed it on the windowsill to cool down. When her mother prepared the Yuanxiao skin, the two began to make Yuanxiao.
Not long after finishing breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Fang Ming opened the door and looked, "Uncle, why are you here at this time?"
My uncle said that he saw Fang Qing liking to eat frozen pears last time and that he was in a hurry when he left. It happened that he was going into the city to do some things today, so he brought the things over for the children.
During the conversation, the uncle mentioned what happened at home after those people left. When Fang's mother heard that Zhao Tiedan from the next village actually had fantasies about her own daughter, she was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
But because of this unpleasant incident, my uncle is now being targeted by the Zhao family village. Not only is it said that my uncle from the Liu family has occupied the farmland of their Zhao family village, but the land contracting plan that was originally discussed with him has also gone down the drain.
Hearing this, Fang's mother was so angry that she cursed. Seeing her eldest brother's vicissitudes, Fang's mother blamed herself even more, "Brother, because we made you suffer. What should we do next? Do you have any ideas?"
The uncle smiled bitterly and shook his head, "What are you trying to do? I'm just a farmer. I'll just work hard on my few acres of land and I won't starve to death..."
It was almost noon, and Fang's mother tried to persuade her eldest brother to stay for dinner before leaving, but he was worried that the Zhao family next door might cause trouble again, so he got up and left in a hurry.
Fang Qing hurriedly chased after him and gave her uncle a small bag of wrapped Yuanxiao, asking him to take it back and try it. Her uncle touched her head and turned back into the heavy snow.
Early in the morning on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, heavy snow fell from the sky.
My father rode his bicycle to my uncle's house to deliver Yuanxiao. Fang Qing remembered that Teacher Qiu was alone, so after breakfast he packed a large box of cooked Yuanxiao in his lunch box and sent it over.
Teacher Qiu was painting the snow outside the window and had only porridge for breakfast. When he saw the glutinous rice balls sent by Fang Qing, he was very surprised and praised her for her cleverness while eating. Seeing that Fang Qing seemed to be worried, he asked her if she had anything to do recently.
Fang Qing's trust and reliance on Teacher Qiu led her to tell him about her family's affairs. After listening, Teacher Qiu sighed that every family has its own problems, and asked her if she needed financial help. Fang Qing quickly refused, saying that she had something to do at home and ran away.
Although Teacher Qiu is not short of money, we cannot cause trouble for her.
After leaving Teacher Qiu’s house, Fang Qing walked back along the street.
(End of this chapter)
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