Chapter 3 Grandparents
Grandma Xi and Grandpa Chen had a total of six children, three boys and three girls.
The eldest son died young, and the eldest daughter married far away.
The other children left after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, leaving only Grandma Xi, Grandpa Chen, and Great-Grandma at home.
Grandma Xi reached out and tugged at the rope by the wall. With a "snap," the light bulb lit up with a dim yellow light.
Although not very bright, it was enough to barely illuminate the space.
Grandma Xi took a piece of cured meat from above the fire pit and served it to the two of them as a welcome meal.
It can't really be considered cured meat.
During the Lunar New Year here, almost every household keeps a pig, specifically to slaughter and eat during the holiday.
Half of the pork is used for the Lunar New Year or given as gifts to relatives.
The other half was cured with coarse salt and then hung above the fire pit to be gradually smoked into cured meat.
The fire pit was square, with an iron tripod in the very center.
The firewood burned brightly under the iron tripod, and Grandma Xi stir-fried the meat in the pot, gradually filling the air with its aroma.
Shen Xuewei's stomach was already empty. During the twenty-odd hours from Huacheng to her grandmother's house, she had barely eaten anything.
I managed to eat a few bites, but I threw them up after getting on the bus.
The aroma wafting from the pot made her stomach rumble with hunger. Grandma Xi, who was beside her, heard the noise and gently touched her belly.
"Oh dear, is our Weiwei hungry? Wait a little longer, she'll be able to eat soon. Here, Grandma will scoop out a piece of meat for Weiwei to eat first."
She used a spatula to lift a piece of lean meat out of the pot, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it to Shen Xuewei's mouth.
Shen Xuewei chewed slowly, feeling her clothes being tugged.
As she turned her head to look, a salted egg yolk pie was shoved into her arms.
The old woman waved her wrinkled hands, smiling, revealing her gums where all her teeth had fallen out, and kept talking:
"You eat, you eat!"
Shen Zhiwei did not refuse. She sat up and shouted loudly in her great-grandmother's ear, "Thank you, great-grandmother!"
The old woman smiled so broadly that her wrinkles gathered together, and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome. This is good for children, it's sweet..."
My great-grandmother is 86 years old this year. She lost all her teeth several years ago, and her hearing is also failing.
Anyone who wants to talk to her has to shout loudly for her to hear them.
Although she is old, she is still in good health and never idles down, working in the fields every day.
Grandpa Chen and his younger brother separated their households more than 20 years ago. Although they separated, their houses are still next to each other, and if someone shouts loudly in their house, they can be heard.
The two separated their households; one took care of the great-grandfather, and the other took care of the great-grandmother.
The great-grandfather was their biological father, but the great-grandmother was not their biological mother.
Although she was a stepmother, the great-grandmother never mistreated the two of them. In addition, the great-grandmother only had one daughter, and it was not appropriate for her to live with her daughter in her old age. Therefore, when the family was divided, she was assigned to Chen's maternal grandfather for care.
She is a hardworking person and has helped Grandpa Chen and Grandma Xi take care of their children many times over the years.
Even after their children grew up and no longer needed care, they didn't stay idle; they did almost everything, both inside and outside the house.
Although she wasn't her biological mother, she was even more precious than a mother to him, which is why Grandpa Chen and his wife always respected and cared for her.
When I go to the market, I always buy some soft candies and cookies or cigarettes for my great-grandmother.
Yes, that's right, Grandma smokes and drinks occasionally.
While Grandpa Chen was only willing to smoke cigarettes made from raw tobacco, Grandma Chen was already smoking a whole pack of cigarettes.
Grandpa Chen and Father Shen, their faces serious, were talking when they heard the commotion and glanced over.
When Chen Xuewei met his gaze, Grandpa Chen's lips moved, and a smile appeared on his stern face.
Shen Xuewei shrank back when she saw this.
She never expected that when she was little, her grandfather had greeted her with a smile the first time they met.
It's not that Grandpa Chen treated her badly, but he was always serious and had a stern face all day long.
From childhood to adulthood, Shen Xuewei had rarely seen him smile.
Grandpa Chen was a village teacher. It can be said that all the children who went to primary school in the surrounding mountains over the past thirty years were his students.
The primary school in the mountains has only one teacher, and he teaches everything.
Chinese, Mathematics...
However, as roads were gradually built and opened to traffic, the children in the mountains were sent to primary schools outside by their parents, and not many people continued to study with Grandpa Chen.
Grandpa Chen got older, so a few years ago he stopped being a teacher.
The meat in the pot was cooked, and Grandma Xi added a ladle of water using the oil in the pot.
After the water boiled, I added two handfuls of green vegetables and a handful of sweet potato starch that a relative had given me.
Of course, at this point, the sweet potato starch is still made from sweet potatoes.
The sweet potatoes are cooked, and dinner is ready.
Grandma Xi took down two long, narrow "L"-shaped tables from the wall and placed them along the edge of the stove, then divided the pork that had just been stir-fried into two plates.
A plate was placed in front of Grandpa Chen and Father Shen, and a plate was placed in front of Great-Grandma and her.
Shen Xuewei ate quietly with her bowl in hand, and her maternal grandmother would occasionally put a piece of food on her plate.
At the dinner table, only Grandpa Chen and Father Shen ate and talked.
After taking a sip of wine, Shen's father became bolder.
His face flushed red as he said, "Dad, Mom, I'll be leaving Xiaowei in your care from now on. And please tell my second sister-in-law for me as well."
“I’m busy with work, and Xiaowei’s mother is taking care of two children, so she can hardly spare any time. Xiaowei has been well-behaved since she was little, hardworking and quiet. She’s also timid and won’t cause trouble or be naughty. If you need anything, you can let her do it.”
Grandpa Chen glanced at Shen Xuewei.
Shen Xuewei was eating with her head down, so he could only see her slightly yellowish hair, not her current expression.
He said in a low voice, "Alright, why are you saying these things in front of the children? Whatever it is, we can talk about it later."
The child is so young. Aren't you afraid of upsetting her by saying you're going to leave her here in front of her?
Grandpa Chen didn't like Shen's father because, in his eyes, Shen's father was not an honest and upright person.
If it weren't for his eldest daughter being seduced by his sweet talk and insisting on marrying him, Grandpa Chen himself would never have taken a liking to Shen's father.
The eldest daughter got married and stayed away for more than ten years.
With the round trip and transfers, the journey takes more than twenty hours, which can be considered a marriage to someone from afar.
After so many years of marriage, the eldest daughter only came back once, and she had to beg them to let the second daughter come over to help take care of the children.
When the children got older and could walk, they no longer needed their second daughter's help, so they bought a train ticket and sent her back.
The distance was far, and communication was inconvenient, so there were only a handful of letters.
He treated his daughter as if she were someone else's child.
He had three sons and three daughters. Min'er was his first daughter, and the couple doted on her from a young age.
Although she was born in the mountains, she still tried her best to give her the best.
But after his daughter married far away, their relationship became distant, and he only contacted them when he needed them.
The elderly couple simply couldn't believe that their son-in-law hadn't instigated this.
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