Xu Hongzhen was startled by the sudden howl and immediately stopped in his tracks. That was his older brother's voice, wasn't it?
Worried that something had happened, I rushed in and saw my older brother lying on the bed, tossing and turning, repeatedly saying, "Let me go, let me go!"
"Brother, what's wrong? Who upset you again?" He hadn't acted up for a while, so why is he acting like a woman again?
"Third brother, you've finally come! I know I'm old and useless, everyone despises me, what's the point of living? I might as well just go!"
When Xu Hongshan saw his third brother arrive, he shouted even more enthusiastically, as if afraid that the people outside wouldn't hear him. If he had a loudspeaker, he would want to hang it above his bed and broadcast it live to the whole village.
Xu Hongzhen wasn't in a hurry. He sat half-upright on the edge of the bed and asked his elder brother in a gentle tone, "Brother, you haven't said anything. I have no idea what happened. If Minghan is really in the wrong, I, as his third uncle, won't let him off the hook. Tell me, what exactly happened?"
In fact, Xu Hongzhen understood that his older brother was just looking for trouble. It was an old trick of his. The most recent time was when his sister-in-law gave away the cigarettes that someone had given him, which made him so angry that he lay down on the ground and refused to get up.
He said he wouldn't even let him smoke a cigarette, that life was meaningless and he might as well just die sooner rather than later, so as not to bother people. He kept rambling on and on but wouldn't get up. He really learned all the tricks of his late grandmother and mother.
In the end, his sister-in-law couldn't stand it anymore and bought him another pack of cigarettes before she stopped. The problem is, his older brother doesn't smoke either, but he likes to take one out every now and then to smell it, and then put it back. He can smell a pack of cigarettes for a year. Finally, at the New Year, she was willing to take it out to share with his second brother. There wasn't even much left; each of them only got one. He was really stingy to the extreme.
I don't know what Minghan did to offend him this time, he's acting up again. In their family, only the eldest brother is willing to put aside his pride, so most people really don't dare to mess with him, after all, no one is as shameless as him.
Xu Hongshan had no idea that his third brother was silently criticizing him in his heart. He wiped away imaginary tears and said weakly, "Third brother called your sister-in-law to take care of his child. He was supposed to go for a week, but he just called back and said he'll stay a while longer. Do you think he's trying to starve me to death? Doesn't he know I love your sister-in-law's cooking? I haven't eaten well at the eldest brother's house these past few days, and I haven't been able to sleep well at night either."
The more Xu Hongshan talked, the more pitiful he felt. He thought the third brother was a scoundrel who only knew how to bully an old man like him.
Zhou Nianmei, who rushed over after hearing the neighbor's message, overheard the last sentence. Her lips twitched involuntarily. Not eating well? Who eats two large bowls of rice in one meal? And more than forty dumplings in one sitting and still not satisfied? She thought they might be eating too heartily.
Xu Hongzhen: "..." Looking at his elder brother's rosy complexion, he really couldn't bring himself to say that his elder brother had suffered. Even if he was lying through his teeth, he couldn't say it like that!
Zhou Nianmei, who was outside the door, took a deep breath, stepped over the threshold and came in, pretending that she knew nothing. She asked, "Dad, are you feeling unwell? The lady next door said she heard you calling, so I came right away."
The neighbor lady's exact words were, "Nianmei, you'd better hurry back to the old house and check on your father-in-law. He's gone mad again." Yes, that's what they call going mad.
Zhou Nianmei had the opportunity to see him once when she first married into the family. Imagine a tall, muscular man, 1.8 meters tall, lying on the ground throwing a tantrum, rolling around and saying things like he was going to die. That time really shocked her, after all, the contrast was just too great.
However, her husband, Xu Mingri, remained calm, grinned, and said, "Don't worry, it only happens once or twice a year. Just coax him a little, and once he's calmed down, I'll cook him a bowl of brown sugar poached eggs. It always works."
She didn't need to do this before; her mother-in-law was in charge of coaxing him while she was in charge of cooking poached eggs. So now she has to appease him first.
“Your dad said your mom wanted to stay at Minghan’s place for a while longer, and then he got angry.” Xu Hongzhen gestured toward the bed, explaining to her why Xu Hongshan was angry.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Nianmei was speechless. What was such a small matter? Why did it escalate into such a big deal?
But he couldn't say anything to him directly, so he had to go along with him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Dad, I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do about it. Xuemei broke her foot, and the others all have things to do, so we can only trouble Mom. Why don't you just bear with it a little longer? Mom will be back in a few days."
Xu Hongshan kicked his leg hard. "I just want to eat your mom's cooking. I can't eat anything else's cooking. Call your mom and tell her to come back. If that doesn't work, bring the little girl back too."
"No, Dad, aren't you making things difficult for me?" Zhou Nianmei sighed helplessly, silently telling herself not to get angry, not to get angry, this is a living ancestor.
"I knew it! None of you wanted me to be well. You all wished me to starve to death. I can't eat anymore and you still don't care. Just let me starve to death..." Xu Hongshan started howling again without saying a word, and his voice got louder and louder.
This prompted the villagers who were watching the commotion outside the door to chime in, "Old Xu, that's enough. Don't make things difficult for him. He's not a young man who can't live without his wife."
"That's right, we should think about the children too!"
Xu Hongshan grabbed the blanket from the bed and covered himself with it. "Hmph, I won't listen."
"How about... how about you go to Tianshui City to find your sister-in-law and bring her back yourself?" Xu Hongzhen tentatively suggested. He was really out of options; she wasn't a child who could be coaxed with a piece of candy.
Of course, we could ignore him, but that's not something we can do. Apart from this one problem, my older brother is usually quite good to him.
“Third Uncle,” Zhou Nianmei looked at Xu Hongzhen disapprovingly. Wasn’t this just making things worse?
Xu Hongshan sat up abruptly in bed and looked at Xu Hongzhen with admiration, "Third brother, you finally said something sensible. If she doesn't come back, I'll go. It's settled then. I'll leave tomorrow."
Zhou Nianmei was dumbfounded. They really went?
"Nianmei, cook me a bowl of brown sugar poached eggs, four poached eggs," she said, then glanced at her third brother who was still standing. Thinking that he had just given her a good idea, she instructed him, "Cook a bowl for your third uncle too, two are enough for him."
Okay, now that we've progressed to the brown sugar and egg part, I guess I'm not angry anymore.
Zhou Nianmei had no idea where her mother-in-law had put the brown sugar. If she asked her father-in-law, he would definitely say he didn't know. Oh well, she'd better go home and get it!
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