The bus only goes as far as the town, and it's not expensive, costing only two cents per person.
If they hadn't had so much luggage, they would have walked home.
"I haven't been back for many years, and this time when I did come back, it was all in a rush. I was surprised to find that my hometown has changed a lot!"
The most obvious thing is that the road in our town is much smoother than before.”
"That's right. Several production teams around here brought back some construction waste, crushed it up, and laid it layer upon layer to raise the level."
It's much more convenient once we get to town. Even though my parents have lived in the city for many years, they still have some connections.
They asked the oxcart driver for help to load their luggage onto the cart. Zhao Lingli sat on it and held onto it, while the father-in-law and son-in-law walked on the ground.
It hasn't been easy traveling this far. We had to greet and chat with acquaintances whenever we ran into them.
When they finally arrived home, Tao Changyi handed them two cigarettes and a handful of candy.
"Old friend, thank you so much for today! I've taken up quite a bit of your time, get back to work!"
The person who was rushing to catch the train was just trying to help, and since they knew each other, they didn't expect Tao Changyi to be so polite.
The two of them pushed and pulled for a long time before finally getting the person to leave.
While Zhou Yue was helping to carry the luggage home, Tao Changyi was busy dealing with the neighbors.
"Hey, Lao Tao, didn't you two go to Zhou Yue's wedding? Why did it take you so long to come back? Cui Feng and the others came back a long time ago."
“The young people have to go to work, so of course they have to come back. We didn’t have anything to do, so we stayed a few more days.”
So, feeling bored, I had it returned.
"Zhou Yue is quite something, he even went all the way to Northeast China to get married."
"How's your wife doing? Why doesn't she come back for a visit so his grandparents can meet her?"
Upon hearing this, not only Tao Changyi suppressed his laughter, but even Zhao Lingli and Zhou Yue, who stepped out at the right moment, couldn't help but chuckle.
So Cuihua and the others didn't reveal a single word?
"Lingli, look at you, even Zhou Yue is married now, when is your little girl coming back?"
I've already asked around; even military doctors don't keep people tied down like this. Think about it, how many years has it been since your daughter came home!
"Exactly, she didn't even make it to the funerals of her grandparents. Don't blame us for speculating, but could she have..."
Before they could finish speaking, Zhao Lingli frowned in displeasure.
"Hey Ma Dazui, you really live up to your mouth! You never seem to think anything good about my family."
"If you can't speak properly, then shut your mouth. My daughter is perfectly fine; you don't need to worry about her."
Zhao Lingli was in a good mood, but she didn't expect to be gossiped about as soon as she got back. She was even tempted to blurt it out.
But the thought of her daughter coming back in a few days after finishing her work and personally slapping these people in the face made her feel incredibly satisfied.
Zhao Lingli glanced at Zhou Yue, who seemed hesitant to speak, and tugged at their arms.
"Alright, it's getting late. Hurry up and drag the blankets out to air them. Ah Yue, come help me clean up."
"Okay, Mother," Zhou Yue casually addressed her, but it immediately caused an uproar among the people behind him.
"Wait, what did I just hear? Zhou Yue, why are you calling your auntie 'mother'? When did you change your address?"
Before Zhou Yue could answer, Zhao Lingli turned around unhappily.
"Many children call me mother, and you don't know about my godparents?"
Besides, it's my child's business what he calls me. What's it to you old women?
"What's wrong with the production team today? Why are you all gathered here watching? Hurry up, don't delay your work in the fields earning work points."
After being rebuked by Zhao Lingli, and with the production team's bell ringing precisely at that moment, everyone, without needing to be urged, spontaneously headed towards the big willow tree at the village entrance to gather.
After seeing off these gossipy women, Zhou Yue couldn't help but chuckle: "Mom, are we going to keep this a secret until Xiao Jiu comes back?"
"Hmph, let them always talk bad about my little wine behind my back. None of them want anything good for us."
Today, since it's just you and your father here, they're holding back what they're saying to me.
When I'm alone, I'm practically saying I'm dead from alcohol.
They also said that I, Xiao Jiu, was going astray outside and ran off with someone else, which made me so angry that I cried my eyes out so many times.
After hearing this, Zhou Yue couldn't help but feel sorry for Zhao Lingli's ordeal.
"Mom, these people are too idle. They satisfy their vanity by gossiping about others. Don't take it to heart."
Recalling the past, Zhao Lingli's eyes reddened and her voice choked with emotion.
Tao Changyi tugged at her sleeve, "Look at you, the past is the past, why do you keep thinking about it?"
This is not the way to make yourself unhappy.
Besides, isn't our wine perfectly fine?
And she even brought back such a wonderful son-in-law.
Don't be fooled by how energetic they are; can any of them compare to you?
In my opinion, they're just jealous of you. They're jealous that you have so many reliable sons and daughters-in-law, and even goddaughters and sons-in-law.
This statement did not soothe Zhao Lingli's inner turmoil. She looked at her husband with a face full of grief and indignation.
"What do you know? You weren't home at the time. The reason why our father died of depression was inseparable from these gossipy people."
If it weren't for them gossiping about our family all day long, if it weren't for their backbiting, would our father have been unable to sleep all night because he was worried about Xiaojiu?
I've been rarely going out to avoid their gossip, and what did they say then?
When this crucial point was mentioned, Zhao Lingli couldn't stop her tears from falling.
“I take good care of our father because I am filial. Even you, Tao Changyi, cannot say a bad word about me.”
But why do these people say such nasty things? They even gossip about me and my father.
Tao Changyi, tell me yourself, are these words spoken by a human being? Are these things done by a human being?
When I helped my dad out the door, they said they thought he was deaf and couldn't hear me, but actually he heard everything.
He was such a fond old man to visit neighbors, but ever since then, he'd rather stay home than bother me.
But that wasn't all. Even when we stopped going out, they still wouldn't let us off the hook, saying we were just hiding at home all day doing nothing productive…”
The memories stirred up stung Zhao Lingli's heart, and she wiped away tears, something even Tao Changyi hadn't expected.
He never expected his wife to suffer so much injustice; even his son-in-law, Zhou Yue, couldn't bear to watch anymore.
"Mom, even in this state, why did you still come back with Dad? It's so much better for you to stay with us in the Northeast! You could even grow vegetables back in the compound if you wanted!"
Zhao Lingli, her voice trembling with tears, said irritably.
“I’m going to come back, to provoke them, to let them know how well I’m doing.”
Let these bastards know that their "gossip" is something they can never reach!
“Actually, Mom, even if you don’t come back, the fact that you two have pensions is already enough to make them incredibly excited.”
Despite their words, Zhou Yue and Tao Changyi had clearly seen Zhao Lingli's grievances.
After airing out the quilts and helping with the cleaning, the father-in-law and son-in-law, carrying some cigarettes and alcohol, went from house to house visiting each other...
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