After Chunhe finished speaking, he slammed the wooden door shut. Zhu Chunzhi raised her hand and knocked hard on the door, but it didn't move at all. She had no choice but to turn around and leave.

When they got home, the house was full of people, young and old. Chunzhi's grandmother-in-law and aunt, who had just urged Zhu Chunzhi to teach Meng Tao to call them aunt mother, were sitting at the head of the kang. Aunt Ma Deqin, Wang Aixiang's mother who had broken up with Zhu Chunlin, was also there, muttering something.

Seeing Chunzhi lift the curtain and come in, several people were startled. Chunzhi's mother-in-law hurriedly got off the kang and grabbed her hand, asking anxiously: "Hey, why are you back? Didn't you go to help your mother?"

Aunt Ma followed up with, "Are you short of food? The Zhu family is poor, so they definitely don't have anything decent to eat!"

Grandma Chunzhi: "We still have some flour and a few pounds of rice. You can give them to your mother to entertain the guests!"

Ma Deqin also came over and said, "I have soybean oil at home. Can I give you two kilograms?"

Sister-in-law Chunzhi said, "I think the Zhu family is not short of food now. Didn't you see the heavy boxes and bags filled with bread that the brothers Chunhe and Chunjiang carried just now? There must be a lot of good things in them."

Several children started to shout at the same time: "Yes, it's all food! I saw it all. There were big red apples and canned meat in the net bag!"

"I don't know what's in the travel bag, but the wooden crates and cardboard boxes are used by the consignment store to store food. I can smell the sweet aroma of sugar biscuits, as well as the smell of wine and cigarettes!"

"There's a handle sticking out of that sack. The son of the Wu family in the east of the village has been to his uncle's house in the provincial capital. He's seen it and said it's a big ham! Do you know what a ham is? It's all meat!"

“…”

"Oh my goodness!" Grandma Chunzhi pushed the stunned Chunzhi and said, "There are so many good things, why didn't you go into the house to take a look and touch them?"

Zhu Chunzhi suddenly came to his senses: "I, I didn't... My brother didn't let me in."

Her husband Ma Guishan leaned against the edge of the kang, clicking his head: "It's fine that my two children and I couldn't go in, but why didn't you let me in? You're my own daughter."

"That's right. The Zhu family is too much. How can they be like this? Nothing has happened yet, but they're already sticking up their sleeves." Ma Deqin curled her lips.

Zhu Chunzhi's father-in-law, Ma Dewen, took a puff of his pipe and said slowly, "I think those people are unusual. They came from the capital to pay respect to their ancestors. They drove two cars and were followed by county officials. How many people have you seen with such style? Don't look at Zhu Manjin as a dull person. It turns out that he is a man of great potential. He guards those tombs and repairs them every year until today... The Zhu family will be different from now on!

You guys are just too shortsighted, doing useless things all the time. If you still want your children to have a good future, you should admit your mistakes and talk to your in-laws. Maybe it’s not too late.”

Grandma Chunzhi turned her head to look at her four sons lying on the kang. The two older ones had started families, and the two younger ones had graduated from high school. They wanted to work in the factory and get government jobs. They had spent a lot of money in the past two years and asked relatives and old friends for help, but still could not find a good job. They stayed at home unwillingly, carrying hoes. Aren’t they worried about their future?

Now, the opportunity is right in front of us.

Chunzhi's sister-in-law said, "Mom, just give one, don't give oil and flour. The Zhu family has a lot of good things now, so we don't need these... Give us less white flour, or we won't have anything to eat."

Grandma Chunzhi glared at her and said, "You are the one who is in charge? Am I the boss or are you? You know nothing. Stop talking nonsense to me!"

Chunzhi was about to cry, not because of the pain from being pinched, but because of the burning pain in her heart. She also wanted to go back to her parents' home. It was so lively at this time, but she couldn't go back: "Mom, my brother really won't let me in, he has locked the door!"

"Are you dead? Can't you scream?"

"I'm afraid they won't open it even if I shout."

"If you don't open it, you'll just keep shouting and crying! They are your own parents, how can they really embarrass you? Besides, there are guests here, they have to have some dignity, they won't beat or scold their children in front of the guests."

Grandma Chunzhi grabbed Chunzhi, pulled Ma Guishan along, and with the two children following behind, they went to the west room noisily.

The east room was quiet for a while. Ma Deqin approached Ma Dewen and said, "Brother, do you think the Zhu family is really going to get better?"

Ma Dewen nodded: "What is the greatest favor in the world? Besides the favor of raising a child and saving a life, it is the favor of burying one's father and mother. Why do people in operas sell themselves to bury their fathers? What Zhu Manjin did is a great favor to those people from the city. Anyone who has a little ability should repay him generously. I heard that the county cadre who came with him was specially sent by the county magistrate! The Zhu family has established this relationship. Even if Zhu Manjin doesn't know how to use it, the team leader Wang Guigen is not stupid. He will instruct them to use it - Zhu Manyin's eldest daughter Zhu Chunhong married Wang Guigen's son Wang Laixi..."

"Brother! How about I let Ai Xiang come back and get back together with Chun Lin?"

"You, I said at the beginning that Xiao Zhong was just a movie projectionist, he was smooth talker and couldn't compare to Chunlin's steadiness. Chunlin learned the old-fashioned craftsmanship, his skills are getting better and better, and he will be more popular in the future. You didn't believe me. Look, his benefits came so quickly."

"I'll go and ask Erzi to go to the commune right away, and ask Aixiang to come back quickly!"

Ma Deqin slipped off the kang and ran away in a hurry.

Aunt Ma thought about it and hurried home. There were still two or three pounds of peanuts hidden at home, which she had to take out and give to Chunzhi to take away. In the future, when the Zhu family returned the benefits, her family would be able to get some with a clear conscience.

When Zhu Chunzhi, holding her older son's left hand and her younger son's right hand, followed Wu Guishan, who was carrying a bag, to the gate of the Zhu family's courtyard, they met several old residents of the village who came to see Xiao Huahua. They all knew about what happened that year and had held Xiao Huahua in their arms.

Wang Guilan opened the door and came out, welcoming everyone in with a smile on her face. When she saw Zhu Chunzhi and Ma Guishan, she immediately turned her face black, grabbed the broom and swung the couple's heads and faces, and pointed at them and scolded: "You are still coming to her and getting in the way. Next time, I won't use a broom, but a hoe, and throw two buckets of acid sewage!" Facing her mother who had become so tough and powerful, Zhu Chunzhi didn't dare to talk back like before. She shed tears and fled back home with Ma Guishan and the children.

(End of this chapter)