The things they brought were piled up in the main room, including food, new clothes, shoes and socks, fabrics, books, stationery and other school supplies. They were taken care of by Wang Guilan and Zhang Zhaodi. Almost everyone in the family, young and old, got a gift.

The smell of food wafted from the kitchen, and Zhu Chunhong shouted that it was time to eat.

There were quite a few people including family members, guests, and neighbors, so Wang Guilan arranged three tables, two tables for men and one table for women. There were a lot of people at the women's table, so it was crowded. Meng Tao was a guest and was pregnant, so Wang Guilan and Zhang Zhaodi arranged for her to sit on the inside so that she would not be squeezed. All the delicious dishes were placed in front of her, and they listened to Zhu Chunhong and did not help to pick up the dishes according to the custom in the city, which made Meng Tao feel embarrassed. Everyone was polite to each other and gave way to each other, and then started to eat. It was long past lunch time and everyone was hungry.

After the lively meal, the mothers and grandmothers sat around and chatted for a while, and then several neighbors went back home, each family having their own work to do.

Wang Guilan told Meng Tao: "We have come a long way by car today. We must be tired. Let's take a break first and get ready. We will go to the grave tomorrow morning."

Meng Tao: "Cousin, you don't need to prepare anything. I've brought incense and candles."

Wang Guilan waved her hand: "That's not it. Although we in the countryside don't care so much, after all, every family has ancestors. But it's better to hide it from others, so that there won't be some jealous people jumping out and making trouble. We living people are not afraid of quarrels, but we can't make our ancestors feel uncomfortable."

Zhang Zhaodi continued, "The team leader said that we will call for work tomorrow morning and arrange for all members to work on the southern slope. There will be no one on the northern slope, so we can do whatever we want then."

Meng Tao nodded and thanked: "I'm sorry for worrying you all."

"Hey, why are you worrying? We are all relatives, isn't that what should happen?"

Zhang Zhaodi added, "If you want to take a look around the village, wait for your sister Chunhong to come and ask her to accompany you. Last year, your sister Chunhong led a team of women to participate in the wheat harvesting competition held by the county and won the first prize in the group. The photo she took was even published in the newspaper. Now the brigade invites her to participate in all meetings. She is now a cadre."

"Really? Sister Chunhong is really amazing."

"Of course not!"

Zhang Zhaodi smiled so hard that her teeth were showing. She was proud that her eldest daughter had a promising future and married well.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Shen Yu came to find Meng Tao and said that his eldest cousin Zhu Manjin wanted to take them out for a walk and asked Meng Tao if she wanted to go with him. Of course Meng Tao wanted to go, so Wang Guilan and Zhang Zhaodi asked Zhu Chunxing and Zhu Chunhong to accompany her, because both of them had given birth to children and knew how to take care of Meng Tao.

A group of eight or nine people walked along the village road. With Zhu Manjin's explanation, they more or less learned about the situation of the entire village. Zhu Manjin led them out of the end of the village and into a valley. There appeared several houses in front of them, some covered with tiles and some with thatched roofs. This was where Guan Xiuzhi gave birth to Meng Taohua.

Zhu Manjin said that at that time there was only an earthen courtyard, two thatched houses and a livestock shed surrounded by a wooden fence. The earthen courtyard and the thatched house were built by Zhu's great-grandfather and great-grandmother, and the wooden fence belonged to the production team. The cattle and sheep kept inside were taken care of by the two old people. Now the livestock shed has been moved to another place, and the newly built tiled houses are the educated youth site where the team accommodated the educated youth.

The earthen courtyard and thatched house left by the two old people still belong to the Zhu family, but they have been renovated. Now it is Zhu Chunlin who lives in it. Sooner or later, he has to do some carpentry work, and the place at home is too small to place the wood, so it is convenient for him to work here.

The two additional families nearby are young couples who moved out of the village in recent years. They were separated and liked this place because it is sheltered from the wind and quiet. It is estimated that more people will move here in the future, and a small new village will gradually form here.

Zhu Manjin pushed open the wooden door of the courtyard, and everyone followed him in. Shen Yu and Meng Zhehan both looked back at Meng Tao, who shook her head at them to indicate that she was fine.

Zhu Chunhong held Meng Tao's arm. Zhu Chunxing was worried that she was sad, so she patted her shoulders gently to comfort her.

Meng Tao felt a little depressed and uncomfortable, and sighed twice: It's not worth it for Guan Xiuzhi, Meng Shaoan is a scumbag, there is no need to abuse herself for him, hiding in such a place to give birth to a child, lacking medical care and medicine, and no experience, there is really nothing to do if an accident happens! Young and ignorant, the price is too high.

The courtyard should have long lost any traces of its past, as it was cleaned up very cleanly by Zhu Chunlin. The thatch on the roof had been replaced countless times and the color was fresh. Zhu Manjin unlocked the door and went in. Various tools and wood were neatly arranged inside, and the house was filled with the fragrance of wood shavings.

There are also several finished kang cabinets and semi-finished wardrobes, with intricate and exquisite carvings of flowers, birds and scenery on them. The craftsmanship is indeed very good. Zhu Chunlin is only 23 years old, and it is really good for him to have such craftsmanship. He is considered a very mature carpenter, which shows that he followed the right master and also studied hard and practiced diligently.

Zhu Chunlin is not at home today. Zhu Manjin said that the brigade sent Zhu Chunlin and the tractor driver to a commune a hundred miles away to exchange grain seeds, and they might not be back until evening.

Zhu Manjin also took everyone to see the old road into the village that He Lian took on her back. It was a small path on the ridge, and below it was a deep ditch full of strange rocks. No one saw the mother and daughter rolling down until the unconscious He Lian woke up and shouted loudly, and they were discovered by passing villagers. But it was too late. Goudan had hit his head and could not be saved.

Zhu Manjin's eyes turned red as he recounted the old days. This matter had been weighing on his mind for many years. In fact, he had planned to go to Hongsong Town to find He Lian and tell her about Guan Xiuzhi, but Guan Xiuzhi said that she had already written a letter asking him not to go. Zhu Manjin considered farm work to be very important at the time, so he thought about waiting a little longer. Who knew that something bad would happen as soon as he waited... He blamed himself every time he thought about it over the years. If he had been more sensible at the time and had just put down the work at hand and ran to Hongsong Town, there would not have been those tragic things that happened later.

Everyone was in a heavy mood and didn't know what to say.

Zhu Chunxing and Zhu Chunhong did not let Meng Tao get close to that road. They just stood at a distance and looked at her, then pulled her back.

At night, after dinner, it was completely dark. The village did have electric lights, but the villagers were reluctant to use high-wattage bulbs, so they used the kind of yellow bulbs of about 15 watts, which were between hazy and clear. Meng Tao felt it was pretty good, at least every corner could be illuminated, which was better than kerosene lamps.

There were too many people, so they were divided into men and women, sitting around a big kang and chatting. The women were cracking melon seeds and laughing, teasing Zhu Chunhong's one-year-old baby girl who was just learning to speak. Zhu Chunxing's two children were running and jumping under the kang. It was a lively scene when suddenly Zhang Zhaodi's little girl, eleven-year-old Chunni, lifted the door curtain and ran into the room, shouting:

"Auntie, Mom! Go and have a look... There's a fight going on outside the courtyard gate!"

Everyone was stunned. Wang Guilan thought it was Zhu Chunzhi who came to her parents' house to cause trouble again, so she got off the bed and put on her shoes, cursing, "Chunzhi, that damn girl, wait and see how I deal with her!"

Chunni said hurriedly: "Auntie, it's not Sister Chunzhi, it's that... Wang Aibao's sister Wang Aixiang!"

"What? Wang Aixiang?"

"hold head high!"

Zhu Chunni nodded vigorously, and Wang Guilan stared, unable to react.

Zhang Zhaodi held the little girl back and said, "Are you seeing things? Wang Aixiang is no longer dating your brother Chunlin, so why is she here?"

"Mom, there's nothing wrong with my eyes, it's Wang Aixiang! My brother Chunlin just came back from outside, and Wang Aixiang stopped him at the door, holding his hand and hugging his arm, saying some disgusting things! My sister Chunyan and I came over from our yard, and really, sister Chunyan said that Wang Aixiang was shameless and ran away with the movie projectionist, and now she's harassing my brother Chunlin again, what does that mean? Wang Aixiang scolded sister Chunyan for making up stories about her without any basis, and sister Chunyan and Wang Aixiang cursed at each other for a few words, and then the two of them started fighting."

Chunni was talking, and Zhang Zhaodi quickly got off the kang: "Why, your brother Chunlin just stood there and watched them fight?"

"No, Brother Chunlin pushed Wang Aixiang, and Wang Aixiang sat on the ground and covered her face and cried. She insisted that Brother Chunlin help her up and send her home!"

Zhang Zhaodi: “…”

"What are you thinking? Why are you sending her home? Ha! She wanted to date someone herself at first, but later she hooked up with a government employee. She said she didn't want Chunlin anymore, and she was depressed and sad for several months. Now she has finally recovered a little bit of spirit, why is she doing this again?"

Wang Guilan walked out angrily: "I want to see how much more shameless Wang Aixiang has become!"

Zhang Zhaodi also followed them, and before leaving she called Chunxing along, and asked Chunhong and Chuncao to stay with Meng Tao in the room and not come out.

Meng Tao didn't like watching such excitement either. It was more fun to tease the baby.

Wang Guilan and Zhang Zhaodi were definitely more powerful than Wang Aixiang. The quarrel outside the courtyard gate lasted for more than half an hour before it ended. Then several people walked back to the house one after another.

Zhu Chunlin is of medium height, strong, with delicate features and a pair of bright eyes. When Meng Tao sees him, she thinks of the furniture he made. It is said that a person's handwriting reflects his character, and the same may be true for his other works.

Zhu Chunlin asked Wang Guilan to take him to say hello to Meng Tao, and shyly called her "cousin Huahua". Meng Tao replied "cousin Chunlin", complaining in her heart that she probably would never be able to get rid of the nickname "Huahua" in her life.

Zhu Chunlin went to the men's room, and Wang Guilan and Zhang Zhaodi talked about the quarrel with Wang Aixiang at the gate of the courtyard. Zhu Chunyan added to the description in a vivid manner, which made everyone laugh.

Wang Guilan said, "Wang Aixiang is really shameless. She dared to shout in front of everyone outside, young and old, men and women, about what happened when Chunlin and she were dating... Oh, even I almost couldn't hold my face back. If this was my daughter, I would not let her run out and embarrass herself even if I broke her legs!"

Zhu Chunxing asked hurriedly: "Oh my god, did our Chunlin do anything to her?"

Zhu Chunyan said quickly: "What's the big deal? Can't we hold hands and kiss each other when we are together? That's what they do in the movies."

Zhang Zhaodi poked Zhu Chunyan's forehead with her index finger and cursed in a low voice: "What do you know? You are just talking nonsense!"

(End of this chapter)