"You don't have to cook for Sanwa tonight. I asked him to go out and do some work."

"Where are you going to do business? What are you doing?"

"Go to Yanchong Linshui Village and see what the girl is like."

Geng Liuju cursed: "Are you old and confused? What does that girl have to do with you? Don't you remember what Meng Changshuan said when he left? He said he would end the relationship and he would treat us as if we were no longer relatives! He had no conscience and died early. It was retribution. He left behind a worthless girl. You are still rushing to take her away. Aren't you afraid of losing face?"

Meng Changshou held the cigarette in his mouth and glared at Geng Liuju fiercely. Meng Changshuan was his brother after all, and he was dead anyway, so he didn't want his wife to curse him anymore.

Geng's second aunt advised her sister-in-law: "Okay, just say less."

Geng Liuju refused and said to Meng Changshou, "Send someone to call Sanwa back to me. I need to find him for something."

Meng Changshou tapped his pipe and said, "There are twelve grandchildren, why should we find Sanwa? He is on his way overnight. There is less work in the team, so I asked him to stay there for a few more days to help the girl repair the house and dig ditches, and let people know that she has a brother."

Geng Liuju was so angry that her lips trembled and she couldn't speak.

At this time, Meng Tao did not know that her one action would destroy Geng Liuju's plan and easily change the fate of Meng Laosan.

She took the bus back to the commune and went to the post office as she was told to call Shen Yu to report that she was safe. Shen Yu was in a meeting and Ding Hao was on the phone. He asked her to wait when he picked up the phone. He immediately went to notify Shen Yu to come over and talk, but Meng Tao quickly hung up.

After hanging up, she felt a little bit nervous. What kind of mentality is this? She took a bullock cart back to Linshui Village. The educated youth welcomed her home. Zhou Cuiling also came and brought two letters, one from Meng Zhehan and the other from Shen Yu. Meng Tao opened them and saw that Meng Zhehan was concerned in a brotherly tone, while Shen Yu was normal. There was no ambiguity in the letter like at the train station. The writing was steady and upright, like a gentleman. He also reminded her not to give food to others casually.

Meng Tao breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was good that he didn't confess his feelings. She hoped in her heart that she had misheard those words at Yicheng Railway Station.

Before going to bed at night, Meng Tao took out the newly bought small alarm clock and asked Jiang Limei, who had a watch, to help adjust the time. She put it on the bedside cabinet and was about to bolt the door to rest when she heard the door being knocked and a child's voice shouting "Sister Taohua!"

Meng Tao hurriedly took the flashlight and walked out of the main house. Sun Yutang had already opened the gate. It was a ten-year-old boy from the Lin family at the entrance of the village. He brought in a man and said that the man went to his house to ask for directions and was looking for Sister Taohua. Meng Tao took a look and found that it was Meng Jinniu, the third son of the Meng family.

"Brother Jinniu, why are you here? And so late?"

Meng Laosan scratched the back of his head embarrassedly: "I wanted to come over to take a look, but I took the wrong road. Otherwise, I would have arrived earlier."

It turned out that this person didn't know the way and had to walk here. Meng Tao smiled and said, "Come in and sit down. Have a glass of water first. I'll cook you a bowl of noodles."

Then he called the boy from the Lin family: "Thank you for your hard work. Please come in and sit for a while."

The Lin family boy shook his head: "I want to go home and sleep."

"Then wait a minute. I'm back from the commune today and I have two candies for you."

Meng Tao went back to the house and grabbed some fruit candies. The boy from the Lin family didn't hesitate to take the candies with both hands and ran away happily.

When the other male educated youth heard that a man had come in, they all came over to look at Meng Lao San. Qian Liang asked, "Taohua, who is this?"

When Meng Laosan found out that there were so many men in his cousin's house, he frowned and said, "Sister, who are they?"

Meng Tao introduced with a smile: "This is Meng Jinniu, my cousin, my grandfather's great-nephew. He is from Naliang Commune and has never been to my house. Brother Jinniu, they are all educated youth. My yard was originally empty, and the team arranged for them to live here."

"Not one. The four of us women live in the main house, and these guys live in the side rooms over there. It's okay."

When Meng Laosan heard that there were four girls keeping him company, he said nothing.

Among the five male educated youth, Zhao Ming lived in a room by himself, so he said to Meng Tao, "Your cousin will live with me later."

Meng Tao thought of the bed frame at the back of the main room: "I'll clean up the back of the main room and it will be habitable."

There is no quilt.

Jiang Xiaodong said, "Don't clean up in the middle of the night. No one can sleep well in a house full of dust. If Comrade Jinniu is not used to sharing a bed with others, just take down the door panel and make do for the night. I have an extra quilt for Comrade Jinniu to use."

Sun Yutang said: "I also have a felt blanket here, Comrade Jinniu can use it to sleep on."

Meng Lao San waved his hands and said, "No, no, there are orange stalks in the kitchen, right? I'll sit there for a while, it will be dawn soon."

Xu Guoliang and Qian Liang laughed out loud, and Meng Tao was speechless: "Cousin, do you think you are a cat or a dog? You can just find a grass nest to spend the night."

He said thank you to the educated youths and took Meng Laosan into the house to prepare a bowl of noodles for him. Seeing Xu Guoliang, Qian Liang and Sun Yutang following him, he asked them if they wanted to eat something. The three of them nodded in unison: "Then eat something and keep the guests company."

Meng Tao: “…”

This is my cousin, not a guest.

Meng Tao first poured a cup of warm water for her cousin to drink. Then He Huijuan and Qian Xiaoyun came out of the west room, wearing their clothes, to see Meng Laosan, which made Meng Laosan feel embarrassed.

Meng Tao scooped some more flour and made a big pot of noodle dumplings. She added two large spoonfuls of wild boar meat that had been boiled in oil, took out a bowl of salty and spicy dried radish and a bowl of tomato and chili sauce, and called everyone to have a midnight snack together. As a result, the ten people ate up the big pot of noodle dumplings used to boil water, and there was not even any soup left.

Meng Laosan had eaten and drunk his fill, and Meng Tao boiled some hot water for him to take a bath. Jiang Xiaodong brought some half-used clothes and said to Meng Laosan, "There are no new ones, they are our old clothes, but they are all very clean. If Comrade Jinniu doesn't mind, I'll give them to you."

Meng Lao San hurriedly said, "I don't mind, I don't mind... No, I think these clothes are very new and good, you can still wear them, you don't have to give them to me."

"We have clothes to wear. Here are some extra. Take them and change them."

Meng Tao saw that several pieces of clothing had no patches on them, including coats, trousers, shirts, and an old sweater vest. Knowing that Jiang Xiaodong and the others were sincere in giving them the gifts, she thanked them on behalf of Meng Lao San and accepted the gifts.

This set of clothes was several times better than the torn and patched homespun clothes that Meng Laosan was wearing.

Although Meng Laosan is a male grandson, he has been without a mother since childhood, and is not loved by his father or grandfather. Old lady Geng Liuju dislikes him even more. He lives like a laborer in the old Meng family in Liuzhuang, doing the hardest and most tiring work and eating the worst food. Geng Liuju has more than a dozen grandchildren, and she is good to other grandchildren but wants to exploit Meng Laosan. If Meng Laosan wears good clothes back, they will definitely be stripped off by old lady Geng and given to other grandchildren, so it is better for him to wear old clothes.

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(End of this chapter)