Hua Baoguo didn't understand what he had done wrong. Besides, his father-in-law had asked him to bring these things back. They were family property, so what was wrong with him taking them?
Curious, Qian Guihua opened the folded booklet and glanced at it, then counted the money and banknotes on the table.
Not counting the banknotes, I had over three hundred yuan in cash on hand, plus some receipts.
“If it were just Liangfen’s salary, it wouldn’t be this much,” Tian Guihua did the math in her mind. “Your father-in-law must have given you all of his savings.”
“This is everything the Xun family owns. Didn’t you say your mother-in-law was injured? If you bring all the money back, what will happen to them?” Hua Guangzong gritted his teeth in anger. “You’d better take the things back right now.”
“But my father-in-law insisted on giving it to me, and besides, it was originally Liangfen’s salary.”
Hua Baoguo also felt wronged. He was so angry at the time that he hadn't thought it through. "Even if we took too much, we can just return it later. How could our family possibly take advantage of them?"
“You’re about to be a grandfather, what’s the point of your head? Your father-in-law said he’d give it to you, so you just took it? Putting everything else aside, he raised your wife, even if he took all this money, you can’t say a word.” Hua Baoguo put on his shoes, picked up the things on the table, and started to leave.
"Old man, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to Xunjia Village," Hua Guangzong said, not wanting his decades-long brotherhood to be ruined by this unreliable couple.
Hua Baoguo also lost his temper, "Go away, go away, go away! The search for a home is already a complete mess, wouldn't you just make things worse if you went?"
Tian Guihua felt helpless. "As their son-in-law, you knew their family was in disarray, yet you still came back alone."
Do you even know anything about social etiquette? You're really driving us crazy...
Seeing that Hua Guangzong had already disappeared outside the door, Tian Guihua became anxious, "What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and follow him."
"I'm exhausted from walking back, my legs can't go any further." Hua Baoguo barely made it home, he had no strength left to walk outside. "Tell Zhi'an to come with me!"
Tian Guihua was also afraid that Hua Baoguo would follow and ruin things, so she quickly followed him out. She didn't chase after Hua Guangzong, because he was very stubborn and definitely wouldn't listen to her right away.
Fortunately, it was freezing cold outside and there was a cold wind, so Hua Zhian and the others hadn't gone far, and Tian Guihua caught up with them in no time.
"Zhi'an, hurry up and go check on him, make sure nothing happens to your grandfather," Tian Guihua said as she pulled Hua Zhi'an along.
Hua Xiangyun followed behind, saying, "Grandma, let me go take a look too!"
I thought Tian Guihua would object, but to my surprise, she agreed, saying, "We should go and see them. After all, they are elders, and we can't be rude."
This trip is inevitable, and it's good that Guangzong is going there; Xiao Guai won't be made to suffer.
Besides, the old beggar woman was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and needed someone to take care of her, so Tian Guihua was easy to talk to and agreed as soon as Hua Xiangyun mentioned it.
The two siblings walked quickly and caught up with Hua Guangzong before even leaving the county town.
"Grandpa, wait for us." Hua Zhian's mouth was filled with wind as soon as he opened his mouth.
Once outside the county town, the cold wind became even more biting.
What are you doing here?
"I heard my grandma is injured, let's go see her." Hua Zhian and Hua Xiangyun supported him on either side as they left the city. The snow on the road hadn't been cleared, making it muddy and slippery, and one could easily slip and fall if they weren't careful.
Hua Guangzong said, "It would be good to go and take a look."
"We came in such a hurry that we didn't buy anything?" Hua Zhian walked along the road, feeling a little regretful. He should have gone back and brought something. It was indeed a bit awkward to arrive empty-handed.
"It's nothing," Hua Guangzong said dismissively. "Your grandfather and I have a life-or-death bond, I won't care about these little details."
As for your maternal grandmother, she'll be even happier if you give her a few dollars.
After Hua Guangzong finished speaking, he took out two yuan from his pocket, thought for a moment, and then exchanged it for a five-yuan note. "You can use this to see the patient."
This is quite a generous gift, and I imagine Guyu has nothing to say about it.
Hua Xiangyun knew about Xunjia Village. Although it was in the same county, it was located on the very edge of the county town. There was a car that could drive to the town, but there was no direct route. You had to transfer several times and walk a long way. You could imagine how much trouble it would take.
They actually got a bit faster by taking the mountain path, but they had to be careful of wild animals coming down from the mountain from time to time.
“Everyone’s staying home to hibernate these days, and there’s hardly anyone along the way. My dad is really brave to walk this path alone.” Hua Zhian looked at the mountains ahead and started to make conversation. “I heard this used to be called Wild Boar Forest.”
Hua Guangzong looked down at the road and said, "When did this happen? It's called Wild Boar Forest, but the wild boars here have been wiped out long ago. Otherwise, how would the people in this area dare to travel?"
In the past, when I visited your maternal grandfather's house a few times, I rarely saw wild boars, let alone other small animals.
People were starving in those years; no matter how ferocious the wild boar was, no one would give up that piece of meat.
Otherwise, how could they have felt comfortable letting their son bring his three grandsons back to visit relatives every year for so many years?
He and Xun Xingshun personally inspected this mountain several times, just in case any potential problems were left behind.
Hua Xiangyun knew that the old man was in a bad mood, so she wanted to cheer him up. "Then this can't be called Wild Boar Forest anymore. We should change it to a more auspicious name. Grandpa, what do you think we should call it?"
"It's also called Wild Boar Forest..." A sinister voice suddenly reached Hua Xiangyun's ears.
Hua Guangzong and Hua Zhian seemed oblivious to all of this. Hua Zhian even laughed and said, "Everyone's used to calling it that. What else should we call it if not Wild Boar Forest? Snake Valley?"
Along this route, apart from a narrow path overgrown with miscellaneous trees, it's not too bad now that it's the dead of winter. But if you were to walk this road in the summer, you'd often encounter snakes.
Hua Xiangyun remained calm as she looked ahead. "It's not impossible, but I'm afraid that once this name is chosen, anyone passing through this area will be filled with apprehension."
Hua Guangzong said, "Don't change this name carelessly. You two be careful of the stones under your feet; some of them are already loose."
After saying that, Hua Guangzong squatted down and re-secured a loose stone, stepping on it a few times to make sure it was stable before moving forward.
Hua Xiangyun said, "Grandpa, why don't I lead the way?"
The mountain path was getting narrower and narrower, making it impossible for the three of them to walk side by side. Hua Guangzong was now walking in front, with Hua Zhian bringing up the rear.
“No need. I’ve walked this path many times back then.” Hua Guangzong said with a nostalgic look. “Especially during those most difficult years, I would stay on this mountain with your father and your maternal grandfather for several days at a time.”
People were starving at the time, so they didn't care about the dangers on the mountain. The real danger was the animals on the mountain.
Hua Zhian: "My dad mentioned it to us, and he would say it every time we came here."
He said that back then, many people went up the mountain to look for things, not just small animals, but sometimes they would even scrape off the bark of any trees they found that were edible.
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