Liao Fengmei's cooking skills are indeed excellent; she really went all out for this dinner tonight.
When Su Qingci came out, the thin girl named Xiaoyu was helping Liao Fengmei bring out the dishes. When she saw Su Qingci, she shyly called out "sister" along with Sixiang.
An elderly woman in her sixties with gray hair helped set the table with bowls and chopsticks.
Six main dishes were prepared on the table: stir-fried oysters, steamed sausages, squid stewed with chicken, stir-fried cured pork, stir-fried leeks with eggs, and a seaweed soup.
When Liao Fengmei saw everyone come out, she quickly called out, "Go wash your hands, everyone. Sijia has poured water in the basin by the door."
“Aunt Zeng, please sit there and don’t move. I’ll do it. Xiaoyu, you sit next to your grandma.”
"Lai Sixiang, you sit with Mom, and your brother and sister can sit over there."
After everyone was seated, Xu Dasheng looked at the feast in front of him, a feast that even people might not be able to afford during the New Year, and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law's cooking skills are amazing! It smells so good. So many dishes, this is too grand."
Liao Fengmei laughed and said, "This chicken and meat were all brought by my niece Qingci. I only contributed a little."
Su Changzhi was unusually enthusiastic. "Sigui, get that bottle of sweet potato wine from under the bed for Dad. Dad will have a drink with your Uncle Dasheng."
Liao Fengmei laughed and said, "Yes, yes, we must have a drink. Later, you can also use tea instead of wine to toast your Uncle Dasheng."
Xiao Zengniang, who is Xu Dasheng's mother, knew that Su Qingci came from the inland and asked Su Qingci about news from the country with great eagerness.
"Is it really true, as rumored, that all the land has been distributed to the people?"
Is everyone truly equal?
"Everyone can eat their fill now? And the master can no longer beat or kill servants at will?"
......
Su Qingci was very patient; she answered whatever Grandma Zeng asked.
Xu Dasheng noticed the longing on his mother's face and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
He was young when he came over and didn't have much of an attachment to that land, but his mother still had brothers, sisters, relatives and friends there.
After dinner, Xiaoyu and Grandma Zeng helped clean up the mess, while Su Qingci, Xu Dasheng, and the others returned to their room to divide the money.
At this time, there were no entertainment activities in the countryside, and after a busy day, almost everyone went to bed after eight o'clock in the evening.
Si Gui and Xu Dasheng set off on Su Qingci's bicycle, carrying Su Qingci's hiking backpack.
The first house was Da Niu's house in the next village.
Xu Dasheng put on a hat and a mask as Su Changzhi had instructed.
At Da Niu's house, the children and the elderly had all gone to bed and were asleep. Only Da Niu's wife, Lin Zhaodi, was kneeling in the hall, guarding the thin coffin.
She went back to her parents' home this morning to raise money; you can tell from her name that her parents' home...
She kowtowed until her head bled, wore herself out, and borrowed from everyone she could, but she still couldn't raise enough money to buy the timber.
Some people even considered her unlucky and wouldn't let her in the door, mostly because they saw that her family had lost their ability to work and were afraid that the money would be gone forever.
Fortunately, of the thousand yuan that Da Niu brought home last time, after deducting the amount needed to pay off the famine, there was still some left.
The village carpenter, seeing her pitiful state, only charged her a small amount of money and casually nailed together a simple rectangular box from the planks he had been drying to make a bed. He then used it as a coffin and carried it home.
As soon as Si Gui and Xu Dasheng entered the room, they saw Lin Zhaodi staring blankly at the thin coffin placed on the bench in the dim candlelight, like a walking corpse.
"Auntie~"
"From Da Niu's family?"
Lin Zhaodi slowly turned around; at this moment, there was nothing left for her to fear.
Who are you?
Si Gui and Xu Dasheng exchanged a glance. They had many places to visit today and no time to say much.
“We’re from Da Niu’s family. We’re Da Niu’s friends. We went to sea with Da Niu this time. Don’t be too sad about what happened to Da Niu. Before he passed away, he was most worried about you and your family.”
Lin Zhaodi's eyes lit up, and she stammered as if she wanted to say something.
Xu Dasheng went outside to check and then closed the door.
Si Gui took a paper bag out of his backpack.
"Auntie, this is what Da Niu asked us to give you before he died. He left you a few words. He said he was sorry to you and that you must live well with your child. He will watch over you from below."
Xu Dasheng continued, "You should save this money. Da Niu told you not to tell anyone because the money wasn't obtained legitimately. If people find out, the family of the owner of the Ghana might come looking for you. This is a safeguard he risked his life to leave you..."
"Remember, don't tell anyone, don't let anyone know that our family is rich!"
Even after the two people had gone far away, Lin Zhaodi had not come to her senses. By the candlelight, she opened the newspaper in her hand, and a series of Taiwanese dollars with considerable face value came into view.
Lin Zhaodi's hands trembled so much that she could not hold the money in her hands. She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, afraid of disturbing the sleeping child and the blind old woman. She got up and threw herself onto the thin wooden box, crying silently and heartbrokenly.
Da Niu, Da Niu, I promise I will raise Da Gou and Er Gou to adulthood, and take good care of Mom in her old age until her death. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I won't tell anyone. I won't go back to my parents' home anymore, I won't go to anyone...
Panxi Cave, Haiyong's home.
Haiyong's father, who suffers from various ailments, often has trouble sleeping at night. Now that his daughter-in-law has just gone through this ordeal, he is even more afraid to sleep.
He stood at the doorway, leaning on his cane, looking at the moon outside, his eyes filled with lifelessness.
Inside the house, the lame daughter-in-law, hearing the sighs outside, let go of the child in her arms and got up.
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