Winter clothing sacrifice
"I understand, Auntie. I will pay attention." Yang Xiu smiled and thanked her aunt for the reminder. She was not actually worried at all. To put it nicely, my business is a workshop, but to put it bluntly, it’s just a small stall. Yang Qi has very high standards, so how could he be attracted by his own shabby place?
He simply held his aunt's hand with one hand and his sister's hand with the other, and the three of them walked towards the grave affectionately.
After visiting the grave, Yang Huiqin and the others politely declined Uncle Yang Xiu's invitation and took a small path back home.
Liu Jinling, who was strolling by the courtyard, saw her son coming back alone and asked, "Where are your aunt and the others?"
"Let's go back!" Yang Jian said this and walked into the yard with an expressionless face.
Liu Jinling thought that they had left early and she didn't meet them, and couldn't help scolding: "The people who left with you have all gone back, why are you lingering behind? What can you do? You can't do anything. Don't you know to run to the front to let me know? Who are you looking at with a sullen face? Aren't you looking after your second uncle and second aunt? They are doing well, why don't you follow them? You are a traitor!"
Yang Jian listened to the voice behind him without frowning. He took four steamed buns, carried a pot of water and went out of the yard again.
Seeing this, Liu Jinling cursed even more fiercely: "You act like a mute when I call you, and you take the food while eating. Look at you like a pig. Who are you going to give so much to?" She wanted to pounce on him and grab the steamed buns while cursing.
Yang Jian didn't even look at her and just turned and ran away. He didn't have time to argue about it. He would rather go help his father unload a truckload of bricks. When I was a child, I didn't dare to eat or make a noise in order to please him, and I just hoped that he would treat me like his sister. Now he is 17 and has let it go. All the food in the house was earned by him and his father, so what's wrong with him eating his own?
Just like his father said, some people just have a shallow mother-son bond. Since having a mother is almost the same as not having one, just pretend you don’t have one!
…
On the other side, Hu Yufeng was also in a good mood.
As soon as she and Xizi arrived home, they called Yufang to go see her eldest brother.
Seeing Yufang empty-handed, Hu Yufeng sighed silently: "If you have anything at home, bring it up. After visiting the graves, let's go to Fourth Aunt's and Deliang's homes..." She is so grown up, and she can pretend not to know every time if I don't remind her.
She was so stingy that she couldn't help but doubt, is this really her mother's biological daughter? Her mother isn't so stingy!
As soon as the two of them stepped into the yard, she felt relieved. Although there are weeds in the yard, it is much better than before when the yard was almost drowned. It can be seen that Hu Deyang cleans it up regularly. There were a few clothes hanging on the clothesline in the yard, and water was dripping from them, indicating that they had just been hung out to dry.
She stepped over the threshold with expectation. Well, not bad... Although it didn't maintain the same look as last time they tidied it, everything was neatly put in its proper place. The most important thing is that the house is not filled with the smell of urine, but instead has a faint scent of laundry detergent. I wouldn’t say how clean Hu Deyang’s clothes were, but at least they were presentable.
She couldn't help but nodded: "How come you are so strong this time? You even know how to wash clothes and wipe the table..."
Hu Deyang rolled his eyes at her and spoke in a sarcastic tone: "You are half-old and yet you are so disrespectful! I knew you were coming. You are a noble lady now. How dare you sit here if I don't punish you..."
Hu Yufeng was not annoyed, "Let's go now that we've packed up, shall we?"
Hu Deyang turned around and picked up a stack of burning paper, muttering: "I don't have any offerings, did you bring them all?"
"You talk as if you've prepared it. We've already mentioned it. Just lock the door and we'll leave!" Hu Yufeng couldn't help but sneer.
Hu Yufang looked at the two people bickering with a dull expression, and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth.
Hu Deyang locked the door, and the two siblings followed the path toward the fields.
Halfway up the mountain, they saw the brothers and sisters from the other two families already waiting at the edge of the field. When they saw them coming, they all greeted them: "Big sister, you're here!"
Hu Yufeng responded with a smile.
"Big sister, why don't you see my second sister?"
Hu Yufeng's smile paused, and she said that the air was so sweet today, and it turned out that the annoying Hu Yuxiang didn't come.
"Maybe something happened at home!" She must have known that her elder brother was here today, so why would she be willing to come!
Thinking in her mind, Hu Yufeng glanced around again inconspicuously. The two married sisters and two bachelor brothers from her fourth uncle's family were there, and the ones from her third uncle's family were her younger brother and nephew. Looking at the frail body of the child, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart: What sin did her ancestors commit that they only have this one bean sprout among their descendants!
…
"Sister, would you like to come home and have a seat?" Hu Deping, the younger brother of my third uncle, called her.
Hu Yufeng smiled and pointed at her two younger sisters: "You go back first, we will go to Fourth Aunt's house first..."
Hu Deliang nodded. Among the elders of the Hu family, only Fourth Aunt was still alive, so they should visit her first. After saying that, he led his son away. The remaining seven people, including Hu Yufeng, walked towards Aunt Hu's house while chatting all the way.
Fourth Aunt is 62 years old this year and is in very good spirits. He is a tall man with a slightly hunched back, but he still walks very briskly. When he saw Sister Hu Yufeng, he held her hand affectionately.
"Aunt, you are still in good health..."
"I have to be healthy. I can't find a wife for these two good-for-nothings. If I become lame or paralyzed, who will cook for them..." Fourth Aunt was very worried when she talked about these two bachelors. He is already over 40 years old, with a healthy body and no mental problems, but he is too honest and rigid, which is why he has never been able to find a wife.
Hu Yufeng was also worried. But finding a wife depends entirely on fate, and it’s not something that can be rushed.
"Didn't my second uncle ask Deping to go through Yumen Pass last time?" The second uncle of the Hu family is the most promising person in the Hu family. He is an oil field worker. After getting married and having children, he settled in Yumen. Last time he wrote to ask his eldest nephew to go to Yumen.
"Deping, a useless person, doesn't dare to go. We can only wait and see if your second uncle comes back during the New Year. If he does, we can go together..."
Hu Yufeng looked at Hu Deping's silly face and felt worried. How could he find a wife when he was already a 40-year-old man and couldn't even go out?
They talked for a while, but Fourth Aunt refused to let them leave, so the brothers and sisters stayed at Fourth Aunt's house, had dinner, and then went to Hu Deliang's house.
…
Hu Deliang has a wife and children, and the mental outlook at home looks different. The house was clean and tidy inside and out, and the whole family was dressed neatly, which made Hu Yufeng's depressed mood at her fourth aunt's house much better. Fortunately, fortunately I have a younger brother who lives a decent life!
Hu Deliang and his wife were very welcoming, serving tea, water and melon seeds, while his wife also took care of the cooking. Hu Yufeng talked for a while and then stood up to say goodbye.
"Oh, it's different having a woman at home..." Hu Yufang couldn't help but sigh.
Hu Yufeng raised her eyes and glanced at her. She thought her sister's mind was full of thoughts about herding sheep and working.
"Am I wrong? Look at Deliang and then at your elder brother?" Hu Yufang saw her sister looking at her and thought she disagreed with what she said.
"What's wrong with me? Am I incapable of getting married? It's you who broke up my happy family!" Hu Deyang jumped up when he heard this. Hu Yufang realized that she had said the wrong thing and quickly hid behind her sister.
Hu Yufeng held her forehead helplessly: "Alright, you've said this for at least eight hundred times. You know who to blame for your wife running away. Don't keep coming to us and making noises..."
The bubble in Hu Deyang's heart was ruthlessly shattered. He was a little angry and quickened his pace to leave first.
Hu Yufeng didn't care. This old man just had a lot of problems! It was just right that they were the only ones left, so she took the opportunity to ask about her sister Cao Ping.
She didn't have any illusions before asking, so when her good sister didn't know the answers to any of the questions, and just said that Cao Ping was happy, she was able to remain calm.
…
In Lao Qin's family, all the women were gone and only the old lady who had no parents' home was left. She sat alone outside the yard, staring at the distant mountains in a daze.
Qin Shu was playing in the mud not far in front of her. Today his sister and Niu Niu are not here either. He was feeling depressed at first, but when Qin Wenli called him over and said something, the child went to play happily by himself.
There were footsteps outside the yard, and before the old lady could get close, someone had already come in.
"Mom, are you okay?"
The old lady burst into tears and asked, "Weijia, why are you here?"
The person who came was also a little old lady. She was small in stature and had a round figure, but she looked wealthy and happy. She was the old lady's adopted daughter, and her parents had died early and she was left alone. By chance, the two met and got married. Over the years, she really treated the old lady as her own mother. If she hadn't visited Hu Yufeng too frequently and made her dislike her, the mother and daughter wouldn't have seen each other only once a year.
"I went back to burn paper for my parents. I haven't been here for a while, so I came to see them..." Qi Weijia smiled kindly, holding the old lady's hand and looking her up and down.
The old lady wiped her tears and asked, "Did you come here alone?"
Qi Weijia shook his head and pointed outside: "I'm with Xiaoping, and he went with Wenli to visit my father's grave." The father here refers to the old lady's husband, Qi Weijia's adoptive father whom he had never met.
The old lady said "Oh" and felt relieved. Fortunately, they didn’t walk, otherwise my daughter’s short legs would have been tired.
He took his daughter's hand and asked her to sit down, then went into the house and brought out all his treasured snacks.
The old lady and her adopted daughter were having a great time, while the old lady from the Wang family looked very arrogant at the grave.
"Hmph, Xiaoping, don't burn paper. Everything you burn will be picked up by your Qi family's ancestors. What will be left of my father!" As he said that, he snatched the paper bag from Qi Xiaoping's hand.
Qin Wenli's face darkened, and he kept repeating in his heart: You can't scold your elders, you can't scold your elders...
Qin Wenqing was not so good-tempered. He could have gone back after the fever subsided, but his aunt insisted on making trouble.
"Burn it. Nothing says that a grandson can't burn paper for grandpa. Don't be afraid, auntie. If my grandfather doesn't receive it, let him come to me..." As he said that, he took out a lighter and lit it.
Aunt Wang’s face dropped. What kind of grandson is a recognized grandson? A proper grandson is not loved, but an improper one is treated like a treasure.
Qi Xiaoping stood aside awkwardly, not knowing whether to burn it or not.
Qin Wenli gave Qin Wenqing a thumbs up in his heart and reached out to pull Qi Xiaoping to his side.
…
In the evening, after seeing her daughter and grandson off, the old lady sat on a tree stump and her thoughts drifted away. She wondered if there was anyone on the distant island like her, burning paper at the crossroads for her deceased mother and her father whose life or death was unknown.
It’s strange that she has never dreamed of her father and brother once in all these years. Her brother is seventy years old this year. I wonder if he still remembers her.
"Grandma, the paper money is ready, shall we go?"
Qin Wenli's voice sounded in my ears. The old lady was stunned for a moment, raised her hand to wipe her sore eyes, and stood up tremblingly.
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