Liu Jingze was very surprised; it had been washed three times before it was clear water.
I was so dirty. But my skin was whiter, and I felt inexplicably relaxed.
What exactly is this? How can it have such a good effect? Is this the Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Removal Technique? I wonder why Hongmei has this? It must be very precious.
As soon as I came out of the bathroom, I heard my mother's laughter. It must be Hongmei coming over. I was so eager to see her.
Just as she reached her great-grandmother's door, she heard Zhang Shouyi's voice. She silently turned and went back to her bedroom.
"Auntie, we want to visit my parents' graves tomorrow, but we don't know where to buy paper money for burning?"
"Have your uncle go and ask. It's the first month of the lunar year; I wonder if they still have any left?"
"Yes, it's not easy for us to come back. The children have never been here since they were born."
“It’s a done deal. Don’t worry about it anymore. I’ll go ask your uncle to inquire. If that doesn’t work, we can go to Old Qiu’s house in Zhanggezhuang to buy some paper figures. They’ll definitely have some.”
"Hongmei, where are the children?"
"Xiao Li and Chengzi took the four of them up the mountain to play." Zhang Hongmei said, glancing at the old lady, waiting to be scolded.
"This heavy snow, sigh! Let them go, after all, they need to get some training." Zhang Hongmei was quite puzzled that it had passed just like that, and she was craning her neck to wait for a scolding.
A short while later, Liu Changhe's family brought in a large tray of glutinous rice strips and several strings of candied hawthorns.
Liu Qiang, who was playing on the kang (a heated brick bed), immediately climbed to the edge of the kang. "Grandma, I want to eat candied hawthorn."
"Okay, here you go. It's all for you."
He placed it on Kang's table and said, "Shouyi, you have one too."
"Big sister, I also love candied hawthorns."
"Whatever you like to eat, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"Anything is fine with me."
The house was bustling with activity. Liu Aimin had been sent by his wife to buy paper money for burning, and without even asking around the village, he drove directly to Zhanggezhuang.
The van entered the village, and the children all gathered around. Cars were still a very novel thing for them.
Liu Aimin stopped the car in front of Old Qiu's house. He got out and called out, "Uncle Qiu, are you home?"
"Who is it? It's Aimin. Come in and sit down."
"Uncle Qiu, I'm not going in. I just came to buy paper money for burning."
"Visiting graves during the Lunar New Year?"
"Yes, my niece is coming back and wants to pay respects to her parents, so we can only ask here about the auspicious date."
"Yes, I have some. How much do you want?"
"Give me ten yuan and I'll win."
"Buy these old ones?"
"Yes, they have a large family."
"Wait a moment, I'll go and install it for you right away."
Liu Aimin didn't go into the yard; he just waited at the gate. The children were not far away, watching the van with envy.
An older child said, "My dad said this is a car, and it belongs to Liu Aimin's family in Liujiatun."
"My dad also said that it's very comfortable to sit in. You won't get wet when it rains or snows, and it gets wet very quickly."
Liu Aimin heard the children chattering away and thought the kids knew quite a lot.
Old Qiu brought out five bags of paper money for burning. "You bought a lot, so I gave you a little extra."
Liu Aimin took it, opened the car door, put it inside, and handed Old Qiu a ten-yuan note.
"This car is nice, it must have cost a lot of money."
"Yes, it is quite expensive. Uncle Qiu, it's getting late, I should head back now."
Liu Aimin placed the paper money directly into Zhang Hongmei's old courtyard.
Before I even started the car, I saw a group of people walking towards me from the other side of the mountain.
These children have returned, but they didn't get on the bus; they just waited here.
"Grandpa, we're back! Look, here's a pheasant and a rabbit. We'll have them for dinner tonight!" Zhang Weiyu ran over happily.
Liu Aimin touched her face. "It's all red from the cold, aren't you cold?"
"It's not cold, it's not cold."
"Grandpa!" The other three also came over.
"You guys hurry up and change your clothes, your cotton shoes are all wet, aren't they?"
"Grandpa, you go back first, we'll be there in a bit."
"I'm waiting for you."
Lu Jing and Liang Dan hurriedly found them clothes and shoes, and put the ones they had taken off by the fireplace wall.
The four children moved very quickly and came out in no time.
"Let's go home, Grandpa will go skin the rabbit."
The younger ones scrambled into the car, and Xiao Li, Chengzi, and the other four called to the pilot, locked the gate, and drove off.
Many people in the village knew that Zhang Hongmei had returned. Seeing that the gate was locked, they knew that she must have gone to Liu Aimin's house, so they came over in groups of three or five.
Aunts, older sisters, sisters-in-law, older sisters, younger sisters—all the people who came were women.
Zhang Hongmei was chatting with everyone in the living room when her four children came in. "Mom, we hunted a rabbit and a pheasant. My grandpa is killing the chicken now, and we'll eat it tonight."
“You four come here, these are the elders of our village.”
Zhang Hongmei introduced them one by one. The four children greeted them together.
Everyone watched with envy. "Hongmei, you're so lucky. I've lived this long and never seen quadruplets. They're really something."
Everyone showered her with praise, making Zhang Hongmei a little embarrassed.
Zhang Shouyi didn't come out of the old lady's room. It wasn't that he looked down on these rural women; it was mainly because there were several young women there, and Zhang Shouyi really disliked being looked at, especially by other unmarried women. So he simply didn't go out.
Liu Qiang couldn't sit still inside and insisted on going out in his clothes. He pulled Chongyu along, and the two of them went to the yard.
"Hongmei, wasn't that little guy Er Lengzi's son?"
"Auntie, you have a sharp eye! It's Liu Qiang, the son of Er Lengzi."
"Are you keeping it?"
"Yes, his mother is pregnant and can't take care of her alone, so I brought her back to my hometown this time so he can get acquainted with the family. Liu Qiang, come in."
The little guy burst in like a cannonball. "Auntie, what's up?"
Zhang Hongmei introduced him to each person one by one, and the little guy was quick-witted, calling out whatever she asked him to, being obedient and lovable.
"Go on, go inside and put on your hat, then go out again."
"Hongmei, you've raised this child so well." Dashan's mother liked Liu Qiang very much.
"Auntie Dashan, you've come to my house as a guest, hurry up and come into the kitchen to help me with the work!" Hu Aifen pulled her out.
The other dozen or so people stayed for a while and then went home.
Zhang Hongmei went inside, took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and sat down next to Zhang Shouyi. She asked the old lady opposite her, "Grandma, why does Aunt Dashan look so old?"
“It’s a real headache. Dashan and Wang Xiaorui have been married for so many years and still don’t have children. And that Wang Xiaorui is really a jerk; she even argued with your aunt. Now the two families of Wang Hongxi are enemies.”
"Oh, so my brother Dashan and the others didn't go to the hospital to get checked out?"
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