Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Zhang Hongmei asked, "Brother Zhang, what time is it?"
There was no reply. I opened my eyes and saw that there was no one next to me. I touched the spot next to me and it was still warm. I had just gotten up.
The room was still very dark. When I turned on the light, it was only five o'clock.
It wasn't too cold inside, but I still got out of bed shivering, locked the door, and went into the space.
It felt like all the pores on my body were opening up, which was incredibly comfortable.
Looking at the medicinal herbs in the field, the ginseng that was transplanted back then must be hundreds of years old, right? Take out two ginseng roots, leave one for the old lady, and take the other back to Zhou Shixiong.
Since Zhou Yuanqing's death, all hatred has vanished. Moreover, facing an elderly man nearing his end, Zhang Hongmei couldn't bring herself to harbor hatred. The grievances have their perpetrators, the debts have their debtors; why live a life of unhappiness when you can continue to live a good life?
I arranged the two ginseng roots neatly. Since I don't know how to process herbs, I just put them directly into the box. I'll ask Liang Dan if she knows how today. That way, I won't bring anyone with me when I go up the mountain.
I picked some fruit and put it in my ring. I wandered around the space for a bit before going out.
Zhang Shouyi practiced martial arts with his four children in the courtyard. His pride was evident on his face.
He only woke up when he heard a noise. By then, the children were already warming up in the yard, with Chengzi and Xiaoli accompanying them.
Zhang Shouyi thought of the happy looks on his children's faces. His heart ached. They could have lived a comfortable life, but they chose the right, arduous path. These were his sons, his pride.
After Zhang Hongmei came out, she saw the five of them practicing boxing in the yard. It looked quite pleasing to the eye, and they were also practicing Tai Chi in the corner.
Gu Chuanming and Zhang Xingguo also came out. A very harmonious scene appeared in the courtyard.
A little while later, Liang Dan came out holding Liu Qiang's hand. The little guy didn't bother anyone and started warming up on his own.
At 6:30, Lu Jing came out of the kitchen. She stood to the side without disturbing her.
The three finished their practice. "Alright, that's enough for today. Let's have dinner in a bit."
Only then did the third son become lively, "Dad, your boxing is really powerful, can you teach us?"
"Okay, as long as you're willing to learn. Let's go, we still have to go up the mountain in a bit."
Zhang Weiyu watched Liu Qiang, who was still practicing his boxing, with a smile as he stood aside and observed him.
Liu Qiang couldn't hold on any longer and stopped, saying, "Third Brother, you're so mean."
"How could that be? Does having other people watching you give you the opportunity to be distracted?" Zhang Weiyu said, unusually serious.
"Third Brother, I understand, I won't do it again."
Zhang Hongmei walked over and took Liu Qiang's hand. Her other hand was held by her third son. Looking at her smiling son, Zhang Hongmei felt that she had neglected them too much; they were just eight-year-old children.
"Mom, we're going up the mountain this afternoon."
"Alright, go ahead. But you need to explain things clearly to the ancestor."
"Okay!"
"Liu Qiang, let's go inside and eat. Auntie is taking your brothers up the mountain in a little while. You stay at Grandpa's house and play with Chongyu. Wait for us."
"Auntie, now that I'm as big as my brother, I want to go up the mountain."
"Okay, you're all grown up now, you can do whatever you want. Auntie will definitely support you."
Breakfast consisted of porridge and pancakes. Lu Jing's cooking skills were just average, but no one complained.
After finishing the meal, he said, "You don't need to follow us anymore. We'll be back in a bit. There won't be any problems here."
No one objected when the lady spoke. Gu Chuanming and Zhang Xingguo led them to Liu Aimin's house.
A family of six went up the mountain with two shovels and six bags of paper money for burning.
"Mom, how did my maternal grandparents pass away?" Zhang Ruifeng, the second son, asked Zhang Hongmei.
“They are heroes who sacrificed their lives on the border. Okay, when you are ten years old, Mom will tell you everything.”
"Mom, did your grandparents pass away when you were very young?"
"Yes, they sacrificed themselves when I was ten years old."
It took the family of six an hour to get to the cemetery, mainly because the five of them had to take care of Zhang Hongmei.
Zhang Shouyi and his four children cleared the snow around the grave.
Zhang Hongmei stood to one side with mixed feelings. She thought to herself, "I've come here again."
After tidying up, Zhang Shouyi squatted down and lit the paper money for burning, while the four children squatted to the side and put it into the fire.
After all the paper money was lit, the family of six knelt on the ground.
"Mom and Dad, I've brought the children to see you."
This is the eldest brother, Zhang Zhenye.
The eldest kowtowed three times.
"This is the second son, Zhang Ruifeng."
The second son also kowtowed three times.
"This is the third brother, Zhang Weiyu."
Zhang Weiyu kowtowed as if he hated his two older brothers.
"This is the fourth brother, Gu Yaozu."
After the fourth son kowtowed, Zhang Shouyi called them over, and the whole family kowtowed again before getting up.
By this time, the paper money had completely burned through.
"Let's go home."
"Mom, don't be sad."
"It's alright, you don't need to worry. It's been more than ten years, and Mom is no longer sad."
The family returned home and changed their clothes. Liang Dan happened to be at home.
"Can you prepare the medicine? How about ginseng?"
“Madam, I do know how, but I have no tools. I can only use the most primitive method so that the medicine's efficacy will not be lost.”
"Okay, wait a moment." Zhang Hongmei took two boxes out of the bedroom.
"You can handle this." Zhang Hongmei handed it to Liang Dan, and then the family of six went out.
As they walked along the road, Zhang Hongmei introduced Liujiatun to the children.
The children couldn't even imagine what she was saying. They had seen their own old house, and compared it to the small building, it seemed incredibly dilapidated. But their mother insisted that while their house wasn't the best in the village, it was among the top few.
“Look, this is also our home. This is where your grandfather and father lived back then. Although they weren’t from Liujiatun, they both lived here.”
They reached the door. Zhang Hongmei had the key and opened it. The layout was the same as always. There was nothing special about it.
The family walked around and found the interior quite clean, probably because someone comes to tidy it up regularly.
As Zhang Hongmei walked to the front door of the old principal's house, her nose tingled with sadness. The elderly couple had passed away one after the other two years ago. She only learned of their deaths after they had been buried.
The two were quite pitiful; neither of them had a son to see them off in their final days. It was the villagers who helped with the burial. Moreover, all the children who had been educated by the elderly came to kowtow, which can be considered their good karma.
"Mother!"
“It’s okay, Mom just feels a little sad. The elderly people in this family helped me a lot when I was in school. But the two elderly people have passed away.”
"Alright, don't be sad. It's so cold outside, let's go to Grandma's house." Zhang Shouyi couldn't bear to see his wife so upset, so he pulled her away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com