Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Aunt Zhou
I go back to my parents’ home on the second day of the New Year and start visiting relatives on the third day.
However, Yu Li didn't like visiting relatives very much. The main reason was that neither the original owner nor she was very familiar with the relatives of the Yu family. The familiar relatives had already been met yesterday and were relatively close to them.
In addition, Liu came here to escape famine, and it is said that there is no one left in her natal family. Naturally, Yu Li and her sisters do not need to visit relatives at their maternal grandparents' home.
On the third day of the New Year they took a day off at home.
Yu Li was a person who could not sit still. Early in the morning, she went to the yard and practiced physical skills for two hours. She was sweating profusely and only stopped when her stomach growled.
In the afternoon, she practiced calligraphy with Fu Wenxiao, and the two children were also forced to practice calligraphy together.
The scene of the three people sitting in a row practicing calligraphy made Zhou laugh every time he saw it.
Fu Wenxiao sat there, teaching them and instructing them on their writing. He treated the three students equally. However, when the two children were not looking, he would stuff some candied fruits into Yu Li's mouth to sweeten her mouth and encourage her to keep going.
On the fourth day of the New Year, seeing that they still did not go to visit relatives, Zhou became a little hesitant.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Yu Li asked directly.
Fu Wenxiao also looked at Zhou. Although he didn't ask, his expression was encouraging, asking her to speak frankly.
At this time, the family was sitting together having breakfast.
Zhou put down her chopsticks unconsciously and said, "I have a younger sister who married in Qinghe Village. I want to go see her."
In previous years, Fu Wenxiao was very ill, and she had concerns in her heart, so she naturally had no intention of visiting relatives. During the Chinese New Year, the Fu family closed the door and refused visitors. This year, Fu Wenxiao saw that she was getting better, so she wanted to go see her sister.
"Mom, go if you want to." Yu Li said.
The names of the villages in this area all start with the character "Qing". Since it is called "Qinghe Village", it should not be far away, right?
In her opinion, there is no place she cannot go, and of course her mother-in-law can go if she wants to.
Fu Wenxiao also said, "Mom, we don't have anything to do, why don't we go with you." He smiled and said, "I haven't seen my aunt for a long time. I don't know how she is doing. Now that I am better, I should go see her."
When Zhou heard him call her "Aunt", she was stunned and opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
Yu Li didn't know that Zhou actually had a younger sister, so he immediately said, "Mom, let's go together. It's New Year's Day now, and it's the right time to visit relatives."
Since she is my mother-in-law's sister, she is also her aunt, so it is only right for me to go and see her.
Seeing that they all said so, Zhou hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
After breakfast, she began to pack up. From her busy back, it can be seen that she was actually very happy.
Yu Li took a look and whispered to Fu Wenxiao, "I didn't know that my mother had a sister, otherwise I would have gone to visit relatives with her yesterday."
They went back to her parents' home on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and went to visit her mother-in-law's sister on the third day. The itinerary was very reasonable.
Fu Wenxiao saw her sneaking around, a smile appeared in his eyes, and he also lowered his voice: "In fact, mother has a younger brother and a younger sister, and she is the eldest sister in the family. I heard that the Zhou family was very poor back then, and there was a famine. In order to feed her younger brothers and sisters, she followed the old woman when she came to the village to look for people..."
Unfortunately, even if the Zhou family got the money from her selling her body, their life would still be difficult.
At that time, there was a rare drought and everyone was having a hard time. Zhou's youngest brother starved to death, and only his sister struggled to grow up and later married in Qinghe Village.
As for her parents, they also passed away a few years ago.
After hearing this, Yu Li stood there in a daze, looking a little confused.
Fu Wenxiao's heart suddenly tightened, and he regretted saying this to her.
Her world is too simple and her feelings are very pure. Once she cares about someone, she will take him/her very seriously. Hearing bad things will make her feel uncomfortable.
If someone bullies them, she can help them fight back so that no one can bully them anymore.
But what can she do if they are not doing well because of the natural disaster?
"Li Niang, don't think too much." Fu Wenxiao patted her shoulder gently, "Mom has us."
Yu Li came back to his senses and said "oh" slowly.
Zhou quickly packed up her things for visiting relatives, a whole basket, and stuffed some silver into it, which was the money she earned from embroidery.
Then she called over the brother and sister Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng, dressed them in festive new clothes, and dressed them up like New Year picture dolls, making them look particularly energetic.
She looked at the two children with great satisfaction, and said to Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao, "Brother Xiao, Mother Li, let's go."
Several people went out together.
Aunt Zhou from next door saw them and asked, "Suniang, where are you going today?"
Su Niang was Zhou's maiden name.
Zhou smiled and said, "Let's go to Qinghe Village to see my sister."
Aunt Zhou said immediately, "So you're going to Li Niang's place? You should go! Xiao'er is feeling much better now. Now that he can go out, he must go to visit his aunt's family." She glanced at Fu Wenxiao and said, "Today is the fourth day of the New Year. There should be a boat. It will be faster for you to take the boat."
"Yes." Zhou nodded. "Xiao'er's health is not well yet. I dare not let him walk too far."
After saying goodbye to Aunt Zhou, the group came to the riverside.
However, I didn't expect that there were a lot of people waiting here to take the boat. Some were going to visit relatives, and some were going to take the boat to the county town.
For businesses like this one, rowing boats to cross the river has the best business during the Chinese New Year. After all, people are busy all year round and this is when they have some extra money and are more willing to spend it.
Zhou looked around at the people waiting for the boat and said to Yu Li and the others, "Qinghe Village is quite far from here. It will take more than an hour to get there by boat, which is quite a long time."
If you walk, it will take most of the day.
So it’s better to go there by boat.
Soon a boat came over. It was going to the county town and each person paid five cents.
Because it's the New Year, the boat fare has also increased, and it will go down after the 15th.
Some people gritted their teeth and paid the five cents, while others were really reluctant to give up and bargained with the boatman, but found that the price could not be lowered, so they had to give up and decided to take an ox cart or mule cart.
Although the prices of both have increased, it is still much cheaper than taking a boat.
In the end, not many people got on the boat.
Because they were going in different directions, they waited for the next boat.
When the boat arrived, everyone in the Fu family got on board and told the boatman that they were going to Qinghe Village.
After an hour and a half, we finally arrived at Qinghe Village.
Yu Li looked towards the shore. She had never been here before. The places she was most familiar with were the county town and Qingshi Village, as well as several surrounding villages such as Qingya Village and Qingxi Village, because she was invited to those villages to slaughter pigs and offer sacrifices to the kitchen god before the New Year. It can be said that she has visited several villages around Qingshi Village.
Because Qinghe Village is quite far away, I have never been here.
After paying the boat fare, Yu Li helped Zhou get off the boat first, then carried the two children off the boat, and finally Fu Wenxiao.
She took the initiative to take care of the elderly, the weak and the disabled in the Fu family.
Seeing her reaching out her hand, Fu Wenxiao knew that she was treating him as an old, weak and disabled person and taking care of him, but he just smiled slightly and calmly put his hand over, letting her hold his hand and help him off the boat.
This hand is warm and strong, and it seems that as long as it holds one's hand, one will feel a sense of solid security.
It feels really good to be protected by her.
Zhou first went to ask someone for directions.
Because it was her first time here, after asking for directions, she said to Yu Li and the others a little embarrassedly: "It's my first time here too. Xiao Ge was sick before, so I couldn't get away..."
Fu Wenxiao looked apologetic, "Mom, it's my fault..."
If it weren't for him, Zhou might have lived a freer life than she does now, without having to worry about him all the time.
"No, no!" Zhou waved her hands and said, "As long as you are fine, I will be satisfied. How can I blame you for these things?"
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said nothing more.
He knew that Zhou didn't like to hear this.
Zhou's sister's husband's family name is Wang. Wang is a big family in this area, and there are many people with the surname Wang here.
When they arrived at Wang's house, they saw that the gate was open and there were voices coming from inside. It should be Wang's relatives coming.
Zhou was a little excited. She held the two children's hands slightly tighter. She couldn't help but stare at the Wang family's yard and did not rush in.
This was her first time visiting her sister's house, and she felt a little timid.
Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao stood behind her. Yu Li was holding a basket in her hand. The two of them considerately did not rush her.
It was the Wang family who found them. Someone asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Zhou said hurriedly: "I'm looking for Li Niang. I'm Li Niang's sister."
When the man heard this, he was stunned. He didn't realize who "Li Niang" was for a while, until someone exclaimed, "Isn't Li Niang the maiden name of Da Lang's mother?"
Several relatives came to the Wang family today. They were brothers from Wang Dalang’s father’s side. They were all sitting in the main room and talking.
When they heard that Wang Dalang's mother's family was coming, everyone was a little surprised.
They all knew about Wang Dalang's mother's situation. They heard that her mother's family was from Qingshi Village and that she had no brothers, only a widowed sister.
In the past few years, because Zhou had just lost her husband and son, and had to take care of her frail and sickly young son, the Wang family had trouble visiting them and disturbing them.
I heard that this sister was quite capable. Although she sold herself into slavery to support her family, she later redeemed herself, married a traveling merchant, and became the wife of a wealthy family.
Even though something happened to her husband's family later, they were still able to afford to buy land and build a house when they returned home, so they lived a pretty good life.
The people in the room hurried out to greet the guests.
When they saw the people standing at the door, the Wang family was stunned.
Because regardless of age, these five people were all dressed very decently and looked so good.
Even the older Zhou, who was clearly over 40, looked younger than those thirty-year-old women in the village, not to mention the young couple behind her, who looked like a perfect match.
There are also two babies that Zhou is holding, they are also very cute.
At this time, a dark and thin woman ran out of the house in surprise and shouted to Zhou: "Sister, why are you here?"
Zhou also looked at her sister with joy and held her hand tightly, "Li Niang, we came to see you..."
Aunt Zhou was like those ordinary country women. Due to years of hard work, she looked very old, dark and thin. Standing next to Aunt Zhou, Aunt Zhou looked more like a younger sister, with a sense of pampered living.
This is understandable. After all, Zhou doesn't have to work in the fields. At most, she only needs to do some housework and embroidery.
Although Aunt Zhou is dark and thin, she looks very energetic.
She was so happy that her sister came to see her that she didn't know what to say. She quickly invited them in and kept saying, "I really didn't expect you to come and not tell me in advance... Oh, his father, Dalang, go and boil some water. We're going to kill a chicken today!"
Uncle Wang was a thin, dark man. He responded in a naive way when he heard that.
Wang Dalang is as dark as his father and a strong man.
Although Aunt Zhou was very excited, she did not ignore other people. She looked at the young couple behind her sister and was surprised.
"Hey, Xiao Ge'er is here too? Are you feeling well?"
Seeing Fu Wenxiao actually coming over, she wondered if he was well again. If he was well again, that would be a good thing, and her sister wouldn't have to worry about him all the time.
Fu Wenxiao called her aunt and said softly, "Thank you for your concern, I am getting better."
Aunt Zhou was very happy, with a look of surprise on her face. She looked at Yu Li and asked, "Sister, who is this girl..."
She recognized Fu Wenxiao and Fu Yanhui, brother and sister, but didn't know who Yu Li was or why he was with them.
Zhou smiled and said, "This is Li Niang, Xiao Ge'er's wife."
Aunt Zhou was stunned. "What? Xiao Ge'er got married? When did it happen?"
"It was last summer." Zhou said, "I was in a hurry at that time and didn't have time to talk to you."
Aunt Zhou was just surprised for a moment, but she quickly accepted it and greeted them with a smile.
-
The Wang family’s house was a very common mud house in the countryside. It was built in a spacious manner and had several rooms.
Aunt Zhou and her husband have only two children. The eldest son, Wang Dalang, is already married, and the daughter, Wang Erniang, is not yet married, but her marriage was arranged last year.
When Wang Dalang's wife saw her father-in-law really went to the chicken coop in the backyard and caught a chicken, she couldn't help but ask Wang Erniang, who was lighting the fire, "Erniang, do we really need to kill a chicken?"
For people in the country, chickens are important livestock and are not killed easily.
Even when visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year, they are entertained with the dishes prepared on New Year's Eve. When relatives come over, they just eat a little to soothe their mouths and will not really eat up all the food provided.
Therefore, during the Chinese New Year, the food made on New Year’s Eve can be used to entertain guests until the tenth day of the first lunar month.
Of course, in the end the food had no taste because it had been cooked too many times. If there was any leftover, the host would eat it himself and nothing would be wasted.
People these days have no concept of waste. No matter how unpalatable something is, as long as it is edible, they will eat it.
Wang Erniang said: "Of course, my mother attaches great importance to my aunt. She is the only living relative from her mother's side."
There was no one left at my maternal grandparents' house except this aunt, and she understood my mother's excitement very well.
To be honest, Wang Erniang didn't expect that her aunt would come to visit relatives this year, and even her cousins would come as well.
This was the first time she met her cousin and his wife from her aunt's family.
They were so good-looking that she was stunned just now.
**
Zhou and others were warmly received by the Wang family.
The other relatives of the Wang family sat for a while and then left tactfully.
They are all from the same village and can come over anytime they want. However, it is rare for Wang Dalang's mother's sister to come, so I guess the Wang family would like to entertain them well.
However, after returning, they told the people around them that the children of Wang Dalang's aunt were so handsome. No matter whether they were big or small, they were as beautiful as the young masters and young ladies raised by wealthy families in the county town. They were worthy of being children of wealthy families. Even if they were down and out, they were still different from them, the country people.
At the Wang family's side, Fu Wenxiao, Yu Li and Fu Yanhui, brother and sister, were greeting the Wang family.
"Uncle, aunt." They called out to Aunt Zhou and her husband, and also to Wang Dalang and the others, "First cousin, first cousin's wife, second cousin."
Except for Aunt Zhou, the other members of the Wang family were rather reserved and served peanuts, melon seeds and snacks to entertain them.
Yu Li and his friends had a meal at Wang's house, and Aunt Zhou gave them red envelopes.
"It's just a small gift, please keep it." She said to Yu Li and the others in a kindly tone.
Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao did not refuse, they accepted it and said, "Thank you, aunt."
Fu Yanhui and his sister also said obediently: "Thank you, aunt!"
Aunt Zhou smiled and sighed, looking very happy, and touched the brother and sister's heads lovingly.
Zhou watched this scene with a smile, and gave red envelopes to Wang Dalang and his sister, as well as Wang Dalang's wife.
Wang Dalang's wife didn't expect that she also had a red envelope. She touched the red envelope and found it was quite heavy. She immediately felt very fond of this aunt and called her aunt very affectionately.
Soon after the meal, they said goodbye and left.
Aunt Zhou's mother packed a basket of return gifts and accompanied the Wang family to see them off, all the way to the riverside.
The boat had not arrived yet, so everyone was waiting at the riverside pier.
Aunt Zhou had a lot to say to her elder sister. Seeing that the boat had not arrived yet, she said to everyone, "Wait here for a while. I want to talk to my elder sister."
Everyone knew that the two sisters rarely met and had a lot to talk about, so they naturally agreed.
Aunt Zhou took Zhou to a place not far away. It was open here and there was no need to worry about anyone hearing their conversation.
"Big sister." Aunt Zhou asked seriously, "Xiao'er is well now, are you guys going to leave?"
Zhou nodded, "Yes, but not now."
Aunt Zhou's face showed worry, and she hesitated to speak, "Sister, can you not leave? It's too dangerous..."
She recalled that three years ago, her elder sister brought Fu Wenxiao and their two children back to their hometown.
Upon learning the news that her elder sister had returned, she rushed to Qingshi Village as soon as possible, not for any other reason, but simply because the sisters had not seen each other for thirty years and she was really missing them.
When her eldest sister left, she was already able to remember things and has always remembered her.
Later, my younger brother passed away and my parents almost cried their eyes out.
Her parents always missed her elder sister who had passed away, and they kept mentioning her in her ears from time to time. Until their death, they were still thinking about her elder sister, and they also made her think about her elder sister all the time.
After many years, the eldest sister finally came back, but she came back as a newly widowed woman with a sick child and two grandchildren under one year old. It was so pitiful.
Aunt Zhou felt sorry for the eldest sister and wanted to help her, but the eldest sister told her not to go there unless necessary, for fear of bringing trouble to her.
She didn't know what her eldest sister had been through. She only knew that the child named Fu Wenxiao was not her eldest sister's biological child, but the child of the master's family that her eldest sister served. They returned to their hometown to seek refuge.
Moreover, Fu Wenxiao was very ill at the time, and I heard that he has not been well in the past three years.
Unexpectedly, now that Fu Wenxiao is well, they actually come here to see her...
Aunt Zhou had a feeling that once Fu Wenxiao recovered, her sister would leave.
I heard that her sister was Fu Wenxiao's wet nurse, so the child could be said to have been raised by her sister and treated like her own child. If the child leaves, the "mother" will definitely not be able to abandon the child and will naturally follow.
Zhou smiled at her worried sister and said, "Li Niang, don't worry. Xiao Ge'er is very powerful. As long as he recovers, no one can harm him anymore."
"Really?" Aunt Zhou hesitated, "But that's not what you said back then..."
Back then, her sister didn't want to implicate her, so she told her not to go to Qingshi Village or to inquire about anything. That's why she, as his "aunt", didn't know about Fu Wenxiao's marriage until today.
Zhou was a little embarrassed, "I didn't know whether Xiao'er's health would recover..."
Fu Wenxiao's life and death determines everything. If he survives, he will get back everything he had before, and nothing will be a problem. If he dies, those who once followed him will be liquidated again, and even he himself will become the target of liquidation.
Even if Xiao Ge'er had someone arrange for her and Li Niang before he died, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to take care of other people...
So she didn't dare get too close to her sister, for fear of bringing trouble to her sister's family.
Aunt Zhou moved her mouth slightly, wanting to ask who Fu Wenxiao was, but she held back.
"Sister, take care of yourself." She said softly.
Zhou smiled, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." Seeing her sister was so worried, she couldn't bear it and whispered, "Don't worry, Li Niang, Xiao Ge'er's mother is..."
Aunt Zhou's eyes widened and her pupils trembled slightly.
Her hands were shaking a little.
A commoner like her, who had never even seen a county magistrate in her life, actually met a royal relative first...
**
After returning to Qingshi Village, Fu Wenxiao and Yu Li could both sense that Zhou was in a good mood.
It seemed that the trip to Qinghe Village helped her to untie some knot in her heart, and she looked more and more relieved.
The two of them were naturally relieved.
After the tenth day of the New Year, Fu Wenxiao suddenly said that he wanted to go to the county town.
"What are you going to do?" Zhou was a little worried, "Your body..."
Although they had been to Qinghe Village once before, they took a boat the entire way. After getting off the boat, they went directly to Wang's house to rest, so he didn't have to work hard at all.
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. I'm fine now. I went to the county this time because I wanted to visit the Wang family."
"Wang family?" Zhou became more and more confused. She didn't know the Wang family.
Yu Li had already figured out the situation in the county, and naturally knew the Wang family in the county. He asked curiously, "Do you know anyone from the Wang family?"
"I don't know him." Fu Wenxiao said calmly, "But I have heard of Mr. Wang before... Well, actually I know him, but I have never met him in person. I want to take part in the county examination. When registering for the county examination, I need to ask a county student to guarantee me."
Hearing this, Zhou's eyes flickered slightly, and she understood that he wanted to ask Mr. Wang for help.
She even understood the meaning of what he said, "Actually, we know each other," and she couldn't help feeling relieved.
At this time, Yu Li asked: "Do you want me to go with you?"
Fu Wenxiao looked at her happily, "Is it okay?"
"Of course." Yu Li said without hesitation, "I promised you that I would accompany you to the county town." She had not forgotten his social phobia. She had promised him that she would accompany him to the county town in the future and even invite him to dinner at a restaurant.
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said softly, "Thank you, Li Niang. With you by my side, I don't have to worry."
"It's nothing." Yu Li said indifferently, "I heard that the county town is very lively during the New Year, so we can go for a walk."
Fu Wenxiao's smile froze slightly, and then he smiled helplessly. It turned out that one shouldn't expect too much.
In the evening, Fu Wenxiao wrote a visiting letter.
Yu Li was sitting aside eating. He looked up and saw that the signature on the visiting card was "Song He".
It seems that this time he will visit the Wang family under the name of "Mr. Songhe".
Thinking of what happened last time when she went to his study to give him the only handwritten copy, she felt that even if he didn't know the Wang family, just with the title of "Mr. Songhe", Mr. Wang should meet him, right?
Fu Wenxiao waited for the ink on the visiting card to dry, put it away, then looked up and smiled at her.
He didn't want to hide it from her, but there were some things he didn't know how to tell her.
But he believed that soon he would be able to tell her about his identity and background.
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