Chapter 96 Chapter 96 My Husband is Here
The Kitchen God worship is a big event in the village.
When it was Qingshi Village's turn to worship the Kitchen God, Yu Li was naturally invited to slaughter the pig.
Early in the morning, the pigs' screams could be heard one after another.
At this time, many people in the village were eating breakfast leisurely.
It is the slack season for farmers now and there is no need to do any physical work. In order to save food, the villagers only eat two meals a day, and the time for breakfast and dinner are also different.
Someone asked in confusion: "Why are the pigs outside screaming so miserably? Didn't you ask Li Niang to kill the pigs?"
"What's the big deal? We can tell right away that they are driving the pigs out. It's not Li Niang who's driving the pigs out." An experienced person said, "It should be the village chief who's sending people to drive the pigs out. Without Li Niang here, the pigs will surely keep squealing."
If Yu Li went to catch the pigs himself, the pigs would certainly not scream like that. Many villagers have experience with this.
But soon, the pig's squealing stopped.
Some people realized something, quickly finished their meal, wiped their mouths and ran out. When they came to the place where pigs were slaughtered in the village, they saw Yu Li was already there.
In front of Yu Li, several pigs lay quietly. Even if no one stopped them, they would not run around, and they didn't even stand up straight.
No matter how many times they saw this scene, it always seemed strange to them.
There were some children around who used branches to harass the pigs, slapping their heads and buttocks, and poking their ears, but they didn't react at all.
He didn't even try to hide away. His pair of dark eyes were half drooped, and he looked as if he had given up resisting.
A child exclaimed: "Zhuzhu really listens to Sister Ali!"
"Sister Ali is really amazing. As long as she comes, these pigs will stop making trouble."
"Sister Ali is actually a lucky star, right?"
"What lucky star? It's because Sister Ali is so powerful. She is kind-hearted and Zhuzhu is repaying her..."
“…”
A group of children were talking at once. Compared to the younger ones who looked on in amazement, the older ones had obviously listened to what the adults said and were imitating what their younger brothers and sisters were saying.
Unfortunately, the younger ones couldn’t understand and made “oh” sounds after hearing what the older children said.
The adults around were also watching with great interest, and some of them were even superstitious, remembering the legend about the lucky star that was spread when Yu Li married into the Fu family.
There are people who believe in this lucky star saying, but there are even more people who don't believe in it.
Later, there was no happy event in the Fu family, and everything was still as usual. So the saying of the lucky star gradually faded, and not many people mentioned it.
But now, because of the reaction of these pigs, some people are whispering about the lucky star again.
Of course, those who believe will believe, and those who don’t believe will still not believe.
Many people even think that if Yu Li was a lucky star, she would have been successful long ago instead of staying in the village as a butcher. The saying that she is a lucky star is debatable.
**
Today is the Kitchen God worship ceremony in Qingshi Village. People from the entire village will participate in it. Even those who live in the county town or do business in the county town will specially return to the village to participate in the worship ceremony.
There was a boat approaching the riverside pier at the entrance of the village.
Wang, the boatman, heard the noise coming from Qingshi Village and said with a smile, "Boss Yu, it seems that your village is holding a Kitchen God Festival today? It's really lively."
The customs vary every three miles, and the habits vary every ten miles. The time for worshiping the kitchen god is also different in different villages.
Boss Yu hummed lightly, and got off the boat with his wife and children. He looked like he didn't want to say more to him, and he had the indifferent demeanor of a scholar.
Wang the boatman hurriedly called them back, "You haven't paid the boat fare yet."
Hearing this, Boss Yu's calm expression finally cracked. His face turned red and he glared at Chen angrily, asking her to give him the money quickly.
Chen blurted out: "Didn't you have to give it in the past?"
There are six people in their family. Each person needs four coins for the boat fare, which adds up to more than twenty coins. They can buy more than a pound of meat and several pounds of rice and flour...
Only those who manage the household know how expensive rice is. Ever since the village stopped sending them food, they can only buy food in the county town, which costs more. The monthly salary from Boss Yu is not enough to support a family of six in the county town.
Not to mention, money is needed everywhere for the pens, ink, paper and inkstone for the two sons' studies and for social interactions.
There really isn't enough money.
Although he knew that Mr. Yu and his wife had saved some money, and the twenty taels from the family division were also in their hands, but that was for the Yu Jingde brothers to study and to prepare for their future imperial examinations, so he had no chance of getting money from the old couple.
In the past few months, the eldest family has been staying in the county town and refused to return to the village.
The family's food, clothing and other expenses all depended on Boss Yu's monthly allowance, and their lives became increasingly difficult.
For this reason, Boss Yu was so angry that he wanted to send his wife, daughter and younger son back to the village to save some money, but the three Chens were unwilling to do so. In addition, Boss Yu had a bad temper, and the Yu Jingde brothers were easily angry. So the family lived in a small house in the county town, and they quarreled over trivial matters every day.
Even so, they still didn't think about moving back to the village.
If it weren't for the fact that the New Year was approaching and today was the village's Kitchen God worship ceremony, they wouldn't have wanted to come back at all.
When Wang Xiegong heard what Chen said, he almost laughed out of anger.
It seems that people really treat him as a sucker, and if he doesn't ask, they really won't give him anything.
In the past, people waived the boat fare out of respect for their relatives and because they thought Yu Lao Da and his son had great potential.
Ever since the Yu family split up, Wang had been complaining about the eldest wife's faults whenever she returned to her parents' home. She also said that the eldest wife had never returned to the village. Even during the autumn harvest, the old couple hired people to help harvest the crops together. Even the taxes were paid by the old couple themselves, and no one from the eldest wife came forward to help.
This is really outrageous.
Even if the eldest son wants to study, he can't ignore the crops and the elderly at home, right? If he ignores everything and only studies, isn't he just like a bookworm?
How can a nerd like this have any future?
Wang the boatman did not want to spoil them, and said, "Isn't it the New Year? I also want to row a few more trips to make some money to celebrate the New Year. After all, people like us who do hard labor cannot live as comfortably as you do in the county town. I believe you don't lack those few dozen coins..."
These words were said in a sarcastic tone, and everyone in the big room blushed and felt very embarrassed.
"Give it to him!" Boss Yu yelled at Chen in a rough voice.
The Yu Jingde brothers looked ashamed and annoyed, thinking it was shameful to haggle over a few dozen cents.
Only Yu Jingzong was young and felt that it was too much for Wang Xiegong to charge them money. He was indignant and muttered, "I'm going to go back and tell grandma..."
Wang the boatman pretended not to hear, took the money, and rowed away.
He felt that this person really should not be spoiled. If spoiled for too long, he would think that everything in the world is free and it was natural not to pay for it.
Once people don't pamper them, they think that others are going too far and are just asking for money...
What kind of people are these!
He has seen through these people.
-
Because of this, Yu Lao Da's family was very unhappy, and they had sullen faces when they returned home.
The Yu family was deserted, with no one there.
"Why isn't grandma here?" Yu Jingzong yelled.
Someone happened to pass by and saw Yu Lao Da's family. He said, "You are finally back. The village is holding a Kitchen God Festival today. Everyone is going to the threshing ground in the west. Your mother is slaughtering a pig there. Why don't you hurry over there? After the pig is slaughtered, there will be nothing to see..."
These words stunned Boss Yu and his family.
Yu Li kills pigs?
Oh, by the way, I did hear that she worked in a butcher's shop in the county town, so it was normal for her to know how to slaughter pigs.
But why did the villagers let her kill the pig? Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God is a man's job, so of course men should be allowed to kill the pig. Isn't it unlucky to let a woman do it?
Boss Yu thought so and asked the same question.
The man couldn't help laughing, "What do you mean by unlucky? It's because Li Niang slaughters pigs that it's auspicious. When the nearby villages want to worship the kitchen god, they all want to invite her to slaughter pigs! And they even give her some money! It's good enough in our village, she is from our village, she didn't even charge any money..."
Without waiting for Boss Yu to say anything else, the man waved his hand and said, "I have to hurry over, or I'll miss it later."
As he said this, he rushed towards the west end of the village, showing that he was really in a hurry.
Boss Yu and his family stood there, looking confused.
After a while, Chen asked, "Should we go over and take a look?"
"No!" Yu Jingdra frowned, "Anyway, I'm not going."
If he didn't know that it was Yu Lishi who slaughtered the pig for the Kitchen God Festival, he would probably have gone there as the eldest grandson of the Yu family. But now that he knew it was her, some shameful memories came over him and he couldn't control his temper.
Yu Jingli also said he would not go.
Boss Yu would not go either, as he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself when he saw Yu Li.
The three men went straight back to their room, leaving Chen standing there with her daughter and youngest son, becoming more and more confused.
Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God is a big event; the eldest son or grandson of every household must attend, as they are the backbone of the family.
In the past, the Kitchen God Festival was always held like this. Elder Yu would bring his two sons, who made them proud, and take the opportunity to get together with the villagers. Facing the envious eyes of the villagers, they were very happy.
But if they don’t go this year, how will people view the eldest branch of the Yu family?
Chen had no choice, but she also knew that she could not persuade her husband and two sons, so she had to take her daughter and youngest son to the threshing ground to see if Grandpa Yu and his wife were there, and ask them to come back to persuade the three people.
Yuqin had been silent the whole time. When her mother said that she would let them see if grandpa and grandma were there, she said, "Mom, dad and big brother and second brother have all been in bad tempers recently. Can grandpa and grandma persuade them?"
For such a big event as the Kitchen God Festival, they actually said they would not go...
This was the first time that Yu Qin discovered that the father and brother she admired were so unreliable. Even if they didn't want to see Yu Li, they still had to pretend, right?
So many people are watching.
Chen looked a little gloomy and haggard. Her originally well-maintained face had some fine lines in the past few months, which showed that she had not had a good time in the county town in the past few months.
"This is your grandparents' business." Chen said calmly.
If anyone is angry, it will be the old couple. She is a woman who married into the Yu family and is treated as an outsider by her husband's family. Things like the Kitchen God worship have nothing to do with her, and she will not be the one to be embarrassed.
Yu Qin stopped talking after hearing this.
Only Yu Jingzong didn't take it to heart at all. He didn't think it was a big deal that his father and brother didn't go. Instead, he was very curious about how Yu Li was going to kill the pig.
He kept saying along the way: "Why is it that troublemaker Li Niang who is going to kill the pig? She is a woman, and it is really unlucky to ask her to kill the pig. The village chief must be getting old and confused..."
Chen and Yuqin couldn't help but look at him.
"Zong'er, what did you say?" Yu Qin couldn't help but said angrily, "My mother and I are also women. Are we unlucky too?"
She didn't like to hear that Yu Li was doing well, but when she heard that her brother actually looked down on women and regarded women as unlucky, she became even angrier and felt very suffocated.
At this moment, she even felt that Yu Li's decision to kill the pig for the Kitchen God sacrifice was a rare good thing.
In the past, things like offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God had nothing to do with the women in the village, but now they actually ask women to slaughter pigs. Look how quickly these men's faces change.
Seeing that his mother and sister looked unhappy, Yu Jingzong had to shut his mouth. Just by looking at his expression, you could tell that he was not convinced.
Chen frowned and was about to say something when she suddenly saw someone walking towards her.
It was a man with two children.
The man was wearing a plain blue cloak. This kind of dress was rarely seen in the countryside. Even Boss Yu rarely wore it. Generally, only the scholars in the city preferred to wear it.
Although I haven't seen his face clearly yet, his tall posture and calm demeanor are already remarkable.
As the three men approached, they finally saw the man in the cloak clearly.
He was basking in the warm winter sun, his face looking like the first snow on a new crescent moon. Chen's mother and two of them were so dumbfounded that they forgot to react.
Fu Wenxiao saw the three people and stopped to ask, "Excuse me, but which way is the threshing ground in the west?"
Holding his hand, Fu Yanhui and his sister moved closer to him and looked at the person opposite them timidly.
Although the brother and sister were taken out by Yu Li several times, they were still timid and uneasy when facing strangers most of the time. If their uncle was not there, they would want to hide.
Chen pointed in a direction.
"Thanks."
Fu Wenxiao thanked him politely and took the two children to the threshing ground.
The mother and her two children who were left behind were unable to react and stood there in a daze.
"Mom, who is this man?" Yu Jingzong asked curiously, "Is he also a scholar in the village? He looks more impressive than Dad."
One would think that the other person is a scholar because the cloak he wears is quite elegant.
In Yu Jingzong's mind, those who dressed like this must be scholars, not to mention the aura of this man. He couldn't put it into words, but he just felt that he was inexplicably awed by him.
In the past, in Yu Jingzong's heart, his father was the most powerful person. He always compared his father with the people in the village. Those villagers were not as capable as his father, and he was always proud of his father.
But now, in front of this man, his father was compared to a country bumpkin, ugly and rustic.
Yu Jingzong pouted. Was his father so ugly and unsophisticated? He didn't look like a scholar at all. He had a bad temper and would get angry and curse people when he was not satisfied.
Chen shook her head, "I don't know either. Maybe he is a rich man from the city."
Today is the Kitchen God worship day in Qingshi Village. Perhaps some idle young men in the city would be interested in it and come to take a look.
Although she thought so, she did not ignore the man's demeanor. He did not look like a rich man with nothing to do. If that was the case, why didn't he have servants around him?
Chen was deeply moved. This young man's appearance and demeanor were something she had rarely seen in her life. She was a little dumbfounded when she saw him just now.
She couldn't help but compare Boss Yu when he was young with the young master just now, and she felt more and more that Boss Yu was a piece of shit.
If she had met this young man first, she would never have fallen for Boss Yu, nor would she have been deceived by his fake appearance, and she would not have married into the Yu family. If she had randomly picked a young man from a wealthy family in the county to marry, wouldn't that be better than marrying into the Yu family?
The more Chen thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
"Let's go and find your grandparents first." She said to the two children.
Yu Qin responded absentmindedly, looking ahead, and could still see the man's figure gradually disappearing into the distance.
I don’t know where this young man is from, whether the two children are his, and whether he is married...
**
Today is a rare sunny day with a sparse amount of sunlight.
Although the weather is still very cold, it is good weather as long as it doesn't snow or rain, not to mention the warm sun.
Even the village chief sighed: "Today's weather is really nice, it's a good omen."
At this moment, almost everyone in the village ran to the threshing ground to watch the pigs being slaughtered.
In addition to liking to watch Yu Li slaughter the pig, it is also because after slaughtering the pig, they will start offering sacrifices to the kitchen god, and everyone is waiting here.
Even Mr. Yu and others came.
Although they didn't want to watch Yu Li slaughter the pig, Mr. Yu and his wife were very traditional people. They attached great importance to the village's Kitchen God worship and came early to wait.
"Why aren't the eldest brother and the others here yet?" Old Mrs. Yu looked around.
Old Master Yu also frowned and said to Yu Lao San who was standing beside him, "Lao San, go to the village entrance to see if Lao Da, Jing De, and Jing Li have returned. If they have, ask them to come over quickly."
The eldest son and grandson cannot be missing for the Kitchen God worship, as the Yu family is counting on them in the future.
Yu Laosan was very unhappy. He didn't want to care whether Yu Laoda and his family came or not.
But since the old man had spoken, he couldn't disobey him, so he went to look for her. Just then he saw his eldest sister-in-law Chen coming with her nephews and nieces.
He quickly reminded, "Dad, Mom, sister-in-law and others are here."
When Mr. Yu and his wife saw that only the mother and her two children came, but their eldest son, eldest grandson, and second grandson were not there, they were immediately unhappy.
"Where are the boss, Jingde, and Jingli?"
Chen said, "They are all at home, they didn't come."
"They didn't come?" Both Mr. Yu and his wife were stunned, and habitually made excuses for them, "Are they not feeling well?"
Yu Lao San who was standing next to him wanted to roll his eyes. Even if they were not feeling well, how could three of them, father and son, be feeling unwell together?
Chen said: "They are not uncomfortable, they just don't want to come."
"Nonsense!" Old Madam Yu said, holding back her anger. "How could they not come for such an important event as offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God?"
There were people around, so she couldn't yell at him in public, but she was still very angry, thinking that Chen said that on purpose.
Chen was also very angry. What did this have to do with her? "If you don't believe me, ask Qin Niang and Zong Ge'er."
Yu Qin and Yu Jingzong both nodded and told their grandparents that they really didn't want to come, but no one stopped them from coming.
Grandpa Yu's face suddenly darkened and looked very dangerous, and the younger generations of the Yu family were a little scared.
He said nothing, just turned and left.
Seeing his angry look, Mrs. Yu felt a little uneasy, and hurriedly said to Yu Lao San: "Why don't you go over and take a look?"
Yu Lao San didn't move, "Mom, if Dad wants to do something, it would be bad for me to stop him, right?"
In his heart, he hoped that the old man would take action quickly so that Boss Yu and the others would have a taste of being beaten, to prevent them from having such an easy life that they would not even show up for something as important as the Kitchen God Festival.
Yu Laosan felt that Yu Laoda was spoiled by his parents and could actually do such an unreliable thing.
There are also two nephews who, instead of learning anything else, choose to learn from Boss Yu’s unreliability.
The Yu family still wanted them to change their family background? That was impossible.
Not only him, but Chen also felt so.
In the past, she was happy that her husband and son were spoiled, but when they only lost their temper with people at home and looked so cowardly, even as a wife and a mother, she couldn't stand it.
We are all human beings, why should she have to endure their bad temper all the time?
Old Mrs. Yu was so angry that she almost fell over. She pointed at them with trembling fingers and wanted to hit them.
Finally, she had to hurry home, fearing that it would be too late and the old man would beat her beloved son and grandson.
Yu Laosan and his wife's eyes turned and they followed excitedly.
Not to mention anything else, if the old man really beat someone, and hit the vitals of the eldest wife, they would definitely go and see it for themselves.
Seeing this, Chen suppressed her sadness and made up her mind not to go back.
She didn't feel bad when the old man beat her husband, but the two children were her own, so she still loved them in her heart.
But they have been going too far recently, and they still need to be beaten up by the old man. Otherwise, with their current fickle tempers, they may not do well in the county exam in February.
It was too late for Old Mrs. Yu to go back. When she approached the Yu family, she could hear from afar Old Man Yu's furious curses and Old Man Yu's miserable screams.
"Dad, stop hitting me, stop hitting me, can't we just go——"
"Grandpa, don't hit me—"
Old Mrs. Yu ran very fast, and Mr. Yu and his wife also ran over excitedly.
When they entered the door, they saw Old Man Yu in the yard, breathing heavily with a stick in his hand. Old Man Yu, his father and his son were standing there in a row, looking reluctant.
Of course, compared to Boss Yu who had his face swollen from being beaten, the Yu Jingde brothers looked fine.
The old man was quite soft-hearted towards his grandsons and was reluctant to hit them, so he aimed the stick at Boss Yu.
Even so, they were hit with several sticks and their mouths were grimacing in pain.
Old Mrs. Yu rushed over, hugged her son and grandson with heartache, and cursed Old Man Yu for being so cruel. He actually hit them and why he didn't hit himself first.
Yu Lao San couldn't help but said, "Mom, Dad used to beat me and my second brother a lot. My younger sister refused to listen to you and married Mr. Zhao as a concubine. Dad wanted to beat her to death, but you didn't seem to feel sorry. Why do you feel sorry when they get a few beatings?"
At the end, he was indignant.
Old Mrs. Yu immediately started cursing, calling him heartless for watching her brother get beaten and not caring about her nephew at all.
Anyway, it was Yu Laosan who was wrong for not stopping the old man from beating people.
Yu Laosan sneered and took his wife away.
Finally, Yu Lao Da and his two sons hung their heads and followed Grandpa Yu and his wife to the threshing ground.
When they arrived, Yu Li was already slaughtering a pig.
Seeing her holding the quiet pig with one hand and stabbing a knife into the pig's neck with the other hand, blood spurted out and the pig died without a sound. The father and his two sons drew a deep breath.
Yu Lao Da and his two sons felt their hair stand on end and their whole bodies were cold.
The memory of being forced to kneel down came back to them. The shame and powerlessness they felt had shattered their self-esteem, leaving them tormented day and night, unable to cheer up...
**
There were only three pigs to be slaughtered today, and Yu Li finished them quickly.
After she finished processing the pig, the villagers began to prepare for the Kitchen God Festival. She looked up and suddenly saw a group of one, large and two small, standing under a tree in the distance.
Although they were far away, she still recognized them at a glance.
The three men were some distance away from the surrounding villagers, as if they were hiding under a tree. They looked timid and didn't dare to come over.
Yu Li thought to himself that humans are social animals. If they stay indoors all the time and have no contact with the outside world, they will become more and more autistic and timid, and finally turn into a socially anxious otaku.
She felt a little sorry for them, so after washing her hands, she walked towards them.
"Li Niang, where are you going?" someone called out, "The Kitchen God Festival is about to begin."
Yu Li pointed over there, "Xiao brother...my husband is coming, I'll go see him."
What? !
Li Niang's sickly husband is here? ! !
Everyone who heard this turned around and saw three people under the tree in the distance.
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