Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Going back to my parents' home to borrow money
Things took a turn for the better on the second day. Huo San went straight to the village chief and said he wanted to sell land. The land in Nankouba Village was washed out by the river, so it was very flat and fertile, and even the corner land was in high demand.
As soon as the news of Huo San selling his land spread, someone had already prepared money to buy it. The average household in Nankouba Village had ten acres of land, but the Huo family was in a special situation, with only five acres.
The price of land per mu varies nowadays. The land in Nankouba Village is the most expensive, costing eight taels per mu. Now the land is planted with crops, so there are two choices. One is to sell the land, but they still collect the grain. The other is to sell the land together with the grain, and the price will definitely be higher. Huo San plans to sell three mu and doesn't plan to take the crops anymore. Anyway, he has the money, and he doesn't have to pay taxes on the grain, so he still has money.
When the grandmother heard the news that Huo San wanted to sell the land, she cried sadly. After all, they had suffered so much for these five acres of land. Now he just said he wanted to sell the land casually, as if all the hard work in the past was not worth it.
Huo Xing was not good at comforting people. He just looked at his grandmother and said that they would be able to buy land in the nearby town in the future.
Miao Ying was calmer: "Grandma, this land will become barren if it's left in his hands. All the land in our family is cultivated by you. Instead of letting it go to waste, why not exchange it for money? We can still make a comeback."
Grandmother nodded and held Li Hongying's hand: "Hongying, I'd better not burden you anymore."
"What are you talking about, mother? I have always treated you as my own mother all these years. I will not let you stay here and suffer." Li Hongying looked very good. She was not depressed because she was leaving home. She was full of joy for a new life.
Huo San sold the land very quickly. Together with the crops, the three acres of land were sold for a total of thirty taels of silver. After deducting the tax, he got twenty-eight and a half taels of silver. Huo San originally only wanted to give Li Hongying five taels, but under the pressure of Miao Ying and Huo Xing, he finally managed to get ten taels of silver for Li Hongying.
After receiving the silver, the village chief also wrote the divorce agreement and sent it to the county government office the next day. In the afternoon, the village chief took Li Hongying's deed back to the village. From today on, she was no longer Huo San's wife, she was just herself.
Zhang Hong'er couldn't wait to go in. Fortunately, Li Hongying had packed her luggage early in the morning. After getting the deed, she put on the bag. There were not many things in the bag. The most valuable thing was the ten taels of silver given by Huo San.
Miao Ying was worried about his mother going out alone, so he asked Huo Xing to see her off. Huo Xing looked at Huo San and Zhang Honger who were making a lot of noise in the yard, and there was more worry in his eyes when he looked at Miao Ying.
"Don't worry about me. I can take good care of Grandma and Xiaobao. You should take care of Mom first." Miao Ying patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, they can't bully me."
Huo Xing then followed Li Hongying out of the house. However, no one expected that Huo Xiaobao, who almost never cried, rushed over and hugged Li Hongying's legs when he saw her leaving with her bag, "Mom, don't go."
Li Hongying's eyes also turned red. She gently touched Huo Xiaobao's head and said softly, "It's okay. Big brother will bring you to see mother in a few days."
Huo Xiaobao couldn't stop crying, so Miao Ying had no choice but to pick him up: "I'm still home, aren't I? Why are you crying?"
Huo Xiaobao couldn't stop sobbing, then hugged Miao Ying's neck obediently: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law."
Miao Ying continued with a trembling voice: "Call me brother, come and say goodbye to big brother and mother, I will take you to find them in two days."
Huo Xiaobao wiped his eyes with his hands, then said goodbye to Huo Xing and Li Hongying.
Huo Xing's Adam's apple rolled, but he still said, "Put him down. Your injuries are not fully healed yet."
Miao Ying had no choice but to put him down. Huo Xiaobao still seemed insecure and hugged Miao Ying's legs again.
Li Hongying also wiped away her tears and left the home where she had lived for almost twenty years with Huo Xing.
After they left, Miao Ying took Huo Xiaobao back to the yard. His mother's problem was solved, and the next step was for them to divide the family property. Huo San still had eighteen taels of silver in his hand, and he wanted to take ten taels with him.
Back in the courtyard, Zhang Honger acted like the hostess. She didn't dare to speak loudly to her grandmother, but she acted like a mother-in-law to Miao Ying: "Why don't you go and cook?"
Miao Ying sneered: "Aren't you afraid that I'll poison you?"
Zhang Honger straightened her back and said, "Your man is not here, so how can I not discipline you?"
"I'm so scared." Miao Ying said lightly, "Instead of showing off your power to me, why don't you go to the village and find out what kind of person I am? Or ask around my family?"
Zhang Honger's heart trembled.
Miao Ying continued, "Don't expect me to serve you. I didn't ask you to serve me because I was in a good mood."
After saying this, he took Huo Xiaobao back to his room, found a piece of cake for Huo Xiaobao to fill his stomach, and gave some to his grandmother as well. He whispered to her, "I'll cook for you after they leave."
Fortunately, the meat bought these days was eaten up, and my grandmother put away the rice and flour that Miao Ying brought from her mother's home last time.
The news of Li Hongying's divorce quickly spread throughout the village. When Li Hongying left, many families saw her in their own yards. This incident became a hot topic in the village in the past few days.
"What's so unacceptable about that? I'm already old, and I'm not afraid of being laughed at if I tell others about this." It was the slack season for farming, and the villagers were all gone. They gathered on the dam where crops were dried in the village to talk. Aunt Zhang covered her mouth and laughed. This was the Aunt Zhang who went to the Huo family to borrow money last time.
"Don't say that. Didn't she already have one? Why doesn't she want to raise a second one?" A husband straightened his clothes. "The funniest thing is that she wants to take her mother-in-law with her after the divorce. I don't know whether to call her stupid or smart."
"Yeah, she can get along so well with her mother-in-law, how about you? I heard that your mother-in-law would come and knock on your door in the middle of the night, for fear that you and your husband would sleep together at night."
The man choked, and before he could say anything, the voice spoke again, "And you, Auntie, you're not young anymore, and there are many people who laugh at you. You've been trying to find a daughter-in-law for several years, but you still haven't found one? Who did you go to borrow the betrothal money from the other day?"
Aunt Zhang's face darkened. She looked up and saw Miao Ying standing aside with a smile on his pretty face, as if those hurtful words just now were not said by him.
Miao Ying's eyes swept over those who were gossiping about his family, including husbands, aunts, and even a few men. When they saw him, they all looked embarrassed. He thought that they were just idle. With so much work to do, they naturally had no time to gossip about other people's families.
"If I hear anyone talking about our family again," Miao Ying said with a smile, "don't blame me for doing anything."
Everyone thought of the previous rumors about Miao Ying, and wondered why he suddenly changed his personality. He acted as if he was doing it all for the good of the Huo family, and no one knew what he was up to.
Miao Ying walked around the village and when he returned home, Huo San and Zhang Honger were not there. His grandmother and Huo Xiaobao were basking in the sun in the yard. Li Hongying had been away from home for two days, and his grandmother felt out of place and the house was empty.
After hearing his grandmother say that the two men went to the county town to see a doctor, Miao Ying quickly went into the kitchen and fried two dishes.
Miao Ying did nothing these past two days. He just held Huo Xiaobao at home and acted like the boss. Zhang Honger seemed to be afraid of him and didn't dare to tell him what to do. As for her grandmother, he didn't dare to say anything. Zhang Honger cooked for the past two days.
She had only learned the ways of the brothels before, and had never learned the daily necessities of life. They had eaten the most unpalatable meals in their lives in the past two days, so she would take advantage of their absence to have a treat, after all, Huo Xiaobao was in the period of growth.
"I don't know how your mother is doing. Huo Xing has been out for two days." Grandma reluctantly ate a few bites of food and was very worried.
"It's okay as long as Huo Xing is here." Miao Ying picked up some food for her and then for Huo Xiaobao, "We'll be able to reunite with mother soon."
"What can you do?" said the grandmother.
"We can only take it slowly," Miao Ying said. "We'll try to move out before the New Year. Grandma, do you know where my mother's family is? I want to send a letter to my eldest brother."
After much thought, he realized that although his reputation had spread, he was afraid that there might be some changes when the family was divided. He felt more at ease with his big brother who was like a mountain.
"Your parents' home is in the next town. It takes about two hours to walk from our home to yours." Grandma knew Miao Ying's parents' home very well. After all, she had also considered this marriage at that time.
Miao Ying was a little embarrassed. He really didn't know how to get back to his mother's home and couldn't find the way at all.
"The way back to your mother's home is very easy to find," said my grandmother. "Didn't Ah Xing take you to town before? When you're almost there, there's a fork in the road, and it's the only one. Follow that road for about half an hour, and you'll see your family's meat stall."
Miao Ying thought back to when he and Huo Xing had gone to town before, and he didn't seem to see any forked roads. But when they went to the county town, there were countless forked roads. He asked, "To the town or the county town?"
"It's in town. Grandma isn't senile yet." Grandma smiled and said, "Maybe you were injured at the time and didn't notice it. There's only one fork in the road when you're almost in town."
Miao Ying nodded: "Then I think I should go back tomorrow, the sooner the better."
Grandmother nodded, then stood up and went back to her room, pulling out a package from her sewing basket. "We're poor, but we can't go back to your mother's home empty-handed. Here are some headscarves and handkerchiefs your mother and I made together. You can take them back and give them to your mother. It wouldn't be rude to go to town and buy some snacks or something."
Miao Ying took the things and nodded.
He left as soon as he said he would, and the next day he took his things and went to his mother's house. Not long after he left, Huo Xing came back exhausted, but he didn't see Miao Ying in the yard.
He looked at his grandmother.
Grandmother said, "Xiao Ying has gone back to her mother's home."
Huo Xing was stunned: "Why?"
Grandma shook her head: "Borrow some money?"
Huo Xing froze in place as if struck by lightning, and once again felt like the most cowardly man in the world.
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