Thinking this, Gou'er looked at his father and asked, "Daddy, Uncle Fugui is crying so sadly, why don't you comfort him?"
His father: ...
He didn't expect his cousin to suddenly cry like this, and that it would also make others cry.
How should I comfort him/her?
He subconsciously looked at He Jiuniang, who pretended not to hear anything and silently gnawed on the chicken leg in her hand.
If it were Lu Baichuan crying his eyes out right now, she probably would have dragged him back immediately.
But now it's Lu Fugui who's crying like this, and since there's no lady of the house to take charge, naturally no one can stop him.
"Then let him cry for a while. When people are sad, it's hard not to cry."
Seeing that his wife was ignoring him, Lu Baichuan could only make up excuses.
They're both grown men, and he has no experience in comforting someone who cries.
The dog tilted its head and thought about it, then realized that what its father said made a lot of sense.
If you want to cry but can't, it can really make you feel awful. So let Uncle Fugui cry for a while.
Lu Xiaoyang kept his head down and didn't say a word the whole time. He still felt that everyone was so sad because of him, but no one present blamed him, which made him feel even more guilty.
Mrs. Sun felt this was not good. The weather was already cold, and if she cried like this for a while, the food would get cold, and she would get sick from eating it, which would only cause her more suffering.
The old lady immediately stood up and said, "Alright, alright, what time is it for you to cry! Today we are opening the ancestral hall and setting up the memorial tablets for our ancestors, that's a good thing, everyone should be smiling for me, what's there to cry about!"
Sun and Old Man Lu are now the oldest members of the Lu family and still have a lot of say. As soon as the old lady opened her mouth, Lu Fugui immediately dared not utter a sound.
He knew it was a happy occasion, but he just couldn't control his emotions.
His son is still young, and sometimes when he goes out to work, he is worried about leaving his son alone at home, so he often takes his son with him. But it is inconvenient to do things with his son with him.
At times like this, he would think how wonderful it would be if his wife were still alive, how wonderful it would be if his parents were still alive, so that his whole family could be together, with the husband working outside and the wife working inside, just like his third uncle's family, how wonderful that would be?
But it was all just his imagination. His family was gone, and they couldn't even find their remains.
"I'm...sorry..."
He sniffed, wiped away his tears, picked up the glass on the table, and gulped down another mouthful of strong liquor.
"Father, don't cry, I'll always be with you!"
His son, Xiao Chengzi, suddenly handed him a small handkerchief and awkwardly wiped his tears from his face.
Xiao Chengzi is a little younger than Gou'er, but they are both sensible children. They know that it is not easy for their fathers to take care of them, so they are usually very well-behaved. When their fathers go to work, they can sit at their fathers' workplace for a whole day without crying or making a fuss, so as not to distract their fathers.
Seeing how sensible his son was, Lu Fugui couldn't help but hug his son and burst into tears again.
Those who had finally managed to stop watching had their eyes well up with tears again when they saw the interaction between the father and son.
Sun: ...
Lu Xiaoyang got up, ran back to her room, and took something out from under her pillow.
He walked up to Xiao Chengzi and said, "Chengzi, don't be sad. Look what gift your brother brought you this time!"
As he spoke, he opened his hand, revealing a jade safety lock to the little boy.
The little guy paused for a moment, and didn't reach out to take it.
Lu Xiaoyang explained, "This is a safety lock that I bought with my own savings. Wearing it will keep you safe."
The little guy turned to look at his father, as if asking for Lu Fugui's opinion. Lu Fugui nodded and said, "It's a gift from your brother. If you like it, accept it."
The little one then turned around and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, brother!"
Lu Xiaoyang then put the safety lock around the little guy's neck, rubbed his head and said, "Chengzi is such a good boy. I'll bring you a gift next time I come back."
"Stop wasting money. You're not young anymore. You should start thinking about yourself. In a few years, you should be settling down."
Distracted by Lu Xiaoban, Lu Fugui forgot about crying and started lecturing Lu Xiaoyang.
Lu Xiaoyang was a little embarrassed and said, "It's too early to start a family!"
He still needs to atone for his past mistakes, so it's impossible for him to settle down so quickly. He doesn't want to find a girl to atone for his sins with him.
The men of the Lu family are supposed to cherish their wives. He should be responsible and not hurt other people's daughters like this.
Moreover, the girl he likes now doesn't like him back, making marriage even more distant for him.
"What do you mean 'early'? Your parents are gone, but you still have me as your uncle! Anyway, if you have money, save it yourself and don't waste it!"
Lu Fugui immediately lost the will to cry. After talking for a while, he realized that everyone was looking at him. He also thought about how he had been wailing and felt embarrassed. His expression became somewhat awkward.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat, or the food will get cold!"
Old Lu waved his hand and took the lead in eating.
After this little incident, Lu Fugui decided not to drink anymore, fearing that if he drank too much, he would get drunk and be unable to control himself from crying.
Lu Baichuan then spoke to Lu Fugui while eating, saying, "Cousin, Xiao Chengzi is not young anymore. If you can't manage everything by yourself, why not send him to school? Regardless of whether he participates in the imperial examinations in the future, it's always good for him to know more characters. Our generation suffered from a lack of education, so we can't let our children suffer from the same fate."
Before Lu Fugui could speak, Cui'er spoke first: "Yes, we ourselves are uneducated, and it's really difficult to deal with some things in the workshop now, so I'm planning to send my little Zhuzi to school after the New Year! It's just a pity that Mr. Kang is no longer teaching, and I don't know which school is better."
Qin replied, "Oh dear, isn't this a coincidence? Sister Zhang also said she wanted to send Xiao Liangzi to school after the New Year, so the three children can keep each other company!"
While everyone was saying this, Lu Fugui remained silent.
He also wanted his son to go to school, but he knew that tuition fees were expensive, and given his current financial situation, he basically couldn't afford to send his son to school.
The Zhang family sister that Qin mentioned was actually Shen. Her family made money by doing business with the Lu family, so sending their children to school was not a problem.
Cui'er's family received some money while they were in the bandit's den, and later borrowed some more from her third uncle's family. Overall, they didn't have much debt. Although they now live in a thatched house, at least they have their own house.
But he was different. He and his father only met his third uncle's family in the prefectural city, and all their money was borrowed from his third uncle's family.
During this period, he worked hard and barely managed to pay off his debts. The father and son were still renting an old, dilapidated house in the village.
Next, he plans to build his own house. It doesn't have to be spacious, but it needs to be on its own land. Buying land and building the house will require another sum of money.
The child needs to go to school, and besides the cost of book repairs, he also needs to provide books, paper, and pens, which he simply cannot afford...
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