…
This was the first time for Bi Yue to serve food to someone else. Actually, she was not hungry, but she had to sit aside and keep the others company.
Bi Yue only ate two dumplings and stopped eating. Even with her chopsticks, she didn't pick up any food.
Her second uncle gestured for her to pick up some dried tofu, but she pretended not to see it.
I've been eating so much tofu lately that I almost vomited.
In this rural area, if the men at home are drinking, you can go without meat or dry food.
But if you really can't get enough of the big tofu with green onions, the dried tofu fried with chili peppers, the tofu fried with soybean sauce, or the tofu stewed with snow red pepper, you have to serve one of them, even the tofu dipped in soybean paste. They can drink half a pound of white wine with this tofu.
Bi Yue had to see tofu every meal, which annoyed her to death.
Bi Yue was the only younger person at the dinner table. Her two older sisters from her eldest uncle's family were married, and her older brother and younger brother from her second uncle's family were both at their grandmother's house. So she became the one who had to give instructions to everyone she met.
Granduncle clutched the small wine glass in his withered hands and drank it all in one gulp. After finishing, he sighed deeply, drawing everyone's gaze towards him, and then he spoke:
"Yue, you must be filial to your mother. I was short-sighted back then.
Today, your uncle will tell you the truth.
A few years ago, I advised your mother again and again to stop supporting your studies.
I was thinking, even though your last name is Bi, once you marry, you belong to someone else's family, so it's all in vain."
Bi Yue didn't think much of it, but her aunt was on pins and needles.
My aunt gave birth to two girls. She listened to my father-in-law and didn't pay much attention to the children's education.
Looking at Bi Yue now, her aunt felt incredibly guilty, as if she could have produced a college student if she had only offered them money. She felt that she had ruined the two children, causing their fate to be so different from Bi Yue's.
Liu Yafang quickly interjected, "Uncle, it happened so many years ago. Don't talk about that. It's New Year's Day. Why are you talking about that with the children?"
"I have to tell them, let them know how difficult it is for you to be their mother. I'll be the bad guy.
You can ask around, the girls are either farming or getting married early.
In your family, whoever has a mother like you must have earned this much luck. Without you, how could she be where she is today?
The old man was quite stubborn. He frowned and stared at Bi Yue and said:
"Yue, don't think your uncle is nagging me. I couldn't catch you before. If you had shown up earlier, I would have told you.
Once, your mother came to borrow money and I was really angry.
You said you have nothing to eat or drink, so why should I provide for you?
You said you can't pay much more, your middle school is in town and your high school is in the county. Even if you don't spend it, you have to throw away two, and she still provides for both.
Once your grandmother is gone, your grandfather will be forced to lie on the kang and drink medicinal soup, and then there will be famine. So what?
Now that I think about it, it can be said that people with poor conditions have low aspirations!
With nothing in hand, you don't have the guts to speak or act confidently, and your father is even less likely to come forward. There's no way the family can make money.
How do we provide for you? We poor people save money from our mouths.
You said your mother's face was pale from hunger, how could I not be angry? At that time, we didn't know whether you would be able to have this day.
I tried to persuade her, but she told me that even with her last breath, she would let her children stay in school instead of farming.
I was so angry that I couldn't do anything. I scolded her and kicked her out. Your mother left crying."
The short, thin old man sat in the main seat at the edge of the kang, thinking back to the past, and feeling a bit guilty towards Liu Yafang. He also felt that time had passed so quickly, as if it had just happened a few days ago.
He drank another half cup of white wine, which was what Liu Yafang brought him this time, four boxes of gifts, cigarettes and alcohol, a whole piece of raw material, frozen steamed buns, frozen dumplings, and a large piece of pork head. They were all gifts from his niece, and her love was not in vain.
The old man smacked his lips, took a breath and continued:
"She left, and I felt relieved for a while.
Yue, it’s not my uncle’s fault, it’s just that I don’t have the conditions.
You can ask your uncle. I didn’t let his two granddaughters go to school. They are still my granddaughters.
But you have to be capable. Can you just watch your mother wiping her tears and walking on the mountain road with an empty stomach?
Later, it was your second uncle who chased your mother away. He caught up with her and said that he couldn't let your mother go crying. Second brother, how much did you give your sister at that time?"
The second uncle was so embarrassed that he turned his head and said to Bi Yue, "Your uncle is drunk. Don't listen to him. If he drinks too much, he will be hungry for seven years and poor for eight years." After saying that, he looked up and replied to his father:
"Dad, it's just a few dollars. Please stop talking about that. It's embarrassing enough. It's New Year's Day and there's no point in talking about it with the kids."
"Two dollars and four cents." Liu Yafang raised her eyes and looked at Bi Yue seriously:
"Back then, two yuan wasn't as much money as it is now. Your grandfather was starving because of his medical treatment, and people came to his house to beg for money.
He said I had money to pay for your education, and that I didn't have money to pay it back, and he got angry with me. I struggled to get ten dollars together, but I was two dollars short.
Bi Yue turned her head to look at her second uncle: "Has my mother paid it back yet?" The second uncle blushed and had a fever: "You child!"
Then, as if in a play, he rubbed his face vigorously and said in a loud voice:
"Sister, how many years has it been? It's over. If you tell this to the world, my woman will have a fight with me tonight. I secretly saved up all that. Look at you, you exposed it to me."
My second aunt laughed and scolded heartily, "Don't be such a jerk. Why didn't I tell you to lend me money? We're family, so why not lend me some? Didn't I have that much in the past few years?"
But my second aunt really didn't want to mention this.
Because before, no matter whether the old man borrowed money or how much, as long as Liu Yafang came, she and her two sisters-in-law would slam the door and quickly lock the cupboard. She never called Liu Yafang "sister", but always called her husband "sister".
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