"I think I can. Xiaolei's dad told me about what happened that year."
"Let's invite him to our house. There are more of us, so we can discuss the safest way to arrange this."
“I also think it would be better to call him over and talk to him. I’ll go get him,” Fang Damiao said.
"Okay, I don't know what their intentions are. The reason so many of us are going is because more people mean more ideas."
“What else could his family be? They gave birth to a daughter and didn’t want her. Now that another family is taking such good care of her, they’re willing to acknowledge him. If she stayed with his family, she could even go to university,” Fang Meili said.
Fang Meihao quietly nudged Fang Meili's arm, and Fang Meili stopped talking. After all, he was the biological father of Dongqiang's girlfriend, and could be considered Dongqiang's future father-in-law.
Fang Meili looked out the window. How did they end up being related? There were so many girls at school, yet Dong Qiang had to fall for Fang Shugen's daughter and become related to them. Fang Meili gently shook her head. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
The car stopped in front of their house, and they took the things for the wife's family out of the trunk.
The door to the house was closed. Fang Meili took the key from under the bricks by the window and opened the door. "Where did they go?"
"Meili, you're here?" The neighbor came over when she heard the noise. "Your family is making rice cakes today. Your mother and the others went to the processing plant. They made them this morning and should be back soon."
"Oh, was it made in the next village?"
"right!"
"Let's go take a look. It's been so many years since we last visited the cake factory."
They closed the door and everyone got back into the car.
"Wenzhao, once you exit the village, turn left and keep driving straight," Fang Damiao said to Bao Wenzhao from the passenger seat.
"How many years has it been since I last visited the rice cake factory?" Fang Meili recalled. "In the past, when we made rice cakes for the New Year, I loved to roast them in the fire after they were made. They smelled so good."
"Hmm, we could bring some brown sugar, or just dip the white sugar in it." Fang Mei suddenly remembered, "We should have brought some sugar with us."
"If you want some, we can go to the small shop in the village ahead and buy some."
“It looks like Dad and the others are up ahead,” Bao Wenzhao said.
“It’s Dad. You all said it was so delicious, but we can’t eat it anymore. They’re back,” Fang Damiao said from the side.
They all looked up ahead. The wind swirled the dry straw on the ridges of the fields. Fang Meixiang's father was hunched over, his hands gripping the handles of the cart tightly. Fang Meixiang's mother and Fang Meixiang each held onto the edge and the back of the cart, respectively.
“Dad seems to have aged a lot in the past few years,” Fang Meili said, her eyes reddening.
"We've asked them to come and stay in the city for a while, but they won't come no matter how hard we try," Fang Meihao sighed. "They say they're worried about the vegetables and chickens they raise at home."
“Mom and Dad are always like this, they don’t want to trouble us. They can grow some vegetables and raise some chickens at home, and leave everything to us.”
Bao Wenzhao stopped his car in front of them, and everyone in the car got out.
The sweet aroma of glutinous rice cakes mingled with the scent of earth, wafting in the wind.
"Why are you here?" Fang Meixiang's parents were both surprised and delighted to see them.
Fang Damiao stepped forward and took the handle of the cart. "Dad, let me pull it."
"We heard that my family was making rice cakes, so we rushed over," Fang Meili said with a smile.
"You should have said so earlier! We were just waiting for you to come so we could do it together." Fang Meixiang's mother also felt sorry that her daughter had missed the deadline.
"Wen Zhao, you drive back first, we'll walk back," Fang Meihao said to Bao Wen Zhao.
"Are you all walking back?" Bao Wenzhao asked, sticking his head out of the car window.
"Yes, we're all walking. Where's Dongqiang?"
“I’ll walk back too,” Fang Dongqiang said, holding Fang Meixiang’s arm.
"Are you cold?" Fang Meixiang asked.
"It's not cold, Mom!"
"Everyone, don't take the car, let's walk." Fang Meixiang's mother looked at them. "You didn't say anything, and now so many of you have come. There must be something wrong."
"Mom, something's wrong," Fang Meili said, glancing at Fang Dongqiang. "Dongqiang's girlfriend is Shugen's daughter."
"What?" Fang Meixiang's parents looked at Fang Meili, then immediately turned to Fang Dongqiang to confirm.
“Yes, Grandpa and Grandma,” Fang Dongqiang nodded, “I just found out too.”
0
“Shugen’s family has a daughter. People in the village have been talking about her behind her back, but nobody believes it. That year, Shugen’s mother searched for her for months. Little did we know it was with our Dongqiang…” Fang Meixiang’s mother continued, “Does Shugen know? What’s the situation now?”
As they walked, they explained the situation to Fang Meixiang's parents.
"Did you make rice cakes?"
"Hey, it's done!"
"This year's rice cake making was a grand affair, with so many people attending."
When they encountered villagers on the road, they all greeted them with smiles.
Back home, after carrying the rice cakes down, Fang Damiao said, "I'll go and call the tree root to come home!"
“He should still be working at the factory, he hasn’t finished his shift yet,” Fang Meixiang’s father said.
Now, they are just waiting for Fang Shugen to come back and tell him.
After hesitating for a long time, He Xiaolei dialed Fang Huahua's cell phone.
The dial tone was like a dull knife grinding at her heart, each ring tightening her nerves. Until the dial tone turned into the long "The number you dialed is not being answered."
Fang Huahua was looking down, carefully applying paint to the ceramic doll with her brush tip dipped in the palette. Her cell phone was locked in a metal cabinet by the workshop entrance, separated by several rows of workbenches, so its ringtone couldn't be heard.
When the bell rang at dusk, Fang Huahua washed her hands and walked quickly to the metal cabinet.
She opened the cabinet door and saw a missed call from an unknown number on her Nokia phone screen. She blinked and dialed back.
"Hello?" He Xiaolei's voice trembled unexpectedly, like a startled little animal.
"Hello, was that you who called me just now?" Fang Huahua's voice still carried a hint of weariness from the workshop.
He Xiaolei took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Are you Fang Huahua?"
"Yes, that's right."
He Xiaolei's heart pounded. "Don't you have a younger sister?"
Fang Huahua froze on the spot, almost dropping her phone. Her voice was filled with confusion, "Who are you? Why are you asking that?"
“That younger sister is me.” He Xiaolei’s voice suddenly choked up.
Fang Huahua stood in the cold wind at the factory gate, her mind buzzing, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
After a while, she asked in a low voice, "Where...where are you now?"
“I’m also in the county town,” He Xiaolei said quickly. “I’d like to meet you.”
They arranged to meet at a bakery upstairs with seating.
Fang Huahua hung up the phone and hurriedly dialed home, "Mom, is Dad back yet?"
"No," Hua Mei answered the phone.
"Dad's back, tell him to call me," Fang Huahua said urgently before rushing to the bakery.
Fang Damiao was waiting for Fang Shugen at the intersection. "Shugen," he saw Fang Shugen riding his motorcycle over from afar.
Fang Jingming found Fang Shugen a second-hand motorcycle, which made his commute to and from the factory much faster.
Fang Shugen stopped, looking surprised. "Da Miao, why are you back?"
"I've come to find you."
"Looking for me?" Fang Shugen stared, his mouth agape, his face full of confusion.
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