Chapter 424 - 368: Happy
Chapter 424: Chapter 368: Happy
Xiao Man held Xinghua’s hand. "You all work so hard around the house, you shouldn’t have to worry about all this. I could have sorted it out when I got back. Why are there two guest rooms? Where will your parents, Da Zhi, Dapeng, and Qiuyan sleep? Uncle Tang is leaving tomorrow. Hao Hao and Shaoyu can share a bed. We could just set up a simple pallet for them in the main hall. They’re only staying for three or four days at most, and they plan to go out and explore."
Xinghua smiled. "Uncle Tang and Hao Hao aren’t guests; they’re family coming home. We can’t just have them sleep on a pallet in their own house. They wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry, we have plenty of room. You’ll see when you go to the herb garden tomorrow. My dad built a row of four red brick and tile rooms there. He even added a second floor, so it’s two stories high—wide and bright. Three of the rooms are for storing herbs, and one is a lounge. In the summer heat, the herb garden is much cooler than the house. The younger brothers all run over there to sleep at night. It’s not far, so my parents can just take the younger kids to stay there for now."
Xiao Man nodded to herself. ’That makes sense. Most of the herbs in the garden were grown from seeds and seedlings from my space, so they’re infused with Spiritual Energy. On top of that, the Spirit Gathering Array and defensive formation I set up were made from top-grade jade talismans, which gather and lock the Spiritual Energy inside the garden. Of course the place is incredibly pleasant.’
Mo Shuixia, Mo Linghui, and Guan Ailan listened to the two girls talk. Mo Linghui and Guan Ailan both came from large families where they had to share rooms with their nieces or younger sisters, so they were too embarrassed to chime in. But Mo Shuixia interjected, "We just put in a new second floor at my place. It’s split into two sides—Shuiyun and Shui Yue are on one, and I have the other to myself. It’s really spacious. Why don’t you two come stay with me? This room could be given to Hao Hao and the others, and then a whole group of people wouldn’t have to go sleep at the herb garden."
Guan Ailan shot her a look. "Your place is out in the boonies, and at night it sounds like ghosts are wailing and wolves are howling. What, has Xiao Man lost her mind that she’d want to go spend the night over there?"
Mo Shuixia was speechless.
She glared at Guan Ailan but couldn’t argue. Her house was too close to the Mo Family Courtyard, and she was often disturbed at night by the strange noises Mo Xiaoqiang and Mo Xiaofeng made.
Xinghua smiled and said, "There’s no need. It’s actually closer to get to the herb garden from the house than it is to walk to Shuixia’s place. You all are usually at school, so you should come check out the herb garden with us tomorrow. It’s honestly very nice and comfortable to stay there."
With that, Xinghua got up and went to help in the kitchen. Xiao Man thought about going out into the courtyard to chat with the villagers, but Guan Ailan and Mo Shuixia wouldn’t let her. They told her to save her strength; her break was long, and she would be wandering around the village for days to come. She was bound to run into all the aunties, and there would be plenty of opportunities to listen to them chatter.
Yu Wumei brought in a tea tray with candy, melon seeds, and some pears. The friends sat in the room, cracking open seeds as they talked and laughed. Even though they wrote to each other, nothing beat the fun of talking face-to-face.
Xiao Man was a first-year university student, while her three friends had just graduated from middle school. They had long since grown accustomed to Xiao Man’s legendary life and saw nothing strange about it. Who in their right mind would try to compare themselves to her? To them, Xiao Man was like a heroine from one of the old folks’ tales. Her ancestors had accumulated good karma, and she herself was a kind soul, so it was only natural that she’d have a dramatic reversal of fortune. Her true identity was revealed, transforming her from a grimy village girl into a dazzling city girl. She had been guided by a medical expert, had a high-ranking official for a father, and was supported by her genius of a little brother. That was how she’d managed to skip grades and go straight to university, saving herself two whole years.
’I guess I have to just accept that’s how they see it,’ Xiao Man thought, even though she desperately wanted to argue. ’I worked hard for this, you know?’ Fortunately, high school was still only a two-year program in many provinces back then, and the curriculum wasn’t as demanding as it would become later. Teachers Cheng and Fan had treated her like a special project, tutoring her meticulously, and she’d also had six months of extra help from Tang Haocheng. She had gotten into university on her own merit, pure and simple.
Mo Linghui had originally planned on testing into a vocational school and had even told Xiao Man so in her letters. But for some reason, when it came time to decide, she had a sudden change of heart and enrolled in high school instead. Guan Ailan, for one, was thrilled. It meant they could be together again. She was dead set on going to high school and then on to university.
Mo Shuixia was also very content with her situation. She had gotten through her three years of middle school mainly on her athletic skills. Her greatest passion and talent was basketball. As the captain of the school’s girls’ basketball team, she was invincible on the court in the Ping County area, and her name was known throughout the entire region. Huashan Commune Middle School was famous because of her. Even though she could never get her academic scores up, the principal and teachers treated her like a prized possession. Now, even without Teacher Yu watching over her, she was a shoo-in for a sports college. Better yet, countless companies in the county wanted to hire her without an entrance exam to lead their corporate basketball teams. She could lead them in competitions every year, win championships, and build their reputation. It was free advertising for the company.
Seeing her friends so confident, high-spirited, and full of smiles, Xiao Man felt a genuine happiness for them in her heart.
The aroma of meat dishes began to waft from the kitchen as preparations were made to set the tables. The villagers took this as their cue to say their goodbyes and head home. As was custom, the hosts repeatedly insisted they stay for dinner. And though everyone knew it was just a polite formality and none of them would actually stay, the gesture still made them feel warm. Besides, their pockets were bulging with candy. It had been distributed twice—the first round was local candy bought by Secretary Tang, but the second was a special treat Xiao Man had brought back from Beijing. It was such a rare delicacy that they couldn’t bear to eat any themselves, saving it all to take home for their children.
Mo Linghui and Mo Shuixia were family, and Guan Ailan was a close friend from school, so at Grandma’s insistence, they all stayed for dinner without any fuss. Four tables were set up in the courtyard and another in the kitchen, which was more than enough room for everyone.
When it was time to eat, Xiao Man took the opportunity to formally greet her elders and relatives again. It had been so crowded and chaotic when she first got out of the car that she hadn’t had a chance to speak with anyone properly.
Fifth Auntie, Eighth Aunt, and the other wives of the family sat at the table in the kitchen. In the courtyard, one of the four tables was for the guests of honor—the men from the military command and Tang Qingyun, accompanied by Secretary Mo, Grandpa, and two other village officials. Mo Jiabao, Mo Chengfu, the able-bodied young men of the family, and a few neighbors occupied two more tables. The last table was the domain of the young people. It was crowded and loaded with meat dishes. Some people sat while others stood; it was all very casual and without strict rules. Xiao Man, Guan Ailan, and their friends ate at this table. Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin could have sat at the head table, but they insisted on joining the younger crowd, most likely because they knew no one would be supervising them here and they could be more relaxed.
After dinner, Grandpa brought out his tea set and brewed a few pots of fragrant tea. When the tea was done, the men from the military command said their goodbyes. Secretary Mo and the others saw them out, while Grandma and Fifth Auntie each carried two bamboo baskets to the car. There was a bit of polite back-and-forth as they tried to refuse the gifts, but in the end, the soldiers had no choice but to accept them.
Xiao Man quietly asked Grandma what was in the baskets. Grandma smiled and explained, "Each basket has some fresh pork, ribs, and a whole cooked chicken. Besides the chicken, duck, and fish we had today, we also slaughtered a pig that weighed over two hundred pounds. The chickens and pigs are ones we raised ourselves. Everyone says our pork and chicken are the most flavorful around! Your Grandpa said since it’s such a rare occasion for you all to come home, he wanted to slaughter a pig for the feast. A lot of people wanted to buy some, but we didn’t sell a single pound. We can’t possibly eat it all in this heat, so we only kept enough for a couple of days and gave the rest away to our relatives."