Chapter 425 - 369: All Who Come Are Guests
Chapter 425: Chapter 369: All Who Come Are Guests
Xiao Man linked arms with her grandma and chuckled, "Don’t tell me you slaughtered the pig you were raising for the New Year? What will you do then? There are so many people in this family!"
Grandma patted her hand. "Don’t you worry, I guarantee we’ll have a pig to slaughter for the New Year. Last year, your uncles and aunts transferred their household registrations over, and the production team gave them land during the autumn harvest. Besides having more paddy fields, our family now has a little over an acre of dry land alone. Your uncles and aunts are incredibly capable. After planting all the paddy fields and dry land, they even went to the mountainside to clear some wasteland. They planted a lot of sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava, and yams. Right now, the family is raising two sows, eight pigs for slaughter, three yellow oxen, and over a hundred chickens. A little while ago, your aunt saw some ducklings and goslings for sale at the market and just couldn’t resist buying a batch to raise. They’re still half-grown, not ready to be eaten yet."
Xiao Man’s eyes widened. "You’re raising that much livestock? Can you even manage? Our backyard isn’t big enough to hold all that!"
Grandma smiled. "I was worried we couldn’t handle it at first, too. But it turns out the work never piles up, all thanks to everyone in the family being so diligent. Our backyard is the same as always, but we’ve torn down the old pigsty and chicken coop, tilled the soil, and planted vegetables there. Do you remember the patch of wasteland right behind our backyard? It’s over half an acre wide. Your grandpa applied to the production team and claimed it. A few of your cousins helped your Uncle Jiabao level and tidy it up. They built a rammed-earth wall to enclose it into a large yard, and that’s where they’re raising the pigs, chickens, and ducks. They also planted a dozen or so pomelo, pomegranate, and mandarin orange trees, and set aside a small patch of wild vegetables and grass for the chickens and ducks to peck at... You just got back today and you’re tired, and it’s already dark. You can go have a look tomorrow."
"Okay!" Xiao Man agreed, helping her grandma walk back to the house. Seeing her grandparents on this trip back, she felt they seemed much younger. Grandpa was full of energy, his walk as brisk as a young man’s. Grandma’s face was lit with a happy and contented smile that came from the bottom of her heart. ’Xiao Man knew this was all because of Mo Jiabao’s return. The warmth of a family reunited filled her heart, and she was genuinely happy for her grandparents.’
Xinghua had arranged for Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin to wash up and rest, so Xiao Man didn’t go see them. She just sat and chatted with her grandma, Fifth Auntie, Eighth Aunt, and Second Granny Qiu. She passed on Grandma Tang’s greetings, and the old ladies, in turn, asked in detail about Grandma Tang’s current situation. When they heard she was busy urging Boss Tang and his wife to have a child, they all shared a knowing, hearty laugh.
Summer nights were long. Even after a full day of labor, people weren’t eager to sleep early. Many villagers came over to the Mo Family Courtyard after dinner, naturally splitting into groups. Mo Jiabao moved the 25-inch television Zheng Shaolian had bought out to the threshing ground. Those who liked watching TV brought small stools and sat in front of it. Those who wanted to have a drink gathered around the two tables of the banquet that hadn’t been cleared away in the courtyard. The women who loved to gossip and chat sat in clusters according to age, talking and laughing loudly. The entire courtyard was abuzz with voices and cheerful laughter, as lively as a wedding celebration.
Xiao Man sat with the group of grandmas for a while before Guan Ailan came over and pulled her away under some pretext.
When she got back to her room, she found it packed with people. They were all girls from the village around her age, some she knew well, others not so much. But all who came were guests, so after a round of greetings, they all started having fun together.
Mo Shuixia, Guan Ailan’s younger sisters, and their back-door neighbor Jiang Xuehua, among other young girls, ran to the front of the group to call out, "Sister Xiao Man!" Xiao Man smiled and held their hands, then saw the Liang Xiuzhen sisters. She quickly asked them if Uncle Man Cang and Aunt Man Cang were doing well.
Liang Xiuzhu, ever the quick-talker, blurted out, "They’re doing great! My mom’s illness is completely gone, and now she can do all the work in the fields. Just now, when we were about to come see you, Sister Xiao Man, Mom told me to invite you over to our place to visit."
"Of course, I’ll definitely go when I have a moment," Xiao Man replied with a smile.
Liang Xiuzhen said with a smile, "Grandpa went to see my dad. He told him you were coming back and to keep any big fish he caught. My dad spent a few days by the river and caught seven or eight fish, each weighing four or five catties. He kept them nice and healthy, and my older brother delivered them all this morning."
"No wonder I was thinking the river fish today was so big and delicious! Please thank Uncle Man Cang for me! I didn’t see him come over for dinner, did we forget to call him?"
"We did call him," Liang Xiuzhen said. "Da Zhi came to my house to invite my dad and even brought a cut of pork. My dad said since a pig was slaughtered, there must be a lot of guests today, so he wouldn’t come and add to the crowd. We’re all neighbors, no need to be so formal."
The roomful of girls crowded together and chatted for over half an hour before Fifth Auntie and Grandma came in. Grandma said with a smile, "You girls haven’t seen each other in a while, so I know you don’t want the night to end, right? Let’s call it a day for now. Xiao Man is exhausted from the train ride. There’s hot water boiling in the kitchen, so let her take a bath and unwind. You can all come back to play tomorrow."
Hearing this, the girls said their goodbyes one by one. Xiao Man asked Liang Xiuzhen, Guan Ailan, and a few others to wait while she saw the rest of the group out. In the courtyard, she chatted for a bit longer with Liang Xiuming, Xiujing, Mo Zhiyuan, and others. When she returned to her room, she opened her suitcase and distributed the gift packages she had prepared in Beijing to the young women. They were thrilled with the novelties for a while, and though they were reluctant to leave, they knew Grandma was right. Xiao Man really was tired from her journey and should rest early, so they bid her a fond farewell and went home.
With her own guests gone, Xiao Man breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and took out a few more gifts for the younger ones in the family, gathering them in the room where Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin were staying to chat. A year had passed, and Dapeng and Qiuyan had grown taller. It was her first time meeting Da Zhi today; the thirteen-year-old boy was sturdily built with slightly dark skin. Dapeng’s features resembled Grandpa’s, while Da Zhi looked more like Mo Jiabao.
When they usually made long-distance calls to Beijing, Grandpa would bring each of the siblings to the phone to say a few words. Xiao Man and Tang Haocheng also wrote them letters and sent postcards, so they didn’t feel like strangers. During the day, too many people had been surrounding Xiao Man and her brother, so they had sensibly watched from a distance and done their chores. Now that they could finally talk together properly, they were all overjoyed. Ignoring the repeated nagging from Grandma and Yu Wumei, the siblings chatted excitedly until eleven o’clock before dispersing.
By this time, the villagers had all gone home to rest. Yu Wumei was tidying up the courtyard, and Mo Jiabao carried the television back into the main hall. Tang Qingyun had had a few too many drinks and had already closed his door to sleep. Grandma nagged Xiao Man to hurry up and take a bath, saying that Grandpa had already carried two large buckets of hot water into the washroom for her. Xiao Man was quite embarrassed and quickly grabbed her washbasin, a change of clothes, and a towel to go bathe.
When Xiao Man came out from her bath, the courtyard was quiet. Those two, Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin, had also closed their doors and gone to sleep. Mo Jiabao, Yu Wumei, Da Zhi, Dapeng, and Qiuyan had gone to the herb garden.
Xinghua was sitting by a large wooden tub next to the well, scrubbing away at some laundry. Xiao Man knew she was washing clothes for Tang Haocheng and the others, so she hurried over to help. Xinghua stood up and snatched the basin of dirty clothes from her hands, saying, "Summer clothes get sweaty and have to be washed right away. It’s an easy job, you go rest. I’ll be done in no time by myself."
Xiao Man hadn’t expected Xinghua to be so strong. Caught off guard, she had the basin snatched away. But there was no way she would let Xinghua wash her clothes for her. As the two of them went back and forth, grabbing for it, Grandma came out and saw them. She chuckled, "What are you two girls doing? Xiao Man, go dry your hair first. Xinghua, just soak the clothes in soapy water. In a bit, you two can rinse them together, and that’ll be that, right?"
Xinghua nodded. "Alright. I’ll get them soaking. Xiao Man, hurry and dry your hair so you don’t catch a cold."
So Xiao Man went back to her room, got another dry towel, and carefully dried her hair. By the time she returned, Xinghua had already finished scrubbing all the clothes. One of them drew water while the other rinsed, and after they were done, they hung the clothes neatly on hangers to dry under the eaves of the house.
After finishing their work, Xiao Man and Xinghua sat under the pear tree to rest and chat. Once their hands and feet were dry, they went back to their room to sleep. Xinghua was truly exhausted. She climbed into bed, and her head had barely hit the pillow before she was fast asleep. Xiao Man heard her sleeping soundly, even murmuring someone’s name in her dreams. She stifled a laugh, tucked the mosquito net in properly, and in a flash, she entered the Treasure Pearl Space.