C18 Teaching

After crossing the stone bridge and going up the slope, the small village was called the village of Zhao. Following this suggested road, they continued south until they arrived at the southern end of the village.

Min Jie had heard from his mother that his grandpa had built these green brick houses in the past. Grandpa was a smart person, and was an apprentice in the warehouse of the old man's house, which was actually similar to today's trading company, and specialized in selling goods from all over the world. His identity as a shopkeeper was not simple, and this warehouse became a stronghold, where his grandpa was promoted to become a traffic attendant due to his good nature. Later on, in order to avoid many troubles, my grandma divided the house up to my bros. Of the ten or so large tiled rooms, my grandma only left behind three, and built a courtyard for herself. The servants were dismissed as well.

Minjie sighed in her heart as she opened the courtyard door. She brought Pan Meiyun and Gu Min into the courtyard.

It was a small courtyard, with three rooms in the north, two rooms in the west, and then there was the toilet in the southwest corner of the courtyard. Grandma Gu was alone, and every month, she would be able to receive various bills for food from the county, and every month, the commune and the village would also give her some food or daily necessities. There was no need for Grandma Gu to get a pigsty to raise pigs at home, but there was a chicken coop in the toilet where she raised about ten chickens to lay eggs.

The ground of the small courtyard was paved with sand, and on the southern wall were some lentil vines, all dried up. Outside the window sill of the North Room, there was a black clay pot with a blooming chrysanthemum plant in it. Pan Meiyun, seeing this, said to Ming-jie, "Hey, Ming-jie, this is the chrysanthemum we dug out for Grandma last year, right?"

Min Jie looked at it and said, "That's right. I didn't expect my maternal mother to still be keeping it. Alright, it's getting late. Let's quickly find something and leave. If we're late, my maternal mother and maternal mother should be worried."

Minjie and Pan Meiyun opened the door to the north room to retrieve their belongings. Gu Min Qianqian did not go in, but stood in the yard. Since it was Nong Xian's time to see the three of them enter the yard, someone would probably come over to take a look.

Minjie and the others hadn't even come out of the house when Gu Min Qian saw a little boy poking his head out of the door. Grandma Gu's front door was a simple big building, and Gu Min Qian felt that the big building was built later on, and the row of large tiled houses seemed to be built together. Before entering the courtyard, Gu Min Qian noticed that the second gate in the west was different from the other three.

Leaning on the door, she saw a six or seven year old little boy standing outside the door. He had a very small stature, was very thin, and his head wasn't small either. He wore a cotton jacket and pants that didn't fit him, and there were two buckets of snot under his nose. When he saw Gu Min Qianqian, he raised his sleeves to wipe the snot that was about to reach his lips.

The little boy said, "Who are you? Why did you come to my fourth mother's house?"

Gu Min Qian said, "This is my grandma's house. My sister and I are here to get something for my mother. Who are you?"

The little boy said, "I'm the first child from that family over there. Will it be a few days before I return?" Saying this, she sniffled with all her might. Gu Minqian tried her best to shift her attention away from the mucus, but she couldn't answer the child's question.

Gu Min Jie and Pan Meiyun had already packed their things. Hearing Gu Min Qianqian's shout, they quickly came out of the house and saw her standing at the entrance. Gu Min Jie locked the door and walked over.

Little Thug said, "Cousin Min, I came to see you because the door to your house was open. Do you want me to stay here for a few days?"

Minjie said, "I'll be back in a few days. I'll be back in two days. Hurry up and go home. You're snotty from the cold."

A few people were talking at the gate when a woman in her forties walked out. When she heard Minjie call out, Minjie hurried over and said, "Third Aunt, my mother is going to stay at our house for two days. Our family is going to build a house in the next few days."

After being called Third Aunt by Minjie, she was stunned for a moment before saying, "We built a house. Minjie, wait a moment. I'm going to bring something back to you."

When Minjie heard this, she said, "Third Aunt, there's no need. Our family has already prepared everything."

San Jiu said: "I'll let you have it. Wait a moment." Then, he rushed into the house. Not long after, he came out with a white cloth bag, followed by a twenty-something year old daughter-in-law. She was holding a snake skin bag that didn't look heavy.

When Min Jie saw this, she called out "Fifth Cousin Sister." Fifth Cousin Sister answered with a smile. When she saw Gu Min Qianqian, she smiled and said, "This must be Qianqian. She's really good-looking!"

Third Aunt said with a smile, "Qianqian is the most good-looking of the sisters here, and only your second aunt and second uncle are good directors. How could she not be good-looking? Third Aunt has some work to do these past few days, and after that, I'll go and help you guys. You should bring these things back, it's because of my feelings for your third uncle. You also know that your sixth cousin is talking about marriage, and your third uncle and I are really busy."

Minjie refused repeatedly, but Third Aunt put both sides of the snakeskin bag onto the beam. Because the snakeskin bag left a lot of space while it was tied, the two ends hung down on the beam and were placed firmly. Inside the bag was dried vegetables, and inside the white cotton bag was food. Third Aunt had tied the bag tight and put it on the beam.

Minjie said, "Third Aunt, I …"

Third Aunt said, "If your mother is willing to stay in your house for a few more days, then she can stay a few more days." Third Aunt said, "If she is willing to stay in your house for a few more days, then she can stay a few more days.

Min Jie rode the bicycle while Pan Meiyun and Gu Min Qianqian sat in the back. The three of them slowly rode back, just in time to meet Min Jing, who had come to pick them up.

Pan Meiyun was too tired from sitting at the back with a child in her arms. When she saw Gu Min Jing Jing, she said, "Big Brother Min Jing Jing, you've come at the right time. Hurry up, I'll flex my arms."

Minjie said, "Big brother, why did you come to pick us up?"

Min Jing said, "I saw that it was getting late, and I was afraid that you might not be safe on your way, so I borrowed a bicycle to pick you up. Did San Yu give you these?"

Minjie said, "Yes, Third Aunt gave it to me."

Min Jing said, "Let's go home first. We'll talk about it when we get home. Look at the sky, it's going to be dark soon."

When they got home, Min Jie told them what had happened. Grandma Gu said, "Hmm, this time's not bad. I know I have to give you guys something urgent. Just you wait. Your third brother will be here in a day or two."

Minjie said, "Grandma, what is my third uncle doing here?"

Your Third Uncle is different from your Third Aunt. Although your Third Uncle doesn't talk too much, your Third Aunt does chitchat all day, and your Third Uncle is the one who decides all the family affairs. I didn't tell them about your family building the house this time; I just wanted to see who really treats your family well. "

Mother Gu said, "We can't accept money from my third brother either. His third brother is about to propose marriage, so it's the right time to spend money."

You shouldn't blame your mother for giving all the good things to the children of the Zhao Family. In the past, your grandfather had forced me to divide all the good things in the family, and if it weren't for me and you, your mother's dowry would have all been divided among them. Hmph, when your father built the house, I also gave him quite a bit of money. Who knows where all the good things in the family ended up in someone else's pocket.

Mother Gu said, "Aiya, my mother, why are you still talking about this? If you don't divide up our things, you'll end up getting those unruly people to steal from us. Who's in the village that you haven't seen before? Those people directly went to their own homes to rob us."

Grandma Gu said, "That's true. Cheap goods are better for one's family than cheap goods."

Mother Gu said, "These past few years, we ladies have received quite a bit of help from Third Bro. I told Min Jing and the others that we can't forget his good fortune when we get better."

Grandma Gu said, "It's only natural for the Zhao Family to be nice to you. You're the only child in our family, and those things were originally yours. What's the point of letting them take it or not be nice to your family?"

Mother Gu knew that all these years, her mother had been resentful when her grandfather had distributed the things in the house to her parents. But after so many years, even if they didn't, how much of her family could she have left behind?

Third Aunt gave him half a bag of cornmeal, which was very thin, and put a lot of dried vegetables in the snakeskin bag, such as eggplant, dried beans, cucumber, and lentils. Third Aunt Gu looked at the dried vegetables and said, "Our family's own plot of land, I've already planted some vegetables, and your Third Sister-in-Law's house has also planted some dried vegetables at the side of the house. Your third sister-in-law doesn't have much heart, but she knows how to live."

Mother Gu said, "That's true. Not long after my Third Sister-in-Law entered the house, she opened up a lot of pumpkins in front of our house. I still remember how delicious and sweet the pumpkin was when steamed. You even made us pumpkins for our pumpkins."

Mother Gu said, "This is taught well by your third sister-in-law's parents, how can your eldest sister-in-law not live, ah, this girl, she had to be carefully taught by her mother when she was her daughter, and only knew how to live her life after marriage. See, there are some families that only let their daughter work while they're at home, but they don't even know how to live their lives when their child is married.