Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Chapter 134: The Prime Minister’s belly can punt a boat

The dish was fried pumpkin that was very soft. It was golden and looked very appetizing. Next to the dish were two steamed buns, which were very fluffy and probably freshly steamed.

White and round.

Apart from anything else, Third Aunt’s skill in steaming buns is impeccable. If buns with this appearance are put outside, people will definitely rush to eat them.

Whenever it is served at a wedding or funeral, it will be the object of praise.

Gao Meilan saw Yu Deshui coming in and wanted to take the opportunity to scold him. Her mouth opened, but when she saw Yu Qiutang, she held back and said, "Tangtang is here."

Yu Qiutang responded with a smile: "Aunt San, come and see my grandma."

"Then go and have a look. Your breasts are really torturing people to death..."

As she spoke, she looked at the food in her hand and said, "Why don't you bring it in and try it? After all, he is her grandson. I, your daughter-in-law, am an outsider and will poison her to death. She doesn't dare to eat the food I cook."

"Saying this in front of a child..."

Yu Deshui tried to dissuade his wife awkwardly, but Gao Meilan handed the dish to Yu Qiutang and glanced at her husband unhappily, "Why can't I say it? I'm talking to my nephew, and I have to be so cautious?"

"That's not what I meant either."

"What do you mean? You just have a lot of ideas behind the scenes. If you are capable, go take care of your mother yourself." After saying that, he rolled his eyes and walked quickly to the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen door, he stopped and said, "Tangtang, have you eaten? If not, come and eat by yourself later."

"I've eaten, Aunt San."

"There are steamed sweet potatoes. Take some back to try later, and bring some back for Qiu Jiang and the others."

"it is good."

Gao Meilan then entered the kitchen, and soon the sound of washing dishes could be heard from inside, which was quite loud and filled with anger.

"Don't laugh at your aunt, she's just like that..."

"No, I think my aunt is pretty good," Yu Qiutang interrupted his uncle, feeling uncomfortable for a moment.

Before, he always thought that people like Uncle San who helped explain for their family members were very considerate of the overall situation, but later he gradually felt that such people were also annoying. They seemed to be defending their family members, but in fact, they further deepened the bad image of those being defended in front of outsiders.

"You are still sensible." Yu Deshui said hesitantly.

"What about atoms?"

"I went to the street to buy some daily necessities for your grandma. Some of the things I prepared for her before she didn't like to use them."

Yu Deshui smiled bitterly.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Yu Qiutang could only agree politely and went to his grandmother's room with the plate in his hand.

As soon as I walked in, I smelled a strong smell of old people.

There is a special smell on the bodies of elderly people. Many people don’t understand and think it is a bad smell, but in fact it is not.

This involves many issues, for example, the excretion system of the elderly is not as controllable as that of the young, so it is normal to have occasional omissions.

The elderly cannot take a bath frequently, as every bath may cause them to catch a cold or have other problems.

As you calm down, you will naturally have a smell on your body.

To take care of the elderly, you must first be able to accept this taste, think about how your mother bore you when you were young, and accept it psychologically, only then can you truly take care of them for a long time.

If it is an elderly person who is not very mobile, you can take full charge and help wipe their body frequently. But for someone like grandma, who is mentally ill but still physically agile, it is really difficult to deal with.

That’s why they say there are no filial sons by the bedside of a patient who has been ill for a long time.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to eat it? Why did you bring it in?!"

When I went in, my grandmother was lying on the kang, facing the wall. She shouted when she heard the footsteps.

My grandmother's voice was that of an old, high-pitched voice, which sounded quite harsh to my ears.

If I hadn't been mentally prepared, I really wouldn't have been able to bear it suddenly.

Yu Qiutang put the plate on the railing, sat on the edge of the kang, and gently patted grandma's back, "Grandma, it's me, Tangtang."

Grandma didn't turn around, but just turned her head to the side and stared at Yu Qiutang to identify him. After confirming that it was him, she said unhappily, "Why are you here? Isn't your mother in poor health? She doesn't help with the housework at home, but runs around all day and doesn't come home."

Yu Qiutang smiled bitterly, "Grandma, my mother has been gone for almost ten years!"

"Gone?"

Grandma was startled, turned over and sat up, staring at Yu Qiutang, "When did it disappear? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Why didn't I tell you? You complained that my dad didn't take good care of mom, so you beat him with your shoe soles."

"Really?"

Grandma stared at the dark roof of the kiln, thinking blankly for a long time, and suddenly grabbed the kang-sweeping broom next to her and beat the railing vigorously, "Oh, I remember, Zijuan, Zijuan, you are such a miserable child..."

Yu Qiutang was also dumbfounded.

Grandma's moods changed so quickly that he couldn't keep up.

But he still felt very uncomfortable at once, as he hadn't heard the name Zijuan from others for a long time.

It’s been several decades.

It was so long that whenever he remembered that his mother's name was Yang Zijuan, he felt a little strange.

"Grandma, don't be like this. The person is gone. Just rest assured down there," Yu Qiutang didn't understand why he had to comfort his grandma at this time. He was obviously more sad.

"…She suffered enough when she was alive. Now that she's gone, it's better not to bother her anymore, don't you think?"

Grandma then put down the broom in her hand and touched Yu Qiutang's head, "Tangtang, you have grown up so much."

"That's right, I've grown up."

"So fast, how come I still remember that you are not as tall as the kang."

"That's because you've been at my second uncle's house the whole time. You haven't been back very often, right?"

"That's right." Grandma sighed tiredly.

Yu Qiutang didn't know how long his grandmother would be awake, so he quickly pushed the plate in front of her and said, "Have some steamed buns and vegetables. My third aunt made them especially for you."

"Not hungry."

"Eat something," Yu Qiutang moved closer to grandma and said softly, "You are living in my third uncle's house now. If you don't eat well, it will be difficult for my third uncle, right?

Besides, you know my Third Aunt, she has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. At least she is not like some people who say one thing in public and another in private. If you make trouble and are taken to our house, you will have to deal with Chen Meidi..."

"what……"

Hearing Chen Meidi, grandma was obviously a little scared, but she still wanted to deliberately show that she was not afraid of anything or anyone, "It doesn't matter who I live with. Doesn't Chen Meidi give me food?"

"Grandma, why are you doing this? You are obviously staying here well, why do you want to suffer Chen Meidi's punishment?" Yu Qiutang persuaded patiently.

"Besides, my uncle and aunt are not living a normal life now. Xiao Zhuzi is in school, and Yuanzi will be looking for a partner in two years. We need to prepare a yard for them. It's all a burden.

It's already very good that they can take care of you and serve you despite the difficulties. You should also think about it. With your four sons, who can you rely on?"

Before Yu Qiutang came, I never thought that he would persuade me so earnestly.

He thought he was just going through the motions.

I can't say I have no feelings for my grandma, nor can I say they are deep, but I just felt that I should come and see her. But before I knew it, I had come to this situation.

Someone's footsteps were heard in the yard, and Yu Qiutang urged grandma again, "Eat quickly, grandma. Didn't you say that the world is big, but a full stomach is the biggest."

"I think I did say that."

Grandma finally picked up the steamed bun and started eating it. She had a good appetite. She ate one and a half and handed the remaining half to Yu Qiutang.

Yu Qiutang dipped it in the vegetable juice and ate it.

When he was eating, he didn't feel much of the flavor of the dishes or the satisfaction of the steamed buns in his stomach, but rather it felt very unreal.

He never dreamed that there would be such a moment for him, sitting on the edge of the kang, eating steamed buns with his familiar yet unfamiliar grandmother.

Grandma felt sleepy after eating. Yu Qiutang waited for her to lie down and helped cover her with a quilt, then he went to the kitchen with an empty plate.

Gao Meilan was sitting in front of the stove peeling garlic. When she saw him come in, her eyes fell on the empty plate. She was surprised at first, but then she immediately said sarcastically, "You see, she still loves her grandson. She doesn't even take me, her daughter-in-law, seriously."

Seeing that there was still a lot of garlic in the basket, Yu Qiutang put the plate on the stove and squatted beside it to help peel it.

"Aunt San, I know you are just talking, but in fact you are very worried about my grandma's health."

"My worry is useless. She still wants to accept my kindness. She has so many daughters-in-law, but she only likes your father's two daughters-in-law..."

She suddenly realized something, braked the car in a hurry, and smiled awkwardly, "Look at how nice your second aunt is. If she doesn't like you, she still doesn't like you. Who can you go to for justice?"

"That's what I mean." Yu Qiutang smiled bitterly, indicating that he fully understood.

He had just discovered that his grandmother still had a good impression of his mother. Perhaps because he was young or had personality problems in his previous life, he didn't realize this at all.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. There's no point in talking about it," Auntie San brought the topic back in time. "You're willing to come and see her. You brothers, I used to think Shanzi was the most promising, but now it seems that you're not bad either, unlike our Yuanzi, who has no talent at all."

"No, Yuanzi has a good personality and is sensible. It's just that he is still young now. I was not sensible in the past few years. He will get better slowly."

Gao Meilan heard this and thought that it was true, and she felt relieved.

At the same time, I also feel that Yu Qiutang is very good at speaking, and is no less eloquent than people like Qiushan who live in the city.

It doesn’t matter whether you have great abilities or not. If you are active, you will have many more options.

After chatting casually for a while, Yu Qiutang stood up to say goodbye, and told Gao Meilan to be more tolerant of her grandmother, as she had a weak heart after all and could not stand being bullied.

Gao Meilan promised to try her best.

Yu Qiutang couldn't ask for too much. He knew very well that a person's character could not be changed so easily. It was already very good that he was willing to endure as much as possible.

He also told Gao Meilan that if she couldn't buy musk from her second uncle, she should let Yu Qiyuan tell her. If that didn't work, she would have to try her luck in the mountains.

Gao Meilan was worried about his safety when she heard this, but there was nothing she could do, so she had to tell him to worry about everything.

Returning to the construction site, Yu Qiutang found Yu Qiujiang who was laying the foundation and briefly informed him of the need for musk.

After listening to this, Yu Qiujiang was silent for a moment and said that if they needed to go to the mountains, he would go with them.

No matter what, he was the one who caused the illness and he should take responsibility.

"Brother Jiang, if you were born in the past, you would definitely be a prime minister."

Yu Qiujiang was puzzled.

"The prime minister is very generous," Yu Qiutang joked. "If nothing else, your tolerance is beyond my reach. If it were me, I would have stopped having any contact with her if she said that."

Yu Qiujiang said: "It's just a responsibility."

When we arrived at the construction site, everyone was busy at work in full swing.

According to the plan, the foundation was completely painted yesterday, white lime was spread, ground spikes were inserted, and loose soil on the ground was removed.

Today we officially started digging the foundation.

More than a dozen people were divided into several groups, some digging and some shoveling, and their enthusiasm for the work was very high.

Seeing Yu Qiutang coming over, everyone greeted him.

After yesterday's warm hospitality, everyone was quite satisfied with Yu Qiutang as the host. Three meals a day were provided, with meat, eggs, and white flour buns to fill them up. No other construction site had such treatment.

In many places, the food is basically steamed corn bread made of mixed grains, the dishes are cold radish or spicy peppers, and the drink is boiled water.

At this rate, there will be no more steamed corn bread to eat.

Many people don’t have enough to eat.

Logically speaking, other people have their own reasons. They pay you to work for them and have already paid you. So providing you with meals is just talk. It doesn't matter what you are doing.

Yu Qiutang found Mi Wenzhong in a pit. He was holding a ruler and a gray line, discussing something with his companions. When he saw Yu Qiutang coming, he let his companions continue with their work and jumped out of the pit.

"Come on, cousin Qiu, is there anything going on at home these days?"

"Something happened and I can't take care of this side." Yu Qiutang explained with a hint of apology.

Logically speaking, for such a big job, the boss must be there to accompany the client, at least for meals and drinks.

"It's okay. You can do whatever you want. We'll do what you want. Don't worry. We've built many courtyards like this before. It's not a big deal."

"Don't worry, Brother Wen Zhong does a good job, and the news has spread far and wide, otherwise my father wouldn't have come looking for you."

"Hehe~"

Mi Wenzhong scratched his head, feeling very happy to be praised.

"Then I'll have to trouble you again. I may not be able to spare much time to come here. If you need anything, you can tell my two brothers or my sister."

"No problem, we get along well. The people here are very welcoming, especially your sister. She cooks delicious food and is very warm."

When Yu Qiutang heard Mi Wenzhong mention his sister, he recalled what he had been thinking about last night and joked, "Brother Wenzhong, I heard from Yali that you are still unmarried and haven't found a partner yet, right?"

"No."

Mi Wenzhong blushed and started scratching his head again.

His hair was long and messy, and because he was working in the pit, there were some dirt particles in his hair. When he scratched his head, dirt particles flew everywhere.

"I am in such a state, why would I find a wife? My mother asked someone to find one before, but the person came to see me once and never came back again. He said he thought I was not smart enough."

"Nonsense, there's something wrong with you, don't listen to their nonsense, don't be discouraged..."

"Qiu Tang!!"

As he was speaking, Yu Qiutang suddenly heard his sister calling him. He turned around and saw his sister standing at the kitchen door, waving at him anxiously.

"Go back quickly and see what's going on." Mi Wenzhong was understanding.

Yu Qiutang responded and quickly ran back to the kitchen.

"What's wrong, sister?" Yu Qiutang ran back in one breath.

"Come quickly, Yali's feet are burned!"

"what?!"

When Yu Qiutang asked the question, he was a little nonchalant, thinking it couldn't be a big deal. But when he heard Yu Chunmei's words, he suddenly started to panic and rushed into the kitchen like a mad dog.

(End of this chapter)