Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Miali's house is quite shabby.

It’s still that familiar feeling and familiar taste.

The moss growing on the low earthen walls was dried to a withered yellow by the cold and dryness of winter. From a distance, it looked like it was painted with layers of ochre paint.

A wooden door casually tied with wooden sticks was simply opened. Through the door, you could directly see the cave at the innermost part of the yard, which was where my mother-in-law Tuo Runxiu and my father-in-law Mi Youtang lived.

This yard is about one acre.

There are six or seven kilns and sheds inside.

At its peak, there were fifteen or sixteen people of all ages living here, and it was very lively and crowded.

In addition to the old couple, the Mi family has a total of six children.

There were exactly three men and three women.

The eldest son is Mi Wenzhong, and Mi Yali is the second child and the eldest daughter.

Then there are the second daughter Mi Yaqin, the second son Mi Wenxiao, the third daughter Mi Yahong and the youngest son Mi Wenren.

It is said that he originally had a younger son named Mi Wenyi, but he died when he was just over one year old.

Yu Qiutang had only heard Mi Yali talk about this matter once, and since it was a sad thing, he did not ask any further questions.

Child mortality is very common in this era.

The passive factor is mainly illness.

Because people were poor, medical care was poor, and there was superstition and ignorance, many children were delayed in receiving treatment and died.

If they take the initiative, they are basically girls.

Although the number of babies drowning at birth is not as high as before, there are still many deaths due to the indifference and lack of attention paid to girls.

This trend was not gradually reversed until the late 1980s.

During the most difficult years of population control, if a family had one extra child, they could be fined to the point of bankruptcy, and no one could afford it.

It is possible to give birth to a boy or a girl, and this cannot be controlled by human power.

If you give birth to a hundred children, the odds are basically half male and half female. This is the probability.

But when it comes to specific people, some families give birth to four, five, or even six or seven daughters in a row.

What should I do then?

The ones that can only be given as gifts are given to others, and the ones that cannot be given as gifts are…

This period of time is hard to recall. Many grandmothers and grandmas, who are respected and kind in the hearts of later generations, may have done such a thing as drowning baby girls with their own hands.

The old couple in the Mi family obviously have a lot of "experience" in having boys and girls, and they really maintain the standard of having one son and one daughter.

Originally, they had a son, but unfortunately he died young.

There is no need to say much about Mi Wenzhong and Mi Yali.

Miaqin is a carefree and naughty person, and is the most likable one among all the children in the Mi family.

Personality is one reason, but the main reason is that she ended up marrying a village party secretary.

He lived a very wealthy life at home and always helped his brothers and sisters to the best of his ability, subsidizing this and that.

It is almost everyone's lubricant and savior.

She lived a fulfilling life. When she got old, she organized a dance troupe in the village. Every day she took a group of old ladies to perform around. She was also the village women's director and was very lively.

But she still maintains the diligence that a farmer should have. She takes care of the more than ten acres of land at home herself every year. During the slack season, she often goes out to work to supplement the family income.

The money earned through hard work will be used to subsidize poor sisters and brothers.

Her husband was a cheerful man from the northwest. He was about 1.9 meters tall, with a broad back and strong arms, tall and handsome. After he was discharged from the army, he became the branch secretary and has been in the position for 30 years.

The fourth child, Mi Wenxiao, is a miserable man.

When he was in school, he studied very well and was admitted to the town's middle school with the second best score in the town. His grades in school were always among the best in the class.

But in the second year of junior high school, because his family was really poor and had no money to continue paying tuition, he had no choice but to drop out of school and go home.

It was delayed forever.

Later, after getting married, he made a living as a bricklayer, and his life gradually improved.

She has two sons.

The eldest son is very promising and becomes the first college student in the Mi family.

But the younger son was not so lucky.

Also in the second year of junior high school, I suddenly started convulsing during class. After being sent to the hospital, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, commonly known as epilepsy.

So, he spent the rest of his life making money, paying for his children's medical treatment, and making money.

The fifth, youngest daughter, Miahong, is a girl who is not very sensible.

She was the youngest girl, and even though she came from a poor family, she was still very spoiled since childhood.

In the local dialect here, it means "cowardly".

The general meaning is that he is very muddleheaded and unreasonable.

Her life is also extremely miserable.

I got married for the first time when I was 22 years old. I married a man, but that bastard turned out to be domestic violence. He would hit me every now and then. We divorced within half a year.

After staying in her parents' home for a few years, she married another man.

That man turned out to be a gambler.

Every year, all the money she earned from growing tobacco and chili peppers was lost by her husband.

Often the man would disappear on the day of handing over the cigarettes, and when he came back, the money was gone.

The main theme is that a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water.

Their family lived in a very miserable condition, living in an old courtyard left over from their ancestors, and their two children had no food to eat.

Every time after losing, the man said he would correct himself in the future.

But if a gambler says something, is there anyone who can put it into practice?

It was not until the man was in his fifties that he finally came to his senses and started to make money so that his wife and children could live a better life.

But who would have known that within two or three years, the man suddenly started coughing up blood while working, and it turned out to be lung cancer.

It really is...

After her husband died, she raised her two children alone, and both children went to college.

I work as a nurse in a hospital, specializing in taking care of terminally ill patients and am responsible for two people at a time.

As a result, due to lack of rest and staying in the hospital for too long, I developed kidney disease again...

When Yu Qiutang left, she was still receiving conservative treatment. She was a pretty person, but her skin was as swollen as a steamed bun.

Then there is the youngest child, Mi Wenren.

There is nothing much to say about this boy. He is gentle, obedient, and just an honest child without any quirks.

It's probably a replica of Yu Qiutang's previous work.

But he is more likable than Yu Qiutang.

Mi Wenren is really well-behaved and honest. He will do whatever his parents and brothers and sisters ask him to do seriously.

Apart from his poor academic performance, there is nothing wrong with him.

He later found a wife who was a bit violent and a bit rude, but overall not too bad and within the moral range of a normal person.

When Yu Qiutang arrived near Miyali's home and saw their yard, everything about this family immediately replayed in his mind like lightning.

Overall, the atmosphere of this family is much better than that of their Yu family.

The reason is that my mother-in-law Tuo Runxiu is a good wife and mother.

The women in Old Yu's family each have their own problems.

It is no exaggeration to say that a good woman can keep the family happy for three generations.

"It seems that their family's conditions are not very good." Gao Meilan stuck her head out from behind Yu Chuntao and looked at the yard not far away.

"Why do we need to be so rich? The girls we marry are not from the same family as us."

Yu Chuntao said with a smile.

"You are young now," Gao Meilan disagreed, "You young people just think in simple terms.

You think that living together is just a matter between the two of you, but let me tell you, it is not.

From my observation, no matter if the family is too poor or too rich, it is difficult for girls to deal with them. It is best if the two families are similar..."

"Aunt, you've already seen the whole family, why are you still looking down on them for being poor? Don't ruin my plans later."

Yu Qiutang hurriedly interrupted Gao Meilan.

"Oh, I noticed that both of you siblings have the same attitude. So, I am the only aunt who is not a good person, right?

Since you asked me to come here, I must take responsibility.

My words may sound unpleasant, but that’s the truth…”

"Okay, okay, we get it. But this is indeed a special case. You should be a little more careful and don't scare Lili's parents. If they make a bad first impression, I'll be in trouble."

Yu Qiutang had no choice but to beg for mercy.

"Look at how useless you are. Is Lili really that good? Has she lost your mind?"

"I……"

Just as he was about to speak, he saw a few people walking out of the Mi family's yard.

There are six or seven of them.

The two in the middle are naturally Mi Youtang and Tuo Runxiu.

Mi Youtang was wearing a dark blue Mao suit and holding a long pipe in his hand.

He is very tall, probably over 1.85 meters.

And very thin.

From a distance, it looks like a telephone pole wrapped in blue cloth.

His wife Tuo Runxiu, who was standing next to him, was only about 1.55 meters tall and also thin and weak. The contrast between the two formed a sharp contrast.

Tuo Runxiu was wearing a gray slanted jacket and black pants. Yu Qiutang had good eyesight and could see her kind smile from afar.

There was a woman next to them. Yu Qiutang felt that she looked familiar. She seemed to be Mi Yali's aunt or uncle.

Then there are Mi Yali, Mi Yaqin and Mi Wenzhong.

Miaqin was joking with Miali about something, pointing at the oncoming motorcycle. Miali gently hit her, and she ran behind her mother and started chattering with a smile.

"They are very nice and they even came out to greet us. We can't lose our manners later."

Gao Meilan reminded the two.

Yu Qiutang agreed, but complained in his heart that he was afraid that you would not be polite to others when the time comes.

"squeak!"

The motorcycle braked to a stop.

Gao Meilan was the first to speed up and get out of the car. She took a few steps forward with a smile on her face.

"This must be Sister Tuo, Brother Mi, hello, I've heard Lili mention you guys so often, and seeing you today, you're really extraordinary. How tall are you, brother..."

Yu Qiutang and Yu Chuntao looked at each other.

They all looked incredible.

He was still complaining about others on the road just now, but as soon as he got off the car, he seemed to have instantly become a different person.

This Third Aunt was really right.

When it comes to proposing a marriage, at least half of it depends on what the matchmaker says. If the matchmaker doesn't speak well, a good marriage can be ruined. If the matchmaker knows how to speak, no matter how likely it is that the marriage will be ruined, it can also make both parties think more about it.

Mi Youtang saw Gao Meilan and smiled: "Okay, okay, I'm coming."

Tuo Runxiu looked at Mi Yali beside her. Her inquiring eyes and Gao Meilan's enthusiasm made her a little difficult to adapt to. She was not sure for a moment whether this was really the man's aunt and not an extra matchmaker.

How can you express such enthusiasm better than a matchmaker?

Just a few simple words brought the two closer together.

"Dad, Mom, this is... this is Yu Qiutang's Third Aunt. Third Aunt, these are my parents, and this is my eldest aunt."

Upon hearing this, Gao Meilan greeted them again.

He also called Yu Qiutang and Yu Chuntao to come over to greet the elders and meet the younger generations.

Here, after confirming the identities of Yu Qiutang and his men, Tuo Runxiu invited them in.

Go straight to the main room.

Let Miaqin go pour the water.

"Good."

Miaqin went out smiling.

Although she was also wearing a winter cotton jacket, the color was not a dark, stain-resistant color, but a bright light red.

With a pink headband and velvet shoes of the same color, she looks very lively and energetic.

Her steps were also very brisk, not as elegant as Miali's, but she walked like a fluttering butterfly, as if she was about to spread her wings and fly away at any time.

Several people sat down.

This main room, also called the big room, is where Miyali's family entertains guests.

It is now 1984, and it looks the same. Thirty years later, it will still look the same.

Their family has never been rich.

However, a few years later, the old kitchen collapsed, and the large house was divided into two, half was used as a kitchen, and the other half was converted into a retirement home for Tuo Runxiu.

By that time, Mi Youtang had already passed away.

This main room is actually a hoop kiln, about 16 or 17 meters long from east to west and 3 or 4 meters wide.

There is a kang on the east side of the room, and in the middle is an old octagonal table, probably made of sour peach or apple wood. Because it has been so long, the surface bark has long since fallen off and the specific wood material cannot be seen clearly.

On both sides of the Eight Immortals Table, there is a chair with an armchair back, which should be a new addition. It is made of lacquered wood and has a crane pattern on the backrest.

Directly above the table is a painting of the ten marshals. It is also quite old and the bottom of the painting has already turned yellow. There are also several side paintings hanging on both sides of the painting.

They are plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.

There are plum blossoms and bamboos on the left, but only orchids on the right. It is estimated that the painting of chrysanthemums is lost or damaged.

To the west of the Eight Immortals Table are two lacquered wooden boxes, each more than one meter long, with wooden frames of the same color underneath. The boxes are hung with large copper locks, which are also covered in rust.

This box is Tuo Runxiu's treasure box. There are many snacks hidden in it. Whenever the child in the yard cries, Tuo Runxiu will open the box and take out a walnut, a handful of dried apricots, a biscuit, or a piece of cake...

Quietly put it in the children's hands, tell them not to cry, and put it away quickly so that other children can't see it.

Works great.

The child who got the good stuff stopped crying immediately to protect the snack.

Yu Qiutang also thought that later when Tuo Runxiu fell ill and collapsed on the kang, many people brought side dishes and cakes, and she asked them to be put in a box, thinking that the children could give them to her when they visited her.

But when the children grew up, they were all busy with their own things.

The chirping and noise in the yard eventually became memories of her past, and the pastries were left there until they grew green mold, but they were never taken away.

Further west of the box is a row of wooden wardrobes. The wood was probably not good, as there were several cracks on the surface of the wardrobes. Yu Qiutang had no impression of these wardrobes.

Maybe the cabinet had been moved away when I first came to Mi's house.

Everyone took their seats.

Mi Youtang and Tuo Runxiu sat on either side of the octagonal table, Yu Chuntao and Gao Meilan sat on the east side of the kang, Mi Yali stood next to her mother, and Yu Qiutang sat alone on a small stool facing east.

Ma Za was very short, so he couldn't fully stretch his legs. He could only straighten his body as much as possible to reduce the feeling of cramped legs. (End of this chapter)