Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Yu Qiutang had no choice.

He can be polite to his grandmother and uncle because they are blood relatives after all, but his aunt is an outsider. If he insists, his aunt will feel that he is not giving her face, and then a good thing will turn into a bad thing.

I had no choice but to agree and have a simple meal.

My aunt-in-law said that it was just a simple meal and she couldn't prepare a full banquet.

But Yu Qiutang actually knew that she would cook very carefully, that was her character.

She is outgoing and hospitable, and her poor family only boosts her self-esteem. She doesn't want to be looked down upon by Yu Qiutang, her husband's only nephew.

My aunt-in-law went to cook, while my uncle continued to stand with his back against the wall.

He neither sat nor spoke.

He just lowered his head and listened to them talking, which made Yu Qiutang very uncomfortable.

Gradually, even sitting on the edge of the kang felt uncomfortable.

It doesn't make sense for me to sit while my uncle stands.

After chatting for a while, he stood up and said that he would give the other two portions of meat to his second uncle and eldest uncle.

My uncle then said he would go with him.

Yu Qiutang couldn't refuse, so he let his grandmother rest first. He took the meat and went through the fields with his younger uncle to his second and eldest uncle's homes.

The two uncles' houses are very close to each other, separated by a piece of land.

They first came to their second uncle Hong Fucai's house.

The door was closed tightly. Hong Fugui tried to open it but failed, so he locked it from the inside.

He knocked hard a few times, and heard someone shouting from inside, "Who is it? It's New Year's Day, and the door is broken!"

The voice is like a loud bell. Although it is a woman's tone, it is full of masculinity.

"I."

My uncle answered in a muffled voice.

The door opened, and inside stood a particularly fat middle-aged woman, who looked to be in her thirties, with a face full of flesh, and a ferocious look, and it was obvious that she was not going to be easy to deal with.

It was my second aunt Huang Juhua.

Yu Qiutang didn't like his aunt very much, and even hated her a little, because he felt that his second uncle was actually the most honest of his three uncles, but his life was very depressing because his second aunt was too domineering.

It is said that my second aunt has six sisters in total, and there is not a single boy in the family, which leads to their very bad personalities.

If there is any dissatisfaction, all the sisters will rush over here and look for trouble with the second uncle. The second uncle is an honest person and cannot withstand so many people.

After a long time, I didn't dare to provoke my second aunt and was always at a disadvantage at home.

Huang Juhua saw Yu Qiutang at the first sight. She was not like Zhang Qiaoqiao who failed to recognize him, but she just curled her lips and said, "Oh, I thought it was someone else. Isn't this our eldest nephew? How come he suddenly came to visit us after not seeing him for a year or two? It's almost the New Year."

"Tangtang is here to deliver meat."

It was rare for my third uncle to say a word.

"Meat?"

Huang Juhua's eyes fell on Yu Qiutang's bag, and her eyes lit up, as if a light suddenly shone on her face.

"Hey, kid, you come here, and you..."

As she spoke, she took the bag, opened it and looked inside. She found that it was indeed a good piece of meat, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Hong Fucai, why don't you come out? Your nephew is here to bring you some meat!"

The curtain of the main hall was opened, and Hong Fucai, wearing a black cotton-padded jacket, came out dragging his shoes. He first looked at the door and confirmed that it was Yu Qiutang, then he slowly came out and smiled, "Qiutang is here."

Yu Qiutang was familiar with his second uncle and second aunt, so no matter how dull his second uncle was or how quickly his aunt changed her expression, he didn't feel any fluctuation in his heart.

Originally, we were just going through the motions here. We should show them as much sincerity as they have, so that neither of us will suffer any loss.

In fact, he could see that these uncles didn't hate his nephew, but they just had no feelings for him.

Some even don’t know how to cope with it.

Perhaps, in the entire grandma's family, only grandma has the most affection, while my aunt-in-law seems more enthusiastic on the surface.

"Come in and sit down. It's cold outside."

Huang Juhua was calling again, and Hong Fugui stepped over the threshold and prepared to go in, but Yu Qiutang smiled and said, "I won't go in for now, second aunt, I still have to go to my eldest uncle's house, come back later."

"No hurry, I don't care about this now."

"Yes, don't worry, you can come back later. I'll send the meat to my uncle's house first."

Yu Qiutang continued to refuse with a smile.

Hong Fugui also stood outside the threshold again.

"Well... okay, just send it over quickly and then come over here." Huang Juhua was still very enthusiastic.

"Yeah, I'll definitely come."

Yu Qiutang smiled and nodded.

Huang Juhua nodded in satisfaction, and then instructed Hong Fucai beside her, "Hong Fucai, you also follow Qiu Tang to go to Big Brother's house. The child is not familiar with it yet, and he can't meet people well."

"Ah."

Hong Fucai agreed.

So, when Yu Qiutang crossed the field in the middle and arrived at his eldest uncle's house, he was followed by his two uncles.

One on the left and one on the right, they look like two bodyguards.

So much so that when my uncle Hong Fusheng opened the door and saw the three people, he was stunned on the spot.

So I spent some time explaining it.

Yu Qiutang didn't like his eldest uncle and aunt either. This family was very stingy. In the past, when his parents brought him to pay New Year's greetings, the other two uncles were very nice in giving them lucky money, but his eldest uncle would just pat his head and say a bunch of useless words.

The miser is stingy.

Getting them to pay money is undoubtedly harder than climbing to the sky.

Moreover, when my grandmother passed away, he and my father had to pay a considerable amount of funeral expenses, but my uncle did nothing.

The reason is that grandma lived in my third uncle's house and helped my third uncle with housework. Now that she passed away, it should be my third uncle's responsibility, so why should he care about her?

Because of this, we were quite unhappy for a while.

Anyway, they don't perform well in many things. To some extent, they are the kind of people that Yu Qiutang despises and disdains.

At my second uncle's house, they were at least a little polite and asked me to come in and sit down, but at my eldest uncle's house, we just stood at the door and talked.

My aunt never came out.

It’s a bit frustrating to say that this piece of meat is served.

But Yu Qiutang had prepared himself mentally before coming, because it was for his deceased mother, and he didn't expect him to be warm and welcoming.

After a few pleasantries, I was about to leave when I suddenly remembered that I hadn't mentioned the most important thing. It just so happened that my three uncles were all here, so I smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, uncle one, uncle two, uncle three, you all happen to be here. I'm going to get married after the New Year, and you all have to come then."

"Get married? Are you old enough to get married?"

My uncle was surprised.

The second uncle asked, "Have you decided on a partner?"

Third uncle just looked at him, somewhat unresponsive.

"Look, everything has been agreed upon. We'll get started on the 16th day of the first lunar month."

This information obviously attracted the interest of the three uncles, who asked him some questions. They were nothing more than that marriage required a lot of money, such as the betrothal gift, the three major items, etc., were they all ready, and where was the house? If there was no place, then the old pit courtyard was the only place, and which girl was willing to marry and live there.

Yu Qiutang gave explanations one after another.

Only then did they realize that Yu Qiutang had separated from the family and had his own new courtyard, and they were even more surprised.

They all sighed and wondered how Yu Qiutang could become so powerful after not seeing him for half a year. It was hard to imagine what had happened in the meantime.

No matter how they lamented, Yu Qiutang handled it with ease.

Many people find it difficult to be a hypocritical person, so they choose to be a straight person.

But Yu Qiutang felt that it was actually very easy to be a fake person. Many of people's joys, sorrows, anger and happiness all came from whether their desires were fulfilled or not. Since he had no expectations from the beginning, it naturally would not affect his true mood.

As relatives, just maintain some dignity.

After chatting, Yu Qiutang and his third uncle returned to his grandmother’s house.

Of course, my second uncle asked him to come in and sit down, but he refused.

Being able to have a meal at his grandmother's house was already the biggest concession he had made. Otherwise, he would not have stayed at all and would have returned home early.

My second uncle didn't try to persuade me to stay.

He has been like this all his life, with no future, like a tool.

Yu Qiutang had talked about his second uncle with his mother before, and felt that his second uncle was like a wooden man. His mother laughed and said that it was true. His second uncle had been scolded like this by his grandfather since he was a child. His grandfather thought he was slow in everything he did and had whipped him many times.

But this character never changed throughout my life.

Maybe if he married a wife as gentle as his mother, his self-confidence could be boosted, but when it comes to Huang Juhua, it's completely weird.

Not only did it not help him in a positive way, but it also suppressed the last bit of manliness in him.

This is a bit similar to Fourth Uncle.

But Fourth Uncle was a son-in-law who married into the family, and he was not the kind of person who would accept everything. Instead, he was forced to accept the oppression, so he couldn't get over it.

My second uncle is the type of person who has no temper, so he has a stronger ability to accept psychologically.

When I returned to my grandmother's house, my third aunt Zhang Qiaoqiao had already prepared dinner.

Just put it on grandma's kang and eat it.

Put an oilcloth on the table and place the plate on it without worrying about getting the bedding dirty.

"Tangtang, you came in a hurry and didn't prepare anything. Your third aunt doesn't have much skills and can't cook as well as a chef. If it doesn't suit your taste, you can't say it out loud. Just keep it to yourself."

My third aunt took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the kang.

This was to make it convenient for her to get off the kang and help buy things at any time.

Yu Qiutang laughed hurriedly and said, "Very good, here are eight hot and cold dishes, let me celebrate the New Year in advance."

"I'm just offering you the meat you brought. It just tastes average, haha."

My third aunt always emphasizes the taste. In fact, it’s not because her cooking tastes bad, but because it tastes very good.

Because my third aunt's brother-in-law is a chef who specializes in cooking for weddings and funerals, and he is quite famous.

This kind of chef usually needs to have helpers, and often brings my third aunt along, so over time, her cooking skills have improved accordingly. Although she is still a little short of the level of a chef, she is completely on a different level than an ordinary housewife.

But it’s much better.

My third aunt is a very face-conscious person. With such an ability, she would show it off everywhere, just to satisfy her vanity.

Yu Qiutang naturally understood her and gave her some compliments.

The two sides had a very good chat.

As they chatted, they talked about Yu Qiutang's marriage. My third aunt immediately became interested and said that if it was a wedding or funeral, she could ask her brother-in-law to come over to cook and she could help out then.

Yu Qiutang was in a difficult situation.

When he told Wu Meifen about his marriage, Wu Meifen specifically mentioned that Lao Liang should lead the team to cook and ensure that the people crossing the bridge would have a comfortable meal.

At that time, he didn't think about his third aunt, so he agreed directly.

I have no choice but to refuse now.

But he still told his third aunt that although he had hired a chef, she would still have to keep an eye on the kitchen and take care of all the coordination.

Only then was the third aunt satisfied. She patted her chest and said that she would take care of it and would guarantee not to let her eldest nephew down.

The meal lasted more than an hour. During the meal, his third uncle asked him if he wanted to drink some wine, but Yihuan refused on his motorcycle.

After my third uncle and aunt left, my grandmother took out a small black handkerchief bag from her pocket. The bag was wrapped with a blue thread on the outside. She opened the bag with great effort and found some money inside, as expected.

Judging from the appearance, there are probably more than thirty pieces.

After hesitating, grandma took out three ten-yuan bills, pulled Yu Qiutang's hand over, and pressed it into his palm.

"Son, you're getting married soon. I don't have much money, so I'll give you some. Don't think it's too little."

Yu Qiutang hurriedly stuffed the money back, but his grandmother broke free.

"Take it. You need more. There's no milk. Your mother died early. You're so desperate. It's not easy to find a partner.

My grandma had a miserable life. My two daughters also had miserable lives and died young.

God has no eyes and takes people away without even asking for advice.

If we can negotiate, then take my useless old bones away and let my child live..."

As grandma spoke, she suddenly began to wipe away her tears.

In Yu Qiutang's memory, his grandmother actually cried very easily. Maybe it was just as she said, the old person sent off the young person, and she sent off two people in a row.

It is said that a daughter is connected to her mother's heart and is the mother's sweetheart. How can she not be sad when two of her sweethearts are taken away in a row?

Yu Qiutang was most afraid of his relatives crying.

The eldest sister likes to cry, but fortunately they are of the same generation, so it is easy to persuade her.

But once grandma started to wipe away her tears, she would bring up all the old things and talk about them again.

It usually starts with her marrying my grandfather's careless man, and then going through the old society, three years of famine, and the difficulties of giving birth to children.

Anyway, just pour out everything you can think of.

If all of them were recorded, if Yu Qiutang had a little bit of culture, he could have compiled a memoir.

He felt a little regretful and wondered why he had refused just now. He should have simply accepted the money and given it to his third uncle later.

Now I am trapped and there is no way to get out of it for a while.

Although he was anxious in his heart, he did not dare to show any impatience on his face. Instead, he was still smiling, as if encouraging his grandmother to continue.

It was not until his third aunt brought him some return gifts that he was physically interrupted.

When Yu Qiutang was leaving, his grandmother insisted on getting down from the kang to see him off. She said it was too cold outside and she already had a cold, so it was better not to go out.

But grandma insisted on coming out.

Take him to the door.

When he left, he saw his grandmother standing at the door, leaning on a cane, watching him go away reluctantly, her white hair blown very messy by the wind.

He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

I began to feel ashamed of my impatience just now.

For him, this was just a simple visit, but for his grandmother, she carried the longing for her mother, and when people get older, there is always a sense of fear.

Worrying that if you miss this time, there won’t be a next time. (End of this chapter)