Linxia

Chapter 162, Return

The two teams consisting of Fang Lin, Fang He, Fang Chuanzong and Fang Chuanhui came back one after another, brought back materials and repaired the house.

At lunch, the whole family ate together, and Fang Chuanzong and Fang Chuanhui talked about what happened in the morning.

After hearing this, Aunt Fang Liu said angrily, "The people of the Sun family in Nanping Village really have no shame at all."

If Aunt Sun heard this, she would probably say, if she could find a good husband for her daughter and marry into the high-class Fang family, what would face matter?
"It's good that you are smart. If you had really jumped into the water to save Sun Jia Lingling, the matter would be hard to explain. In the end, you might have to marry her." Second uncle Fang Zhonggui sighed.

"The Sun family of Nanping Village is so hateful, aren't they afraid of revenge from our Fang family?" Fang He said in unison.

"If it works out and we become in-laws, we won't be afraid. If it doesn't work out, we know it in our hearts, but we can't say anything about it openly."

Uncle Fang Zhonggui taught his son: "Look, just like now, they just asked your cousins ​​Chuanzong and Chuanhui to save people, and they didn't do anything else. It's not good for our family to use this as an excuse to come to them."

At this time, the uncle Fang Jiping said coldly: "If the Sun family is thick-skinned, they will not give up even if they are told."

"We are not afraid of trouble. If Sun Jiang from the neighboring village really doesn't give up, I'd like to ask them how thick-skinned they are."

Grandpa Fang said this, and then warned Fang He, Fang Cao'er, Fang Xiaoxiao and others: "Your cousin has learned a lesson this time. You should be more careful in the future."

Fang Cao'er and others nodded.

Fang Lin listened to all this without saying anything. Thinking of what he had seen and heard since returning to the village, he thought: "Good and evil, honest and cunning, smart and stupid, this is the village. It has both the brilliance of humanity and the ugliness that the sun cannot reach. There is no need to praise its good, nor to belittle its bad. This is it."

"It is also because of Linzi's family that our Fang family has become so popular now. That's why people are so eager to propose marriage. Otherwise, why would they spend so much time and effort? If we could marry a few more wives, there wouldn't be all these problems. Each of the young men in our Fang family can marry ten or eight of them." said the second mother, Fang Wang.

After hearing this, the whole family laughed and the atmosphere became cheerful again.

While I was eating, I suddenly heard a noisy voice outside. I stood up and looked, and it turned out to be Qiao Cunzheng, Mr. Qin, and other villagers talking in a lively manner.

Master Qin, a big shot in the eyes of the villagers, subconsciously bent his waist and lowered his attitude when he entered the house. This also made the villagers understand the reason for the good things happening in the village, and they all spoke up.

"Master Qin said that during the New Year, our village will have a troupe of actors perform for seven days straight, and it's free."

"This is a great thing. This year's New Year will be very lively."

"It's all thanks to your Fang family."

……

The people from the fourth branch of the Fang family were all happy when they heard this, and felt honored. Although it was mainly because of the third branch, Fang Linjia, they also felt proud of it!

"The magistrate is good at doing favors." Fang Lin understood this and nodded secretly, but he didn't care. With his current connections and power, he could afford such a small favor.

Outside, Aunt Sun and Sun Lingling and the whole family came over. Just as Uncle Fang Jiping guessed, the Sun family had invested so much and were unwilling to give up. They wanted to come and see if they could extort a good son-in-law.

When they arrived at Xiaohe Village, they heard the villagers saying, "During the New Year's Day in Xiaohe Village, a troupe of actors will come and sing for seven days for free." The Sun family members were envious and thought that they must come to see the performance. However, they did not forget their business and arrived at Old Fang's house. They saw Master Qin's enthusiastic attitude towards Fang Lin and their eyes widened.

Normally, when they were paying grain, a minor official in the county government would torture them half to death, let alone a big shot like Mr. Tan? Yes, in their eyes, Mr. Tan was a big shot, a big shot that could only be seen at the village drinking ceremony.

And now, Master Qin was bowing to Fang Lin. What kind of face was this? The shock it caused to them was really too great.

It can be said that Master Qin’s attitude directly stifled the little thoughts of many families in the village.

"Auntie Sun, didn't you say that you came to Old Fang's house for something? What is it? Why did you want the whole family to come?" someone asked.

Aunt Sun's original intention was to have Fang Chuanzong and Fang Chuanhui marry her daughters, but she no longer dared to say that. She immediately changed her words and said, "This morning, my daughter Lingling fell into the water, and it was Chuanzong and Chuanhui from the eldest branch of the old Fang family who called for help. Aren't we here to express our gratitude?"

"It's okay." Faced with so many people looking at them, the brothers Fang Chuanzong and Fang Chuanhui waved their hands.

Many people in the field saw something, but they didn't say anything, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

……

This visit by Master Tan made Fang Lin's family's status in Xiaohe Village even more detached, and some calculations and troubles were far away.

——When the gap is big enough, many people don’t even dare to have any small thoughts.

Time just passed.

When they went to the county town to buy things again, Fang's mother hired a famous doctor for Aunt Fu. However, the doctor could not find the cause of the disease, so there was nothing she could do but let him prescribe a lot of medicine.

We also bought other things in the county town. Fang's mother made some rice wine and sent it over a few days later.

After returning from Aunt Fu's house, Fang's mother said happily: "Rice wine is brewed with boiling water, and she drank two large bowls in a row. Fulin said that he hadn't seen his mother eat so much in a long time."

After being happy, he sighed again: "This time, I sat for a while and saw that the quilt that Aunt Fu was covered with was greasy and shiny, smooth to the touch, and had a smell, the smell of human, the smell of urine, and the smell of mold..."

"I look at Fulin and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family, and they don't seem like that kind of people!" said Fang's father.

Fang Lin and Tian Xuan also looked over after hearing this.

"It's not that Fulin and Xinghua are bad to Aunt Fu, it's just that they themselves are not very clean people."

Fang's mother said, "You don't know, under the eaves of his house, there is a mud stove, and the pot is used to cook and boil water. The boiled water has a little oily smell, and the lid of the pot seems to be painted with a layer of black paint. Dust is hanging under the rafters, black as black, long and short, in strings, and when the wind blows, it sways like a silent wind chime. I found a towel, and the towel is like a loach, slippery in my hand..."

Fang Lin listened and sighed secretly. It was hard to say about this kind of thing.

The next day, Fang's mother was busy again, saying that she was going to make fermented tofu. It turned out that Aunt Fu had drunk rice wine, and Fang's mother asked her what else she wanted to eat. Aunt Fu said she wanted to eat fermented tofu, so Fang's mother took note of it, on the one hand, she was grateful for the past kindness, and on the other hand, she enjoyed the feeling of being needed.

Finish it and send it to the other party in two days.

"This fermented tofu is delicious." said Aunt Fu.

Seeing how the other party enjoyed it, Fang's mother said happily: "If you like it, I will bring all the remaining food to you tomorrow."

When she came back this time, Fang's mother had an indescribable sadness. She said to them, "Aunt Fu hasn't gotten any better. Her condition is getting worse. She has lost her energy and spirit. She is like the remaining fire in the stove, no longer glaring and fiery, but only peaceful and docile. She just lies quietly on the bed... I'm afraid..."

She didn't say anything else.

A few days later, Wang Fulin came and said that his mother might be dying and wanted to see Fang's mother. Fang Lin's whole family went there.

At this time, Aunt Fu was already bedridden. When she heard the noise and saw Fang's mother coming, she struggled to get up and tried to speak, but she didn't have enough strength to speak. Her voice was like a piece of dry wood that had broken, with cracks all over it, and as light as a gust of wind.

Fang's mother listened hard but couldn't make out what was said.

Finally, perhaps in a last-ditch effort, Aunt Fu finally squeezed out the last bit of strength in her body and looked at Fang's mother and said, "Thank you, sister Fang!" As she spoke, huge tears flowed from the corners of her eyes. After a while, crying was heard from inside the house, and Wang Fulin staggered to the door and sat on the threshold.

After Aunt Fu left, Fang's mother was very sad. She bought incense, firecrackers, and yellow paper, and went to the grave. After she came back, she didn't say a word and didn't even eat dinner.

It was not until the moon rose and the moonlight shone through the wooden lattice window, as bright as day, that Fang's mother said slowly: "God is blind, and another good person has died."

After hearing this, Fang Lin felt mixed emotions for a moment and he didn't know what to feel.

……

Aunt Fu is gone, and Fang's mother is very sad, but life must go on.

Time passed day by day, and the Chinese New Year was approaching. This year, Fang Lin's family spent the New Year in Xiaohe Village and went to the county town to buy a lot of New Year's goods.

After counting and looking forward to the days, the New Year finally arrived.

The four families of the old Fang family lived together. There were several braziers burning brightly in the house. There were all kinds of food, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, etc. It was extremely rich, steaming hot, fragrant, and very filling. Everyone also wore new clothes.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, a lively New Year's Eve dinner began.

That night, every family in the village took out the best things in their home, at least to make sure the children had enough meat. Also, this year, the villagers would have their New Year's Eve dinner a little earlier because there would be an opera troupe performing.

Xiaohe Village is not like the provincial capital, so the arrival of the opera troupe is a great event.

When the villagers had almost finished their New Year's Eve dinner, the opera troupe came and started the "main show". The so-called "main show" was just the beating of gongs and drums without any performance. The beating was very loud, shaking the whole village and could be heard from far away, telling people that the show was about to begin.

Hearing the gongs and drums of the "noisy ceremony", the children of the few families in the village who had not yet finished their New Year's Eve dinner lost their appetite and slowly put down their chopsticks while looking at their parents' faces. Naturally, their parents would not have any objections since it was New Year's Day this year, so they got up and slipped away.

The children from all the families in the village gathered at the open space in the village threshing ground, gathered together, and said, "Erdan, you are here," "Xiu Xiu, you are here too," and happily rushed to grab a spot to watch the show.

When the whole Fang family arrived, the place was already crowded with people.

Not only people from Xiaohe Village, but also people from the surrounding villages came over the hill to look, and saw that there were many older people, and the place was crowded with people.

Some people were carrying stools, while others were squeezing into the seats they had already occupied, making a lot of noise. With such a huge flow of people, it was no worse than a market, which resulted in some people bringing things to sell, such as scallion pancakes, fried chestnuts, etc.

"I also watched a play when I went to the capital last time, but it was very different from the one in our village."

"Isn't it? Compared to the city, our village is small and messy."

"That can't be said. Each has its own merits. Our village is much more lively."

……

Fang Lin looked and listened. There were people everywhere and noise was everywhere. This kind of atmosphere had a different charm from watching a play in the capital city.

When performing a play in one's own village, there would naturally be seats reserved for the villagers, so they could go in.

As the gongs and drums were beaten and the opera began, a night of celebration passed.

The opera will last for seven days, from New Year’s Eve to the sixth day of the New Year.

Every evening, Xiaohe Village is particularly lively, especially the many children, who love to squeeze into the theater. If they come across a play they have seen before, they will run around chasing each other under the stage. Some will also take advantage of the crowds to say in front of their parents, "So-and-so ate something, I want it too."

In the village, eating snacks is an extremely luxurious thing, but during the New Year, parents will not be stingy with their money. When children buy food, they will gather together to show off. There are people from Xiaohe Village and other villages who have become acquainted with each other in the past two days, and they play together.

The children of Xiaohe Village were the center of attention. One of them said, "We watched this play yesterday," and recounted several detailed scenes; another said, "We know that actor in the play. We saw her take off her makeup after she came off the stage yesterday. She looked exactly the same as she did on stage. She was so beautiful."

The children of the old Fang family are at the "top of the food chain", such as Fang Yuyu, Fang Xiaoxiao, etc. They can say, "After the opera tonight, the actors will go to our old Fang family to eat something, do you want to go and see them?" Fang Sui'an will also show off, "Have you seen the character cards my cousin gave me?"

Whenever it is mentioned, it arouses envy.

——In the past, when a troupe of actors came to the village to perform, the villagers would do two things. First, they would go door to door to raise money, no matter how much, those who had money would contribute money, those who had strength would contribute strength. Also, no matter how much was raised, if it was less, they would have two fewer shows, and if it was more, they would have two more days. As for the food of the actors in the troupe, they would take turns to eat, morning, noon, and evening. Basically, after a few days of performance, every family in the village would have a turn.

This time the troupe performed for seven consecutive days for free, and the troupe's meals were not taken in turns as usual. The Fang family paid for all the meals, or to be more precise, the Fang Lin family paid for all the meals, because many of the dishes sent by the villagers could not be eaten up, and were not worth taking to the provincial capital, so this time they just did them a favor.

This will increase the reputation of the Fang family in the village and gain more trust from the villagers, paving the way for possible recruitment in the future. It will also give Fang Yuyu, Fang Xiaoxiao, Fang Sui'an and other children of the Fang family something to brag about and make their friends envious.

……

New Year’s Eve has passed, the fifth day of the New Year has passed, the Lantern Festival has passed, and the new year is over.

After the reunion, it was time to say goodbye, and Fang Lin and his family were going back to the provincial capital.

On this day, the entire Fang family helped pack up their things and load them onto the carriage.

Fang's father, Fang Lin, and Tian Xuan were fine, but Fang's mother was more sentimental. Before leaving, she returned to the old house and carefully checked every room, with a look of reluctance on her face.

No wonder, home in the capital city is great in every way, but this is where my roots are.

"Mom, let's go. It's not like we won't be back forever." Finally, Tian Xuan took Fang's mother's arm and walked towards the car.

Fang Lin's family didn't say anything on purpose, but when they passed by the village, many people knew that Fang Lin's family was going back to the city today, and they all came out. When they arrived at the entrance of the village, there was already a crowd of people, all coming to see him off.

——This time, when Fang Linjia came back, they benefited a lot, from the food they shared to the visit of the opera troupe, so it was not surprising that they did this.

At the entrance of the village, Fang Lin's family told Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang where they had left the money, and told the first, second and fourth wives to write to them if they had any problems. They then said goodbye to the villagers and got in the car.

"Bon Voyage!"

"Take care of yourself!"

“Come back next year!”

……

The villagers waved their hands.

For example, Fang Yuyu and Fang Xiaoxiao are younger, and Fang Lin took them out to play and told them stories these days. They have a very close relationship and even chased them around calling them "Brother Linzi" for a long time.

Pulling the carriage curtain, Fang Lin's family also waved their hands, and the carriage disappeared into the distance in the early morning sun.

……

(End of this chapter)