nucmednet Chapter 134 New Year
Chapter 134 New Year
Although the house in the county town is comfortable and spacious, they still have to return to the village during the New Year.
Because we have to visit the graves of our ancestors and hold New Year sacrifices, all of which must be done in the village, and it is inconvenient to run back and forth in such cold weather.
Chen Cui had long ago entrusted the old house in the village to Chen Meihua for care, so it was relatively clean and the bedding was not moldy.
They went back early and lit charcoal braziers in each room, and soon they became warm.
The mule cart carried meat and vegetables, as well as their family of five and two dogs.
If the two dogs hadn't been chasing the mule cart and Sui Sui hadn't been begging, Chen Cui would not have brought them back.
Because their family only stayed in the village for two days before returning to the city, they brought limited food with them. It was not easy for them to cook and wash by themselves, and they also had to prepare food for two dogs, which was too troublesome.
The Mai mother and daughter did not follow them back to the village. Chen Cui did not want people to know that there were servants in the house. She was already eye-catching enough and did not want to cause any gossip.
Even if you are only staying for two days, the house still needs to be cleaned and tidied. There is dust on the tables and chairs, and the dishes also need to be washed again.
Fortunately, the three sons have all grown up. Changping is now half a head taller than Chen Cui, and Changan is almost as tall as Chen Cui. Only Changfu is slightly shorter than her.
The three boys were now very strong and worked more efficiently than Chen Cui. They were not afraid of the dirt or tiredness and cleaned up the house quickly.
Chen Cui brought back dumplings she had made in the county town, enough for the whole family to eat for two meals, as well as offerings to the grave and paper money and gold ingots.
On the night of the 30th, Chen Cui only made two simple dishes and ate them with dumplings.
"Just make do with it for the next two days. I'll make you something delicious when we get back to the county town." Chen Cui said a little embarrassedly.
Several children laughed and shook their heads. Changping ate the dumplings with big mouthfuls: "Mom, this is already very rich. How could we eat dumplings with so much meat before!"
Before Chen Cui came, the dumplings made by their family always had more vegetables and less meat.
Chen Cui knew that the children all loved to eat meat, so every time she chopped the stuffing, she put enough meat in. Every dumpling had gravy when you took a bite, and the children were all satisfied and happy after eating.
Now these fragrant dumplings, paired with aged vinegar, chili oil, and garlic, are so delicious.
After dinner, the door of the house was suddenly knocked, and the two dogs kept barking at the door.
Today is New Year's Eve, and their family is in mourning, so no one should come to visit.
Changping had already stood up to open the door, said a few words to the person at the door, and came back soon.
"Changping, who is that?" Chen Cui asked.
Changping had a complicated look on his face. "It was Changxing. He came to inform me of the time to visit the grave tomorrow and the location to meet at the old house."
Chang Fu said angrily: "Humph, they didn't even think of us last year, why are they suddenly so kind this year? We don't want to be with them!"
Changping didn't say anything. Why? It was just because their mother was close to the county magistrate's wife, and she also had the merit of offering good seeds.
Nowadays, their second house lives a much better life than the old house, so they naturally won't ignore their first house like before. However, I don't need their so-called attention at all!
Chang Ping patted Chang Fu lightly and said, "What are you talking about? Since they specifically said so, let's go together tomorrow to avoid people talking about it. Then it will be our fault again."
Tomorrow the children have to get up early to visit the graves, and Chen Cui also has to get up to cook dumplings. Neither of them is the type to stay up late, so after dinner they sat in the main room for a while and then went back to their rooms to rest.
On the first day of the New Year, several children got up before dawn, went to pay New Year's greetings to Chen Cui first, and then went out with baskets and things for visiting the graves.
"Changping, remember to burn some paper on the graves of your uncle Chunsheng, his parents." Chen Cui reminded before leaving.
Changping nodded. Even if his mother didn't remind him, he would not forget. He went there every year and it had become a habit.
When it was getting light, several children came back from visiting the graves, all of them feeling cold.
Chen Cui quickly put the dumplings into the pot, served them to them, and sat in the main room to eat. There was a charcoal stove in this room, which was much warmer than outside.
Liu family’s old house.
Liu Youliang was lying on the bed, asking Changsheng about what happened during the visit to the grave today.
"What is Changping's attitude?" Liu Youliang coughed and then asked.
"It's about the same as before." Changsheng tried hard to recall the expressions of his cousins before saying it uncertainly.
As soon as Changping could walk, he went to school. The two of them rarely interacted with each other. The age gap between them and his two younger cousins was even greater, so they didn't have much time to interact with each other.
Liu Youliang sighed and said, "Let's go eat. Your wife has cooked the dumplings."
Changsheng turned and went out, but Liu Youliang stared at the corner of the quilt in a daze.
He has not fully recovered from his illness in the past few months. His body has been weak all the time. The most he can do is get out of bed to go to the toilet and walk a few steps in the yard. If he walks more than that, he will feel dizzy and unable to stand.
We consulted several doctors, but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. They just said that I was too old and should rest.
The doctor prescribed some medicine and he took a lot of medicine, but none of the medicines worked and his body remained in such a poor condition.
Lying in bed most of the time and unable to move freely made Liu Youliang worry a lot.
He also heard that the imperial envoy from the capital had come to the county and summoned Liu Youcai for questioning. He was thinking about the role played by the second branch in this matter.
If he had restored relations with the second wife earlier and planted new crops, would he have also been given a share of the old house? Perhaps he would have been the one summoned by the imperial envoy.
He was a distinguished person from the capital. They, the farmers, had to accumulate blessings for several lifetimes to have the honor of meeting him. Why did it fall to that old dog Liu Youcai!
Chen was also a traitor. She actually gave such a good thing to outsiders and her mother's family, and ignored her real relatives in the old house.
Wende and Changsheng once went to the second wife's residence in the county town, but Chen was indifferent to them. No matter what the father and son said, she said that she was a woman and could not make the decision, and she had to wait for her son to come back.
Wende said that Changping and the others had no enthusiasm at all when they met their uncle, and were very cold, even worse than Chen's attitude. However, they were very polite and people could not say anything bad about them.
Wende and Changsheng were so angry that they left without even eating.
Liu Youliang was very worried when he knew about this. These children are not children anymore, and it would not do for them to continue living with the eldest wife like this.
Last night he asked Changxing to inform Changping that they were going to the grave together, in order to remind them and let outsiders know that no matter what, they are a family and blood-related relatives!
Unfortunately, Changping and his brothers were corrupted by Chen. They are cold-hearted and have no idea how to get close to their uncle and cousins. They have completely forgotten their bloodline. They are so heartless!