Chapter 221 Instruct, pick up footprints and don't disturb
Su Keke looked away from the grave.
It's a really quiet little mountain village.
There were various sounds of insects in the grass and trees, so it wasn't too quiet.
The three of them asked all the way, and finally arrived at the top of the hill where Zhou Jian's house was.
There are three families living on this hilltop, and several small bamboo houses are built next to each other.
Zhou Jian's old mother was sitting on a small bench in the yard. There was a sewing basket next to her. There was an unfinished embroidered insole in it. She was chatting with the aunt next to her.
Looking at that aunt, she should be the neighbor who lives next door.
The reason why Su Keke could recognize Zhou's mother at a glance was because the aunt's face looked very similar to Zhou Jian's.
But she didn't expect that Zhou's mother was much younger than she thought. Although her hair was a little gray, she looked only in her forties.
It should be that the baby was born early during the first week of pregnancy.
Su Keke and the three of them were too eye-catching. They looked like city dwellers at first glance, and each one looked prettier than the other. Zhou's mother and the aunt quickly noticed, stopped chatting, and waved to people.
Su Keke was stunned, Zhou's mother probably didn't recognize him.
When she walked over, she realized that the two aunts were just out of enthusiasm and wanted to ask her questions.
The people here don't seem to be afraid of strangers at all. The villagers are all very familiar with each other. Occasionally, a stranger passes by, who is either the new daughter-in-law of another family or the new son-in-law of another family.
Su Keke and the others are being treated as gossip objects.
Su Keke couldn't laugh or cry and explained: "You should be Zhou's mother, Aunt Zheng, Zhou Jian looks a lot like you."
When Zhou's mother Zheng Yuehua heard this, she immediately became excited and said, "Daughter, are you the daughter-in-law that my family has found?"
In other places, people would definitely not regard a girl as young as Su Keke as their daughter-in-law, but here is the remote and backward Zhoujia Village, where many girls get married at a young age.
Even if you are not of legal age to get married, it doesn't matter. The worst thing you can do is get married first and then get a certificate. Having a baby as soon as possible is the big deal.
The son of the family on the hilltop in front just married a wife at the beginning of this year. The new wife was only seventeen years old when she entered the house.
Su Keke's eyes widened immediately when he heard this.
What is Aunt Zheng thinking? How could she be Zhou Jian's wife?
Not to mention her age, Zhou Jian is already in her early thirties, which is older than her uncle, and she looks older. Uncle looks like he is still in his early twenties, so can Zhou Jian?
Standing next to him with his pockets in his pocket, Qin Mochen, who was silent, suddenly frowned and said, "You are overthinking, we are here to bring a message to your son."
Su Keke also quickly explained: "Aunt Zheng, I am just a friend of Zhou Jian. I came back to see you on his behalf."
Zhou's mother was a little disappointed, but still warmly invited the three of them into the house.
After knowing that Zhou Qian could not come back this time, Zhou's mother's reaction was very dull, which surprised Su Keke.
She hasn't been home for more than a year. Doesn't Zhou's mother miss her son?
Later, after chatting with the mother for a while, Su Keke understood.
Most of the young people in the mountains have gone out to work. They only go home every year during the Chinese New Year. Some even go back only once every two or three years. When there are no people, they only send money back. This has become normal.
Zhou Qian has only been away from home for more than a year, and he often calls her, so Zhou's mother is in pretty good shape.
"Zhou Jian has been busy with work recently and hasn't been able to come back in the past year or two. He said he couldn't see your complexion clearly on his mobile phone and was worried about it, so I came to see you on his behalf," Su Keke explained.
Mother Zhou was very happy when she heard this and said hurriedly: "Then when you see me, do you think I am very energetic? Just ask him to work hard, and I will be fine here."
Perhaps it's because of the good environment here that people here are born very young, so Mother Zhou's mental state is indeed good.
"Zhou Qian also said that when he earns enough money, he will buy a house there and take you over to live with him."
Zhou's mother was very happy when she heard this, "This child has been filial since he was a child. I have people to chat with here, and the neighbors can take care of each other. I really want to go to the city with him, but I feel uncomfortable."
Zhou's mother asked a few people to rest while she cooked a big pot of rice. Su Keke had used this kind of stove since she was a child and was very familiar with it, so she helped Zhou's mother cook. Zhou's mother praised her for being smart and virtuous.
Qin Mochen and Yin Shaoli sat in the dimly lit bamboo house, silent.
The houses in the village are all made of bamboo, which is different from the mature bamboo houses. You can even see a little light on the walls because the bamboo is not woven carefully enough. It is cool in summer, but in winter, I don’t know how it will be. How cold it is.
Qin Mochen thought that the thatched house that Su Keke lived in was already very shabby, but he didn't expect that this one would be even shabbier. At least the little girl's thatched house did not leak air.
Dinner was very simple. Mother Zhou made porridge and brought out some bacon and pig ears that were pickled during the Chinese New Year. After putting these things aside, every household would pickle a lot during the Chinese New Year, so that they could be eaten until the next Chinese New Year.
For the village here, this is a good thing.
Zhou's mother also fried a plate of peanuts and brought out a can of glutinous rice wine she brewed.
"I only have these things at home, I don't know if you are used to eating them."
Su Keke quickly said: "I'm used to it. It tastes delicious. Thank you for your hospitality."
It was already getting very late, and the three of them would definitely stay here for the night.
There are two beds in Zhou's mother's house, and they are both very narrow beds. People with long legs like Qin Mochen and Yin Shaoli cannot squeeze together, so Zhou's mother told her neighbor to stay overnight at his house. , two beds, one for her to sleep on, and one for the extra guest.
"The family on my left is a couple about the same age as me. The female head is the one who talked to me when you came here. Her surname is Hu. She was married from another village. You can just call her Aunt Hu. The family on my right only has Two old people, you can just call them Grandpa Zhou and Grandma Zhou.
Their family is very big, with four sons in total, but the sons don’t live here and are working outside. One of you should go with me to sleep with the elderly for one night.”
Su Keke looked at her uncle and asked with her eyes: Uncle, shall I go with Aunt Zheng?
Qin Mochen said nothing and just looked at Yin Shaoli.
Yin Shaoli was stunned for a moment, then took the initiative to stand up and said, "I'll go with you." xdw8
In a sparsely populated mountain village, there were no entertainment activities, so we went to bed very early.
Su Keke looked at her phone, it was half past eight.
Before going to her uncle's house, she often went to bed at this time.
Before Mother Zhou took Yin Shaoli out, she suddenly remembered something and warned the two of them: "You people in the city may not believe this, but I still want to remind you that there is a family in the village who just died. The boy's name was Zhou Dun. He was only ten years old. He is seven years old, so he has grown up in my eyes. He used to come to my place to play often.
According to what we say here, three days after death, Dunzi's ghost will pick up footprints in the places he has been before. Today happens to be the third day, and he may...come to my place."