Le's father, Zhou Qiufeng, was initially at a loss because of his uncle's sudden return. Once he psychologically accepted the existence of his uncle as an elder, there was no pressure at all. The young couple were busy preparing dishes, and also took out the medicinal meals that several of their own girls had stored for the family and used steamers to prepare them.
Steam.
The couple was busy for an hour, and all the dishes were prepared. At half past eleven, the table was officially set for dinner. The chicken and mushrooms were stewed as the base of the hot pot. A rack was placed in the pot and other dishes in bowls were placed.
There are dozens of guests in my family, so they squeeze in and sit at four tables.
The guests of honor gathered together, drank wine made from sweet potatoes by rural residents, ate home-grown vegetables, and the meat dishes were also home-grown pigs, chickens and ducks, giving a strong local flavor.
Chen Kang, who had been away from his hometown for more than 40 years, finally tasted the local specialties of his hometown. His eyes became moist again. He wiped his eyes several times before finishing the chicken soup hot pot.
Liu Lu and others had a great time eating, and the happiest thing was seeing Xiao Lele's medicinal food on the table. Their noses were also trained, and they could tell which dish was Xiao Lele's medicinal food by smelling the aroma.
Chen Kang, Zhou Wei, Chen Xin and Chen Jie have also eaten delicacies from mountains and seas, including Manchu and Han Dynasty foods. They are also very picky. After eating a few medicinal dishes, their stomachs were completely subdued.
Chen Kang's family of five enjoyed this meal happily, and the Liu family, Cheng family, and Zhang family in the same village were also satisfied with their meal. Young master Lan Sanyan didn't want to talk about it. They were thinking about what little Loli had cooked before they left the capital.
What about medicated food?
The two handsome guys were also very diligent. After the meal, they helped put away the table and tableware, and also rushed to wash the dishes. The handsome boy was also very witty. He fetched face wash and asked Leshan to bring towels to Uncle Chen's grandparents and cousins to wash their faces.
.
When he went to his nephew's house for the first time, his grandnephew and grandnephew gave him face wash. Chen Kangzhouwei was very excited. According to the custom in his hometown in Hunan Province, he gave a red envelope to the child who gave him face wash.
Chen Xin and Chen Jie also gave red envelopes according to the custom of their hometown. Chen Fengnian didn't need to give them because he was still a child.
The beautiful young man treated the guests equally, and also gave Cheng Wu and other older guests water to cleanse their faces and hands. After the guests had washed their faces and hands, they served tea and dried fruits and melon seeds.
Cheng Wu, Zhang Laosun, Liu Laishun, Chen Dalian and others also knew that Chen Kang's family was returning to their hometown for the first time and had a lot to say to Yueqing. They sat there for more than an hour to say goodbye to their master and return to their own home. The old people wanted to chat, so you can
It's not too late to meet again in a day or two.
Chen Dalian and He's sister-in-law took the girl home and first opened the fire in the fire pit, lit it, and then opened the red envelopes and New Year gifts given by Chen Kang's uncles.
You don’t know if you don’t know it, but you were shocked when you saw it. Chen Kang’s uncle and aunt gave them a red envelope of 10,000 yuan when they met, and a red envelope of 3,600 yuan for each of the children. The red envelopes given to the children by the brothers from the two tribes were 2,000 yuan.
six.
The New Year's greetings are not ordinary things. There are two kilograms of bamboo bird's nests, a package of bird's nests, a box of old Codonopsis pilosula, and a box of donkey-hide gelatin. They were entrusted by the girls from the Le family. They have seen the world and recognized the bamboo from the appearance of the things.
Bird's nest and bird's nest.
There may not seem to be many things, but they are all valuable.
The two little sisters of the Chen family were very happy. They handed over half of the red envelope money to their parents and kept the other half as pocket money. However, the big-faced Chen sister-in-law and his wife were very worried when they saw the gifts. The greeting gifts given by the uncles were so heavy.
What gift should they give in return?
They were thinking about what gifts to give in return when they heard someone shouting "Chen Li" outside. Chen Dalian heard that it was his father who was coming, so he responded and quickly hid the bamboo bird's nest and bird's nest. His father couldn't carry it clearly.
He is also the kind of person who has a far-reaching heart. Whenever his family has any good things, he will take notice of them and take a piece from them back to enjoy with the boss and his family.
Chen Dalian had just finished his things. Chen Wu, who was wearing a red down jacket, walked to the door of the kitchen with his hands in his hands and walked in with a swagger, looking around quickly with his eyes.
In the middle of the morning, he heard someone say that a visitor from afar had come to Chen Li's house. It looked like he was a very wealthy guest. He went to Chen Li's house but didn't meet him. He went to have dinner somewhere and waited until now to see him.
I glanced around and saw a box next to my son and daughter-in-law. I guessed they were looking at a New Year's gift. I walked over to look at it casually and asked, "I heard that there are guests from far away in your family. Are they brothers from your in-laws' side?"
Why didn’t you see the guests?”
Chen Dalian dragged a table for his father to sit on, and then asked: "Dad, what do you want from me? My family has guests from far away today. They are not guests from the mother's side, but guests from our Chen family. They have already
Went to Lejia."
Chen Wu sat down. Hearing that he was not a relative of the He family, Chen Wu had already made a small calculation in his mind. He was thinking about how to take back the box of things that looked like ginseng. Hearing that the guests were going to Lejia, he felt strange and couldn't help but ask more questions.
He said: "Why do our guests from the Chen family go to Lejia?"
"Although he is a relative of our Chen family, he is too far away from our original family and is closer to the Le family than to us," Chen Dalian said honestly and honestly: "Dad, you should also remember that person, he is us.
The biological brother of Aunt Chen Hongying of the Chen family, and Uncle Chen Kang of Uncle Chen Dazhuang’s family.”
"Chen Hongying...brother?!" Chen Wu originally stared at the gift box that looked like ginseng. When he heard that he was Chen Hongying's biological brother, he jumped up like a spring under his butt, and his eyes widened: "You said...
…Chen Chenkang is back?”
"Yes, old uncle Chen Kang is back, and he brought his wife, son and grandson with him." Chen Dalian couldn't understand why his father was so shocked, so he explained naturally: "I don't know which of the Chen family is so immoral.
As a matter of fact, he actually wrote to Uncle Chen Kang and lied to him that his aunt Chen Hongying had died during childbirth, and also lied to others that his father in Yueqing had married another wife. Uncle Chen Kang believed the truth and was so sad that he did not go back to his hometown to visit relatives for decades.
"
"You...how do you know...who wrote the letter to deceive Chen Kang?" Chen Wu's expression changed and he stuttered.
"Uncle Chen Kang brought all the letters back and gave them to the Lele family. Little Lele's brother could read the letter in person. Liu Lu and I were both present at the time. Not to mention that Lele's brother was very angry. We all wanted to write the letter.
Even if he catches a wicked man and breaks his hand, and does that kind of wicked thing, he won't be afraid that no one will die."
Chen Dalian is still angry when he thinks about it. Some bastard in the Chen family did something so heartless that it has completely embarrassed the old Chen family. Fortunately, the Chao family's younger brother did not reveal the person who wrote the letter. Otherwise, he
It must have been embarrassing to death.
"It's true... it's a bit... passed. I just came over to see who it was. I'm going back." After receiving unexpected news, Chen Wu didn't bother to take things from his son's house, so he turned around and hurriedly
Yearning to go.
The father who loved to pick things from his own hands and give them to his eldest son suddenly ran away. Chen was puzzled and chased him and shouted: "Dad, you and Uncle Chen Kang should be very familiar with each other. I was thinking of picking him up tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Uncle is here for dinner, so come over and help me."
"You guys just eat, don't call me. Chen Kang and I don't get along. We used to fight when we met." Chen Wu ran very fast, running out of the kitchen in two steps, as if there was a ghost chasing behind him.
He ran towards his home without stopping.
He ran from Chen Dalian's house to the village road at a sprint. He turned another corner and breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn't see Chen Dalian's house. Without any further delay, he hurried back to his own house and resolutely stopped going to other places.
I visited every house to avoid meeting Chen Kang.
It was the first time that his eccentric father left without taking anything. Chen Dalian felt it was strange and did not delve into it further. He and his mother-in-law continued to discuss which day to treat Uncle Chen Kang to dinner and what to give him to take to Shonan.
Le's father, Zhou Qiufeng, sent away his guests from the same village and made the beds when he had time. He originally wanted to invite his uncle's family to live in the new building, but their uncle was not happy. He wanted to live in an old house with traces of his sister.
I didn't insist on anything, so I arranged for my uncle to live in a room facing the refrigerator room, and my cousins and their children naturally arranged to live in the south building.
Chen Xin and Chen Jie were relieved when their cousin recognized their uncle's family. They had no objections about where to live. Chen Kang was very happy because his nephew did not drive him away and kept him here.
I walked around the room and especially liked the bed made of straw.
After arranging the accommodation, Chen Xin and Chen Jie gave the New Year's greetings to their cousin, and then asked the cousin and his wife to sit down and talk to their parents.
Chen Kang had so much to say. He rambled on about how he went to a state-owned factory in what is now Han City, how his work was, how he went to southern Hunan, and what he experienced there. When he talked about the sad parts, he talked a lot about it.
Crying.
Young Master Yan, Lao Yan, Lao Lan, San Yan and the beautiful boy were the audience. Xiao Leshan felt sleepy after listening for a while, and fell asleep peacefully in the arms of the beautiful brother.
Mr. Yi secretly drank another vat of vinegar, and when the young boy from the Chao family came, his young disciple stopped clinging to him. Fortunately, the boy would not live in the Le family forever, otherwise, he would definitely be so angry that he would not be able to eat.
Le's father believed that his uncle was deceived and did not want to return to the village for decades. After recognizing his uncle, there was no barrier. He really regarded his uncle as his biological uncle. Listening to his uncle's life experience, he could also appreciate the bitterness in it.
I shed several tears.
Zhou Qiufeng acted as both a listener and a persuader. When someone cried, she would quickly persuade them to do this and that. She would also help them wipe their faces with hot water and wet towels.
The uncles and nephews talked to each other, and it was not until dusk that they roughly finished talking about some important things and completely calmed down.
The uncle's family was a rare visitor, so Zhou Qiufeng killed a local chicken, ate hot pot and medicinal food in the evening, and talked all night long by candlelight, and did not go to bed until after eleven o'clock.
After talking with his nephew Che, Chen Kang was able to resolve half of the knots he had suffered for many years. He slept very soundly at night and really had no dreams until dawn.
Zhou Wei originally thought that his wife would be so excited that he could not sleep well because he finally returned to his hometown and recognized his nephew. However, he fell asleep not long after he fell asleep. He was a little confused and confused. She also had no dreams all night.
, slept particularly soundly.
Chen Xin slept alone in a guest room, and Chen Jie took his son. When they went to the south building to rest, they discovered that the guest room furniture in the cousin's new building was all antique, and it felt particularly charming.
After a night's rest, Chen Kang felt relatively calm. The next day, Chen Kang took his mother-in-law, son and grandson to the mountains to visit the graves of his son's grandparents. He also wanted to go and lay incense sticks in front of the graves of his sister and brother-in-law.
The snow hasn't melted yet, but it's no problem to go to the mountains.
Le's father, Zhou Qiufeng, accompanied his uncle and his family to pay homage to the ancestor of the Chen family. They are from rural areas and are accustomed to rain and wind, carrying backpacks containing worship supplies.
The group walked slowly and took more than two minutes to climb up the mountain to the cemetery of Chen Dazhuang and his wife. The cemetery of Chen Kang's parents is not very far from that of Mr. and Mrs. Lehong. Their graves are higher up, about a mile apart, facing each other.
The directions are different.
Although Chen Kang has not been home for decades, Le's father used to visit his grandparents' graves every year. The graves of Chen Dazhuang and his wife were often repaired and there were no tangled trees or weeds around them.
After not returning home for decades, Chen Kang knelt in front of his parents' graves and burned paper. While burning paper, he cried and told his parents that he was married, had children and grandchildren, and would pass on the incense to his parents.
Zhou Wei also kowtowed to his father-in-law and mother-in-law who had died many years ago. Chen Xin and Chen Jie also kowtowed to their grandparents. This time they also recognized their ancestors and returned to the clan. Chen Feng was younger and kowtowed nine times respectfully.
After visiting the graves of his parents, Chen Kang also paid homage to his grandparents, great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather Zeng. The graves of the ancestors further up the stairs were too far away, so they would not go there for the time being. They would pay homage again at the Qingming Festival some year later.
After paying homage to the elders of the Chen family, Chen Kang went to pay homage to his sister. Before he could reach his sister's grave, he knelt down with a bang. He walked ten steps on his knees and walked to the grave of his sister and brother-in-law, hugging the stone tablet and crying loudly.
His parents passed away early, and his sister pulled him up like a father and a mother. He has the deepest memory of her sister. He also remembers how much hardship she endured to send him to school, how much pressure, ridicule and abuse she endured, and how many tears she shed secretly.
What he is most grateful for is his sister, and the second is his brother-in-law's family. His parents are outsiders, but they are more kind and righteous than many people in the village. When he and his sister's parents died, there was nothing in the house anymore. They were so poor that even mice didn't want to visit. Le
Elderly people often take care of them secretly and give them food quietly.
At that time, Lejia Lehong was the best-looking young man in the village. He was well-educated and could write and do calculations. He was the favorite of girls in villages all over the country. Many of the richer families asked people to come to their homes for matchmaking.
Both elders of the family declined, and his brother-in-law's family only liked his sister.
The brother-in-law ignored other people's rumors, married his sister, and firmly brought him to the Le family. The brother-in-law and his family protected his sister and him from wind and rain, and gave them a warm home.
The brother-in-law not only took his brother-in-law home, but also supported his studies. He had to work during the day and taught him to study at night. He lived in Lejia for four years, and because of his brother-in-law’s guidance, he had the opportunity to stand out and become a buyer in the brigade.
As a result, he was able to meet noble people, leave Plum Village and become a worker in a state-owned factory.
It was precisely because of the kindness of his brother-in-law's family that he was so painful that he no longer wanted to return to his hometown when he heard that his sister had passed away due to a difficult childbirth and that his brother-in-law had married another man.
Hearing the news that his brother-in-law had remarried, he didn't hate his brother-in-law. He was the only one in his family. When his sister married into the Le family, she didn't have any children for several years. The three members of the Le family never looked down on his sister, nor did they say anything.
His sister didn't say a word, but she was afraid that her sister would get into trouble, so she comforted her.
Therefore, when he heard that his sister was gone and his brother-in-law had remarried, he never complained to his brother-in-law or his family. He did not want to go back to his hometown because he was afraid of upsetting the situation and hurting his feelings.
Chen Kang has never forgotten the past. Just because he remembered every bit of the past, he missed the opportunity to advance and retreat with his relatives because of his temporary escape, and he felt guilty for half his life.
Holding the tombstone of his sister and brother-in-law, Chen Kang recalled all the things he had done as a young man in his heart. He was filled with sadness and cried more fiercely. He cried and told his sister and brother-in-law about his mistakes.
The old uncle burst into tears again, and no one else could stop him. Le's father was worried that his uncle would catch a cold and get sick, so he was so worried that he tried to persuade and coax him. It took him a long time to persuade him to get better.
Zhou Wei took the children to kowtow to her aunt and brother-in-law. She also kowtowed in front of the graves of the two elders of the Le family, thanking them for being kind to her husband, for teaching a good young man, and for giving her a good husband.
After the worship, the group went down the mountain to have fun.
