After visiting the grave, Lao Tan and his fifth brother-in-law walked back, and they chatted about the old man in the car.
The old man passed away when Lao Tan was seven years old. Regarding the old man's life, Lao Tan heard a lot from his mother and elders in the family. As for the fifth brother-in-law, the old man had been gone for more than ten years when he and the fifth sister were engaged, and he even heard more about it.
explain.
The old man was sick when he was young and could not do physical work. At that time, he was working in the production team. He stayed at home to recuperate all the year round and could not earn any work points. The whole family relied on the old lady and the eldest sister who was the leader to work in the production team, and they lived in panic.
The old man is an academic in the village and is good at writing calligraphy. He writes couplets for every household in the village during the Chinese New Year.
The old man has read many books and has a good knowledge of the past and present. He is also eloquent and upright. Although his family is poor, he has not lost his reputation. He has done countless things in his life and is a well-known talker.
"I heard from my mother that the director of the commune would salute and call me sir when he saw me," said the fifth brother-in-law.
"Well, the old man is not in good health and is sick, otherwise he would be in the commune in the morning." Lao Tan said.
"The eldest brother-in-law said that the old man is very powerful. Even the old uncle is afraid of him." The fifth brother-in-law said.
"Well, I'm afraid of him." Lao Tan nodded.
"The old man died of gastric cancer------"
"Well, it started out as stomach cancer, but later the disease was cured, and the liver was also bad ------"
The scene when his father left appeared before Lao Tan's eyes: It was overcast in the middle of the night, the lights were on in the old house, and his sisters and family members were standing or standing around the earthen kang.
My father was lying on the kang, and the last flash of light gradually faded away, followed by heartbreaking cries------
My father was carried to the outhouse by a door panel, his face covered with yellow paper. He knelt in front of his father's head, holding a guide stick in his hand, and followed Mr. Yin Yang's reading of the directions word by word.
Then, my father was laid to rest, and the sound of nailing the coffin boards was like a ghost knocking on the door at night------
He was seven years old at the time and could not fully understand death, but he knew that his father was gone forever.
From that night, or rather when he showed his father the way, he felt that he was no longer a child, but an adult.
"I'm here to see you take medicine this time. What's wrong with you?" asked the fifth brother-in-law.
"Stomach." Lao Tan said, "I have a bad stomach. I saw a Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing and prescribed medicine to treat it." Lao Tan said.
"Did you drink?" asked the fifth brother-in-law.
"It has something to do with drinking------"
"You drank too much--if you asked me, you should just quit drinking while you're taking medicine."
"I'm not so cautious. I have to drink even if there is no occasion. I still have to drink when there is an occasion. Sometimes I have to drink." Lao Tan said.
The fifth brother-in-law said: "That's right, especially if you are in management, everything will be pointed at you." Then he said: "Let's go to the eldest sister's house. Didn't the eldest brother-in-law say that we will kill the New Year's rooster today? There will be a lot of excitement at his place."
Lao Tan said: "Okay, otherwise I plan to go too."
So Lao Tan called Fifth Sister and told him that he would not go back for lunch at noon, but would go to the eldest sister's house and would go back in the evening. Fifth Sister told him on the phone not to drink alcohol and that he was taking medicine.
When we arrived at the eldest sister's house, the eldest brother-in-law had already killed all the New Year's chickens, six in total, including one from Lao Tan's house, one from his son's house, and one from his daughter's house.
The eldest sister's family and her son Lan Jun's family live in the east and west courtyards. They are four newly built Beijing bungalows with spacious courtyards. There are cars and motorcycles parked in the courtyard.
When he heard someone entering this courtyard, Lan Jun from the other courtyard came from the small door. When he entered the house and saw his old uncle and uncle, he hurriedly came forward to greet them, light a cigarette and pour water.
"Lan Jun, how is this year? Have you caught up with last year?" the fifth brother-in-law asked while smoking, taking off his shoes and getting on the kang.
"Not bad, about the same as last year, about twenty." Lan Jun replied.
"Twenty or so will be enough. If you can't avoid being angry, you'll just be busy cooking cigarettes, right?" said the fifth brother-in-law.
"Well, I was busy when I was making tobacco." Lan Jun said: "Actually, I'm not busy with anything. Now it's easier to make tobacco. Everything is programmed and everything is controlled by computers. People can just watch."
Flue-cured tobacco has been used in Beipiao area for 20 years, and many people have made a fortune from flue-cured tobacco. Lan Jun is a technician in the township. He owns 60 acres of tobacco land and earns an average of 150,000 yuan a year. He is a wealthy household in the village.
The eldest sister and her eldest brother-in-law live separately from their son, living in two separate households.
The eldest brother-in-law, an old Communist, has been the village chief for eighteen years. When he became the village head, there was no corruption. He only had more land than ordinary people, and was given some subsidies from the village every year. In addition, he had to entertain people to eat and drink, which made him fat.
When the village chief could be elected by audition, he was re-elected for two terms. During the third term, there was a program to attract votes for money, so he came down.
After he came down, he worked as an honest farmer at home. He and his eldest sister lived a comfortable life. Although they were not as rich as his son, they still had enough food and clothing. Later, people from the village talked to him twice and asked him to become the village chief again.
He refused.
The old Communist Party has only one sentence - it has no money to win votes.
You can hear the lingering resentment in his words about being voted out of office by someone who spent money to win votes.
Lao Tan, the fifth brother-in-law came, and the eldest sister started cooking without saying a few words. Lan Jun went back and called his wife to cook together, and the food was ready in a short time.
At this time, Lan Jun drove over to pick up his second sister, second brother-in-law, and fifth sister. The eldest brother-in-law called his daughter Lanzhi and his son-in-law Jianguo, and they all came.
"Will you call your third sister and the others?" The eldest brother-in-law asked Lao Tan for his opinion.
Lao Tan's eldest sister, second sister, fourth sister, and fifth sister all live in the same village, but not in the same village group. They are three to five miles apart, so they are close to each other. Only the third sister married out of town and is farther away.
Just as Lao Tan was about to speak, Lan Jun said, "I called my third aunt. She and my third uncle are not at home and have gone to the temple."
In this way, she is not called Third Sister Lao Tan.
As for the fourth sister and the fourth brother-in-law, the couple guarded the mountain and lived a life of stinginess. They never went out or called in all year round.
More than ten people, men and women, sat at two tables. On the table were chickens, butchered vegetables, pig intestines, stewed haggis, roasted carp, meatballs, stir-fried vegetables with eggs, stir-fried mountain mushrooms with meat, pickled cabbage hearts, and green radish dip.
Sauce------
It's all farm food, and the house is filled with fragrance.
The eldest brother-in-law took out two jars of Maotai outside the Great Wall that he had treasured for many years and poured wine for everyone. When we arrived at Lao Tan's place, Lao Tan said that he should not drink alcohol while taking medicine. The eldest brother-in-law refused and said to drink less and take the medicine two days later.
Lanzhi's son-in-law, Jianguo, was the barefoot doctor in the village and a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He said to Lao Tan: "Uncle, just drink less. After drinking, don't drink for three days. Don't delay taking medicine."
You listen to my nephew and son-in-law, you need to take care of yourself when you are sick. It mainly depends on your mood. The heart must be healthy and free from external evils. Sometimes wine can help with medicinal properties."
After the nephew and son-in-law finished speaking, the nephew Lan Jun said: "Drink some, uncle. The husband said it's okay. You and my dad, my second uncle, my old uncle and you four brothers don't get together a few times a year.
A little bit, be happy."
He said that he was about to fill it up with Lao Tan.
The fifth sister at the table stopped her and said, "Lan Jun, your old uncle is not in good health and is taking medicine. Don't pour it for him."
"Do you understand the rule of not talking across tables? Women are not allowed to interrupt while the gentlemen are drinking." The eldest brother-in-law was half-joking, glared at the fifth sister, and secretly motioned for his son to pour the wine.
The fifth sister smiled and replied: "We don't have separate seats in the same room. If you have the ability, you can drink with me."
The fifth sister has been a principal in the past few years and has an amazing amount of alcohol, but she just doesn't drink easily.
The eldest brother-in-law laughed and was speechless.
"It's busy today, so drink less, don't drink too much." The eldest sister said.
Seeing what the eldest sister said, the fifth sister said: "Then drink some -"
"You don't look like the fifth child, even if you are the principal, but it doesn't matter what you say at home, you still have to be your eldest sister." The eldest brother-in-law said loudly.
"I don't have time to talk to you, as if you are not under my eldest sister's control."
The whole room was laughing.
Lan Jun poured wine for his uncle, but Lao Tan couldn't stop drinking after half a month, so he broke his fast.