Chapter 28

The plot of land at Sister Chen Meilan’s house used to be the old house of Father Lu’s parents.

Back in the day, Father Lu’s parents had a matchmaker persuade Mother Lu to marry into the family.

Father Lu’s parents initially thought Mother Lu was a gentle and kind woman, a good daughter-in-law. However, ever since she came into the family, she has occasionally caused trouble at home, making things uneasy for the Lu family.

Father Lu’s parents were upset and no longer wanted to live with a daughter-in-law who didn’t follow proper conduct, so after Lu Lin’s father remarried, they decided to divide the family’s assets between the two sons.

Father Lu and his wife took out all their money and gave it to their two sons, allowing each to select a piece of land and build their own homes in the village.

Out of sight, out of mind, they gave their sons their share of the family property, and the elderly couple lived out their days in the old house.

After the elderly couple passed away, the Lu family’s old house was left abandoned, and by now, it has been deserted for nearly twenty years. If it weren’t for Sister Chen Meilan being determined to build a house this time, the old house would still be left to ruin.

Earlier, Sister Chen Meilan went to the village head, Han Rongfa, to ask for permission to build a new house. Han Rongfa agreed, thinking it was a good idea, and he swiftly approved the land for the old house to be used for Sister Chen Meilan’s new home.

With money from her parents and brothers, as well as the twenty yuan from the land division and some loans from relatives, Sister Chen Meilan had enough to build a simple mud-and-thatch house. However, since this was her chance to finally have her own house, she naturally wanted to build a spacious brick house with a tile roof.

Building a house in the countryside is no easy task; some families may only manage to build one house in their lifetime, so it’s only right to build it well.

Jiang Chunzao, understanding Sister Chen Meilan’s difficulties, wrote a letter to Lu Lin, who was in the army. In her letter, she discussed with him the possibility of using some of the family’s money to help Sister Chen Meilan and her husband build their house.

When Lu Lin read his wife’s letter, he smiled and said, “What’s the problem? Although Old Brother Lu can be a bit stubborn, he’s always been good to me, and Sister Chen Meilan has had a tough life, serving the family like a mule for so many years. It’s only right for me, as her brother-in-law, to help her fulfill this one wish.”

When Jiang Chunzao received a letter back from her husband in the army, she immediately took out 30yuan from the family’s savings and gave it to Sister Chen Meilan, saying it was to help her build her house.

Sister Chen Meilan, who had been worried about not having enough money to build the house, was so moved when she saw Jiang Chunzao bringing the money that she burst into tears, wiping her eyes and laughing, holding her hand and not letting go.

Seeing Sister Chen Meilan cry and laugh, Jiang Chunzao felt a lump in her throat. She knew that Sister Chen Meilan was overwhelmed with mixed emotions—happy because her years of hardship had finally come to an end, and crying because her past life had been so bitter. When people are moved, they often cry.

Sister Chen Meilan cried all the tears she had been holding back for half her life in front of Jiang Chunzao. Jiang Chunzao stayed with her, comforting her, and the two of them talked heart-to-heart for a while.

With her eyes red and puffy from crying, Sister Chen Meilan, with the money in hand, energetically went to the village head to discuss the matter of building her house.

Before building a house in the countryside, the family usually invites the village head to a meal, so that when the construction starts, the villagers will sincerely come to help.

Lu Rongfa had watched Lu Dashan grow up, and he knew how hard life had been for Sister Chen Meilan over the years. He didn’t want her to waste any money on a meal for him, especially since Mother Lu was so stingy. When the family divided the property, each son only got twenty yuan—what could that amount possibly do?

Sister Chen Meilan felt a bit guilty, so when she went to the commune, she bought two good packs of cigarettes and tucked them into her pocket. That evening, she asked Lu Dashan to deliver them to Lu Rongfa under the cover of darkness.

Lu Rongfa had always been fond of smoking. When he saw the good cigarettes that Lu Dashan brought, he knew they were a token of gratitude from Sister Chen Meilan. He looked at the shy, downcast Lu Dashan and sighed: “Dashan, I’ll accept the cigarettes. You’ve been like a son to me since you were little—there’s no difference between you and my own boy. Let me give you some advice: your wife is a good woman, capable and hardworking. You should think about what kind of life you really want. Don’t keep following your mother around like a fool.”

The simple-minded Dashan quietly acknowledged the advice and went home, deep in thought.

–

It’s hard to say whether it was Lu Rongfa’s words that had an effect, but the next day, Lu Dashan appeared in front of Sister Chen Meilan. He didn’t say anything; he simply followed her around, doing whatever she did. When Sister Chen Meilan helped Jiang Chunzao with the vegetable garden, Dashan helped carry water to water the plants. His silly, clueless behavior made Jiang Chunzao laugh and cover her mouth.

Sister Chen Meilan was embarrassed by Jiang Chunzao’s laughter and quickly retreated to the kitchen. Thinking that his wife must be busy with something, Dashan awkwardly followed her into the kitchen. But he bumped into Sister Chen Meilan as she came out of the house with a vegetable basket, and the two of them “banged” their heads together.

Jiang Chunzao laughed so hard at the sight of the two of them that her stomach hurt. The two little ones and Little Mianhua followed along, laughing in their innocent way.

Lu Dashan’s clumsy, silly actions happened by chance, but they helped ease some of Sister Chen Meilan’s dissatisfaction. At least she didn’t seem so cold toward him anymore—sometimes she even smiled at him. This small change made Lu Dashan extremely happy.

In the old Lu family yard, Mother Lu, with a sour expression on her face, heard the loud laughter coming from next door and, angry, struck the ground with her cane, making a loud “bang” sound: “One after another, they’re all debt collectors! Laughing, they have the nerve to laugh!”

Liu Hongyan, who was heavily pregnant, slowly came out of the house. Seeing Mother Lu like this, she sneered in her heart, then turned and walked back into the house.

Mother Lu, seeing that Liu Hongyan ignored her, couldn’t help but curse again.

However, Liu Hongyan didn’t care at all. Now that the old Lu family had been divided, who cared about what Mother Lu had to say anymore!

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In the golden autumn of September, with the fragrance of osmanthus flowers in the air, Sister Chen Meilan’s new house finally stood amidst a grove of osmanthus trees. After months of hard work, Lu Dashan and Sister Chen Meilan looked as if they had aged several years. Their skin was sunburned and dark, but despite their appearance, they both looked in great spirits, especially Sister Chen Meilan.

Standing in front of her new home, she couldn’t stop smiling.

When Lu Xuedong returned from school and saw their new house, he smiled and said: “Mom, it really is thanks to Third Uncle and Third Aunt that our new house was able to be built smoothly.”

Sister Chen Meilan smiled when she heard this: “That’s right. If it weren’t for Third Uncle and Third Aun sending money and food to our family, we would have ended up sleeping on the street.”

Lu Dashan thought about the help his third brother’s family had given them and sighed: “Adversity shows a person’s true heart. It’s a pity that Third Brother’s wife has to go with the children to the army, or we’d have to properly thank Third Brother’s family.”

Sister Chen Meilan gave him a glance and said: “What are you talking about? It’s a good thing that Third Brother’s wife is going with the children to the army. It’s such a blessing for their family to be together. How come when you say it, it sounds different?”

Lu Dashan chuckled: “I didn’t mean it that way. While Third Brother’s wife is still at home, we should help her get everything ready.”

“Now that’s more like something an older brother would say.”

Sister Chen Meilan gave Lu Dashan a look and smiled.

As for Jiang Chunzao, she was busy packing up her things at home. A week ago, she had received a letter from Lu Lin, who was in the army. In the letter, Lu Lin said that he had submitted a request for his family to join him, and it had been approved. The housing in the military district was now available, and he urged his wife to pack up and get ready to take the children by train to the army.

With only three days left before the time Lu Lin had mentioned, Jiang Chunzao was at home, busy packing. Her parents, Jiang Lao Ye and Jiang Lao Niang, knew that their daughter would be going to the army with her family. They were both happy and reluctant, so they quickly put down their work and, along with their second son Jiang Chunyu, came to help their daughter pack.

In the small Lu family courtyard, Jiang Chunyu, like a monkey, was running around causing a ruckus with the two children. Jiang Lao Ye, annoyed, scolded his son a few times and told him to take the kids outside to play.

Jiang Lao Niang, while busy helping her daughter pack, was also handing over various mountain goods she had prepared for her daughter—things like dried wood ear mushrooms, dried mushrooms, mountain walnuts, and all sorts of other things packed into a large bag.

Jiang Lao Ye also took out the wooden toys he had made for his little grandchildren, wrapped them up, and said he would bring them to the military district for the children to play with.

With this trip to the military district, the Lu family courtyard was now empty. The three Lu family chickens, a large white goose, and the family’s grain and flour became treasures in Mother Lu and Liu Hongyan’s eyes. The two of them, in a change of behavior, began to visit the third room constantly, trying to win favor. They were hoping that once Jiang Chunzao finished packing and left, all the things in the third room’s house would be left for them.

Liu Hongyan even started to think about taking over the Lu family courtyard. She and Lu Ershan were scheming at home. With the third family gone to the military district, the courtyard would be empty and unoccupied.

The third one, a company commander in the army, was soon expected to be promoted to deputy battalion commander. It was clear that the old family courtyard would no longer be available to them. Since it would no longer be available, why not let the second family move in?

After all, they were all one family, and it would be perfect for the second family to live in the third family’s house!

Lu Ershan and his wife were excited about the idea, eagerly waiting for the right moment. However, they hadn’t expected Jiang Chunzao to give away the chickens, goose, and grain to her parents and Sister Chen Meilan. The Lu family courtyard was locked up with a big iron gate, and even Mother Lu and her husband received a bag of flour from the third family. In the end, the second family got nothing.

Liu Hongyan was furious. With her belly swollen from pregnancy, she spent the whole night cursing and complaining in the courtyard. Eventually, it was Mother Lu who stepped in, scolding her back into the house.

As for why Mother Lu sided with Jiang Chunzao and scolded Liu Hongyan, it was because she had benefited from the third family—getting a bag of flour and some ration coupons for cloth and cotton. These gifts made Mother Lu extremely happy.

Although Jiang Chunzao and Mother Lu had never gotten along in two lifetimes, since her rebirth, the warm and happy family life had healed the wounds of her past. Furthermore, out of respect for Father Lu, she couldn’t be too petty toward Mother Lu, who was aging year by year.

After all, Father Lu and Mother Lu had spent their entire lives together as a married couple. They had become as one over the years. Being unkind to Father Lu was the same as being unkind to Mother Lu. Before leaving, Jiang Chunzao ground some wheat into a bag of flour and gave it to Father Lu and his wife as a token of her appreciation.

Moreover, giving Mother Lu a bit of gentleness had its uses. It wasn’t that Liu Hongyan, that extreme person, was able to push Mother Lu around—Jiang Chunzao had found that sometimes the best way to handle a difficult person was to meet them with an even more difficult person.

The saying goes, “A bad person needs to be dealt with by a bad person,” but for the Lu family, Jiang Chunzao had changed it to, “An extreme person needs to be dealt with by an extreme person.”

On the night before her departure, after everything was packed, Jiang Chunzao slept soundly under her quilt.

Before she knew it, the day of departure had arrived. Early in the morning, Jiang Chunzao got the two children ready, and her parents, Jiang Lao Ye and Jiang Lao Niang, came with her second brother to send her off. The elderly couple was still worried about their daughter going to the military district with the two children on her own. After discussing it, they decided to go along with her, bringing their second son with them. This way, the whole family could look after one another on the journey, and as Jiang Lao Ye put it, they could also check on that “rascal” Chunlin at the military district.

Sister Chen Meilan and Sister-in-law Changshan also came to see them off, and even Father Lu and Mother Lu showed up to bid them farewell.

Sister Chen Meilan and Sister-in-law Changshan were both carrying large and small bundles of things—red beans, green beans, and other home-grown crops. They insisted on having Jiang Chunzao take them to the military district.

Jiang Chunzao had no choice but to accept, though thankfully, the larger items had already been sent to the military district, so at least she didn’t have to carry those on the journey.

They waited for a while at the village entrance, and soon the village tractor appeared. Before they got on, Sister Chen Meilan took out a package of boiled eggs and handed them to Jiang Chunzao, telling her to eat them on the road.

Sister-in-law Changshan also magically produced two bottles of shrimp paste. Holding everything in her arms and saying tearful goodbyes, Jiang Chunzao climbed onto the tractor with her family.

Through misty eyes, she watched as everything from Lu family village slowly faded from view.

With the loud rumble of the train, a new chapter in their lives began.