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Fang Zhiyuan was woken up by Fang Zeng who picked him up and shook him. He had not eaten well and slept well in the past few days. He was only ten years old and was exhausted. If he hadn’t been holding on, he might have gotten sick. Now that his worries were gone and he was relaxed, he naturally felt sleepy and dozed off on the mule cart.

Fang Zeng felt a little guilty. After all, it was because of his carelessness in the past few days that his nephew had walked through the gates of hell. His nephew was still a child, and his body couldn’t bear it. In the future, he had to buy some meat to nourish him. When his mother was around, his nephew’s face was always red, but now it was so white.

He saw Fang Zhiyuan fall asleep and didn’t wake him up. He covered him with his coat, fearing that he would catch a cold. When he arrived at the village, he sent Lin Xin back first and asked him to invite a Feng Shui master to choose a day to move his brother’s grave as soon as possible. He didn’t want to have anything to do with Li Fu’s family for even a day.

When he got home, Fang Zhiyuan was still not awake. Fang Zeng thought about it and planned to carry him into the house to sleep. He would wake him up after he cooked the meal and heated the water. But Fang Zhiyuan woke up just as he started. He opened his sleepy eyes, rubbed them, and asked Fang Zeng with a childish tone after waking up: “Uncle, are we home?”

Fang Zeng softened his heart, hugged him and said: “We are here, uncle will take you home now. Are you tired? Go to sleep first, and wait for uncle to cook the dishes, then you can get up and eat. It’s cold in the morning and evening, uncle will carry you into the house first.”

Fang Zhiyuan’s mental age is not young, how can he let Fang Zeng hold him. He jumped down, stretched his arms and legs, and said to Fang Zeng: “Uncle, I am an adult, I don’t need you to hold me. Let me help you get things.” Then he took a basket of meat to the house.

Fang Zeng didn’t stop him. He put the things away and fed the mule.

Fang Zhiyuan knew that Fang Zeng’s house was built this year, and it was built by Fang Zeng’s mother to find a fulang for Fang Zeng. The Fang family are hereditary hunters. In the early years, Fang Zeng’s grandfather came from outside and settled in Lin Village. He married a fulang and had a boy here, and lived a peaceful life.

The Fang family was an outsider, so they lived in a remote place, at the foot of the mountain, an incense stick of time away from the center of the village. Originally, the Fang family had three mud-brick houses, which were neither good nor bad in Fang Village, and were considered medium. When it came to his grandmother, his family had only one man and one ger, and the population was not prosperous. Fortunately, his grandmother was a her from Lin Village, that is, Lin Xin’s uncle, and he was not afraid of being bullied in the village.

It can be said that Fang Zeng also had regular features and a tall stature, and his family was considered medium. Those boys did not look down on him, but Fang Zeng’s father died in an accident a few years ago. Only Fang Zeng’s mother and two children were left in the family, and life was naturally tight.

 Fortunately, Fang Sheng was already quite old at that time and could help with things. The family managed to get by, but there were always troubles around a widower. If you don’t look for trouble, trouble will come to you. Those gossiping fulangs like to gossip the most. Fang Sheng’s mother, Auntie Lin, was not a soft-hearted person. He made a lot of trouble and taught those people a lesson, but his own reputation was also ruined. He got a name of being fierce.

At that time, Fang Sheng was not without people in the village who wanted to marry him, but no one dared to mention it because of Auntie Lins’s reputation. The mothers of those unmarried gers were afraid that Fang Sheng would follow suit and marry into the family to suppress their sons and not be under their control. That’s why Fang Sheng was left to his uncle when he was older and married to Li Fu, a poorer village without a mother.

It was the same when Fang Zeng got married. Others were afraid of Auntie Lin’s reputation and the evil mother, so no one dared to talk about matchmaking.  It was also because Auntie Lin was too good at living. Originally, the Fang family only had two mountainous lands and some vegetable plots. The villagers all made their livings from the lands. They would see if this family had lands. With land, there was food, and with food, there would be no hunger.

But there were many people in Linjia Village and little land. The Fang family was an outsider who came from a hunter family. Even the two mountainous lands were reclaimed by Auntie Lin herself, and they occupied their own share. Therefore, in the eyes of the villagers, the Fang family was poor and had an evil nanny. Not only would she suffer if she married Fang Zeng’s own son, but she would not be able to make any money for her family.

In the early years, some people who coveted betrothal gifts came to Auntie Lin, but the sons of those families were not good. Auntie Lin only had such a boy. In her eyes, Fang Zeng was the best. How could he be matched with such a boy? After a fierce talk, those who had bad ideas were sent away, but it was also said that Auntie Lin had high standards and looked down on the boys in the village.  For this reason, Fang Zeng became an old bachelor.

Looking back on the whole process, Fang Zhiyuan was somewhat amused. As far as he knew, Fang Zeng was very good at making money. In the early years, when he was still young, he went up the mountain to find some wild delicacies and set traps to catch some small game, and then went to the town to sell them. At that time, Fang Zhiyuan was still young, Fang Zeng liked him, and often brought him some delicious food from the town.

When Fang Zeng grew up, he was very skilled, and he could catch big prey several times a year. The family had some mountain land to grow some coarse grains, and the rest was enough to eat after paying taxes. Auntie Lin saved the money from selling game and wild delicacies. When Fang Zeng saved the town’s shopkeeper Chen, the price of the game sold by the family was better, and the money gradually increased a lot.

It is Lin Village. In addition to the head of the village Lin Xin’s family, there are several wealthy families with a lot of land. The Fang family can also be called one of them. Unfortunately, Auntie Lin is too good at living and not showing off his wealth. He always wears old clothes and eats coarse grains as his staple food. He never buys meat except for the game he hunts. People think that the Fang family is poor.

This year, seeing that his older son has not yet married, Auntie Lin listened to his brother’s advice and built five large tiled houses with blue bricks and gray tiles, which look very impressive. It is also a good house in the village, just to attract those gers, saying that his family has a foundation and you will not suffer if you marry in.

Unfortunately, Auntie Lin fell ill and died just after the house was built.

There were five main rooms, plus two back rooms. Fang Zeng lived alone, and he lived in the east wing. The west wing was reserved for Fang Sheng to live in when he returned to his maternal home, and now it belongs to Fang Zhiyuan. The other rooms were filled with food and sundries, and seemed quite empty.

In the kitchen, Fang Zeng stewed the pork belly, and after thinking about it, he also cooked a small pot of white rice. When Fang Zhiyuan went there, the meat had already smelled fragrant. Fang Zhiyuan sniffed, wiped his saliva, and touched his stomach, feeling even hungrier.

Fang Zeng smiled at his nephew’s little appearance, took out a piece of stewed pork belly from the pot and gave it to Fang Zhiyuan, saying, “Come on, Huzi, eat a piece of meat to fill your stomach. The rice will be ready soon!” As he spoke, Fang Zeng stuffed the meat into Fang Zhiyuan’s mouth.

The meat was the kind that was both fat and lean, and it was full of oil as soon as it entered the mouth. It was soft, smooth, and fragrant, making Fang Zhiyuan’s stomach even hungrier. After eating a piece, Fang Zhiyuan licked his mouth and said to his uncle flatteringly, “Uncle, the meat you cook is really delicious.” Fang Zeng laughed at the little appearance.

 The uncle and nephew ate at the small table in the kitchen. A big bowl of stewed meat was the main dish of the day. Fang Zeng served himself a shallow bowl of white rice and took three or four coarse grain cakes. Then he served Fang Zhiyuan a full bowl of white rice and handed it to him, saying, “Huzi, uncle remembers that you like to eat white rice. Today, uncle cooked a pot for you to eat enough. Seeing how thin you have been these days, uncle must make you plump and white.”

Fang Zhiyuan looked at the fragrant white rice and licked his mouth. In the memory of the original body, there were not many good fields here that could grow rice. Every family in the countryside harvested rice and sold it in town for money. Even if they kept some, they would only cook a small pot when there were guests or during festivals. After all, one pound of white rice could be exchanged for ten pounds of coarse grains, and who would be willing to eat it themselves on weekdays.

No matter how much Fang Sheng loved his child, it was just a small handful of white rice mixed with most of the coarse grains to make mixed rice.  This is how he was envied in the village. Fang Sheng cooked rice every few days, but he couldn’t bear to eat a bite, so he gave it to him and Li Fu.

Although Auntie Lin was stingy, he was very kind to his only grandson. He felt sorry for his son and doted on his grandson. Every year, he would exchange some white rice for his grandson, and wait for him to come over, and he would cook a bowl for him to satisfy his craving. Fang Zeng and Fang Sheng didn’t have any.

Today, Fang Zeng bought white rice, and Fang Zhiyuan watched him buy it. Just a bucket of white rice cost 700 yuan. Fang Sheng only made this much money by making tofu for ten days, and that was after he had a restaurant business. Ordinary people didn’t know if they could earn that much in one or two months. Rice was still a high-end product for Fang Zeng and him.

Fang Zhiyuan felt warm in his heart when he saw Fang Zeng’s actions. Fang Zeng must be afraid that eating two kinds of rice would make him uncomfortable, so he filled a small bowl to eat himself. The coarse grain pancake was his staple food. Fang Zhiyuan bet that he would not eat another bite of the remaining white rice. Doing so not only left the good ones for himself, but also made him feel comfortable. A grown man cared so much about him, which made Fang Zhiyuan, who met a relative like Li Fu as soon as he arrived, feel warm and respectful to Fang Zeng from the bottom of his heart.

Fang Zhiyuan was not a real ten-year-old child after all, so he did not say anything, but picked up a coarse grain pancake and put it next to the bowl, intending to eat it with the dishes. Fang Zeng looked at it and said, “Huzi, there is still a little white rice in the pot, and you can eat this cake in the future.”

Fang Zhiyuan smiled mischievously: “Uncle, I also want to eat coarse grain cakes. There is still so much rice in the pot, just in time for us to have another meal tomorrow morning. Whatever you eat, I will eat. If you don’t eat, I won’t eat. Uncle, I will definitely rely on you.”

Fang Zeng was very happy that his nephew cared about him. He knew that this was the child’s heart, so he didn’t mention it anymore. In his heart, he was thinking about going up the mountain more often, finding some prey to sell for some money, and buying more to save his nephew from worrying about himself if he didn’t eat well.

Although there was only one plate of stewed meat, Fang Zhiyuan ate it very fragrantly. He never thought that white rice with stewed pork was so delicious. The two of them ate a full plate of stewed meat, and the last of the soup soaked into the rice.

 Touching his round belly, Fang Zhiyuan determined his short-term goal, to eat white rice with stewed meat every day. Looking at the empty house with few furniture, Fang Zhiyuan found that the most important thing to live a life of eating meat every day is to make money.

If you want to eat meat, you must make money first. Fang Zhiyuan used his little brain and prepared to think carefully.

At this time, Lin Xin brought his son Da Zhuang to Fang’s house. Fang Zeng hurried out to greet them and said with a smile: “Brother Lin, why are you here at this time? Da Zhuang, go in and play with your brother Huzi. Your uncle Fang bought delicious snacks today. Let your brother Huzi bring them to you.”

Then he said to Fang Zhiyuan in the house: “Huzi, Da Zhuang is here to play with you. You play with him and bring some of the food you bought today to Da Zhuang.” Huzi often came to Lin Village to play and was familiar with Da Zhuang. Da Zhuang looked into the house with joy, but still looked at his father.

 Lin Xin and Fang Zeng were cousins ​​and were familiar with the Fang family, so they did not object to Da Zhuang going to Fang Zhiyuan. Seeing that his father agreed, Da Zhuang ran to Fang Zhiyuan.

Fang Zhiyuan knew Da Zhuang, who was only seven years old this year and was Li Hu’s former tail. Da Zhuang was as his name suggested, he was very simple and naive, and his round head was very cute. He smiled and said to Fang Zhiyuan: “Brother Huzi, why haven’t you come here for so many days? Uncle Fang said last time that this time you come here, he will take us to the mountains to play. Now the fruits on the mountain are ripe, and we will definitely find a lot if we go.”

Fang Zhiyuan took out some snacks and candies to put in Da Zhuang’s pocket, and Da Zhuang was a little embarrassed. Putting snacks in pockets is usually done by adults to children. In the past, Fang Zeng often used to put them into his and Fang Zhiyuan’s pockets. Now looking at Fang Zhiyuan’s adult manner, Da Zhuang was a little shy.

 Fang Zhiyuan was old enough to notice Da Zhuang’s awkwardness, so he changed the subject and asked, “Da Zhuang, do you know what your father wants to do so late?”

Speaking of this, Da Zhuang became excited and said, “Of course I know, Brother Huzi. My father went home today and said he went to see Master Zhao from Zhao Village, and he said that tomorrow is a good day and it is a good time to hold a funeral.”

Fang Zhiyuan knew that this was referring to the relocation of his mother’s grave.