Chapter 25

Evening

The small village gradually fell into silence. This was Feng Moyan’s first night living in the Red Flag Brigade. They each carried their belongings and walked towards the captain’s house.

Feng Moyan went to the village chief’s house alone with his bag on his back and invited them to have dinner at his home in the evening.

She saw that the door was not closed, but she did not go in directly. She called out from outside the door: “Village Chief, are you home?”

“Who is it? The door is not closed, just come in.”

A loud voice came from inside the door, and a middle-aged woman in an apron came out. She was stunned when she saw the person coming, then she smiled and wiped the water droplets off her hands.

“I am Jiang Cuihua, the wife of the village chief. What do you want to talk to him about? He is probably still in the village committee and has been a bit busy lately.”

Feng Moyan didn’t say much. He just took out the things in the bag and put them in her arms, then took a few steps back.

“Aunt, this is for the children at home. I’m new here, and I hope the village chief will take care of me in the future.

My name is Feng Moyan. I would like to invite you to have dinner at Uncle Liang’s place. Everything is ready.”

Jiang Cuihua was stunned. This kid from the city was so generous. The gift he gave her was so lavish. She dared not accept it. This was not bribery. She couldn’t let the old man get hold of her.

“No, no, take it away quickly. I can’t make a mistake. The village chief never accepts gifts.”

Feng Moyan knew she had misunderstood, so he pushed forward: “Aunt, my parents sacrificed their lives for the country. I have never worked since I was a child. I was targeted by people because of my appearance, so I went to the countryside.”

This is a gift from my younger generation, not a bribe. I’m leaving now. Remember to go to dinner later. I’ll treat Mr. Hao.”

Jiang Cuihua looked at the thing in her hand, and then at the figure walking away. This girl was indeed pretty, so it was normal for her to be stared at. She should let her man keep a closer eye on her.

A girl like this can’t be ruined by those disgusting things. She is the descendant of a martyr.

Hu Lai came out of the room, holding Niuniu who had just woken up in his arms, “Mom, who was here just now? I heard you guys quarreling.”

Looking at the things in her mother-in-law’s arms, Hu Lai raised his eyebrows: “Whoever gave it to her is so generous.”

In the past, there were always educated youth coming to bring gifts, either a can of food or a bag of candy, but this time there were even cigarettes, alcohol, and milk candy.

Jiang Cuihua handed them to her daughter-in-law directly: “Put them away, save these candies for Fat Tiger and Niuniu, two a day, otherwise their teeth will be damaged.”

Hu Lai did not refuse. After all, there were only two children in the family. If he didn’t give it to them, who else would he give it to? His brother-in-law also didn’t like to eat this kind of thing, so in the end, it all went to his own children.

Si Yinni and Jiang Yuxuan brought a package to the captain’s house, which shocked Liang Xiu and made her face tense.

“What are you two doing? You look down on your aunt. You bring so much food for a meal, and there’s even some left over from lunch.”

Jiang Yuxuan didn’t want to argue with her aunt, so she turned around and went over: “Aunt, this is all prepared by Mo Yan. He said there will be a lot of people at night, and there are also the village chief’s family and Uncle Hao. They all made it. It can be regarded as our hot pot meal, okay!”

Liang Xiu opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of any reason. With more than a dozen people in this family, there would be a lot of food.

“Then you two come and help me, otherwise you won’t be able to eat later.”

“I’m going to make you some special dishes from Northeast China tonight. You’ve definitely never tasted the authentic ones, such as sweet and sour pork, three fresh vegetables, and chicken stewed with mushrooms.

If I catch the pig slaughter in winter and eat a bowl of hot pig slaughter dishes, I really won’t trade it for anything. Unfortunately, it’s a bad year now, and I don’t know if I can still have this treatment this year.”

The two of them were busying around in the yard, and low laughter could be heard from time to time, giving the place a strong flavor of everyday life.

Feng Moyan walked forward according to the route he remembered.

Hongqi Brigade is not particularly poor. There are a few houses in the village that are built with red bricks and tiles, which are particularly eye-catching, but most of them are still mud houses.

However, the yard of each family is really large, no wonder they grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks here.

The country now has regulations that one person can only raise two chickens and one duck, no more than eight. If you raise more than that, it will be a violation. If you are caught, you will be criticized and suffer.

He walked to a small courtyard near the end of the village. It was a courtyard of a blue brick and tile house, surrounded by stones and looked solid.

“Uncle, are you here? I am the educated youth Feng whom you picked up this morning.”

Hao Han was squatting in the yard weeding the crops, with smoke coming out of the chimney. “I’m here. We’ve already cooked. We won’t go to the captain’s house. It’s too much trouble.”

Feng Moyan pushed the door open and walked in, she saw the old man had a conflicted look on his face, as if there was something wrong with him, and she didn’t understand what was going on.

“You must be Uncle Hao’s wife. I’m Feng Moyan, an educated youth who went to the countryside. I’m here to invite you and Uncle to dinner. We agreed on it during the day. Why are you going back on your word?”

Li Qiuru looked at the little girl in front of her, the child of the young master that her husband had always been thinking about, with loving and gentle eyes.

“The little girl is really pretty. Your uncle is just like that. He’s very awkward. I’ll go with you. No one will cook for him. Let’s see if he goes.”

Li Qiuru packed up her things and took the bacon and chicken she had hunted in the mountains. “Old man, remember to close the door. Otherwise, if something is lost, I will never forgive you.”

Hao Han watched the two of them leave. He looked at the things on the table again, put on a smile on his face, cleaned up, and followed behind.

Feng Moyan turned his head and saw Grandpa Hao, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, “Grandma, you don’t need to bring anything. I prepared a lot of food, it will definitely be enough.”

Li Qiuru has no children in her life, so how could she not have regrets in her heart? “You just arrived, and you need a lot of things. It’s not easy to eat meat in the countryside, so it’s better for you to keep those.”

“It’s hard for you kids. You left your hometown at such a young age and came here to work in the countryside. You must not be used to it.”

Feng Moyan still doesn’t feel that there is anything wrong with this place. After all, at least there are not so many calculations here.

“Grandma, I don’t have anyone to worry about in Kyoto, so going to the countryside can help me avoid the limelight, which is also good. Besides, I am strong and can survive anywhere, so you don’t have to worry.”

Li Qiuru had heard the old man talk about this child several times, and her eyes were full of heartache. Because of those people in the dark, she couldn’t be too open about it. It was too hateful.

When the three of them arrived, the yard was already bustling with activity. The torches lit up the surroundings brightly, allowing Feng Moyan to see two familiar children.

“Fat Tiger, Niuniu, you two are Jiacheng’s children, no wonder you are so polite.”

Fat Tiger ran towards her with a smile: “Yes, I am Daddy’s child. Sister Yan sees you again.”

Liang Xiu walked out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. Looking at the things in Li Qiuru’s hand, her expression changed slightly and she looked a little unhappy.

“Aunt, why do you bring food with you when you come to my place? This is inappropriate. How can you eat me out of money?”

Li Qiuru handed over the basket and said, “We won’t go broke eating it. Today is not a busy day, so I thought of making more for the children. They are still growing up, and it’s just sitting there anyway. We don’t eat much, and our teeth are not good.”

Hao Han was sitting in the back room, chatting with a few men. “We cooked it together. There are so many people, but each person only has a chopstick, so there’s not much. We’re all young people, so we eat a lot.”

Seeing that the man didn’t react, Liang Xiu decided to take it in. Fortunately, there were a lot of vegetables at home, otherwise it would be difficult to arrange them.

“Uncle Liang, I remember you said you have a younger brother at home. He should not be in school at this time. Is he not at home?”

Zhang Liang waved his hand. “I don’t know what that brat is doing at school. He said the teacher arranged some activities for him. I don’t bother to care about him.”

Feng Moyan didn’t care either.