Chapter 55 – The Hu Family

The smile on Xu Xia’s face disappeared, replaced by a trace of sadness.

Aunt Zhao let out a deep sigh. “Their family is really gone. No one left. The house is big, yes, but… aren’t you concerned about bad luck?”

Xu Xia shook his head and tapped the ground with his foot. “Auntie, come on now. Isn’t there a piece of land under our feet that hasn’t had someone buried in it?

“It’s not like we’re digging up graves—what’s there to be afraid of?

“It’s just, well, we’re all rough folk and a bit busy lately. We don’t have time to spare. Could you help us clean the house?

“This salt and these beans are your payment.”

Now that he’d said it like that, Aunt Zhao couldn’t refuse.

Xu Xia glanced over and saw An An, sneakily watching him while nibbling on a biscuit. He raised an eyebrow. Why did he get the feeling that if his young master came over, An An would offer up her biscuit without even being asked?

Tsk tsk, so young and already knows how to flatter!

But he wasn’t about to fuss with a child. He soon said goodbye and left.

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, the Zhao family got up early, washed up, cooked dumplings, and then brought their New Year’s gifts to pay respects to Zhou Yu.

The whole family went together.

When they arrived at Uncle Chen Jiu’s house, they discovered that even though they thought they had come early, a long line had already formed. Villagers were still arriving, everyone coming to pay respects.

Those who were timid just gave their greetings in the courtyard, left their gifts, and departed. The bolder ones entered the house to say a few words.

When it was their turn, Zhou Yu noticed they had children with them and kindly ushered them inside quickly.

As soon as they entered, An An couldn’t help but sneeze. It was too cold outside, and the warmth indoors hit her suddenly, making it hard to control.

Zhou Yu hurried over and picked her up, then asked Xu Xia to bring over a bamboo basket.

As Xu Xia approached, the soft chirping became clearer and clearer.

He lifted the lid, revealing two fluffy little yellow chicks inside.

“Wow!” So cute! An An reached out with her chubby little hand to grab one.

Zhou Yu quickly held her hand back and smiled. “Just look, okay? If you keep grabbing, you might hurt them. Do you like them?”

“Yes!” An An nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling as she looked over. Are they for me? Say it! I won’t say no, you know!

Who could possibly refuse fluffy, squishy, adorable little chicks?

But Zhou Yu soon said, “If you want to play with the chicks in the future, just come find Uncle. I’ll take care of them for you.”

An An immediately turned around and tattled to Qin Ying, “Mama!” Look at him! He won’t even give me two little chicks!

Qin Ying looked embarrassed and quickly took the child back into her arms. Along with Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu, they offered New Year’s greetings to Zhou Yu and Uncle Chen Jiu, left their gifts, and quickly left—there were still many villagers waiting outside.

An An’s pitiful look of loving something she couldn’t have lingered in Zhou Yu’s mind the whole morning.

Near noon, the visitors from neighboring villages had also finished their visits. In the afternoon, it wasn’t customary to pay New Year’s calls, so most people would take naps.

Zhou Yu laid out paper and drew two little yellow chicks with a patch of green grass, then asked Xu Xia to deliver it to An An.

Xu Xia smirked. “Young Master, aren’t we going to the Zhao house a bit too often?”

“Hm?” Zhou Yu glanced at him. “Did you hear something unpleasant?”

“No… not really…” Xu Xia hesitated. “It just feels a bit inappropriate.”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Zhou Yu said calmly. “I have my reasons.”

Xu Xia didn’t say more and delivered the painting.

An An woke from her nap and broke into a wide grin as soon as she saw the painting. The handsome uncle really is thoughtful!

Hey!

And his drawing skills aren’t bad either! What was that word again? Oh, right—vivid and lifelike!

One chick was flapping its tiny wings, standing on one leg. The other stared into the grass as if it had spotted something interesting.

So fun!

Qin Ying saw how much she liked it and decided to paste it on the wall. She reminded her, “Just look, okay? Don’t touch it too much or you’ll ruin the paper.”

An An nodded, stood up with the help of the wall, and moved closer to examine it. Whoa, even the fuzzy feathers are drawn? It’s so pretty!

Seeing how focused she was, Qin Ying quickly brought in the warmed walnut milk for her to drink, then gave her a piece of fruit cake.

After a few bites, An An tilted her head and asked, “Grandma? Uncle?”

“They went next door to help clean the house,” Qin Ying pointed west. “No one’s lived there for a long time. It’s too dusty, so we didn’t bring you along.”

Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu spent the entire afternoon sweeping and dusting. The house wasn’t damaged, but the furniture and bedding had long been taken by someone else.

There were five main rooms and two side rooms—all completely empty.

The second day of the New Year was traditionally the day to visit the wife’s family, but Aunt Zhao had no family left, and with nothing else to do, she went to clean the western house again. She and Zhao Hu even cleared the chimney flue and brought in some firewood to test the heated bed. Since there was no smoke leakage, they were relieved.

That afternoon, she went to inform Zhou Yu.

He simply replied, “Got it,” and said no more.

Soon after, word spread that he had taken people and left Tongshu Village.

Aunt Zhao was a bit dumbfounded. “Did we clean up for nothing?”

“It wasn’t for nothing,” Qin Ying reassured her. “At least we have peace of mind, right? And Zhou Daren never said he wouldn’t come back. Didn’t Huzi say they didn’t take all their luggage?”

“That’s true.” Aunt Zhao no longer dwelled on it and planned to take An An visiting.

Meanwhile, Qin Ying and Zhao Hu scrubbed out the water vat in the western house and filled it with water.

If Zhou Yu returned, it would be ready for use. If not, they could use it slowly themselves. After all, water doesn’t spoil.

On the third day of the New Year, the local custom was to visit graves.

Aunt Zhao had prepared offerings early. The four of them went together to visit the Zhao family’s ancestral graves.

They first paid respects to Zhao ancestors and Zhao Hu’s father, then accompanied Qin Ying to visit her own parents.

Only her mother was buried there; her father’s remains were never found, so only two keepsakes were buried in his place.

It was the first time Qin Ying formally introduced An An to her parents. The child had been too young before to be brought to a graveyard.

After the visit, the family began walking back.

Though the cemetery was only two li in a straight line from Tongshu Village, the mountain path made it five or six li in reality.

Just after leaving the cemetery, a group of people suddenly appeared from the roadside.

It was the Hu family. Leading them was Hu Da, followed by Hu San and three of their delinquent friends. Each held a pickaxe.

Aunt Zhao and her son instinctively shielded Qin Ying, who was carrying An An on her back, then pulled out the hammers they carried with them and shouted sternly, “What do you want?!”

“What do we want?” Hu Da sneered. “Widow Zhao, don’t play dumb with me.

“The woman behind you is my nephew’s wife, isn’t she? Hand her over, and we won’t cause trouble.

“Otherwise, hehe… you’ll regret it!”

“Bullshit!” Aunt Zhao cursed, stomping her foot. “If you can’t speak like a human, then shut up! Get lost! Crawl back to that turtle hole you came from!