Sister-in-law Lu Da quickly scooped a large serving of cold dishes into a bowl.

Even though she thought it didn’t taste great, if the men liked it, she needed to serve them more!

She also grabbed several corn cakes and followed Elder Brother Lu back to their room to eat.

Once they left, Father Lu’s frown deepened, and Fang Dihua’s mood visibly drooped.

Panpan and Tiantian, being sensitive little kids, immediately sensed something was wrong. “Grandma, Grandpa, why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like the food Mom made?”

Father Lu swallowed hard and quickly picked up some cold dishes with his chopsticks.

They were refreshing and slightly sour, quite appetizing.

He forced a smile and said, “It’s delicious!”

He handed chopsticks to the two kids and encouraged them to eat.

Tiantian saw Panpan reaching for the dishes and immediately stopped him. “Grandpa, you eat. We’ve already had dinner with Mom.”

Fang Dihua took a bite and found it indeed better than what the third daughter-in-law used to make.

However, she wasn’t pleased and felt heavy-hearted.

The taste of the food didn’t change suddenly; if the third daughter-in-law’s cooking improved, it meant she was in a good mood, which could mean she was up to something.

Well, if she couldn’t be kept, then so be it. It might be better to let her go early.

But she and the old man didn’t want to admit their son was gone, so they couldn’t let her leave just yet.

Lu Ping and Lu An came to call Tiantian and Panpan to catch cicada larvae, which were just starting to come out of the ground and climb trees.

Whether for adults or children, catching cicada larvae was a must in the summer evenings.

They would soak them in salt water, and once they had enough, they could be fried in oil or cooked in other ways.

They were a treat, and any meat was welcome.

Meat was scarce, so cicada larvae, grasshoppers, and bean worms were a special delight for the kids.

…

After Lu Erge finished washing his clothes, he came in.

A kerosene lamp hung on the east door frame, casting light on several rooms.

On the table were two more pairs of chopsticks with cold dishes, plus a plate of pickled vegetables and tender Chinese toon shoots.

Lu Erge didn’t say a word; he sat down and ate quietly, finishing six corn cakes before stopping.

Father Lu said, “Second son, eat more, get full.”

The second and third sons had big appetites from a young age and weren’t picky eaters.

They enjoyed even the less appetizing food their sister-in-law made.

Lu Erge’s voice was deep, “Dad, I’m full.”

He knew his parents were suffering because of the third brother’s situation, and he was also deeply troubled.

He wanted to comfort them, but he felt something was holding him back.

Country people weren’t good at expressing emotions.

It wasn’t just a lack of expressing love; even comfort wasn’t easy to convey. It often came down to telling someone to cheer up.

“Your comfort is even worse than no comfort at all.”

Brother Lu Erge, in particular, was terrible at expressing himself.

He had things he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself to. He felt awkward and embarrassed, his toes tapping on the ground.

He also agreed with his parents that no funeral should be held without the body. He kept thinking that his third brother might come back one day.

He sat for a long time, wanting to say something comforting to his parents, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything and just sat there quietly with them.

Fang Dihua said, “Go back once you’re full.”

Don’t waste oil sitting around here.

There were only two pounds of kerosene for the whole year; it was precious and shouldn’t be wasted carelessly.

Brother Lu Erge stood up, hesitated, and then silently left.

He was tall, and the door was low, so he forgot to lower his head and bumped his head with a “bang.”

Old Man Lu said, “Be careful.”

Fang Dihua scolded, “What a fool. You bumped your head on your own door.”

She usually wouldn’t scold, but recently she had been in a bad mood.

She would say out loud that it was okay if her son’s body wasn’t found, but in her heart, she was overwhelmed with sorrow.

The sorrow turned into anger.

She felt that it was unreasonable for Heaven to be so blind. How come her third son died, but she, an old woman, was still alive?

It was truly unreasonable!

The old couple didn’t go out to cool off.

They were already cold and uncomfortable inside, so they just lay down on the bed with a mosquito net to sleep.

But they couldn’t sleep.

Since the news about Lu Shaotang came, they had been unable to sleep through the night, often only getting a restless nap when the sky was already getting light.

When they finally fell asleep, it was like dreaming their third son had come back, or dreaming of him covered in blood, crying out in pain, calling for his parents.

Their hearts ached terribly.

Hearing the children come back, it seemed they had caught several cicada nymphs.

Honghong had been frightened by a snake and cried miserably, while Huzi had run around, fallen into a deep ditch by the roadside, and was beaten by the adults.

Hearing Lin Shu washing the children’s feet, his daughter-in-law’s voice was sweet and soft, and she was very good at comforting the children.

Her voice was relaxed and even carried a smile, unlike before when she was too timid to speak loudly.

Old Man Lu thought about his second daughter-in-law’s talk of the third daughter-in-law being haunted by spirits and couldn’t help but think more.

When you’re old, you become superstitious, especially after coming through the war years.

Even someone educated like Old Man Lu couldn’t help but believe.

He wondered if the spirit of his third son had come back?

Reluctant to leave his wife and children, maybe he had attached himself to his daughter-in-law?

That wouldn’t do.

That would be troubling the family!

Then he thought, no, that wouldn’t be right. If his son wasn’t dead, how could his spirit come back?

Perhaps his daughter-in-law had gotten over it and would remarry in the future, so she wasn’t as distressed.

…

Lin Shu was sleeping…

In her dream, Lin Shu heard someone crying. She thought it was the children having a nightmare, so she half-woke up and patted the brother and sister.

The children were sleeping soundly and didn’t make any noise.

Lin Shu suddenly woke up with a start!

What was that sound?

The crying was faint, barely audible. It sounded suppressed, with occasional sobs.

Was… Fang Dihua crying?

Lin Shu was surprised.

She hadn’t expected Fang Dihua, who was usually strong and fierce, to cry like this, so repressed and stifled.

When the news about Lu Shaotang came, Fang Dihua sat there for a long time before saying, “Without seeing the body, I won’t believe it’s true,” and then she told the family to carry on with their chores.

Lin Shu thought she was firm in believing that Lu Shaotang was fine, but it turned out she was afraid too.

She just hid her sadness and cried in the middle of the night.

It’s touching to see a usually strong person show a softer side.

Oh, the heartache of parents everywhere.

Fang Dihua was someone who worked in the fields, built dikes, and dug canals just like the men.

When she was repairing a canal and got her foot crushed by a rock, her foot was bloodied and pale, but she gritted her teeth and didn’t cry out in pain.

She could endure physical pain, but perhaps the emotional pain was too much.

In the darkness, with Fang Dihua’s suppressed sobs, Father Lu also softly comforted her, his voice hoarse and teary.

Lin Shu fell back asleep listening to the murmured voices of the elderly couple.

The next morning, Lin Shu woke up early, not because of the heat, but because of the bright light.

Just yesterday, she had complained about the small windows and insufficient light, saying the room was too dark during the day.

Now, she was annoyed by the lack of curtains, as the early morning light was too bright and kept her from sleeping.

Lin Shu fixed the mosquito net for the children, got dressed, and started making breakfast.

She peeked outside and saw that her in-laws were not home.

They were probably out early, as usual, tending to their private plots.

uóIn the village, people did their private work before and after the communal work.

With no entertainment in the evening, people went to bed around nine and woke up by five in the morning.

Especially older people who sleep less, they get up even earlier.

However, last night, the elderly couple stayed up late. Could they handle getting up so early?

Lu Erge didn’t go to the private plot today. Instead, he was in the yard early in the morning, fixing the vegetable beds.

He was also saddened by the loss of the third brother but couldn’t express it, so he focused on working hard to help the third brother’s wife as a way of honoring him.

Sister-in-law Lu Er was so angry and thought. ‘How come you’re so diligent when it comes to weeding the garden, but when I ask you to help me with composting at my family’s home, you always have excuses?’

“Cuicui’s father, I twisted my ankle. Come and help me take a look.”

She was leaning on the window, moaning.

Brother Lu Er came in to check and found that she hadn’t twisted her ankle at all. He turned around and went back to digging the ground.

Sister-in-law Lu Er was so angry that she wanted to scratch Lin Shu!

She grabbed her sleeping daughter’s thigh and twisted it, making Lu Cuicui cry out in pain.

Sister-in-law Lu Er frowned, whispering threateningly, “Hold it in! Don’t you dare embarrass me.”

Lu Cuicui pouted, tears in her eyes, turning over quietly and sobbing silently.

….

While Lin Shu was cooking, Tiantian and Panpan woke up. The siblings dressed themselves.

In the countryside, there were many mosquitoes, so they always wore long clothes and pants.

Their short arms and legs made it difficult to stretch out the pants, so they helped each other.

The younger brother helped the older sister put on her clothes, and then the older sister helped the younger brother.

Once dressed, they climbed down from the bed, put on their small straw shoes, and ran outside to wash their hands and faces.

At this time, Fang Dihua and the others returned from their private plot of land.

Lin Shu had just finished cooking and took a furtive look at Fang Dihua and Old Man Lu.

Both had slightly puffy eyes, with her mother-in-law’s eyes being especially swollen.

Father-in-law’s expression was still gloomy, but Fang Dihua maintained her usual stern face, showing no visible emotions.

They had brought back a load of composted mud, as well as some vegetable seedlings and seeds.

Typically, the first batch of vegetables should be planted around the Qingming Festival.

They could start eating them now, but with the current high temperatures, leafy vegetables could be ready to eat in just twenty days.

Finally, more vegetables could be planted!

Lin Shu’s mood, which had been heavy because of her in-laws crying at night, immediately lifted.

She went over to see what vegetables they had.

Wow, so many tomato seedlings, just what she wanted!

There were even chili peppers!

Also, there were yard-long beans, autumn beans, and other varieties.

In addition, there were many vegetable seeds, including lettuce, cilantro, and greens.

Her mother-in-law’s efficiency was top-notch!

In fact, with Old Man Lu’s status and connections in the village, if he wanted anything and it wasn’t too excessive, there would always be people who nostalgically gave him what he needed.

Outsiders might envy his large courtyard, but old friends were mostly grateful to the Lu family for providing them with houses and were even moved to see the second master, such a distinguished person, now living in a small room and working in the fields with them.

When it was known that Fang Dihua wanted to grow vegetables, wives and daughters-in-law from nearby families immediately came to offer vegetable seedlings, bringing whatever they had.

Fang Dihua didn’t take them for free and promised to share some of the harvest with them later.

It wasn’t practical to trade food and eggs for those seedlings; her family still needed them.

Vegetables didn’t matter much if there were more or fewer.

A neighbor, Aunt Li from the west, specially came to ask, “Second lady, do you want to get a couple of hens? Growing vegetables attracts pests, and chickens can help with that. Raising a few more wouldn’t hurt.”

Currently, Fang Dihua’s family had only three hens and one duck, and they couldn’t even get many eggs.

Fang Dihua hesitated a bit, thinking that raising more chickens and ducks would require more feed in winter.

Panpan and Tiantian, with their big, bright eyes, looked at her.

Panpan, with a babyish voice, said, “Grandma, raise chickens to lay eggs and make pumpkin cakes. Dad loves them.”

Fang Dihua, who had been hesitant, immediately softened at the sound of this and happily said, “Get them! If you have extra, give me two hens and two ducks. I’ll pay you later.”