Chapter 4 Sunjia Village

Chapter 4 Sunjia Village

Sun Bomin and Su returned to the house and covered themselves with the quilt. Su had no status in the family and could not make decisions. Thinking of her eldest sister-in-law's son Jing Ge'er who was about to take the imperial examination, she asked tentatively: "Master, what do you think, should we send Shanzi to school?"

Shanzi is short and thin. He eats a lot but can never gain weight. Before he was 3 years old, he was sick every day. It has only been in the past two years that he has gotten a little better.

Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to be as good at farm work as the head of the family.

It would be better to read some books and find a job as a waiter. It would be best if you could work for your elder sister-in-law in the city. It is easy and you will be taken care of by your elder sister-in-law, which is much better than staying at home farming.

Sun Boming also thought about this problem. He must go to school. There is still some money at home, so he can definitely afford it.

What I am most afraid of is that Shanzi is too weak to endure the hardship of studying.

When my father was still alive, I was sent to study at Zheng Tongsheng's home in the next village.

But every time he was beaten with a stick by Zheng Tongsheng, it was miserable. Thinking that his son might also suffer, he was a little worried about sending him there so early.

Hesitantly, he said, "Is Shanzi too young? Should he be sent to Zheng Tongsheng to learn to read when he is a little older?"

Su didn't know about Sun Boming's childhood trauma. After thinking about it, she felt that Shanzi was indeed a little small, half a head shorter than his peers.

He said hesitantly, "Shanzi is indeed a little young, but I heard that one should start studying early because the older one gets, the harder it is to learn. Jin'er, I heard from my eldest sister-in-law that she started learning at the age of three. Shanzi is five now, so he is two years late."

Sun Bomin sneered, thinking that Su was overthinking, and said bluntly: "How can Shanzi compare with Jing'er? Jing'er will be an official in the future. Shanzi can learn a few words and it will be convenient for him to work at his elder sister's house."

My eldest sister has long said that it is best to send boys in the family to school and learn to read and write, so that there will be people who will want them if they do work.

She also secretly told Sun Boming that she had already arranged Shanzi's future. When he grew up, he should go to the provincial capital to work and not stay in Sunjia Village, which had no future and no hope.

The eldest sister also said that she couldn’t guarantee anything for the other brothers’ children, but she would definitely make arrangements for Shanzi.

When Su heard the head of the family say this about her son, she was a little unconvinced, but she was cowardly by nature and did not dare to refute the head of the family. She could only sulk by herself: "Although Shanzi in our family is not as good as Jing'er, he is also steady and will definitely have a good future."

The couple chatted for a few minutes and fell asleep peacefully. It was cold outside and they were covered with a quilt in the room, so they slept very well.

Sun Shan wiped his eyes. It was daybreak. He lifted the quilt. It was so cold. He hid in it again, unwilling to get up. He turned around and looked at Grandma's bed. No one was there. The sun was shining in through the small window of the bedroom. It must be late.

After struggling for a while, he quickly pulled back the quilt, put on his thick cotton-padded jacket, socks, and small cotton-padded shoes, and instantly felt warm.

I walked out of the bedroom and through the main room. It was quiet outside. It seemed that the adults had gone to work.

Life in the countryside is dull and boring. Throughout the year, the only free days are during the Chinese New Year.

"Shanzi, you lazy pig, you finally woke up." The eldest sister's voice came from the kitchen. The 14-year-old girl was not tall, thin, with a pointed face and slightly yellow hair.

"Sister, I need to rinse my mouth and wash my face." Sun Shan walked into the kitchen. He became sleepy in winter, probably because of his weak body. He was a premature baby and was often sick since birth.

"Come on, I'll prepare it for you." Sun Guyu knew that his younger brother liked to be clean and used salt water to rinse his mouth. He also bought a brush for brushing his teeth. He was the only one in the family who was particular about this.

He brought the things to him, and then got some hot water from the big pot, put it aside, and said, "Use hot water to wash your face."

Then he took out a bowl of rice porridge from the small pot and added some brown sugar on it.

He smiled and said, "After washing, have breakfast." There are two meals a day at home, breakfast and dinner.

But my younger brother and grandma are different. After breakfast, I have to cook some sweet potatoes for lunch to fill their stomachs.

My mother said that whether the four of us sisters can have a good mother's family depends entirely on my younger brother.

My younger brother is good. He feels confident after marrying into his husband's family.

Sun Shan finished washing up quickly. He had to pester and haggle to get such simple washing conditions.

Sun Bomin thought his son was very difficult to serve, and he even used salt to clean his mouth. If he was not the only child in the family, he would have used a wooden stick to serve him. And the brush cost 20 coins each, enough to buy 2 kilograms of pork.

Alas, I have given birth to a prodigal son, and I have so much suffering to endure.

Sun Shan took the brown sugar porridge and squatted on a small wooden stool in the kitchen to eat. The kitchen was warm, and the elder sister was cooking pig food. The red firewood was crackling, and Sun Shan was lost in thought while eating.

Guyu saw that his younger brother was in a daze again and shook his head. He was already used to his younger brother's dazed look.

But just daydream at home, don't go out and be seen by others.

Many gossipy women saw my brother sitting alone on the edge of the field in a trance and said that he was a fool and that he was born in an unlucky place, which was why he became a fool.

After hearing this, my father and mother confronted those gossipers and had a big fight. If the village chief had not arrived in time, I'm afraid they would have fought.

Guyu sighed, feeling vaguely that they were right. Her younger brother was really different from other boys. How could she explain it?

He often has dull and lifeless eyes, just like the fool in the next village.

Thinking of this, Guyu quickly shook his head. How could his younger brother be a fool? His younger brother was just dull and didn't like to talk.

Sun Shan, who was well fed and well-drinking, had no idea what his elder sister was thinking. As for being called a fool by the villagers, he had also heard about it.

I don't want to argue. He knows best whether it's stupid or not.

When he was about to take the dishes out to wash them, Guyu stopped him, snatched the dishes away, and said with a smile, "How can a grown man do such things as washing dishes? Be careful about getting laughed at. Let me do it, you go out and play." He took the dishes out to the well to wash them.

Sun Shan sighed. The four sisters in the family, under the brainwashing of the eldest brother Sun and Su, were the only ones who respected Sun Shan and were already developing into the direction of being demons who subdue their brothers.

Walk out of the kitchen and look around the Sun family’s farmyard.

The place is really big, the Sun family's house is in the shape of a Chinese character "瑪". It is a house made entirely of blue bricks and large tiles. There are three main rooms, one for the living room, one for Huang's bedroom, and one for storing grain.

There are three rooms in the left wing, one is the bedroom of Sun Boming and his wife, one is the bedroom of the four sisters, and one is empty for relatives to stay when they come to the house.

There are also three rooms in the right wing, two utility rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.

There is an open space in front of the main house. Across the open space, there is a well in front of the gate. The family does not need to go to the big well in the village to fetch water.

Next to the Sun family compound, two yellow mud houses were built specifically for raising pigs and cattle.

Humans and animals are separated here, unlike other places where humans and animals live together.

The Sun family is considered a wealthy family in Sunjia Village. Just these nine large brick houses are more wealthy than 99.99% of the families in the village.

At this time, Guyu took out the pig food and went to feed the pigs next door.

Sun Shan hurried over to help.

Guyu pushed him away, waved her hand and said, "No need for you, I can do it myself, you go and have fun." Her younger brother was weak, so she didn't dare to let him do such heavy work.

Sun Shan sighed and said nothing more.

Every time he wanted to do something, the men and women in the family would push him away. In their eyes, he was a porcelain doll that could not be touched and had to be raised with great care.

If they insist on doing this, if anything happens, the four sisters will suffer.

Sun Bomin and his grandmother Huang didn't say anything. But Su, despite her cowardly nature, was very harsh when she scolded her four daughters.

Why should women make things difficult for other women? The preference for boys over girls is often more serious for women.

Sun Shan stopped forcing himself to work and glanced at the sun. It should be around 10 o'clock. The weather was very comfortable today and the sun felt warm on his face.

When Sun Shan walked out of the house, there were the pigpen and the cowshed on the right.

We have two pigs at home, and we are going to slaughter them for the New Year. The cowshed is empty, so my second sister should take them out to eat grass.

The houses in Sunjia Village are arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern. The village road is straight, and the villagers build their houses on both sides of the village road.

Sun Shan's house is located in the center. The neighbors in front and behind him all have yellow mud houses. Sun Shan's large blue brick house looks particularly solemn and dignified.

Walking through the village road and out of the village entrance, you will see a piece of farmland. People from Sunjia Village are working in the fields. Although the rice has been harvested, some villagers will choose a piece of land to plant some vegetables so that they will have something to eat during the New Year.

Sun Shan came to where he usually squatted, sat down beside the Xiaojin River, picked up a stone, and threw it into the river out of boredom.

Looking up not far away, you can see one barren mountain after another, endless mountains.

Sunjia Village belongs to Huangyang County under Zhangzhou Prefecture in Guangnan Province and is under the jurisdiction of Mingyang Town.

The entire village has about 30 households and about 500 people in total.

Everyone in the village has the surname Sun and they all worship the same ancestor.

Neighbors, relatives, and friends in the same village cannot marry each other.

Men marry outside their families, and women marry outside their families.