Chapter 35: The Village Chief of Hulingshan Village
Soon, the smell of rice came from the kitchen. Da Gen drooled and said exaggeratedly, "Brother Shan, meat. We have meat to eat today."
Sun Shan nodded. It was indeed the smell of meat. Sun Shan also loved eating meat.
Old Mrs. Su came out and said, "Old man, son-in-law, it's time to eat."
Seeing Shanzi and the others playing, he smiled and said, "Come in and have dinner."
He glanced at his three granddaughters, sighed and said, "Big sister, second sister, third sister, come in and have dinner."
Just now, the second daughter came into the kitchen to help, and the daughter-in-law was making sarcastic remarks again. In fact, it is not the daughter-in-law's fault. Given the second daughter's situation, her parents have done their best to find a place for her to live. Because of the second daughter, the Su family has become a laughing stock in Hulingshan Village.
Looking at Sun Shan who was washing his hands, the old lady was comforted again. Her eldest daughter married well and had face in the village. Everyone in Hulingshan said that the eldest son-in-law was kind. Who would go to her daughter's family to ask for money?
After Sun Shan washed his hands, he helped his two younger cousins wash their hands. Da Gen said impatiently, "Brother Shan, I never washed my hands before."
Cousin Shan is such a troublemaker. If it weren’t for the candy in his pocket, I wouldn’t have listened to him.
Sun Shan ignored Dagen and helped Ergen wash his hands. The little cousin was small and obedient. He did whatever he was told and didn't complain.
Sun Shan took a candy from his pocket and said with a smile, "Ergen is a good boy. Here, keep the candy and eat it after you finish the meat."
Ergen's eyes lit up. He put the candy in his pocket and laughed.
Da Gen was dumbfounded and looked at Sun Shan eagerly.
Sun Shan waved his hands like a little adult and said, "Da Gen, you didn't listen, so you don't get candy this time. If you listen, you will get candy next time."
After saying that, he ignored Dagen, called his three cousins, and pulled Ergen into the house.
The tables were quickly set up in the main room, one for men and one for women.
Today's meal was much inferior to the one served at the Sun family reception. There was one dish of pork fried with bamboo shoots, one dish of braised chicken, one dish of steamed yellow eel brought by Aunt Su, and one dish of green vegetables.
As for soup, no.
There is also a small pot of wine on the men's table, which was brought by Sun Boming.
Da Gen and Er Gen stared at the table, and even the eldest sister and the other two stared at it.
Second Aunt Su sat next to Su, too timid to look at the table. She hadn't dared to say a word since she came in. If it wasn't for the eldest sister's request to come over, Second Aunt Sun would never have returned to her parents' home to be disliked.
Xiao Liu looked at her second sister-in-law with disdain, curled her lips, and wanted to say something but finally held back.
Old Man Su picked up a piece of chicken head and said, "Everyone, eat. Bomin, eat a piece of chicken quickly. It's delicious."
When everyone saw Old Man Su start to eat, they followed suit.
Sun Shan ate slowly, so Sun Bomin put a lot of meat into his bowl and told him to eat slowly.
Old Man Su picked up a chicken leg and said with a smile, "Shanzi, here, eat the chicken leg. It has a lot of meat."
After Sun Shan took it, he thanked him, put it in Ergen's bowl, and said with a smile, "Ergen is the smallest, eat two."
Ergen grinned, and Xiao Liu was satisfied. She smiled exaggeratedly and said, "Hey, Ergen, thank your cousin Shanzi quickly."
Old Lady Su bit into a large piece of fat meat. The pork was bought by her eldest daughter. It was good quality and very fat. She said happily, "Our Shanzi is a sensible brother. Dagen, you should learn from him."
Da Gen ate the meat with big mouthfuls. No matter what you said, he just nodded. Instead of talking, he might as well eat a few more pieces of meat.
Su saw that her second sister only picked up vegetables and didn't dare to pick up meat. Under Xiao Liu's deathly gaze, she picked up several pieces of meat for her second sister and three nieces.
Humph, I brought it here again, so what if I pick it up?
Deliberately asked: "Sister-in-law, when did you go back to your parents' home?"
Little Liu said angrily but not daring to speak: "I'll come back tomorrow."
Su nodded and said nothing more. She would ask her mother to be careful about the New Year gifts she brought, so that Xiao Liu wouldn't take them back to her mother's home.
Today we had sweet potato rice. Sun Shan felt full after eating one bowl. Eating too much sweet potato would make one’s stomach bloated, so Sun Shan didn’t like it very much.
Soon the food was finished, and Mrs. Su, Aunt Su, and Mrs. Liu cleaned up the dishes.
A married woman also has to work when she returns to her parents' home as a guest.
After everything was ready, Su took a pack of cakes and a piece of meat and took Sun Boming and Sun Shan to the home of the village chief of Hulingshan. After all, her mother's family lived here, and her second sister also lived here, so it was only right for her to have a good relationship with the village chief.
The chief of Hulingshan Village is very enthusiastic. Among the many daughters born to Su Laosan, only Su married the best and was the best in dealing with people.
He looked at Sun Shan again, touched his little head, and said with a smile, "This boy looks festive."
Sun Shan smiled shyly yet awkwardly.
Today Sun Shan was wearing a large cotton-padded jacket made of red cloth that was brought back by Aunt Sun. It was bright red and looked like a moving lantern, which was the adults' favorite.
Su said proudly, "No, it's the clothes. They were made of fabric that his aunt brought back from the capital city."
When the village chief heard about Fucheng, his eyes lit up and he said with emotion: "The material of Fucheng is good and feels comfortable."
He even touched Sun Shan's red cotton-padded jacket and added, "It's thick and warm."
Su and the village chief said that Sun Boming and Sun Shan were just in the background, listening to them talk motionlessly.
Having said that, I said goodbye.
When Su came back, she curled her lips and said, "Humph, you eat my meat every year and you don't even give me a red envelope."
Sun Shan was embarrassed. Actually, Su was right. He had sent gifts every year, but he had never given a single penny.
Sun Bomin said indifferently: "It's only a penny, not much. We are begging him, so it's normal if he doesn't give us money."
Su was just talking.
How can I expect the village chief to give it to me?
After returning to her mother's house, she saw her daughters and three nieces playing, and Su said happily: "You play for a while, it's time to go back later."
Hulingshan Village is quite far from Sunjia Village. The nights are long and the days are short in winter. It is also not very safe to walk in the mountains, so it is better to go back early.
Old Man Su and Younger Brother Su were packing winter bamboo shoots in sacks in the yard.
Old Lady Su said, "My dear girl, you'd better go back early. It's not safe in the mountains."
Old Man Su nodded in agreement. He could see his eldest daughter several times a year, unlike other families' daughters who only came home once a year. Old Man Su was very satisfied with his eldest daughter.
When Aunt Su heard that her eldest sister was about to leave, she winked at her youngest sister, asking her to go back and get the eel.
He whispered, "Sister, I caught a lot of eels in the fields this morning. Take them back for my mother-in-law to eat."
Su did not refuse. He couldn't just give without asking for anything in return.
I secretly carried a bag of sweet potatoes for my second sister. If I didn't bring anything back, I wouldn't be able to explain to the head of the household and my mother-in-law.
Eels are hard to catch in winter, so my second sister must have worked very hard to catch them. Su appreciates this kindness.
Old man Su got two small sacks of winter bamboo shoots and gave some dried mushrooms and nuts. Second Aunt Su took eight yellow eels, each as thick as a thumb. Guyu and the other little girls were very happy because the yellow eels tasted good.
Sun Shan quickly wrapped the peach branches and put them on the cart.
Younger Su tapped Sun Shan's nose and said with a smile, "Shanzi, no one is going to snatch it from you."
I don’t understand what city people want peach branches for. The flowers can’t be eaten. I don’t understand.