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Because she knew that Mao Na was coming, Hu Ruoyun arrived early at the intersection of the market in Laogu Township to wait. Xiao Feng and Xiao Hu wanted to join her, but their mother stopped them.
She and Second Aunt were busy preparing food and drinks at home, asking the two little ones to help wash vegetables and start the fire, while also getting Shuangyun and Cai Yun from Second Uncle's family to help set up the table and benches.
Finally, Hu Ruoyun spotted Mao Na, who was dressed in a bright red down jacket, wearing half-heeled black leather shoes, and wrapped in a handmade wool scarf gifted by Qiuying. With Hu Ruoyun's help, she pulled a large bag from the car.
As the bus departed, Mao Na complained, "I'm exhausted!"
Hu Ruoyun had her lean against the bike while she placed the heavy bag on the rear rack. "What did you bring? Why is it so heavy?"
"Don't even mention it. It's all the wine and meat that people brought when they came to pay New Year visits... I couldn't refuse; they brought it right to my door. My parents just told me to bring some here for us to share since we can't finish it all at home..." Mao Na explained.
Hu Ruoyun asked, "No one gave you anything particularly valuable, right? Like red envelopes or something?"
Mao Na widened her eyes in surprise. "What are you talking about? My dad said we can't refuse people's goodwill, but anyone who tries to give us expensive gifts will be turned away!"
Hu Ruoyun tugged at her arm. "Look at you, ready to fight with me in the street."
Mao Na laughed. "I know you're looking out for my dad; don't worry, he knows what he's doing!"
She leaned closer and playfully asked, "Do I look particularly scary when I glare like that?"
Once they secured the items on the bike rack, they could only walk back home.
Mao Na said, "Yesterday, Li Shengnan and I spent half a day at Ouyang Xiaxue's place. When I got home last night, I heard you called my dad. He even summoned my uncle to his office; it seems like there were people from the County Public Security Bureau and Town Police Station too..."
Hu Ruoyun praised him, "Uncle Mao is decisive in his actions!"
Mao Na asked curiously, "What was it about?"
Hu Ruoyun briefly recounted what she had heard yesterday.
Mao Na listened in disbelief. "Is Gaoqiao Town really that chaotic now?"
As they chatted along the way, they arrived home.
Mao Na looked at the two busy in the kitchen and shyly said, "Auntie, you can't keep treating me like a guest!"
Second Aunt smiled as she quickly served dishes onto the table. "If you had come during the busy farming season in June or July, we would have been too occupied with fieldwork to make anything special for you... But it's New Year now! Not only for you; whenever anyone comes over during this time, we have to set up a feast..."
Mao Na asked for an apron and had Xiao Feng help her tie it on. Ignoring her mother and Second Aunt's protests, she joined in.
Sister Jie, Aunt Kui, sister-in-law Wei Hong, and Woodzi's eldest daughter-in-law Mu Xiumei... A group of women from the neighborhood came over to see the "New Bride" (it's a local custom where unmarried young men visiting a woman's family are called "new sons-in-law," and unmarried women visiting a man's family are referred to as "new brides," attracting neighbors to come over for a look).
Aunt Kui joked, "Girl, you haven't even entered the door yet, and you're already expected to work. If you do well now... your mother-in-law will bully you once you're married, making you do this and that every day!"
Mao Na confidently brought out a plate of sunflower seeds and candy. "Don't worry, my aunt isn't that kind of person..."
Sister-in-law Wei Hong had been feeling stifled over the years, often clashing with her mother-in-law. Suddenly poked in a sore spot, she said to Aunt Kui, "Second Aunt, I'm not like that, and Sister-in-law Qi Hua isn't the kind of daughter-in-law who doesn't understand things. Who's like our family? Always looking for trouble, banging pots and pans..."
Mu Xiumei had gathered a lot of experience from her "struggles" with the women in Woodzi. "That's just how I am. If you treat me well, I'll return the favor tenfold; if you treat me poorly, I'll still return it tenfold... With some people, you have to be tough; otherwise, they won't know 'the trumpet is brass and the pot is iron'... I see Sister-in-law Qi Hua and Sister-in-law Ruo Yun as 'two good ones make one good'; they never quarrel."
Mao Na blushed at this and Zhao Meirong became even more cheerful.
It wasn't until the dishes were served that the group shared their sentiments while moving to sit together.
The two families gathered around two tables pushed together. Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua's cups were filled with wine, and it was Second Aunt who spoke up: "Na, from now on this is your proper home; eat and drink as you please—don't hold back..."
Zhao Meirong also inquired about Mao Na's parents before expressing her heartfelt sentiment: "In the past, I thought our family's life was worse than anyone else's. Now, I feel like no one lives as comfortably as we do!"
Everyone raised their cups and drinks in a toast.
Since Mao Na was staying over, Zhao Meirong took out several new quilts from the cabinet and piled them onto Xiao Feng's bed.
After dinner, once the dishes were cleared away, Mao Na asked Hu Ruoyun to bring over her bag. From it, she pulled out several dried rabbits, a few hams, as well as preserved chicken, duck, fish, and meat from the south—along with dried mushrooms and wood ears from the north—and several bottles of wine that Zhang Xiuzhen had packed: "My mom said Dad should drink less in the future; we can't keep so much wine at home!"
She found a bag to divide some of these items for Second Aunt and Second Uncle.
Seeing Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua discussing hauling bricks for spring construction, Hu Ruoyun said, "Dad, Second Uncle, don’t take on the brick hauling work anymore; it's too tiring getting up early and working late!"
For Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua, as long as they could earn money, a bit of hard work or suffering didn't matter. Hu Qihua replied, "What’s wrong with that? It's better than working like animals in the production team without earning any points!"
Second Uncle added, "Young people in the village go out to work in factories or construction teams; they send back quite a bit of money each year. But at our age, we can't do that anymore. We still have land at home; we can’t go out. Hauling bricks is just right—aside from loading and unloading being a bit tiring, we can earn twenty bucks a day or so."
Hu Ruoyun said, "Just because we're not letting you haul bricks doesn't mean you have to sit idle. We can do something else! Right now in Laogu Township, there's only one flour mill at the Grain Management Office; it takes half a day just to get flour. We might as well open a mill in our village—not only grinding flour but also corn grits and rice. Rain or shine, we can keep working."
Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua were clearly intrigued: this idea seemed promising.
Hu Ruoyun continued, "Isn't there that little courtyard my grandparents have by the street that's still empty? We could tidy it up and buy machines to set up there. Our village is big enough; just from milling flour for our villagers should earn us more than hauling bricks."
"Also," she added, "we could tear down the courtyard wall and add a feed machine. The peanut stalks and corn cobs we used to burn can be processed into feed for livestock..."
Second Uncle said enthusiastically, "That sounds good!"
Hu Qihua chimed in, "We can handle milling flour and making feed!"
Hu Ruoyun concluded, "If we don't have enough money for machines, I still have twenty or thirty thousand..."
"Brother, we don't need any help," Hu Ruoyun said, glancing at Mao Na. They spoke in unison, "We have our own ways!"
After all, the child's wife was right there; the child's money was the wife's money. Even if neither the child nor the wife said anything, the elders should have that awareness.
Moreover, shouldn't a mother and father be allowed to feel a bit of pride?
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