hsntnovel Chapter 92 This day was exceptionally long
Chapter 92 This day was exceptionally long
Sanmiao Village
Today it's Li Xiuyun's turn to organize the "Memory Assistance Association," which is an arrangement made by the village, with each group consisting of ten households.
We responded to the call of the "Memory Heritage Foundation" by sharing in small groups.
Most of the participants in these memory assistance groups are older people like her.
Young people can't sit still; they prefer the recently popular "Ultimate Experience Conference."
However, Li Xiuyun disliked the activity, feeling it was a waste of food. There was so much food that couldn't be finished, and they were trying to waste it all. It was truly a sin!
"It's heartbreaking to see."
Li Xiuyun thought to herself, but her hands kept moving. The cleaver made a rhythmic tapping sound on the cutting board as she chopped minced meat.
Once all my old friends arrive, we can chat while we make dumplings.
"Xiuyun, I've already started stewing the chicken."
As Jiang Hua spoke, he wiped his hands on his apron and turned to look at Li Xiuyun.
"Let's add more firewood to the pot! Don't let the food get cold!"
"OK!"
As Jiang Hua spoke, he sat down in front of the stove, peeked into the old-fashioned wood-fired pot, where a faint red glow of embers still lingered. He then grabbed a handful of dry corn cobs from behind him, threw them in, and blew on them.
"Da da da..."
Li Xiuyun continued chopping the filling without looking up, saying, "Dahua, do you think Xiaoyuan is coming back today? There's so much food today, if he doesn't come back, we probably won't be able to finish it all."
Jiang Hua used the tongs to pick out a piece of charcoal, lit a cigarette with the spark, and said irritably, "How could he not come back? He can't sit still at school at all now. He didn't come back until four or five in the afternoon yesterday. It was cold last night, so he didn't come back, but he'll definitely be back today."
Just then, the two heard the door creak open.
Jiang Hua's family house is a front house with a back yard. The main road of the village runs in front of the house, and all the houses on both sides of the road are built in this way. Behind the house is a large courtyard, and around the courtyard is a row of small bungalows, with four or five rooms, which are used as kitchens, toilets, and storage rooms.
The front house has five large rooms on two floors, and with the roof insulation tiles, it's three stories. It's not the most grand house in the village, but it's exceptionally spacious.
In the very center is a wide passageway, big enough to park a small car, connecting to the yard. The area in front of the gate is also exceptionally spacious, about fifteen meters away from the road. In the summer, sitting in the yard with the gate open allows for ventilation from the east and west, preventing you from inhaling dust brought by passing cars and providing excellent relief from the heat.
After Jiang Yuan pushed open the door, he threw his bicycle into the aisle and shouted, "Mom, I'm home!"
"Are you hungry? There's food heating up in the pot!"
Li Xiuyun came out of the kitchen, stood smiling at the doorway, and looked at Jiang Yuan who was walking into the yard. The weather in the north was still particularly cold in this month, but the child was steaming, obviously having run back home covered in dust.
"I'm not hungry. Where's my dad?"
"They're heating the stove!"
"Okay! I'm going upstairs..." Jiang Yuan said with a chuckle, and ran upstairs.
"This child!" Li Xiuyun shook her head helplessly. Seeing her son had just reached the stairs, she remembered something else: "Yuanzi, several aunties from the village will be coming to visit around noon. You'd better hurry down."
"Okay, I understand," Jiang Yuan replied somewhat absentmindedly.
"What's wrong with this child?" Li Xiuyun muttered as she returned to the kitchen.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Hua's face darkened: "What else can happen? It's been like this ever since we came back from the space city."
"So what if you didn't get elected? There's nothing to be upset about!"
"Who knows?" Jiang Hua sighed silently.
"Dahua, you said we should arrange a marriage for the child. He's 18 now, which means he's an adult..." Li Xiuyun asked suddenly after she finished filling the bowl with the filling with a knife.
"Nonsense!"
Jiang Hua suddenly stood up, put on his cigarette, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the kitchen.
"What marriage? They're not even fully grown yet."
"Sigh, you..." Li Xiuyun saw Jiang Hua walking towards the gate and called out from behind him, "If you go out, go to Fumin's place and get some more drinks and alcohol."
……
Awareness Day, January 2th.
The last time the world went backwards was around 5 p.m. on January 1st. After evening and late at night, time kept moving forward until 5 or 6 p.m. on January 2nd, when the next world backwards had not yet arrived.
The "Memory Assistance Conference" held during the day was a great success organized by Li Xiuyun.
To be precise, Li Xiuyun's hospitality was very successful.
Ten neighboring families came over for a meal, and five tables were set up in the courtyard, making it very lively.
In the afternoon, after the men finished eating, some played cards, while others took a walk.
The remaining ten or so women sat around inside, chatting away with the heater on.
Li Xiuyun presided over the meeting with great shyness. The meeting had barely started for three minutes and the agenda hadn't even been completed when it turned into a gossip session.
This guy said, "That fat guy Sun from the east end of our village has found another woman from the next village, and they're fighting at home these days!"
The person said, "According to my memory, we're going to a feast tomorrow, and Chengqiao's father will be resurrected in a couple of days."
Some people said, "I heard that Chengwu's wife went crazy because of the children's problems, and now she can only be locked at home... It's really pitiful."
Someone suggested to Li Xiuyun: "Sister-in-law, I heard that it's popular to arrange weddings for children in the next village now. Why don't you make some arrangements for Yuanzi too?"
You said one thing, I said another, each of us had a topic, and the memory assistance conference slowly came to an end.
Jiang Hua came over once, brought some tea, listened for a while, then shook his head and got off at the ground.
"This isn't a memory-assistance conference; it's clearly a gossip conference."
Jiang Hua rode his bike all the way, unable to stop thinking.
Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, Jiang Hua first fed the dozen or so chickens kept in the shed at the edge of the field, then strolled along the ridge with his hands behind his back. He encountered people his own age along the way, exchanged cigarettes, and chatted idly for a few moments.
"It looks like this year's wheat harvest is ruined..."
"That's right. I remember last autumn there was heavy rain all year round, and the peanut and corn we planted suffered a significant reduction in yield."
After their chat, as dusk settled, Jiang Hua leisurely rode his tricycle home.
When I got home, all my neighbors had already left.
Just then, Jiang Yuan was heard muttering loudly, "Mom, aren't you tired? Why are you still tidying up? Just get some sleep, and you'll recover on your own tomorrow."
"It still needs to be cleaned up. This yard is full of garbage, it's an eyesore."
"You can clean up if you want, I'm not going to." Jiang Yuan said, then turned around and saw Jiang Hua.
"Dad, you're back!"
Jiang Hua nodded without saying anything.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuan shrank back, "Mom, let me help you!"
……
Late at night, just before going to bed, Li Xiuyun couldn't help but say again, "Dahua, you really don't want to find a wife for your second son."
Jiang Hua rolled over and sat up in bed, smiling wryly. "Look at this kid, he's completely lying flat. If we let him get married, he'll just be ruining some young girl's life."
"Maybe things will change after we get married!"
Li Xiuyun also sat up, and said quietly, "Old man, I remember the first time you said that becoming a man would make you different. What, were you just trying to fool me?"
"Oops~"
Jiang Hua was caught off guard by these words and blushed deeply. "What are you saying! I really think the child is too young, and besides, in this backward era, how would we get along after marriage..."
"But I feel like my child has been acting like he's in heat lately. He comes home and is always on his phone, acting all mysterious. I don't know what he's up to."