Chapter 14: Erecting a Monument

  On the afternoon of January 13th, Xu Shaojie brought Xu Yijie to wait for Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhuan at the entrance of the county town. The arrangement had been made long ago at home, and the two were already considered family members, so they stayed at home. Xu Lan and her mother lived in one room, Xu Shaojie and Xu Yijie lived in another room, and Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhuan lived in a separate room.

  In Xu Shaojie's hometown, there was a big taboo: it was better to let guests stay for mourning than to let them live as a couple. This meant that when outsiders came home, they absolutely could not live together as husband and wife, otherwise the host family would suffer greatly. However, this did not apply to one's own son.

  Generally speaking, even daughters were not allowed to return home with their husbands. From Han Qing'e's arrangement, it was clear that Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhuan were already considered her son and daughter-in-law, so they naturally had to live together when they returned home.

  Han Qing'e did not know the relationship between Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhuan, and Xu Shaojie would not say.

  The sedan stopped beside Xu Shaojie, Zhang Shaocai quickly turned off the engine and got out of the car, tightly hugging Xu Shaojie. Yan Yuhuan also got out of the car and similarly hugged Xu Shaojie. At this time, Zhang Shaocai had nothing to say, their relationship was different now, Yan Yuhuan was Xu Shaojie's sister, it was only natural for a sister to hug her brother.

  "Zhang Ge, Yan Jie, let me introduce you, this is my brother Xu Yijie."

  "Alright, alright, it's just my little brother, and this is your sister-in-law."

  Xu Yijie's movements were a bit stiff, obviously not too used to this set. After Zhang Shaocai and Xu Yijie shook hands, everyone got on the car.

  "Shao Jie, once you arrive in the provincial city, remember to learn how to drive. Driving is actually quite simple. After you get there, I'll teach you and you can practice driving this car."

  "Big brother, no way, this is a new car, it's too wasteful to learn how to drive."

  "What's the point of talking, cars are nothing, as long as you learn, it's a good thing."

  Xu Yijie, who was sitting in the back, was somewhat moved. He knew some of the situation and had heard from fellow inmates in prison that if a new car is used for learning to drive, it's easy to damage the clutch and harm the engine, which would result in significant losses and greatly shorten the lifespan of the vehicle. Looking at this car, it was clearly brand new.

  They were almost home, Zhang Shaocai opened the trunk of the car, Yan Yuhuan took out several large and small packages from inside, Xu Shaojie and Xu Yijie hurried forward to help carry things.

  Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhuan entered the door, Han Qing'e smiled and came up to welcome them. These two people were Xu Shaojie's best friends in the provincial city, and also big bosses. This time, they wrote their names on the tombstone, and Han Qing'e was still a little embarrassed. An unexpected scene happened, Zhang Shaocai pulled Yan Yuhuan, and both of them knelt down in front of Han Qing'e.

  "Mom, I brought Yuhuan to pay New Year's greetings to you, Chapter 14."

  Han Qing'e got up early, feeling very good. She had erected a monument for her husband and accomplished something big. Xu Yijie's work had also been settled, and he followed Zhang Shaocai to the provincial city, with a monthly salary of 600 yuan, which was equivalent to half a year's worth of his own work. The family's finances were no longer lacking, and there was more than enough money for Xu Lan's education. That night, Han Qing'e and Xu Yijie talked for a long time, roughly discussing how after arriving in the provincial city, he should do a good job, take care of Shaojie, and pay attention to solving his personal problems. At 23 years old, it was time to start dating, and if he found someone suitable, he should let his family know as soon as possible.

  Xu Yijie's spirit is also very good, constantly nodding, after experiencing so much, Xu Yijie has long been very mature, although the resentment in his heart still exists, however, these need time to slowly erase, in Xu Yijie's heart, family is the most important, as for his own marriage, Xu Yijie temporarily hasn't considered it.

  On the fifteenth day of the first month, eating glutinous rice balls is a rule, so breakfast was sweet fermented glutinous rice ball soup.

  Han Qing'e also felt a bit sad, on the 16th of the first month, Xu Shaojie and Xu Yijie were about to leave, their stay was too short. Xu Shaojie had to start school, and Xu Yijie had to go to the provincial city for work. This was inevitable, as children grew up, they would eventually have to leave. Xu Lan was about to enter high school, this time she did well on her exams, passing the formal admission score line of County No. 1 Middle School, which also started on the 17th of the first month.

  At night, the county town was very lively. There were many teams of lion dances and dragon boat racing. Everyone watched on the streets. During the day, there were also many people visiting units to pay New Year's greetings and receive red envelopes. At night, these teams went to the stadium to perform, with a sense of competition among them. The 15th of the first month is traditionally the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations, so many people came out to watch the performances.

  At night, when resting, Han Qing'e had not rested for a long time. She helped Xu Shaojie and Xu Yijie prepare their luggage, occasionally secretly shedding tears. A mother's worries are always with her children, no matter how far away they go. Han Qing'e would never be at peace.

  Before going to bed, Xu Shaojie and his sister Xu Lan had a conversation, telling Xu Lan to study hard and go to university in Beijing in the future. Afterwards, Xu Shaojie and Xu Yijie had a more serious talk, he told Xu Yijie about Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhe's detailed situation, asking Xu Yijie to be careful, not to show off when leaving home, and think of his family at all times. Xu Yijie was shocked to learn that Shaojie had left home in early August and even worked as a laborer on a construction site, but he didn't care much about Zhang Shaocai and Yan Yuhe's relationship.

  On the sixteenth day of the first month, Han Qing'e was at home and did not see off Xu Shaojie, Xu Yijie, Zhang Shaocai, and Yan Yuhuan. She didn't want to cry in front of everyone, so Xu Lan helped carry the luggage. Han Qing'e had prepared a lot of local snacks that she made herself for everyone to take with them. The luggage was quite a lot, and the trunk was packed full. When the car started up, Xu Shaojie saw his mother watching him from the balcony, tears streaming down her face.