Chapter 29: Parents Quarrel

  On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, tofu is ground, and in some places, windows are pasted. However, there's already tofu in the kitchen, so grandma just needs to deep-fry it. Nowadays, most families don't need to paste windows, but grandma bought some window decorations and a "fu" character to stick on.

  Dad and mom went to the city yesterday and didn't come back. Today, when they returned from the city, Fang Mo Nan felt that the atmosphere between the two was strange, as if they had a fight.

  Fang Mo Nan walked forward and pulled his mother's hand, "Mom, what's wrong."

  Mom's face was dragged down, Dad obviously stood beside her with a flattering expression, but didn't see Mom's face improve.

  "It's nothing." Mom forced out a smile that was even uglier than crying.

  "Huh? Where's your new coat?" Fang Mo Nan asked, noticing that his mom was wearing a half-old outfit. "Didn't you wear the new one when you went out yesterday?"

  "I have something else to attend to, ask your dad." The old mom instructed and stepped into the house with a huff, her footsteps echoing on the stone steps.

  Dad looked at his daughter, who was blinking her eyes waiting for an answer, and smiled foolishly. "Heh heh... Yesterday when we went to Grandpa's house, Auntie thought it looked good and wanted to... leave." His voice was hoarse, his throat hurt, and he sucked in snot, occasionally using a handkerchief to wipe it away.

  "Dad, you've caught a cold." Fang Mo Nan thought and guessed what was going on. Hum! A whole family of unfed dogs, and it's just Dad being so foolishly filial.

  After Grandpa moved from the countryside to the city, he looked down on Grandma who was uneducated and unsophisticated, feeling she wasn't a good match for him as a business official. He left pregnant Grandma at home, having his mother act on his behalf, saying it was a divorce but actually just abandoning her.

  At that time, it was agreed to give the child living expenses every month, but in those days of material scarcity, they themselves were not full, let alone grandfather remarried and had children, so it was empty talk. Grandma insisted on raising the child by herself until high school graduation, until her body could no longer support her, then she told Dad about Grandpa's affairs, asking him to find his own father, hoping that for the sake of the child, he would stay in the city. Not long after, Grandma passed away.

  Following Grandpa's lifestyle, Dad was naturally a thorn in other people's eyes. Always reminding the future mistress that she was a second marriage.

  Since Dad graduated from high school and became an adult, he went out to work and was kicked out. There's no such cheap thing, going out to work also requires paying living expenses to the family every month.

  A simple and poor boy from a rural village, who has just seen the colorful world of the city, with a 'wealthy and powerful' father, his thoughts and senses are being shocked. The main thing is that the missing paternal love has been filled, looking at the household registration changed from rural to urban, it's easy to imagine the gratitude. Even if he was bullied, he endured silently.

  "Dad, you're also a family man now, you're the sky and pillar of our home." Fang Mo Nan handed him a bottle of medicine, "Suck on it." Then she left, she had to go comfort her mom.

  "What's going on!" Dad took the medicine bottle, opened it, and swallowed a pill. Cool and refreshing, suddenly felt his throat much more comfortable, his body much lighter.

  "It means that when your wife and children are bullied, you must stand up to protect them. You fool." Old Master Lin walked over and said, "Let's go! Follow me into the house and talk about what happened. When you leave, you'll be happy, but when you come back, your face will be as long as Mount Changbai."

  Dad also felt wronged and followed Old Man Lin into the house. Old Man Lin handed him a cup of hot tea, waiting for him to pour out his troubles.

  After entering the house, my mother began to complain about her experience with her husband's family: "They complained that there were too few vegetables and not enough to fill their teeth. Do they want some sincerity? The snacks are leftovers picked by others, and they're sent to them as if they're begging for food. He didn't even speak up for me! Instead, he nodded in agreement."

  Grandma was glad she didn't tell her daughter about the savings book for her granddaughter, if she knew, her son-in-law would also know, and who knows, they might have given it to that side as an offering.

  "Alright, Yan, don't be angry. All stepmothers are like this, don't be too critical. The etiquette has been observed, as long as you have a clear conscience, that's all that matters." Grandma handed her a cup of hot water to warm her hands, "At the time of marriage, didn't you know it would be like this today? What's there to be angry about?"

  "I'm angry at his inaction, and I didn't grow up with them since childhood. We all became independent before going back, how deep can the feelings be! Is he such a softie? In being filial to others, they won't consider him as one of their own family members, why doesn't he understand that if there's a stepmother then there's also a stepfather." Mother said indignantly.

  "What's wrong with your clothes?" Grandma asked.

  "Don't mention that dress, I knew it was tattered and worn out. I wore a new one to go, and my little sister saw it and praised how good it looked, wanting to try it on. As a result, she put it on, went to the big courtyard to show off for a while, and came back with several dirty handprints on it, saying to leave it there to wash it next time we go. My mother was furious, her hands shaking, 'This is like throwing a meat bun at a dog, I won't be able to get it back again.' His father didn't even fart in response. The two of us just came out like this, freezing in the cold winter, and he gave me his overcoat to wear, while he got frostbite, serves him right, who's going to sympathize with him?"

  "Alright, mom, we'll make a new one that's even better than the last." Fang Mo Nan walked in and heard his mother's harsh words, "They don't care about us, but we still do! They don't treat dad like family, can we just abandon him too? This needs to be carefully considered."

  "Let's think this through, how to change Dad's mind, and cure the root of the problem." Fang Mo Nan said, otherwise things from past lives will continue to happen, exhausting ourselves, and still ending up with nothing good. Even if we're rich in life, our spirit is still stunted.

  Two big ones and one small one, three people are working together to change the old dad. In Lin's house, the old man is also telling his grievances.

  "No matter what, he is still an elder and my father; a son should not speak of his father's mistakes."

  "Dad said in a hoarse voice."

  "Southern Dad, do you want to hear the truth?" Old Master Lin looked at him seriously.

  Dad looked at him and nodded with a worried heart, "Uh-huh!"

  "You think that since you came from a rural area, you feel inferior to them, and being a farmer is shameful. You've been blinded by the flashy world of the city. You look down on your own roots, even your own mother, you're ashamed to mention her, or maybe you wish you could have grown up in the city since childhood." Old Master Lin didn't directly say that his elders were wrong, but instead spoke directly to the self-doubt deep within his heart.

  "I didn't, it was my dad." The old man's excuse was pale and powerless, so vulnerable to attack.

  "You just said, 'A child's words are a father's fault.' But you've also heard, 'Raise them poorly, and it's the father's fault.' Think about that. Old Master Lin continued with a heavy heart: "I consider Nan to be my own granddaughter, so I'm treating you like one of my own. That's why I'm saying things you don't want to hear, even if they're harsh. The grudges of the previous generation can be put aside after death; it's not worth dwelling on. As long as you live well, that's all that matters. Your mother didn't let you harbor resentment towards them. But you shouldn't lose your backbone as a person. Your mother had the courage to raise you independently, and you shouldn't be timid or weak in front of them. A child raised by her shouldn't turn out so poorly, so easily swayed."

  "What's wrong with being a farmer's son? Counting back several generations, everyone was born to farmers." Old Man Lin said with a smile.

  "You've also settled down and have a daughter now. You should think about how to spend the rest of your life." Old Man Lin patted my dad's shoulder and said.

  Dad and mom's quarrel has passed, I don't know if Mr. Lin's advice worked or not, anyway dad tried his best to please mom. Fang Mo Nan didn't see whether mom was really not angry anymore, this can only be tested by time.

  Liang Zi closed the shop door and hastily rushed to Fang Mo Nan's home.

  Fang Mo Nan gave Liang Zi three large cardboard boxes, "These are for you, Shou Hou and Pang Zi. It's Chinese New Year, I'm giving you some gifts to add to your celebrations, don't mind that there aren't many!"

  Liangzi opened a box and found a chicken, a duck, a fish, two kilograms of meat; as well as tomatoes, spinach, beans, scallions, etc. It's estimated that the other two boxes are also the same.

  "This is all for us, how can we want it?" Liangzi's eyes were red and he was so moved that he didn't know what to say. In his heart, he secretly made up his mind to work hard.

  "What's wrong with wanting some food? Don't state-owned factories also give out welfare during the New Year?"

  "Take it away, don't be like a weak woman." She also said: "Don't open the shop tomorrow, the New Year is coming soon. These days are exhausting enough, take a good rest, nourish your spirit and energy, next year we'll make a big effort."

  "No, the New Year's goods at home were prepared by my mother! I reckon Shouhuan and Pangzi don't want to take a break either, thinking of selling more before the new year. Next year when we come down to Yang City, we can also stock up on more goods."

  "Alright then! You decide for yourselves." Fang Mo Nan gave up.

  Liang Zi hugged three large boxes, with a heart full of emotions and countless thoughts.

  If it weren't for meeting her, his eyes would still be shrouded in darkness.

  Fang Mo didn't think as much as he did, but felt that there were too many animals in the space that couldn't be consumed, so it was better than nothing.

  On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, people start to prepare for the New Year. In rural areas, this day is a grand market day, and villagers from surrounding villages flock to the market to buy New Year's goods. Cigarettes, wine, fish, meat, firecrackers, and gifts for visiting relatives are all essential items. The festive atmosphere has begun to thicken.

  Their annual meat hasn't been cut yet, and when Dashengzi came to take the seedlings, he brought a pig raised by his own family. After killing it, they got a hind leg that weighed over 30 pounds. With this amount of meat, it's estimated that it won't be enough for everyone to eat, as the whole family is full of meat lovers.

  When Da Chengzi was about to leave, Fang Mennai told him that if the corn stalks were gone, they would probably rot after a winter of wind and sun. He could use grass instead, and after hearing this, he didn't even have time to eat his meal before leaving. When he got home, he replaced the rotten corn stalks with grass, tidied up the vegetable garden, applied some fertilizer to make the vegetables grow better, and shared his method with others in the village who wanted to increase their income without hiding any secrets. The whole family was busy, the men were busy planting vegetables, the women took charge of buying New Year's goods, they didn't have time to dawdle, this village was now busy to the point where their feet didn't touch the ground.

  Dazheng's son brought the meat, and Grandma led the family to divide it up. They started chopping the filling for dumplings, and with the leftover meat, they began frying meatballs, radish silk balls, and steaming jujube flower buns.

  The large bones with meat left on them were not scraped clean, cut into segments, and then put into the family's steamer pot. First, they were stir-fried in hot water to wash out the blood. Then, cold water was added along with scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper, star anise, astragalus, dried wolfberries, Chinese dates, salt, and then boiled over high heat.

  After cooking, they held big bones in their hands and gnawed at them, with Fang Mornan and the others having oily mouths, it was really fragrant!

  In the past two days, although Mom has accepted the child's precocity, she still feels a little uncomfortable in her heart. However, looking at Fang Mo Nan's eyes always makes her feel creepy.

  "This child..." Mom looked at her daughter who was designing a coat for herself.

  "Nannan is very good, sensible and obedient." Old Master Lin said, seeing that Old Mother was hesitant and rarely spoke up. "The more such children are, the harder they are to educate. Early wisdom, worldly experience, and even perseverance. Such qualities will have great power no matter which direction they take. But her direction can only be decided by herself. Dayan, I see that every time you come, Nannan always secretly follows you around, with longing in her eyes. You should spend more time with her!"

  "Really!" The old mother was delighted in her heart. Her daughter's dependence on them made her feel at ease and also put down the confusion in her mind.

  In traditional folk customs, people take a concentrated bath and wash clothes on these two days to get rid of the haze of the past year and prepare for the new spring. In Beijing, there is a proverb that says "Wash away illness on the 27th and wash away laziness on the 28th". Washing baths on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is called "washing good fortune".

  These two days, Fang Mo Nan put the hot spring water from the space into a large vat in the kitchen, letting everyone at home take a good bath. Actually, they usually washed with the warm spring water too. It's just that they didn't wash often, but this time there was enough water.

  Twenty-seven, slaughtered the public chicken; twenty-eight, sent out noodles; twenty-nine, steamed buns. With Fang Mò Nán's powerful kitchen around, Grandma was quite idle for a while, having done several months' worth of work in one go, taking advantage of the New Year to rest well. Grandma and Fang Mò Nán were busy in the 'kitchen', stirring up food. In fact, sometimes, celebrating the New Year is more tiring than going to work, but everyone still looks forward to it, a reunion year.

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