Chapter 16 – Return Visit (Part Two)

Chapter 16 - Return Visit (Part Two)

In Apricot Flower Village, at the Qian residence.

Zhao Sufen was up early this morning, sweeping the house and even chasing the chickens to the backyard to prevent them from fouling the courtyard.

Since yesterday, Qian Gouzi had heard his mother repeatedly talking about how his sister would be coming home today. Unusually, he didn't run out to play but instead crouched in the yard with his brothers Qian Chuanzi and Qian Louzi, playing with wooden sticks. Every now and then, he would ask, "Has my sister come back yet?" or "Has that tall brother-in-law arrived?", causing Zhao Sufen endless irritation.

"Your new clothes are already covered in dirt after just one day! Your mother might as well spend the whole day washing clothes for you!" Zhao Sufen's anger flared as she watched him. She circled the yard twice before rummaging through the stack of firewood under the eaves, finding a stick. Marching towards Qian Gouzi's protruding bottom with an intimidating demeanor, she yelled, "You're restless every day, either stirring trouble in the village or causing havoc at home with Chuanzi and Louzi. Yesterday, Mother Wang said she saw the three of you by the river. Were you planning to swim? I'll beat you to death!"

"Ahh, what are you doing, Mother!" Qian Gouzi, who had been happily playing with his nephews, panicked when he saw his mother lift the stick, immediately covering his bottom and jumping up from the ground. He shouted, dropping the small wooden stick and running away without looking back, "I didn't want to go into the river! How dare I! It was Chuanzi who wanted to swim; I was trying to stop him!"

Qian Chuanzi, betrayed by his younger uncle who was even younger than him, saw his step-grandmother raise her stick and quickly dragged Louzi outside, yelling as they ran, "You're not my real grandmother! You can't hit me! If you do, I'll tell my mother!"

Zhao Sufen was furious, chasing them to the door where she shouted at their retreating figures, "If I hear anyone say that you went to the river to play again, I don't care if you're my biological grandchild or not – I'll break your legs!"

Qian Gouzi raced to the village entrance. A man with a hoe on his shoulder spotted him and teased, "Gouzi, you're causing trouble again with your two nephews. Watch out, your father might punish you later."

"I didn't bring them along. They insisted on following me," Qian Gouzi grumbled, casting an annoyed glance at him. His eyes rolled around before he suddenly spoke up, "Uncle Zhu, I saw you carrying firewood for Ama Chen who lives at the end of the village yesterday. Won't Aunt Zhu get angry if she finds out that you're helping a widow like that?" He asked naively, feigning ignorance.

Uncle Zhu nearly jumped in fright. He hurriedly turned his head to look around, then crouched down to cover Qian Gouzi's mouth, pleading, "Oh my little ancestor, what have you been eating that made you so cunning at such a young age? Uncle will beg for mercy, alright? Don't mention this to anyone. I just felt sorry for her as a widow and helped her out. You absolutely cannot tell Aunt Zhu about this!"

Qian Gouzi nodded perfunctorily. "Mm-hmm."

Uncle Zhu repeatedly warned him not to tell anyone about it. Irritated, Qian Gouzi pushed him away and ran out of the village.

He found a small hill to sit on and plucked a nice-looking blade of grass to chew on. With his eyes fixed on the path leading into the village, he waited for his sister's figure to appear.

Qian Suanzi, son of Elder Brother Qian, and Qian Luozi, son of Second Brother Qian, ran over and sat down beside Qian Gouzi. The two brothers whispered to each other while searching for a blade of grass similar to the one Qian Gouzi had.

Qian Suanzi was two years older than Qian Gouzi, but for some reason, they both loved following their young uncle around since they were kids. The villagers often joked about it, greeting Qian Gouzi with, "Young Uncle Dogzi is playing with his nephews again." As a child, Qian Gouzi couldn't tell if it was a compliment or not, but he would nod proudly, feeling very impressive with his two followers.

As he grew older, he noticed how his two sisters-in-law treated his sister poorly, assigning all the household chores to her. He complained to his father, who merely said, "We don't keep idle people in this family."

But to him, his eldest sister-in-law was the idle one. Yet, the family still supported her.

Eventually, he forgot when it was, but while playing with his two tag-along nephews in the village, he overheard some gossipy women saying that his sister wasn't his father's daughter but had been brought in by his mother from outside.

Indeed, his sister was named Li Taohua, while he was called Qian Laifu. They didn't share the same surname.

But they had the same mother, and his sister doted on him the most.

Qian Gouzi gazed at the sole path leading into the village, his small face against the wind, a youthful countenance etched with melancholy. He let out an adult-like sigh and earnestly said, "Chuanzi, you shouldn't play with me anymore in the future."

Money Chuanzi, who was busy looking for grass to eat, jumped in surprise. He loved playing with his uncle; no child in the village didn't enjoy spending time with him. Uncle was the village bully, even the geese in the village were afraid of him. Alarmed, he asked, "What's going on, Uncle? Why won't you play with me?"

"You said my mom isn't your real grandma, so you're not my real nephew. I won't play with you anymore." Qian Gouzi waved them away. "Don't sit here, this is a small hill I found, it's my spot. I don't allow outsiders to occupy my territory."

"Uncle, we're family! We all have the same surname, Qian!" Money Chuanzi refused to leave and instead tilted his head to look at him. "Are you sick and not thinking straight, Uncle?"

"You're the one with a messed-up brain," Qian Gouzi said angrily as he pushed him. "If you're not my mom's real grandson, then you're not my real nephew. I won't play with you! Go away! Get lost!"

The two relatives pushed each other, while Qian Lu zi, clueless about the situation, continued searching for grass on the ground.

Seeing that the two of them weren't leaving, Qian Gouzi was furious.

Money Chuanzi was also upset. What was going on? How could they suddenly not be family? They both had the surname Qian, so why wasn't he considered family anymore? Thus, he too became unhappy, and the two began pushing each other, seemingly about to engage in a fight. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from not too far away, "Gouzi, no fighting!"

Qian Gouzi promptly pushed away the clinging Qian Chuizi and jumped up, rushing towards the main road. Upon seeing his sister hastily approaching them, his eyes started to water uncontrollably. With his short legs pedaling furiously, he dashed into Tao Hua's embrace, wailing, "Sis, I missed you so much! Sis, Mama wants to beat me!"

Tao Hua was knocked several steps back by his impact, leaving her no time to listen to his complaints. Seeing his pitiful state, she hurriedly asked, "What happened? What's going on? Did you get hurt fighting with Chuizi? Ooh, where does it hurt? Tell me, show me where it hurts, Gouzi, don't cry anymore."

"Sniff..." Qian Gouzi clung to her waist, weeping loudly.

In the midst of his tears, he caught sight of Wei Dahu standing behind his sister, looking down at him with a half-smile that irked him. Qian Gouzi immediately stopped crying, wiping his tears with his sleeve, then released Tao Hua. "Sis, you're finally back."

Tao Hua crouched down to examine his body thoroughly, but found no wounds or even a reddened patch of skin. Relieved, she immediately scolded him, "Why did you fight with Chuizi? Can't you talk things out properly? If Big Sister finds out, there'll be trouble."

"I didn't want to play with him anymore. He wouldn't leave, it was annoying," Qian Gouzi said angrily.

Qian Chuizi, carrying the money basket, cautiously approached, while Tao Hua shot a stealthy glare at Qian Gouzi. She softened her expression and turned to her nephews, asking, "Chuizi, are you hurt anywhere? Don't fight with your little uncle. If Grandpa finds out, he'll scold both of you."

Qian Chuizi pointed at Qian Gouzi, "I didn't want to fight. It was my little uncle who was being unreasonable."

"Who do you think was being unreasonable?!" Qian Gouzi lunged forward to retaliate, but Wei Dahu instantly grabbed his collar. Qian Gouzi's legs flailed in mid-air, "Let me go!"

Wei Dahu lifted him slightly and shook him, "Who do you want to let go?"

Qian Gouzi remained silent with his mouth shut. Despite Wei Dahu's attempts to shake him, he refused to budge, earning a silent admiration from Wei Dahu for his stubbornness.

Tao Hua, seeing the two of them still at odds, felt exasperated. She tugged on Wei Dahu's sleeve, "What's the point of carrying him like this? Put Gouzi down quickly."

Obedient to his wife, Wei Dahu released Qian Gouzi with a smile.

Qian Gouzi shot him a fierce glare after hitting the ground, then dashed off, turning back to Tao Hua as he ran, "Sis, I'll go tell Mother you're back first!"

With that, he sprinted towards the village, full of excitement.

Seeing this, Qian Chuansi promptly pulled Qian Lousi along to follow.

Tao Hua's face was radiant with joy. Looking up at Wei Dahu, she said, "Gouzi must have come out specially to wait for us."

Wei Dahu replied, "That kid isn't afraid of me."

"Why would he be scared? Are you a tiger about to devour someone?" Tao Hua glanced at him, unable to hold back her laughter. Since spotting familiar landmarks, her smile hadn't left her face, and her steps were filled with joy. "Last time when we took this path, it didn't feel that long. But today, it seems much farther."

"Back then, you rode in an ox cart – four legs naturally move faster than two," explained Wei Dahu.

"You really make it hard to have a conversation with you," Tao Hua grumbled, her maidenly distress turning into a trivial distinction between two-legged and four-legged creatures in his words.

Wei Dahu wore a puzzled look, not understanding why she had suddenly become upset. Had he said something wrong? Could it be because he didn't let her ride the ox cart home today?

He quickly explained, "The ox cart that came for our wedding was from the village chief's house. I thought it wouldn't be right to have you walk such a long way to marry me. Before our life even began, I'd already be causing you hardship."

Tao Hua had been two parts annoyed at his lack of romance, but hearing this explanation was like drinking two large bowls of honey water on a hot summer day, sweetening every inch of her being.

As they walked through the village, a familiar woman greeted Tao Hua. She acknowledged the greeting and then leaned in to whisper something softly.

"Having you by my side, I'm not afraid of any long journey."

Saying this, she avoided Wei Dahu's gaze, suppressing the thumping of her heart. She engaged in conversation with acquaintances along the way and eventually arrived at the Qian residence.

Zhao Sufen stood at the entrance, her heart filled with anticipation. Finally, she saw her daughter who had been married for several days.

Spotting Tao Hua looking at her eagerly from the door, Tao Hua wore a smile. She knew her mother wanted to see her happy, for that was the only way her mother could be at ease. "Mother, it's such scorching sun. Why were you waiting at the door? Aren't you hot?"

Zhao Sufen examined her from head to toe. Seeing Tao Hua's rosy complexion and her vitality despite the long journey, wrinkles on her face bloomed into a smile. She nodded repeatedly, "Alright, alright, alright. You must be tired after such a long journey with your husband. Come inside quickly and rest."

Having said that, she hastily invited Wei Dahu. Wei Dahu respectfully called out "Mother-in-law," much to Zhao Sufen's delight. She promptly urged them to come inside for a chat.