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Chapter 288: Chapter 278 Visiting
By the time Li Hongjun left home in the afternoon, it was already late. He glanced at his watch, straightened his expression, his mouth corners pressed downwards, returning to an expressionless face, and then with his arms braced, he jogged off to work.
Shen Yunfang, hearing the door close from inside the house, knew that Li Hongjun had gone, and then turned to pull her son into her arms. She thought contentedly to herself, "This is life, the life of ordinary people. Every day, when there’s time, the two of us discuss the household necessities, negotiating everything we do, and when there’s nothing else, there is someone to banter with. Perhaps others would find such a mundane life dull, but she found exceptional satisfaction in it."
The next day, bright and early, Li Hongjun was like an old ox, dressed neatly and pushing his bicycle out the door. His task for the day was to go to the mountains to collect some firewood, to keep his wife and child warm. Taxue, hardly ever having the chance to go outdoors, eagerly followed his master’s bike with his tongue lolling out.
Shen Yunfang got herself smartly dressed and changed her son into a nice little outfit, then wrapped her son in a blanket. With her child in one arm and the prepared items in the other, she went to visit her neighbor, Sister Wu.
"Sister at home?" Their houses were close by, and Shen Yunfang had only taken a few steps out of her door to reach Sister Wu’s entrance, calling inside.
"Yes, here." Sister Wu, hearing someone at the door, quickly came to greet her, "Yunfang has come. Why did you come by yourself? Come inside quickly, where’s Hongjun?"
"He went to the mountains to pick firewood," replied Shen Yunfang, walking inside with Sister Wu.
"Oh dear, I completely forgot about that. You’ve just moved here and have no firewood. I should have given you some to use first. It’s so miserable going out to the mountains in such cold weather. Look at my lousy memory, completely forgetting something like this," Sister Wu said with a look of annoyance. How could she have forgotten?
"It’s okay, he has nothing to do at home; letting him keep busy is fine," said Shen Yunfang politely.
Usually, each family collects almost enough firewood for the entire winter. If her family really were to take firewood from Sister Wu’s place, then Sister Wu wouldn’t have enough for herself. She couldn’t do such a thing. Besides, going to the mountain was just a formality; the quantity of collected firewood didn’t matter. It was mainly about having an excuse to use the firewood from her space. Otherwise, it would raise suspicion if firewood suddenly appeared in her home to be used.
"Look at you talking; isn’t it nice to rest at home for a day? Why must he endure the cold and exhaustion by going up the mountain?" Sister Wu complained.
Yunfang just smiled and stayed quiet. However, once inside the house, she saw there were quite a few people present.
Wu Guoqiang was tinkering with something on the kang (a traditional heated bed), surrounded by a few children chattering away.
"Brother Wu is also at home," Shen Yunfang greeted politely.
"Don’t mind him, he’s on holiday and does nothing to help me, just fools around with his broken radio every day. Here, put your child here, and let’s chat," Sister Wu said as she cleared a spot on the kang for Shen Yunfang to sit.
Yunfang placed her child on the kang and put the cloth bag she was carrying on the table. She pulled out a small cage with ten quail she had caught that morning, along with a large white cabbage, some biscuits, and oven-roasted goodies, which she had prepared knowing that the Wu children would all be home today.
"Yunfang, what are you doing?" Sister Wu asked, seeing Shen Yunfang take things out and glancing towards her own storage cabinet.
Wu Guoqiang also paused his tinkering and looked up at Shen Yunfang as she took things out of the bag.
"Mom, quails, I want to eat quail," Wu Guoqiang’s youngest son, Wu Hao, said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the quails in the cage.
He recognized the item; he had seen it before when he and his mother went back to their hometown. It was so delicious, even better than chicken.
Wu Guoqiang, hearing his son make such a ruckus without any manners, slapped him on the head, of course not on the face, but ruffling his hair, "You little rascal, have you forgotten all the manners we taught you? Just eating like that. You’ve grown so big for what?"
"Exactly, exactly, we just had chicken yesterday, and today you’re embarrassing me again, I think you deserve a good thrashing. Go back to your room and stay there," scolded Auntie Wu as she also admonished the child.
Shen Yunfang felt quite uncomfortable witnessing this. She had brought something over, and here were the parents, one striking and the other scolding, joining forces to discipline the child. She couldn’t just stand by and say nothing.
"Sister-in-law, Brother Wu, what are you doing? I brought this for the children to eat. Why can’t you let the child speak? Come here, Wu Hao, don’t listen to your mom and dad. Your aunt still has delicious food here for you," she called out.
Wu Hao, who turned eight this year, was at the age where he was constantly looking for something to do. He was used to seeing his father’s hefty slaps and his mother’s nagging, so it didn’t bother him at all. Hearing his young aunt say there was something delicious, he quickly went over to her without hesitation.
"Auntie, what other delicious things do you have?" He knew he wouldn’t be able to eat the quail anytime soon, but if he could get a taste of something else, that would be great too.
Shen Yunfang opened the brown paper package at the very bottom to reveal golden-orange cookies and slightly burnt hawthorn sweets, which instantly triggered an uncontrollable salivation in the boy.
"Don’t just stand there staring; all these are for you and your siblings to eat as much as you like. Once you’re finished, come over to your aunt’s house, she has more," she said.
Wu Hao’s little eyes rolled around, glancing at his father and then at his mother.
"Wu Hao, you’re not allowed to take any," Auntie Wu hurried over to the edge of the table. She knew exactly what her son was like: indifferent to everything but food. "Yunfang, what are you doing? Why are you bringing all these things over here? Put them away, and take them all with you when you leave. You’re making me upset," she said.
"Auntie, is all this really for me?" Wu Hao asked the young aunt again, as if he hadn’t heard his mother’s words.
"Yes, but not just for you alone, also for your sister and younger sister." Shen Yunfang quite liked the child although he seemed rather impolite.
"Got it," said Wu Hao. He slipped his small hand past the large protective hand of his mother, secured the paper package, and stuffed it into his chest before running outside while shouting, "Thanks, auntie! Big sister, little sister, hurry back to the room. We’ve got good stuff to eat!"
The little girl on the kang bed, hearing her brother’s call, scrambled to get down. Wu Guoqiang had no choice but to give his daughter a hand, so she could get down successfully, put on her shoes, and run towards the door, following her brother’s lead.
"These darn kids... Tingting, say thank you to your aunt," sighed Auntie Wu helplessly.
"Thank you, auntie," came the gentle voice of the little girl from the doorway.
"You go too, and keep an eye on your brother and sister," Wu Guoqiang said to his eldest daughter, feeling sorry for her. The younger ones had run to the other room to divide up the treats, and the eldest, being too shy to join, would end up missing out.
Wu Xiaoyu gave Shen Yunfang a shy smile, "Thank you, auntie. Please have a seat, I’m going to check on them in the other room," said the big sister before she politely exited the room.
