"Why is this?" Shen Qiuhua didn't understand the purpose of this regulation.
Yang Qiong shrugged. "Who knows? The rules handed down from the ancestors, everyone has always done this." She is a woman and is not within the rules, so she has not thought about the reasons carefully.
When the two entered the village, it was already dark. In the twilight, it can still be seen that the scale of the village is not small. The houses built on the mountain are lined up, and there are faint paths between the high and low houses. No one was seen in the village at the moment, and occasionally a few barks could be heard.
Yang Qiong hasn't come back for several years, but she is very familiar with the way. Mainly because the village hasn't changed much, it looks exactly the same every few years.
Arriving at the gate of her own house, Yang Qiong looked back at Shen Qiuhua before raising her hand and knocking on the door. "Mom and Dad, I'm back." She spoke the local dialect, and Shen Qiuhua struggled to hear it.
In a short time, through the low courtyard wall, a very old woman came out. She stood at the door of the room and looked out of the yard, and after a while, she asked tentatively, "Is it Xiao Qiong?"
"It's me." Yang Qiong nodded.
The woman came over to open the courtyard door, and before she could speak, a big yellow dog jumped out from the slanting thorns, frightening Shen Qiuhua.
"Don't be afraid, my dog. Lao Huang." Yang Qiong stopped in front of Shen Qiuhua and let Lao Huang's front paws pounce on her. "Old Huang, are you still alive?" Yang Qiong's words were so unpleasant.
Lao Huang is indeed quite old, and he will be honest after a pounce. Turning around at Yang Qiong's feet, occasionally tilting his head to look at Shen Qiuhua, but not screaming.
"Look, it's quite good." Yang Qiong reached out and touched Lao Huang's head. Lao Huang obediently let her touch, making a whimpering sound in his mouth.
"Xiao Qiong, this is..." The woman pointed at Shen Qiuhua and asked.
Yang Qiong has been patronizing the dog, and only now remembered to introduce it to the two. "Mom, this is my colleague, Shen Qiuhua. Qiuhua, this is my mother."
Shen Qiuhua's temperament was gentle and generous, and she didn't have the slightest stage fright when she saw Yang's mother. After greeting each other, Mother Yang let the two of them into the house.
The house is very simple, even shabby. Entering the door is the kitchen, and the smoke is very choking. Shen Qiuhua looked around carefully and found that this was actually a wooden house, and it also gave birth to a lot of sense of sight in previous lives.
On a bench sat a very old man smoking a tobacco pouch by the firewood. He didn't look back when he heard the door ring, and asked, "Who knocked on the door?"
Mother Yang said, "Xiao Qiong is back." There was no surprise in that tone.
The man's face full of vicissitudes turned around and saw Yang Qiong at a glance. He nodded, "I'm back. Have you eaten yet? We just have to eat." He stood up and walked over.
Yang Qiong introduced Shen Qiuhua again. This man is her father. He is over 60 this year, and his body is still strong. He just smokes all the year round, his lungs are not very good, and he always coughs.
Hearing that this beautiful girl is Yang Qiong's colleague, Father Yang didn't say anything, just nodded as a greeting. The two passed through the kitchen and entered the house inside, which should be considered a living room. Shen Qiuhua thought to himself.
At this time, a seven- or eight-year-old girl ran out of the inner room and saw the two of them suddenly standing there. The big black eyes blinked, looked at Yang Qiong and asked, "Little aunt?"
Yang Qiong came over and touched her head, "Are you Erhong?"
The little girl nodded. Immediately turn around and run to the back room. Shen Qiuhua felt a little sad when he saw how the aunt and nephew didn't know each other.
"My second brother's eldest. The last time I saw her, I was still holding her in my arms. It's so big in a flash." Yang Qiong finally felt a little serious when she spoke.
The two did not continue to go inside. For this family, Yang Qiong felt like an outsider. Outsiders are not qualified to break in all the way.
The two unloaded everything on their backs in the living room. There was no movement from Father Yang and Mother Yang, and Er Hong did not come out after entering the inner room. Shen Qiuhua was a little puzzled as to what the situation was and looked at Yang Qiong. Yang Qiong smiled and shook her head, took out a water bottle from her backpack, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to her, "Getting here is actually similar to staying in a hotel."
Shen Qiuhua took two sips of water and didn't ask why. They found stools and sat down and waited quietly.
In less than five minutes, Mother Yang came in from the kitchen, wiped her hand on the apron, and went to the next cabinet to pour two glasses of water for them.
"Qiuhua, there are no outsiders in our family all the year round. You should be careful if you are neglected." Yang's mother had a hard time speaking Mandarin. She said this very slowly, and Shen Qiuhua could only barely understand it.
"Auntie, you are too polite." Shen Qiuhua took the water bowl from Mother Yang's hand with a smile and gently placed it on the small table beside him.
Mother Yang smiled, with more wrinkles on her face. She turned her head and pulled Yang Qiong to a corner, and asked softly, "Xiao Qiong, how many days are you going to stay this time?"
Rao is that Yang Qiong has become accustomed to this way of getting along, and after hearing this, it is inevitable to have mixed feelings. But she had no resentment. Just ask: "Is there not enough food at home?"
"Ordinary food is enough. But your colleague is here, we can't let her eat wowotou with us all day long, right?" Mother Yang still understands this basic way of hospitality.
"That's fine. We will eat what you usually eat. In addition, I will leave after about three or five days, so I won't cause any trouble for you." Yang Qiong's last sentence meant that he was somewhat unhappy.
Mother Yang also heard it and sighed, "You kid, you haven't changed at all after going out for so many years." After speaking, she turned around and smiled at Shen Qiuhua, and went to the kitchen.
"What did you say?" Yang Qiong and Yang's mother were communicating in local dialect, but Shen Qiuhua didn't understand a word. Originally, this was Yang Qiong's family affairs, and she should not have asked. But when she got here, she wanted to know everything about Yang Qiong.
"My mother is worried that you are not used to the food here. I will tell her what to do, don't worry about the two of us." Yang Qiong said with a smile.
At this time, Erhong ran out of the back room again, and when she saw Yang Qiong, she asked, "Did my aunt bring me a present?"
Yang Qiong smiled, took out a Barbie doll from the suitcase and handed it to Er Hong. "Girls in the city like to play this, do you like it or not?"
Erhong took it over and looked at it, nodded and said, "I like it too, thank you little aunt." Then she ran into the back room again. But he bumped into a middle-aged woman who had just walked out of the door.
"The girl you killed this day! You don't have eyes when you walk? You crashed me, so I won't break your legs!" the woman scolded.
Erhong took two steps back in fear, and lowered her hands, "Mom, I won't dare next time."
Satisfied with Erhong's performance, the woman waved her hand to indicate that she could leave, and Erhong immediately ran in like the wind.
Shen Qiuhua saw that this woman's lips were extremely thin, and thought she was a mean and talkative person.
"Second sister-in-law." After saying hello, Yang Qiong introduced Shen Qiuhua.
The second sister-in-law of the Yang family glanced at Shen Qiuhua, and suddenly laughed, "Xiao Qiong, you brought such a beautiful girl to our village, but you have helped a lot. In recent years, girls from outside are reluctant to marry in, so There are more and more bachelors, you are... really thinking about your own people!"
Shen Qiuhua couldn't understand what the second sister-in-law of the Yang family said, but seeing her eyes kept on him, she felt that her words were related to him.
Yang Qiong's eyes were like knives. "Second sister-in-law, Qiuhua is my colleague, and this time I came back with me. If the second sister-in-law was joking just now, I hope this kind of joke will not be made in the future. If not, then this is a bit too much to say. ."
The second sister-in-law of the Yang family was not angry when she heard this, but the smile on her face deepened. "Xiao Qiong, the water splashed by the married daughter. Now you are back as a guest."
Yang Qiong also smiled, "Second sister-in-law, I'm not married yet."
The second sister-in-law of the Yang family was quite surprised, "Are you in your thirties? I remember that you and the third sister of my parents' family were born in one year. They have given birth to two children. You are still not married yet?" she said. It seemed that I suddenly understood something, and looked her up and down, "Is it possible that I can't get married outside, and plan to go back to the village to find a man?"
What is this all about? Yang Qiong felt that she really did not match the thoughts of these people.
"Second sister-in-law, I just came back to see my parents and you guys. I have no other idea. Stop guessing." She suddenly realized that it was unwise to chat with this woman.
Shen Qiuhua just sat aside and watched. Seeing the second sister-in-law of the Yang family looking at her for a while, and then at Yang Qiong for a while, she still didn't understand a word for a long time. But looking at Yang Qiong's expression, the conversation between the two was not pleasant.
At this time, a middle-aged man in his 40s came out of the back room, and his face was also marked by years. It looks like his father Yang is four-pointed in appearance.
"Second brother." Yang Qiong called out.
The second brother of the Yang family nodded. "Did you just come back?"
"Yes."
The second brother of the Yang family turned to look at his wife, "What are you doing here? Why don't you go outside to help? Didn't you see any guests?"
The second sister-in-law of the Yang family went to the kitchen without daring to say a word. The second brother of the Yang family turned to see Shen Qiuhua and looked at Yang Qiong with questioning eyes.
Yang Qiong originally thought that during the meal, everyone would be introduced once and then it would be over. Anyway, with Shen Qiuhua's memory, there is no need to worry about not being able to remember. Unexpectedly, everyone came out one by one, so she had to introduce it again.
Shen Qiuhua nodded towards the second brother of the Yang family. The second brother of the Yang family didn't pay too much attention to her. He turned to Yang Qiong and said, "Have you made a lot of money outside these years?"
"Just to make ends meet." Yang Qiong said the truth. The money she earned was just enough for food and clothing.
"I asked Erhong to inform the big brother and the others, and it is estimated that they will be here in a while." Such houses usually have two doors at the front and back, so that it is convenient to enter and exit.
Sure enough, after half an hour, the food here has been served, and several brothers and sisters of the Yang family have also come over there. They were all with their families, and the room became lively all of a sudden.