"Brother Daniu, I have prepared the remaining stuffing. You can sell as much as you can. If you can't sell it, you can take it back and eat it yourself. When Uncle Zhang comes to pick it up, please help me pack up the things first."
"Brother Jiang, don't worry. Just leave these things at my house. I will keep them for you." When Daniu learned that he was going home, he patted his chest and assured him.
"Thank you very much. By the way, this is your wages for today. I'll pay you first." Jiang Miao counted out fifty cents and handed it over. Then he poured all the money he had earned in the morning from the drawer into a cloth bag, put it in his bag and carried it on his back.
This did not mean that he did not trust Daniu, but he felt that it might be difficult to pick up Xiao Shitou on this trip, so it would not be a bad idea to carry more money with him.
Daniu took the copper coin, took off his money bag, put the copper coin in it, and then put the whole money bag in Jiang Miao's hand, saying: "Brother Jiang, take this money first. It's a rare trip home, so leave more money for them. My wages will be deducted from the money I earn in the afternoon, and I will give you the extra money when you come back."
After thinking about it, he added nervously, "If you trust me." He felt that something must have happened at home. Since chatting with those two people yesterday, Jiang Xiaoge hasn't laughed since.
Jiang Miao's eyes were a little hot. He took the purse solemnly and said, "Thank you very much, Brother Daniu! I will leave this stall to you first."
After saying that, he turned and walked forward. Under a tree at the intersection, Aunt Zhou and Xiaowu from yesterday were already waiting there.
"Sorry for the long wait, Aunt Zhou. Let's go."
The three of them walked out along the way they came. There were many vehicles and pedestrians on the road. People were in groups of three or five, with faces filled with satisfaction. Today was the last day of the Buddhist meeting, and many people had to rush back.
Jiang Miao listened to their conversation and felt a little regretful. He had never personally gone up the mountain to experience such a grand Buddhist gathering. If he missed it, he would have to wait until next year. He hoped that next year he would not be limited by his livelihood and could go there as a tourist to have fun.
After walking for about an hour, Jiang Miao finally saw the turning point he had come from. Thinking about the time it took to get here by donkey cart, it was much faster than walking.
"Mom, can we take a break?" Xiaowu was still young, and he felt very tired after traveling for an hour.
"Walk a little further, there is a spring on the cliff ahead, we can drink some water and take a rest then." Aunt Zhou pointed forward. The road she pointed to was a small path, which was in the opposite direction of the main road Jiang Miao took when he came here.
After walking forward for a while, they saw a clear spring at the bottom of the crack in the mountain wall. At the source, the gurgling spring water flowed down the mountain wall, just flowing into the basketball-sized concave rock below, and then flowed into a stream next to it. I don't know if it's because there is always sunshine here and the water is running, there are traces of ice everywhere, but not here.
Aunt Zhou put down the basket, washed her hands first, then reached into the spring water, scooped up a handful of water, and stood beside Xiaowu. Xiaowu took his mother's hand and slowly drank the water. After he finished drinking, Aunt Zhou scooped up some water for her to quench her thirst.
This natural expression of emotion reminded Jiang Miao of his grandmother. She was the same. No matter what she ate, the first bite always belonged to Jiang Miao.
"Miao brother, don't you want to drink something?" Aunt Zhou asked. She was sitting on a rock while Xiaowu was resting on her legs, not forgetting to pull the grass leaves on the ground to play with them.
"Thank you, Auntie. I'm not thirsty yet." Jiang Miao took off his bag and sat on the other side. "Auntie, I don't think I've ever been back from here before. How far do you think we have to go to get there?"
Jiang Miao asked tentatively. He wanted to understand the situation in advance so that he wouldn't be caught dead when he returned to the village in the dark after two nights.
"It's still a long way to go. If you walk forward from here, you have to climb over a mountain to get there. When I married from here to Jiangjiawan, my younger brother cried when he sent me off. He said, "Second sister, why don't you find someone in our Sanglin Village? When you marry over there, how long will it take to come back?" At that time, there was no road here. We had to go around a big bend and climb over a mountain. We were all exhausted. We set out early in the morning and arrived at dusk. We almost missed the auspicious time..." Aunt Zhou talked about the past with a smile and became more talkative. She can still remember how her younger brother cried at that time. It has been more than ten years.
Jiang Miao listened patiently, asking a few questions from time to time without leaving any trace. Aunt Zhou didn't think too much about it and just told him everything she knew. Jiang Miao finally had a certain understanding of the original owner's home.
The place where the original owner lived was called Jiangjiawan. Most of the people living there had the surname Jiang. There was a river beside the village, and the village got its name from that. The original owner's family lived upstream of the river, Aunt Zhou lived downstream of the river, and Jiang Laosan, who adopted Little Stone, also lived downstream. They didn't see each other very often, but because the village was not big, if there was something wrong in one family, it would spread quickly throughout the village.
The original owner's parents passed away six years ago, when the original owner was eleven years old and Little Stone was only ten months old. At that time, they had already separated, and only a grandmother lived with the second uncle's family. The grandmother wanted to raise them, but at that time, the original owner's second aunt had just given birth. In addition to a crying baby, there were four other children in the family. The family was so poor that they could barely make ends meet, so how could they raise two more children
Just when they were in trouble, Jiang Laosan came with some things in his hands. It happened that Jiang Laosan had been married for many years but had no children. After knowing about this, he came immediately and said that they were clan relatives, and after the child was adopted by him, they were still relatives. He would not stop the original owner and Xiao Shitou from recognizing each other, after all, the two brothers should support each other in the future.
After pestering for several days and saying all the good words, the grandmother of the Jiang family finally gave in and agreed to let Little Stone be adopted by him. The original owner stayed at his second uncle's house because he was older and could help with the housework. The family was in great change, and his younger brother was given away again. Under the torture of reality, the original owner became increasingly silent. It is said that he used to visit his younger brother often, but then one day he heard Jiang Lao San's wife scolding his younger brother for being an ungrateful person in the future, so he didn't dare to go there much, for fear that his younger brother would be disliked by them.
After hearing this, Jiang Miao felt extremely heavy in his heart. It was true that "a hemp rope always breaks at the thinnest part, and misfortune always finds the unfortunate people." It seemed that life never treated people like them kindly.
Aunt Zhou looked at the sky and was surprised to find that they seemed to have chatted for a little longer, so she immediately stood up and told Xiaowu and Jiang Miao to leave quickly. If they didn't leave now, it would be dark before they returned to the village.
When wisps of smoke could be seen in the distance, the sun was about to set. Aunt Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she made it in time. The mountain road would be more difficult to walk after dark.
"Mother of the child?" A voice came from a distance. The person was a little uncertain because there was another person next to her.
"Dad, it's us, come here quickly." Aunt Zhou responded loudly. She put down the basket she had been carrying all the way and rubbed her sore arms.
Jiang Miao smiled. It turned out that people only show their true nature in front of the people closest to them.
The man walked over quickly, bent down to pick up the basket, then looked at Jiang Miao. He was obviously relieved after seeing clearly. A young kid, who was he talking about!
Xiaowu threw himself on the man's legs, shouting "Daddy" non-stop. The man picked up Xiaowu with his other hand and shook him, which in turn brought a burst of childish laughter.
"Mother of the child, who is this?" He knew his wife's nephews, so who was this child in front of him? He looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember who he was.
Aunt Zhou patted him in a stern voice, "You were so distracted from work that you didn't even recognize Jiang's Miao? Miao, don't blame Uncle Zhou. His eyesight isn't very good."
Jiang Miao smiled and politely called out "Uncle Zhou".
"Miao brother? Oh, it's the boy from Sanshui! It's a little dark, I can't see clearly. Oh, you haven't eaten yet, let's go back quickly, the meal is ready." Uncle Zhou said. He had been waiting here for a while, and wanted to go into the mountain to meet him, but he was afraid of missing him, because there were several roads on the mountain.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou. But no thanks. I'll pick up my brother later and go back to my second uncle's house for dinner." Jiang Miao politely declined. They had already arrived in the village, so he naturally didn't want to wait any longer.
"Do you want to take Xiao Shitou back?" Uncle Zhou glanced at Aunt Zhou and saw her nod, so he knew what Jiang Miao said was true. He sighed and said, "It's better to take him back."
The group walked very fast and soon entered the village. It was dinner time. Some families lit candles and ate around the table, while some were reluctant to light the lights and ate at the door. Seeing Jiang Miao carrying a bag following the Zhou family, they were all a little surprised. This Sanshui kid had been out for more than half a year and hadn't come back, so they thought he would never come back.
Someone called Jiang Miao, but Jiang Miao didn't know who they were, so he just called them uncle and aunt. Fortunately, no one bothered with his address and they all agreed in a friendly manner.
Jiang Miao followed Uncle Zhou and the others and soon came to a yard with the door open. A boy of about eleven or twelve saw them and shouted inside, "Mom and brother are back!" After shouting, he took the basket from his father's hand and lifted the cloth, wanting to see if his mother had brought back anything to eat.
Aunt Zhou glared at him unhappily, then turned to Jiang Miao and said, "Miao, come in and have something to eat first?"
Jiang Miao shook his head: "No, Aunt Zhou, I want to go see Little Stone first."
Aunt Zhou looked past Jiang Miao and her eyes fell on a yard across the street. She sighed, knowing that Jiang Miao was worried, and stopped trying to persuade him.
"His house is still open, you can go over there, and remember to call me if you need anything." After spending time with him all the way, she felt that Jiang Miao was a very good kid, and naturally she couldn't bear to watch him suffer any more.
Jiang Miao nodded and walked towards the courtyard in front. The door was half-closed, and he was about to knock on the door, but his hand stopped in mid-air for a long time without moving.
In the yard, a thin child dragged a big broom, struggling to sweep the yellow leaves on the ground, trying to gather them together. From time to time, a cold wind blew, blowing the leaves all over the place, and the child could only put down the broom and chase the fallen leaves one by one to pick them up. Occasionally, he would turn his head to look at the house, then purse his lips, lower his head sadly and continue sweeping.
In the room, under the warm yellow candlelight, a couple was patiently feeding a one-year-old baby. Their shadows were projected on the wall. The family huddled together, looking so warm.
(End of this chapter)