Chapter 116: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 116

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

The next day was Qingming Festival.

Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen got up at dawn to kill a rooster.

For ancestral worship around here, a rooster is generally used as an offering.

Besides that, they would also bring some alcohol, as well as green rice balls, fruit, paper money, firecrackers, and other offerings.

After killing the chicken, Wang Zhanggen carried two baskets of offerings on his shoulder pole and went to his eldest brother's house to gather.

Besides the two brothers, there were also several cousins, and the cousins' parents—a large family—who would go together to sweep the graves and pay respects to their ancestors.

Although they rarely interacted normally, gathering to sweep graves every Qingming was an established custom.

Li Xiulan stayed home and did not go to sweep the graves.

She wanted to make more green rice balls today; a festival should have a festival atmosphere.

The green rice balls could be snacks for the children, and if guests came to the house, they could be taken out to entertain guests.

By afternoon, the group that went up the mountain to sweep graves returned.

Everyone gradually dispersed, each returning to their own home.

Li Xiulan specially took a large plate of green rice balls to give to Wang Zhangtian, thanking him for his help to their family.

Wang Zhangtian and Zhao Lifen were packing up, preparing to take a car back to Guangzhou today.

Seeing Li Xiulan bring green rice balls over, he hurriedly politely declined, and finally thanked her as he accepted them.

Zhao Lifen saw this with her own eyes, and on the surface also thanked Li Xiulan.

But as soon as Li Xiulan left, she put on a black face:

"The sun really came out from the west! How could Li Xiulan take the initiative to give us things? You know, in previous years she wasn't like this!"

Wang Zhangtian was stunned inside, and chuckled as he said:

"This shows she's become sensible, understands the importance of family ties, and has taken the initiative to mend relations with us."

Zhao Lifen coldly asked:

"Did you lend them money behind my back?"

Wang Zhangtian hurriedly denied:

"No, no! Without your permission, how could I possibly lend them money!"

Zhao Lifen coldly snorted:

"You'd better not let me discover you lending them money in private!"

Wang Zhangtian's face was full of displeasure; smoking a cigarette, he muttered a sentence in a low voice:

"He's my own younger brother after all; I'm not as cold-hearted as you……"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, I'm going to pack up!"

Wang Zhangtian hurriedly went to pack up; he didn't want to argue with his wife over this matter.

Family harmony brings prosperity in all things; family harmony is very important.

In the blink of an eye, Qingming Festival passed, and Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen continued working to build their house.

With the one thousand yuan Wang Zhangtian lent them, they could barely manage to cast the roof.

But after casting the roof, there wasn't much money left.

Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen discussed it and finally decided: they might as well just install doors and windows, and move in like that.

As for renovation and such, they wouldn't do it at all.

The floor wouldn't be laid either; just level it with cement and sand.

Wang Zhanggen felt moving in like this was very face-losing, and he would definitely be laughed at by the villagers.

But he also knew that the family really couldn't scrape together any more money; losing face was unavoidable, and they could only make do and move in like this!

Looking next door at He Dazhu's house—a three-story Western-style building, already built quite impressively!

Their house was renovated inside and out, all tiled, truly magnificent!

As the saying goes, without comparison there is no harm!

He Dazhu's villa-like Western-style house, to Wang Zhanggen, was a continuous harm, and it would only deepen over time.

Every time he raised his head and saw He Dazhu's beautiful Western-style house, then compared it to his own simple house, the gloom in his heart would deepen by a point.

May 13, 1999.

Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen moved into their new house.

Though called a new house, its simplicity was not much different from the old house.

Li Xiulan and the three children were all very happy; after all, it was a new house, and no matter what, it was worth being happy about.

But Wang Zhanggen couldn't be happy at all.

The house originally designed to have two stories now only had one.

Having only one story was bad enough.

It was still a bare shell!

No renovation at all!

If guests came to the house in the future, the moment they entered, they would probably laugh at how simple their house looked!

"I plan to keep going out to work, see if I can earn some money this year to come back and renovate the house."

Wang Changgen said this one sentence to Li Xiulan.

This time, he really wanted to save money to renovate the house.

He wouldn't be like before, spending every penny as he earned it.

He didn't want his home to become a laughing stock for others.

However, Li Xiulan disagreed with him going out to work:

"You go out to work, you can't earn much money in a whole year, better to just stay in the hometown, the two of us go do masonry for others together, we contract projects together, you be the Big Worker, I'll be the Small Worker, we'll definitely earn money!"

Li Xiulan's suggestion wasn't bad.

Lin Dajun made quite a lot of money as a Foreman.

But Wang Changgen didn't want to do it together with Li Xiulan.

He got annoyed whenever he saw Li Xiulan.

So he said:

"I think it's still better to go out to work, I can earn quite a lot of money working, it's just that it got spent."

Li Xiulan immediately said displeasedly:

"You have the nerve to say spent? Who did you spend it on? I see you wanting to go out to work is false, wanting to go out and meet up with women outside is the truth!"

Wang Changgen's face was full of speechlessness.

He did want to, actually!

But Liu Xiaoli already has a partner, and by now they've probably already gotten married!

This time he really did want to go out to work to earn money!

But it was obvious Li Xiulan didn't believe him anymore.

Li Xiulan also said:

"If you go out to work, then I'll go out to work too, throw the three kids at home, let them fend for themselves!"

Li Xiulan was speaking in anger, she fundamentally couldn't possibly do such a thing.

She just wanted Wang Changgen to stay.

It's not that she loves Wang Changgen that much, right now her hate for Wang Changgen is clearly more than her love.

The sole purpose of making Wang Changgen stay was to share the family's burden.

She takes care of three kids alone, if Wang Changgen doesn't send money home either, she really won't be able to hold on.

"Fine fine, if you can land a project within this month, then I'll stay, if you can't, I can't just stay home and mold away!"

Wang Changgen finally said this sentence very impatiently, counting as making a concession.

Li Xiulan then said:

"I'll go land a project tomorrow!"

Li Xiulan was confident she could land a project.

Because now many people work outside and earn money, then come back to their hometown to build new houses.

And Shanggou Village has demolition, many people are building new houses one after another.

So the next day, Li Xiulan went door to door asking if anyone needed a new house built.

She asked around a big circle in Shanggou Village, result was, quite a few families needed new houses built, but they weren't willing to hand the project over to her and her husband.

She and her husband are both novices, the villagers in Shanggou Village know them root and bottom, for their own home they naturally want experienced veteran Mud Workers to do it, that way quality is guaranteed.

With no other choice, Li Xiulan could only go to other villages to ask.

She spent half a month, walked seven or eight villages, effort pays off, finally found a family willing to contract the project to them!

Li Xiulan was overjoyed, she came back first thing to tell Wang Changgen:

"Wang Changgen, I landed a project, you don't need to go out to work anymore!"

Wang Changgen was expressionless about this, even a bit unhappy.

He had already concluded Li Xiulan wouldn't land a project, had already prepared to pack up and go to the city to work, result didn't expect, at this time Li Xiulan actually landed a project!

Really made him speechless to death.

"Mhm mhm, got it, landing a project is good, I'll stay and do masonry with you, this time you're satisfied, right!"

Wang Changgen smoked a cigarette, replied displeasedly with this sentence.

Li Xiulan saw he was unhappy, and became even happier.

She just wanted to make Wang Changgen not get what he wished for!

These years Wang Changgen didn't spare her torment, she wants to return tooth for tooth, torment Wang Changgen too!

As for divorce, that's impossible.

Not to mention she and Wang Changgen gave birth to three kids, divorce three kids can't be handled.

If she really divorced Wang Changgen, where could she go?

Going back to her Maternal Home is impossible, her dad and mom have both passed away, eldest brother and second brother already have their own families, and have already separated the family each living their own, her Maternal Home no longer has a place for her to stay.

And she has no special skill, going out to work not even sure a factory would take her.

This crude house in Shanggou Village, this family that made her suffer hardship, whether she loves it or hates it, she has to accept a fact, that this place has already become the only harbor she can stay at.

She's already old, old and ugly and uneducated, she no longer has the courage to fly out from here, to face the wind and waves stirred up by the rapidly changing world outside...