Chapter 252

Yulin City, where the Yulin region is located, is to the southeast of Shangjun County, about 50 kilometers away from the Shangjun county seat. Guo Suhua's hometown, Baota Township, is to the north of Yulin City, about 40 kilometers away from Shangjun County. To go by bus, you have to drive east for about 20 kilometers to Luojiawan Township in Shangjun County, and then drive south for about 20 kilometers to reach Baota Township.

The road conditions on this section were quite good, so it took about an hour for the bus to reach Baota Township. Because it was the first day of the New Year, there weren't many people on the bus. Su Xinghui took his things, and the group got off the bus together.

After getting off the bus, they still had to walk a mile or two to reach the village where his grandparents lived. After walking for ten minutes, Su Xinghui saw his grandparents' house, which was also a place he often came to when he was a child.

His grandparents' house was a large tiled house with a considerable area. Of course, the house was quite old, having been built for decades, before liberation. His grandparents and their two sons all lived in this old house.

A couplet was pasted in front of his grandparents' house: "Spring always stays in the sunny gate, and the family that accumulates goodness has more than enough." The gate was wide open, which was the habit of rural families. There was a custom of paying New Year's visits in the countryside, and during the Spring Festival, opening the door wide meant welcoming guests.

A black local dog at the door was originally lying lazily in the sun after the snow, but hearing someone coming, it stood up, looked at Su Xinghui and the others vigilantly, and barked a few times.

Su Xinghui walked a few steps quickly, entered the house, and shouted: "Grandpa, Grandma, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle!"

An old man heard the dog's barking and came out from the backyard. Seeing Su Xingyun's family and Su Xinghui, he said happily: "Xingyun is here, and Xinghui is here too. Come, come, sit down."

Seeing the old man's intimacy with the visitors, the black dog lay down lazily again.

This old man was, of course, the grandfather of Su Xingyun and Su Xinghui, Guo Suhua's father, Guo Changqing.

Seeing his great-grandson Tan Weisheng, Guo Changqing happily picked up a handful of candies, peanuts, and other things from a small basket on the Eight Immortals table and stuffed them into Tan Weisheng's hands. Su Xingyun asked Tan Weisheng to call him Great-Grandpa, and Tan Weisheng shouted it, making Guo Changqing so happy that his white beard was shaking.

While they were talking, Su Xinghui's grandmother, uncles, and aunts all came out, and his cousins also came out to call him cousin.

Guo Suhua was the eldest in the family, and Su Xinghui's uncles were her younger brothers, one named Guo Aihua and the other Guo Zhonghua. They were both honest farmers, and seeing their nephew, niece, and niece's husband, they all smiled honestly.

Su Xinghui divided the gifts into three parts and gave them to his grandfather, eldest uncle, and second uncle, which made them all very happy.

The second aunt made brown sugar water for them to sit and drink tea, and the eldest aunt went to prepare lunch. Although it was not yet ten o'clock, the customs of Baota Township were similar to those of Meng Hu Ling—they didn't eat breakfast, and lunch was eaten quite early. It was now time to prepare lunch.

The eldest uncle had two sons, and the second uncle had one son and one daughter. They were only in their teens and were wearing new cotton-padded jackets for the New Year. Tan Weisheng ate two candies and clamored to build a snowman, so they took Tan Weisheng out to build a snowman together.

Su Xinghui, his sister, and Tan Mingcheng sat in the main room, accompanying his grandfather, grandmother, and two uncles.

Su Xingyun asked: "Grandpa, Grandma, are you both doing well?"

Guo Changqing said: "My health is still good, I can run while carrying a hundred pounds of fertilizer."

Tan Mingcheng said: "Grandpa, you still have to pay attention to your health!"

Su Xinghui asked: "Grandpa, how was the family's income last year?"

Guo Changqing shook his head and said: "It's not good. The income hasn't increased much, but the levies and overall planning have increased a lot. Life at home is not easy."

Grandma blamed him: "You dead old man, your granddaughter and grandson are here, why are you crying poor to the children?"

Guo Changqing laughed and said: "I'm old and confused. Let's not talk about this. Are your parents doing well?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said: "They are all doing well. My dad has to be on duty during the New Year, and he was afraid that my cousins from Jiangcheng would come to visit, so he couldn't come to see you. Please don't blame him!"

His grandparents both shook their heads and said: "No blame, no blame, work is important."

Su Xinghui asked again: "How many acres of fields did Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle plant last year?"

Baota Township is a plain, and there is a tributary of the Yangtze River, the Baota River, flowing through it, so it is basically paddy fields here.