The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 77 Meeting Grandfather

Compared to Hujia Village in Nanhe Town, Xiashan Village in Zhongyu Town is clearly in a better position. Their terrain is relatively flat, and the surrounding mountains are far away, making them one of the few villages that were not greatly affected by the snow disaster.

Each household could barely fill their stomachs; it was impossible for them to be much richer than Hujia Village.

At the entrance of Xiashan Village is Liu's maternal home.

The courtyard, built of red mud bricks, looked somewhat dilapidated due to long-term neglect. The roof was half tiled and half thatched.

On the far left of the courtyard, there was a small house, from which coughs could be heard from time to time.

A woman of about thirty years old walked in carrying a bowl of medicine.

Liu's biological mother, Qin, was lying inside. Although she was only forty-eight years old, she looked like a sixty-year-old woman because of her illness.

"Mother, it's time to take your medicine," the eldest daughter-in-law, Yang, gently woke Qin.

Upon seeing the medicine, Madam Qin sighed, "Didn't I tell you not to get any more medicine? Why waste that money?"

“Mother, what are you saying? The doctor said your illness is curable and you will recover after a few months of rest.”

“Where would we get so much money? If we keep taking care of him for a few more months, I'm afraid I'll eat the family out of house and home. Don't worry about me, just hang in there for a couple more days, I'll be fine on my own.”

After she finished speaking, she coughed heavily a few more times.

Yang was still very respectful to her mother-in-law, and whispered a few words to her to coax her. Only after Qin finished drinking the medicine did she take the medicine bowl away.

Just as she reached the door, she heard Madam Qin ask, "Hasn't my little sister returned yet?"

"No."

"She's completely resentful of me now!" Upon hearing this, Qin couldn't help but shed tears again. She cried twice, then wiped away her tears and mustered her strength to ask, "Did Da Shi go to Hu Family Village? How is the village?"

They had heard that several villages had experienced snow avalanches, and they didn't know what the situation was like in Hujia Village.

Hujia Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it extremely prone to snow avalanches.

But they were too busy to go and see it.

Qin was worried about her youngest daughter who had married into Hujia Village, and she would urge her family to check on her from time to time.

Nobody wanted to go; they were just saying it and never actually going. They couldn't go empty-handed, but they had nothing left to take from home.

"Look, look! What are you looking at? She chose to marry such a poor guy from the back all by herself, are you just going to pretend she's dead?!" Old Liu had just returned home when he heard his wife's words. He immediately frowned, went into the house, and began to shout at her.

Yang was most afraid of her loud-voiced father-in-law, so after saying hello, she quickly made her escape.

Madam Qin said in a low voice, "Wan'er agreed to that marriage for the sake of our family. It's been three years now, why do you still hold onto that matter?"

"She fulfilled her filial duty, but I was cursed and gossiped about behind my back for three years. They even said I sold my daughter for personal gain. Bah! What kind of personal gain is ten catties of grain?" Old Liu was furious when he talked about this.

Three years ago, his family was struggling financially, and he fell seriously ill. With no one to take charge of the household, a matchmaker came along and said that a family was willing to provide ten catties of grain. His youngest daughter immediately married him off with tears in her eyes.

When he recovered and inquired again, wow, what a good family they were!

The poorest village in the entire Nanhe Town! The poorest home in the entire village!
Not only that, everyone said that the family had many sons who were used to beating their wives, and that the mother-in-law was a vicious woman who had tormented several daughters-in-law to death.

How could things be good for his daughter after marrying into such a family?
That goes without saying. At least he came back the year before last. Although he was thin, he was alright.

When asked if she had children, she hesitated and stammered.

Qin thought her daughter had been wronged and was afraid that she would not be able to stand firm in her husband's family. So when Liu secretly asked her for money, Qin took it upon herself to give away a small portion of the family's savings.

That's a whole tael of silver!

Thinking of this, Old Liu felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"He borrowed the money and never came back. Even if you raised a thankless child, he'd at least come back for a second!" Old Liu spat on the ground and glared at Qin Shi. "If you keep mentioning that jinx to me, I'll throw you into the pond to save you the trouble!"

Qin's tears rolled down her cheeks again: "That's your daughter, how could you say such a thing to her..."

As she spoke, she clutched her chest and coughed violently again. "I have three daughters, do I need more daughters? Let me tell you the truth, their entire Hu family village was buried, they're all dead! My money is gone forever, damn it!"

Old Liu flew into a rage and kicked over the clutter placed by the door, making a series of crashing sounds.

When Qin heard "they're all dead," her pupils widened, but her enraged husband made her afraid to ask any further questions.

As Old Liu walked out of the hut, a little village kid suddenly appeared at their door.

"What are you looking at?! Get out!" Old Liu roared.

The little boy sniffled and shrank his neck: "Grandpa Liu, we have guests at your house!"

After saying that, he ran away quickly.

Good heavens, he was terrified!
I'm never coming to Grandpa Liu's house again. He's even scarier than the angry old donkey at the village entrance!

Old Liu muttered under his breath, "Our family is dirt poor, what kind of guests are we going to have!"

He craned his neck towards the doorway and saw someone walking towards them from the edge of the field. Several children were surrounding them, but he couldn't make out who it was.

Old Liu, who had reached the door, stopped and shouted, "Liu Dashi, get out here! The stove is cold, where's my tea?!"

It's called tea, but it's just a few clumps of mint growing in front of my house. I just picked the leaves and boiled them.

Taking a sip in winter feels like drinking a mouthful of wind.

Liu Dashi was still tidying up the pigsty when he heard this, and he hurried out.

Madam Yang quickly pushed him back: "You go about your business, I'll go boil water. Father-in-law is in a bad mood right now, don't go near him."

Both daughters-in-law in the family have figured out their father-in-law's temper; he's like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment.

He would blow up his wife, his son and daughter, but he would never blow up his daughter-in-law.

Just as Yang started boiling the water, she heard a commotion outside.

"Grandpa Liu! Grandpa Liu, we have guests at your house!"

"There's a really pretty little sister here!"

"Dog Egg, Dog Leftover, Dog Head, come out quickly, you have guests!"

Before long, a lot of children gathered in front of Old Liu's house.

Little Ayu had already gotten down and started walking on her own, but she got tired and had to be carried by Liu.

She had already taken several naps before even arriving at her grandmother's house.

She was eventually woken up by the noise.

Old Liu had already seen it from afar; it was his wretched daughter who had returned.

He wandered around the house a few times until they finally reached the door.

A furious shout rang out: "You actually know how to come back?!"

The children who were watching the commotion scattered like birds after hearing this shout.

Only a little girl remained, rubbing her eyes, her gaze hazy with sleep, her eyes like pools of water that had been drained.

The little girl was put down from Liu's arms. She was tiny, only about the height of Wang Chuanman's calf.

She approached Old Man Liu step by step, not afraid of him at all. Instead, she tilted her little face up and looked at him with curious eyes.

"Grandpa, are you Mommy's father?" Little Ayu blinked her eyes, patted her little chest, and said the words she had practiced many times in her heart, "Grandpa, hello! I'm Mommy's Ayu!"

(End of this chapter)