Traveling through time and space

"Yes, Aunt Liu, just eat whatever you have at home. It's already rude of us to disturb you suddenly, so why do you need to buy anything?" Su Yuanyuan also stopped her.

"Sister-in-law, I heard that your family bought some meat. My mother asked me to come and take some back." A little girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, came running in hurriedly from outside the yard and was very arrogant.

"Aunt, my aunt and cousin are here today. They have never been to the Liu family before. They finally came today. My mother went to buy some meat. Why are my grandparents still thinking about them?" Feng'er stepped forward and blocked the gate of the courtyard, not letting her in.

"Your aunt and cousin? Your mother has been married for so many years, but I have never heard that she has sisters, let alone cousins. Besides, look at what your cousin is wearing. It seems that she is here to beg for money. No, sister-in-law, you have to give the meat to mother. Your parents are your elders. Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders and give good things to them? You can't let these poor relatives of your family get it for free." The little girl looked at her with disdain.

"Sister-in-law, go back. Feng'er, come with you to your grandparents' house. We only have this little meat at home. The Liu family is a family of etiquette. When relatives come to our house, we can't neglect them. Go back with me and see what other dishes your grandparents have. Bring them over. We have to have at least seven or eight dishes, so that people won't laugh at us."

"Sister-in-law, you have guests at your house, why do you have to come to my house to get food? We separated a long time ago."

"My dear sister-in-law, since we have separated, why do you still come here to ask for food with such confidence?" Su Yuanyuan asked curiously.

"You, huh." The little girl who came left angrily.

"Sister, it seems that you are not happy these days." Mother Yan stepped forward and pulled Zheng Hong, who was a little dazed.

"I'm sorry my sister-in-law and my young lady laughed at me. Feng'er, go buy some more..."

"Aunt Liu, honestly, just eat whatever you have. Look at the yard, there are so many fresh vegetables. We don't have to go out to buy them. Besides, we are not outsiders." Su Yuanyuan insisted.

"That won't do, miss."

"Aunt, just call me Cui'er." Su Yuanyuan entered the house and looked around. It could really be described as simple, but it was clean.

"I'm sorry to have made fun of you, young lady. It's really not easy to raise two children by yourself. The old man over there is always worried about us. Life is really tiring." The group entered the kitchen. "Feng'er, take the young lady and Sister Cui'er out to play. Clean up the house and put on the clean sheets."

"Mom, what if grandpa and grandma come?" Feng'er asked her mother worriedly.

"No, my family will come and they will also want this face. You guys go and have fun. I and this aunt will go cook."

"Sister Cui'er, can Feng'er call you Sister Cui'er?" Feng'er looked at Su Yuanyuan expectantly.

"Of course, why not? If you need anything, I can help you." Su Yuanyuan asked proactively.

"Sister Cui'er, do you want to stay at my house today? My house is so small, don't you mind?"

"Silly girl, your family is pretty good. When I was little, this kind of life was the happiest for me. With my mother and family around, life like this is the best. It seems that your mother is a very good person."

"Yes, my mother is also a poor woman. Ever since my father died, my grandparents have wanted to drive my mother away. They want to occupy my yard. They are really bad and always bully us." Feng'er was muttering while doing something with her hands.

"It's not that they are bad people, it's just that people only think about themselves when it comes to interests," Su Yuanyuan thought about it and answered like this. After all, this little girl is several years younger than herself, and she needs correct guidance. Fortunately, Feng'er is also very talkative. After changing the bedding, she let Su Yuanyuan see the handkerchief she embroidered. Su Yuanyuan was a little amazed. The embroidery was really good, and the lotus embroidered on the handkerchief was lifelike. "Feng'er, what are those?" Su Yuanyuan looked at the bag of colorful things next to her.

"Those are scraps of cloth. My mother earns some money by doing embroidery to support us. Every time she sends her embroidery to the embroidery workshop, the owner of the shop will give her some scraps of cloth."

"Feng'er, can I open it and take a look? What colors of threads are there?"

"I'll go ask my mother. I think it should be possible. Mom, can we open the bag of cloth and take a look?" Feng'er asked while standing at the door.

"Of course." The two rooms were not too far away, and the message came from the kitchen.

Feng'er dragged the bag out in one go and dumped it on the ground. The fabric was good, but it was really scraps of cloth, all in bits and pieces, and couldn't be used much. Looking at the two long strips of lake blue cloth, Su Yuanyuan pulled them out, "Feng'er, we didn't bring any gifts for you when we came here today. Sister Cui'er will give you a gift. Su Yuanyuan can weave bracelets. She used two lake blue strips and one white strip. She sat down and started weaving the bracelet. After a while, she measured the size of Feng'er's wrist and felt it was almost done, so she finished it and tidied it up. A bracelet was completed.

"Sister Cui'er, you are so amazing. This is so beautiful. For example, Yu and Ruyi, they have so many beautiful ones." Feng'er patiently let Su Yuanyuan put the bracelet on her. "Mom, Sister Cui'er just made this bracelet. Feng'er was watching right next to her. Mom, do you think it looks good?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's really beautiful. I didn't expect Cui'er has this ability. What a clever girl. Feng'er, call Li'er back, let's eat." Liu Hong looked around while holding it in his hand.

"Mom, my sister has great craftsmanship. For example, the jade they bought in the city are all beautiful." Feng'er showed off the necklace on her wrist with satisfaction.

"Okay, it's very beautiful. Go call your brother back for dinner," Zheng Hong looked at her daughter lovingly.

"Mom, I'm starving." Zheng Hong's little daughter rushed in like a gust of wind.

"Li'er, don't be rude. This is Aunt Zheng and Sister Du Cui."

"Hello, auntie, hello, Sister Du, mom, there's meat today." Li'er took a look at the dishes on the table and was very happy.

There were four dishes and a soup on the table, a small basket of steamed buns, one fried meat, a small plate of scrambled eggs, one fried celery, and one fried potato. "Why? The elders have no meat to eat, but your family has it. You must have a fortune. I, an old woman, want to see who your precious relatives are who come to beg for money, and you still have to cook meat dishes for them." The voice was very angry, and then a group of people came in, a group of four people.

"Mom, this is my wife's elder sister who was separated from her when she was young. She brought the girl to visit and wants to stay for a few days." Liu Hong introduced.

"What sister? Mother, sister-in-law, you are lying. In all these years, I have never heard that the Liu family has found this relative."

"Yes, mother, I have never heard of such a relative in the Liu family. They must have colluded to occupy this house." The girl who just came over stepped forward and pointed.

"Grandma, I can't believe that my sister is living such a life in your Liu family. An unmarried girl dares to come to your house and tell lies. I really don't know what kind of family education your Liu family has. Your son has been gone for three years, and my sister has been raising two children alone, living a difficult life. The children are your granddaughters, but you treat them and their mother like this? Are you worthy of your son's spirit in heaven? Aren't you afraid of retribution?" Mother Yan stepped forward and scolded her harshly.

"What does our Liu family's affairs have to do with you? Shut up, or you won't be able to leave this village."

"Are you threatening us? Aunt, in order to prevent us from dying here, you should quickly invite the head of your village, clan leader, and others to come over and tell them that a murder is going to happen here," Su Yuanyuan shouted, pretending to be scared.

"Third son, what are you talking about? Sister-in-law, I misunderstood you." The old lady stepped forward to smooth things over. "Daughter-in-law, we old people haven't seen meat for a long time. Is there any meat left at home?"

"Mom, didn't you say to drive them away? My son is still waiting to get married in this courtyard." said the man who had just threatened this place.

"Uncle San, why do you want to use our yard to get married? This yard was built by my father. Why do you want to use our house to get married? Then where will we live?" Feng'er stepped forward and pulled the man.

"You silly girl, your father died a long time ago. This is our Liu family's property and should be returned to our Liu family. What qualifications do you two girls have to get our Liu family's things?" The man pushed away Feng'er who was standing in front of him.

"Sanqiang, are you still human? This is your niece, and you actually pushed her. Mother, this yard is what my husband and I worked so hard to earn. Why should we give it to you just because you say that? Daqiang is gone, and you come to seize our yard by force. Are you worthy of Daqiang?"

"Daughter-in-law, don't talk about those useless people. Daqiang is gone, and he won't be able to take care of us in the future. Sanqiang is also our son. If he gets married, the place over there is too small, and we really don't have the money to build another courtyard. You have two daughters in the first house, and they will belong to other families sooner or later. Feng is ten years old now, right? You should give the courtyard to Sanqiang and move to the old courtyard. After two or three years, her grandfather and I will arrange a marriage for her."

"Yes, sister-in-law, you should move back to the old house with the children, and help your sister-in-law discipline the three wild boys at home. Look, look, how well you have taught Feng'er and Li'er."

"Mom, when our eldest branch was divided up, we didn't get a penny. Didn't we agree that everything would have nothing to do with our eldest branch?" Zheng Hong argued forcefully. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was a reserved person and was no match for these people. "We, and the head of the village, both have documents."

"Clerk, that thing is useless. If you know what's good for you, move over there quickly, or I'll sell your two daughters."

"Aunt, he is threatening you. You'd better report to the police to avoid any more trouble." Su Yuanyuan stepped forward to block him and looked at Feng'er with a fierce look.

"Sanqiang, when your brother was alive, he was very kind to you. But after your brother died, how many times have you scared us, an orphan and a widow?"

"Sanqiang, you are still doing this dirty thing. They are your sister-in-law and niece?" People came in from outside, and there were several of them. It turned out that Li'er went to find someone.

"Uncle Wei, don't listen to her nonsense. Maybe a cat or dog passed by at night, and she thought it was me. Ever since the last time the village head lectured me, I haven't done anything like that again."

"You are the head of the village, right? Please help my poor sister. We just saw it with our own eyes and heard it with our own ears. If my sister and her family don't give up the house, the Liu family will sell these two girls." Mother Yan stepped forward.

"Sister," Zheng Hong stepped forward and pulled Yan's mother behind her, "Uncle Wei, they come here to make trouble again and again, and they are making trouble again because of a little piece of meat. My sister who I haven't seen for a long time is here, and just because of a little piece of meat, she made me lose face." Zheng Hong began to shed tears, silently shedding, which made people feel even more sympathetic.

"Daqiang, don't worry. In our Xinnan Village, there are beasts like this who actually want to sell their own niece. Don't worry, I will give you an explanation. Lao Liu, Sanqiang, you have been defying the village rules time and time again. Do I have to drive your entire family out of the village before you can live in peace?"

"Brother Wei, no, no, it's a misunderstanding. Look, there are three of them, mother and daughter, so why do they need such a big yard? One room is enough. Besides, they are the eldest and they are supposed to take care of us old couple."

"Sister-in-law Liu, I didn't expect that you've grown old and your memory isn't as good as it used to be. When you broke off your relationship, you all agreed..."

"Brother Wei, they are orphans and widows, so it's better for them to move back home. Look, this is an intersection with a lot of people coming and going. The two granddaughters are grown up and can't show their faces outside anymore."

"Old Liu family, does anyone believe what you say? Your purpose is to occupy this yard, so I might as well tell you directly. If you break the law and go to jail, it has nothing to do with me. You are forcibly occupying private property. If the Daqiang family sues you at the prefectural yamen, you will go to jail. If anyone from your Old Liu family goes to jail, on behalf of Xinnan Village, I will drive you out of the village and remove your entire family from the Liu family tree. Our Xinnan Village has been a five-good village in recent years, and we can't ruin its reputation because of a bad apple like you. How can the girls and boys in the village talk about marriage? People will say, don't marry into the family of Xinnan Village. The Liu family of Xinnan Village is a bunch of hooligans. They have all been in jail. The whole village is not doing well. When the time comes, the girls and boys in the village will tear your Old Liu family apart."

"Uncle Wei, Uncle Wei, I won't scare them anymore. Mom, let's go."

"Yes, Brother Wei, let's go. Manman, it's too late to go back and cook now. You won't be able to catch up. Your sister-in-law's family cooks a lot of dishes. Take the meat and eggs back. There are only women in the family, and they can't eat much. It's not like our family, where there's not enough for several grown men."