country bumpkin

Kong Xiujuan returned home and began doing housework. Her son, Sun Guoqiang, played by himself in the yard.

After a while, Chu Yiping, Wang Yufeng's wife, who had been working with Sun Zitao, came over with her youngest son for a visit.

The youngest son was about the same age as Sun Guoqiang, and the two quickly became friends.

Wang Yufeng's wife is two years older than him. They have one daughter and two sons.

The eldest daughter, Wang Shuting, is 7 years old; the eldest son, Wang Jichao, is 6 years old; and the second son, Wang Jilei, is 3 years old.

Wang Shuting and Sun Limei are classmates and good friends. Wang Jichao and Yun Ya are classmates, but they don't know each other and don't like to hang out together.

Chu Yiping asked Kong Xiujuan, "Xiujuan, I heard you brought your second daughter back to school?"

Kong Xiujuan smiled and said, "Sister Yiping, your information is quite accurate! Haha."

Chu Yiping then asked, "Is the child settling in well after just returning home? Has the child cried or fussed?"

Kong Xiujuan sighed and said, "She hasn't made a scene yet. My mother has been with her the whole time, and she only left today. She'll definitely make a scene when she comes home from school and doesn't see my mother."

Chu Yiping asked, "Then what should we do?"

Kong Xiujuan said confidently, "It's alright, I've already figured out how to coax her."

Chu Yiping asked in confusion, "What method?"

“When my mother and I brought her back, we had already discussed it. My mother would stay with her for a few days, and once she made some friends and played around all day, she would forget about clinging to my mother. Also, when she came back and couldn't find my mother, we would tell her that my mother had gone to my third sister's house to sew quilts. Gradually, she got used to it.”

Chu Yiping cast an approving glance at her and said, "Oh, that's a great idea. You've really thought of everything."

Kong Xiujuan smiled bitterly, "That was the only way. What else could we do? If our own children aren't close to us, we can't blame anyone else. We can't blame the children; we can only blame the world."

Chu Yiping said with deep feeling, "It's always like this. My family is the same. My second son was raised at his maternal grandmother's house, but he came back early. He was only 3 years old when he returned. Now he is quite close to me."

Kong Xiujuan sighed again and said, "Oh! Our family situation is special, as you know. We don't have any money. When we divided the family property, my mother-in-law only gave us 5 yuan. If the child wants to come back, we have to pay a fine, otherwise we won't be able to register the child's household registration. We're waiting to save up enough money before we can bring the child back to school."

"The second child is fined 600 yuan now, and the youngest hasn't started school yet. He'll be ready to go to school in a few years, but he won't have a household registration either. We'll have to pay another fine to buy him a household registration so he can go to school. It's all going to cost money!"

Chu Yiping comforted her, "Xiujuan, I have some spare money at home right now. If you need the money, I'll bring it to you."

Kong Xiujuan held Chu Yiping's hand and said gratefully, "Thank you, Sister Yiping. I'll definitely come to your house to get the money when I buy the household registration. But if your family needs any help, remember to tell me. I can't help with anything else, but I can still help by running errands or doing some chores."

Chu Yiping smiled and said, "Oh, Xiujuan, you don't need to be so polite. Zitao and my Yufeng have been good brothers for many years, and we've known each other for so long."

Kong Xiujuan nodded and got up to pour water for Chu Yiping.

Chu Yiping said politely, "Oh! If I'm thirsty, I'll get myself some water. You go ahead with your work and don't worry about me. I'll treat you like family and won't stand on ceremony with you."

The two men smiled at each other. Outside, two children were covered in dirt from playing.

Sun Guoqiang grabbed a handful of wood ash and threw it at Wang Jilei. Wang Jilei also grabbed a handful of wood ash and threw it at Sun Guoqiang.

The two of them were like they were having a snowball fight, splashing each other with snowballs.

When the two adults came out, they saw two little black children, laughing and joking, scattering wood ash.

Their faces were covered in soot from the bottom of a pot, each one blacker than the last, leaving only their eyes and teeth exposed and not blackened.

Kong Xiujuan was so angry that she wanted to hit the child, but Chu Yiping pulled her back and said, "Children should play innocently and unrestrainedly like this, otherwise they are not children."

Kong Xiujuan could only suppress her anger and call the children out into the sun to give them a bath.

It was still quite hot at noon, but it was a bit chilly to take a shower.

Kong Xiujuan quickly rinsed Sun Guoqiang off and dressed him. Chu Yiping also bathed her son, but since she hadn't brought any clothes, she had to wear Sun Guoqiang's clothes.

After they had showered and changed, I watched the two children stand in the sun for 10 minutes before letting them go inside to play.

Seeing that it was almost time, Kong Xiujuan went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. She figured Chu Yiping and her son would be eating there, so she needed to cook a lot of dishes.

She took a piece of cured meat from the jar, cut off a small half, and picked some vegetables from her own garden.

Seeing this, Chu Yiping followed into the kitchen to help start the fire, and the two chatted about everyday things while they were busy working.

The aroma of the cured pork wafted from the pan, mingling with the fresh scent of green vegetables.

Just then, the children smelled the aroma and ran in, curiously looking at the food in the pot.

Kong Xiujuan smiled and shooed them out, afraid that oil splattered on the children.

Once the food was ready, the children returned from school. Before they even entered the door, they heard Yunya shouting loudly, "Grandma, Grandma, I'm home..."

The following sounds were of Yunya happily recounting what had happened at school.

When Yunya searched the house inside and outside but couldn't find her grandmother, she immediately stopped talking.

With tears in her eyes, she looked at Kong Xiujuan and asked, "Mom, where is my grandma? Where did my grandma go?"

Kong Xiujuan smiled and lied to her, saying, "Your third aunt's quilt is old and hasn't been washed yet, so your grandma went to her house to help wash it."

Yun Ya felt a little relieved, then asked, "When will she be back?"

Kong Xiujuan calmly replied, "After washing and drying, it will need to be sewn back on. It will probably take several days before I can come back."

Yunya gave a disappointed "Oh," then stopped talking, lowered her head, sat on the stool, and ate her meal around the table.

When Sun Limei returned home and saw that her maternal grandmother was gone, she casually asked, "Mom, where's Grandma?"

Kong Xiujuan said, "I went to your third aunt's house."

She said "Oh" and then went around the table to eat.

After the food was served, everyone sat down together to eat.

Kong Xiujuan placed a large piece of cured meat on Chu Yiping's plate and said, "Sister Yiping, try this cured meat." Chu Yiping smiled and took it, praising how delicious it was.

The children, their mouths greasy from eating, looked at each other and grinned foolishly.

Kong Xiujuan asked Chu Yiping, "Sister Yiping, what are you going to eat when your eldest and second eldest children come back? Should I go and pick them up?"

Chu Yiping said, "No need, my mother-in-law has already prepared the meal at home, so there's no need to worry about them."

After finishing their meal, Chu Yiping took her son home. Kong Xiujuan packed up some homemade pickled vegetables and handed them to Chu Yiping, saying they were for the children to eat as snacks.

After thanking them, Chu Yiping took her son's hand and left Kong Xiujuan's house. Kong Xiujuan stood at the door watching their departing figures, then turned and went inside to clean up the dishes.