country bumpkin

Mu Shuyun followed Zhang Qingguo home, and Yunya and Granny Zhang also followed into the courtyard.

Zhang Qingguo came into the main room and put the woven bag on the ground. Mu Shuyun thanked him and poured him a glass of water.

He politely accepted the drink, took a sip, and then said goodbye and went home. His mother, Granny Zhang, went home with him. Now Granny Zhang was very anxious; she wanted to know if her son had found their daughter, Zhang Qingjiao.

Kong Jia Mu Shuyun asked Yunya, "Yun, what did you bring? It's a whole big bag. Luckily, you met your Uncle Qingguo, otherwise how would you have brought such a big bag?"

Yunya said with a smile, "It's okay, Grandma. I've already thought it through. If I don't run into anyone I know and can't carry it myself, I'll ask the nearest family living near the village entrance to help me carry it back. We're all from the same village, so they should be able to help me."

Mu Shuyun looked at the silly girl in front of her, who seemed to be starting to understand. But not many are truly smart.

She untied the woven bag and took things out one by one. The most obvious item was a large bundle of toilet paper, a full 20 large rolls.

Mu Shuyun said, "No wonder you brought such a big bag of stuff and so much toilet paper."

She continued to rummage through the items, including soap, laundry detergent, and dish soap; the selection was surprisingly complete.

Mu Shuyun then asked, "You brought so much toilet paper, didn't your mother say anything?"

Yun Ya smiled mysteriously, "It's okay, Grandma. I told her there were only 4 volumes, so she doesn't know how many I brought."

Mu Shuyun thought to herself, "How could my eldest daughter not see how much toilet paper she brought? She must not want to expose Yunya. And she wants to help her family."

After putting the things in the bag away, Mu Shuyun asked Yunya, "Yunya, are you hungry? Grandma will make you something delicious."

Yunya waved her hand: "Grandma, I'm not hungry, you don't need to bother. We can have lunch together later."

Mu Shuyun said, "Okay, Grandma will go buy you your favorite pig ears in a little while."

Yunya nodded happily, "Okay, Grandma, I'll go with you in a bit."

Mu Shuyun looked at her with affection and asked, "Are you tired after walking all this way? Why don't you rest at home for a while?"

Yunya insisted on going for a walk, and Mu Shuyun had no choice but to agree. She deliberately slowed her pace, thinking she would let Yunya rest.

Yunya, like a mischievous monkey, showed no signs of fatigue, hopping and skipping along beside Mu Shuyun, chattering about her recent situation.

The grandmother and granddaughter happily went to the village supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. When they returned after buying meat and vegetables, they saw a funeral procession coming towards them from the east end of the village.

Mu Shuyun enjoyed watching such a spectacle. She held Yunya's hand with one hand and followed the procession to watch people mourn, while holding a vegetable basket tightly in her other hand.

While walking with the group, I saw familiar faces: Granny Zhang, Granny Niu, and Granny Wang.

They were all people who enjoyed gossip and watching the excitement, and there were also many middle-aged women with their children following along.

There were relatively few young wives among them; Yunya thought that the older they were, the more they enjoyed watching such a spectacle.

When Granny Zhang saw Mu Shuyun and Yunya running over excitedly, she said, "Sisters, you've come to see the fun too."

Mu Shuyun smiled and said, "Okay, I'll watch for a while before going back to cook."

Seeing that she seemed to be in a good mood, Granny Zhang said, "There's no rush to eat. Eating a little earlier or later won't cause any problems. Anyway, the funeral will be over soon."

Mu Shuyun greeted Granny Niu, and they all followed the funeral procession.

Yunya stood still and looked around, spotting Nie Xianghong and Li Caixia. Nie Xianghong's maternal grandmother, Fang Jinxiu, had also gone far away with the group and was nowhere to be found.

Yunya went over to greet the two girls. The three little girls hadn't seen each other for a long time and chattered on and on.

Those who chase after the group usually let their older children follow behind on their own.

The younger children were all carried by their mothers and followed behind to watch the excitement.

The women and wives were all gossiping: this daughter was crying terribly, that daughter-in-law was crying insincerely, that son was crying loudly, and another son was just crying without shedding a tear, and so on.

There are many children the same age as Yunya and Caixia, and they don't understand what's so interesting about funerals. It's all just crying and wailing that hurts your ears; it's so boring.

The onlookers returned only after the funeral procession had moved to a secluded path. They could no longer follow them as the procession was heading to the ancestral cemetery.

Only then did the old women remember that they had brought their children with them.

Granny Xu slapped her forehead and looked around for her children. Her eyes swept over Yunya and the others, and she quickly walked over, anxiously asking Yunya, "Have you seen Yanzi?" Yunya shook her head.

Granny Xu was so anxious that she paced back and forth, muttering, "Where has this child run off to? I hope nothing bad has happened to him."

Mu Shuyun also joined in the search, comforting Granny Xu as she went: "Don't worry, the child might be nearby." The other women also stopped to help search.

Everyone searched carefully in the surrounding alleys and bushes. Suddenly, Nie Xianghong pointed in a direction and shouted, "Look, isn't that a swallow?"

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing, and sure enough, it was Liu Yanzi. It turned out she had chased a butterfly and run off, falling behind the group.

Granny Xu rushed over, hugged Yanzi tightly, and said with a mix of anger and heartache, "You child, you scared Grandma to death!" Yanzi blinked her big eyes and said innocently, "Grandma, the butterflies are so beautiful."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and they laughed and joked around before heading home to prepare lunch.

When they arrived, there were only Yun Ya and Mu Shuyun, but when they left, there was a large group of people.

The adults chatted gossiping as they walked home, and the children were just as talkative, even more enthusiastic than the adults.

By the time they got home, it was already 1:30. Mu Shuyun quickly went to the kitchen to cook. She chopped up the pig's ears and mixed them with cucumber, then chopped up a large tomato, mixed it with sugar, and put it on a plate.

There are steamed buns from yesterday in the basket; they just need a quick rinse. There's also leftover rice water from this morning in the pot; we can heat it up and have a meal.

The meal was ready in less than 15 minutes. Everything was prepared on the spot, so there was no need for much trouble.

Yun Ya helped carry the steamed buns and vegetables into the living room, and Mu Shuyun came in carrying a pot of rice soup. She ladled out two bowls of rice soup for them, and the two of them sat down to eat.

Mu Shuyun then noticed an unopened bottle of fermented bean curd on the high table. She opened the lid, scooped out three pieces of fermented bean curd with a clean spoon, poured in some juice, sealed the lid, and then returned to the table to continue eating.

Yunya dipped a little fermented bean curd into her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and found it quite salty and delicious.

She placed a piece of pig's ear on the steamed bun her grandmother was holding, and Mu Shuyun happily ate her meal, feeling a sense of comfort in her heart.

The grandmother and grandson happily ate their meal, occasionally chatting about the gossip they had just witnessed.