Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Zhao Da'e and Wu Er returned to the village. At least this time they could ride bicycles; otherwise, they would have been exhausted after walking all day and night.

Upon arriving in the village, Zhao Da'e went to visit Zhao Tingming. Zhao Tingming wasn't home. Guo said that Zhao Da'e had left shortly that morning, and Zhao Tingming had also set off, riding in Xiangzi's rickshaw.

Zhao Da'e curled his lip: "Hiss... Xiangzi's rickshaw was fine for picking up my uncle, and he even brought a girl back with him. It's a bit shabby to have a young girl come to our house for the first time and have her ride in that rickshaw."

Guo was extremely embarrassed: "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. This is all the money our family can offer."

"It's nothing serious. Grandma, the classmate my uncle brought back... she's from the south and gets cold easily. Don't worry about anything else. I'll go to my backyard later to cut down a couple of trees and chop some firewood. Make sure to heat the kang (heated brick bed) up nicely and keep the house warm so she doesn't get sick from the cold," Zhao Da'e said rather solemnly.

Speaking of this matter, Zhao Da'e had heard some news about it in her previous life, but there were some things that couldn't be inquired about, so she was just guessing.

In her past life, Zhao Da'e had frequent interactions with her uncle, Zhao Tieyue. Tieyue later became the chief surgeon in the county's internal medicine ward, a highly skilled physician. Zhao Da'e vividly remembered one of their conversations: when Tieyue was treating her mother in her past life, he said, "Da'e, we're all family. Your mother's illness is basically hopeless; it'll be the same no matter which hospital you go to. You've had a tough life these past years, and it's been tough for your mother to have endured this long. Let her go. Don't say your uncle is heartless; seeing my sister-in-law like this makes me want to cry. Living is suffering. If she's going to be strong and resilient her whole life, let her go with dignity. Don't let her suffer any longer."

Ugh......

"Okay, I understand. It's cold, and southerners are being fussy..." Guo said.

After a moment, Guo asked in confusion, "Big Goose, how did you know? Your little uncle hasn't told me yet..."

Zhao Da'e, however, seemed somewhat dazed. Hearing Guo speak, he shook his head, his expression somewhat confused. It took him a while to recover.

"Ah...hehehe, I can predict the future." Zhao Da'e ran away in a flash; he couldn't very well say that he was reborn, could he?

Actually, what Zhao Da'e vaguely knew wasn't anything particularly significant. It was that in his previous life, the old man Zhao Tingming never had a grandson. This wasn't because Zhao Tieyue married late, or because Zhao Tingming died young. Rather, everything was normal, but Zhao Tieyue's wife didn't become pregnant and give birth until many years later.

By then, Zhao Tingming was already terminally ill with late-stage rectal cancer. Therefore, he died without fulfilling his wish to see his grandson.

However, no one in the village dared to ask or inquire about why Zhao Tieyue's wife was not pregnant.

This isn't a good thing either. How can we find out?

Even though Zhao Da'e had a very good relationship with them, Zhao Tieyue only mentioned it once when he went to the ancestral graves: "Your aunt has a cold constitution. She was chilled back then and has been taking care of herself ever since."

So Zhao Da'e guessed that it might be related to his return this winter. After all, this was Zhao Tieyue's classmate's first time in the North (the term "girlfriend" wasn't common back then), especially in the rural areas of the North, and perhaps this was the reason he caught a chill.

Of course, it might not be.

However, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Zhao Tingming has always taken good care of Zhao Da'e, and Zhao Da'e also wants to make up for it as much as possible.

Zhao Da'e went to the old house and found his father, Zhao Tiesheng. Zhao Tiesheng asked impatiently, "Da'e, I heard you went to the street to inquire about the shredder? Do you have enough money? We shouldn't do that kind of risky business. You've been spending money extravagantly lately, I'm starting to wonder where your money comes from."

Zhao Da'e frowned, displeased: "Anyway, it wasn't stolen or robbed, so stop asking around. Just mind your own business. My mom's still staying at her parents' house and isn't coming back yet. You haven't done anything all morning. Are you expecting me to cook for you...?"

"I ate leftovers, just enough to tide me over," Zhao Tiesheng said.

"Alright. Go do some work. Go to the backyard and cut down a few dead trees, chop them up for firewood, and take them to my great-grandfather," Zhao Da'e said. Then he painted a rosy picture for Zhao Tiesheng: "Dad, you have two daughters now. But it's hard to say whether Mom will come back. But seeing you doing nothing all day, looking so listless, Mom will suffer when she comes back. You should do more work; if you do more work, you won't have time to think about all that nonsense."

“Your mother doesn’t come back even when I’m working,” Zhao Tiesheng said.

Zhao Da'e was stunned for a moment: "If you don't work, life will get poorer and poorer. Then there's even less chance. You won't get my grandma's money back. You'd better hurry up and work more to save some money. If you're hoping Wang Guixiang will build you a house, you're dreaming. Spring is coming soon. Go up the mountain and quarry stones yourself to build a wall around the backyard. Find some people to help you build a small three-room house. I estimate it won't cost much, a little over ten thousand yuan. But you'll have to bring back a lot of stones, otherwise, ten thousand won't be enough. Get this done before the Dragon Boat Festival next year, and I promise my mom will come back then."

"Really?" Zhao Tiesheng was immediately filled with enthusiasm.

Zhao Da'e sighed, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Cheng Jinxiang really couldn't stay at her parents' home for much longer, because her maternal grandmother was nearing the end of her life. She could get through this winter, but it would be difficult for her to make it past the Dragon Boat Festival next year.

Zhao Da'e doesn't remember the exact time of her grandmother's death in her previous life, but it was around April. However, her grandmother must have passed away before the Dragon Boat Festival.

After her maternal grandmother passed away, her attitude changed. Her aunt, who had returned home, was forced, through her second aunt's introduction, to marry a man who was neither intelligent nor mentally challenged. This was because she could no longer live at her parents' house; without her mother, she couldn't stay there any longer.

If Grandma is gone, Cheng Jinxiang won't be able to stay here anymore.

Ugh……

It's not that Zhao Da'e is unwilling to spend money or do anything to help her grandmother live a few more years. It's just that her grandmother has a terminal illness.

Zhao Da'e's maternal grandmother has been paralyzed for many years, but she can still eat and drink. However, in late winter and early spring, she contracted a major flu outbreak and her health deteriorated.

As people get older, the cold weather in the north takes away many elderly people every year. This has never changed.

Zhao Tiesheng seemed to have listened to Zhao Da'e's words and was in a much better mood. He seemed to have more energy to work, and when he got to the backyard, he started chopping down trees with an axe.

The backyard was a grove of trees. Kangxi Quan's area had been cleared and tidied once, but there were still many trees in the back, and the area was large. There were so many trees that the smaller ones slowly died. Some of these dead trees were cut down and piled up. Then Zhao Tiesheng carried them to Zhao Tingming. After giving them to Guo Shi, he came back and cut down some more.

I delivered it back and forth several times.

Zhao Da'e turned to Zhao Tiegang and said, "Third Uncle, find me a few people tomorrow to bring that shredder back from the street."

Zhao Tiegang was sleeping when he yawned, his eyes red: "How many can I find? I can't find any more..."

Meals are provided.

"Then it can be found."

"Third Uncle, tidy up your room, look at the mess it's in. Find a few more people to eat in your room tomorrow," Zhao Da'e instructed. "Don't drink anymore, or you'll really ruin yourself."

"Even your grandfather wouldn't dare to control me!" Zhao Tiegang thought it was more outrageous than death to hear that someone was telling him not to drink!

Zhao Da'e gasped: No problem!

No one in the family dared to discipline Zhao Laosan. Zhao Da'e, this third uncle, wouldn't let anyone talk to him. If anyone did, he would immediately start causing trouble. His first words were: "Damn it, my wife ran away. I don't even have a wife. What's wrong with me drinking a little?" His second words were: "Even if I drink myself to death, it's none of your business."

"That's not what I meant. Drink less of that mixed stuff, it's not good." Zhao Da'e said with a smile, "Tomorrow, do the job well. Don't bump into anything. Help me bring the equipment back. In a few days, once the crusher is ready, our grain grinding shop will open. Once we make money, I can't guarantee you anything else, but I guarantee I'll buy you a 50-jin bucket of pure grain liquor every month."

Zhao Tiegang readily agreed: "Okay, okay, don't worry. Leave everything to me."

Then he frowned: "That's not right, fifty pounds a month isn't enough..."

Zhao Da'e: !!!

Look at that! Is my third uncle even speaking human language? Fifty catties of liquor a month isn't enough for him; he really thinks he's some kind of wine connoisseur.

"Oh dear, I have to go. Uncle, that's enough. Fifty catties isn't enough, why don't you add some water? If you add ten catties of water, then it'll be sixty catties! You're so stupid..."

Then Zhao Da'e left.

Zhao Tiegang, half asleep on the kang (heated brick bed), pondered: "That's right, if I add ten jin of water, that's sixty jin..."

That's not right either. If the wine is diluted with water, then it's fake wine.

No, that's not right... It's still alcohol, but with ten extra pounds...

Zhao Tiegang couldn't figure it out for a moment, and couldn't help but think that Zhao Da'e was smarter: "My niece is really smart. She's got a good brain. She'll definitely get into university in the future. I'll have an extra ten catties of wine this month... It's great."

Zhao Da'e was naturally unaware that Zhao Tiegang had praised her; if she had known, she certainly wouldn't have gone back so quickly.

When we arrived at my aunt's house, it was already three or four in the afternoon. Zhou Chunwen was soaking soybeans there.

Zhao Da'e looked at it and was stunned: "These are whole bean sprouts?"

Zhou Chunwen looked up and shushed her: "Big Goose. You're so uncultured, can you step back? I'm just following your aunt's orders to make tofu. Besides, you're using soybeans for bean sprouts? We're using mung beans!"

Cheng Jinxi, who was standing to the side, glanced at Zhou Chunwen and said, "The bean sprouts are made from black soybeans."

Then Cheng Jinxi sighed: "When you get married, don't say I didn't teach you. Bean sprouts aren't soaked; they're sprouted. Besides, soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts are poisonous. Only black bean sprouts are fine. It's not that you can't eat soybean sprouts. It's just that if you want to eat soybean sprouts, you can't leave the roots. Black bean sprouts are fine."

Zhao Da'e shrugged: "Look, all three of us are fine. We can all sprout beans anyway."

Zhou Chunhong said from the side, "No, no, no... no... no, Mom... Mom... what Mom said... meant... meant..."

Everyone stared at Zhou Chunhong, whose face turned red with anxiety. After a while, she said, "No...no...I won't say anymore."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "What my second sister means is that my aunt's core point is: Zhou Chunwen, you need to be more clever in the future. Don't get married and then grow soybeans and send your mother-in-law's whole family away."

Zhou Chunhong cast an admiring glance at Zhao Da'e, meaning that Zhao Da'e was right.

"Pah!" Zhou Chunwen spat. "I absolutely refuse to get married! What if I marry into a family that's so poor, where they only use five catties of soybeans to make tofu? I'd be starving to death."

Cheng Jinxi immediately stood up and scolded, "Chunwen, stop being so sarcastic all the time. Five catties of soybeans to make tofu isn't enough for you? If you make too much, is our pot that big? I've noticed that ever since I came back from your grandma's house, you've been talking in a sarcastic tone all the time. Who did you learn that from?"

"I learned it from my cousin Zhao Da'e," Zhou Chunwen said nonchalantly.

Zhao Da'e inwardly groaned: "It's all over! My older sister has betrayed me!!!"

Cheng Jinxi: ? ? ?

Then Cheng Jinxi looked at Zhao Dage and asked, "Did you teach her to be bad?"

“Auntie, I’m six years old. Look carefully… My older sister is almost seventeen or eighteen, she’s gone astray on her own.” Zhao Da’e quickly explained. “My older sister has been reading Dream of the Red Chamber lately, and she’s been imitating Lin Daiyu’s way of speaking all the time.”

“Not learning good things,” Cheng Jinxi said.

"Hmph!" Zhou Chunwen continued processing the soybeans, and Zhao Da'e also came over to help.

Dinner was ready in no time.

It's just simple home-cooked meals; it doesn't necessarily have to be lavish with meat and fish every time.

After finishing their meal and clearing away the dishes, Zhou Chunwen continued preparing the soybeans. Zhao Da'e watched and asked, "Sister, did you pick out any shriveled beans?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Your aunt said so," Zhou Chunwen said.

"Then why not soak them in water? Wouldn't the shriveled beans float up?" Zhao Da'e asked, puzzled.

Zhou Chunwen was stunned... After a long while, she said, "Yes. Why not soak it in water?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? You should ask yourself," Zhao Da'e said, frowning.

Zhou Chunwen slapped his thigh: "Tch. Your aunt arranged this for me. That old lady is always plotting to ruin me!"

Cheng Jinxi, peeking out from the inner room, scolded, "Chunwen, don't talk nonsense. I only told you to pick out the shriveled beans. You're just stupid!!!"

Zhao Da'e also said, "Auntie is right."

Zhou Chunhong: "Mom...Mom..."

Zhou Chunwen was furious: "Chunhong, get out of my way."

Then he muttered, "Big Goose, your aunt is on her mind again today. Be careful. Your uncle went and stole a stove from the village. He got caught and they're going to send him to the police station."

"Ah..." Zhao Da'e was dumbfounded. Zhou Yuren really wasn't there when they were eating. He never expected something like this to happen.

Stealing a stove? And you want to go to the police station? That stove isn't worth much!

Besides, the village office in Jurenzhangzi has gone out of business, and the building has collapsed. It's long gone; they're just living in that old pigsty next to Jurenzhangzi now…

"What do you know? That stove belongs to the government, so it's fine. The problem is, they said it was given to Accountant Yao. So, it's considered stealing from someone. That's how they got into trouble," Zhou Chunwen said, pursing his lips.