| TBBOTOF | 188
After a whole day of commotion and shouting, unfortunately, even though Liu Shi's voice was hoarse from crying and wailing, Wei Zhonghong only took the two children away, leaving the couple behind.
As always, the adults had no one to manage them, but the children were from the Wu family, so there was no possibility of them being left behind.
When Wei Zhonghong took the children away, she held her older grandson with one hand and carried the younger grandson in her arms, and calmly told Liu Shi, "Keep crying."
That night, her younger grandson was still fed goat's milk.
Wu Qiang looked at the two children already sound asleep on the kang and sighed.
Wei Zhonghong, having just finished soaking her feet, heard his sigh, looked up, and asked, "What’s wrong?"
Wu Qiang shook his head. After a while, when Wei Zhonghong went outside to pour the foot-soaking water onto the ground, he said, "You were really upset this time."
"Is it so obvious?" Wei Zhonghong scoffed, with a sarcastic smile on her lips, and coldly added, "If Xu Ge’er hadn’t talked some sense into me, I’d have been the one crying and shouting today."
Wu Qiang sighed again.
"What’s with all the sighing?" Wei Zhonghong asked as she took off her slippers and lay down on the kang, adjusting the quilt for her older grandson and pulling it up for him.
She then turned to Wu Qiang and said, "No need to worry about them. They won’t starve. If I don’t teach them a good lesson, they'll really think I’m easy to bully."
Wu Qiang: "……"
He was already not very good with words and had a character that was somewhat old-fashioned. Since Wei Zhonghong usually made the decisions in the household, he was at a loss for words when confronted.
After thinking for a moment, he asked her, "What about the children?"
"I’ll send them away tomorrow. I don’t have the time to take care of them," Wei Zhonghong gave him a sidelong glance and yawned. "Just go to sleep. Don’t worry about others. You just need to fill your own belly. As for me, after raising them for over twenty years, I don’t want to take care of them anymore. Is that a problem?"
Wu Qiang: "……"
He sighed.
Wei Zhonghong glared at him and then turned over, closing her eyes to sleep.
Early the next morning, after feeding the two children, Wei Zhonghong sent them back..
Liu Shi hadn’t slept all night, while Wu Shouye slept soundly, snoring loudly.
Wei Zhonghong said nothing as she dropped off each child and left.
She also needed to go with her fourth son to find a house. Don’t think she was just speaking out of anger—when she decided to let Wu Hong fend for himself, she was serious.
It was definitely not feasible for him to stay at home; otherwise, it might be detrimental to him.
The mother and son went out early in the morning and didn’t take much time. They found two vacant houses after a quick tour of the back village. One was a small, empty courtyard with its own entrance.
Wu Hong immediately liked it, and Wei Zhonghong thought it was quite good as well.
They went to the village head’s house to find out who owned the empty courtyard and inquired whether it was available for rent.
In the village, most households were in similar situations: those who had split off built new houses, while those who hadn't split lived together. It was rare to find an empty, independent courtyard.
Luckily for Wu Hong, the courtyard was previously occupied by an elderly couple. Their two sons had moved to the town for better opportunities and ended up doing quite well, earning more than they did farming.
So, they decided to bring their parents to the town to take care of them, and rented out the land here.
The elderly couple had moved out not long before, and when they left, they told the village head to say that the house was available for rent if anyone inquired, and that the rent would be low.
This was something the couple’s son had instructed: with the house left empty and no one to live in it, it would deteriorate quickly. Renting it out would bring in some income and ensure the property was looked after.
The village head confirmed that the house was indeed available for rent and wouldn’t be sold.
The rent was very cheap. Wu Hong, who had more initiative than Wei Zhonghong, immediately signed a three-year rental agreement with the village head.
After receiving the keys, they went to buy a new lock and then went to inspect the house.
It seemed that someone had come by to clear the snow. Despite the recent heavy snowfall, the roof had not collapsed.
The house didn’t have much left inside, just some tables, chairs, and cabinets that couldn’t be moved. Most of the belongings had already been taken away by the elderly couple, and it looked like they didn’t plan to return.
However, since he had signed a three-year lease, if he needed to move in earlier, he could still live there.
While planning what to put in the house, Wei Zhonghong took him to a family in the village that raised dogs to buy one.
They didn’t want a puppy; they wanted a large dog.
“How are you going to keep a big dog? It might bite people!” The dog seller was baffled by her request.
“Don’t you have any large dogs?” Wei Zhonghong peered into the dog pen and saw only a mother dog nursing her puppies, looking quite plump.
“We don’t have any large dogs, and I haven’t heard of anyone in the village selling one. If you really want a big dog, you’ll need to wait. I can ask around and see if anyone is looking to get rid of theirs.”
Wei Zhonghong turned to her son and asked, “What do you think?”
Wu Hong, who was bending over to look at the few black-and-white puppies nursing in the pen, looked up and replied, “It’s fine. These little ones are pretty good too.”
“When can we take the dog?” Wei Zhonghong asked.
“They’re just a month old now. You’ll have to wait at least another month before you can take them. You wouldn’t be able to care for them properly if you took them now.”
Wei Zhonghong sighed, thought for a moment, and said, “Then leave two males for me. Let me know when they’re ready to be taken.”
“Sure, we’ll definitely save them for you.”
After the mother and son left the dog seller’s place, they went straight to their newly rented house and began tidying it up. After that, they went to buy ducks.
Tang Xu was unaware of the recent happenings in the Wu family but could guess that it was quite lively.
He wasn’t interested in other people’s gossip; if there were any, he would listen, but he wouldn’t pry into it.
He only learned about the situation later from Wang Cuicui.
As the New Year approached, the snow had stopped, and they even had several sunny days with clear skies.
Tang Xu, along with Tang Li and Liu Yao, dismantled the movable windows on the walls of the bamboo house.
When he had Wei Dong build the bamboo house, he had specifically requested that windows be left for ventilation. Even though the bamboo house was drafty, it still got stuffy inside after a while.
So, as soon as the weather cleared up, Tang Xu took down the windows.
Xu Ze came over with a basket containing ginger syrup.
“Brother Xu, take a break and drink some water.”
Tang Xu set down the bamboo pole he was holding, turned to look at him, and asked, “Are you feeling better?”
Xu Ze nodded, his face still slightly pale. He apologetically said, “I’ll definitely wrap up in my cloak next time I go out.”
He had avoided wearing his cloak that day because he found it cumbersome, and as a result, he ended up sweating while moving the ducks with a bamboo pole.
After finishing the task and being exposed to the wind, he caught a cold and developed a fever that night.
“Brother Xu, you take care of the rest. I’ll go make lunch,” Liu Yao said, wiping his mouth after drinking a bowl of ginger syrup. “What are we having for lunch?”
Tang Xu replied, “I’d like stewed chicken.”
Tang Li said, “I want meatball soup.”
Xu Ze added, “I’m in the mood for stir-fried large intestine.”
Liu Yao rolled down his sleeves with a flourish and nodded, “Got it, I’ll make all of that.”
“When I came over, Auntie had made steamed white rice and asked if you wanted any steamed buns,” Xu Ze continued.
Tang Xu waved his hand, “No need to steam buns. There are some in the big water jar outside; I steamed extra a while ago and put them there to freeze.”
Xu Ze nodded, “I’ll let her know.”
Recently, Wei Dong had been going out all day, leaving early in the morning and returning at night.
Tang Xu hadn’t asked him in detail about his activities, but Wei Dong had mentioned that he was selecting people for the merchant convoy.
It’s similar to how a security agency hires bodyguards to escort goods. Merchant convoys also need to find people for protection; otherwise, they risk being robbed if they encounter bandits.
Some areas are notorious for their brutal bandits who not only steal goods but also commit murder.
Wei Dong didn’t mention these details to Tang Xu, not wanting to add to his worries.
Tang Xu wasn’t unaware of these risks, nor was he indifferent. He just chose not to talk about them.
Going out on merchant convoys or hunting in the mountains both carried risks. For Wei Dong, these dangers were minor compared to sitting idle at home and wasting resources.
Tang Xu understood him, accepted his need to venture out, and trusts him to do his best to come back safely.
After finishing with the ducks in the front yard, Tang Xu was surprised to see Wei Dong, who was holding Xiao Bao, arriving earlier than usual. “You’re here pretty early today.”
“I went to the town and found the people we need,” Wei Dong said, setting Xiao Bao down so he could play with his older brothers. “I bought some things and put them in the icehouse.”
“What did you buy?” Tang Xu raised an eyebrow.
Wei Dong replied, “New Year’s goods.”
“Huh?” Tang Xu was momentarily taken aback. “There are still ten days until the New Year. Why are you buying them now?”
What he meant was that they had most of what they needed, so buying New Year’s goods wasn’t really necessary yet.
But Wei Dong didn’t see it that way. To him, buying New Year’s goods was essential to celebrating the New Year.
“The prices are cheaper now. They’ll go up in a few days,” Wei Dong said, taking Tang Xu’s hand and leading him to the icehouse. “I bought a pig.”
“Eh?” Tang Xu looked puzzled. “What’s this about?”
“I bought a pig, just slaughtered, and had it brought here,” Wei Dong said, opening the cellar door and gesturing for Tang Xu to go down.
Once inside, Tang Xu walked over and opened the icehouse door, where he saw two halves of a pig resting on ice.
“…”
“We already have pigs. Why did you buy another one?” Tang Xu asked, visibly confused.
The pigs in their backyard were also ready to be slaughtered; it didn’t make sense to just keep raising them without using them.
“It’s not enough,” Wei Dong said, pointing to a basin nearby filled with intestines. “We need to make more sausages and dried meats. I’ll take some with me when I go out.”
Tang Xu sighed, “Alright, I’ll make you a sleeping bag.”
“A sleeping bag?” Wei Dong looked puzzled.
Tang Xu rubbed his arms and led Wei Dong outside. “It’s a sleeping bag that can be used for outdoor camping, something to keep you warm, so you don’t end up curling up in a patch of grass.”
Wei Dong’s eyes lit up. This was a good idea.
“Brother Xu, it’s time to eat!”
Just as they emerged from the cellar, Liu Yao’s voice called out from the kitchen.
Tang Xu turned to Wei Dong and asked, “Are you going out again in the next couple of days?”
“I still need to go out a few days before the New Year,” Wei Dong said, brushing off the ice shavings from his head. “I’ll be training with him.”
Tang Xu’s mouth twitched. Wei Dong seemed more prepared than necessary, as if he was gearing up for a battle.
He patted Wei Dong on the shoulder and said wearily, “Alright, just come back to sleep at night. If not, your three sons will be looking for you, and you won’t get a good night’s sleep.”
Tang Xu was unsure if it was because Wei Dong had been away often recently, but the three children would search the house inside and out as soon as they woke up.
Especially Xiao Bao, who had become particularly clingy to Wei Dong, demanding to be held every day.
Tang Xu felt a bit jealous and was quite puzzled.
Wei Dong smiled and kissed Tang Xu on the cheek. “Don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad,” Tang Xu pouted, unable to resist giving him a playful punch. “You must have told him that if you come, you’ll bring good food.”
Wei Dong laughed, yes, he was right.
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