The two grandsons of my uncle's family helped him pull out the grass. He took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers and went down the river. The fair calves and still fair face formed a sharp contrast with his thick and bronze hands, as if a scar fell into his childhood memory, shaking in front of Zhang Ni's eyes for a long time.
She did not participate in fish catching, and she was still sitting alone on the stone slab, staring blankly at the blue sky without even a trace of clouds. Her ears were exaggerated surprises and commands from the children and Hu Sheng.
On the other side of the river, behind the hill below the side is my home. It takes more than an hour to walk and take a shortcut in the mountains to circulate for about 40 minutes. I am even far away in the provincial capital, with the two villages separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
This year, my sister-in-law left, and my elder brother angrily agreed to her divorce request. Even though the father no longer needs someone to take care of, the eldest brother probably can only continue to stay at home with his mother's appearance and two children. The weight of those foreign debts weighed on her heart and covered her face, and there was always an inexplicable sorrow.
Looking at the few people playing in the river, she looked at the mountains in the distance, feeling that the shadow was heavier.
Several children put down more than ten small fish in the vegetable leaves that were stuck with wooden sticks, and they could really stir-fry them in a plate. They walked towards Zhang Ni happily. She did not smile at them like before. Looking at the four disappointed smiling faces, she still squeezed out a smile.
When she turned around, Hu Sheng had already walked to the sea of rapeseed flowers, bent down and carried the baskets of grass, and walked towards the village steadily. Zhang Ni couldn't help but stand in place, as if the person was far away in the sky, fused at the end of the rapeseed sea and the blue sky, and would disappear from then on.
"So big girl, she is still so ignorant. The winter is not over yet, why did she take the children into the water?"
The mother saw the four children's pants' legs basically soaked. She was worried that the people in her uncle's family would be unhappy, so she took the lead in criticizing her. Girls of other people's age are treated as adults, only mothers, and they never tell each other about lovers, and they still scold her like children.
"I am used to being in the city and can't stay in the mountains, so I have to go out and play."
The aunt who was plucking her feathers was open-mindedly resolving her embarrassment. Zhang Ni didn't say anything, and took a chair and sat opposite her grandmother. The brother and cousin had already started dealing with the little fish and were also having a happy conversation like children.
"Ni Ni, women always have a hard time. It's okay for a child to die once, and it's okay for the child to grow up well. If the child is not good, he has to die once. He has to die many times. Smile and have fun, don't always have a bitter face. No matter how good-looking a girl looks, she can't be like your mother, she always nags, always don't say good things, and don't know how to feel sorry for others."
Grandma stroked her tender hands and whispered. The mother beside her turned a deaf ear and called her two granddaughters to scrub their pants and shoes.
The sun is getting stronger and stronger at noon, and it is so warm that it makes people sleep well. Zhang Ni plays with the children. Sometimes her mother is complaining, saying that she is embarrassed to go there with a lot of debts, and then pretends to be stubborn and force her to smile.
The eldest grandson of my uncle's family did not call her to the vegetable garden and picked up a basket of green vegetables . He threw the basket in the kitchen with a clang, and was chased by his grandmother and slapped it in the butt, saying that the dish was smashed.
He ran towards Zhang Ni.
"Aunt , come, come."
He waved his hand mysteriously.
Zhang Ni got up, ended her confrontation with her grandmother, and walked towards the naughty boy with a smile.
"Uncle Hu Sheng asked me to tell you quietly that I would go to their house to play in the evening. His good friends would go there too."
He attached to her ear and said mysteriously, for fear that someone would hear it.
Zhang Ni was happy and wondered if it was this child’s prank.Their families were originally relatives, and it was very natural for their mother to come back to her parents' home and call for dinner. Why did they make it so mysterious?
"Is that so, what else did he say?"
Zhang Ni wanted to tease the child, but once she told the details, her lies would be self-defeating.
"That's all, I gave me five dollars. Promise, don't tell my mom."
The boy revealed a corner from his pocket and said that he was not lying.
Zhang Ni smiled and instantly felt that Hu Sheng, who was a child, was back. She was always mysterious and always smiled slightly, warm, and according to the popular sayings, it was very healing.
At nearly an hour later, my cousin came over and warmly invited Zhang Ni's family to her house for dinner. Three people pushed and pushed around.
Zhang Ni, who had been in the city for more than ten years, was a little uncomfortable with these politeness. She sat aside and looked at the women with a smile and said polite words. Like an outsider.
"Oh, this is Nini. I haven't seen her for more than ten years, and she has grown into a big girl."
The aunt of cousin raised her face, which was no younger than her grandmother, as if she had just discovered Zhang Ni's appearance now, and looked surprised. In fact, from the moment she entered the door, she couldn't help but look at Zhang Ni. In my heart, I must be imagining the little girl who often follows Hu Sheng to her home for dinner. I was also worried that this kid had found a family in-laws.
"It's still a little girl, it's an old girl."
The mother seemed to not want to give up any chance to tease the girl, and she said with a stutter. My cousin immediately smiled and said that his son was not yet. He went out every day, but he just took a girl back. He called him to the house and said that his wife was going, which seemed like he was forcing him to go up the mountain of swords and fire, and he had never told him to move.
Zhang Ni didn't want to hear this, so she pulled her niece up and walked aside to see the flowers planted by her cousin's sister-in-law next to the faucet. My cousin seemed to have forgotten why it came, and talked to her mother, from her eldest son who came to her door, to her second son who worked hard outside and finally settled in the city, and then to Hu Sheng. The first two, even the eldest son who came to the door, was full of energy. When he arrived at the youngest son, he began to sigh.
When my uncle saw that the momentum was wrong, he wanted to bring his sister in again, so he quickly told his cousin to call the whole family and have dinner at home together tonight. My cousin got excited again and pulled her back, and finally decided to let Zhang Ni take her two nieces and two grandsons from her uncle's family to their house for dinner.
The opinion was reached, and all parties were happy. The mother who made the decision did not come forward to ask her daughter if she was willing to go. As for her, she seemed to be really looking forward to it. From her cousin's mouth, it seemed that Hu Sheng was the same as her, and she had the same situation as she was in a world of falling into a world of people at the same time.
She didn't say anything more, and the whole family thought it was arranged like this. When it was almost time to have a meal, Hu Sheng came to call her in person.
