Traveling through 70's wine

Chapter 139 Meeting the Parents

Wen Qing asked, "Didn't you tell your family that we would arrive today?" The journey was a bit long, but acceptable.

"I did. I wrote a letter. I don't know if you received it."

There are no telephones here, sending a telegram seems a bit of an overkill, and the timeliness of writing a letter cannot be guaranteed.

Zhuang Xien's home is at the eastern end of the village. As soon as the two of them entered the village, many children followed them and shouted, "Brother Tieniu is back."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Zhuang Tieniu? Why haven't I heard you mention it before?"

Zhuang Xien said embarrassedly: "It's just a nickname, everyone is used to it."

When we got home, there were already seven or eight people, adults and children, following behind. Zhuang Xien took out a bag of candy from his backpack, gave three to each person, and said, "Uncles and brothers, come and have some candy."

Everyone took their candy and stood there for a while before dispersing.

His parents are about 50 years old and look quite old, with dark and yellow complexion, many wrinkles and spots on their faces. They are of medium height, and the clothes they wear are neat without many patches, which shows that their family environment is pretty good.

Zhuang Xien's sisters are married and have not returned home, while her brother has started a family and lives with his parents.

Zhuang Xien introduced him to his parents: "Dad, Mom, this is my girlfriend Wen Qing."

His mother took Wen Qing's hand enthusiastically and said, "Xiao Wen, Tie Niu mentioned you many times in his letters, saying that you often help him. Don't be shy when you come home, just treat it as your own home."

Wen Qing took out the gifts she brought for them. One was a bottle of wine for Zhuang Xien's father and brother, one was a piece of Dacron cloth for his mother and sister-in-law, one was a packet of milk powder and a can of malted milk for her brother's son who was still young, and a bottle of honey was also given to his mother.

I also brought things for his sisters, but they were not there, so I didn't take them out.

Wen Qing didn't buy anything too expensive.

Zhuang Xien's mother said, "Oh, Xiao Wen is still studying, right? It's not worth spending this money. Thank you."

Zhuang Xien answered for Wen Qing: "Wen Qing has graduated and is working now. Dad and Mom, this is Wen Qing's gift, you should accept it."

Zhuang Xien's father didn't say anything, just smiled.

Zhuang Xien's younger brother and sister-in-law were holding the child beside them, calling Wen Qing "sister". The whole family was very warm and welcoming. Wen Qing felt a little relieved, at least everyone could save face.

For dinner, the family sat together. There was only one meat dish, fried bacon with garlic sprouts, and the rest were vegetarian.

Zhuang Xien explained somewhat embarrassedly that this was how it was in the countryside, and it was rare to eat meat once a year. Wen Qing had lived in the countryside before, so she didn't mind.

On New Year's Eve, Wen Qing got up early in the morning to help Zhuang's mother cook. At noon, everyone had a simple meal of sauerkraut and corn dumpling soup. After 5 pm, Zhuang's mother had already set the New Year's Eve dinner. First, they set off firecrackers to worship the ancestors, and then the family sat down at the table to eat.

Wen Qing saw a roast chicken, a braised pork trotter, a steamed fish, tofu and fish head soup, stir-fried lettuce, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried radish on the table. It was a very rich meal.

Zhuang Xien opened a bottle of Changxia Special Brew, poured it for everyone, raised his glass and said, "I wish my parents good health, and I wish everyone a happy new year!"

Everyone raised their glasses and said auspicious words. The little nephew, who was less than one year old, was babbling something in his mother's arms while holding the bottle. People in Xijiang can eat spicy food. Wen Qing has lived in the countryside in Yunnan and Yunnan for many years and can also eat spicy food. He thinks it tastes very good.

At night, Wen Qing stayed up late with everyone to celebrate the New Year. After midnight, everyone set off firecrackers and ate rice dumplings before going back to their rooms to sleep.

The conditions in Xijiang rural areas are slightly better than those in Yunnan and Dian, mainly because the food is better and people can eat their fill every day. Huangjia Bay is close to Poyang Lake, where there are many freshwater fish and eating fish is quite common.

The Zhuang family has settled in Huangjiawan since their great-grandfather’s generation, and it has been more than 100 years now. Half of the people in the village have the surname Zhuang.

Zhuang Xian's family built five rooms at the east end of the village. According to Zhuang Xian, his father had two rooms when he divided the family property, and later when their children grew up, they built three more rooms.

Now there is a main room, one room for parents, one room for younger brother, one room for sister, a kitchen and utility room, and a pigsty and toilet.

She lived in the house where Zhuang Xien's sister lived before she got married. Zhuang Xien lived in one room with her parents.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhuang Xien gave red envelopes to his parents and nephew. After breakfast, friends and relatives who wanted to pay New Year's greetings came to visit one after another.

Wen Qing accompanied Zhuang Xien while recognizing people. Although she had a good memory after practicing, she had met too many people to remember them all. Later, when she met an older person, she called the men "uncle" and the women "aunt". When she met an average-aged person, she called the men "brother" and the women "sister-in-law" or "sister", and she did not make any mistakes.

An aunt joked: "Tie Niu is really promising. His girlfriend is a college student. Now your parents can rest assured."

He always kept looking at Wen Qing, and sometimes when he felt she was uncomfortable, he would hide in the house.

I inadvertently heard someone go to the kitchen and chat with Zhuang's mother, "Aunt Zhuang, you are cooking, isn't Tie Niu's wife coming to help?"

At noon, they had the leftovers from last night. Mother Zhuang smiled and said, "It's just heating up the food. It's not a big deal."

On the first night of the New Year, Zhuang's mother and Zhuang Xien's siblings cooked fermented fish and blood duck, boiled carrot soup, and steamed corn and sweet potato rice.

The second day of the Chinese New Year is the day when married women return to their parents' home. Zhuang Xien's sisters came back with their husbands and children.

His elder sister married in town and already has two children, a boy and a girl; his younger sister married in the neighboring village and is now pregnant.

The gift Wen Qing gave to his sisters was also a piece of Dacron cloth, the gift to the man was a bottle of wine, and the gift to the child was a packet of milk powder and a bottle of malted milk. Seeing that his sister was pregnant, he also gave her milk powder and malted milk.

Sister Zhuang took Wen Qing aside and asked about their life in Pingjing.

Wen Qing said that Zhuang Xien was repairing bicycles with others while she was at work. Zhuang Xien just smiled when he heard her words. This was what they had discussed beforehand.

Sister Zhuang said with envy: "Pingjing is the capital, it's much better than our countryside, right?"

She went to whisper with Zhuang Xien again. As for what they were talking about, Zhuang Xien did not tell her. It was a matter between them as siblings, and Wen Qing did not want to know.

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, Zhuang Xien said goodbye to his family and took the train back to Kyoto with Wen Qing.

When they arrived in Pingjing, Zhuang Xian sent Wen Qing back to Erxia Village. Wen Qing fried egg sauce, made noodles, and ate. Then Zhuang Xian returned to Bali Village by himself.

The next day, Zhuang Xian came to Erxia Village to find Wen Qing. The two did not go out to play. Wen Qing took him to see the newly contracted forest and told him about her plan. Zhuang Xian was very interested.

Wen Qing has now contracted 300 acres of forest and has planted 200 acres of fruit trees. She doesn't want to plant too many as it will be difficult to sell them in the future, so she plans to plant some high-end trees and sell the timber in the future.

Plant some more green trees. Pingjing will undergo large-scale urban transformation in ten years, and green trees will be used.

The two discussed where to get saplings. Zhuang Xien said, "Our place is cold in winter and hot in summer. It's best to plant some fir and pine trees. You can also harvest rosin from pine trees. Walnut, beech, and birch trees are also good. The wood is good and can be used to make furniture."

Wen Qing nodded. She had already bought some saplings and planted trees on the mountain. She also set aside 20 acres of land halfway up the mountain to plant green trees.

After finding a good place, she went to the forest she had contracted before, where many fruit trees had already been planted.

Wen Qing checked the growth of the fruit trees and noted down the places that needed repair. The trees should be able to bear fruit this year. Wen Qing planned to hire three more people to tidy up the forest behind.