Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12082

Some of the women looked sad, while others huddled together and whispered among themselves.

Luo the blacksmith sat alone on a long bench, looking haggard and forlorn, even though monks were chanting sutras in the upper part of the ancestral hall and many villagers were gathered around to watch the spectacle.

In such a noisy and chaotic environment, Luo the blacksmith was like an outcast, immersed in his own sorrow.

It wasn't until Yang Ruoqing, Luo Fengtang, and Wang Cuilian lifted the funeral couplets and came over that Wang Cuilian put her hand on Luo the blacksmith's shoulder and called out to him. Luo the blacksmith suddenly came back to his senses.

He stood up, holding Wang Cuilian's hand tightly. When his gaze shifted from Wang Cuilian to Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang, the tears welling up in Luo the blacksmith's eyes finally burst forth like a flood...

……

Wang Cuilian stayed at the ancestral hall with Luo the blacksmith, while Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang went to the Zhou family together.

Along with Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang, people from Changping Village also came to sit down at the Zhou family's house. They were honored guests among the Zhou family's relatives and friends, and were the focus of everyone's attention.

The people from Changping Village were accommodated in the Zhou family's courtyard, where a shed was set up for the banquet, and the people from Changping Village filled two tables.

After they sat down, there was still an hour or so before the banquet began, so the Zhou family specially arranged for someone to stay and keep them company.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan couldn't bear the loneliness of sitting at the table and still wanted to go to the ancestral hall to play.

Yang Ruoqing asked Rong Gu and Shaoyao to accompany them, as she herself did not want to go there again. She planned to visit the ancestral hall again after lunch and offer incense before leaving, as that would be her way of showing respect.

"Qing'er, have some tea to soothe your throat."

Luo Fengtang presented his teacup to Yang Ruoqing. Yang Ruoqing was surprised to see that he had brought along a sheepskin bag that he used to carry tea when he went out.

"The tea here, could it be that it was brewed at home and poured in?" Yang Ruoqing asked in a low voice.

Luo Fengtang remained silent, but his eyes conveyed the answer to Yang Ruoqing.

"Tang Yazi, you really understand me so well," Yang Ruoqing said softly, unscrewing the lid and taking a couple of sips of tea, feeling much better in her throat.

My dry throat, previously irritated by the sulfurous smell of firecrackers and the mixed odors of burning paper money and incense, felt much better after drinking the warm and sweet tea.

When the people from the Zhou family saw that Yang Ruoqing was drinking water that they had brought themselves, they hurriedly came over to offer her tea, saying, "We've made tea, Madam, please have some tea."

Yang Ruoqing waved her hand, explaining that she couldn't speak easily because her mouth was full of water.

Sitting next to her, Luo Fengtang spoke up, saying to the man, "My wife's throat hasn't been feeling well lately, so it's better for her to drink the tea from home. You don't need to make her any tea."

Upon hearing this, the man thought to himself how much the general doted on his wife, even taking such small details to heart!

Meanwhile, the man guessed that the water bag Yang Ruoqing was holding might contain medicine for her throat, so he nodded knowingly, said a few polite words, and then called Yang Huazhong and the others to leave.

Over here, Luo Fengtang lowered his voice and said to Yang Ruoqing, "After lunch, you and the children should go home first."

“I will stay here by myself tonight to keep vigil for my aunt. After the funeral tomorrow morning, I will take my uncle home with me.”

Yang Ruoqing nodded, "Okay, you can arrange it."

Luo Fengtang was Luo Da'e's nephew from her maternal family, so it was only natural for him to keep vigil for her.

Just like if Luo the blacksmith were to ascend to the west in the future, Zhou Wang, his nephew, would certainly do the same.

Before long, Peony returned with Yuanyuan. Judging from Yuanyuan's expression, he was very unhappy, while Peony looked helpless. Bringing him back meant that Peony couldn't handle it herself and had to come back to Yang Ruoqing for help.

"What's wrong?" Before Yang Ruoqing could even speak, Yang Huazhong noticed Yuanyuan's unhappy expression.

Peony gave Yang Huazhong a wry smile, it was hard to say, but she went straight to Yang Ruoqing.

Yuanyuan kept quiet, his cheeks puffed out, but when Shaoyao put him down, he stood there stubbornly staring at Yang Ruoqing.

It seems they wanted to take the initiative and force Yang Ruoqing to compromise on the issues that were about to arise.

Peony leaned close to Yang Ruoqing's ear and whispered a few words.

Yang Ruoqing frowned slightly after hearing this.

Those two brats!

I was playing at the ancestral hall earlier and saw Zhou Wang's two sons, as well as the children of Zhou's relatives, all dressed in white and wearing white hats.

The two brothers thought those kids were so cool. They were also children from relatives who came to pay their respects, so why could others wear mourning clothes while they couldn't?
So the two of them got anxious and started arguing with Rong Gu and Shao Yao, insisting on wearing white as well.

Ronggu and Shaoyao first tried to coax her, appealing to her emotions and reasoning with her, and even made other promises.

But none of that mattered today; these two little ones were determined to wear white.

Rong Gu couldn't handle Tuan Tuan, but Wang Cuilian happened to be nearby, so she took Tuan Tuan over to comfort her.

Since it's peony-growing here, the only option is to send Yuanyuan to Yang Ruoqing...

After understanding what had happened, Yang Ruoqing was utterly speechless.

Luo Fengtang, who was standing next to him, had good hearing and understood what he was hearing.

“If all else fails, let them be. After all, they are my aunt’s grand-nephews, so it’s only fair that they wear mourning clothes for her,” Luo Fengtang said in a deep voice as he analyzed with Yang Ruoqing. “Besides, the main reason is that we’re out on business today, so we don’t want them causing a ruckus outside.”

Yang Ruoqing nodded. Luo Fengtang's last point was the key to truly convincing her.

At home, you can make a fuss as much as you want. If you can't reason with someone, you can just slap them. They say that children are raised with a stick.

It's not appropriate to discipline children in public, especially on an occasion like today.

"Then go find Cousin Zhou Wang and arrange it for them," Yang Ruoqing said to Luo Fengtang.

Luo Fengtang nodded, and as he stood up, he scooped Yuanyuan up in one swift motion. "Let's go!"

Peony glanced at Yang Ruoqing again.

Yang Ruoqing nodded to her, and then Shaoyao jogged to catch up with Luo Fengtang and Yuanyuan.

Yang Huazhong watched all this with increasing confusion, wondering what was wrong with his grandson? Why did Tang Yazi leave in such a hurry?

He couldn't help but ask Yang Ruoqing in a low voice.

The other people at the table who were talking and drinking tea also stopped talking and turned their attention to Yang Ruoqing.

Yang Ruoqing felt as if her body was as big as a rice jar; she was incredibly embarrassed.

But this couldn't be kept secret any longer, so he had to tell the truth. After hearing this, Yang Huazhong breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wondered what it was all for, and after all that, this is all? What's this all about!" Yang Huazhong said.

Yang Huazhou also said, "That's how kids are. Do you remember that year when the surrounding villages were flooded and plague was rampant, and people were dying everywhere?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Who doesn't remember what happened that year? Ah, in our Yang family, Second Sister-in-law was the one who died that time."

The person who said this was Yang Huaming.

That year, he was still very young, just turned thirty...

Before I knew it, my hair had turned gray!

But soon someone changed the subject away from the death of Old Yang's second sister-in-law. "That year, there was a family in our village whose grandson saw someone die in another family and the children were dressed in mourning clothes. He was so envious that he ran home and cried so pitifully to his grandparents!"

"His grandparents thought their precious grandson had been bullied outside. After some questioning, they found out that the little brat was just jealous of others wearing mourning clothes. He came back and asked his grandparents when they were going to die because he wanted to wear those white clothes too!"

"Good heavens, these kids are really... sigh!"

"Kids are all like that, they don't know any better."

The crowd sighed for a while, feeling both helpless and amused.

At this moment, Wang Hongquan, who was sitting in the middle of them, had a strange expression.

Someone noticed that Wang Hongquan's expression was off and asked him, "Uncle Hongquan, what's wrong?"

Wang Hongquan smiled wryly, "That brat you're talking about is my eldest son!"

"what?"

Everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment, and then felt incredibly embarrassed afterward.

So this is what happened to Wang Hong's family. After all this time, it turns out that it's really not good to gossip about people in front of them.

Fortunately, Wang Hongquan didn't care much about it. Instead, he sat there shaking his head and said with a wry smile, "That day, my wife and I saw the little rascal come back crying his eyes out. It broke our hearts. My wife hugged him and called him her darling, asking him questions. But instead, he let out such a big, smelly fart!"

Everyone smiled along.

Yang Huaming popped a fried peanut from the table into his mouth. "Brother Hongquan, how's it going? Did you and your wife catch that little brat and give him a good beating?"

Wang Hongquan smiled and shook his head: "How could we bear to? He was only two or three years old, a tiny little thing. He was our family's first grandson, and also my wife's lifeblood! We couldn't bear to beat him!"

"However, when his father heard this, he beat his butt so badly that it swelled up. My eldest daughter-in-law was heartbroken and didn't speak to my eldest son for three days!"

Everyone was deeply moved by Wang Hongquan's words. Every family has children, and that's just how children are!

Only Yang Ruoqing said, "Time flies. In the blink of an eye, the little guy who didn't know any better back then is about to become a father himself, isn't he?"

Wang Hongquan's eldest grandson, the little kid who envied other people's grandparents' funeral feasts, got married around the Mid-Autumn Festival last year.

Hearing Yang Ruoqing's question, Wang Hongquan smiled with a hint of pride and nodded, saying, "My daughter-in-law is pregnant, and she will probably give birth around the Mid-Autumn Festival this year."

Yang Huaming was so shocked he couldn't even finish his peanuts. "No way, Brother Hongquan, you don't look that old yourself. How come we've only been grandparents for a few years, and you're already a great-grandfather?"

Wang Hongquan laughed, "How can you say I'm not old? I'm five or six years older than your third brother!"

Yang Huazhong nodded. "Yes, I'm 55 this year, and Brother Hong Quan seems to be 61?"

Yang Huazhong was genuinely envious of Wang Hong's family, who were about to have a new generation of children, while his own grandson was only twelve or thirteen years old.

Wang Hongquan nodded, "That's right! My son and grandson don't go to school, so they got married early. Unlike your families, you're all busy raising your children and grandchildren. It's troublesome, but it's never too late. You'll have great-grandchildren sooner or later!"

Wang Hongquan's words were very well said, and they greatly took into account the feelings of Yang Huazhong and the others.

However, what Wang Hongquan said was true. Scholars usually get married late. They establish their careers first and then start families, especially during the crucial years of their academic journey from Xiucai to Juren. If they were to get married, the young people would be distracted by other pleasures and their studies.

Even if you don't get distracted, a person's energy and physical strength are limited. If you squander too much energy on other things, you will inevitably have less left for studying.

Therefore, one should establish a career before starting a family. Once you pass the imperial examinations, you will not have to worry about not finding a good woman to marry you.

Childhood sweethearts are an exception.

Farmers, merchants, and artisans, on the other hand, didn't have such meticulous attention to detail.

It must have been that when their son reached adulthood, they immediately hired a matchmaker to go around arranging marriages for him, so that he could settle down and share the burden of the family.

Under the guidance of their parents, they gradually passed on the responsibilities of the family and eventually became the new pillars of the family.

Just as everyone was talking, Luo Fengtang returned.

"How are you doing now?" Yang Ruoqing asked him.

Luo Fengtang said, "We found them two small sets of coarse linen clothes and also put them on their heads. The two of them were overjoyed."

Several black lines appeared on Yang Ruoqing's forehead, even more outrageous than a musical staff!

Luo Fengtang lowered his voice and said to Yang Ruoqing, "When Cousin Zhou Wang heard that our two children were also going to wear mourning clothes for their great-aunt, he was overjoyed and immediately put down what he was doing to find the clothes."

Yang Ruoqing nodded. "Okay, as long as Cousin Zhou Wang and the others are happy."

There is a common belief that the more filial sons and grandsons who attend the funeral of the deceased, the more it proves that the deceased was blessed, and it also shows the prestige of the deceased's descendants.

Well, the word "prestige" is always on our minds.

Finally, the feast began at noon.

Although the dishes in front of him were all piping hot and very substantial, consisting entirely of meat, they demonstrated Zhou Wang's strength and generosity.

At the table, Yang Huaming and his companions ate meat and drank wine heartily, exchanging toasts with the people sent by the Zhou family to greet them, using all sorts of drinking etiquette.

At this point, almost every table and every guest was flushed with alcohol.

The aunts and cousins ​​of Zhou Wang that I had seen in the ancestral hall earlier had all taken off the white cloths on their heads and found the tables of their respective acquaintances to start eating.

Unlike the sorrow I saw in the ancestral hall before, they were now eating heartily, gnawing on chicken legs with their mouths full of oil.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was wonderful, completely unrelated to the sadness of someone's passing. If it weren't for the white banners hanging on the door frame and the paper money scattered on the ground, one would really mistake it for a joyous celebration...

Yang Ruoqing barely touched her chopsticks; she still couldn't overcome her physical urges and still had some physiological aversion to such dishes.