Zhang Yan returned to the study, Daddy Liu was rummaging through the cabinets to find something, Zhang Yan asked gently, "Dad, what are you looking for?" Seeing that Zhang Yan was back, Father Liu stood up straight and said, "Xiaoyan, why did it take so long to send a guest?" ”

"Dad, after I sent Uncle Jiang away, I saw my mother go, I told my mother that you and I will not go back to sleep in the courtyard tonight, let Aidao close the courtyard door, now that it is close to the New Year's Pass, there are more thieves, just in case."

"Before liberation, the door was not closed, but after liberation, the door was closed, what do the neighbors think?"

"Dad, this is not the same, there used to be my Yizhang brothers, he alone can suppress those ruffians and hooligans in ten miles and eight tuns, now he is fighting outside, Houzhang has sacrificed again, the adult Renzhang and Zhongzhang are both trembling masters when they encounter something, especially that Liu Zhongzhang, is a typical nest in the cross, you see what he has bullied Lin Qi over the years. Now in the compound, in addition to the eldest girl is the little daughter-in-law, Zhizhang, Xinzhang and other boys are still young, in case some hooligans who don't know the severity come in, and you often spend the night in the study, you don't necessarily know what happened in the first two courtyards......"

Zhang Yan said these trivial things that were not painful, while putting the dishes on the coal stove to reheat it, and never mentioned Liu Kuizhang's matter from beginning to end, she kept telling herself that as long as Daddy Liu did not take the initiative to mention this kind of big thing to her, she must not rashly inquire or make up ideas, Zhang Yan poured wine for Daddy Liu, and poured a glass herself.

Zhang Yan picked up the wine glass and looked at Daddy Liu tenderly, and said gently, "Dad, I have arranged the funeral of Brother Houzhang tomorrow properly, let's drink slowly tonight, I have a lot of questions to ask you, and you can also relieve your fatigue." He took a sip of wine.

Father Liu drank the wine in one gulp, and said lightly, "Xiaoyan, you just listened to Jiang Fengyi's words just now, don't take it to heart, Dad has a way to punish scum like Liu Kuizhang, just now I was looking for a gift given to me by your aunt Sanyan a few years ago." ”

"Dad, I heard my grandfather say that you and my aunt almost got married, mainly considering that my grandmother Li used to be my grandfather's concubine, and my grandfather Liu Yanzu didn't agree to this family affair because he was afraid of messing up his generation, Dad, did you and my aunt also have a skin-to-skin relationship back then?" Zhang Yan asked bluntly.

Daddy Liu's face turned red, more than 30 years ago, Sanyan was still an innocent little girl, followed Zhang Lu to the Liu's compound to play every day, Liu Yanzu liked Sanyan very much, and often took her in his arms to ask Sanyan to sing a little song to him, and then Sanyan's love for the first time, and Daddy Liu was sticky together every day and secretly tasted the forbidden fruit, everyone thought that Daddy Liu and Sanyan were talented and beautiful, and it was an excellent marriage, but Liu Yanzu was unexpectedly resolutely opposed, and the reason was also very far-fetched, that is, Sanyan's biological mother was Liu Yanzu's aunt, That is, Liu Huayong's concubine, what Daddy Liu was looking for everywhere just now was the special gift given to Daddy Liu when Sanyan broke up with Daddy Liu.

At eleven o'clock in the morning of the next day, Houzhang's funeral officially began, because Houzhang has no heirs, the entire Liujia compound 'Zhang' character only Zhongzhang and Renzhang married, but for the time being, there are no heirs, Liu Wenzheng and Liu's father agreed with Liu Chengzu in advance that Liu Wenxuan's son Liu Shuzhang will give Houzhang 'pot', according to custom, Liu Wenzheng's personal property will be inherited by Shuzhang in the future, Zhongzhang also signed and agreed, Shuzhang is only four years old, one year younger than Xinzhang, in ' Zhang's character is the youngest in the generation, the eldest is the ninth, and the little book chapter is draped in linen and wears filial piety, standing on a high stool, holding the gray tile basin in front of the mourning hall high above his head with both hands, crying and shouting, "Brother Houzhang, you go all the way!" Then the tile pot smashed to the ground, the horn sounded, the funeral procession meandered for several kilometers, stopped and walked slowly towards the Liu's cemetery, along the way two trumpeters repeatedly blew the "Su Wu Shepherd" this crying song, the tragic and desolate suona sound made the listeners all liver and intestines broken, the whole funeral ceremony was presided over by Liu Chengzu, the highest seniority, until the thick chapter into the soil for peace, the two tablets were invited into the Liu's ancestral hall in the west of the village and the family temple of the Liu's compound, the funeral lasted more than three hours before the official end.

Father Liu returned to the West House with the support of Zhang Yan and Daai, Mrs. Liu served him to lie down, and said distressedly, "Father Renzhang, you always disobey the old, look at how tired you are now, the spirit is not as good as Uncle Zu, the red and white things in the family have rushed together in the past few days, you are enough to worry about, you shouldn't have drunk wine with Feng Yi last night, the next time I see him, I have to talk about him." ”

Da Ai Shangkang sat next to Daddy Liu, gently beating Daddy Liu's whole body to help him eliminate fatigue.

Zhang Yan whispered to Mrs. Liu, "Mother, don't complain about Uncle Jiang in the future, he is now the second-in-command in the county, he and my father are drinking to talk about business, don't worry, my father is in good health, he just hasn't rested well these days, let's not bother him, let Da Ai help Dad relax here, and Dad will just have a good sleep." Without waiting for Zhang Yan to finish speaking, Daddy Liu snored and snored, Lady Liu sneered, turned her worries into joy, and said to Zhang Yan with a smile, "Your father is like this, the sky fell and he slept properly, there was an earthquake in the summer of the previous year, and everyone lived in the temporary wooden shed in the courtyard, and he and Yizhang slept on the kang, so that Renzhang and I didn't dare to sleep all night, just waiting for the earthquake to go in and call him." ”

Da Ai also smiled and echoed, "Mother, I remember what you said clearly, that night my father specially sent Zhizhang to take my whole family to live in a wooden shed in the courtyard of the Liu family, he and the third brother are good, they have to sleep in the house, saying that they are wrestling with God." ”

Da Ai covered the horns covered on Daddy Liu's body, and then jumped off the kang to go home, Zhang Yan stopped and said, "Da Ai, you wait a while, there are still some leftover dumplings at home, I'll go to the back kitchen to wrap it, and you take it back to Xiaozhang to eat." ”

"Thank you, sister-in-law, I really don't need it, Zhizhang sent several freshly cooked dumplings to my family yesterday, and I haven't finished eating it yet, mother, sister-in-law, I'll go home first." After speaking, Da Ai ran out of the Liu family's compound as soon as he slipped away.

Zhang Yan looked at the back of Da Ai, and said to Mrs. Liu with a smile, "Mother, my brother Zhizhang is really blessed to find such a sensible daughter-in-law." Liu Lao Niang had already smiled from ear to ear, and also put the troubles of thinking about Yizhang behind, since there was Zhang Yan at home, Liu Lao Niang felt that she was liberated, and her mind suddenly brightened a lot.

Zhang Yan hugged Liu Lao Niang's shoulders and said affectionately, "Mother, you don't have to worry about my second brother Yizhang every day, don't you say that the second brother is most like my father, my father can come through so many storms when he was young, the second brother is brave and slightly superhuman, and he will be safe and sound, and my Uncle Wenxi also told the second brother's fortune, saying that my second brother is not only safe and sound on the Korean battlefield, but also has made many military exploits, he said yesterday that he will definitely receive the good news from my second brother before the Spring Festival, you and your father are waiting to hear the good news." ”

"Good girl, you still know your mother's mind, yesterday I heard the messenger say that Houzhang died, my heart was in turmoil, I felt sorry for Houzhang, and I was worried about Yizhang, now I heard you say this, my heart is much more relieved, just like you said, when your father was young, he led Jiang Fengyi's gang to beg for food on the knife edge, that is smuggling at sea, whether it is the government or bandits, they are all eyeing me, although he said that many of the big things he did outside were hidden from me, afraid that I would worry, but he never hid it from you Aunt Huilan, of course, he couldn't hide it if he wanted to, Your Aunt Huilan has a way to clean him up, if he doesn't tell the truth, let alone go to the sea to run the boat, even the door of the study will not want to go out, but it's a pity that your Aunt Huilan has been married for so many years, and she doesn't even have a man and a woman, if she has her own children, your father still doesn't like it to death? ”

Zhang Yan knew that Mrs. Liu was talking, and there was no logic at all when she thought of it, and it was no wonder that Father Liu hid everything from her, for fear that she would not be able to hold on, and her brain would be tired.