Leaving Lu Dashu's house, Luo Yingchun carried a bag full of candy and went straight to Meng Qingquan's house.

The Meng family is one of the largest families in the township. Meng Qingquan's grandfather, Meng Youde, was the secretary of the township before he retired; His father, Meng Dailu, is the current deputy secretary.

Although the Meng family is an "official family", they still know the law and break the law, and in the past seven years, they forced Meng Qingquan's poor mother Lai Xinyao to continuously induce labor and give birth to several female fetuses, except for the eldest Meng Qingya, none of the other female fetuses and baby girls survived! In the end, Meng Qingquan was born and stopped giving birth. Everyone in the village knows that the two fathers and sons of the Meng family attach great importance to "incense", and in order to protect the second child, they believe in superstition and spend a lot of money to "look" for Lai Xinyao, and the people who look at the face often make conclusions based on absurdity, which is difficult to ensure accuracy and is extremely absurd. Lai Xinyao is weak by nature and obedient, and her mother's family doesn't care, just like Zhang Wanying, she is almost helpless and has no freedom to speak of.

Meng Dailu, who was in the prime of life, was full of spirit and pride. Outside of weekdays, he would return to Lujiayuan, holding his head high all day long, dangling in the courtyard, with his hands behind his back, like a majestic rooster, strutting and showing off his might. In Luo Yingchun's opinion, Meng Dailu and his father's eyes grew on the top of their heads, because they never looked at "low" people.

Luo Yingchun walked into the front yard of the Meng family. Meng Dailu was sitting outside the bright gate writing work notes, the teacup next to him was brewing valuable tea leaves, and the tea was steaming; Far away, you can smell the seductive aroma of tea. She knows very well that this tea is not produced locally, and people like Meng Dailu who pay attention to pomp and circumstance will never drink local tea.

"Uncle Meng!"

Luo Yingchun walked over to say hello, her voice was tepid, she didn't like Meng Dailu, she even thought that the humble and friendly Meng Qingquan was not his own.

After Meng Dailu squinted his eyes and glanced at Luo Yingchun, he quickly withdrew his gaze and responded indifferently:

"Hmm."

Luo Yingchun is insignificant in Meng Dailu's eyes.

She walked straight into the bright and tidy hall, where Lai Xinyao was cleaning the cobwebs. She was bloated and clumsy due to continuous pregnancy and devastation, her hands covered with calluses, and her dark yellow face covered with vicissitudes; His dim eyes flashed with a few hints of longing and desolation, which could not be spoken, only understood. Standing with the red-faced Meng Dailu, she is more like an old mother.

"Auntie!"

Luo Yingchun was full of smiles and called cordially;

Lai Xinyao turned around and smiled:

"Spring is coming! Come and eat the apples! ”

Lai Xinyao put down her work, walked to Luo Yingchun's side, and pulled her to sit down.

"When will Brother Quan come back?" She asked;

"Let's go two days, her sister has to stay with him for a few more days!"

Lai Xinyao replied while peeling apples, and her hoarse voice seemed to be seriously ill.

When Meng Qingya was still a minor, she was married to the county seat, and then got married and had children, living an ordinary life. Meng Qingya doted on her only brother very much, and every holiday, she would go home in person and take Meng Qingquan to live in the county seat for a while.

Lai Xinyao is very friendly to Luo Yingchun, she is not like the other people in the courtyard, either mocking in every way, or falling into the well.

"Oh! I'm just here to ask! ”

Luo Yingchun couldn't help but be disappointed, she secretly folded her hands and counted the time she had been separated from Meng Qingquan. Meng Qingquan is very important to her, they are bosom friends, every time she is beaten and scolded, she will always find him as soon as possible, and she will be more comfortable with his comfort.

"Come and sit down and chat with me!" Lai Xinyao handed the peeled apple to Luo Yingchun, her eyes were full of eagerness and love;

Luo Yingchun took the apple, she took a bite, and as soon as she used it hard, there were bursts of throbbing pain from the part that had been hit by the tongs, so she had to bite and chew gently.

"Well, but as long as it's not raining, I'll have to herd the cattle!"

Like adults, she shrugged her shoulders and looked helpless.

"Where's your grandfather? When will you come back? Lai Xinyao took out the pear from under the table;

"I don't know! After all, it's a long way! She said;

"Do you have any relatives in your grandfather's hometown?"

Lai Xinyao gently turned the pear, and wherever the blade went, the yellow pear skin peeled off like a hard ribbon.

Luo Yingchun lowered his head and pondered for a while. In fact, she had no way of knowing, after all, the unattainable hometown in Luo Chaoqian's mouth was like a meteor in the night sky, fleeting.

In the 50s, Luo Chaoqian was a soldier, and only the military order was followed, and he crossed the Yalu River to participate in the "Korean War"; After a rain of bullets and the brink of life and death, when he returned to his hometown of Xichong County, his parents and brothers had already died of the plague! His heart was like a knife, and he lay asleep in the crumbling clay house all day long. After a period of silence, he regrouped, used the meager military salary he had accumulated, started a small business, and married Feng Yonglian as his wife; Later, the troubled Feng Yonglian offended the local powerful bullies, in order to avoid retaliation, Luo Chaoqian packed his luggage overnight, dragged his family and fled to the southwest of Sichuan, and after more than a month of running and trekking, he finally came to Qingyun Bay and settled down in Lujia Village.

Now, the older Luo Chaoqian is, the more homesick he becomes, and he can't sleep at night. The bully may be long gone, but in order to avoid being bound by the homesickness that rolls in the middle of the night and searching for messages from old friends for many years, he has set foot on the road back to his hometown for the first time in decades.

"Grandpa said that his parents and brothers have died of illness a long time ago, so I'm afraid he has no relatives."

Luo Yingchun looked at the color TV in the corner and said. Color TVs are expensive, and few people in Lujiayuan can afford them. She often fantasizes about being able to enjoy her favorite cartoons like "Cat and Mouse" or "Gourd Baby" or "Tinker Bell" while eating a snack on a color TV screen, but she knows that this can only be the ultimate fantasy.

"What about your grandmother?"

As soon as the words came out, Lai Xinyao already regretted it a lot, she knew that Luo Yingchun hated Feng Yonglian, even if Feng Yonglian turned into white bones, she still spit on her and hated her! Just like flowers and plants will always hate boiling water.

Luo Yingchun lowered her head and was silent for a few seconds, she had cursed Feng Yonglian thousands of times in her heart, she thought, even if Feng Yonglian's mother's family still had relatives, she would not get close to or contact them.

"I don't know! Who knows? She said with a blank face.

Lai Xinyao wanted to speak and stopped, she looked at Luo Yingchun with complicated eyes, with pity and concern in her eyes. A few lazy beams of white sunlight rushed from outside the gate to her haggard face, wrinkles deep into the ravines, looming in the faint light.

Meng Dailu, who was sitting at the gate, coughed vigorously a few times, and the cough sounded sonorous and powerful, not at all like the hoarse and weak of a sick person. This is the code word of Meng Dailu to give orders.

Lai Xinyao, who was chatting energetically, didn't notice that Meng Dailu was coughing again, seeing that Lai Xinyao was still indifferent, he was furious, bared his teeth, like a crazy male dog, and scolded Lai Xinyao:

"Dead woman, are you deaf? Dead mother-in-law! ”

Lai Xinyao was startled, she hurriedly got up, twisted and turned, and ran to Meng Dailu's side, her face full of embarrassment and apprehension.

"What do you want?" She looked at Meng Dailu timidly and asked cautiously, as if there was a beast in front of her;

"After lunch, you go to my office and get back the silver-gray pens and work notes in the drawer!" Meng Dailu ordered, his eyes full of disgust when he looked at Lai Xinyao;

Lai Xinyao was a little surprised, after all, there were several miles from Lujiayuan to the market, and it took almost two hours to go back and forth by legs and feet! The government, primary schools, and markets in the township are located in the streets a few miles away, and the streets are narrow and cramped, like a lazy caterpillar, sleeping among the green mountains and green waters.

Over the years, Lai Xinyao has long been accustomed to Meng Dailu's strength and unreasonableness, no matter what he says, she must abide by it, as if she is not marrying an ordinary man, but a high emperor.

"You have a notebook?"

She pointed to the pen and notebook in Meng Dailu's hand, and her voice was as small as a fly. She hopes to save a little face in front of outsiders, just a little.

Meng Dailu was annoyed and angry, and the ghost knew what kind of calculation he had in mind.

"Dead mother-in-law, I said, I need to be urgent, I have to report to work early Monday morning, do you want me to lose my job? Dead mother-in-law! ”

Meng Dailu's handsome face became contorted under the rage, as fierce as a monster in hell.

Lai Xinyao didn't dare to make a sound, just nodded again and again, tears rolling in her eyes.

Luo Yingchun has witnessed Meng Dailu punching and kicking Lai Xinyao many times, and speaking ill of her, but she can't do anything to save Lai Xinyao, who is deep in the fire pit.

Of course, not only Meng Dailu, but even Meng Youde will be arrogant and scolding her, as if she is a free slave, beating and scolding, working hard and resenting.

Luo Yingchun put down the pear, she walked out of the door and gently patted Lai Xinyao's shoulder:

"I'll go first, I'll come back when Brother Quan comes back!"

Lai Xinyao held back her tears, raised her head, and watched Luo Yingchun leave.

As soon as she walked down the steps, there was Meng Dailu's beating and scolding and Lai Xinyao's crying and begging for mercy behind her, she knew that as long as Meng Qingquan was not at home, there would be no one to protect Lai Xinyao.

Bumped into Meng Youde head-on, he held a teacup, hummed a certain Peking Opera clip, and walked in front of her proudly, he ignored her.

She has long been accustomed to this. But what she couldn't understand was, why didn't Lai Xinyao try to escape?