(viii)

I heard from my father that I used to have two aunts, one of whom died because she loved to steal food. At that time, when my grandfather was still alive, although the family had a slight surplus, it was only to fill the stomach. On a hot day in June, a big pot of beef bones was boiled at home, and the aunt with yellow face and thin muscles stole a few pieces, regardless of the hot and carried them into her arms, ran to the bamboo forest by the old house and gnawed them fiercely, and was found by her grandfather and driven out of the house with bamboo sticks.

The old people in the family are always secretive about their aunt's death, and no one seems to be willing to take the initiative to mention her.

I also have a younger aunt who gave away at a very young age. Because my grandfather died early and the family was in the middle of the road, my grandmother supported my father and his four brothers by working part-time jobs for large families in the village and planting mountain fields. A family of five is waiting to be fed, all relying on grandma's hands. Later, she really couldn't eat, so the little aunt finally had to give it to the neighbors who had surplus food to feed her.

The people on Wendou Village have always had an extremely special feeling for food, and they are also unforgettable for hunger.

The little aunt gave it away, but it was a blessing in disguise, she was able to eat enough and survived, and later married to a place called Yang Ai and gave birth to a child to run the family. Although the little aunt complained that her grandmother gave her away cruelly, she was also grateful that she could survive because of this, and told her son before she died that he must go to his uncle's house. In this way, whenever there is a happy event in my family, I will notify my eldest cousin, and my eldest cousin will come every time.

I remember that when my third uncle died, my eldest cousin brought a young cub to the funeral. The whole person looked yellow, as if he was sick.

The eldest cousin was very fond of chewing raw rice at that time, and she always seemed to carry an ear of rice in her pocket, and as soon as she was free, she put her hand in her pocket, and then took out a grain of rice, and with a "quack", it became a grain of rice and threw it into ...... mouth.

This movement is extremely skillful, and we are often stunned to watch. I used to hide from my mother's side and watch timidly with my eldest cousin how my eldest cousin turned a grain of rice into a grain of rice between her fingernails, and then chewed it with taste.

The eldest cousin is from outside the mountain, and all her actions are novel in my eyes.

The eldest cousin was peeling the rice and talking to her mother at the same time. Sometimes, as soon as she sat down, after a while, there was a ground of chaff in front of her.

The mother thought that the eldest cousin was troublesome in peeling rice like this, so she went to the rice bucket in the warehouse and grabbed a handful of raw rice for the eldest cousin, but the eldest cousin refused to accept it, and still insisted on peeling and eating it one by one.

I really didn't know the difference between an ear of rice and a handful of rice at that time, and I still can't make it white. But every time after my eldest cousin left, my mother and several aunts talked about it, and they deliberately avoided us children.

Once, I secretly put an ear of rice in my pocket and peeled it to eat. Sure enough, it smells so good. But I didn't expect to be discovered by my mother, and I had to be scolded. From then on, I never dared again.

Later, there were one or two more opportunities to meet my eldest cousin. I paid special attention to observe that she had stopped chewing raw rice, her face gradually became rosy, and her whole person looked the same as before.

"It's not good to chew raw rice," my mother said. As for why it was bad, she didn't say, just sighed quietly.

I stopped asking. However, I can also vaguely feel something, which seems to be related to the death of the eldest aunt and the sending of the younger aunt.