Siheyuan: All the incense in the family is counting on you

The old lady sighed and said, "Well, well, just leave it there. We don't know how many years we'll have to live like this, so we should save some money."

"Got it, Mom!"

Seeing that the old lady was in a low mood, Li Bowen came over and said, "Grandma, let me tell you something fun in the city!"

"Okay, tell grandma what's new in the city. I love to hear it!"

Li Bowen was left to accompany the old lady, while Li Dahai and his wife rolled up their sleeves and began to clean up the yard.

It was not until dark that the old man came back in the afterglow of the setting sun.

He was holding a rabbit in his hands and carrying a basket on his back.

Seeing Li Dahai tidying up the yard, he said, "Dahai, Huifen, you are back. Where is my eldest grandson?"

Li Dahai smiled helplessly: "Dad, I am your biological son, why do you ask your grandson first when you come back?"

"What's so good about you? I've seen it!"

"Okay, okay, your eldest grandson is in the house!"

The old man laughed and said, "Grandson, come and see what good stuff Grandpa has found!"

Li Bowen hurried out of the house when he heard the voice and took the rabbit from the old man: "Grandpa, you have a great harvest today. This rabbit must be three or four pounds!"

"Yes, I'm lucky. The rabbit knows that my grandson is coming back, so it went straight into the nest."

"Then let's eat it tonight. I'll go call my uncle and the others!" Li Bowen said and was about to go out.

"No, no, eldest brother, you go and call them. Your wife, please quickly clean up the rabbit. There are some fungus and mushrooms in the basket. Let's stew them together!" The old man made all the arrangements very clear.

Back in the house, Li Boxian took out a cigarette from his bag like a treasure: "Grandpa, this is what I brought for you. Don't smoke your dry tobacco all the time. It's choking. Smoke something better!"

The old man picked up the cigarette and looked at it carefully: "This is a lot of money, right? Why are you spending this money? I only earn a few dollars. I'm fine smoking dry tobacco. You have to save your money to marry a wife! Do you understand?"

"It didn't cost much. I used to be an apprentice and earned little, but now it's different. I've been promoted to a second-level worker and I have enough money to honor you!"

"Okay, okay, my eldest grandson is promising. It seems that it is right to let you go to the city!" The old man nodded with satisfaction.

As the conversation went on, the topic turned to getting married.

The old lady asked, "Grandson, you are already 21 years old this year. Do you have a girl you like? Has your uncle asked someone to find a match for you?"

"I'm just talking about this. I'm not satisfied with any of the ones I've met! If I'm going to marry someone, I'm going to marry a beautiful one!"

"Yes, my eldest grandson is so handsome, he must marry a beautiful wife, but you can't be too picky, grandma is still waiting to hold her great-grandson!"

"Got it. Don't worry, I will let you have a great-grandson as soon as possible!" Li Bowen agreed readily.

"You're just trying to sweet-talk me. I think the granddaughter of Old Chen in our village is pretty good. How about marrying her?"

"The granddaughter of Old Chen? Are you talking about Sister Chen Qiao?"

The old lady nodded: "Yes, even though that girl is three years older than you, a girl three years older than you is a treasure. She knows how to care for others when she is older!"

"Grandma, you are confused. Didn't Chen Qiao get married a few years ago?"

"You are confused. That little girl got married not long ago and her husband disappeared. He is back now!"

Li Bowen looked at his grandmother in surprise: "Isn't that a second marriage?"

"What's wrong with a second marriage? She didn't have any children. I watched that girl grow up. She's pretty and has a good body and is good at giving birth. The most important thing is that she has a good personality and can stay at home peacefully. If I marry you a restless girl, would you feel comfortable leaving her at home?"

"No, but you can't let me marry someone who's been married twice!"

Before he could finish his words, Li Bowen was slapped on the back of his head by his grandfather: "Ouch, ouch, it hurts!"

"You old man, don't you know that my eldest grandson still has gauze wrapped around his head?" The old lady got angry.

"I forgot, I was so excited at the moment!" The old man regretted it after he finished fighting.

"Grandson, listen to what grandpa says! You are going to choose a wife from three families, so you have to be extra cautious when choosing a wife. You have to find someone you know well and who is obedient!" As he said this, the old man took out a few pieces of paper from the drawer and handed them to Li Bowen.

After taking the papers and looking at them carefully, I saw two names on them, Li Zhongwen and Li Shuwen.

Li Bowen asked in confusion: "Grandpa, what's this?"

"This is your new name. I specially asked a gentleman in our village to choose it for you. I will go to register your household registration later." The old man nodded.

"Grandpa, this isn't okay. It's against the law!" Li Bowen couldn't help but be impressed by his grandfather's impressive operation.

"What's the law? What's the law for you to register one under the name of your eldest uncle and third uncle?"

"Of course it's the national law. Grandpa, I know what you're thinking, but now the country stipulates that you can only marry one person and can only get one marriage certificate. You can't have more than one!" Li Bowen quickly explained to the old man.

"Then I don't care. We can't let your uncle and third uncle's family be cut off. If getting a certificate is not possible, then don't get one. Just hold the wedding banquet in the village. Your grandparents don't care about your wife in the city. It's up to you to do what you like, but the ones in the village must listen to our arrangements?" The old man said seriously.

"But will they agree to this?"

"Don't worry about that. In these famine years, we can exchange ten kilograms of grain for a daughter-in-law. How can her family refuse our request?"

Looking at the eager eyes of the old couple, Li Bowen knew that he had no choice but to agree.

I could only nod: "Okay, whatever you say is what it is!"

"Well, that's right. It's always right to listen to grandpa! This way our family won't be extinct!" The old man stroked his beard with a smile.

Li Bowen sighed in his heart, why do I feel so stressed! It seems that I have to hurry up to make money, otherwise I can't support my family.

When it was time for dinner, grandpa, uncle, third uncle and Li Bowen sat at the dining table in the main room, while the women ate at a small table on the kang in the inner room.

"Uncle San, can our village still receive anything?"

Uncle Li Dahe put down his chopsticks and said, "It depends on what it is. Each family doesn't have much grain, but they may have some other things. What do you want to collect?"

"It's like this. I contacted the canteen of our factory and I can sell them some unplanned supplies, such as eggs, mushrooms, bacon, pheasants, hares, and fish!"

"How much do you need?"

"The more the better. Our factory has tens of thousands of people and our daily consumption is huge. We can take whatever we can get. You can use money, grain, or coupons to exchange!"

"Oh, that's easy. I'll contact them for you tomorrow. I think we can collect quite a lot. There are also fish in the reservoir next to us. We can just cast the net and catch them! But you have to make sure you can exchange them for food!"

"Well, I promise, Uncle San, nothing will happen to you, right?"

Li Dahe laughed bitterly: "What can happen? People are almost starving to death, so why bother about whether they can get into trouble or not? Go and see who in our village still has food on the table?"