country bumpkin

Chapter 334 The Anxious Nie Family

The rain and snow from yesterday didn't stop; they just turned into a heavy snowfall. The sky was dark and gloomy, with dark clouds covering the entire earth.

In addition to the biting cold wind, damp and chilly snowflakes were falling in the air.

It snowed heavily all night, and when I woke up in the morning, I could see the breath coming out of people's mouths.

"It looks like it'll be another cloudy day. This snow will probably last for days and nights before it stops," Nie Xianghong's grandmother said, sitting in bed.

Old man Li Weixiu picked up his pipe, tapped it on the bedside table, filled it with shredded tobacco leaves, pressed down on the bowl with his wrinkled hands, and lit the old pipe.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled a ring of air, and comfortably squinted his eyes.

Old lady Fang Jinxiu rolled her eyes at him, coughed twice, and said, "Not even up yet... cough cough... cough cough, smoking in bed, smoking, smoking, smoking, it's choking me to death..."

Li Weixiu wasn't angry or upset. He said softly, "A man lives for his pride, a tree lives for its bark. I'm an old man smoking a cigarette, living like a god. Hehe...hehehehe."

He even made himself laugh, chuckling to himself like an idiot.

Fang Jinxiu had no choice but to endure the smoky smell and continue chatting, as she couldn't control the old man.

She said, "Old man, what do you think of Xiang Hong? How did she fall for Kong Xiuwei? The two of them even ran away together, and it's already the 27th of the lunar year and they still haven't come back. Are they planning not to come back for the New Year?"

Li Weixiu exhaled another puff of smoke, looked at his wife and said, "How could that be? He should be back this afternoon. If he dares not to come back for the New Year this year, Fugui and Dayong will let him off the hook."

Fang Jinxiu pursed her lips, looking incredulous. "It's hard to say. Look outside, the snow is already three inches deep. I guess the long-distance buses have been suspended!"

Li Weixiu suddenly sighed and said, "If Kong Xiangwei doesn't come back with Xiang Hong this year, their wedding will probably fall through."

Fang Jinxiu's eyes widened. "No way! They're already living together. How can our son-in-law stop them from getting married?"

Li Weixiu said, "How could it be impossible? They're secretly dating without a matchmaker, and there's such a big age gap between them. It's normal for their parents to disapprove. But..."

The old man paused for a moment and then continued, "But if the two of them come back this time, our son-in-law might not be angry anymore."

The old lady looked at her husband, puzzled, and asked, "Why is that?"

The old man explained, "Look, it was Xiang Hong who went out to find the family herself; it wasn't like they dragged her along."

Besides, Kong Xiangwei is a decent person; we know him well, he's just a bit old.

"But we've set our sights on Xiang Hong, so what can we, as parents, do? If we try to stop her, she'll only get more determined, and things could really get out of hand."

Fang Jinxiu also felt that there might be problems, because last year a girl from a neighboring village dated a poor boy from her village, but her family objected, and the girl drank pesticide and died.

The story spread like wildfire, reaching several nearby villages. Now, the elderly in the village are less likely to forcibly break up young couples.

This could very well cost a life; it's better to let nature take its course. Children and grandchildren have their own destinies; too much interference from elders isn't a good thing.

As the elderly couple were talking, their daughter Li Chunmei's voice came from the main room outside.

"Dad, Mom, are you up yet? The food is ready, shall I bring it to you?"

Fang Jinxiu said, "Oh, no need. Let's go out to eat. How can we eat in bed? It's not like I'm sick and can't get out of bed."

The old man glanced at her and said, "It's the New Year, why are you talking about illness? It's so unlucky."

The old woman said, "Pah...pah...pah, the bad ones don't work, the good ones do."

Li Chunmei lifted the curtain and saw her mother spitting out words, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha...Mom, what are you doing?"

Fang Jinxiu: "I didn't do anything, I just said something unpleasant, I just spat it out and that's it."

Li Chunmei: "Mother, why are you so superstitious?"

The old lady said, "Don't worry about it, we older folks all believe in this. Oh! By the way, what kind of breakfast did you make?"

"Oh, egg noodles, and meat sauce topping!" Li Chunmei said excitedly.

The old lady said, "Okay, you serve it first, we'll go out right away."

The old man quickly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and tidied his clothes. The elderly couple then went through the main room and living room to the kitchen to wash their hands and faces.

When they came back after washing up, they saw Nie Dayong and Nie Xiangyang sitting at the dining table waiting for them.

The elderly couple sat on the fabric sofa in the living room, preparing to start their meal.

This sofa was bought by their son, Li Fugui! It's a fabric sofa, and it's not cheap; it cost 2000 yuan!

At the dinner table, the old lady asked her daughter, "Chunmei, has Xiang Hong contacted you? Did she say whether she'll be coming home for the New Year this year?"

Li Chunmei's face was filled with worry when she mentioned her daughter. Her daughter hadn't called home in so long; she wondered how her daughter was doing.

They used to call once a month, but now it's been two months without a single word. I really don't know what this kid has been up to.

When Nie Dayong heard his family mention his daughter, he lost his appetite, drank half a bowl of noodle soup, and then stopped eating.

Li Chunmei asked him, "Dayong, why are you eating so little? Is it not to your liking?"

Nie Dayong waved his hand, "No, it's because I just woke up this morning, I'm not hungry yet."

Li Chunmei stopped paying attention to him and went about her own business.

After the family finished eating, they went about their business as usual. The elderly couple, having nothing to do, went back to the inner room to chat.

Li Chunmei tidied up the house, Nie Xiangyang went back to his room to do his homework, and Nie Dayong went out.

He wandered the streets with his hands behind his back. He sauntered over to Kong Xiangwei's old house.

He knocked on the gate, and Xie Wenli's voice came from inside the courtyard. "Who is it? The door isn't locked, you can just push it open and come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open, and Nie Dayong asked as he walked, "Sister-in-law, is Brother Kong Tongyuan home?"

When Xie Wenli saw that it was his in-laws, he quickly told them to come inside and warm up.

"He's at home, playing chess with Tongming inside," Xie Wenli said warmly, welcoming Nie Dayong into the house.

Kong Tongyuan looked up and saw Nie Dayong. He stood up with a smile and said, "Brother Dayong, what a rare guest! Please have a seat."

After Nie Dayong sat down, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Brother, this snow is really heavy. Xiang Hong and Xiuwei haven't come back yet this year, and I've been worried about them."

Kong Tongyuan poured Nie Dayong a cup of hot water and said, "I've been thinking about them too. I wonder how those two kids are doing. But young people should go out and explore."

Kong Tongming put down the chess piece and replied, "Maybe they've made a name for themselves out there and will give us a surprise when they come back."

Nie Dayong sighed, "I hope so. I'm just afraid they'll suffer some mistreatment outside and won't come back for the New Year. Their families will be so worried."

Kong Tongyuan patted Nie Dayong on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Xiangwei is a reliable kid, he won't let Xiang Hong suffer. Let's wait and see, maybe the snow will stop and the long-distance buses will resume, and they'll be home by then."

Nie Dayong nodded, feeling a little more at ease. After chatting for a while, Nie Dayong got up to say goodbye, preparing to go elsewhere to inquire about information.

He strolled along until he reached the village entrance, and suddenly saw cars driving on the road, which made him very happy.

If there are still cars on the road, it means that government vehicles are still in operation. Kong Xiangwei and his colleagues may also be on their way home.

This put Nie Dayong at ease, and he felt much more comfortable, even walking with renewed energy.

He strolled around the village again, and seeing that few people were out on the main street, he turned around and went home.

When he got home, he told his family what he had seen and heard, and they breathed a sigh of relief. They were just waiting for Nie Xianghong and the others to return.

Sure enough, around 3 p.m., Kong Xiangwei got off the car at the main road at the village entrance, carrying luggage in one hand and holding Nie Xianghong's hand in the other, and returned to the village.

The snow on the road had been melted by the car exhaust, leaving sticky black slush on the road surface, along with some ice shards.

The village roads, however, were covered in thick snow. Stepping on it, the snow submerged your ankles and went all the way up to your calves.

The snow crunched underfoot as Nie Xianghong shuffled along behind Kong Xiangwei.

Her hands were empty, with only one hand being held by Kong Xiangwei, and the other hand tucked into her pocket for warmth.