Chapter 542: Smoke Rising from the Ancestral Graves!
The Li Family’s New Home!
Ever since Li Yi took the initiative to move the belongings from the old house to the new one, his parents had been living there ever since.
At that moment, Zhang Yuehong and Tang Xue were busy in the kitchen, while Li Yi and his father were on the kang, playing with the two little ones.
Zhang Ziqiang, meanwhile, was perched on the edge of the kang, sipping his tea at a leisurely pace.
As Li Yi’s official bodyguard, Zhang Ziqiang had gained some understanding of Li Yi’s background, but he never imagined that the parents of this billionaire would still be living in such a remote mountain village, leading such a simple life.
“Why did you come back so suddenly?”
Li Shankui asked, still playing with his eldest grandson.
“No particular reason—I just wanted to come back and take a look!”
Li Yi added, “Besides, if I don’t come back now, I’ll have to wait until the New Year to visit!”
“Why?”
“Xiao Xue got into college. Classes start in September, and by then I won’t have time to come back home!” Li Yi said.
“Really? Which university?” his father asked, sounding a bit excited.
“Beijing University—one of the best universities in the country!”
“What? Is it even better than the school Wu Zhiqing went to?”
The “Wu Zhiqing” his father was referring to was Wu Yonghao, the first educated youth from Nianzishan Village—no, actually, the first from the entire Hongqi Commune—to get into college.
Back when Wu Yonghao got into college, it caused quite a stir in the village, even though he’d only been accepted into the Ning City Teachers’ College—not a true undergraduate program.
But even so, the members of the Nianzishan Brigade always spoke of him with great envy.
“The school that Young Comrade Wu got into can’t hold a candle to the one this kid got into—ours is way better!” Li Yi said proudly.
“That’s wonderful! Now the Li family has a college student of our own—it’s truly a blessing from our ancestors!”
Overcome with joy, Li Shankui added, “Xiao Yi, pack your things tomorrow and come with me to the gravesite to burn some joss paper for our ancestors. We’ve got to share this good news with them.”
“Sure, whatever you say goes!”
Although Li Yi wasn’t particularly keen on visiting the graves to burn paper money, he still had to listen to his father.
When it comes to filial piety, the key lies in the word “obedience.” Only by obeying one’s parents can one truly be considered filial!
Of course, obedience has its limits; otherwise, it’s just blind obedience.
“By the way, once Xiaoxue starts school, what will we do with the baby?”
“Beijing University has a daycare center, and we can also leave them at the Jiang family’s old house—there’ll be people there to look after them!” Li Yi replied.
Li Shan Kui looked slightly disappointed. He would have preferred his son to leave his grandchildren in the village, but he knew his son’s temperament wouldn’t allow it.
Li Yi could easily see through his father’s thoughts and immediately replied with a smile, “Dad, why don’t you and Mom just move to the capital too? That way, you can help us look after the kids.”
Hearing this, Li Shankui was indeed tempted.
They say grandparents have a special bond with their grandchildren. In his eyes, his son and daughter had already “made something of themselves,” and now he just wanted to spend more time looking after his grandchildren.
But when he thought of the countless narrow alleys in the capital, he couldn’t help but hesitate. With neither of them knowing a single character, they’d be lost the moment they stepped out the door if they went to the capital.
“Let’s talk about it later!”
“Alright!”
Li Yi didn’t press the issue. After all, his parents were still spry and in excellent health—they didn’t need his care just yet.
They could live wherever they pleased. If they ever became frail and unable to walk, or needed someone to look after them, it wouldn’t be too late to bring them to the city then!
“How are your third sister and that Long boy doing?”
Li Shankui was still very concerned about his only unmarried daughter.
“They’re doing great. I actually wanted to bring my third sister back with us, but the shop’s been so busy lately that she just can’t get away from there!” Li Yi said.
“It doesn’t matter if she comes back or not, as long as you’re all doing well…”
Just then, their mother’s voice suddenly called out from outside: “Honey, tidy up the bed—dinner’s ready!”
“Got it!”
The father and son stopped talking and busied themselves clearing the items off the kang and setting out bowls and chopsticks.
Before long, steaming hot stewed vegetables and large steamed buns were served…
……..
The rest of the night passed without incident!
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Li Yi heard a commotion outside. He opened his eyes and glanced at his watch, only to find it was not yet six o’clock.
Listening closely, he could indeed hear footsteps outside.
He pulled back the curtain and saw that the rain had stopped.
His father was leading the big red mule and the big black horse out the door; it looked like he was heading to the well to get water.
Li Yi immediately closed the curtains and got dressed.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw that Zhang Ziqiang had also gotten up and was carrying a basin of water outside.
“Daqiang, where are you headed?” Li Yi asked, a bit puzzled.
“The car’s all dirty, so I’m going to wash it!”
“Don’t bother. We’ll have to drive it to the county seat in a little while. Even if you wash it spotless, it’ll just be covered in mud again by the time we get back. Don’t waste your energy!”
With that, Li Yi grabbed the shoulder pole sitting on the windowsill, hoisted the two large metal buckets onto it, picked up the small leather bucket hanging from the well rope, and headed outside.
Seeing this, Zhang Ziqiang immediately followed him out!
Because there was a molybdenum mine beneath their house, it was difficult to store water. Therefore, after Li Yi finished building the house, he didn’t dig a well in the yard; the Li family still had to go to the village’s central well to fetch water.
The Li family’s new house was located at the easternmost edge of the village, three or four hundred meters from the nearest well, so carrying water every day was indeed a hassle.
As soon as Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang arrived at the well, they saw quite a few people gathered there drawing water. Li Yi’s father, leading a mule, was among them, chatting with Liu Darei, Zhang Tongfu, and others.
“Oh, Xiao Yi, have you come to help your father carry water?”
“Shankui, Little Yi is such a dutiful son—you’ve got someone to rely on!”
“You’re telling me. It’s nothing like that good-for-nothing of mine—just thinking about him gives me a headache…”
Hearing everyone praising his son, a faint smile spread across Li Shankui’s usually taciturn face, and he was overjoyed inside.
However, considering that his son hadn’t done this kind of physical labor in a long time, Li Shankui immediately said to Li Yi, “You lead the animals; I’ll carry the water!”
“No way! That’d just make the uncles and elders laugh at us!”
Li Yi then added, “Dad, once you’ve finished watering the animals, you should head back right away. Let’s get ready so we can go to the graves early. I still want to make a trip to the county seat this morning!”
Village Chief Zhang Tongfu asked in puzzlement, “Shan Kui, it’s neither Qingming Festival nor Ghost Festival—what are you going to the graves for?”
Li Shan Kui grinned, revealing a row of yellow teeth, and said, “Little Yi’s wife got into college—and not just any college, but a prestigious one that’s even better than the one Wu the educated youth got into. I want to share the good news with our ancestors!”
The moment he said this, it was like dropping a bombshell into the crowd—everyone immediately went wild!
“Is that for real? Tang Zhiqing got into college? When did that happen?”
“What ‘Tang’s daughter’? She’s Xiao Yi’s wife now!”
“Huh? Didn’t they say Xiao Yi’s wife went to Beijing to reunite with her family and have a baby? How did she end up getting into college?”
“Shankui, which university did Xiao Yi’s wife get into…”
Hearing everyone chattering away and bombarding his father with questions, Li Yi hurriedly said, “Uncles, aunts, and everyone else, my wife Xiao Xue has indeed been accepted into a university in the capital. I’ll share the details with you all later when we have time. We still need to visit the graves, so let’s go fetch some water first!”
Liu Darei immediately said, “Xiao Yi, hurry up and bring the bucket over!”
Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he immediately set the large iron bucket down.
Once Liu Darei had filled both buckets with water, he hoisted the yoke onto his shoulders and followed his father toward the new house.
After the Li family left, the villagers’ enthusiasm didn’t wane—it only grew stronger. They gathered around the well, chatting about how Li Yi’s wife had been accepted into college.
Before long, the news of Li Yi’s wife being accepted into college had spread throughout the entire village of Nianzishan…
……..
PS: I have friends visiting from out of town in Hohhot today, so I really have no choice—the update will be delayed!