Chapter 46: Unexpected News
Xie Xinlian smiled and said, "I can't speak for my parents-in-law. Although we haven't formally divided the household yet, each branch lives its own life. They make their own decisions on how to live well, and I can only look on. After all, it's not money earned by my Shunyao."
Hearing Xie Xinlian's words, Aunt Lian and the other woman felt there was some truth to it. "Every family has its own difficult scriptures to recite," they murmured, before changing the subject and letting the matter drop.
Everyone who could attend Zhu Enfu's birthday banquet had arrived. Even Zhu Xiangfu and Zhu Tianfu, who were in Shanghai, had sent their sons and daughters to pay their respects, demonstrating their profound respect for Zhu Enfu.
Zhu Enfu himself was overjoyed. An elder's greatest wish is to be surrounded by children and grandchildren. Seeing twenty tables full of relatives, he was naturally delighted. Even without a formal genealogy, the Zhu family was still quite large. It would only be when the older generation had mostly passed away that the Zhu family of Gǎn'ēn Village would fracture and scatter, never again enjoying such lively gatherings.
Zhu Yanyi sat curiously at one of the tables at the very back. Although far from the main table, this position allowed her to observe everything clearly from a bystander's perspective.
If Zhu Yanyi were truly five years old, such a lively celebration would naturally be delightful—there was food, drink, and entertainment. However, in reality, Zhu Yanyi was a woman in her fifties trapped in the tender body of a five-year-old. Having seen much of life, her soul remained clear-headed. But since she harbored no regrets at this moment, she found the situation truly wonderful.
The economy was beginning to recover. Unlike in the early years, when having enough to eat was considered sufficient, birthdays were unthinkable luxuries. Celebrations for someone reaching such a high age were especially rare; it had been many years since anyone in the village had held such a grand event. There were elders nearing ninety in the village, but they could only envy the Zhu family for their large number of descendants.
Zhu Enfu was cheerful all day long, so the banquet proceeded smoothly. Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli received red envelopes containing five jiao each for congratulating the elder. At that time, five jiao was worth more than fifty yuan in later years.
Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli were particularly happy. They handed the money directly to Xie Xinlian. Zhu Yanyi didn't believe she possessed the magical abilities of female protagonists in novels, capable of turning something worthless into something miraculous. Even with her如意 (Ruyi) Space and her photographic memory and perfect recall, she couldn't turn five jiao into fifty, five hundred, or more. Therefore, it was better to give the money to Xie Xinlian. The family's financial situation was what it was, and they needed to build a house early next year. Any extra money for construction would be helpful. Although five jiao was a small amount, it was still a token of goodwill.
Xie Xinlian didn't think so much. In rural areas at that time, few children had money in their hands; receiving two fen to buy candy was already considered generous. So, when Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi gave her the money, she accepted it. After all, they had also given gifts. Their contribution was five yuan. While not the largest gift, it was still considerable. The money returned to Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi was only five jiao each, totaling just one yuan.
After the banquet, they took some leftover meat dishes and the family of four headed home. As they walked, Xie Xinlian sighed with emotion, "Uncle has finally seen sweet days after all her bitterness."
Zhu Shunyao nodded in agreement. "Yes, Uncle has finally seen sweet days after all his bitterness." Then he added, "We will have our day too."
Xie Xinlian nodded with a smile. Remembering what Aunt Lian and Sister Jin had said, she remarked, "I heard from Aunt Lian that Father went to the brick kiln and cleared out all the broken bricks."