Chapter Fifteen Going to Eldest Uncle's House

  Before going to sleep, Huang and Er Niu were lying in bed chatting. Huang said, "Er Niu, you really have to go to your older brother's place tomorrow to borrow a house, you also know what kind of person your sister-in-law is..."

  "I know my sister-in-law isn't easy to talk to, but after all, we're family. If we don't even ask her and directly go borrow someone else's house to live in, it wouldn't be good, and the villagers will gossip. My uncle's house has empty rooms that aren't being used, borrowing from others is not as good as renting one from my brother's family for a month, at least we're giving them rent instead of letting outsiders gossip."

  Huang thought it was reasonable, although his sister-in-law wasn't very reliable, but his brother was a good person. Anyway, they had to go tomorrow, and it would be better if Er Niu went to talk to them. Thinking of his mother-in-law coming back, Huang pushed Er Niu and said, "Your mom is really coming back tomorrow, you know she doesn't like me very much. I'm afraid that when the time comes, I'll accidentally offend her. Why don't we wait until the house is built and then invite them over for a drink?"

  There's some truth to the saying "mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are born enemies." Huang Shi was no exception. Just thinking about her own mother-in-law made her a little afraid. She knew exactly what kind of person her mother-in-law was: brutal, overbearing, and controlling. If she could avoid seeing her, Huang Shi would naturally not want to see her.

  Lin Er Niu naturally knew Huang Shi's thoughts, "Dad and mom, I will definitely bring them back tomorrow. How can our own son build a house without us being there? It's just a few days, I know your temper, so I'll have to trouble you for a few more days."

  Huang didn't say much either, nodded and said "It's late, go to sleep, we still have to get up early tomorrow."

  The next day, at dawn, Er Niu woke up Da Bao and they set off in their ox cart. When they arrived in town, it was just getting light. They bought some steamed buns to eat on the way, then headed towards Da Bao's uncle's shop. Lin Er Niu's older brother, Lin Da Jiang, was married to a woman named He Shi. A few years ago, they had moved their whole family into town and opened a general store. Their life was going along all right. The Lin family had two young children: the elder son was fifteen this year and would help out in the store when he wasn't busy with other things; the daughter was ten years old. As for the fields at home, they were all being farmed by He Shi's natal family, so there was no need to go back home often.

  Lin Er Niu brought Da Bao to the entrance of Lin Da Jiang's shop when Lin Da Jiang was preparing to open. Seeing them coming, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and greeted: "Er Niu, Da Bao, why are you so early today?"

  Lin Er Niu shouted "Big Brother" and asked Da Bao to call someone, Da Bao also shouted "Big Uncle". Lin Da Jiang took the two of them to the inner room behind his shop. Lin Da Jiang's shop was a front shop with living quarters in the back, with a small courtyard in between, and several side rooms inside, which was enough for the whole family to live in. Lin Da Jiang then called out his wife He Shi and parents, saying "Second Brother has arrived."

  The old couple were delighted to see Er Niu and Da Bao, and they pulled them in to ask about family matters. It was clear that the two elderly people truly loved this son and grandson.

  Lin Lao asked Er Niu, "Er Niu, you're here so early today. I'm afraid the two of you haven't had breakfast yet. Just eat here and let your wife go buy some more buns and mantou to bring back."

  Lin Er Niu's mother-in-law, Zhao, also said so, and at the same time asked her eldest daughter-in-law to go buy some breakfast back. He Shi sat still and said, "Nowadays, buns and mantou are expensive, a bun costs two cents each! Yesterday, my daughter Yu'er saw them on the street and I didn't even dare to buy one. These days are really hard!"

  Lin Dajiang is a man who fears his wife. Upon hearing what his daughter-in-law said, he didn't dare to say much and just pushed her gently. Lin's father suddenly turned dark-faced and looked unpleasant. Zhao said, "Dajiang's wife, do you want me to spend some money for you to go downtown and buy some buns back?"

  Mr. He's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, and he hastily said "No need, I'll go right away."

  Erniu and Dabao had also eaten, but seeing their parents so happy, they didn't plan to refuse, wanting to spend more time with them. Seeing Dasao's attitude, Erniu felt embarrassed to stay any longer, so he said, "Dasao, don't go, I've already eaten with Dabao, we have something to discuss with you." He Shi originally didn't want to leave, so she sat down, taking the opportunity.

  Lin Er Niu said, "Dad and mom, big brother, my family is planning to build a house. This time I came for two reasons: one is to ask you both to come back and help me take care of things, and the other is because we are building on our original site, so our current old house needs to be demolished. Our family members have nowhere to live, so we want to rent your place to stay for a while."

  Lin Lao Die and his wife looked at Er Niu in disbelief, saying "Er Niu, where did your family get so much money to build a house? Can't you live in the house at home?"

  "It's been so many years and it hasn't been renovated, indeed it can't be lived in. Just recently got some silver money, originally planned to renovate, but the children at home have grown up too, and the house is not enough to live in, so might as well build a new one."

  Mr. Zhao had always known about the difficulties of his second son's family, and every year when winter came, it was the most difficult time. He thought that if he could get some silver money, how much would be enough? He said, "Second Bull, if the house is habitable, just make do with it for now. If it really can't be lived in, then renovate it a bit. Let's just get through this winter first."

  "Mother, don't worry, we've prepared the silver and money. If you and Father are free at Eldest Brother's place, come to our place to help us take care of things for a while."

  Zhao's wife saw that her son was determined, and she didn't try to persuade him anymore. She just said, "Your father and I are still in good health, with such a big thing happening at your house, we will definitely go back to help. We'll follow you back today."

  He was originally a man without much energy, and then said "Second Cow, your family has made a fortune, you want to build a new house, where did you make the money? Also, take care of your elder brother, look at our life. You just said you wanted to rent our house, how long do you plan to live there? That house is our ancestral home, and we will have time to go back and repair it."

  Zhao's family glanced at He's family, just about to speak, when Old Jiang spoke up and said "Second Bull, our house on the left is also empty, why don't you all go live there? What's this talk of renting? Do we really need your silver?"

  Lin Er Niu saw He Shi push Da Jiang, and Da Jiang stopped talking. Lin Er Niu knew what kind of person his sister-in-law was, so he smiled and said: "The rent must still be paid, I will go rent someone else's house to live, it is also paying rent, if brother insists on not accepting, then I won't live here."

  He smiled and said "Alright then, let's do as Er Niu says. I'll go get the key for you."

  Lin Lao Die Zhao saw the big daughter-in-law say this, also did not speak out, they after all live in the eldest son's home, if too biased to help the second son, can't help but make the old eldest uncomfortable, so let them discuss it themselves.

  Lin Er Niu told his parents that he would come to pick them up in the afternoon after hiring a mason and buying the necessary materials for building the house. Lin's old father and mother could also pack their things, as it would take some time to build the house. It had been a long time since they last returned to their hometown. Although they had lived in town for several years, the countryside was after all their old home. As people get older, they become more nostalgic for their hometown. The saying "falling leaves return to their roots" is precisely this kind of feeling.

  Lin Er Niu took Da Bao on a non-stop run around town for an entire morning, finally finding a bricklayer to hire. He had Da Bao take them back home first to check out the house, as there were some things that needed to be done beforehand. He bought some necessities for the day and met up with Lao Da, exchanging a few words before hurrying off again.