Chapter 45 - 45: Words Too Late to Say
Han Qiao instinctively grabbed Heng Yi’s clothes.
Heng Yi also held her shoulders.
“Sister Ah Qiao?”
“I’m fine!” Han Qiao pushed Heng Yi away and took a few steps back.
Heng Yi’s voice was a bit hoarse. He opened his mouth to say something, but Han Qiao took a few steps back as if he was a ferocious beast.
Heng Yi froze on the spot.
“Dacheng and the others seem to be looking for you. You should go over first.” Han Qiao whispered.
Heng Yi was motionless.
She pushed him. “Heng Yi?”
Heng Yi suddenly came back to his senses and called out in a hoarse voice, “Sister Qiao, I…”
“Hurry up and go over.” Han Qiao left first.
Heng Yi turned to look at Han Qiao’s back.
She clenched her fists and walked to the front yard.
However, Heng Yi was a little absent-minded. He didn’t have much to say.
July 25th
Han Qiao moved into the new house.
Before daybreak, the group of people took their things to Han Qiao’s house. When the sun rose, they began to set off firecrackers.
After a series of crackling sounds, Han Qiao took out her keys and opened the door.
“Eldest Aunt, good luck upon entering.”
“Eldest Aunt, good luck upon entering”
Han Qiao smiled as she picked up the broom and swept it here and there.
Then, she went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea.
After Han Qiao finished making the tea, Heng Yi found her and handed her a red paper bag.
“What are you doing?”
“Congratulations, Sister Ah Qiao. This is a little token of my appreciation. It’s good luck to move in!”
Heng Yi wasn’t bad looking. With that smile, two dimples appeared on his cheeks.
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Han Qiao didn’t intend to accept it.
“Sister Ah Qiao, you accepted everyone’s gifts. Why didn’t you accept mine?” Heng Yi asked.
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Han Qiao thought that those were all relatives.
But Heng Yi was also a friend.
“Thank you!”
Han Qiao took it.
When she pinched it, she could feel that it might be a banknote.
“Heng Yi, you…”
“Sister Ah Qiao, this is a little token of my appreciation!”
Heng Yi turned around and helped the Han brothers move the tables and chairs.
Han Qiao stood rooted to the ground, her heart heavy as she held onto the red packet.
How could she return such a heavy gift in the future?
Han Qiao’s bed was slowly made by Grandma.
Grandma Han was famous for her good fortune.
His children and grandchildren were all there.
Grandfather Han was sitting on the main seat in the central room. When a child came up to him and called him Old Master, he pointed at the wild pears, melon seeds, peanuts, and cereales on the table. “Eat, take them and eat.”
This was a task given to him by his wife. He was not allowed to walk around and let the children eat.
Grandfather Han remembered that he was wearing brand new clothes and sitting there with the air of an old ancestor.
His uncles and aunts also came over to help.
Tang Sisters-in-law and the Tang family also expressed their opinions. They were all fifty wen, as if they had made an appointment. Then, they went to help with the work.
There were tables and benches in the courtyard.
They had to set up a stove outside to cook meat.
There was even a piece of land outside the door. It was convenient to dry anything usually, and now it was used to burn things.
The Han family had many people, and they were united. Uncle Yi acted as the overall planner and gave orders one by one.
Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt also came, and a few cousins also sent gifts.
Even her cousin who was married far away in Linzhou had asked Second Aunt to send her a generous gift.
A piece of cloth cost a hundred wen.
Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt were old, but they were kind people. Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle walked around and praised Han Qiao’s house.
Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt accompanied Grandma in Han Qiao’s room and called Han Qiao over to encourage her to live a good life in the future. If there was anything, she could call her cousins.
Don’t be an outsider to your family.
“Thank you, First Aunt, Second Aunt!”
There were two wild boars and more than twenty pheasants.
The sweet and sour fish was already emitting a fragrance.
Han Xiang pulled Zhou Anshan to the side. “Why don’t you go get the two kids? It’s only two hours anyway!”
Zhou Anshan was unhappy. “Yesterday, you didn’t bring them yourself. Today, you want me to pick them up. I’m not going!”
He was the son-in-law and didn’t have to work. He just sat there, eating tea and eating melon seeds. It was very comfortable.
The uncles also expressed their opinions. They sent vegetables, pumpkin, and eggs. The cousins were all ten wen. These were all recorded in the favor book and would be returned when the time came.
Only a few uncles and children came. The others were only two adults or their nephews who came to work.
When lunch was served, the Han family realized that the food was sumptuous to the extreme.
Most importantly, there was wine, and the wine was very good.
“Ah Qiao is really generous!”
“Too generous!”
There were steamed buns and rice.
Chicken, sweet and sour fish, braised pork, braised pork liver, fried crispy meat. They were all good dishes. She didn’t know which one to eat first.
Village Chief, Li Zheng, and Patriarch were also present. There were also a few elders of the Han Clan who were accompanied by Grandfather.
Grandpa himself was confused. He only knew how to shout for everyone to eat.
He picked up some food and ate it slowly, praising the taste.
There were a total of 25 tables. There were still leftovers of meat and vegetables, as well as some steamed buns.
After lunch, it was time to leave, and Han Qiao had to send the guests off again.
Han Qiao packed the braised pork and asked her first and second aunts to bring it home for the children to try. She asked them to bring the children over to play next time.
“Alright, Ah Qiao, live your life well.”
“Yes!
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Han Qiao nodded.
She returned the tables, stools, bowls, and chopsticks, and her sisters-in-law helped clean up the place.
Han Qiao looked at the remaining dishes and asked her family to eat here tonight. The weather was hot, and they would spoil tomorrow.
“Alright.” Father Han nodded.
He gave the favor book and the gift money to Han Qiao.
“You should tidy up the things. Some of them have to be cooked and eaten quickly.”
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Live well in the future!
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Han Qiao nodded.
Every family had their own jobs, so they couldn’t stay with Han Qiao forever.
Han Qiao sat on the chair with the book, only to find that everyone had left except Heng Yi.
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Han Qiao took out a red paper bag from her pocket and opened it to identify the silver notes.
If she was not mistaken, this should be a hundred taels.
A hundred taels, what kind of concept was that? Han Qiao knew it all too well.
She could not accept such a heavy gift.
“Mother!” Sun Xiu, Sun Yi, and Sun Ke walked over happily.
Han Qiao caressed their faces. “Go and tidy up the house. You must slee tonight.”
“Let’s help Mother tidy up first.”
“Okay!”
Han Qiao’s bed was a little messy. It was obvious that someone had deliberately pulled or laid on it.
If she guessed correctly, it was most likely Han Xiang.
She even swept out a lot of melon seeds and peanut shells under the bed.
“Mother, who did this? This is too annoying.” Sun Xiu frowned.
“It’s alright. We’ll just sweep the floor. It’s a happy thing to move into our new house today. Don’t be unhappy over these small things.”
Han Qiao patted Sun Xiu’s head.
She wouldn’t care about such trivial matters.
From here on, she had a home and a place to shelter from the wind and rain.
At this moment, Heng Yi was bidding farewell to Father Han.
“You want to enter the mountain alone?”
“Yes, I’ll go into the mountains for a few days!”
Father Han wanted to say something, but Heng Yi insisted on leaving.
Thinking that Heng Yi had been silent since the meal, Father Han patted his shoulder. “Be careful when you enter the mountain.”
“Thank you, Uncle.” Heng Yi thanked him and left the Han Family with his hunting bow, machete, scythe, and rope.
Han Yuanshi chased him to the door and looked at Heng Yi’s back. “Aiya!” He was vexed..