Chapter 36 The eldest uncle comes to visit
  The Fang family finally finalized the sale of the house.

  Early the next morning, the old lady left with the eldest son's family. It seemed that she never wanted to see her second son again, so she asked the eldest son's family to help move all her things away, even the pots and pans in the house.

  In the end, if the eldest son hadn't said that the house couldn't accommodate so many things, the old lady would have even wanted to move a few broken stools away.

  Looking at the empty house, Fang's mother sat on a small stool and cried silently. Fang's father walked over and they sat together, staring at the old house in a daze.

  Fang's mother wiped her tears for a while and sighed. "Yesterday, when I saw you like that, my heart was shaking with nervousness. We are all brothers and sisters, how could it end up like this today just for a house?"

  Fang's father sighed and patted his wife's cut-faced hand. "People's hearts are hard to read. Let's split up. You've suffered all these years following me! I'm useless. I can't make Mother happy like the fifth child, nor can I be doted on by Mother like the eldest sister. Instead, I've made you and the others suffer with me... From now on, we just have to work hard, and things will get better..."

  Fang Qing hid in the attic, listening to her parents reminisce about the past. She finally understood many things she hadn't understood as a child: why her mother didn't like to go to Grandma's room for dinner, why her father always went there happily but came out with a sad face, and now he insisted on dividing the family...

  Although he didn't understand the grudges between his fathers, he knew that their family would face more difficulties in the future, and it was time for her to do her part.

  That day, Fang's father found a house for sale, and Fang Qing followed him to check it out.

  The house was located behind Furong Street, which led to Jingtan No. 1 Middle School. A dozen meters down the alley, you'll see a gray stone wall. Inside, behind a large red iron gate, you'll find a row of ancient tiled houses. Facing south, the houses are built from single blocks of bluestone. A rusted copper bell dangles from the eaves.

  Uncle Zhang, who was accompanying us, was a construction worker. As we walked, he mused to my father, "Although the house was shabby and simple, its structural integrity was very solid. If we renovated it, we could live there for decades."

  My father nodded as he entered. The interior was just as dingy and run-down as the outside. Thick cobwebs in the corners, dust everywhere, and the shiny black bedding on the kang (kang) betrayed the owner's slovenliness.

  The owner, a skinny man, initially boasted about the quality of his house, but after the uncle accompanying my father pointed out various flaws, he finally grew uneasy.

  "Well, this house will eventually get old. It can still be used after some repairs..."

  The uncle shook his head. "If you buy this house, the walls, the windows, the floor tiles, even the beams—everything needs to be completely renovated before you can live in it. Otherwise, with this house full of bugs, no one can stand it."

  As he spoke, a large spider sauntered past Fang Qing's feet, startling her so much that she jumped and hid behind her father, causing the landlord's face to turn red and pale.

  The landlord refused to budge on the price, and her father, feeling it was unreasonable, decided to take another look and left with his family.

  But the landlord was getting impatient. Many people had come to view his house, but in the end, they all thought it was too old and the renovation was not feasible, so they couldn't reach an agreement. He was running out of time, so he finally made up his mind, stalked out, called out to Fang Qing and her father, and offered to negotiate the price.

  Fang Qing stood by and watched as her father and the landlord exchanged words. The house was finally sold for 5,800 yuan.

  The landlord was delighted, but her father was distraught. After all, this amount of money was too much for their family.

  In the following days, the parents started borrowing money again.

  Early in the morning on the 14th day of the first lunar month, Fang Qing got up to help his mother prepare the ingredients for making Yuanxiao.

  In previous years, the whole family celebrated the Lantern Festival together, but this year everyone had a bad time because of the house issue, so this year everyone celebrated the Lantern Festival separately.

  Although it was not as lively as in previous years, Fang's mother had a rare moment of leisure. In previous years, she not only had to prepare food, but also had to clean up and down after the festival. Every time after the New Year, Fang's mother would be exhausted for several days. Fang Qing also wanted to make his mother more relaxed, so he took the initiative to take on the work of making Yuanxiao at home this year.

  In fact, there are people selling Yuanxiao on the street, but not only are the prices high, but the fillings are also nothing new, either five-nut or sesame. Fang Qing remembered the fruit-filled glutinous rice balls made for them by the ugly grandmother in the mental hospital in his previous life, and his mouth was watering, so he decided to try making them himself.

  Fang Qing skillfully cleaned and pitted the hawthorns, then added a handful of rock sugar to a pot and simmered them into jam. Then, he added the jelly powder and mixed everything together. He covered the mixture with a cloth and placed it on the windowsill to cool. Once his mother had prepared the glutinous rice dumpling wrappers, the two of them began making them.

  Shortly after breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Fang Ming opened it and looked in. "Uncle, why are you here at this hour?"

  The uncle explained that Fang Qing had enjoyed frozen pears the last time he left, and since he had been in a hurry, he had been in town today to run some errands, so he brought some for the children.

  During the conversation, the uncle recounted what had happened at home since the others had left. Hearing that Zhao Tiedan from the next village had even coveted their daughter, Fang's mother gnashed her teeth in anger.

  Because of this unpleasant incident, the uncle was now being targeted by the Zhao family. Not only was the Liu family uncle accused of occupying their farmland, but the land contracting plan they had originally agreed on with him had also been scrapped.

  Hearing this, Fang's mother was so angry that she started cursing. Seeing her eldest brother's face full of vicissitudes, Fang's mother blamed herself even more, "Brother, it's because we made you suffer. What should we do next? Do you have any ideas?"

  The eldest uncle smiled bitterly and shook his head, "What ideas? I'm just a farmer. I'll just farm my few acres of land honestly and won't starve to death..."

  It was almost noon, and Fang's mother tried to persuade her eldest brother to stay and have dinner before leaving, but he was worried that the Zhao family next door would cause trouble again, so he got up and left in a hurry.

  Fang Qing hurriedly chased after him and brought a small bag of wrapped Yuanxiao to his eldest uncle, asking him to take it back and try it. The eldest uncle touched her head and turned into the heavy snow.

  Early in the morning on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, heavy snow fell from the sky.

  My father rode his bicycle to my uncle's house to deliver Yuanxiao. Fang Qing thought of Teacher Qiu who was alone, so after breakfast, she packed a large box of cooked Yuanxiao in her lunch box and sent it over.

  Teacher Qiu was painting the snow outside the window and had only a mouthful of porridge for breakfast. She was very surprised to see the glutinous rice balls sent by Fang Qing. While eating, she praised her cleverness and dexterity. Seeing that Fang Qing seemed to be worried, she asked her if anything happened recently.

  Fang Qing's trust and dependence on Teacher Qiu made her talk about her family's affairs. After listening, Teacher Qiu sighed that every family has its own problems. She also asked her if she needed financial help. Fang Qing quickly refused and ran away, saying that she had something to do at home.

  Although Teacher Qiu was not short of money, she couldn't cause trouble for her.

  After leaving Teacher Qiu's house, Fang Qing walked back along the street.

  (End of this chapter)