Chapter 260 Du Min Returns Home

Chapter 260 Du Min Returns Home

Du Li took the woman and child home. He and Wang Zhou washed up at home, and after everyone in the village had rested, the father and son slowly left home carrying lanterns.

In the stillness of the night, with people retreating into their homes, this land became the domain of wild animals. Mice and rabbits scurried through the thatch, causing the vast expanse of grass to sway without wind, its ripples resembling water snakes. Frogs crawled from the grass onto the paddy field ridges, and as footsteps approached, their croaks rose in unison. Then, the clear sound of water echoed from the paddy fields, leaving only streaks of water on the ridges.

Du Li led Wang Zhou along the paddy field ridges. Passing a barren field, he slowed his pace, his eyes scanning the overgrown paddy. Decaying rice stubble floated on the water's surface, the water swaying with the wind, the rotten roots drifting with the current. Small black insects swarmed around the decaying leaves. A tiny bubble rose to the surface, and as it burst, an eel leaped out to devour an insect.

Wangzhou saw it and, worried that he would scare the eels away, excitedly poked his father in the waist from behind.

Du Li had no tools in his hands, so he grabbed Wang Zhou's hand and pulled him along.

After walking across the wasteland, Du Li finally spoke: "We didn't bring any tools, so let's go to the thatched hut to get fire tongs and a fish basket."

"Hurry up," Wang Zhou urged, afraid that if they were late, the eels would have eaten their fill and gone home.

The father and son excitedly bypassed the grave mound, found fire tongs and a fish basket in the thatched hut, and hurried back with their lanterns. They took off their shoes and rolled up their trousers on the paddy field ridge, then waded into the muddy field. Du Li had Wang Zhou carry the lantern to look for eels, while he was responsible for using the fire tongs.

Du Li's skills were still there; he caught something eight out of ten times. After catching half a basket of eels, he took over from Wang Zhou to catch the eels.

The father and son spent nearly two hours in the barren field, their feet wrinkled from being soaked, before finally reaching the ridge.

It was already past midnight when they returned to the thatched hut. Du Li poured the eels into a bucket, kept them in clean water, and then went to sleep with Wang Zhou.

The next morning, before dawn, Du Li got up, lit a lamp, boiled oil, and gutted the eels. By the time the rooster crowed, he had already gutted a basket of eels.

Before the villagers woke up, Du Li heated oil in a wok, chopped the eels into sections, and fried them until they were half-cooked.

When Wangzhou woke up, it was already bright daylight. He followed the aroma to the cooking area and saw that Ximei, Wangchuan, and Wangshan had already arrived.

"You're here so early?" Wangzhou asked. "Where are Mother and Third Aunt?"

"Mother and Third Aunt aren't coming; they'll come in the afternoon," Wangchuan replied. "Brother, is catching eels fun?"

Wang Zhou glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"Dad, my brother kept you company last night, it's my turn to keep you company tonight." Wang Chuan pleaded with Du Li, "I'm thirteen years old, I'm not a little kid anymore, you can't be biased."

Du Li laughed as he lifted the lid of the earthenware pot. He grabbed a handful of chopped scallions and sprinkled them into the eel porridge, teasingly saying, "I never thought I'd be the one being fought over by you guys. This used to be a privilege reserved for your mother."

Both Wangzhou and Wangchuan looked guilty.

"Come if you want. We'll set up a bed in the thatched hut we prepared for your third uncle today, and you two brothers can sleep in the next room." Du Li was just joking, not trying to complain or stand up for justice. He looked at Wang Shan and asked, "Are you coming or not?"

Wang Shan glanced out the door and whispered, "I'm afraid of this place at night."

"Then you shouldn't stay here. You and your sister can stay at home and keep each other company," Wang Chuan decided for him.

Wang Shan has no objection.

The aroma of scallions filled the air, and Du Li scooped out bowls of porridge and distributed them to the four children.

After deboning the fried eel, stew it with rice and water for half an hour. The eel meat was stewed until it melted in the rice, making it thick and sticky.

Xi Mei took a bite and smacked her lips in delight, "Second Uncle, this porridge you made is really delicious."

“My cooking skills have always been good, it’s just that I haven’t cooked for many years, but it seems that my skills are still there,” Du Li said proudly. “You and Wangshan were born in a good time, with servants and cooks in the family, so I didn’t have to cook. When your two older brothers were born, our family was short-handed, and your aunt was busy with things outside the family, so I cooked most of the time. I raised your two older brothers to be chubby, and they only started to lose weight after they turned five and started to grow taller.”

Xi Mei exclaimed, "Wow! I'm going to have a treat too!"

Du Li was pleased and said, "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll figure out how to make it."

"I'll eat whatever my second uncle makes," Ximei said without making any demands.

Wang Shan nodded.

"Dad, can my third uncle cook?" Wangzhou asked.

Du Li scoffed, "All he does is eat."

“I guessed so,” Wang Zhou smiled.

After dinner, Du Li cleaned up everything that shouldn't have been there. Then, fulfilling his promise from the night before, he took his four children to the fields to dig mud. He planned to mix mud with straw and plaster two layers on the roof of the thatched house to prevent it from leaking when it rained.

Two days of digging mud in the fields, five days of cutting grass and digging the ground. Du Li's old ox nature was revealed. He was never idle and exhausted his four children, who had never suffered before, to the point that they wouldn't come to eat until it was time to eat.

Once the children had lost their initial enthusiasm, Meng Qing found something for Wang Zhou to do: to teach a class at the clan school every day. She also enrolled Wang Chuan, Xi Mei, and Wang Shan in the school as well, so that they wouldn't neglect their studies.

Du Li cleared land in front of the thatched house and planted vegetables. The children settled down in the clan school. Meng Qing and Yin Caiwei gradually got used to their idle days. Du Min returned.

Du Min arrived at Dujiawan Ferry in early May, just in time for the silkworm cocoon boiling and silk extraction season. The air above Dujiawan was filled with a salty and bitter smell, the chimneys on the rooftops never stopped burning, and the whole village was soaked in heat.

The men in the village sat under the trees by the river to cool off, and Du Min's boat received a warm welcome when it arrived at the ferry.

Wang Zhou was teaching in the clan school when he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps. Immediately afterward, two figures appeared outside the school gate.

"Stone, come with me quickly. Lord Du is back. Go and kowtow to him."

"Chunsheng, you follow too."

The students named Shi Tou and Chun Sheng dashed out of the classroom, and the other students, influenced by them, followed suit.

"Brother..." Wangshan walked up to Wangzhou, "Shall we go?"

"Come on, hurry up and catch up." Wang Chuan ran out of the school next door and called out as he passed the door.

"Big brother, little brother, come quick!" Xi Mei called out as she passed by.

Wang Shan immediately grabbed his legs and chased after him.

Wang Zhou glanced at the empty schoolroom, then picked up his books and went home first.

When Wangchuan and Ximei led Wangshan to the ferry, Du Min lifted the children kneeling in front of him like pulling up radishes. It wasn't him who died, so why were they all kneeling before him like filial sons and grandsons? The dense crowd of kneeling children was truly eerie; he couldn't bear their expectations.

"I'm going to pay respects to my parents," Du Min told the people present. He saw three children running up to watch the commotion and asked, "Wang Chuan, where's your father? Where are your grandparents' graves? Lead me the way."

“Come with me,” Wang Chuan called out. “My father lives in front of my grandparents’ graves. He built three thatched huts in front of the graves and lives there to observe mourning.”

Du Min clicked his tongue in disapproval. The feng shui of Dujiawan is quite good. As soon as Du Lao Er set foot on this land, he turned back into that good-for-nothing dog who never learns from his mistakes. He even lives in front of the grave to observe mourning. Why doesn't he just kneel in front of the grave forever?

Du Min was preoccupied with taking care of family matters, so he told the villagers not to follow him and quickly caught up with Wang Chuan.

Jinshu hesitated for a few seconds, but then decided to follow.

"Young Master, wait a minute, bring the paper offerings and funerary objects," the servant called out.

Jinshu remembered that there were paper funerary objects on the boat, so he turned around and picked up three paper figures.

"Who is this?" Aunt Du stared at Jinshu. "She looks familiar. She looks a bit like Hongguo."

"Third Grandmother, don't you recognize me? I'm Jinshu," Jinshu replied.

"Are you Jinshu?" Aunt Du exclaimed in surprise.

"Who? He is Jinshu?" Everyone present was incredulous.

Jinshu started running amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

Du Min had already walked far away when he asked Wang Chuan, "Your father was observing mourning at his grave. What did your mother say? Did the two of them argue? Is she still talking to your father?"

Wang Chuan knew immediately that his third uncle had misunderstood. He quickly came up with a story and fabricated a tale: "The day after we returned to the village, they had a big fight. My mother said that there was no such custom in the countryside, but my father wouldn't listen. He insisted that as a son, he not only failed to be there for his parents, but also failed to keep vigil for them until their death, and he felt very guilty and uneasy."

Du Min became increasingly suspicious as he listened. Just as he suspected there was something going on, Wang Chuan added, "My father said he wanted to set an example for us."

Du Min immediately dismissed his doubts. Was Du Lao Er afraid of karmic retribution?

Xi Mei and Wang Shan followed behind, looking like they wanted to say something but hesitated. However, seeing Wang Chuan waving his hand behind his back, the siblings suppressed their urge to explain.

Du Min saw the thatched hut and a figure standing behind it, looking around.

Xi Mei ran over quickly, "Second Uncle, it's us."

"You recognized him? Your dad's back?" Du Li asked.

As he approached, Du Min could see Du Li's attire clearly: a sleeveless brown linen jacket, matching trousers, black cloth shoes, and a straw hat on his head—a typical farmer's man.

"You came back today?" Du Li asked, noticing Du Min's clothes. He frowned and said, "Didn't you change your clothes before getting off the ship? You're in mourning, so you can only wear hemp."

“I didn’t go into the city. I changed to a small boat on the Grand Canal and came straight back. Nobody recognized me on the way.” Du Min inspected the cultivated vegetable garden. He didn’t know what kind of vegetables had sprouted. Considering that his child was there, he held back and managed to squeeze out a sentence with difficulty: “You’re going to stay here for a long time? You’re really filial.”

“I’m planning to stay here long-term, so you can move in too,” Du Li said.

"Me?" Du Min glanced at him a few more times.

"Third Uncle, come quickly and burn paper money." Wang Chuan was afraid of being exposed, so he quickly spoke up to separate the two.

Jinshu and her attendants arrived as well. Du Min took away the paper money and walked to the grave, where he squatted down and struck the flint.

Jinshu looked at the two graves with apprehension. He dared not approach them and chose to stand in front of the thatched hut and watch.

Du Min grew impatient as the flint failed to produce any sparks, and he summoned a servant to take over.

Du Li glanced at Jin Shu, then pushed open the kitchen door. The aroma of stewing soup immediately wafted out, drawing the attention of everyone outside.

Du Min immediately realized he had been tricked. He glared at Wang Chuan, who then strode away.

Du Min took off chasing after him, shouting, "Du Wangchuan, you've really gotten bold, huh? You dare to lie to anyone!"

“I didn’t say a word of nonsense, you’ve misunderstood,” Wang Chuan tried to argue.

Du Li came out holding a burning wooden stick and asked, "What's wrong now?"

"My second brother lied to my father," Ximei complained.

Du Min had already caught Wang Chuan. Without any politeness, he threw him to the ground and beat him up, then stormed off towards Xi Mei and Wang Shan.

"Second Uncle, help!" Xi Mei cried out from behind Du Li. "Father, my second brother told me not to say it, so don't blame me."

Wang Shan also hid behind Du Li, and he said slyly, "I'm still young, I can't understand what my second brother is saying."

"You two really can't tell the difference between inside and outside, you're siding with outsiders, who's your father?" Du Min dragged Xi Mei and Wang Shan out and slapped each of them twice.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and burn the paper money." Du Li handed the stick, which was now just glowing embers, to Du Min and gave him a push.

"My lord, the fire has been lit." The paper money emitted wisps of smoke, and the servant walked away.

Du Min stepped forward, threw the wooden stick into the fire, and silently scattered the paper money onto the embers. After the paper money burned, he took the paper figure handed to him by the servant, placed it on the embers, and lit it.

When the fire was raging, he knelt down and kowtowed.

Upon seeing this, Jinshu walked over, knelt behind Du Min, and kowtowed several times.

"Father, my aunt has arrived." Wangchuan saw Li Hongguo's figure.

Du Li closed the kitchen door.

Li Hongguo did not approach; she stopped about a mile away from the cemetery.

"How was this arranged?" Du Min walked over and asked. "Where are my second sister-in-law and Caiwei?"

“They eat at home, and after eating, they come over with their children to burn a bundle of paper money,” Du Li mentioned subtly.

Du Min understood. "I'll go back first and move in tonight."

Du Li nodded.

Du Min waved his hand, and all the people he had brought with him were taken away.

Li Hongguo stared at the group of people opposite her, but couldn't find any familiar faces. When Du Min approached, she asked, "Where's Jinshu? Where did you take him?"

"Mother, don't you recognize me?" Jinshu asked.

Li Hongguo looked at him and said, "I guessed it might be you, but I didn't dare to admit it. You're like a completely different person."

“I’ve given you a different son. Are you satisfied?” Du Min asked.

Li Hongguo didn't reply. She said to Jinshu, "Take Wangchuan and the others back first. I want to say a few words to your third uncle."

Jinshu looked at Du Min, who raised his hand and waved it, and the group of people behind him left in a flurry.

Li Hongguo didn't miss Jinshu's reaction. After everyone left, she smiled sarcastically, "It seems that you didn't force him to write that letter."

"When did you receive the letter?" Du Min asked.

"Do you want to know if that letter took your father's life?" Li Hongguo looked at him mockingly.

Du Min stared at her silently.

Unable to withstand his gaze, Li Hongguo gave in and dared not provoke him any further.

“I received the letter on the day your father was buried. I threw the letter into the brazier and burned it for him,” Li Hongguo told the truth. “Your mother was poisoned to death by your father. He fed her celery and egg drop soup laced with poisoned water celery, and she suffocated to death that night. Qiaomei’s husband found out. He thought I was the culprit, that he had something on me. He came to interrogate me that night while keeping vigil, but I managed to fool him. The next morning, I served your father water celery, tofu, and egg drop soup. He didn’t dare drink it, which confirmed that he had made it. He’s gone mad. I was worried that he would turn on us or you. I wanted him to catch a cold during your mother’s funeral. I was thinking that you would decide how to deal with him when you came back. But when I scared him at night, he bravely opened the door and came out. It was pitch black. He tripped and fell, breaking his hip. He survived for more than a month before he died.”

"You're telling me all this, what do you want me to do for you?" Du Min asked bluntly.

"First, your parents won't be buried together, and neither will Du Ming and I after we die. You must agree to this request and inform your son. I'm worried that Jinshu won't grant my wish." Li Hongguo didn't want Du's parents to be buried together, partly out of pity for Du's mother, and partly to pave the way for herself.

“I agree,” Du Min replied.

"Second, give Qiaomei's husband a helping hand, but keep him in check. He's doing this because you married Qiaomei. If you don't promote him, he'll resent Qiaomei. But I'm worried that he'll treat Qiaomei badly after he becomes successful, so I have to keep him in check," Li Hongguo said.

"How could you marry such a person?" Du Min asked with disgust.

"He seduced Qiaomei, and Qiaomei was bewitched by him." Li Hongguo did have some regrets. Over the years, she had spoiled Qiaomei too much, raising her to be completely out of control. When it was time to discipline her, it was too late.

"I'll see him another day and we'll talk about it then." Du Min didn't give a definite answer. "Anything else?"

Li Hongguo hesitated for a long time before saying, "Jinshu has already been ruined by your teachings. Take him with you when you leave, so he won't stay with us and cause us harm."

Du Min laughed, "You're overthinking it. You've made him lazy, unable to endure hardship, and lacking any ambition. He chose to stay in Wu County and refused to come with me."

-----------------------

Author's note: See you tomorrow night.