Chapter 57: Hosting Gou Dan's Family

Although the tractor could not match the speed of a regular passenger bus, it drove straight ahead without stopping to pick up or drop off passengers along the way, nor did it fear muddy pits or slippery roads. Consequently, it took the tractor a little over two hours to reach Daping Village.

It was probably around five or six in the afternoon. The sky was already dim, and the villagers were all beginning to prepare their evening meals.

Wisps of cooking smoke curled upward.

White snow, dark houses, gray skies, and curling smoke...

Infinite poetic charm.

Chug, chug, chug...

Suddenly, the roaring sound of a tractor broke the tranquility of the mountain village. Many villagers in Daping Village stood at their doorways or by their windows, looking outward—not necessarily to see anything in particular, but purely to watch the excitement.

The children, in particular, came running like a flock of birds from every corner of the village, following closely beside the tractor, cheering and chasing after it, instantly bringing a lively and vibrant atmosphere to the small mountain village.

Among the crowd of children, Tang Jiancheng spotted his own fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth younger sisters.

The seventh sister was running the most enthusiastically, howling at the top of her lungs, even wilder than the boys.

Because she was young, the eighth sister ran in a wobbling fashion and was the slowest. The fifth sister followed right behind her, neither urging her on nor holding her hand, occasionally glancing up at the sixth and seventh sisters before continuing to trail along behind the eighth sister... walking.

"Daddy? That's my daddy on the tractor!"

Little Seven suddenly looked up, spotted Tang Jiancheng on the tractor, and immediately cried out with immense pride, "Daddy, Daddy, I'm right here!"

Hearing the shouts, the fifth, sixth, and eighth sisters also looked up. Perhaps because she was a bit older and understood shyness, the fifth sister did not shout out loud, but her eyes and brows were wreathed in smiles.

The sixth and eighth sisters joined Little Seven in shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, I'm right here!"

Soon, the tractor stopped right in front of Tang Jiancheng's house.

Tang Jianbing had already opened the courtyard gate and was standing at the entrance. Seeing that his fourth older brother had returned, he hurried over to help unload the fishing nets.

Tang Genshui had originally been sitting in the main room smoking a pipe, but seeing the situation, he also quickly came out.

Yuan Yuezhu was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing the tractor engine, she glanced out the window and, seeing that Tang Jiancheng had returned—and seemed to be bringing guests with him—she hurriedly put down her spatula, reduced the heat of the firewood, wiped her hands on her clothes, and walked out as well.

On the other side, at Tang Jiancheng's own house, Liu Fangfang was holding little Jiuying in her arms and nursing her, while pressing her head against the window to look outside.

The eldest and second sisters were busy cooking in the kitchen and did not come out even upon hearing the commotion.

The third and fourth sisters seemed to have gone into the mountains to dig wild vegetables; each carrying a bamboo basket, they had just returned.

"Brother Lingen, Sister-in-law Qingtong, Brother Chengfa, Ah Shui, this is my home!"

Tang Jiancheng pointed to his house and said, "However, my wife is currently in confinement and has a few more days before she can come out, so it's not convenient to invite you inside to sit."

"Over here is my parents' house, and this is my sixth younger brother. Why don't you all go over to my parents' place to sit for a while first?"

"It's fine. We just came to get familiar with the place so it'll be easier to visit in the future."

Jiang Lingen, who was Ah Shui's third older brother, smiled and then led the group, following Tang Jianbing to his home.

Tang Genshui hurriedly brought out tobacco to entertain the guests, while Yuan Yuezhu served hot tea.

The tobacco was home-grown, home-cured, and hand-shredded, and the tea was nothing fancy either—just bitter tea picked from the mountains. Although it tasted a bit bitter, this hospitable gesture deeply moved and pleased Jiang Lingen and the others.

After everyone was seated, Jiang Lingen recounted what had happened in his village and brought Goudan forward, intending to have him kowtow and thank Tang Genshui and Yuan Yuezhu.

Since Goudan belonged to a younger generation while Tang Genshui and Yuan Yuezhu were of the older generation, a gap of two generations made kowtowing acceptable under the circumstances.

However, how could Tang Genshui and Yuan Yuezhu possibly allow a child to kowtow? They hurriedly said, "This is also the child's good fortune. Having survived such a massive ordeal, he is bound to enjoy great wealth and a smooth life ahead."

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Lingen and his wife beamed with joy.

Tang Jiancheng then asked Tang Genshui to go call his third older brother, Tang Jianbo, over.

As soon as Tang Jianbo arrived and saw Jiang Chengfa, the two immediately started chatting animatedly, sharing interesting anecdotes from their high school days and their respective encounters in life thereafter.

Tang Jianbing sat down beside the mute Jiang Linshui, and the two of them surprisingly found plenty to talk about as well. After chatting for a while, the two actually left their seats and walked away.

"Where are you two going?" Tang Jiancheng asked.

"To play with slingshots!"

Tang Jianbing tossed back a reply, went into his own room to grab several slingshots, and led Ah Shui away.

Qingtong also stood up and said, "Jiancheng, I'll go check on your wife."

"Right, you should go take a look. From now on, our two families are relatives, and you women should get acquainted," Jiang Lingen smiled.

Tang Jiancheng smiled, saying, "Alright, it's just that the house is a bit small and there are too many people, which makes me feel a bit bad about putting you through this."

Qingtong replied, "Isn't everyone's family like this? What's there to feel bad about?"

The two women arrived at Jiancheng's house.

After Tang Jiancheng introduced them to each other, the two women immediately hit it off. Especially upon learning that Liu Fangfang had given birth to nine daughters and still had no son, while Qingtong had also given birth to four daughters before finally having Goudan as their sole heir, they found even more common topics to discuss.

Seeing that they were chatting harmoniously, Tang Jiancheng returned to his parents' house.

As soon as he stepped through the front door, he saw everyone staring at him. He instinctively touched his face and smiled, asking, "What's wrong with you all? Is there a flower on my face?"

Jiang Chengfa remarked, "I never expected you to be such an expert hunter!"

Tang Jiancheng understood; his family must have told them about his hunting exploits, which was why they were looking at him with such astonishment. He chuckled and said, "It was all just luck."

Chug, chug, chug...

At that very moment, the sound of a tractor drifted in from outside.

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look out and saw Huang Tianyue jumping down from the tractor.

"Tianyue, why are you here? Is the child's illness better?" Tang Jiancheng hurried outside to meet him.

Huang Tianyue replied, "The child is pretty much recovered, and his mother can take care of him there. I couldn't stop thinking about the wild bull you mentioned, so I hired a tractor before dark."

"Alright, I'll take you over to see it right now."

Tang Jiancheng turned back and shouted, "Third Brother, the buyer for the bull is here."

Tang Jianbo immediately walked out, and the others followed suit.

Little Seven suddenly walked up to Goudan and asked, "My name is Little Seven. What's yours?"

Goudan was a bit shy. After Jiang Lingen repeatedly urged him, he waited for a long time before whispering, "I, I, I'm called Goudan."

"Huh? You're also called Goudan? Our village already has three Goudans, plus Chou-dan, Er-dan, Niu-dan, and Ma-dan. Why do you boys all like being called 'Dan'? Is it because you like eating eggs?"

Little Seven asked with a deadpan expression.

The words she uttered, however, were enough to make everyone burst out laughing in amusement.

Tang Jiancheng's old face flushed red. He quickly picked Little Seven up and explained, "It's not because they're delicious, but because they're easy to raise. It's a custom passed down for thousands of years."

Little Seven looked as though she half-understood, nodded, and said, "Daddy, I get it now. Then I want to be easy to raise too! Call me Seven-dan!"

Tang Jiancheng was left speechless for a moment, while everyone else burst into uproarious, joyful laughter.