He addressed his Third Uncle and Aunt before inviting Lin Lan to enter the room. He also called Dawang to talk as the Second Family’s Dafu came over as well.
Although Dawang was younger than them all, because he was steady in his words the children in the village were afraid of him as he was known to be violent especially when he promised to be. Plus, he behaved more like an adult than Dafu did.
So, even though Haotian and Dafu lived under the same roof, they didn’t talk as much as they do with Dawang.
Haotian was the eldest grandson of the head of the house and he also went to the field. He had the status of a man in the family.
Older men generally valued their grandsons more and so did Old Man Han. He personally took Haotian down on the field to work and teach him a few know-hows. After all, ancestor worshipping and everything else relied on his eldest sons and grandsons, so when he passed, he was going to rely on Haotian as well.
Old Lady Han was still thinking about her matter, so she dragged Han Qingsong into the house, “Old Three, it’s been a while since we had a good conversation as mother and son, so hurry up and get on the kang.”
She pushed Han Qingsong into the east room and told Old Man Han and the other two sons to get to the south kang as well.
Han Jinyu didn’t wait for others to get on the kang before she climbed up to occupy a good position by herself.
Han Qingsong let his two elder brothers go up while he stood in front of the kang.
The old lady in the main room saw that the men had entered, so she went to the stove to look at the food.
When she saw Eldest Sister-in-law Han stewing all the meat in cabbage, she immediately became unhappy as she reprimanded in a low voice, “Eldest daughter-in-law, you have been cooking for so many years and yet you don’t understand the reason to not stew this bit of meat into such a big pot?”
Eldest Sister-in-law Han said, “There are so many people eating and there’s not enough meat, so it’s better to stew it together. Both adults and children can eat this. Plus, we even have vegetable soup.”
“Why do you talk so much? To show that you have a mouth and can talk back, are you?” The old lady suddenly became angry and stared at Eldest Sister-in-law Han with raised eyebrows.
In front of so many people, Eldest Sister-in-law Han felt as if she had been slapped. Her face flushed red as she pinched the hem of her clothes tightly, but finally, she said nothing.
The old lady was sure that she dared not say anything since Eldest Sister-in-law Han wanted to retain her reputation. If she made a fool of herself in front of her sister-in-law and children, it would be fatal.
What’s more was that it was Chinese New Year today, so she wouldn’t dare to talk back. Merely scolding her a few times by herself was enough to embarrass her.
Eldest Sister-in-law Han picked up the chopsticks and picked the meat quickly before placing them into another bowl, “The meat dishes, eggs and the dishes brought by Old Three are all served to the south kang. The women and the children would eat cabbage on the north kang. It’s really such a reward to have so much broth for you. There are only two steamed buns, so place them on the south kang. You guys can eat the steamed sweet and dried potatoes.”
Dawang, Haotian and Dafu were talking under the eaves outside the door. When they heard the old lady scolding someone, they thought they were scolding Lin Lan at first, so their eyes merely flickered for a moment before they ignored it.
Old Lady Han managed to get the three daughters-in-law and grandchildren together. She spoke to them like she was the head of a family, “A man must eat well if he works hard but a woman’s task is to take good care of her father and brothers. We are to make them feel comfortable at home, especially you.”
She gouged out Lin Lan, “Old Three is going to work right now, so you have to get up early to cook for him before bringing water to wash his feet when he comes back.”
When Dawang heard the old lady scolding his mother, he didn’t talk to Haotian as he turned and went into the house.
Before Dawang could speak, Xiaowang yelled, “Mother, wash my feet!”
Sanwang poked him, “You are their biological son, so of course they would wash your feet. Our father only washes our mother’s and your feet but never touched mine. Actually, my feet aren’t smelly at all. If you don’t believe me, smell them!”
Old Lady Han who was lecturing the team of women suddenly had her words stuck in her throat. She stared at Lin Lan in a tongue-tied manner, feeling like her forehead was about to smoke.