Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Rare Animals Feng Yiping
'Okay,' Feng Yiping got up and was about to leave.
But it wasn't that simple. Huang Chengzhong and Huang Jingping went into the back room and came out carrying a number of already packed bags.
'Take the ones you prepared with you,'
'Oh,' Feng Yiping went to the things he had brought himself and took the one prepared for her grandfather.
'What's in here?' Huang Chengzhong walked in front, and Feng Yiping asked Huang Jingping as he pulled her along.
'Look,' she said, opening one of the bags.
Feng Yiping looked inside and saw that this was no ordinary New Year's gift. There was a piece of pork, about two catties, a tube of biscuits, and a carton of cigarettes.
'My father prepared all this,'
'How much did it cost?' Judging by the preparations, it was more than just a one- or two-time offering.
'Money is not an issue. Originally, I only planned to take you to my grandfather's and a few uncles' houses to visit, but my grandfather said that we live too far away and won't be back often, so we might as well take this opportunity to visit all the people in our family today and get to know them. Don't mention money to my father, he'll get angry. I'll give it to the family later.'
Fine, if you don't want to mention it, then don't.
Huang Jingping's grandfather lived not far from her house, and they arrived in no time. Huang Chengzhong, who was walking in front, went into the house and brought out a firecracker to set off at the door. 'Wait for Dad, let me go in first,'
and the meeting with his grandfather was made very formal.
A thin old gentleman sat under a large portrait of the family ancestors, accompanied by a pair of couplets. He was holding a bamboo smoking pipe that looked very old, with a brass mouthpiece. The bamboo stem looked shiny, and there was an embroidered tobacco pouch hanging from it.
The old gentleman had very little hair, and there were obvious age spots on his cheeks, but he looked in good spirits. He was looking at Feng Yiping with a certain sharpness in his eyes.
In such a place, during such times, an old man like him was able to raise three sons and a daughter, and two of them are now working for the state. He must be quite capable.
However, no matter how sharp his gaze, Feng Yiping doesn't feel any pressure. Here, he doesn't need to pretend to be bashful and a little shy. He boldly meets his eyes and says, 'Happy New Year, Grandpa!'
He can call Huang Jingping's parents, uncles and aunts, and even her grandfather. He can only call him grandpa, otherwise what? Old man? Too fake. Grandpa? Not serious enough.
He can only call him grandpa in advance.
'Good, you too. Yiping, right? Sit down.' The old man tapped his pipe on the chair leg and said, 'Jingping, go make some tea.'
The room was large and cleanly decorated, except for the brazier in the middle, which made it feel quite cold. Perhaps that was the main reason, and also because it lacked atmosphere.
There was no way around it. In their parents' generation, it seemed that if there were not at least four or five siblings, they would be ashamed to show their faces. However, if there were too many children, it would be inappropriate for the elderly to live with any of them when they grew old. Grandpa Huang Jingping also seemed to be a strong-willed person, so he simply lived alone.
'Are you feeling well, old man?'
'I'm alright, I can eat, work and sleep, but I can't do the important things anymore.' He might be a little hard of hearing, so he speaks loudly.
'How's your grandfather?'
'He's doing well too, as healthy as you.'
'That's good. I heard from Jingping that your grandfather is also a blessed man. All his children are successful now, and there are more than ten grandchildren in total. That's pretty good.'
The old man's understanding of happiness is quite different from that of Feng Yiping's generation.
'I heard about your situation. He's a capable young man, and a filial son.' Feng Yiping wanted to be humble, but the old man wouldn't give him a chance to speak.
'Our Jingping has a good nature and a good appearance. She is very conscientious in everything she does. Although she didn't go to university, she is the best among all my grandchildren. She is also an outstanding girl in our village. Last year alone, she had no less than seven or eight families asking for her hand in marriage.
You people are into free love these days, and I don't understand that, but since you two like each other, you should get married and live together, and plan for the future.'
As the old man said this, Huang Jingping felt a little embarrassed and pulled his sleeve, saying, 'Grandpa,' but he ignored her and finished the whole speech.
When visiting the woman's family for the first time, someone always has to say something similar, which is also the intended meaning of the question.
'Grandpa is right, I understand what you mean, don't worry, we'll be fine,' Feng Yiping said.
'Dad, we still have to go to the eldest and second eldest's homes, you see,'
'Well, I don't have anything else to say, you hurry up and go, finish before noon.'
Huang Jingping's uncle's family was a common rural family, but they were quite well-off, as could be seen from the furnishings of the house, which had all the appliances you would expect to find in a home, such as a washing machine and refrigerator, and there was even a motorcycle parked in the hall.
Her eldest cousin and his wife used to work in a factory in the south, but now they have opened a barber shop there and earn a decent income. The fashionable and somewhat arrogant sister-in-law, who was holding a child, unceremoniously scanned Feng Yiping from head to toe several times.
When he arrived at his second uncle's house, which was also the home of Mr. Huang, his junior high school teacher who had taught Feng Yiping politics, Feng Yiping felt a little awkward. After all, he had never expected the teacher-student relationship to turn into the current relationship.
'Mr. Huang, Happy New Year!'
'Have a seat,' said Mr Huang, smiling, as he ushered him in. 'Now you can call me whatever you like, but will you have to change your tone in the future?'
Huang Jingshu was also at home, along with her precious younger brother. When they had met before, Feng Yiping had been a high school student and she a university student, so she had had some psychological advantage. Now Feng Yiping was also a university student, and a top university student at that, so she no longer put on airs. As soon as they met, she asked Feng Yiping about his life and studies at Tsinghua University, so that she could compare it with her own.
This question also interested Mr Huang, as he had never actually seen Tsinghua University.
Feng Yiping tried to give a plain description, so that Huang Jingshu felt that there was not much difference between Tsinghua and the Polytechnic University where she was. If he had mentioned too many advantages and differences, it would inevitably give the impression of self-promotion, especially as the other party was a sensitive girl.
After visiting these three closest relatives, Huang Jingping did not accompany the rest of the family. Huang Chengzhong took Feng Yiping to visit each family, accepting the strange looks from the uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, young girls and young wives as if they were looking at rare animals. He had not stopped smiling all morning, and in the meantime, he had drunk many cups of sweet soup. He introduced himself and his family many times, and received countless half-true, half-false compliments.
'Just this once, it will save you trouble in the future,' said Huang Chengzhong, seeing Feng Yiping walking a little slowly uphill.
It wasn't really because of that. This visit was really tiring. More than one person asked him how much money he had and how much money his family had. Some were very straightforward, while others were slightly euphemistic. I guess it was also caused by the two cars they drove back, which were exactly the same.
When they asked questions he didn't want to answer, Huang Chengzhong did the talking, while he just bowed his head and drank water. In no time at all, he had filled his stomach with sweet drinks, and at the moment, if he walked too fast, his stomach would make a clanking sound.
When he returned to Huang Jingping's house, it had changed beyond recognition. The kitchen was so crowded that he could hardly squeeze in. Several women, whom he had met earlier but now forgotten who they were, were busy preparing lunch with Huang's mother. Two tables had been set up in the family hall, and it was said that two tables had also been set up at his grandfather's house.
Huang Jingping was also chopping vegetables. When she saw him return, she blushed and came over, surrounded by the laughter of the women. 'Why don't you go sit at Uncle Er's house?'
Once they sat down in Mr Huang's house, they served him some sweet soup. Now that he was looking at it, he really felt sick to his stomach. 'No, give me something dry, I'm full of sweet soup,'
His wife brought a plate of biscuits and smiled. Teacher Huang asked, 'What are your feelings this morning?'
'This is an exam!'
However, the exam was not over. At lunch, Feng Yiping, who was sitting at the head table, became the focus of attention. Huang Jingping's elders were fine, but her cousins, who were her contemporaries, came up one after the other to toast him, for reasons unknown.
These guys, except for one who is also studying at university, have all messed around outside, and they all had a set of excuses for proposing a toast, and Huang Jingping's grandfather and father couldn't stop them.
As for the women, they were even more unstoppable. They asked Feng Yiping for one cup for every three cups. Fortunately, Comrade Feng Yiping was quite experienced and had a good level of skills at persuading and blocking drinks, so he didn't easily let them have their way.
But even a brave man can't hold back four hands, and even a hero can't stand up to a pack of wolves, not to mention the fact that he had to toast everyone at the main table, and then followed Huang Chengzhong to toast everyone else at the other three tables. So in the end, he was successfully made to drink himself into a stupor by these guys, and he actually pretended to be drunk to an extent.
'Jingping, help this child go downstairs,' the elderly gentleman at the head of the table said. They were also very satisfied with Feng Yiping's performance at the table, except that one person was up against dozens of people, and the strength difference was a bit of a stretch.
As Huang Jingping walked with concern to his room, Feng Yiping thought, if I had known, I really should have brought Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning with me.