RPAGF Chapter 13 Going to town
Chapter 13 Going to town
"Tang'er, wake up, we should go to town."
Shen Xiaotang rubbed her sleepy eyes, but immediately perked up when she heard that they were going to town.
"Dad, wait a moment, I'll get it all ready right away."
Liu, standing to the side, gently instructed her husband, "Father, this is Tang'er's first time going to town with you. You must take good care of her and make sure she doesn't get lost."
Thinking of this, Liu couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Yinxiu, the second son's wife, was a year older than Tang'er. Because she followed her sister-in-law to embroider, she could go to town every half month and knew the town like the back of her hand. Her Tang'er was already six years old this year, and this was her first time going there. It was all because the two of them were weak and incompetent that they had neglected their child.
As Shen Xiaotang got up and dressed, she comforted her, "Mother, don't worry, I'm very clever, I will never get separated from Father."
Xiao Yu, who was lying next to her, woke up slowly when she heard the noise and said obediently, "Sister... when you go to town, come back and tell me what town is like, okay?"
"Hey, I'll definitely tell you all about it when my older sister comes back."
She patted her younger sister's head, thinking that if she could sell the turmeric, she might be able to buy her sister some candy.
Liu led her eldest daughter to search the chicken coop and found seven or eight more eggs. She put all the eggs from yesterday and this morning into a bamboo basket at one end of the carrying pole, and put the tofu she had ground before dawn into the bamboo basket at the other end. She also carefully covered both bamboo baskets with coarse burlap.
Shen Xiaotang reached into the bamboo basket, took out two eggs, stuffed them into her mother's hand, and whispered, "Mother, quickly put them back inside. If Grandma bullies you and Xiaoyu again, hide inside and wait for Father and me to come back before we talk about anything else."
"Alright, Mother will listen to Tang'er."
The taciturn Shen Qingchuan picked up a carrying pole, took his daughter's hand, and walked out of the house. Before leaving, he glanced at his gentle and virtuous wife one last time.
He was going to town today to find out the truth. If his father really did eat the family's food, he would separate the family from his wife and daughters, even if the whole village gossiped about him. He couldn't continue to be a coward and make his wife and daughters suffer with him.
The family has more than ten members, but the eldest son's family is the one who gets up the earliest, goes to bed the latest, and does the heaviest work.
It's all his fault for being so stupid and foolish, only realizing it now!
Standing outside the gate, watching her husband and daughter walk further and further away, Liu gently closed the gate, bolted it, and went back inside.
At the crack of dawn, she first went to the chicken coop to feed the chickens before taking her youngest daughter out to cut pig feed.
Shen Qingchuan carried the shoulder pole, his mind preoccupied, and walked forward. When he reached the fork in the road at the edge of the village, his daughter stopped him, and he finally realized what was happening.
"Tang'er, why aren't you leaving?"
Shen Xiaotang asked with a puzzled look, "Dad, have you forgotten that our turmeric is still in the field? Shouldn't we go to the field to get it before we can go to town to sell it?"
If she's only delivering eggs and tofu, why would she go to town?
Reminded by his daughter, Shen Qingchuan realized, "Oh right, how could Dad forget about that? Let's go to the fields and look for it. The road to town isn't too far, but it's still about ten miles. You're small and can't walk fast. The restaurant is waiting for the tofu, so we can't waste too much time."
"Father is right, we can't waste time."
The village was quiet, not even a dog barked. The father and daughter looked around in the moonlight and, finding no one else nearby, turned onto the ridge of the field with peace of mind.
After they found the turmeric, they walked seven or eight miles along the road to town, just as dawn was breaking.
Shen Qingchuan was a man of few words and not very talkative. It was almost dawn when he finally remembered to ask about his daughter, "Tang'er, is it scary walking alone at night for the first time?"
Shen Xiaotang immediately shook her head, "With Dad by my side, I'm not afraid."
She couldn't help but chuckle to herself. What was there to be afraid of walking at night?
In her previous life, she often worked overtime until the early hours of the morning, and then rode her electric scooter home alone, half asleep. Sometimes, she would stay up all night for an urgent solution.
Shen Qingchuan felt a pang of heartache seeing how sensible his six-year-old daughter was.
After the father and daughter hurried along the road, they finally arrived at Yunlai Restaurant before dawn.
Before Shen Xiaotang could even properly see what the town looked like, her father pulled her into the back door of the restaurant.
When the restaurant manager saw Shen Qingchuan, he said anxiously, "Qingchuan, you've finally arrived! If you hadn't come, we would have had to remove tofu dishes from the menu by midday. Luckily, we still have time to prepare them."
Shen Qingchuan said with a guilty look, "Manager Yao, I'm really sorry. I brought my daughter to town today, so I was a little slow. I won't do it again."
Manager Yao, though cold on the outside, was kind on the inside. Having dealt with Shen Qingchuan for two years, he knew his character well. He immediately waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Quickly weigh and count the items, write up the bill, and submit it to Accountant Lu for bookkeeping."
After Manager Yao called out twice, a chubby chef came out of the kitchen. Upon receiving instructions, the chef immediately helped weigh the items and reported them to Manager Yao. Manager Yao quickly sketched a few lines on a piece of coarse paper, tore off a piece, and handed it to Shen Qingchuan.
"Go find Accountant Lu."
Shen Qingchuan respectfully accepted it, "Thank you, Steward Yao. I will report to Accountant Lu right away."
He took a couple of steps, then remembered his daughter and paused before speaking, "Tang'er, be a good girl and wait here for Daddy. Daddy will come back to find you as soon as I'm done with my business."
"Father, go ahead and do your business. Your daughter will wait for you here. I won't go anywhere." Shen Xiaotang nodded obediently.
Shen Qingchuan forced a smile before turning and walking through a small door next to the kitchen.
Before long, Shen Qingchuan returned, but he hung his head, his steps were heavy and slow, and he looked as if he had suffered a huge blow.
Shen Xiaotang, who was waiting in the backyard of the restaurant, saw that her father's expression was not right and immediately went to greet him.
"Dad, did you ask Mr. Lu what he said?"
Shen Qingchuan nodded and then shook his head. "Tang'er, you're right. Your grandfather really is a freeloader. Mr. Lu's answer is the same as yours!"
Shen Xiaotang had expected this to happen, but she still pretended to be surprised.
"Oh, so what everyone in the village was saying was true. Grandpa really did eat the family property. Dad, let's go back and separate from Grandpa, okay? He betrayed your maternal grandparents and your mother, Tang'er's maternal grandmother. It's one thing for Grandpa to use the inheritance left to you by your maternal grandmother to support their children, but he still treats you and Mom so badly."
Shen Qingchuan nodded slowly but heavily, his face grim and his eyes red.
"Alright, if Tang'er wants to separate from the family, then let's do it!"
He couldn't understand why his father would do this. His father was a scholar who had not only passed the imperial examination but also served as a teacher in the village school. Shouldn't a teacher be of even higher moral character?
However, his father really was the one who ate up the family fortune!
He was kept in the dark for over twenty years without realizing it, and he still felt that as the eldest son in the family, he should shoulder the responsibilities of the eldest son, and that it was only right that he worked hard and made the most contributions to the family.
ridiculous!
How ridiculous!