Two generations of military wives compete for time

Chapter 330 Li Dazhuang is released from prison

Qian Yizhen asked: "Has the main construction of the county government office building been completed? Has it really been stopped due to lack of funds?"

The driver, Xiao Sun, said: "I heard that the construction has stopped. The county has no money, and the First Construction Company has no money to advance the funds."

Qian Yizhen said "Oh" thoughtfully.

The driver, Xiao Sun, said, "Mr. Qian, look, do you recognize that man on the roadside? He is Li Dazhuang from Lijia Village. I heard that he was released from prison. It seems to be true. Look, he is walking on the road. This man is bad from head to toe. You have to be careful. Who knows what tricks he will play next."

Qian Yizheng leaned close to the car window and looked out. Yes, it was Li Dazhuang, wearing a black leather jacket and leather shoes. He was standing on the curb beside the road, staring blankly at the county government office building.

In Qian Yizhen's impression, Li Dazhuang is a short man with a fat head, big ears, small eyes and big buck teeth. After more than 20 years of ups and downs, his characteristics of fat head, big ears, small eyes and big buck teeth have not changed.

He just gained weight in middle age, his body became round and he looked even shorter. He had white hair on his temples, and the wrinkles and lines on his forehead were clearly rooted in his ugly face.

Qian Yizhen's thoughts suddenly went back to the scene more than 20 years ago when he was in Lijia Village, where he was forced to marry and made a scene at the wedding...

"Boss Qian, we're at the company," the driver, Xiao Sun, reminded him. Qian Yizhen quickly collected his thoughts, got out of the car, and went to the general manager's office.

Qian Yizhen sat at his desk, flipping through, reviewing, and making instructions on the documents, materials, financial statements, etc. that he had accumulated during his time in Hong Kong...

After Li Dazhuang was released from prison, he returned to his three-story villa in Lijia Village and found that every room in the villa was in disrepair and covered with dust, and the house was empty.

At noon, Li Dazhuang's mother slowly returned home, took out a white flour bun from the dry food basket, put it on the chopping board, cut it into small cubes with a knife, and then put it in a bowl, soaked the bun in hot water, and added a salted egg, which was Li Dazhuang's mother's lunch.

Li Dazhuang's mother picked up the thermos, shook it, pulled out the bottle cap, looked into the thermos, put the mouth of the thermos to her ear and listened, and finally confirmed that there was no hot water in the thermos.

Li Dazhuang's mother carried a thermos and went out to the kitchen to boil water. Li Dazhuang stood quietly outside the door, watching his mother's every move. Suddenly, his mother realized that her son was staring at her and muttered:

"Why did you come back? Look at what this family has become. It's all your fault. Your wife ran away with someone else, your father died, and your two sons are grown up. They idle around all day, drinking and playing cards, and never come home. The Li family is finished.

Since your father died, all these years, thanks to Li Sanmei's family, they opened a tofu shop in the township and sent us three snacks from time to time. Otherwise, we would have starved to death long ago."

After Li Dazhuang's mother finished her complaints, she started to light a fire and boil water. Li Dazhuang stood behind her and said, "Mom, I want to go to my father's grave. Please accompany me. I don't know where my father's grave is."

"I won't go. Don't you know that Buddhists don't visit graves? You can find whoever you want, but I won't go to your father's grave." Li Dazhuang's mother angrily rejected her son's request, poured hot water into the bowl of broken steamed buns, and then started eating by herself.

Li Dazhuang watched his mother eat and his stomach started to growl. He followed his mother's example and took two steamed buns from the dry food basket. He crushed them, put them in a bowl, poured hot water on them, and began to eat them in big mouthfuls.

After eating and drinking her fill, Li Dazhuang's mother got up and went back to her room to sleep. Before leaving, she said, "Go to the tofu shop in the township to find your third sister, Li Sanmei, and ask her. She knows where your father's grave is."

Li Dazhuang's mother thought she had seen through the world, and she spent all day eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures. She ignored housework and did not take care of her appearance. She did not care about or ask about the affairs of her children and grandchildren. She always reminded herself not to complain or get angry, and to devote herself to Buddhism.

After finishing his lunch of steamed buns soaked in hot water, Li Dazhuang went to the bedroom on the second floor, opened the closet, and dug out his clothes from many years ago. He found a set of clothes that looked better, put them on, but they felt a little tight, so he had to make do with it.

Li Dazhuang changed his clothes, went downstairs, rode the broken bicycle in the yard, and went to the tofu shop of Li Sanmei's family in the township.

The tofu shop of Li Sanmei's family was left to her by Li Guangfa before his death. It is located on the main road near the township government. There are five large bungalows facing north and south along the street. When you walk into the gate, there is a large yard with a simple work shed. Li Sanmei and her husband are busy in the shed.

Day after day, the couple got up at four o'clock in the morning to make tofu and sold all the tofu before lunch. In the afternoon, Li Sanmei was carefully selecting soybeans to prepare the raw materials for making tofu the next day.

Li Sanmei's husband put the soaked soybeans into the stone mill little by little to grind soybean milk. Li Sanmei saw Li Dazhuang coming in and said expressionlessly: "Brother, you are back, go and take care of your two sons. Your third brother-in-law and I have done our best, but there is nothing we can do."

As they were talking, Li Facai and Li Fajia, one in front and one behind, staggered into the door of the tofu shop, shouting, "Third aunt, I'm starving, give me some food."

Li Sanmei's husband stopped turning the stone mill and went to the kitchen to get a basket of dry food. Li Facai and Li Fajia scrambled to grab two steamed buns from the basket, each of them grabbed two steamed buns in their hands, and stood where they were, wolfing them down.

Li Sanmei angrily came out of the house with a thermos and a large porcelain bowl, and poured hot water for her two nephews while saying, "Eat slowly, don't choke."

After Li Facai and Li Fajia had eaten and drunk their fill, they discovered that Li Dazhuang was standing beside them. Li Facai said, "Dad, why are you here? Did the police release you?"

Li Fajia said, "Dad, you are back. Life is so hard now. You can lead us back to our childhood days when we had plenty of money and we could spend it however we wanted.

It’s not like now, when we are so poor that we can’t even afford to eat. Our relatives and the people in Lijia Village all hate us, and we can only get food from Sangu.”

Li Dazhuang looked at his two sons who were to carry on the family line and asked, "Li Facai is 28 years old, and Li Fajia is 26 years old, am I right?"

Li Facai and Li Fajia stood crookedly in front of Li Dazhuang and said in unison: "Dad, you remembered it right."

Li Sanmei continued, "People of the same age as Li Facai and Li Fajia have already started families, married and had children, and their children are in school. Do you two still plan to continue like this?"

Li Facai said, "Aunt, my father is a criminal, my mother ran away with another man, my rich grandfather is dead, and my grandmother is a Buddhist and doesn't care about us. What girl would be willing to jump into this hell of mine? If I don't live like this, what else can I do?"

Li Fajia said unconvincedly, "Third aunt, my grandfather said that making money is the precious grandson of the Li family. He is born with the appearance of being rich. How can he do rough and tiring work such as grinding tofu and selling tofu? No, doing such work will bring shame to the Li family, humph."