Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 52: Chapter 48 The Prosperous Lu Family

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A group of people walked and talked, and soon they arrived at Lu Family Village.

Standing outside Big Uncle Lu’s house, Lu Jiajie shouted, “Big Aunt, Second Sister-in-law, Xiao Qiu, we’re back.”

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen people surged out of the courtyard. They all gathered around Lu Jiaxin and talked to her, leaving her utterly confused as she couldn’t understand them.

Big Uncle Lu raised his voice and said, “What are you doing standing around outside? Hurry up and get inside.”

Big Aunt was cooking in the kitchen and was the last to arrive. When she saw Lu Jiaxin, her eyes immediately reddened, “Child, how have you gotten so thin and pale? How much suffering have you endured?”

...

As she spoke, tears fell.

Lu Jiaxin couldn’t understand what she was saying but she was aware of the Lu family members’ situation. Big Uncle Lu had been a respected village secretary for many years, and his word was law at home; Big Aunt embodied the typical Chinese good wife, obeying Big Uncle Lu in everything, kind-hearted and never complaining despite being busy from dawn till dusk. The couple had three sons: the eldest son, Lu Jiaguang, was upright and kind, and the two younger sons were also hardworking and steady. The three daughters-in-law who had married into the family were all diligent and filial.

Second Uncle Lu was the type to lie down rather than stand if he could, while Second Aunt Lu was cunning and adept at scheming. They had three sons and two daughters: the eldest was also hardworking, the second son was adopted by Second Aunt Lu’s brother, and the two daughters were proficient at managing both domestic and external affairs; the laziest was Lu Jiajie, who always found various excuses to avoid work at home, luckily, he had a job and, striving through hard work, had managed to get into high school and then moved to the city after graduation.

Big Uncle Lu scolded, “What’s with all this crying? Xinxin’s return is a happy occasion. Quickly wipe away your tears and bring out something for the child to eat. She’s been car sick and even vomited bile; she must be starving by now.”

Lu Jiajie suggested from the side, “Xinxin just threw up, she can’t eat greasy things. Big Aunt, please make her a bowl of chicken soup noodles and skim off the oil; otherwise, she might vomit again after eating.”

Big Aunt gently patted Lu Jiaxin’s hand, and after telling her to go rest in the room, she went into the kitchen.

The crowd escorted Lu Jiaxin into a spacious room, which was Big Uncle Lu and Big Aunt’s bedroom. Though it was called a room, in reality, it was a cave dwelling.

People here still lived in cave dwellings, unlike many who had moved into apartment buildings after economic conditions had improved. However, cave dwellings had their advantages: they didn’t occupy arable land, didn’t damage the topography and landscape, were ecologically balanced, and offered the benefit of being warm in winter and cool in summer.

There were three types of cave dwellings: earth caves, stone caves, and brick caves. Earth caves were made by manually cutting into natural vertical cliffs or steep slopes before hollowing them out. Brick caves were built by first firing bricks from clay and then constructing the cave dwellings in areas of looser loess. Stone caves were generally created based on the quality, pattern, and color of local quarry stones.

Big Uncle Lu’s family lived in a brick cave, an eight-chambered cave dwelling with a large courtyard. The eldest couple’s cave was the largest, with the bed placed by the window, allowing for bright light. The room was furnished with a Baixian table and four long benches—Big Uncle Lu used to discuss matters there when he was the village secretary.

As she walked inside, Lu Jiaxin felt quite intrigued. She had specifically visited a cave dwelling during her trip to the Ancient Capital. The one she toured was an earth cave, which was dark inside due to poor lighting, and the walls were mottled and old. But this cave dwelling had smooth and level wall surfaces, ample light, and bright, clean windows.

Lu Jiajie said with a smile, “Jiaxin, your room is next door—it was originally your Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law’s. Big Uncle Lu said that you liked spacious rooms, so he had Second Brother clear it out for you.”

Big Uncle Lu felt that Lu Jiajie only grew in height and not in brains, his words made it sound as if Jiaxin was taking over Second Brother’s room, “Jiaxin, don’t listen to his nonsense. You stayed in that room the last time you visited. I thought you wouldn’t be accustomed to other cave dwellings, so I asked your Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law to clear it out for you.”

Jiaxin was very astute and naturally understood why he was explaining, “Big Uncle, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Big Uncle Lu lectured her sternly, “If a family is too polite, they don’t seem like family. Girl, don’t say such things again in the future.”

Jiaxin obediently agreed and then beckoned to the little girl with two small braids, “Come here, to your little auntie.”

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Lu Jiajie burst into laughter and said, “This is Niuniu, Niuniu, say hi to your grandaunt.”

Because Lu Jiaguang was in the army, he had a late marriage and late parenthood. Lu Jiazong, who farmed at home, married early; he became a father at eighteen, and his first two sons also became fathers at eighteen. Now he has three grandchildren.

Lu Jiaxin was embarrassed. She was still a child herself and hadn’t expected to be a grandaunt already—that was quite a senior relation.

The third child, Lu Jiayao, said with a smile, “Jiaxin, last time you visited, Niuniu had just been born, you even held her. Don’t you remember?”

Lu Jiaxin replied sheepishly, “Sorry, Third Brother, I had a head injury and forgot some things.”

Big Uncle Lu told everyone about her injury and memory loss, then reintroduced her to the family members.

The Lu family members were all tall and had good looks. Their skin had turned a bronze color from working outdoors all year round. It was especially hard to tell Lu Jiazong and Lu Jiayao apart without living with them regularly; they looked similar and it was easy to get them confused at a glance.

Before coming, Lu Jiaxin had not only bought snacks but also gifts for the children. The little girls received cloth dolls, and the little boys, green-skinned frogs.

Niuniu, holding a pink bunny doll and stuffing her pockets with Big Rabbit Milk Candy and Chamomile snacks, couldn’t stop smiling.

Lu Jiajie thought Lu Jiaxin was too generous; those tin frogs cost a few bucks apiece. Lili didn’t even want to buy one for Qiangqiang, in order to save money, yet this girl bought four at once.

Big Uncle Lu twitched at the sight of her buying so much, thinking she was too careless with money. But since the gifts were for his great-grandson and great-granddaughter, he held back his reproach, “How much did you spend on these things? Later, let Big Aunt Lu reimburse you.”

Lu Jiaxin stroked Niuniu’s head and asked with a warm smile, “Niuniu, do you like the doll?”

It was the first time Niuniu had ever received a cloth doll and she was extremely excited, “I like it, I really like it, thank you, grandaunt.”

Looking up at Big Uncle Lu, Lu Jiaxin said with a smile, “Big Uncle, every time my mom returned home, she used to bring gifts for everyone. Now that my mom is gone, I don’t know what to buy, so I just got some small things for the kids.”

On hearing this, Big Uncle Lu heaved a sigh. Such a good sister-in-law was gone too soon—it was as if Heaven had no eyes.

Lu Jiajie steered the conversation away with a smile, “Jiaxin, do you know how to play with these frogs?”

Of course, Lu Jiaxin knew. These green frogs with patterns would hop around on the floor for quite a while once their wind-up mechanism was tightened.

Niuniu found it amusing and called out, “Grandaunt, Fourth Great-Uncle, I want to play too.”

Lu Jiaxin was about to show her how to play with a green-skinned frog when Big Aunt Lu brought in a bowl of noodles.

Atop the noodles lay two fried eggs, sprinkled with shredded cucumber, the aroma of the chicken broth base filling the air. The sight of it made Lu Jiaxin’s mouth water, and she finished the noodles in no time.