Grandma

The boss was installing and adjusting the satellite dish.

This kind of satellite antenna could even receive foreign TV channels.

Strictly speaking, it was illegal, but no one would bother the farmers about it.

Because the cost of enforcement was too high.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, another farm woman ran over, panting: "My old man (husband) is working in Zhejiang Province, and he took the IOU with him..."

"Took it with him" was probably an excuse; this family most likely lost the IOU.

Chen Guiliang didn't waste words, pulling out the inkpad he had taken from the game studio: "No problem. Liu Da Niang, you can just write a receipt, and the elders present are also witnesses. I will pay back all your family's principal and interest."

Immediately, villagers started praising him: "Guiliang is as straightforward as his dad. Very open and honest, he's definitely going to achieve great things!"

As long as you succeed, everyone around you is a good person.

You'll feel like the world is beautiful.

"No problem, no problem."

Chen Guiliang opened three boxes of Hongtashan cigarettes and handed them out to the men who had come to watch the fun.

Grandma also took out the baked cakes her grandson had bought and gave them to the women and children she saw.

With cigarettes and cakes paving the way, praises were endless.

Chen Guiliang observed silently with a smile on his face, as if watching a real-life farce.

"Young man, the satellite dish is adjusted, it can receive dozens of TV channels," the boss emerged from the house.

Chen Guiliang timely handed the boss a cigarette and then said to his grandparents and uncle: "Grandpa, Grandma, Little Uncle, I'll be leaving now, there's still a color TV by the roadside."

"I'll see you back," Grandpa said.

Chen Guiliang said: "No need, I'll take a tricycle. The color TV is bought, you can go watch TV."

Grandpa, Grandma, and Little Uncle, surrounded by the onlookers, saw Chen Guiliang off to the village road and watched him get into the back of the tricycle.

Villages in the southwestern region were scattered here and there, unlike the relatively concentrated settlements in the plains.

Although Chen Guiliang's parents were from the same village, their two families were quite far apart.

He sat in the tricycle, bumping along for a while, and finally returned to his own home.

The same scene played out again.

Chen Guiliang didn't even need to go door-to-door to repay debts; the creditors heard the news and quickly came running. Even creditors from the neighboring village arrived by motorcycle or bicycle.

Grandma, who was up the mountain cutting firewood, also had neighbors voluntarily help inform her, and she hurried home carrying a large bundle of firewood.

"Grandma, my dad struck it rich, he'll be back for the New Year," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Grandma seemed unusually calm: "It's good that the debts are paid off."

She used to be a young lady from a landlord's family, not only had she attended a private school, but she had also gone to a new-style school.

She was a widow who remarried, and at that time, she brought her child who had just turned one year old – Chen Guiliang's father.

In other words, Chen Guiliang's father was only his grandfather's stepson.

Ignoring the compliments from the neighbors, Grandma went about stacking the firewood, as if everything happening around her had nothing to do with her.

Grandpa, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt also arrived.

Second Aunt seemed particularly enthusiastic, uncharacteristically helping Grandma with the housework.

Chen Guiliang smiled and didn't say anything.

"Guiliang, I heard your dad struck it rich?" Second Uncle Chen Xingmin was genuinely happy.

Chen Guiliang took out a box of Hongtashan cigarettes and threw the whole box to Second Uncle with a smile.

Chen Xingmin reached out and caught it, stuffing it into his pants pocket and saying: "Good cigarettes."

The uncle and nephew stood there chatting, occasionally dealing with villagers and creditors.

Chen Guiliang only wanted to chat with Second Uncle but was too lazy to even glance at Grandpa and Second Aunt.

Before his rebirth, Chen Guiliang even skipped Grandpa's funeral, claiming he had something to do.

Stepson and step-grandson, in the eyes of some people, were not considered real sons and grandsons.

The relationship was worse than with outsiders.

There was no kindness, only hatred, and they were treated too unfairly.

Of course, the relationship between the younger generation was quite good; Chen Guiliang got along well with his cousins.

His father, Second Uncle, and aunt, the three siblings, also had a very deep bond. Because Second Uncle and aunt were raised by his father, a true elder brother acting as a father.

"Guiliang, I heard your dad made hundreds of thousands?" Second Aunt held firewood in her hand and deliberately came over to ask.

Chen Guiliang said: "Yes."

Second Aunt immediately said: "Gui Rong's (cousin's) grades aren't good, and he's taking the high school entrance exam next year. I plan to send him to No. 1 High School, and I'm afraid I'll have to pay a school selection fee then. Can we borrow ten thousand yuan from your dad?"

Chen Guiliang looked at Chen Xingmin: "Second Uncle, do you need to borrow money? As long as you ask, I'll find a way."

"No, I won't lend it," Chen Xingmin shook his head repeatedly. "Gui Rong can attend whichever school he gets into. There's no need to pay a selection fee to attend a good school."

His second aunt immediately glared fiercely at her husband. The couple was likely going to fight tonight, and the second uncle was usually the one passively taking the beating.

One was a henpecked husband, the other a tigress.

"Gui Liang, I'm leaving first." Chen Xingmin didn't want to watch his wife make a fool of herself here anymore.

Chen Guiliang waved his hand and said, "Second Uncle, take care."

Seeing that she couldn't borrow the money, the second aunt instantly dropped her act. She threw down the firewood in her hand and left, not even bothering to carry it a few meters away to put it away properly.

Grandpa stood at the doorway, wanting to find an opportunity to speak.

But Chen Guiliang didn't even look at him directly.

Grandpa stood for a while, then could only turn and leave, also taking a hoe from under the eaves.

Chen Guiliang reminded him, "That's mine."

"I'm borrowing it for a bit," Grandpa said, carrying the hoe away.

Chen Guiliang sneered, "Remember to return it. The things my parents left at home, even the creditors didn't want them. You've almost emptied the place these past few years."

When Chen Guiliang's father and second uncle divided the family property, his grandparents also lived separately with their two sons.

Even after the division, Chen Guiliang's family still had to give grain to his grandfather every year. If they didn't, his grandfather would cause trouble, even going to the village head to say his eldest son was unfilial.

After being reborn, Chen Guiliang no longer hated anyone, but he also didn't expect himself to like anyone.

He would always remember the Spring Festival when he was in the third grade of primary school. He was playing with his cousin and younger female cousin and went to the teahouse to ask his grandfather, who was playing cards, for money to buy snacks.

His cousin and younger female cousin each got 50 cents. He stayed and refused to leave, wanting some too.

His grandfather, in front of everyone playing cards in the teahouse, slapped him hard and scolded, "Get lost, don't waste my money!"

As dusk fell, the onlookers gradually left.

The owner who sold the color TV had also driven away in his tricycle long ago.

Only Chen Guiliang and Grandma were left at home.

From the moment Chen Guiliang returned home until now, Grandma had only said one sentence. At this moment, she silently went to cook dinner again.

Chen Guiliang followed her into the kitchen, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to start.

He looked at the water vat, then turned to get the water buckets and went to the well a hundred meters away to fetch water.

He carried load after load until the water vat was full.

"Dinner is ready," Grandma finally said.

Chen Guiliang quickly went to serve the food. The grandson and grandmother sat down at the table in the main hall, and the newly bought color TV was playing a TV series.

There were two dishes and one soup. The meat dish was fried pork fat.

Grandma was very thrifty. Only when Chen Guiliang came home would she cook a meat dish.

The so-called meat dish was either fried pork fat or pig's head meat.

Moreover, this was the treatment he received after attending high school. When he was in junior high, it was vegetarian meals every day, and he only saw meat during festivals.

So when Chen Guiliang was in junior high, he once had a great dream: to eat meat once a month!

Chen Guiliang walked to the TV set: "Grandma, this is the switch."

Grandma said, "I know, I've used a TV before."

When Chen Guiliang was in primary school, there was a black and white TV at home, but it was later taken away by angry creditors.

"This one is different, you can use the remote control to turn the TV on and off."

Chen Guiliang brought the remote control: "This button is the switch. This is for changing channels, this is for adjusting the volume..."

Grandma listened carefully.

She had a good memory. When people in the countryside ate from the communal pot, Grandma had also worked as a scorekeeper in the production team.

Being a scorekeeper was a very sought-after job, as it could earn more work points for team members and their families. But Grandma never showed favoritism and did things strictly by the book, which caused team members and her family to complain about her.

"That pot lid on the roof is called a satellite dish, and it can tune in satellite channels," Chen Guiliang said. "The person who sold the TV has already adjusted it, so it's best not to mess with it. If a strong wind blows the antenna crooked, some TV stations won't be received. Wait until I come back during the holidays to adjust it."

Grandma said, "You teach me."

Chen Guiliang stopped eating and taught Grandma hand-in-hand how to adjust the satellite dish.

In less than ten minutes, Grandma had completely mastered it.

She adjusted it back and forth herself, then started changing channels again. As she changed channels, she stopped.

This channel was broadcasting Sichuan Opera.

Grandma watched the TV while slowly eating her meal.

She ate very elegantly, taking small bites and chewing slowly, as if she were still the young lady from the landlord's family decades ago.

"The lyrics have changed?" Grandma muttered to herself.

Chen Guiliang said, "The Sichuan Opera on TV might have been modified. It's different from what you used to listen to. The lyrics and spoken parts have been changed to be more in line with the times. Some uncivilized content will also be deleted and revised."

Grandma commented, "It's not changed well."

Chen Guiliang teased her to make her happy, "When I'm rich in the future, I'll raise an opera troupe and let Grandma be in charge of reviewing the lyrics."

"Then I'll wait," Grandma smiled.

In Chen Guiliang's eyes, Grandma's smile was more beautiful than the moon at the border. He had never seen Grandma smile many times since he was a child.

The grandson and grandmother sat in the main hall chatting. Grandma watched TV until very late.

At night, Chen Guiliang slept in a daze, as if he heard someone singing opera in a low voice.

"Apricot blossoms bring fragrance to the garden, loneliness unknowingly changes the time. Since Zheng Lang went to the capital, lovesickness twists my guts nine times a day..."