Homecoming (3)

My cousin’s house was just an appetizer. My mother stayed there for one night and reminisced with my aunt and cousin. It is said that I played until three o’clock at night and learned to vibrato. Don't say that the old ladies are prudent, if they really want to go crazy, they can stay all night. My mother likes to chat, and every time I meet my aunt and uncle, it is more common to talk until midnight. Therefore, my brother always told me not to live with relatives, for fear that she would be too excited to delay sleep and overwhelm her body. But she doesn't care about that, and will be subject to military orders abroad.

I was drinking corn grits at my cousin's house that day, and I even got a small white worm. I picked it out and threw it away, and I drank the rest in one bite. No one saw my two momentary hesitations. On the way out, I told my mother and second sister that you all drank insect soup. They were retching, and it was reasonable to say that the sanitary situation was either this or that.

After coming out of my cousin's house, we started our real journey of visiting relatives and friends. On this day, we visited a total of 8 relatives and friends, all of which were designated by our parents, of course.

Cousins first. I have heard about the existence of my cousin in the neighboring village since I was a child, but I don't have much impression. My father and close relatives got along very badly, and such distant relatives are probably not much better. So I was a little surprised when I said that when I went home this time, I must visit my cousin. Later, I thought, maybe here, the status of my uncle's family is respected, and the old Wei family (relatives of my uncle's side) have to be treated like a guest no matter what the matter is. Therefore, my parents took me to recognize people in advance to plan for the future.

The three cousins have not seen their parents for many years, and I am even more smeared. In order to ask for directions, the second sister also had an argument with her mother. My mother has a strong temperament, she wants to be ahead in everything, and she is not reluctant to ask for directions, but after all, the age is there, and she can't ask or explain clearly. There is no WeChat, and there is no phone to make an appointment in advance. When I see someone on the side of the road, I stop the car and ask for the name of the old man. The young man does not know, and the old man cannot tell. On this visit, time seems to go back to childhood.

It's hard to find the third cousin's house first. He was away and went to town to buy medicine. The aunt was chubby and held her mother's hand to make love, but I could see that they were not familiar with each other before. When asked about his age, he said he was in his 60s. To my surprise, I didn't expect to be so much younger than my parents. Since my cousin was not there, I didn't delay much. I asked her to get in the car and take us to the second cousin's house. The milk I prepared was a small gift, and I hadn't had time to bring it into her house. She originally said that she would wait until she was brought back, but she was not polite, and immediately said that since it was given to me, I would carry it in first, and ran away in a hurry.

In front of the second cousin's house, there is a large walnut tree, which may have grown for twenty or thirty years, with dense branches and leaves. For shade, I parked my car under a tree with branches draped over the roof. My father was inconvenient to get out of the car, so he didn't even enter the door. I chatted with my second cousin and my aunt under the walnut tree. The second cousin was thin, honest and not good at words. He grabbed his cousin's hand in the car. After a few words, there was no rhetoric, only endless sighs. Although there may not be too deep feelings, but maybe they played with urine mud in open pants when they were young. Seventy or eighty years later, they all know that this side may be the last side of their lives. I stood outside the car window and spoke, bowing my head for a while, without wiping my tears.

The uncle's house is about 100 meters away from the main road, connected by a small road. On one side of the road is a deep pit of two or three meters, and on the other side is a steep ridge going out. The side above the top is the door of another family. I asked Aunt San Biao if I could park the car here? She said it was best not to, because the relationship between the two families was strained because of the boundary. Later, my car got stuck in the small dirt road with potholes about three meters wide, and in the end I couldn't get to the door of my uncle's house. They had to stop by the road under the bright sun, turn on the fire and the air conditioner, and let the two brothers meet. The eldest cousin and aunt are the oldest, but the most respectable. The watermelon that was brought out was obviously just out of the refrigerator, and it seemed to be steaming in the sun. By the way, I also took a pot and asked me to throw the watermelon rind. In fact, I threw the weeds around, and I couldn't see it. Just like my mother, I have to shout and talk. I said that my cousin's watermelon was grown or bought by you. It's very sweet. What did he say? I say watermelon is sweet. What did he say? Before leaving, my uncle clawed at the car door and told me that there is something wrong with you, hurry up and bring it back, you can't be outside. We live here in loess, but not outside. I said yes, yes yes, goodbye cousin, goodbye auntie.

After visiting Cousin, it was noon, there was no cloud in the sky, and the sun was rattling. Take my parents back to the hotel to rest, and build up strength for the second round of visiting relatives and friends in the afternoon.