8 Mapo’s House

Author: Qian Ke

8 Mapo’s House

It was approaching noon and no smoke was seen coming from anyone's house.

When cats are in winter, every household will eat less or even no food at all.

I was so hungry that I took a bite to save my life.

This is how we all came here, and everyone is used to it.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Grandma Wu's face was pale, her whole body was trembling, and her feet were so painful that she lost consciousness. She could only move by willpower.

If he hadn't been leaning on Wu Bo, he might have collapsed long ago.

Caressing her chest, Grandma Wu took a breath of cold air to relieve her heart and lungs, which seemed to be about to explode.

"It's okay, let's go. Mapo's house is at the entrance of the village."

"Okay," Wu Bo tried his best to carry Grandma Wu away.

However, he himself is also a burden. Walking such a long mountain road with his legs is a bit too much, and he can't exert much energy.

But with his daughter in his arms and his mother in his hands, he didn't dare to cry out that he was tired, let alone fall down.

Xiao Xiya was lying in her father's arms, not tired at all, and felt very warm and comfortable.

After seeing enough scenery, I even took a nap.

After waking up, she felt the urge to urinate. She made a few sounds, but her father ignored her. She closed her eyes and peed.

Wu Bo, who was so hot from walking, didn't even notice that his little cotton-padded jacket gave him a shower of love.

After peeing, the little thing was so happy that it even giggled twice.

Wu Bo supported his mother, and they walked into the village with heavy steps.

Stopped at the door of a dilapidated thatched house at the end of the village.

There is a low fence and courtyard gate in front of the house. The mother and son stood in front of the courtyard gate and shouted: "Is Mapo at home?"

A voice soon came from the room: "Who is it?"

What came out was an old man. This man was Mapao's wife, Old Man Wang.

Old man Wang is a carpenter. He is about 1.6 meters tall and very thin.

I have been doing carpentry all year round, and my palms are extremely wide and covered with calluses.

In this family, there are only an old couple.

A few years ago, bandits came down from the mountain and burned, killed and looted the village. Mapo's family consisted of more than ten people, but only the old couple survived.

Many gossips in the village are saying that it is Mapo who does things in the underworld for others and damages her moral character, so that future generations will suffer retribution.

The old couple never explained or resented this.

However, I have less contact with people in the village.

But if someone asks Mapo to do something, she will still agree.

She has never done anything immoral that would harm her conscience, so she doesn't believe it, let alone acknowledge it.

On the contrary, everything she did was good. She wanted to do more good deeds to accumulate blessings for future generations, so that they could find a good family in their next life.

"Brother Wang, it's me, the old lady of the Wu family."

They are all from neighboring brigades and know each other.

Old man Wang recognized Grandma Wu and also recognized Wu Bo next to him.

Seeing the small cloth bag in Wu Bo's arms, he probably guessed the purpose of their coming.

"Oh, come in, it's cold outside." Old man Wang was not good at words, and his expression was always dull. Probably because of the death of his younger generation, he was too sad and could no longer smile.

Grandma Wu thanked her and was helped into the house by Wu Bo.

The inside of the house was not much warmer than outside. It was a mud and thatched house with air leakage from all sides. There was a kang but no firewood, and the head of the kang was freezing cold.

The old couple are getting older and are no longer able to do what they want, so they can only make ends meet.

Mapo was lying on the kang, covered with the same cold and stiff old quilt.

When I saw them coming in, I stood up with force.

Grandma Wu walked quickly and wanted to help her.

Mapozi waved her hands and sat up by herself.

The light in the room was dark, and Mapo's ears were not very good, so she didn't hear Grandma Wu introducing herself outside.

Without seeing Grandma Wu's face clearly, she asked aloud: "Which elder sister is here?"

Grandma Wu said: "It's me, from the Wu family, does Mapo still remember?"

Mapo's ears are just not very good, but everything else is pretty good, especially her memory.

As soon as Grandma Wu spoke, she knew who it was.

"I know, I know, Wu Chuansheng is from the Wu Chuansheng family. I know that Wu Chuansheng is a famous cultural person from all over the country. He has a good heart. He even taught my boy how to read. It's a pity."

Wu Quansheng is Grandma Wu’s husband and Wu Bo’s biological father, also known as Grandpa Wu.

He was once a scholar, but his family fell into decline, his parents died, and he had no family members.

In order to make a living, he moved into the house of Grandma Wu, who was a landowner at the time, and worked as a teacher for Grandma Wu and her brothers and sisters.

Later, the two fell in love for a long time and got married, creating a good story.

Later, in the chaos, Grandma Wu's father died, and her family fell apart and disappeared.

Not long after, Grandpa Wu also died in the chaos, and Wu Bo injured his leg.

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone, which may be able to describe Grandma Wu's situation at that time.

After experiencing various changes, Grandma Wu was not defeated. Instead, she fought hard and survived with her only son.

No one expected that such a charming young lady could carry her young son through countless oppressions and negative looks.

For Mapo, who also suffered the death of a relative, Grandma Wu and she had the same problem, and there was a sense of sympathy for each other, and they became closer without realizing it.

Speaking of Grandpa Wu, Grandma Wu couldn't help but feel sad.

They are one of the rare couples in this era who are united by free love, and their relationship goes without saying.

Love at this time is very loyal and determined to last until death.

If it weren't for Wu Bo, Grandma Wu would probably follow Grandpa Wu away.

"God has no eyes to see, so he only likes to accept kind-hearted people." Regarding the death of Grandpa Wu, Grandma Wu was unwilling to be angry and complained about God's injustice and the injustice of the world.

Mapo patted Grandma Wu's hand: "Don't be sad, everyone has their own destiny. You are a good person. You have raised a tall and strong son for the old Wu family. Wu Quansheng is wise and will rest in peace."

Grandma Wu smiled and did not continue the topic: "For your good advice, I came here today because I wanted to ask Mapo to help check on my little granddaughter."

Wu Bo hurriedly untied the sheets and felt a little annoyed when he felt the wet and torn quilt.

"Forgot to pee."

Grandma Wu took it into her arms and touched Xiya's wet butt, feeling a little distressed as well.

But there is nothing you can do about it at someone else's house: "It's okay, it's cold outside and you can't pee. Let's just go home quickly."

Xiya didn't feel uncomfortable at all. After freeing her hands and feet, she danced happily several times, causing her toothless mouth to crack.

Grandma Wu liked Xiao Xiya's careless look, so she smiled and handed it to Mapo to see.

Mapo asked Old Man Wang to light an oil lamp and come over.

The orange light reflected on Xiya's white and soft little face, flickering on and off.

Xiao Xiya blinked her big, ignorant and clear eyes, staring at the oil lamp, looking very fascinated.

This lamp is different from the incandescent lamp hanging above her head before. This one has temperature.

Mapo stared at Xiya's little face for a long time, then reached out and touched her little hands and feet.

The warm touch brought Xiya back to her senses. She looked towards the source of the heat and saw Mapo's old wrinkled face with a somewhat confused expression.

Mapo smiled, stretched out her hand to hold Xiya in her arms, took away the wet bag from her body and handed it to Old Man Wang: "Go and set a fire to dry it."

Grandma Wu quickly stopped her: "No, don't waste firewood. We will go back in a while and we won't freeze the child."

The old couple couldn't bear to burn the firewood themselves, so they couldn't help but use it.

Mapozi waved her hand and told Old Man Wang to go.
Chapter completed!