PFC Chapter 131 Scars
Chapter 131 Scars
Little New Year is one of China's traditional festivals, marking the official start of the Spring Festival.
On this day, in addition to ancestor worship and eating specific foods, the whole family will thoroughly clean the house together, symbolizing sweeping away the bad luck of the old year and welcoming good luck in the new year.
In the early morning, just as dawn was breaking, Huayuansheng began to get busy preparing cleaning tools such as brooms, rags, and buckets.
As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room, Hua Lichu and Hua Antao were woken up.
After washing up and eating the breakfast cooked by their grandfather, the two of them specially put on their old, patched clothes and joined in the cleaning.
All three of them have their own tasks.
Hua Yuansheng was responsible for cleaning the doors and windows, and cleaning the cowshed and yard.
Hua Antao is in charge of cleaning all the kitchen utensils.
Hua Lichu wore a triangular paper hat, tied a broom to a bamboo pole, and cleared away the cobwebs from the roof.
As the afternoon sun filled the room, the cleaning work was nearing its end.
The Hua Li Chu sisters specially prepared a sumptuous lunch.
But before lunch began, Hua Antao took out a stack of clean bowls, picked up a little bit of each dish, and then put them all in a basket next to her.
Besides vegetables, the basket contained an apple, two oranges, and a few cookies.
The rest are things used for visiting graves, such as incense, firecrackers, and paper money.
Clearly, this is something to prepare for the upcoming trip to the cemetery.
The three of them first went to the ancestral hall, then to the maternal grandmother's grave, and finally to Hua Hechun's grave.
After several months of absence, the path leading to Hua Hechun's grave was overgrown with weeds and thorns.
Hua Lichu followed at the back, carrying a basket, while Hua Yuansheng and Hua Antao, each carrying a machete, led the way.
The three remained very silent throughout the journey.
When they finally arrived at their destination, they saw a small tree growing on Hua Hechun's grave mound, and the three of them fell even more silent.
Hua Yuansheng cleaved open a patch of ground with a few strokes, indicating to Hua Lichu to place the offerings there.
Hua Antao looked around and saw that the surrounding area was overgrown with thatch and desolate. She frowned.
Then they made a circle with stones and lit fire inside to burn paper.
Fearing that the wind might blow the sparks to one side and cause a wildfire, she even went out of her way to cut down a live sapling and carried it in her hand.
Whenever the wind blows, they will use small trees to brush it off.
After Hua Lichu arranged the offerings, she picked up the wood-chopping knife her sister had thrown aside and silently cleared the thatch around the grave.
These thatch roots are so deep that they cannot be eradicated without a hoe.
Hua Lichu could only cut as much as possible at the base.
But all three knew that when they returned next year, the place would still be a desolate wasteland.
Fearing a wildfire, the three had to wait until the fire started by the paper offerings was completely extinguished before they could leave.
Hua Antao seemed oblivious to the heat, squatting by the fire, staring intently at it, her eyes deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.
"Ugh……"
This is already the umpteenth sigh Huayuansheng has uttered today.
Seeing that the thatch had been almost cleared, he simply plopped down in front of his daughter's grave and said, "I haven't visited you for months. How are you doing down there?"
His questions, of course, received no response.
After all, if there were a real reply, that would be considered a ghost story.
He continued as if chatting casually, "I specially burned a lot of paper money for you this time, so you'll have money to spend during this period, right?"
If there's anything else you want, just appear in my dream and I'll find a way to burn it for you..."
A gentle breeze brushed against Hua Yuansheng's face.
"Don't just sit around doing nothing down there. Keep an eye on Peach and Pear."
Keep an eye on them both when I can't see them.
"The two children are so pitiful. They lost their mother at such a young age and now they have to live with this old man like me..."
"Grandpa~" Hua Lichu called softly.
Hua Yuansheng smiled and wiped away the tears that had somehow gotten on his face:
“It’s alright. Your mother is lying here all alone, and there are no graves nearby. She’s lonely. I’ll talk to her…”
Hua Antao took a deep breath, trying to tell herself that she wasn't lonely at all, after all, it was her own choice.
But fearing that her unusual tone would worry her grandfather even more, she pursed her lips and swallowed the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.
To avoid seeing or being bothered, I walked to a corner where I couldn't see Hua and Chun anymore, and plopped down on the ground.
Hua Yuansheng's brows furrowed into two small mountains as he carefully examined Hua Lichu's expressionless face and found that she showed no sadness or nostalgia whatsoever.
He immediately started thinking about it.
On his way back, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Details he hadn't noticed before gradually came to mind: neither of the sisters had suggested visiting the graves.
After spending several months together, the two sisters never mentioned Hua and Chun.
He had previously thought that the two children were keeping quiet because they were afraid of upsetting him.
Thinking about it now, I'm afraid not!
His two granddaughters, though young, are both very independent and have their own ideas.
Pear is eloquent and straightforward, but also fiercely protective of her own.
Peach has a reserved, gentle, and tolerant personality.
There's no reason for them to be so cold to their birth mother, unless... Hua and Chun weren't good to these two children when they were alive!
"Peach, Pear, how did your mother treat you before?" Hua Yuansheng asked casually.
Hua Lichu was stunned.
Hua Antao said indifferently, "It's just like that."
Seeing that Hua Yuansheng was about to ask more questions, Hua Antao said directly, "Grandpa, it's all in the past. As long as the three of us can be together and live happily ever after, that's enough."
What can Hua Antao say?
Is it true that Hua and Chun take their anger out on the two sisters for no reason?
Is her departure a relief for the two sisters?
No need.
Hua Lichu realized that her sister carried a heavier burden than she did.
If it weren't for her older sister protecting her since she was little, she probably would have been sent away long ago.
Holding Hua Antao's hand, he turned to Hua Yuansheng and said, "Grandpa, don't overthink it. It's all in the past, and things will get better from now on."
Hua Yuansheng sighed inwardly, "It's Grandpa's fault for letting you two down."
I didn't raise my daughter well.
"How can you blame yourself? Maybe we just weren't meant to be with her."
Or perhaps, she owed Liang Yongchang something in her past life, and now that she's repaid it, she's left.
"We've all grown up. We have Grandpa's love, and we don't need Mom and Dad anymore," Hua Antao comforted her.
She didn't say anything before because she was afraid of upsetting her grandfather.
But she simply couldn't control her emotions.
She had told herself that Hua and Chun were gone, and she should let her go.
But countless times in the dead of night, she would wake up crying.
In her dream, she returned to her childhood, feeling so powerless and helpless in the face of Hua and Chun's hysteria and beatings...
But it's okay, time can heal all wounds.
Let these things be buried deep in her heart, and let her spend her whole life trying to heal them.