Chapter 27 - 027 On the way to work
Tian Bajin and Mr. Tian took a break together to smoke a pipe and sip some tea to dispel the alcohol, sitting for a while before standing up to call everyone to work. Although it wasn't yet time to start working, as the village Party Secretary and family member of the military, he had to set a good example and could not let down Ai Guo and the nephews Chaohua and Guanghua from the army.
Tian Man Yin filled a large kettle with hot water to take to the fields for drinking. The group hustled away, emptying the living room once more. Tian Qinghua had already returned home to bring over Big Yellow, offering it some bones. Big Yellow sniffed and its eyes suddenly brightened as it began devouring the bones voraciously. Tian Qinghua affectionately stroked Big Yellow's head, muttering words from time to time.
"Big Yellow, eat slowly. Eat those two pieces; I gnawed on them but deliberately didn't finish the meat, leaving it for you!"
"Big Yellow, tastes good, doesn't it? You should really thank Ah Nan. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have this treat. Remember not to scare Ah Nan anymore; she's timid and can't handle being frightened."
...
Tian Sisi found this amusing, thinking that if dogs could understand human speech, then dogs would be too clever. At that moment, Granny Zhao was discussing with Li Yuedi about sending meat to Man Tong and a few of their married daughters. Meat was scarce in every household, and now that they had so much, they wanted everyone to enjoy some freshness. Mr. Tian, sitting beside them, interjected, "Send it everywhere else, just don't send any to Tian Man Lan."
Granny Zhao's hands paused as she beseechingly looked at Mr. Tian, hoping her husband would agree to send some meat to their youngest daughter. However, Mr. Tian paid no attention to his wife and emphasized once more, "Don't you go behind my back and send it there again, hmph. I said before, if she doesn't listen to me, as far as I'm concerned, it's as if I never had her for a daughter. Whether she's dead or alive has nothing to do with me."
Mr. Tian was always livid when it came to this youngest daughter who had rejected the factory job he had arranged and instead married a good-for-nothing loafer; she had thoroughly disgraced Tian Liu Jin. Mr. Tian caught his breath with difficulty, coughing violently which frightened Granny Zhao into hastily agreeing, "Alright, alright, we won't send any. Calm down, don't get angry."
Tian Sisi quickly handed Mr. Tian a cup of water and helped to pat his back to aid his breathing. It took quite a while before Mr. Tian's breath eased, but his face was still flushed red as he panted heavily. Mr. Tian's lungs had been injured before; he had two shell fragments removed from his left lung lobe. So every winter, he struggled and couldn't get too upset. Given his health, he really shouldn't smoke, but Mr. Tian had a stubborn temper, claiming that denying him cigarettes was akin to taking his life. No one at home could persuade him; they could only limit the amount of tobacco to make him smoke less.