Wu Tiegen felt a bit embarrassed, but he didn't know how to ease the situation, so he stiffly said, "All those years ago, you chased Dajuan back from the Northwest. Aunt said she severed ties with you and took you off the family tree. Later, there was a big fire. Aunt said it was to give you and your wife peace of mind. She presumably felt you no longer looked up to her as the old mother!"
Father Wu shook his head frantically.
He was reckless, but he could never do something like that.
But Wu Tiegen continued, "Many people in the village know about that fire back then. Everyone collectively helped to stage the scene, watching you return for the funeral. Once you and your wife left, Aunt and Dajuan lived in the village again with their three children!"
The village was poor, so poor that Father Wu wouldn't have gone to the military in search of a future.
