The story of a cook

Chapter 201 Going home ([-])

After eating, clear the table.

When my mother saw the melatonin I bought for her, she said, "There are more, why did you buy it again?"

I said, "It's almost time to finish drinking. If you feel good after drinking, continue drinking."

My mother said: "Drinking is okay, I feel better than before, and I sleep well, and I sleep soundly."

I said, "That's good."

I bought a padded jacket for my mother, which is worn by the elderly.

Bringing the padded jacket to my mother, my mother said in a slightly complaining tone: "The one you bought last time hasn't been worn yet, so I bought it again."

I said: "You can wear it, if I buy it for you, you can wear it."

My mother said: "It's fine to wear a piece of clothing at home, and I don't go out, so what can I do if I wear that at home."

I said: "It's a new society now, everything has been changed, and I wear new clothes at home."

My mother said: "It's useless. I'm an old lady and I don't do much work. It's good to wear it at home. I just need to eat and drink. It's your blessing that there is nothing wrong with my body. If there is anything wrong with my body, you all stop it." No."

I said, "That's true."

Mother put on a new padded jacket, not to mention, it fits pretty well.

My mother patted the front lapel of the padded jacket and said, "It fits well." Then she said to me, "Don't buy it in the future. This one, together with the one I bought before, will last for several years."

I said, "Okay, I won't buy it, I'll buy something else for you then."

My mother said: "Don't buy anything, I have everything in my clothes, enough to wear. You earn money and save for yourself, and then you have to get married and have children, and you have to spend money on everything. I can't help you." You, you have to fix it yourself, save it."

I said, "No matter how much you save, you don't need to worry about it."

I chatted with my mother for a while, probably because of the drinking, and after sitting in the car for a long time, I felt a little tired and sleepy, so I fell asleep while chatting with my mother.

For the first time, I fell asleep so fast and so soundly.

To tell you the truth, it's really comforting to go back to my hometown and sleep on the hot kang head.

When I woke up the next morning, my mother had already wrapped the dumplings, and she was waiting for me to get up and cook the dumplings.

I got up, washed my face and brushed my teeth, my mother cooked the dumplings, and I put the table on the table and started eating dumplings.

Mother said: "After eating the dumplings in a while, you go to the grave."

I said, "Well, I'll go after eating."

My mother said: "You didn't come back during the Qingming Festival. It was your second brother-in-law and your fifth brother-in-law. This time you will go to the school when you come back. There will be no time after the New Year."

I said, "Yes, there are only a few days before Chinese New Year, and I will come back on the 28th and [-]th of the twelfth lunar month."

After eating, I cleaned up and took the burning paper to visit my father's grave.

Instead of taking the right path in the village, he followed the path on the mountain.

There is still snow on the mountain, and from time to time, squirrels in the pine trees will be bouncing around looking for food there.Standing on the mountain, you can see the village below the mountain.Some people just got up and started to cook. The smoke from the chimney curled up, and there was a hint of fireworks in the winter morning.The sun is hanging in the distance, it is very warm, there is a slight wind, but it is not cold.There is already a roar in the mine, black smoke is rising from the big chimney of the power plant, and the heat of the water tower is also rising.On the hillside where the crops have been harvested, there are chickens digging the grain in the field.

All of this is so familiar, it’s just that it’s been a long time, and I feel moved again.

When I was still a teenager, I walked on the mountain countless times like this, looking at the village below the mountain, the mine, and the river in the distance.At that time, my biggest wish was to get out of this mountain and go outside for a while.Standing here now, I feel so close together here, and I really want to come back and never leave.

This is the place where I was born and raised. Here are my relatives, sisters and my old mother.

When I came to my father's grave, I found a branch to draw a circle around my father's grave, pressed the paper on the head of the grave, then took out the burning paper, spread it out and lit it, slowly burning several sheets.It's winter, the weather is dry, and my father's grave is backed by pine trees, surrounded by dry grass. If one is not careful, it will cause a wildfire, and it will be over.

Many people are reluctant to go to the grave of the elderly, or they are afraid.I don't feel afraid, every time I go to the grave, it's like chatting with my father, very close.It's not about burning paper at other people's graves, so what's so scary about going to your own father's grave.Without my father, there would be no me. He and my mother brought me into this world. He is the one who gave me life. Is there any need to be afraid of burning some paper on his grave?

Since I was in the second grade of elementary school, I have visited my father's grave alone. At that time, I felt that visiting my father's grave was only right and proper, and it was none other than me.At that time, the students in the class said that going to the grave was scary, and some timid students walked around the grave when they saw the grave.They knew that I went to my father's grave by myself, and they were very afraid of me, as if I was not afraid of anything. In their perception, only my father went to the grave at home, and going to the grave was an adult's business.

I don't have a father, I visit my father's grave.

The burning paper was lit, and there was a fire and heat.Kneeling there, holding the branch to pull the burnt paper, so that the burnt paper will be more transparent.Looking at the burning paper and then at his father's tomb, he sighed a long time.

I said: "Dad, I came back to see you. I arrived at home yesterday. I am doing well now, and I have a wife. I work as a cook outside. Although I earn a little less, it is okay and I can support the family. You Don't worry, and don't worry about it all the time. The family is fine. My mother is in good health. There is nothing wrong with her. She is better than the first two years. Don't worry. With me and my sister, my mother is fine and can take good care of her. Yes. This time it’s Lan Jun from my elder sister’s family getting married. Lan Jun, you know, boy, it’s time to get married. My eldest sister’s family has been doing well for the past two years. It was so difficult in the past. My third sister’s house also flue-cured tobacco, and my mother said that it roasted more than my eldest sister’s house, and the money for flue-cured tobacco can be [-] yuan. It’s all fine, you don’t have to worry about it.”

"Dad, it's a good day today. It's not cold. My son came to see you and gave you some money. I don't know if you can spend the money. Every family gives it to me, so I will give it to you. Chat with you I don’t know if you can hear me or not, so I just pretend you listen. Now our family is very good, and my five sisters’ families can do it. It’s not as difficult as it was in the past few years. Okay. If you want to talk about the difficulties, my second sister’s family is more difficult, but it’s okay, it’s just a temporary difficulty, and it will be fine in two years. The eldest girl Qiuping in her family is [-] years old. She didn’t pass the exam. Go out Come to my place to work, the child is very good, and he will be promising in the future. From now on, I see that none of the six of our sisters is as lucky as my second sister. My second sister and my two girls will be able to treat my second sister and my second sister. My second brother-in-law takes care of the elderly. I can’t wait for the boy. The boy has a nice name. He said that the family is not dead, and there are still people. My mother has me, but that’s not the case. I can’t take care of my mother outside. My sister and the others are taking care of them at home, so they are too embarrassed to say it, it is a bit embarrassing to say it."

After burning the paper one by one, carefully check it with a branch to see if there is no spark and it is all extinguished.

Kowtow three heads to my father.Said: "Dad, I won't talk to you anymore, I'm going home."

Stand up and look at the mountains in the distance, it is a yellowish yellow, without the green of summer, and then look at the river in the distance, you can't see the flowing water, it is a glacier, like a silver ribbon.

The sun came up and it started to warm up.

I didn't want to leave, so I lit a cigarette and smoked slowly. Anyway, my father didn't bother me and didn't drive me away, so I stayed for a while.

At the foot of the mountain is the brick factory in the village, which is closed in winter, and the big chimneys of the brick factory stand tall.When I used to get out of school after school, I would come to the brick factory to see the smoke from the chimney. At that time, I wanted to know how the smoke from such a tall chimney went up?Sometimes I would go to the brick-making place to see how people put soil on, how to water, how to send the adobe to the track, and then form adobe.Now it's all a memory.

I still remember that when I was not studying, I wanted to work in the brick factory to earn money. Later, I found out that there was a female classmate who had always liked me to work here, so I didn’t come because the father of the female classmate was very dishonest, and I had a fight with him.

I don't know how the female classmate is doing now, is she married?
Sitting in front of my father's grave and smoking a cigarette, thinking about the past, I can vividly remember many things, including sadness, joy, and sadness.

Before I went out to work, I was a young adult in the village. Although I was young, I looked old, and everyone in the village treated me like an adult.

Although the family is poor, we don't steal or rob, and we don't lie to others. We can walk straight in the village.

My family is weak in our village, but no one dares to bully my family.If he dares to bully my family, I will definitely come to him and make him feel uneasy.

The key is that I am reasonable, and it is not wrong to be poor.

The female classmate who likes me, her land is next to mine, and her father is a person who likes to take advantage of small things.One spring, when the field was about to be planted, the ridges had to be drilled before planting, and the fields could only be planted after the ridges were formed.His family drilled ridges in the morning, while mine drilled in the afternoon.When I took the machine to my field in the afternoon to dig ridges, I found that his ridges were very large. The ridges of his land were large and the furrows were spacious. Naturally, my land was squeezed out, and half of the ridges were squeezed out.

At that time, my mother, my fifth sister and I were at home, and the eldest sister and the others were already married.I guess my classmate's father felt that there were not many people in my family. An old lady led a girl and a boy to pass by, and my house would be crowded even if it squeezed half a ridge, and my family couldn't say anything.To put it bluntly, it is because my family is poor, and I am the only boy in my family, and I am still a child, so I can clearly bully you.

There are two sons in his family, both young men in their 20s, and I am only 17 years old, so I can't compare with others.

To be honest, people in the countryside can't live a life.

I went straight to his house.I told my classmate's father to change the ridge back immediately, or else my family would drill the ridge according to the normal ridge width and squeeze back the ridge that his family squeezed over, and his family would lose one ridge by then.

Of course, my classmate's father refused to do it. He led his two sons very domineeringly and stopped me from the door, and said that if I dared to squeeze the ridges, my family would not be able to grow land.

Without further ado, I told the machine operator to start squeezing the ridges without saying a word. My classmate’s father led his two sons to the field and told the machine operator to stop when he saw that I had squeezed the ridges back. Get off the machine and prepare to have a fight with me.

At this time, the people working in the field also gathered around.

I said, "You are the one who squeezed my ridge, and you are right. If my land can't be ridged today, then I will plant your land!"

The classmate's father was a little bit annoyed, and the commander and his two sons were about to come up and beat me.

Although I am young and my physique is not as good as others, I am not afraid of trouble.

Holding a shovel in his hand, he said to the three of them: "Tell you, don't bully me just because I'm young, don't want to bully my family just because I'm poor, talk about it today, if you dare to come up, I'll kill you !"

The classmate's father scolded: "Little B bastard, you dare to call me when you don't even have full hair, so why are you bullying you?"

I'm not afraid of returning, but when it comes to fighting, I can't beat my father and son alone. As the saying goes, brothers who fight in battle are father and son soldiers, and they are fathers and sons.

A battle for ridges that often occurred in the countryside was on the verge of breaking out in the field. The three of them beat me, but that didn't convince me, and finally subsided under the support of the villagers.

I was beaten with blood all over my face and bruises all over my body, and the three of them were not much better.The three of them have a disadvantage because they don’t have anything in their hands. My family is digging in the afternoon, and I hold a shovel in my hand. If the child dare not do it, he is careless.

The eldest son of his family was the first to come up and the first to fall. I slapped him on the back with a shovel and fell to the ground. Then they paid attention to me and beat me up with siege tactics.

I wiped the blood off my face, and shouted at the three of them with red eyes: "Go up, if you have the guts, come up, and I'll kill you all."

I still want to rush forward, even if I am dragged by the villagers, I don’t feel the pain all over my body. At that time, I just had one thought, that is to continue beating. I.

It was only after the village chief came that the matter was settled. My family’s land was dug according to the normal ridge width, and his family had no choice but to dig the ridge again. Stealing the chickens would not be enough to lose the rice, and it was their own fault.

In the village, I became famous in one battle, and no one dared to bully my family, saying that I was a master who would not die in a fight.

That classmate of mine was very kind to me. Afterwards, she sent me [-] hard-boiled eggs for me to eat through other classmates.

Regardless of my young age, I never fail to speak. After I dropped out of high school, I worked as a "knowledge guest" in the village, which is what restaurants call "knowledge guests".I can rank all the seniors in the village, and I also know the distance of relatives. Every time I know a guest, there are quite a few older girls and daughters-in-law who joke with me and like me, but our family is poor and no one will marry us.After working as a Zhike for a few times, I stopped. I started to think about how to make money to supplement my family, and how to support my fifth sister to study.

The day before my part-time job left, I went to my father's grave and chatted with him for a long time.

It was the first lunar month at that time, and in the first month, I was not allowed to go to the grave to burn paper, and I didn't burn paper for my father. I just sat in front of my father's grave and chatted with him.

It was me who said that my father was listening, and that the mountain wind was blowing was my father's answer.

(End of this chapter)