The story of a cook

Chapter 202 Going Home (Part Three)

The second sister-in-law in the backyard was chatting with my mother at my house when I arrived home after paying my father's grave.

The second sister-in-law belongs to my family, she is relatively close, and she is also an old sister-in-law.

Seeing my second sister-in-law, she said, "Guohua, why have you grown so fat after you haven't been home these few years?"

I said: "I don't do physical work in restaurants, I eat." Then I asked: "Second sister-in-law, when did you come?"

The second sister-in-law said, "I just came here not long ago."

I said, "Second sister-in-law, you don't look old anymore, you're still the same as when I left."

The second sister-in-law said: "I don't look old yet, I'm almost fifty, I'm old." Then she looked at her mother and said: "My old aunt is not old. Look, the black hair has grown out, and the old lady is getting older. live younger."

Mother smiled happily.

The second sister-in-law said: "I didn't think about you coming back. After thinking about it, I came to chat with the old aunt for a while. The old aunt is alone. I'll come if I have nothing to do."

I said: "That's good, my mother would like someone to chat with her."

The second sister-in-law said: "My old aunt is recruiting people at home. In the lower house, my aunt and the old Yuan's family all like to talk to the old aunt. Your house is warm, and you don't want to leave when you sit on the kang."

I said: "Then sit for a while, anyway, there is nothing to do at home now, so I am idle."

The second sister-in-law said: "I can't be idle, there is work everywhere in the countryside, and I can't do it."

Mother said: "That's not true, there is still time to finish the work, if it is done, there will always be."

The second sister-in-law smiled and said, "I have some business to come here today. I told my old aunt just now. Seeing that you are not married, let me ask you how your partner is doing."

I said, "What's the matter? You still want to introduce one to me.?"

The second sister-in-law said: "That's not bad, I really want to introduce one to you."

I laughed and said: "My relationship with my partner is okay, thank you second sister-in-law first."

The second sister-in-law looked a little disappointed, and said: "It's good to be good, when will you get married? My sister-in-law is waiting to drink your wedding wine."

I said, "Hurry up, it's Chinese New Year."

The second sister-in-law said: "That's pretty good, my old aunt is looking forward to your marriage and waiting to have a grandson."

I said, "It's quick to have grandchildren, but you will have children after you get married."

The second sister-in-law said, "That's really good." Then she looked at her mother and said, "My old aunt's life is not easy, you have to be filial."

I said, "That's a must."

The second sister-in-law thought for a while and said to me: "Actually, you know the woman I'm talking about, Guohua, you two are high school classmates, and my natal niece."

I couldn't remember, so I asked, "Your niece? Who is it?"

The second sister-in-law said: "My eldest brother's family is called Zhou Xiaomei, is your classmate?"

I thought about it. There was no one named Zhou Xiaomei among my high school classmates in the same class, but there was a classmate named Zhou Xiaomei who was a class higher than me. She was a sports student and she ran very fast.

I was a sprinter when I was on the sports team and she was a sprinter too.It's a pity that I didn't read it until I was on the sports team for a few days.

I said, "I have the impression that she is a year older than me."

The second sister-in-law said: "A few days ago I went back to my natal home and ran into my natal sister-in-law. She told me that her girl hadn't found a partner yet. She was working outside and was also in the provincial capital. She said she was a waiter in a restaurant. She was already 28." I don’t know how to find a partner, so my family members are anxious, let me show it to my family, and if there is a suitable one, I will introduce one.”

I said, "Then you can find one at home."

The second sister-in-law said: "You are always not at home. I heard from my old aunt that you have a partner. Seeing that you are not married and don't know how your partner is doing, I came here to ask, thinking that if you don't I want to introduce my niece from my natal family to you."

I just laughed and said, "Second sister-in-law, if you introduce your niece from your mother's family to me, we will be the next generation."

The second sister-in-law said: "Who cares about this now, as long as the two of you get along well." Then she asked: "What's wrong? My niece and I, my mother and I, don't want to marry your brothers?"

I said, "I didn't say I didn't want to. I have it. It seems that I have no fate with your niece."

The second sister-in-law said: "I know you have a partner, but I just think about it. I wonder if my old aunt must have someone to take care of her at home. You know my niece from her mother's family. She doesn't say what she looks like. Jun, she has a good physique, and she is obedient and takes care of her family." , if you become my old aunt's daughter-in-law, the old aunt will be satisfied."

The mother took over the conversation and said: "Guohua's partner Lin Yan is also very good, and he is very considerate of me."

The second sister-in-law said: "It's fine if you think about it." Then she said to me: "Guohua, get married quickly, let my old aunt hold the grandson early, and we will enjoy watching."

I said, "I'm trying."

The second sister-in-law sat for a while, chatted with her mother for a while, and then went back.

After the second sister-in-law left, my mother said: "Your second sister-in-law is very concerned about you. She told me about this last time I met me. I didn't get along. She said that it is good for you to have a partner and get married during the New Year. She is Seeing that you are not married, thinking about your partner may be Huang, I want to introduce her niece from her natal family to you."

I asked: "Where are my second sister-in-law and my second brother living with my seventh aunt (second sister-in-law's mother-in-law) now?"

The mother said: "Well, even if you live together, you live in the opposite room. Your seven aunts are so special that you can't go with your daughter-in-law all the time. You can cook and eat by yourself."

I said: "My seventh aunt is also a personality, that old lady with little feet—"

Yes, I am a seven-year-old lady with little feet, a person from the old society who still maintains the old traditions, and most people don't like it.

The mother said: "Your second sister-in-law's family is from the old Zhou's family in Xiaocheng. The old Zhou family will say that she can do business and is very smart." The mother recalled: "When your second brother married her, there was a lot of trouble. Later, it was your father who went to Lao Zhou's house to make peace with them before marrying. At that time, your father was fine, and people listened to what he said, but he was sick and couldn't work."

I said, "My dad is pretty good at talking."

The mother said: "Then what are you talking about? In your old Tan family, only your father can talk about it. If you have any problems in the family, you can turn to your father." Then the mother sighed and said: "Hey, it’s just that life is not good. Well, when people are poor, sometimes no one is willing to listen to what they say——when your father was alive, your seventh uncle, your old uncle, were all afraid of your father."

I didn't say anything, but I was vaguely thinking about my father's appearance when he was alive. I was too young to remember clearly, but I remembered that my father was tall, broad shoulders, and very serious.My father has never had a photo taken, and there is not even a photo of my father at home, it can only be a memory.

I have recalled my father's voice and smile countless times, but it has always been vague and unclear.

At noon, my mother heated up the morning dumplings, and I stewed pickled cabbage and pork belly vermicelli, and cut the pickled vegetables pickled at home.My mother said that she wanted to eat tofu and stewed it, so I stewed tofu again.The tofu made at home is the best, not afraid of stewing, the longer the time, the better the taste.

During the meal, my mother said: "This is your second sister-in-law who came to introduce her niece from her natal family. Do you still remember the one your third sister introduced to you?"

I said, "Remember, haven't we met?"

Mother said: "I heard from your third sister that this year the family is still looking for your third sister, and asked if you have a date. If you don't have a place, you can still think about it. Your third sister told them that you already have a date and are going to get married during the Chinese New Year. Let this matter go."

I was a little surprised and asked my mother, "What else is there?"

My mother said: "At any time, people respect and some dogs bite ugly people. Everyone knows what our family was like in the first two years, and people will inquire about what we didn't know in the past two years. Old Tan's family is a big family in Heshanggou. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that there is a relative in every family, and it gradually spread. In the first few years, our family was poor and poor, and no one liked it, let alone people with foreign surnames, even our own family. That way, people will look down on you depending on how poor your life is. If you don’t say anything else, take your uncle’s house in Yingzi. It’s our famous 10,000-yuan household. Now it’s not a [-]-million-dollar household. There must be [-]+. People don't think highly of our family at all, they all think that our family is not good enough to beg for food—"

I didn't say anything, and listened to my mother go on.

Mother said: "No one of us is rich. In the first two years, if you have no partner, you will be introduced. For example, your second sister-in-law introduced you. What will your old aunt say when you are in the camp? It’s just a dry old lady, she can do whatever she wants, and whoever gives it to our daughter-in-law will wait to be poor. I’ve said it all, but I just don’t want to break up with her, my sister-in-law hasn’t blushed for so many years Now that I'm older, I don't have the time to be angry. When your uncle looks like a character, it's because your old aunt is afraid of life, but it's just a face. Needless to say, they are also uncles Yes. Isn’t your uncle the same way? It’s been so many years since he didn’t talk about it. Let’s see. He also has a nephew—it’s useless to talk about everything. pull."

I know what my mother said.

Mother said: "You don't know yet, your second uncle is gone, and he was gone in the last autumn of this year."

The second uncle passed away, I didn't know, and no one gave me a letter.

The mother said: "I didn't go to the letter, and I didn't tell me to come back to see it all these years. His children are just like that. When his father is gone, he will remember that he still has an aunt. What's the use! Your eldest sister and the others said I want to go and have a look, I didn't let him, saying that the girls are all married, they belong to someone else's family, it doesn't matter whether you go or not. When the children of your second uncle's family come back to find your uncle, and want his father to be buried in the old grave, you No matter how stupid the old man is, he knows that what he says doesn't count, I'm not dead yet, and what they say doesn't count when I'm still alive."

Hearing this makes me feel very uncomfortable. I don’t know if it’s sadness or—that’s my second uncle, my father’s brother, but I haven’t felt any affection from the elders since I was a child, even a little bit. OK.

The father's impression is vague, and the second uncle's impression is even more vague. He has met twice since he was a child, so it is difficult to leave an impression.

The mother went on to say: "The two brothers seem to be real brothers. They both died in autumn, and it was raining lightly."

When my father died, it was just autumn, and it was raining lightly that day.

My mother said: "Your second uncle went to the scene. You are also a county leader, an official. I heard that even the mayor went to the memorial service. Your uncle and his family in the camp went. People like your second uncle Sons and daughters are good, they are capable, the big girl Tianxiu is the big leader in the city, Tianxiu is your eldest sister of your second uncle's family. The boy can also be the leader in a good factory, and the old girl can also be a teacher."

The mother thought about this for a while, as if she was recalling the appearance of the three children in the second uncle's house.

The mother said: "I have seen these three children when they were young, and now they are all old, and they have become fathers and mothers. They came that day, kneeling on the ground, and no one said anything. See if they are all my children, juniors, I didn't say anything. Your eldest sister and the others also came back that day, don't look at not going to the city to see off your second uncle, no matter what, I kissed the second uncle myself, and we have to send you off when we get home, we can't go beyond that."

My mother said: "If I don't say anything, the coffin has to be placed there, and no one dares to lift it. Your uncle doesn't dare to say anything. When your old aunt tells Mr. Yin and Yang that you can't delay the time. I said, what?" Time? Can't be delayed, can't be delayed when the two brothers meet over there, and they don't know what to say when they meet. Look at me, your old aunt doesn't talk anymore, and everyone in the room is looking at me—"

I can imagine my mother's mood at that time.

The second uncle is also an important member of the party in Beipiao City, but he almost doesn't care about our family. No one can know that a city leader will have a poor relative like my family.

Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if my grandfather had asked my father to go to school instead of the second uncle?
The mother sighed: "Hey - it's uncomfortable to see your second uncle's children kneeling on the ground, so let them wake up and enter the old grave - your father and I will not enter the old grave. It’s good to stay on that mountain, you’re all living your own life, quiet.”

After hearing what my mother said, I didn't know what it was like.

The mother recovered for a long time and said, "It's useless to be old. Why did you come here when you said that your third sister introduced you to someone?"

I smiled and said, "Mom, you're digressing."

My mother said: "The family your third sister mentioned is also asking about our family's current situation. The girl in his family got married two years ago and found someone who was not doing a good job. She couldn't live well. After she left, she thought of our family again. Yes. Your third sister said directly that my younger brother has a date now, and the date is still a technical secondary school student, and the two of them are very good, and they will get married during the Chinese New Year."

Speaking of this, the mother seemed a little angry, and said: "Hey, isn't it because our family has been able to do it in the past two years, and there is no burden. Just a dry old lady, she started to feel that she was doing it and wanted to turn around. Who can do it in the first two years? They look up to our family, and have to walk around the aisles for fear of getting them. Now these people in the village envy me, saying that I have suffered a lifetime of suffering and now I am enjoying happiness."

I said: "Your old man should also enjoy the blessing."

My mother said: "Your old aunt in the camp is not good. She is sick and struggles to walk. I don't think we have any money. Apart from money, if she can't live up to me in terms of birthday, she has to go ahead of me—people are poor in this life." If you are too rich, don’t lose your reputation, don’t make trouble for your children, you have to have a good reputation at some point. Not to mention waiting for someone to carry you on the day you die.”

(End of this chapter)