Ordinary people's rice bowl

Chapter 12 Exogenous Branches
Mu Zhen, who was pushed out from the emergency room, had a thick white gauze wrapped around her head, a bottle hanging by the bed, and looked at the people around her with dull eyes.The doctor repeatedly told me that the child's condition is basically stable, but it needs to be observed for a few more days.

Maybe there is a divine help. Although there is a saying that "illness comes like a mountain, and it goes like a thread", but for Mu Zhen, who is in her teenage years, this sudden disaster did not make her lie on the hospital bed for a long time. After entering the ward for a quarter of an hour, the child came to his senses completely, looked at Old Mu's face, and asked in a low voice, "Where's Mu Bao?"

When Old Mu heard Mu Zhen calling his younger brother's name, he couldn't help but tightly grasped Mu Zhen's little hand, then turned his head away, and tears rolled down his cheeks like rolling beads.

"What a good child, you are like this, and you still think about your little brother!" Old Mu wiped his tears with his other hand, and then comforted Mu Zhen, "He is fine, he is at home playing with your sister!"

Mu Zhen looked at old Mu's wet eyes, a little puzzled, and dared not say anything.

Perhaps, as people often say, "good luck and great fortune", in just two days, Mu Zhen's condition has improved a lot. Except for the gauze wrapped around her head, she can still be seen as a sick person, and the rest are all recovered. normal.This made Lao Mu hang his heart finally down.During the two days that Xiuhua was in the county, she was always concerned about the two children at home. Although she knew that Mu Yan could cook, take care of the housework, and take good care of Mu Bao, she was a child under ten years old and hadn't left yet. After living with him for so long, how much he wanted the villagers to send a message to Yingzi to help take care of the two children in the family, but the county town is dozens of miles away from the village, who would come to the county town to do what?Even if you come, you may not be able to see each other.Seeing that Mu Zhen was recovering, Xiuhua discussed with Lao Mu that she would take the car home first, so that relatives and neighbors would not have to worry about things here.

By coincidence, as soon as Xiuhua left, Da'an found Mu Zhen's ward with a bag of fruit. When Old Mu saw Da'an who came to see him suddenly, he opened his mouth wide in shock, as if he didn't know what to say, and stood there in a daze. There, his eyes looked straight at Da'an.

"Brother, I heard from my family that something happened to Mu Zhen and she is staying in the hospital. Everyone in the family is worried, so I came here to see you and the child as soon as I got home!" Da'an looked into Lao Mu's eyes and explained.

"We are here, and no one knows which ward we live in. It is really not easy for you to come here and find me!" Lao Mu regained his composure and responded.

"Don't forget what I'm studying. This little thing won't bother me!" Da'an said while putting the fruit bag on the small cabinet next to the hospital bed.

"Call cousin!" Old Mu hurriedly greeted Mu Zhen who was sitting on the hospital bed.

"Cousin!" Mu Zhen called out in a low voice.

"Oh! Does your head still hurt?" Da'an asked kindly.

"It doesn't hurt anymore!" Mu Zhen shook her head.

"That's good! More rest is good for recovery." Da'an expressed great concern.

Lao Mu briefly described the process of Mu Zhen's injury and diagnosis and treatment to Da'an, and finally heaved a sigh of relief and said, "This is really a natural disaster!"

"Don't mind too much, such things are inevitable. A classmate in our class slipped his hand while spinning on the horizontal bar and fell down. He almost died at the time, and he still hasn't recovered by the time he graduates! Some things are purely coincidental and unavoidable! No matter what happens, the key is what kind of mentality you use to look at it. You have to look at these unexpected events with a normal heart. In this life, there will inevitably be small accidents. It’s a minor disaster, you have to face these things squarely.” Da’an must have his own reasons for wanting to use these things to comfort his cousin who had been stimulated by nerves.

Seeing that there were other patients in the ward, Da'an signaled Lao Mu to go out and say a few words.

Lao Mu comprehended, followed Daan out of the ward, and came to the entrance of the corridor outside the ward.

"When I came back from school, I reported to the public security office in our area, and I just waited for the notification to go to work!" Da'an told Lao Mu his good news very easily.

Old Mu smiled, "That's great!"

"People are a contradiction. If you please one side, you will inevitably offend the other side. When I left school, it really made me sad. I could have stayed in the provincial capital, but I always felt like there was a hurdle that I couldn't get past. , I can’t give up, so I still insist on going back to my hometown. Isn’t it coming back now?” Da’an paused.

"It's good to be back, there are some old leaders of yours in the local area, and things are much easier to handle!" When Lao Mu said this, Da'an's face darkened slightly. These words obviously touched some pain in Da'an. In his eyes, he hurriedly changed the subject, "Tell me about your thoughts and plans?"

"Fate is hard to break, and work matters are waiting to be assigned." Da'an paused and continued: "The most important thing right now is my marriage with Huiqin. According to her family, we can't wait for a moment. We need to get married as soon as possible." , I want to hear your opinion?"

"I don't have any ideas. We can figure out what they want, but what about my old aunt?" At this time, Lao Mu also seemed to have picked up a burden, which was heavy and hard to shelve.

"Your aunt and Huiqin's family have the same idea, and they also want to get married as soon as possible, but they have a family concern! She has old eyes, and I can't help it." Da'an rubbed his hands together, "I want to go to the hospital for a while. Ben, wait for me to stabilize before I get married, lest the marriage distract me from my work! But..." Da An paused for a while, and stopped without knowing what to say.

"What happened again?" Lao Mu asked eagerly after hearing something unexpected.

"Oh! This is a big deal!" Da'an sighed, "I'm really more afraid that something unexpected will happen!"

"Don't let anything happen again, or I feel that there is no way to end it!" Hearing this, Lao Mu suddenly felt bad, and muttered with clasped hands.

"Speaking of it, it was really a lucky thing. On the day I went to report, I happened to meet Wang Yanqing, a deputy secretary when I was a correspondent in the commune. This deputy secretary was very kind to me back then. The school he helped me choose is a person who is kind to us. He is now the leader of the Construction Committee. He is very enthusiastic to see me and invites me to his home again and again. Leaders should be enthusiastic. Unexpectedly, the next morning, Sister Ma, who used to work together in the commune, found me and wanted to introduce me to someone. She was talking about Wang Jing, the daughter of Secretary Wang Yanqing. I said to Sister Ma , I have a partner and I am ready to get married, how can I promise you again? Guess what Sister Ma said?"

"What else can I say, let's forget it, why are you still obsessed with it?" Old Mu said with wide-eyed eyes.

"Sister Ma is not an ordinary person. She has a great name, but the unit is famous for being able to speak and speak. Flat things can be said to be round, and dead things can be said to be alive. As long as it is something she is optimistic about, there must be a result. Besides, this The marriage was also arranged by the leader, so she came to introduce me." Speaking of this, Daan's eyes showed a little helplessness.

"Sister Ma told me from the beginning how much Secretary Wang valued me back then, and she never regarded me as an outsider. During the past few years when I was in college, Secretary Wang had always missed me. Now that I have graduated, I have this idea. It's really not easy. After all, there is only such a precious girl. Although she is not Xi Shi alive, she is as beautiful as a flower. Many people can't catch up with her. Many matchmakers have introduced a few, and she may not necessarily fall in love with her. Now that Secretary Wang thinks highly of me, he intends to recruit me as his son-in-law. I don’t know how to deal with the old leader. The only way is to get married as soon as possible, otherwise I don’t know what will happen in the future. You What do you say?" Da'an said all his thoughts in one breath, and finally pushed the decision to Lao Mu who was listening a little distracted.

"This, this matter is a lifelong matter, and I have to discuss it with my old lady before deciding!" Lao Mu was a little flustered, and then he stabilized his mood and said.

"If life-long events are still uncertain, people will die. At that time, I can't bear it!" When Da'an said this, his eyes were obviously a little bewildered and helpless.

"Then what does Huiqin's family mean?" Lao Mu really came back to his senses at this time.

"Her family is really in a hurry to get married!"

"Then hurry up and prepare Zhang Luo, Zhang Luo." Lao Mu knew that if the marriage was not done, his own troubles would really be behind him, and it would be even more difficult to end the matter if he really wanted to kill someone as Da An said.

"It has been four or five years since I first introduced this marriage. During this period, Huiqin and her family have treated me very well, so that I can't say a word 'no'. The marriage only happened in the last few days. Regarding the matter, your aunt told me before you came, let me discuss it with you, what should I do specifically?"

"According to our customs, it is nothing more than passing on the date, inviting a matchmaker, offering a dowry, and holding a wedding. Whether or not to ask a gentleman to pinch the specific time. At present, I think the step of hiring a matchmaker can be omitted. As for the dowry, it is also It’s just going through the motions. There’s a saying in the village, ‘There are different customs in ten miles’, no matter how well we negotiate, if the customs in Huiqin’s place are different, it’s best to discuss it with her family before deciding!”

Da'an nodded, "I'll go to Huiqin's house as soon as I get home, and discuss it with her family. Later, help me think about what else I need to prepare for the next step!"

Lao Mu took out a cigarette from his coat pocket, put it in his mouth, and then he wanted to take out a match from another pocket. With the sound of "Zi", the match was lit, and he was about to touch the cigarette butt on his mouth. At that moment, I suddenly thought of the scene where the nurse gave me a severe criticism because of smoking when I first came here. The hand holding the burning match stick stopped in the air, and waved the hand in the air as if realizing something. The fire went out, and the match Throwing the stick aside, he casually took off the cigarette in his mouth and stuffed it into his pocket.

Da'an looked at Lao Mu's actions and felt that Lao Mu was thinking about something, so he didn't speak, for fear of interrupting Lao Mu's train of thought.

"I think that's the only way. You go home and go to the commune to apply for a registration certificate as soon as possible. This is the most important thing. Once you register, you can talk about anything!"

"Why didn't I even forget this! Then I'll go to the commune tomorrow." After Da'an finished speaking, he took out a ten-yuan bill from his trouser pocket and handed it to Lao Mu.

"When I came, your aunt specially brought it for you to let you eat well here, and reminded me to tell you, don't make things difficult for yourself, the child's incident has already happened, and you can't hurt yourself because of it. body."

"My aunt's wish is mine. I don't want the money. You are busy with your marriage. When you need money, I can't spend a lot of money here. The child is fine. It will be ready in a few days." I've been discharged from the hospital!" Lao Mu said, pushing Da'an's hand to hand back the money.

"It's not that you don't know your aunt's temper. I asked you to bring it to you. If you don't get it, you will have to be criticized when you go back. This makes it impossible for me to do business when I go back! Accept it, it may be useful when the time comes. Don't Make things difficult for me!" Da'an smiled and handed over the money again.

Old Mu knew this aunt's temper too well, and she always said what she said. When she was the women's captain in the village, all the women in the village were afraid of her!Old Mu took the money, "Send a message to aunt, just say that the child is recovering well and there is nothing serious, so as not to worry her old man."

"I will, now I will go to Huiqin's house to discuss the registration tomorrow. I will stop soon!" After speaking, he turned and walked downstairs.

Lao Mu looked at the back of Daan going downstairs, thoughtfully, sighed softly, and muttered in a low voice, "It's done!"

After Da'an left, Lao Mu felt a little stuck. He checked in the ward that his son was fine, so he went down the ward building alone, sat down by the small flower bed in the hospital, smoked a cigarette, lit it slowly, and In the smog, Lao Mu saw a familiar figure.

He stared intently at this figure, with white hair all over his head, although he was nearly seventy years old, he was hale and hearty, and he couldn't remember where he had seen him before. Seeing him walking lightly, Lao Mu seemed to remember something, and couldn't help but He moved his body, leaned forward slightly, and wanted to stand up, but the old man came to him and stopped.

"You are?" The old man stopped in front of him with a slight surprise on his face.

"Do you recognize me?" Old Mu was very interested in the old man. Although he looked familiar, he didn't know where he had seen him before, so he continued to ask.

"It seems familiar, I look familiar to you!"

"Hehe!" Lao Mu smiled, "This is normal, I also have a public face!"

"Seeing the confusion on your face, you must have something on your mind?" The old man said straight to the point.

"Oh!" Lao Mu sighed, not knowing what to say.

"I have a relative who is very good-looking. He has just graduated from university. Facing marriage problems, I don't know what to do?" At this point, Lao Mu took a deep puff of his cigarette, and then spewed out a cloud of mist.

"This matter may seem complicated, but in fact it is as it should be. You don't know what it means to say, 'If you know it, you don't know it. If you know it, you don't know it'." The old man Putting it off, I looked at Lao Mu, wanting to hear his explanation.

Old Mu was stunned, he really didn't understand for a while, and shook his head.

The old man explained slowly: "People, they are bound by the troubles around them all day long, but they don't know how to end it. They don't know that letting go is the end. If you still think about letting go, then you still haven't really let go. You What you encounter now is naturally over, why bother to think about him, when you don't think about it, it will naturally be over!"

Lao Mu understood that the old man's philosophy is to let himself let go of many things in his heart so that he can live easily.

"Thank you for your advice." Lao Mu smiled and said softly.

The old man said again: "There is nothing to do today. I will show you the following picture. I don't know if I should talk about it or not?"

Old Mu immediately became more interested in what the old man said, and hurriedly responded: "It's okay to talk about it!"

"Looking at your square mouth and round nose, you must be a kind-hearted person. You are very eloquent and willing to help others. You are like a big tree with deep roots and luxuriant leaves. It is just your nature. You will surely impress many people in the future. Help." The old man wanted to continue talking, but an old woman came up behind him and shouted: "I don't know how powerful she is, what nonsense are you talking about, don't believe him!" After speaking, she pulled the old man away and left.

Looking at the back of the old woman pulling the old man away, Lao Mu felt that what the old man said was really reasonable. As a teacher now, isn't he helping others?
Time flies so fast, within six days of being in the hospital, Mu Zhen's illness is no longer serious, when the doctor gave the suggestion that she can be discharged from the hospital and go home to take some medicine, after breakfast, old Mu went to bed early. After going through the discharge procedures, he took Mu Zhen to the bus home.

As soon as he entered the house, Mu Bao ran up to meet him, took Mu Zhen's hand, hurriedly called "brother", and watched his brother's changes from time to time.Seeing the affection between the two brothers, Lao Mu was really moved, and his eyes felt moist.

Xiuhua, who was packing things in the room, heard the conversation between the two brothers, hurried to the door of the house, and said casually, "Are you ready?"

Before walking up to Xiuhua, Lao Mu didn't answer Xiuhua's question directly, but asked in a low voice: "How is the preparation for Da'an's marriage going?"

"Yesterday our girl came, she only said to see the child, she didn't mention the engagement, I don't know!"

"Then I have to go and see what help I need?" Lao Mu pushed out his half-new and half-old "Old Long March" from the house as he said, and rode towards Liu Village at high speed.

When Lao Mu arrived in Liu Village, the sun was shining on his head.

After entering the village, apart from hearing the cicadas chirping, chirping, chirping, the dogs that used to come up all the way to chase them, now just lie down in the shade of the trees and pant with their tongues out. Rough breath, even a few "barks" did not bother to open his mouth.Holding the handlebar with one hand, Lao Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead with the other hand. Looking forward, he saw a faint mist at the end of the street. Lao Mu knew the weight of the weather. For a while, it is inevitable that people will suffer from heat stroke, and it is even more impossible for someone to go out to do work.

He suddenly felt that coming to my aunt at this time, what can I do to help?Thinking about pushing the cart into the old aunt's gate.

"Cousin, is this from home?" Wei Hong who came out of the house greeted immediately.

"I just came back from the county seat, so I came to see how you are doing, and see what I can do to help!" Old Mu replied while inserting "Old Long March" in the courtyard, and entered the main room.

Old Mu was stunned by the decorations in front of him. He faced the newly-hanging central hall. The keynote was bright red. The embroidered red curtain was drawn, and joy filled the whole house.

"Where's my old aunt?" Lao Mu saw all this, but didn't see anyone else.

"He took my brother to Uncle Zhao's house in the village to ask about the Prime Minister. I think he will be back soon, you should sit and wait!" Wei Hong said, walked to the table and poured a glass of water to Mu Mu. hand.

"Has the wedding date been fixed?" Lao Mu asked with concern.

"Blind Gao did the math, saying it was the sixteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is already the tenth day of the lunar month, so I'm a little dizzy from being so busy these days!" Wei Hong scolded.

"Is Mu Zhen okay?" Wei Hong asked with concern.

"It's nothing serious. I just came home from the hospital, so I rushed over to take a look. I didn't expect to prepare so quickly!" Old Mu was really surprised.

"A few days ago, my brother sent a telegram to my father, telling him about the marriage! He telegraphed back that he might not be able to come back because of something at work! So no, my mother and brother went to the village's prime minister, Uncle Zhao, to discuss it! "Wei Hong seemed a little reproachful.

Old Mu knows that my uncle works in a coal mine in the south thousands of miles away from home. Although he is not a leader in the unit, he is a pacesetter in the production line of the unit. Pass.It's really hard to justify not coming back this time.

As soon as he said that, he heard the voices of two people outside coming from far to near. When they came to the courtyard, the familiar voice immediately told Lao Mu that Lao Gu and Da An were back.

Lao Mu got up to meet them, greeted each other, and entered the room.

"Just now I went to the great prime minister in our village, Lao Zhao, who is in charge of weddings, and got him two packs of cigarettes. I handed over the specific matters to him, and let him preside over everything. Do it!" The old aunt repeated to Lao Mu what she had just said to Lao Zhao, and Wei Hong was busy preparing lunch.

After lunch, the matter was almost finished. In the end, the old aunt told me again and again, "Go home and take care of the children. Our neighbors will help you with the affairs here. Just wait for the wedding banquet!"

Lao Mu didn't mention it since he got home.

(End of this chapter)