The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 573 Reflection - Beating Yourself

At the beginning of November, northern China entered the winter and it started to get cold, with the lowest temperature reaching below zero.

The sky above the city is no longer a blue sky, but a large area of ​​gray, which makes the whole city gray, even the trees with bare branches on both sides of the street.

The fields outside the city are exposed to the stubble after the crops have been harvested, and the whistling north wind blows up the straw leaves in the furrows, fluttering here and there, startling sparrows foraging for food from time to time.

Since the beginning of winter, the epidemic situation has become severe again. This is what people are talking about, and it is all within the mask.

After Lao Tan got off the plane, he found Sister Zhao among the crowd who were picking up the plane, and walked straight over.

"sister--"

"younger brother--"

Lao Tan didn't have the scruples he had when he came back this time, he opened his arms and hugged Sister Zhao tightly.

Sister Zhao cried in his arms, and the tears ran across his cheeks and wet his chest.

Lao Tan let go of Sister Zhao, wiped the tears off her face with his hand, and said with a smile, "Sister, I'm hungry."

"Let's go home, the food is ready." Sister Zhao said.

Sister Zhao drove the car, and Lao Tan sat in the co-pilot.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Old Tan asked.

"No, I didn't tell you if you were sick or not," Sister Zhao said.

"I'm your brother."

"Just because you're my brother—"

"I should be by your side."

"Sister is not so fragile now - she has more resistance after going through a lot."

After Sister Zhao finished talking, Lao Tan turned his head to look, and saw the wrinkles in the corners of Sister Zhao's eyes and a few white hairs around her ears, and couldn't help but feel sour.Yes, Sister Zhao is ten years older than him. He is 46 this year, and Sister Zhao is 56. She is no longer young.

The appearance of Sister Zhao when he first met appeared in front of his eyes. At that time, Sister Zhao was 32 years old, tall and tall, wearing a long blue dress, with hair fluttering in the wind, like a person in a painting.

At that time, Sister Zhao was weak and needed someone to protect her.Now more than [-] years have passed, and the weakness that was once worn by the years has become strong, full of resilience and perseverance.

"Sister, why don't you look old at all, you look more than [-] years old." Old Tan said, although it was nonsense with eyes open, but he was happy to hear it.

"Hehehehe, my brother can talk." Sister Zhao laughed, "I'll be 57 in four more years, still not old? According to the imaginary age, I'm [-] this year."

"When a person reaches fifty, he is the second youth, the most attractive, and women are the most beautiful at this time."

"Here's a fallacy."

"How many years have you stopped telling me that I am heresy."

"I can't see you either. Where can I go?"

"That's right." Old Tan said, "I heard from Sister Tang that you are now handing over the business to your children."

"Well, leave it to the children. I'm old and can't work anymore, and I don't have the heart to take care of it after your brother-in-law is gone." Sister Zhao said.

"Take a rest, don't be so tired."

"I'm not tired, but I just don't want to do it anymore --- I want to open up, live the rest of the day well, don't lose yourself, how happy you are."

"now it's right."

When we arrived at Sister Zhao's house, Sister Zhao did prepare all the meals, and ate almost as soon as I entered the house.

"What wine to drink?" Sister Zhao asked Lao Tan with a bottle of white wine in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other.

"Baijiu." Old Tan said.

"When you think about it, you are white wine." Sister Zhao put the red wine back, opened the white wine, and poured two glasses.

The two sisters toasted to each other and took a sip each.

Sister Zhao put a crab in Lao Tan's bowl and said, "Brother, stay here for a few more days, don't rush away."

"Well, stay a few more days." Old Tan said.

"I didn't play much when I was anxious and flustered last time. This time, my sister will take you to have a good time."

"Okay." Lao Tan nodded, and then said: "Actually, I don't like to play very much. I have been to Beiling in the provincial capital these years. It was my sister and the others who came to take them there. I have never been to the Forbidden City."

"The main reason is that you are too busy and don't have time." Sister Zhao turned to smile and said, "You like to drink, and you would rather drink than go out for a stroll."

"The universe is big in the pot, and the sun and the moon are long in the cup. I haven't heard people say that drinking too much is playing tricks on money, and I would rather drink and pay dog ​​meat than go to a brothel to flirt."

"Here's a fallacy."

Sister Zhao loves to talk about Lao Tan's fallacies and heresies, which has almost become a colloquial language.It's just that she hasn't said this word for many years, and Lao Tan hasn't heard it for many years.Now the words are more pleasing to the mouth, and the listening is more pleasing to the ears.

"Brother, why did you divorce?" Sister Zhao asked.

Old Tan took a sip of wine and said: "Didn't I get sick at the time, I don't know when it will be gone, I thought about not dragging their mothers down, so I left." Then he added: "I am divorced and never leave home. , The child doesn’t know, think about it and tell him after he goes to college.”

"Hey, you are deceiving yourself and others." Sister Zhao said, "If you leave, you will leave. The child will know sooner or later, so can he hide it? Children nowadays are not stupid, especially your child is smart. I guess if I knew it earlier, I would not say it." .”

"Well, almost."

"You are cured now, what are your plans for the future?"

"How can I plan to live like this." Lao Tan said: "You know, I have been running outside these years, and I have no concept of family, so my family life is a failure, and I belong to the irresponsible group.

To be honest, if Lin Yan lives with me this time, I, that is, she, will be the only one who will leave others alone.It is obvious that I have a husband, but in fact it is no different from being a widow. It would be good if I didn't find someone outside to cuckold me.

When I look back at me, I look like a dog on the outside, and I seem to be a professional person. If you say it well, you are selfless and dedicated to your work. If you say it badly, you abandon your family and career, abandon your wife and children, no different from Chen Shimei. .

I didn't realize it before, but I felt that I was doing a good job. I didn't hide any private money, and gave it all to my family. I was worthy of my children and wives, and I went around bragging to others, saying that I was doing something.

Now I think it's stupid, so stupid that it has no edges, no edges, no angles, but if you spend a little time at home and spend more time with their wives, it won't be like this.

I always tell people outside that 'a happy family is the cornerstone of a career', and when I think about it, I get slapped in the face. It's embarrassing for me to run my family like that. It's embarrassing. "

Speaking of this, Lao Tan drank another sip of wine, lit a cigarette by the way, and said, "Sister, you don't know, I have thought a lot since I got sick, most of which are to reflect on myself, thinking about what to do if I did something wrong. make up.

After much deliberation, the most sorry thing is the two of them. I went out as soon as the child was one month old, and it lasted for a year.

But he didn't call me, didn't look for me, he looked at me strangely, and cried when I was about to hug him, thinking that I was a bad person.

You don't know what it was like in my heart at that time, eight out of ten intestines were broken, it was a mess and uncomfortable.

At that time, if only I had made up my mind not to go out, I wouldn't be like this today.But at that time, it was impossible not to go out, the child was young, and Lin Yan hadn't gone to work yet, and people outside the family accused me of earning money by myself, so what if I didn't earn more?

Hey, everything has advantages and disadvantages, what you gain is Yang Huai and what you lose is Sangyu.The money is earned, and the harmonious relationship between husband and wife is gone.In addition, I have been working outside for a long time and have developed a bad temper. I always feel that it is good outside, carefree and no one cares about me. I can eat and drink as much as I want, and there are women who favor me, so I am indifferent to my family—— "

(End of this chapter)