Return to the small mountain village in 1986

Since the new house was built, it has been rather deserted except for the lively day when the wedding was held. After all, there are only three people living there.

But now that the children are back, the house is instantly lively.

Gao Yuanjian was originally going to a family's house in the village to steam wine, but when he saw his children had returned, he hurriedly asked Gao Mingpeng to go to that family's house and tell them that he would not go to steam wine today and would go tomorrow.

Several daughters-in-law went into the kitchen and started busying themselves, some washing vegetables, some cutting vegetables, some washing rice and washing pots, chatting as they worked.

The men were not idle either, because Zhang Jinling, who was in charge of the fire, said that there was not much firewood left, so several of them went to chop wood.

Gao Yuanjian needed a lot of firewood to steam wine, so the firewood at home was used up quickly. However, in the corner of the utility room, there was a tall pile of firewood, but it was messy and needed to be chopped with a machete.

If you chop the firewood into pieces about 20 to 30 centimeters long, it will be suitable for burning.

Gao Yuanjian watched his sons helping with the work with a smile, and called Gao Mingcheng and Lou Xinyu to go to the back mountain to fetch firewood.

Gao Yuanjian led them to the back of the mountain and said, "I picked up a lot of firewood and piled it under the camphor tree at the foot of the mountain. Now is the perfect time to bring it back!"

When they arrived at the place where the firewood was piled, Gao Yuan saw that half of the firewood was missing. The smile on his face disappeared immediately. Because there was a lot of firewood, he specially called Gao Mingcheng and Lou Xinyu who were strong. As a result, most of the firewood was stolen!

Gao Mingcheng was a local in the village and knew what had happened at a glance. Even Lou Xinyu, an outsider, reacted after being surprised for a moment.

Because there wasn't much firewood, they each took some and easily finished moving it in one trip.

Gao Mingcheng said with a smile: "Don't think that people are stealing firewood now. In ten years, even if firewood is left in the mountains for a year, not a single piece will be missing!"

Gao Yuanjian didn't believe him, and said with regret in his heart: "If I had known earlier, I should have moved back home in one go a few days ago!"

Knowing it earlier is priceless, but Gao Mingcheng is right. Ten years later, most of the young people in the village have gone out to work, and those who are doing well outside will bring their parents with them.

When there are fewer people in the village, firewood will not be as scarce as it is now. You can get a lot of firewood by going to the mountains at any time. Even if you pile the firewood at the foot of the mountain for a year, there will be almost no less.

If another twenty years pass, the permanent population in the village will be even smaller, and by then, the dead branches and leaves in the mountains will have rotted away, and no one will pick them up for firewood.

When the three of them returned home, Gao Mingwan and his friends had already chopped the firewood and were playing cards in the yard.

A simple card table can be built with a piece of wood, and a few people can sit on small stools and play happily for a while.

"Mingcheng, Xinyu, we are short of one. Who will play cards?" Gao Mingwan shouted to Gao Mingcheng and the others. There were three people sitting at the card table, Gao Mingwan, Gao Mingli, and Gao Mingpeng.

Gao Mingcheng glanced at Lou Xinyu and said, "Go play cards. I'm not really interested."

Lou Xinyu was quite interested, so he sat at the card table happily.

He has to pay attention to his image at work and doesn't have many friends or relatives around him, so Lou Xinyu hasn't played cards for a while.

Seeing that they were having fun playing cards, Gao Mingcheng came to Xuanyuemei, who was holding Wang Xiuxiu's daughter Shasha in her arms and playing with her.

Sasha can already sit up, her hands and feet are flexible, she laughs when you tease her, it's quite fun. But she likes snacks, she keeps reaching out to get candy.

The filling candy is made of maltose and filled with roasted peanuts and sesame seeds. It tastes fragrant and sweet, but it is not suitable for children of a few months old. Therefore, Xuan Xuanmei refused to give her the filling candy and gave her a piece of milk biscuit instead.

Little Sasha had to settle for the next best thing and eat the biscuits.

"Are you tired of holding you? Let me hold you!" Gao Mingcheng picked up little Shasha from Xuanyuemei's arms and gave the child a kiss on the face.

It’s okay that he doesn’t have a daughter, he can kiss other people’s daughters!
"Duomei, where is Xiao Xuxu?" Gao Mingcheng didn't see his son, so he asked.

Xuanyuemei said, "He went to the village to play with his cousin!"

Gao Mingcheng immediately said: "Then let's go to the village and take a look. There are several wells in the village."

The mouth of the well here is relatively low, and if you are not careful, there is a risk of falling in.

Xuanyuemei immediately became worried and followed Gao Mingcheng out of the yard. Fortunately, not long after they left, they saw Xiaoxuxu from afar.

Little Xuxu was standing in a family's yard, watching a few older kids playing with spinning tops.

This spinning top was naturally not bought with money, but was made by the elders in the family who found suitable wood from the mountains and then carved it with a knife. They then took a thin stick, tied it with a hemp rope, and made it into a spinning top toy.

First, wrap the hemp rope around the gyroscope in circles, then swing it out suddenly and the gyroscope will start to spin. At this time, wave the wooden stick and hit the gyroscope with the rope to make it keep spinning.

The children are not simply playing with spinning tops, but competing to see whose top can spin longer. The one who spins longer wins and will get cheers from his friends.

Little Xuxu watched with great interest and wanted to play too. Unfortunately, he was small and not familiar with the others, so the children in the village refused to give him the spinning top.

Seeing his parents coming over, Xiao Xuxu immediately ran to Gao Mingcheng, pouting and looking aggrieved: "Dad, I want one too! Make me a spinning top too!"

Gao Mingcheng took a look at the spinning top and agreed with a smile: "Okay, I'll ask Uncle Xiao An to make one for you later."

Huang Xiaoan apprenticed to a master and learned wood carving. He hasn't mastered the skill yet, but he should have no problem making a simple spinning top.

In addition to spinning tops, Huang Xiaoan can also make a batch of building block toys and place them in the kindergarten.

Thinking of building block toys, Gao Mingcheng's mind naturally came to some toys that were popular in later generations. If he drew those toys and then found a factory to mass-produce them, he could make some money.

But there is no toy factory in their county, nor the ability to distribute the products.

Once the goods enter the market, a batch of imitations will soon appear.

So Gao Mingcheng had not planned to make money from this before, but now he can simply draw a picture and let Huang Xiaoan make it according to the picture. The toys made can be provided to the children in the kindergarten. As for whether Huang Xiaoan will take the toys outside to sell, Gao Mingcheng doesn't care.

Gao Mingcheng promised to make a spinning top for Xiao Xuxu, which made Xiao Xuxu happier, but he still frequently looked at the spinning tops played by others, and his little face was full of desire to play.

Gao Mingcheng could see what his son was thinking, so he looked up and saw Gao Faming in the crowd. He immediately shouted, "Gao Faming! Do you have a spinning top? Let my son play with it!"

Gao Faming is several years older than Xiao Xuxu, so he doesn't like playing with younger kids at all. But now that Gao Mingcheng spoke, Gao Faming happily ran over with the spinning top in his hand and obediently handed it to Xiao Xuxu to play with.

"Brother, let me give you some fun."

Gao Faming ran away from home last time and was found by Gao Mingcheng. In addition, he often heard his family say that Gao Mingcheng was capable, so he gave in obediently when Gao Mingcheng asked. Xuanyunmei was happy to see that he was willing to let Xiao Xuxu play with him, and immediately took out a pack of biscuits from her pocket, which she prepared for Xiao Shasha.

"Thank you for the spinning top. Please have some cookies!" Xuanyuemei handed the cookies to Gao Faming.

After Gao Fa got the biscuit, a smile immediately appeared on his face. Not only did he give the spinning top to Xiao Xuxu, he also personally taught Xiao Xuxu how to play it.

With someone teaching him, little Xuxu had more fun playing. Unfortunately, he was a little small and didn't play very well. The spinning top fell down after it only spun a few times.

The boys in the village gathered together to play spinning tops, and the girls were not idle either, but they preferred to play hopscotch and throwing sandbags. These two games were also very easy to play. You just needed to draw grids on the cement floor with chalk and then call your friends to play together.

As for the sandbags, you need to find a piece of scrap cloth at home, sew three sides first, then turn it over, fill it with sand, and then sew the last side, and you're done.

Little Shasha, held in Gao Mingcheng's arms, also likes the fun. She stretches her head to watch the other children playing games. It's not known whether she can understand what they are saying, but her expression looks quite serious.

Gao Mingcheng strolled around the village with Xu Xuanmei for a while, until he heard Gao Shufang calling people to eat from afar, and then he went back.

Little Xuxu was still playing games with the other children when Gao Mingcheng picked him up with one hand. Little Xuxu struggled to get down and continued to play.

But fatherly love was like a mountain and it suppressed him.

Gao Mingcheng looked around the group of children and didn't see Gao Mingpeng's son. He couldn't help but say, "When your cousin heard that it was time to eat, he ran away very fast. You are the only one who is so stupid!"

Gao Mingcheng held little Shasha in one hand and little Xuxu in the other, and strode towards his parents' house. Xuanyuemei, wearing a tweed coat, followed behind him with a smile.

When I entered the courtyard, I saw everyone was busy. Some were responsible for serving the dishes to the table, some were responsible for moving the benches. As for the card table, it had been put aside.

There were many people in the family and one table could not accommodate them all, so they divided the table into two. However, the dishes could be divided into two portions, but the cake could not.

The big cake was placed on the octagonal table. Because the cake took up too much space, all the dishes were placed on the edge of the table.

"Ming Cheng, how do we prepare this cake? Should we open it and eat it now, or after dinner?" Gao Yuanjian asked with a smile, while Grandma Gao looked at the big cake with anticipation.

At this time, the cake box had been opened, and a large two-layer cake came into everyone's eyes.

There are not many varieties of cake decoration nowadays, but for Gao Yuanjian and others, it is already shocking enough. The white cream looks tempting, like clouds in the sky, and it constantly emits a sweet smell.

I haven't tasted the cake yet, but just one look at it makes me think it must be delicious.

Gao Mingcheng said: "Let's all sing a birthday song for grandma first, so that she can feel the atmosphere on TV! After the song, let grandma cut the first piece of cake!"

"Good!" As soon as Gao Mingcheng finished speaking, he immediately aroused cheers from the crowd, so everyone gathered together and prepared to sing the song "Happy Birthday to You".

This song is actually quite old and has been introduced to China a long time ago. Because of its cheerful rhythm and catchy rhythm, it is quite suitable for singing.

Gao Yuan saw that although they couldn't sing, they watched their children singing with a smile. After a song was finished, Gao Mingcheng asked Grandma Gao to cut the cake.

Now, the atmosphere is full.

Gao Mingcheng smiled and said, "Grandma, is this what it looks like on TV?"

Grandma Gao's face was already flushed with excitement. She thought eating cake was an unattainable dream, but she didn't expect that the dream would suddenly come true one day.

"Oh, that's it, that's it! This cake is bigger and prettier than the one on TV! It must be tastier, too!" Grandma Gao said loudly, and then she cut the cake with trembling hands. It was her first time cutting a cake, and she didn't know where to start.

Seeing her pleading look, Gao Shufang immediately went to Grandma Gao's side, held her hand, and said with a smile: "Grandma, I'll cut with you!"

"Oh, okay." The thoughtful little girl immediately put Grandma Gao's confusion to rest. Gao Shufang held Grandma Gao's hand, steadily cut off a piece of cake, and put it on the paper tray.

The first portion should be given to Grandma Gao first.

Gao Shufang handed the cake to Grandma Gao and said, "Grandma, you eat first! I'll cut it for everyone!"

Thanks to Gao Shufang's hard work, everyone got a piece of cake.

Although there were many people in the family, fortunately the cake we bought was big. After everyone had a piece, there was still a small half left on the cake tray, which was enough for the greedy children to have another piece.

The sweet and delicious cake captured everyone's taste buds at once. The cake base is soft and delicate, while the cream is sweet and soft. The combination of the two gives a unique taste that is surprising.

Grandma Gao is old and her teeth are not good. She can no longer eat some hard foods. But this cake is no problem for her. She eats it happily, bite by bite.

"Grandma, is this cake delicious?" Gao Shufang asked with a smile.

Grandma Gao also smiled and nodded: "Delicious, delicious!"

Gao Mingcheng said, "I will send you another cake on your birthday next year!"

When Grandma Gao heard this, she laughed even more happily.

Luo Xiaohua was very happy eating the sweet and delicious cake. He took this opportunity to say, "I want to buy this kind of cake for your dad and I's birthdays!"

"Okay, but you have to tell me in advance, otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget." Gao Mingcheng nodded, but he was actually very panicked because... he didn't know when his parents' birthdays were!
But as long as I don't panic, I'll be fine!

After you finish eating the cake and remove the cake tray, you can move the dishes on the table to the middle.

Although the cake was delicious, the adults with big appetites were not satisfied with just a small piece of cake, so they went to get some rice and dishes to eat.

But the children could hardly resist the temptation of the cake. Xiao Xuxu and Gao Mingpeng's son didn't want to eat at all. He just stayed by the small table and ate the cake in big mouthfuls.

Even Gao Mingpeng's little daughter was trying hard to eat a small piece of cake.

Little Shasha was the youngest, so Wang Xiuxiu only fed her a little and didn't dare to give her too much.

"Grandma, Mom, Dad, brother and sister-in-law, I'd like to toast everyone!" Lou Xinyu opened the bottle of wine he brought, filled everyone's glasses with wine, and then smiled and toasted everyone.

Although he and Gao Shufang have not yet married, they are already a definite son-in-law!
Gao Yuanjian was smiling and drank several glasses of wine in a row, eating a piece of braised pork and a few peanuts from time to time.

These days are so happy! (End of this chapter)