Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 291 Double Happiness
At noon, Xu Qing asked his second brother to go home first. All the procedures for hospitalization had been completed. He could take care of his wife alone in the hospital.

As for the purchase of the new year's goods, Xu Qing gave the little girl and his second brother Aiguo the full authority.

He is running out of time this year.

The daughter-in-law is about to give birth, Xu Qing, as her husband, how can she not be by her side.

The little girl works in a state-run store. Except for heavy things, other New Year's goods such as candy, peanuts, melon seeds, and pork can be brought home.

Xu Aiguo can also help, but of course, he has to take care of other trivial matters at home.

There are a lot of things to do, such as cleaning the house, removing ice skates from the eaves, etc. It's a mess. Although it's not important, it still has to be done. It's the Chinese New Year, so it's time to clean it up.

Xu Aiguo didn't have any objection to the elder brother's arrangement, and after saying hello, he left the hospital.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Jiefang and Wu Yuemei came to the hospital to visit Jinghong, carrying a bag of things in their hands.

Originally, Ma Jiefang was going to the compound today to find Xu Qing and Jing Hong to discuss some specific details of his wedding day to Wu Yuemei next Wednesday.

But in the compound, Ma Jiefang only saw Xu Aiguo. When he learned that Jinghong was admitted to the hospital, he took Wu Yuemei on his bicycle and hurriedly came to the hospital to visit.

"Fifth sister, are you going to give birth?"

Ma Jiefang stood in front of the hospital bed and looked at Jinghong, who was lying on the hospital bed with a bad face and a happy face. He was excited and surprised.

If the fifth sister's birth coincides with his wedding day, it would be a blessing.

Ke Ma Jiefang originally hoped that Fifth Sister and Xu Qing would be able to attend his and Yuemei's wedding at that time.

But looking at Fifth Sister's situation now, Ma Jiefang felt a little overwhelmed.

However, there is nothing that can be done about it. My sister is going to have a baby, and this is not something that can be changed at will.

And the date of his and Yuemei's marriage can't be changed at present, the wedding invitations have been sent out early, and the relatives and friends of both parties have all notified them a month ago. It's not impossible, but too much trouble to delay it later.

In these years, the telephone is not popular, and it is inconvenient to contact.

Furthermore, both families have relatives in the countryside, and in the countryside at this time, let alone phone calls, it is not certain whether the village has electricity or not. Daily communication depends on letters or telegrams, and you have to go to the post office in the township.

Therefore, the wedding date of Ma Jiefang and Wu Yuemei cannot be changed.

Wu Yuemei was not in a hurry to speak, she frowned delicately, looked at Jinghong, stepped on Ma Jiefang's instep with her right foot and said:

"Sister Jinghong is about to give birth, what a wonderful thing, why are you so surprised?"

Ma Jiefang endured the pain from his feet and bared his teeth: "My fifth sister gave birth to a baby, and I'm not unhappy. I'm smiling all the time. I have a nephew again, that's it."

Ma Jiefang didn't continue speaking halfway, because he thought of his wallet, which was going to dry up during the Chinese New Year.

After all, in addition to Jinghong and Xu Qing's upcoming child, Ma Jiefang has four older sisters, several nephews and nieces.

During the Chinese New Year in previous years, there would never be a dime left in his wallet, and all the little ghosts who were entangled around him would yell at their uncle sweetly, and then squeezed out everything.

Of course, Ma Jiefang doesn't care about money, he just doesn't have money. If his salary is high, he won't care about that.

However, everyone's salary is fixed these days, not much.

Even though the price is low, it can’t hold back the many nephews and nieces, one cent, two cents, fifty cents, one yuan, in the blink of an eye, within a day, seven or eight yuan will be gone.

Whenever Ma Jiefang sees those nephews with their little mouths as if they were smeared with honey, he feels that it is not easy for him as an uncle. When he thinks about it, he feels sad.

But Wu Yuemei didn't have time to think about what Ma Jiefang was thinking at this time, so she smiled and said to Jinghong:
"Sister Jinghong, you are going too fast. You married Xu Qing last year, and now you are about to give birth. I am envious."

Ma Jinghong pursed the corners of her mouth and tried her best to hold back her laughter, fearing that her emotions would fluctuate too much and affect the child in her stomach. After Wu Yuemei put a pillow on her back, she sat up slightly and said:

"When you marry Jiefang, maybe I will visit you in the hospital next year."

Wu Yuemei blushed, turned around shyly and glanced at Ma Jiefang. After turning back, she quickly changed the topic and asked Jinghong:

"Sister Jinghong, what did the doctor say, is it just a few days?"

"Ah."

As Ma Jinghong was talking, she stretched out her hand to brush the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ears, and talked to Wu Yuemei about their boudoir sweet talk.

Xu Qing and Ma Jiefang left the ward and walked along the corridor outside to the deserted stairs, smoking cigarettes and chatting.

"Brother-in-law, my fifth sister is in the hospital. I'm getting married in a few days. I'm afraid you won't be able to participate with my fifth sister, and you won't be able to help. When the time comes, I'll find someone else."

Xu Qing nodded, stood at the cold staircase, glanced sideways at his wife's ward, and smoked the pipe:

"Let's hurry up. After your fifth sister gives birth, I will take some time to have a few nice drinks with your brother-in-law."

Ma Jiefang said with a playful smile: "Brother-in-law, you need to take some time to do this. Isn't it a good time to wait until your child is one month old?"

Xu Qing took a look and, wow, this brother-in-law had already thought about it.Then he smiled and said:
"Well, before my child is full moon, then I won't ask you to drink."

"Don't tell me." Ma Jiefang said hastily: "Brother Qingzi, you are my brother-in-law, but the relationship between the two of us is brother, don't forget, we should still drink."

Xu Qing secretly laughed, suddenly felt that Ma Jiefang's addiction to alcohol was really getting bigger and bigger.

A cigarette was about to burn out, so Xu Qing asked Ma Jiefang how he was preparing for his marriage?
Ma Jiefang took a sip of his cigarette, and then began to speak eloquently.

Both Ma Jiefang's parents are still alive. Ma Guohua had already started to prepare these things for his son more than a month ago. The new furniture that needed to be added and the wedding quilt that needed to be put have been brought back to the compound and put in for Ma Jiefang to tidy up. out of the house.

As for the remaining little things, they are pretty much done.

Ma Jiefang himself was relaxed, and he was not as busy as Xu Qing was at the beginning.

And this is the difference between having parents and not having parents.

When Xu Qing got married, almost everything was done by him, his two younger brothers, and his younger sister. Fortunately, his grandfather and grandmother also stayed in the city and helped a little bit.

At this moment Xu Qing heard what his brother-in-law Ma Jiefang said, and nodded again.

Ma Jiefang looked at Xu Qing, and suddenly said: "Brother-in-law, I really have something important to ask you today."

Ma Jiefang asked Xu Qing in detail what he needed to pay attention to on the wedding day.

Xu Qing knew everything, and passed on the only experience he had to his brother-in-law.

In fact, if Ma Jiefang asked Xu Damao, he might get more.

After all, Xu Damao was married twice.

It's just that Ma Jiefang is not willing to talk to Xu Damao now.

Xu Damao's character is incomparable to what he used to be now.

Especially in the past few years as the deputy director in the factory, no matter what he said or did, he either used an official accent or put on airs.

If Ma Jiefang hadn't seen Xu Damao, Xu Qing and Fifth Sister living in the same compound, they would have met each other by chance, so he couldn't save his face and had to take care of them.

Otherwise, if he got married, he wouldn't invite Xu Damao.

So what if Xu Damao is the deputy director?
It has nothing to do with Ma Jiefang.

Neither relatives nor friends, nor classmates, nor even close colleagues.

As for contacts, there were still a few years ago, but now it is almost gone.

Therefore, in Ma Jiefang's view, Xu Damao is completely a person who can be invited or not.

It is completely unnecessary to ask Xu Damao for advice!
More than an hour later, Ma Jiefang and Wu Yuemei left the hospital. They were busy with important matters and did not dare to stay longer. Xu Qing did not persuade them to stay.

I knew that the two of them were busy planning their wedding.

In addition, it is not necessary to keep them at the hospital.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, the little girl who got off work from the state-owned store did not go home and hurried to the hospital first.

"Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?"

The little girl's face was flushed from the cold, as soon as she entered the ward, she rushed to Jinghong's bed and asked with concern.

Ma Jinhong looked at sister-in-law with a smile, and said, "It's okay, sister-in-law is fine."

The little girl let out a groan, her watery eyes fluttered, and she looked at her sister-in-law Jinghong for a moment, as if relieved, she put the fruit she bought from the unit on the small cabinet in front of the hospital bed, took out an apple, and gave it to her sister-in-law Peeling, while saying:

"Sister-in-law, I won't go back tonight. I'll stay in the hospital to take care of you."

Ma Jinghong said: "You have to go to work tomorrow, it will be good if your big brother takes care of me."

The little girl said: "How is that possible? Sister-in-law, if you go to the bathroom at night or something, my elder brother can't be by your side, so I can't help you."

"Sister-in-law, do you think so?" The little girl added with a smile.

Xu Qing, who was at the side, secretly felt that his sister was right, and that he was more careful than himself. He was an old man, so it was really inconvenient at night.

Ma Jinghong thought for a while and felt that what the little girl said was reasonable, so she said no more.

However, at around seven o'clock in the evening, Ma Jinghong's parents also came to the hospital.

When Ma Jiefang came home at night and told her about Jinghong's hospitalization, Ma Guohua and his wife looked at each other, cleaned up briefly, and hurried over.

Although they were already very worried about Ma Jiefang's marriage, Ma Jinghong was also their daughter, so there was no reason why she couldn't come.

When Ma Jinghong's mother came, she brought two thick blankets for fear that her daughter would freeze in the hospital.

But she was too worried. When Xu Qing and his second brother sent Jing Hong to the hospital in the morning, they brought a lot of things.

Naturally, I brought thick bedding with me. After all, the hospital was not in my own house. Stoves were not allowed in the ward, and there was no heating at this time.

Summer is fine, winter is tough.

Xu Qing had thought of what he should have thought about in advance. He was not willing to let his wife freeze in the hospital.

Furthermore, there are children who are not.

When Ma Jinghong's mother saw that her son-in-law was well prepared, she immediately looked at Xu Qing twice, and she became even more pleased with it.

Of course, she also saw the little girl.

However, Ma Jinghong's mother just smiled and signaled to the little girl, and then she was busy greeting her daughter Jinghong.

This made the little girl feel sour and envious.

For a moment, I was touched by the scene, tears welled up in my eyes, I thought of my dead parents, and leaned towards Xu Qing tightly.

Because the only one she can rely on right now is her elder brother.

Ma Guohua saw it and said nothing.

The little girl's mother is no longer here. It's not easy for her to grow up in a girl's family with three brothers.

Ma Guohua is a parent, so he can understand the sadness and bitterness involved.

After all, he has five daughters.

Three to five minutes later, Ma Guohua said to Jinghong for a while, and then left the hospital with Xu Qing and the little girl.

But Ma Jinghong's mother stayed to take care of her daughter.

The little girl also wanted to stay, but Ma Jinghong insisted.

When her mother came, Jinghong felt that it was not good for her sister-in-law to stay.

The little girl has to go to work tomorrow. Her unit is a state-owned store. It is a busy time at the end of the year. How can she let her sister-in-law go to work during the day and accompany her at night? This continuous cycle is too much for her body.

The little girl was reluctant to part with her, but since her sister-in-law said so, she had no choice but to follow her elder brother home.

The night was dark and starry. At the entrance of the hospital, Xu Qing pushed his bicycle and said to Ma Guohua:
"Dad, it's so late, why don't you stay at my house for a night and then go back early tomorrow morning."

After hearing this, Ma Guohua held a cigarette in his mouth, thought about it, and thought it would be good.

Three people and two bicycles headed back to the compound along the deserted street.

The street lights along the street are bright. In this cold winter, it looks like a layer of window screen is covered, and it is dim.

When Xu Qing passed by on his bicycle with the little girl, his silhouette grew longer and longer, and finally disappeared into the darkness at the edge of the dim yellow.

Back in his own room in the compound, Xu Qing asked his second younger brother who stayed at home to be patriotic, poured three cups of tea, and then said to the father-in-law, "Dad, drink some hot tea to warm yourself up."

Ma Guohua took the enamel tea mug from Xu Aiguo, held it in his hand, blew on it, and took a sip.

Now the closer the New Year is, the weather is getting colder and colder.

Xu Qing and the little girl were also holding tea mugs, drinking hot tea.

Xu Aiguo hurriedly went to the kitchen to serve food.

But just a few minutes after Xu Qing came back, Shazhu from the middle courtyard, wearing a cotton-padded jacket, shrunk and ran over.

"Qingzi, how is your wife?"

Silly Zhu asked aloud as soon as he ran into Xu Qing's house. Then when he saw Ma Guohua coming, he immediately tilted his head and grinned:

"Hey, Chief Ma, why are you in our hospital today?"

"My daughter is married to Xu Qing. As a father, I can't come to my son-in-law's house, right?"

"Yes, why not." Silly Zhu was not very good at speaking, seeing that Ma Guohua had misinterpreted his meaning, he immediately bared his teeth and smiled,
Ma Guohua knew that Shazhu was just such a person, and he didn't intend to find fault, so he didn't care.

Xu Qing took two sips of tea, looked at Shazhu and said, "Jing Hong is fine. She is due to give birth in the past few days and is temporarily hospitalized."

"Then you and the little girl are back, who will accompany her?"

"my mother."

Silly Zhu said oh, and after handing Ma Guohua a cigarette, he reached out and handed one to Xu Qing.

At this time, Xu Aiguo had brought all the food to the front room, and Xu Qing invited Sha Zhu to eat together.

Sha Zhu waved his hand and said: "Brother, I have already eaten, you eat."

Xu Qing was no longer polite, so he had dinner with the little girl and the old man.

Ma Guohua saw Sha Zhu and ate half a piece of steamed buns, then told Sha Zhu about the day when his son was liberated and married, and asked him to serve at the wedding banquet.

With a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, Shazhu raised his legs, sat on Xu Qing's chair, slightly arched his body, and said, "Chief Ma, Qingzi and Jiefang have already told me about this. Don't worry, you don't know my skills. , I’m sure it’s not a job, I was the one who took care of Qingzi when she got married.”

Ma Guohua nodded slightly. He was not worried about Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu's cooking skills were considered to be the best in the factory.

No one said that the food made by Sha Zhu was delicious.

It's just that he had only heard Jiefang talk to him about inviting Shazhu before, but he didn't know the specific situation, so he took advantage of Shazhu's presence today to ask him.

Speaking of this matter, Shazhu immediately opened the box, and he became energetic, and talked to Ma Guohua carefully.

"Chief Ma, this is my plan. You are the section chief, and your son Jiefang is also a cadre. Jiefang is getting married. The dishes at the wedding banquet must not be bad, but you have to prepare the materials. I will take my apprentice with me then. Let's go together, Ma Hua, and you can help me find a few more helpers. You can forget about the rest and leave the rest to me.

As for what to cook, it depends on the ingredients you prepare. I just cook it. "

"Half meat and half vegetables, half hot and cold, eight big bowls together." Silly clapping his hands, he said with a smile: "I will never let you and your son lose face!"

In view of the shortage and scarcity of materials these days, the "eight bowls" mentioned by Silly Zhu certainly cannot be compared with the "eight bowls" in the traditional sense.

And according to Sha Zhu's family handed down craftsmanship - "Tan Jiacai", the materials are even more particular.

It's just that no one cares about that at this time of year.

When Ma Guohua heard what Sha Zhu said, he nodded again in agreement.

The next morning, Xu Qing got up early and made breakfast. After eating with his second brother, little girl, and old man Ma Guohua, he took the little girl out of the compound by bicycle.

Xu Qing first sent the little girl to work in the state-run store, and then rode towards the hospital.

Ma Guohua, on the other hand, went back to his home.

Xu Qing came to the hospital, parked his bicycle, locked it, took off the mesh bag containing the lunch box hanging on the handlebar, and carried it towards Jinghong's ward.

The daughter-in-law and mother-in-law's meals are all brought.

In the next few days, Ma Jinghong's mother took care of Jinghong with Xu Qing in the hospital, while Ma Guohua took care of Liberation's marriage at home.

These two elderly people have a clear division of labor. Both the son and the daughter are taken care of, and there is no preference for anyone.

On Wednesday, after delivering breakfast early in the morning, Xu Qing said to his mother-in-law:
"Mom, let's get married today, why don't you go home, I'll take care of Jinghong here alone."

Ma Jinghong also said: "That's right, Mom, my younger brother is getting married, don't stay with me, what's the matter with me, Xu Qing is here, and there are nurses and doctors in the hospital."

Ma Jinghong's mother thought about it, and felt that she had to go back when her son was released to get married today.

Therefore, after breakfast, he told Xu Qing before leaving.

However, less than an hour after Ma Jinghong's mother left, Jinghong's amniotic fluid broke without warning, and Xu Qing rushed to find a doctor and nurse.

When the amniotic fluid broke, it indicated that Jinghong was about to give birth. Seeing this, the doctor asked the nurse to rush her to the delivery room.

Xu Qing stood outside the delivery room, waiting anxiously.

As time passed by, Xu Qing walked back and forth at the door of the delivery room.

I am about to become a father, and I feel both nervous and happy at the same time.

Xu Qing had made various assumptions and psychological constructions before, but at this moment, except for nervousness and joy, he completely forgot everything else.

An hour passed, two hours passed.

Xu Qing hadn't seen his wife come out yet, and he was even more anxious. He couldn't wait to rush into the delivery room in one stride.

However, he couldn't do that, so he had to try to suppress the anxiety in his heart and continue to wait.

At twelve o'clock at noon, there was a sound of crying in the delivery room.

The voice is immature and loud.

Falling on Xu Qing's heart, it was like the sound of nature.

Xu Qingan couldn't bear the excitement, joy, and excitement in his heart. He eagerly waited for the delivery room to open, and at the same time he was thinking, is it his son?Or the daughter?

at the same time.

Today, Ma Jiefang, who is the groom's official, has just married Wu Yuemei into his compound with the car from the factory that Xu Damao helped arrange.

At this moment, Ma Jiefang's compound was full of joy and excitement.

For Xu Qing, his brother-in-law's marriage is a happy event.

But the birth of his and Jinghong's child is even more joyful.

Today, it can be said to be a double happiness!
When the door of the delivery room opened slowly, Xu Qing, who was guarding outside, couldn't wait to greet the little life that belonged to him and Jinghong.

(End of this chapter)