Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 371 August Festival

"at home."

Ma Jinghong was wearing an apron around her waist. When she heard Qin Jingru calling herself, she reached out and opened the blue curtain hanging at the kitchen door, and walked out.

Qin Jingru handed the Laobaigan in the net bag to Ma Jinghong and said:
"Sister Jinghong, I bought this for Xu Qing, please keep it for me."

After Qin Jingru finished speaking, she turned around and left.

Ma Jinghong pinched the wine bottle in her hand and frowned slightly. She didn't understand why Qin Jingru suddenly gave her wine.

But suddenly remembered that Qin Huairu came to find her husband in the morning and asked Xu Damao not to divorce Qin Jingru for help.

Instantly realized, he looked up at Qin Jingru's receding figure, and couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly.

When Xu Qing returned home by bike, he heard his wife say that Qin Huairu had given him a bottle of wine and laughed it off.

He didn't think about asking for anything.

That was the preference of the third master, Xu Qing didn't want to take the title of the third master Yan Bugui.

But since Qin Jingru sent it, and his daughter-in-law also accepted it, let's keep it.

When my brother-in-law Ma Jiefang comes, let's drink it together.

Xu Qing took off the sweat-soaked half sleeves that had been worn all day, put on a red vest, went out of the house to the old lady, and prepared to call his son home.

The little guy has reached school age, and he can no longer be left to play around all day long.

But as soon as Xu Qing walked to the door of the old lady's house, he heard Silly Zhu's shout from the middle courtyard.

"Qingzi, your second father is here."

Xu Qing turned his head and saw his second father, Xu Guangjin, carrying a bulging big bag, coming from the middle courtyard accompanied by Sha Zhu.

He greeted him immediately.

"Second Dad, when did you enter the city, why didn't you say hello in advance so that I can pick you up."

Xu Guangjin was as honest and honest as ever, with a smile on his somewhat old face and said:

"I entered the city in the afternoon, took the tractor of the commune, and went to the hospital to grab some medicine for your grandfather. It's getting late, so I came to you as soon as possible."

Xu Qing reached out and took the large sack from his second father's hand, put it on his shoulder, and led his second father into the house quickly. At the same time, he shouted to his wife and Xiaoya in the kitchen:
"Jinghong, sister, our second dad is here, hurry up and make tea."

Hearing this, Ma Jinghong and Xu Xiaoya hurried out of the kitchen, one picked up a kettle in the front room to make tea, and the other walked out of the house to welcome Xu Guangjin.

"Second Dad, it's been a long time since I saw you, it's strange."

As soon as Xu Xiaoya came out of the room, she smiled pretty, said sweetly to Xu Guangjin, stretched out her hand and grabbed her second dad's arm, and let her into the room.

Xu Guangjin hadn't seen Xu Xiaoya for a long time, and he was very happy to see his little niece being so enthusiastic about him.

Xu Qing carried the sack into the house, placed it behind the door, handed his second father a cigarette, and then handed one to Sha Zhu.

Silly Zhu took the smoke and said: "Qingzi, brother, I'll go back first, you guys talk."

After Si Zhu said that, he left. Xu Qing walked to the door of the house, then turned around and took out the lighter, walked to the edge of the kang in two steps, and lit the flue for Xu Guangjin:

"Second dad, you went to town today, are you going to get medicine for my grandpa specifically?"

Xu Guangjin took a puff of cigarette, shook his head and said, "Not all, it's not going to be the August Festival, your grandpa and grandma made some moon cakes, filled them with peanuts, mung beans and five catties of white flour, let me bring them to you by the way." . "

Xu Qing felt relieved when he heard that his grandfather was not seriously ill. He pushed the enamel tea jar that his wife Jinghong placed on the edge of the kang towards Xu Guangjin and said, "Second dad, drink some tea."

Xu Guangjin walked all the way and went to the hospital again. His mouth was really dry, so he grabbed the teapot, blew on it, and drank heavily.

Xu Qing saw that the second father put down the tea mug, and then continued: "By the way, the second father, what medicine does my grandfather need in the future, you ask the old branch secretary of our village, my fifth grandfather, to call me on the commune phone number, and my family is settled." Call, when the time comes, I will grab the medicine from the city and post it back to the village, so you won’t have to travel all the way.”

Xu Guangjin was smoking a cigarette, turned his head and glanced at the telephone on the table in front of him, stood up, walked to him, grabbed the receiver, and squeezed it in his hands.

Suddenly I thought it was a good thing, and I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, my eldest nephew is really promising.

The situation at home is getting better and better now, and the phones are installed. He nodded to Xu Qing and said:

"Well, next time, I'll ask your Fifth Grandpa to call you from the commune."

At this moment, Xu Xiaoya brought out the watermelon she and Jinghong had just cut and washed in the kitchen, put them on the table, grabbed a piece, and handed it to Xu Guangjin, saying:

"Second Dad, eat watermelon to relieve the heat."

Xu Guangjin reached out to take the watermelon, and said while eating:

"Xiaoqing, open the sack quickly. Your grandfather also planted two rows of watermelons in the yard this year. Early this morning, he specially picked a big one and put it in the sack. Let me bring it to you. Take a look. Did it get crushed?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing hurried to the back of the door, carried the sack to the edge of the kang, untied the hemp rope that tied the mouth, and took out the contents one by one.

A cloth bag of mooncakes, three catties of mung beans, six catties of peanuts, two catties of red beans, five catties of white flour, Xu Qing didn't open the bag of white flour right away, because when he took it out of the sack, he felt eggs hidden inside. , I gently handed it to my daughter-in-law Jinghong, and asked to pick out the eggs later.

In addition to these, there is a watermelon, five pairs of cloth shoes and a set of children's clothes.

Looking at the cloth shoes and the clothes, Xu Qing's nose became sour, knowing that it was not easy for grandma to sew these things.

These needleworks are very laborious even for Jinghong and Xiaoya to do.

I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete within a month or two.

Not to mention leaving an elderly grandma alone.

What's more, the village still doesn't have electricity, so it can only be illuminated by kerosene lamps at night, and grandma has presbyopia.

Suddenly Xu Qing felt very uncomfortable.
Seeing Xu Qing stunned, Xu Guangjin, who was sitting on the edge of the Kang, let out the smoke from his mouth heavily:

"Don't think about it so much. Your grandma has already done it for you. If you feel distressed, if you have time in the future, take more time to go back to the village to have a look."

Xu Qing hummed, then looked up at Xu Guangjin and said:

"Second dad, when you go back this time, persuade my grandma to stop making shoes for us. She has bad eyesight. If she puts the soles under the kerosene lamp at night, she will hurt her eyes."

Xu Guangjin smiled and said: "Then I can't persuade you, you have to go back and talk."

At this moment, Xu Aiguo and Xu Fengming came back pushing their bicycles.

When they entered the house, they saw their second father coming from the country. They said happily:

"Second Dad, when did you come?"

"Just here."

Xu Fengming took out the cigarettes he was carrying and hurriedly passed them to Xu Guangjin, saying:
"Second dad, is your family okay? How are my grandparents?"

"Everything is fine, but your grandfather's old problem of coughing recently happened again. I will go to the city this time to get some medicine."

Xu Fengming heard the words, hurriedly asked:
"Is my grandpa coughing badly? How about I borrow the car from my factory this week and go back to the village to pick him up and go to the hospital in the city. It won't work if he keeps taking medicine."

Xu Guangjin waved his hand and said, "Your grandfather has an old problem. He keeps coughing when he smokes a lot. As he gets older, he spends money in vain when he goes to the hospital."

Xu Xiaoya interjected: "Second dad, please tell my grandpa to smoke less. It's best to quit smoking. Look at my second brother, he doesn't smoke a cigarette."

Xu Guangjin turned to look at Xu Aiguo, looked down at the cigarette in his hand, turned to Xu Xiaoya and said:
"Smoking, it's hard to quit. Your grandfather smoked all his life, and I smoked half my life. It's hard for me to quit myself."

Xu Xiaoya doesn't smoke, blinks her eyes, and frowns slightly, not knowing what is so difficult about quitting smoking, she mutters: "It's fine if you don't smoke."

Xu Guangjin smiled and said nothing, raised his hand and took a puff of cigarette.

After dinner in the evening, Xu Qing sat in the room with his younger siblings and daughter-in-law, and continued chatting with his second father.

Xu Qing rarely went back to the village and didn't know much about things in the village.

Xu Fengming went to the countryside to join the team a few years ago, so he knew a little more and asked Xu Guangjin a lot.

Xu Guangjin smoked a cigarette and responded one by one.

After a while, Xu Aiguo said to Xu Guangjin:

"Second dad, my eldest brother has become the director of the fifth branch of our factory. When you go back, remember to tell my grandpa and grandma to make them happy!"

Xu Guangjin was startled when he heard Xu Aiguo's words, and looked at Xu Qing in a daze, with a humming sound in his head.

It took a long time before he said: "Xiaoqing, you became the director of the factory?"

Xu Qing nodded, and said, "I just took office last month."

Xu Guangjin was so shocked that he stopped smoking. He looked at Xu Qing with disbelief.

Xu Aiguo said: "Second dad, my eldest brother is now in charge of thousands of people in the fifth factory."

"Thousands of numbers?"

Xu Guangjin's pupils dilated, he was stunned, raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, swallowed and said:
"Then Xiaoqing is now stronger than the party secretary in our village?"

Xu Fengming grinned and said, "Second Dad, that's for sure, the total population of our village is only a few hundred people, and my elder brother manages thousands of people, even the production team leader of our brigade, who is not as powerful as my elder brother. "

Xu Guangjin's head exploded with a bang, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the bottom of the kang in shock, and he didn't recover for a long time.

Seeing this, Xu Qing said: "Second dad, it's actually not as outrageous as Feng Ming said. I am in charge of thousands of people, but there are also several deputy factory directors."

Xu Guangjin didn't know how the factories in the city were managed, but he understood that Xu Qing had thousands of people under his command, and he suddenly realized that his nephew's official position was not small!
This farmer, who has been carrying a hoe in the field for almost half his life, has no education. He has a lot to say in his heart, but he just can't say it. His face turns red in a hurry, and he cries with joy:
"Our old Xu's family can be regarded as a high-ranking official!"

Xu Qing hurriedly said: "Second Dad, I'm not a big official, I'm just a factory director. If there are a lot of people like me in the city, it's nothing."

Xu Guangjin shook his head vigorously, "That's in the city, but in our village, there is no one who can manage thousands of people like you."

Xu Qing smiled and saw that his second father was happy, so he didn't explain any more.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, the moonlight was clear and the compound was silent. Xu Qing asked Feng Ming to go to sleep in the Shazhu room in the middle courtyard, and arranged for Second Dad and Aiguo to live in the old lady's hut.

Early in the morning.

After Xu Guangjin had breakfast, he was in a hurry to leave, saying that the people who went to the city together yesterday were still waiting for him so that he could go back by the commune's tractor.

Xu Qing originally wanted to keep his second dad for a few more days, but when he heard what his second dad said, he looked anxious, so he rode on the street and bought some snacks, moon cakes, and pancakes from Daoxiang Village, so that his second dad could take them back and share them with his grandfather. It’s easy for grandma and her family to use.

After all, conditions in rural areas are difficult and not as good as those in cities.

Xu Guangjin refused, "Xiaoqing, be obedient, you can keep your orders."

Xiaoya, Fengming, Aiguo and Jinghong said: "Second Dad, you can take it. After buying these things, you can take them back."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Xu Guangjin had no choice but to carry it in his hand, get on the tractor returning to the commune, and trudged out of the city.

After seeing off the second father, Xu Qing returned to the courtyard. Seeing that it was still early, he talked to the third master in the front yard about his son's going to school.

Pushing the polished and shiny bicycle, Yan Bugui said to Xu Qing:

"Xiaoqing, I saw your son sign up at the school on the 1st. It's not that the school has something to do these days, and the official class will be postponed until next week. Your son and my granddaughter, I will take them to school next week. "

When Xu Qing saw that he had mentioned it to Yan Bugui a few days ago, he took the initiative to see that it was done, took out the flue and thanked:

"Third uncle, thank you. Did my wife give you the tuition fee? If not, I will give it to you now."

Yan Bugui pushed the bicycle and said with a smile:
"Jinghong gave you three mothers last month. Both of you are busy with work and have no time. I teach at school. On the 1st, when I pay my granddaughter's tuition, I will pay it together."

When Xu Qing heard this, the stone in his heart fell to the ground.

September [-]th is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xu Qing is on vacation, Aiguo, Fengming, Xiaoya, and Jinghong are also taking a break.

After breakfast in the morning, Jinghong rode her bike and went to the street with Xiaoya to buy ingredients for making mooncakes.

Xu Qing and Ai Guo had nothing to do, learning how to carve moon cake molds from Silly Pillar in the middle courtyard.

The one last year was accidentally broken by Xu Fengming.

There are also other families, but they can't always be at the beck and call of others.

You can buy ready-made mooncakes on the street.

For Xu Qing now, it is not a big deal.

But for the holidays, for the sake of celebration, the mooncakes made by yourself taste better.

Before Ma Jinghong came back, Xu Qing and Aiguo followed Sha Zhu's instructions and carved the mooncake mold alone.

As for how to make moon cakes, Xu Qing took his younger siblings to learn from Shazhu before he got married.

So, after Jinghong and Xiaoya bought the materials for making mooncakes, the whole family had lunch and all got busy in the house.

Xu Qing, his daughter-in-law Jinghong, and his younger sister started making it.

Aiguo took Xiao Hongzhi to light the fire, and at the same time, he and Feng Ming put the unshaped mooncakes into the molds that had just been carved in the morning, pressed out the patterns, and then put them in the pot to bake.

After a while, the aroma of freshly baked mooncakes filled the air, drifting along the kitchen window and into the courtyard.

All the houses in the compound are also making moon cakes, and the whole compound is full of fragrance.

Xu Hongzhi licked the corners of his mouth, wiped the hazelnuts with his hands, and stood in front of the edge of the pot, craving for food.

But Xu Qing and Jing Hong didn't speak, and they didn't dare to steal.

I can only watch helplessly.

Ma Jinghong turned around and saw her son's eyes so wide that he could almost fall into the pot, and said:

"Son, take a bowl from the cupboard, put a few cookies in it, and send it to your great-grandmother. I'll let you eat it when you get back."

Xu Hongzhi received the order, his little face showed joy, he squatted down and opened the cupboard, took out a large enamel bowl, asked Feng Ming to put the mooncakes, then ran out of the kitchen with both hands and rushed towards the old lady's house in the courtyard.

Seeing her son leaving, Ma Jinghong said to Xu Qing:
"Brother Qing, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, don't be too busy, go to the front room to wash your hands, get some mooncakes for my parents, by the way, there is also your master, don't forget."

Seeing that a lot of mooncakes were made, Xu Qing walked out of the kitchen, washed his hands, took two net bags, and put the mooncakes wrapped in kraft paper by his third brother Feng Ming into them.

Then he walked out of the house, hung the net bag on the handlebar of the bicycle, and pushed the bicycle out of the compound.

(End of this chapter)