Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 401: Follow the eldest brother and second brother
"real."

Xu Qing smiled and replied to grandma and grandpa.

The two old men suddenly became as happy as two happy old children, and the smiles on their old faces became even brighter. They said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Jinghong is pregnant, and my patriotic wife is also pregnant, good thing, good thing!"

The grandfather holding the cigarette rod was shocked. He learned that his two grandsons and daughters-in-law were pregnant. His old Xu family was flourishing without his urging. With his withered and skinny right hand, he hugged his great-grandson Xu Hongzhi. In his arms, he lowered his head and teased her with his beard.

Xu Fengming and Xu Xiaoya watched the old and the young playing happily, secretly feeling that their grandfather was really an old kid.

The heated kang in the room was warm and comfortable, and the briquettes were burning red in the stove, making the room not chilly at all.

Outside, in the pitch-black night, the wind howled fiercely, and snowflakes unknowingly covered the ground in the courtyard.

The cold wind carried the light snowflakes and rolled them in the courtyard, but they were still unable to get into any of the lighted rooms in the compound.

Early the next morning, Xu Qing, Jinghong and their sister Xiaoya made breakfast, and waited for Fengming to drive their second brother Aiguo and his sister-in-law Ai Qian, as well as their second father Xu Guangjin, aunts Xu Xuemei and Xu Xuehong back to the campus. Behind the courtyard, a large family sat in the house and had breakfast.

It was now past nine o'clock, the sky was gloomy, there was not much light, but snowflakes were still falling all over the sky, like drizzle in spring, falling silently.

In the room, Xu Guangjin was biting a steamed bun, holding only the vegetables on the plate in front of him with his chopsticks. After he was full, he put down his chopsticks, turned around and got off the kang, and stood at the door of the room, looking at the white snowflakes outside the room with a frown, in a daze. After staring at him for a while, he turned around and looked at his parents and said:
"Dad, Mom, are you going to stay in the city for the New Year, or go back to the village with Xuemei and Xuehong today?"

The taciturn farmer rarely spoke a long sentence, but as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately stopped talking and only looked at the two old people with eyes sunk in his eye sockets.

Grandpa, who was sitting on the hot bed, had finished his meal now. He held the cigarette rod in his mouth and took two puffs of cigarette. He looked up at the gloomy sky outside the house and said thoughtfully:
"I'll go back with your mother."

Xu Qing hurriedly stopped the chopsticks in his hands with his younger brothers and sisters and said, "Grandpa, this year you and grandma can celebrate the New Year with us in the city."

Xu Fengming said anxiously: "That's right, grandpa, I will get married at the beginning of autumn next year. You and my grandma go back, then I will get married, and you..."

"Feng Ming, when you get married soon, your grandma and I will come back."

As Grandpa spoke, he banged the finished cigarette pot on the edge of the kang, scooped out tobacco shreds from the black tobacco bag that had been with him for most of his life, pressed it firmly with his thumb, struck a match, took a puff, and continued. :
"Your grandma and I are not used to living in the city, but we are more comfortable living in the village."

Xu Aiguo said: "Grandpa, my eldest brother and my sister-in-law told you and my grandma last night that my wife is pregnant. If you go back to the village and my grandma is too old to work in the fields, you might as well just Stay in the city, enjoy the blessings, and take care of my sister-in-law and my wife."

Xu Xuemei and Xu Xuehong didn't speak. As daughters, they naturally hoped that their parents could live in Sijiu City for a while. They had nothing to offer back to the village and the conditions were difficult, so they couldn't be as comfortable as living in the city.

But they couldn't say this, because it would easily lead to misunderstanding, and they felt that they didn't want to support the elderly, so they looked at their second brother Xu Guangjin.

Although Xu Guangjin rarely speaks and is not good at words, he understands everything in his heart. He took out the cigarettes he rolled in newspapers from his cigarette box and smoked:
"Dad, Mom, why don't you stay in the city for a while? Jinghong and Aiqian are both pregnant. Xiaoqing, Aiguo, Fengming, and Xiaoya are busy working all day long. We can’t take care of each other in person. When Jinghong and Ai Qian have a baby and Feng Ming is about to get married, I will go to the city and we will go back together."

When the two old men heard their son's words, they turned to look at their two grandchildren and their wives, and after summarizing, they said:
"Okay, Guang Jin, then you go back with your sisters and the others today, and then come back to the city when Feng Ming gets married next year."

Xu Guangjin smoked a cigarette and nodded.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Xu Fengming started the car and prepared to send his second father and two aunts back to the countryside.

But before Xu Qing asked Feng Ming to drive out of the city, he told him to take a detour to the department store to buy something for his second father and the others.

A few days ago, my grandparents, my second father, and my aunt went to the city, carrying a lot of big and small bags, and brought a lot of home-grown local products in the countryside.

Half a bag of peanuts, ten pounds of millet, twenty pounds of mung beans, twelve eggs, a bag of white radish, five pounds of white flour, and thirty pounds of stick noodles.
Although you can buy them in the city, they don't cost much and are not worth much.

But as the old saying goes, courtesy is more important than affection.

Besides, those things are not light in weight.

Xu Qing asked his third brother to buy something for his second father and his two aunts to take back. Firstly, it was to show his gratitude to his younger generation, and secondly, it was a New Year's gift for them since the Chinese New Year was coming in a few days.

In the alley, Xu Fengming helped Third Gu close the car door and said with a white breath, "Brother, don't worry, I'll hit the accelerator and drive to the department store."

At the entrance of the alley, Xu Qing heard his third brother's words, nodded, and watched the car leave. After it disappeared into a black spot on the busy street, he, his wife, his second brother, the couple, and his sister Xiaoya supported his grandfather. My grandma and I walked back along the alley towards the compound.

In the front yard, Yan Bugui, wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, saw that Xu Qing’s grandparents had not returned to the countryside and said with a smile:
"Old man, you are right to stay in the city for the New Year this year. Xiaoqing is now the factory director, Aiguo got married yesterday, and Fengming is also the section chief. You and my aunt can just sit back and enjoy the happiness from now on."

Grandpa put his hands behind his back, holding the cigarette rod, and looked at Yan Bugui.

"What blessings can I enjoy? If I can't enjoy the blessings of children, how can I enjoy the blessings of grandchildren? I spent a lot of money to get married for my country. As an old man, I feel worried."

Yan Bugui hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Old man, don't worry about it. He married patriotically. In my opinion, he spent almost no money."

"No money? So you helped my grandson buy the cigarettes, wine and food yesterday?"

Yan Bugui was immediately speechless by the question, and could only say: "Old man, it's not like Xiaoqing and the others don't know about my family's conditions. How can I have money?"

After Yan Bugui finished speaking, he paused, and then said:

"I mean, just one yuan that I spent yesterday is not as much as the TV my patriotic wife's family bought for me."

The two old men looked at each other. For those who had stayed in the countryside almost all their lives, they had no idea what a TV was, let alone seen one.

Although Aiqian's dowry items were placed at Xu Qing's house yesterday, the two old men had no time to pay attention to those things on yesterday's big day.

Besides, there are not many programs to watch on TV these days. Except for the fixed broadcast time period, when you turn it on, the screen is full of snowflakes. What are you watching?
Xu Qing greeted Yan Bugui, the third uncle, and then hurried back to his home in the backyard with his grandparents.

On this cold day, it doesn't matter for the young people to stand in the courtyard, but the two elderly people can't bear it.

When Xu Qing and his party returned to the warm room, Grandpa poked the nine-inch black and white TV with a cigarette stick, frowned and said:

"Is this the TV that Xiao Yan was talking about?"

Xu Qing nodded and said, "Well, grandpa, people appear when the TV is powered on."

Seeing that his grandfather and grandmother were very curious, Xu Qing quickly asked his second brother to demonstrate.

Xu Aiguo connected the TV to the power, leaned over to turn on the power, then quickly stood up, put up the built-in antenna, and shook it from side to side, looking for a signal.

As for Xu Aiguo's operation, Liu Aiqian looked dumbfounded. She already had a TV at home, and she was very familiar with how to receive signals. She said to her man:
"Patriot, where can I listen to the radio at my eldest brother's house?"

"Just sit on the kang head."

After Xu Aiguo finished speaking, he immediately realized the meaning of his wife's words, picked up the TV and put it on the bed.

But there was still no picture on the TV, the screen was filled with snowflakes, and the noise kept ringing.

Liu Aiqian lowered her head and glanced at the Beijing watch on her wrist, shook her head and said:
"Hey, you can't see anything when the TV receives a signal at this point. It has to be turned on at a fixed time period to show people." Grandpa held the cigarette rod in his mouth and puffed on the smoke: "This thing doesn't work. What if there is something coming out of it?" Human shadow, isn’t that the same as watching shadow puppets? Xiaoqing, how much does it cost to buy this TV?”

While Xu Qing asked his son not to touch the TV screen, he said, "Grandpa, it costs three to four hundred to buy one like this."

"So expensive?" Grandpa looked surprised, "Your second dad doesn't eat or drink for a year, and works in the fields with the production team for three or four years, but he may not be able to earn three or four hundred. This crap is simply stealing money. The previous landlords are not as bad as this, so they should retreat immediately!"

Xu Qing smiled bitterly and said: "Grandpa, this is what Aiqian's parents married to Aiqian and Patriot. How can I take it and push it away."

The two old men came to their senses at this moment and remembered that they had never asked their granddaughter-in-law Ai Qian what her parents did, so they said to Ai Qian:

"Granddaughter-in-law, what do your parents do?"

Liu Aiqian raised her hand and brushed her black hair and said: "Grandpa, grandma, my mother works in the unit, and my father has been a soldier all his life and is now the division commander."

Grandpa was still sucking on the pipe and smoking. When he heard his granddaughter-in-law Ai Qian’s words, he looked confused and asked Xu Qing:
"Xiao Qing, what kind of soldier is the division commander? He cooks?"

Xu Qing knew that his grandfather did not understand the official ranks of soldiers, so he smiled and said:
"Grandpa, the division commander is an official. For example, he is just like our commune secretary. He is in charge of everyone in our entire township."

"Oh, it turns out he is a commune secretary who is a soldier. That's good!" Grandpa smoked a cigarette and finally understood something.

Xu Qing smiled and didn't explain anymore.

After all, grandpa rarely goes to the city, and there are many things that cannot be explained clearly in a few words.

Liu Aiqian didn't pay attention, but she thought this statement was quite fresh. She stood next to Patriot with her lips pursed and kept snickering.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve, and snow fell sporadically in the courtyard for a while, and then there was no movement.

Since eight o'clock in the morning, everyone in the courtyard has been busy writing and pasting Spring Festival couplets.

The grandparents stayed in the city for the New Year, and Xu Qing, his younger siblings and his wife were very happy.

Early in the morning, after Xu Qing finished writing his own Spring Festival couplets, he helped Xu Damao's family and the old lady's family who lived in the backyard write them.

But Liu Haizhong, the man in charge of the backyard, bit the bullet and took two packages for the front door. He was too embarrassed to ask Xu Qing for help, so he sent his second aunt to ask Xu Qing and Jinghong to write for his family.

Xu Qing didn't intend to write to him at first, but he couldn't keep the second aunt around him, talking non-stop in the room.

Furthermore, grandpa and grandma went to the city to celebrate the New Year again after many years. When they saw the second aunt, a junior, came to ask for their grandson, the two old people were kind-hearted, so they asked Xu Qing to watch and write.

It’s the Chinese New Year, so it’s good luck.
Xu Qing had no choice but to agree, wrote Spring Festival couplets and asked his third brother Feng Ming to send them over.

After Aiguo and Ai Qian finished working in the small courtyard where they lived in the morning, they rode over and helped their elder brother and sister-in-law run around the house and courtyard.

Over the years, people in the courtyard have been getting married, and there are also people getting married in. It can be considered that the population is booming.

Yan Bugui's second son Yan Jiefang and third son Yan Jiekuang also came back in the front yard. With their respective wives and children, they helped the third uncle and third aunt busy in the front yard.

There was no one in the middle courtyard, except for Yu Yu, who had been married a few years ago, who came back early in the morning. After visiting her eldest brother Shazhu, she had lunch and then left again.

As for Liu Haizhong, his eldest son didn't come back, and his second son didn't come back either.

Only the youngest son Guangfu and his daughter-in-law stayed with him.

Liu Haizhong looked at Xu Qing's family, and then at the three boys from Yanbu Gui's family in the front yard. They were not happy at all during the New Year.

It was obviously a day for family reunion, but it was a good thing. Only the youngest son and his wife were around. The second uncle and the second aunt felt very uncomfortable, but they couldn't talk to anyone, so they could only feel sad secretly.

But no matter what, on New Year's Eve, every house in the compound was brightly lit and the smell of rice was overflowing.

As soon as the New Year bell rang, the sound of firecrackers kept ringing in the dark courtyard.

Soon after spring started, the weather gradually began to warm up. Grandpa and grandma were taken by the Patriots to live in the small courtyard.

The small courtyard is quieter, there are not as many people as the big courtyard, and it is not noisy. The two old people can simply plant some vegetables in the open space of the small courtyard and find something to do, so that they will not be bored in the city.

It's the weekend, so Aiguo and Aiqian take them to the courtyard, where the whole family can have a lively day, or they can all go out to play for a day.

The two old men have been to the city many times, but they have never visited and seen all the fun and interesting places in Sijiu City.

A few years ago, they stayed in the city for more than half a year, but at that time, Xu Qing and Aiguo went to work every day, while Xiaoya and Feng Ming were in school. They lived on campus and only came back on weekends.

As soon as the weekend comes, the two old people look forward to meeting their grandson and granddaughter when they come home from school. They are not in the mood to hang out outside.

It's better now. Xu Qing and his younger brothers and sisters are all working, and Xu Hongzhi just went to elementary school. There is nothing much to do on weekends. The family can go to Beihai Park, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, the Great Wall, etc. to play everywhere.

There are more and more buses and cars in Sijiucheng, making it convenient to go anywhere.

However, around June, Liu Aiqian's belly got bigger and bigger, and she couldn't go to work, so she had to raise her baby at home and wait for the birth.

The two old people live in a small courtyard. In addition to taking care of the small vegetable garden every day, they chat with their grandson-in-law in the house. Occasionally, they go to the courtyard where Uncle Niu lives not far from the alley to sit for a while.

At the beginning of July, Xu Hongzhi's Red Star Primary School had its summer vacation, and the little guy ran to his second uncle's courtyard every day, carrying a small army hat and a schoolbag embroidered with a big red star, with two cans in it. Bo Ping, taking Yu Li's daughter, stayed in the small courtyard all day long. Sometimes he didn't go back at night, either waiting in front of the TV to watch TV, or squatting in the vegetable garden opened by his great-grandfather to catch crickets.

As for Ma Jinghong, because she and Aiqian are two months apart, but she also has a big belly, she has to come over from time to time to twist the ears of her naughty son, and ask the little guy to take daughter Yu Li back to his courtyard quickly, so as not to disturb his sister-in-law. Qian.

At the same time, Xu Fengming saw that his eldest sister-in-law and his second sister-in-law were about to give birth, and together with his partner Tang Xiujuan, they decided to advance the wedding from the original scheduled date of after the beginning of autumn to mid-July, before the second sister-in-law Aiqian gave birth to the baby. At that time, the two sisters-in-law were in confinement one after another. When they got married, a lot of people would come to the compound. I was afraid that too many people would affect the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law.

Xu Qing sat at the table in the room and smoked:

"Feng Ming, have you made up your mind with Xiujuan?"

Xu Aiguo said nothing but looked at his third brother.

Xu Fengming chuckled and said, "I have to show my eldest brother and second brother that you are on par with me. You are all married, and I can't keep delaying it. Xiujuan's parents don't mind if it's earlier or later. Actually, Xiujuan and I also want to live together early."

Seeing what his third brother said, Xu Aiguo turned to look at his second brother Aiguo, wanting to hear his thoughts.

Xu Aiguo said: "Brother, I think the third brother is very thoughtful. My wife is about to give birth. The due date is almost mid-August. Feng Ming got married a month early. My mother-in-law came to my house in a few days and said she wanted to take Aiqian back. If she stays there for a few days, I can be free to help you with your third brother's marriage."

Hearing this, Xu Qing put the calendar hanging on the wall on the table. The three brothers discussed choosing a good day that was a very auspicious weekend and set a wedding date.

(End of this chapter)