The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 3

On the day of his mother's death, Qiao Yicheng looked at him when his second aunt came out with the little thing in her arms.The red face was wrinkled into a ball, and there was a lump of sticky stuff on the forehead, like a skinned mouse, or a newborn kitten, or a skinless frog. like a person.

But now, his face is stretched, those wrinkles are all smoothed out, his head is full of black hair, and he is sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.

Qiao Yicheng looked at this little thing in disgust, and the hatred in his heart jumped up and down, as if he had a vicious rabbit in his heart.

Qiao Zuwang handed the little thing to him, and Qiao Yicheng hugged him stiffly, thinking suddenly, what would happen if he let go?If you let go...

This thought startled him, but he subconsciously held the little thing tightly in his arms.

Qiao Yicheng is decent for holding a baby. He has held Er Qiang and Sanli before. Once, when he was holding Simei, Sanli was still on his thin back.When my mother saw it, her heart ached, she pulled Sanli down, hugged him and said, why is my eldest son so sensible?

The second uncle stretched out his hand to take the little baby, and the little baby looked like a toy under his broad palm.The second uncle looked at him with a very loving expression.

The second aunt also rushed over.He took the baby over, looked at it, and sighed again.He tugged Qiao Zuwang's sleeve again and said softly, "I'm telling you, brother-in-law, you have to pay back the money. We borrowed it from you, not to you!"You have to remember to pay it back!We are close relatives, it doesn't matter if you don't write an IOU, you remember to pay it back.

The second uncle sighed, opened his arms, and surrounded Qiao Yicheng and the others: "Go home."Let's all go back.

With a slight twist, Qiao Yicheng got out from under his arm.

3
The second aunt said: The money has to be paid back.

Qiao Zuwang said: That's natural, I will still be greedy for your money.However, your sister's work unit is a large group, and there is no public medical care, not to mention extra-birth fines.You also know that if you don't give me some time, then I can only take the children left by your sister to jump to Xuanwu Lake.

The second aunt thought to herself: Then you can jump there, the Xuanwu Lake is not covered, who is it to scare!
In the next few days, the adults and children of the Qiao family began to have a hard time.

What makes them hard is that little thing.

When it got hot, the little thing was released from the small package, put on the old pink clothes and pants that Simei had when she was a child, and slept on the bed with hands and feet dancing.Such a young child has not yet fully learned how to focus on things, but this little thing has a pair of round eyes, bright as black crystals, and whoever the eyes fall on, it seems to be full of affection.

The women in the neighborhood came over one by one and hugged him one by one, sighing and saying: What a beautiful baby.Really, the Qiao family doesn't have such a good-looking baby yet.

Qiao Yicheng and his brothers and sisters were all good-looking, but none of them stood out, and they couldn't be seen when they fell into the crowd, like a few small gravels in a pile of rubble.Because of the two slightly upside-down eyebrows, Er Qiang looked a bit bitter, not so happy.

The women said over and over again that the Qiao family did not have such a beautiful child. Qiao Zuwang couldn't hear them. In the corner, eyes cast shadowy eyes across the bodies of the women, and fell on the little things in their arms.When there was no one around, Qiao Yicheng let the little thing lie on the bed, looked down at him with his arms propped up, met his watery black eyes, and suddenly stretched out his hand to pinch him hard at any place on his body.The little thing seems to be a little slow to react, and it always cries after a few seconds.Qiao Yicheng would hurriedly pick him up again, let him lie in his thin arms, and press his face tightly against his little face that was deformed by crying.

Looking at this beautiful, pitiful, cute, and hateful little thing with an ambiguous identity that took his mother's life, Qiao Yicheng's heart was filled with love and hatred.

When the little thing returned home, he lost weight very quickly, and the skin on his thighs hung loosely.Because there is no milk, it is not easy to order milk. Even if it is easy to order, Qiao Zuwang cannot afford the money.

Qiao Zuwang told his eldest son, Qiao Yicheng, to put more water in the cooking every day, and when the pot was opened, pour out the rice soup first, put a little sugar, and feed the little thing.

The hot rice soup was served in a small bowl and placed on the Eight Immortals table, giving off a sweet aroma. The three little ones walked around the table, staring at the bowl and couldn't get it out.Qiao Yi blasted them away like chickens, blew the rice soup to cool down, and fed it into the little thing Qiao Qiqi's mouth spoon by spoon.

The nutrition must be insufficient, the little thing not only lost weight, but also cried violently at night, crying out of control until his little face was swollen purple.

As always, Qiao Zuwang wanted to go out to play cards at night.Even when he came home, he didn't take the little thing back to sleep in his own room. The little thing's cradle was placed next to the big bed of Qiao Yicheng and his siblings. When he was crying at night, Qiao Yicheng sat sleepily. Get up, helpless.

Qiao Yicheng had nothing for him to eat, and he didn't want to hug him.

When Qiao Yicheng was sitting by the bed in a daze, a word suddenly popped into his mind: Orphan.

He still has a father, but in his heart he is as panic-stricken as an orphan.

No, he thinks that he is actually worse than an orphan. He also has a series of younger brothers and sisters arranged in steps. The youngest one is still wearing a pink doll shirt, and he often eats his own little fist five times a day. Still need to sleep sixteen or seventeen hours.

He couldn't expect his father to organize his life with his siblings as well as he had when his mother was alive.

Qiao Yicheng hugged his mother's photo in the dark, the glass frame was cold against his belly.

At the age of 12, he understood his father's unreliability, and Qiao Yicheng felt that he was a genius.

But Qiao Yicheng didn't know, in fact, he had wronged his father a little bit, and Qiao Zuwang didn't think about their future at all.

During the day, Qiao Zuwang had to go to work, Qiao Yicheng and Qiao Erqiang had to go to school, and there were only two little girls left at home, so they definitely couldn't take care of little things.Qiao Zuwang entrusted him to the neighbor's woman who didn't go to work, but within two days, she was interested. Qiao Zuwang understood that she wanted the wages and the baby's food expenses. Qiao Zuwang thought that the food expenses were in her hands. It's going to be turned into something to eat and fall into her own stomach, it's really not worth it.

Qiao Zuwang had an idea in his mind.

The second aunt happened to come to see the little thing, and Qiao Zuwang kept her for dinner.

Qiao Zuwang drove the children to the back room and asked Qiao Yicheng to lead them to sit at the small table for dinner, leaving only himself and his second aunt.

The second aunt asked at the dinner table: Brother-in-law, how do you live the next life?Do you have a plan?
Qiao Zuwang said: There is a plan, but it is difficult to speak.

The second aunt looked up at him alertly: What do you mean?Straight up.

Qiao Zuwang put down his chopsticks: Second sister, look, your sister is gone. My salary is only 23 yuan a month. I have to go to work, otherwise I won’t even get the [-] yuan. How many of them really Those who are going to starve to death, but now, I am still alive, and I cannot send them to the orphanage.Now, the biggest problem is that this little one really cannot survive if kept in this way.Second sister, if you don't look at my face, you should also look at your sister's death...

The second aunt said: You don't need to say it, I understand what you mean.Xiaowaer is only so young, your situation is difficult now, but brother-in-law, you also know that although our old Qi has a good factory, but only a few dollars a month, and he still needs to pay his mother three or five yuan a month Yes, I'm unemployed, and I have three kids myself...

Qiao Zuwang interrupted her and said: Don't worry about this, second sister, my brother is still clear about it, I will give you money every month.Do you think five yuan is enough?

The second aunt didn't say enough or enough, she just curled her thin lips down: brother-in-law, you don't have to cry poor with me. You have made a lot of money, who doesn't know that you are the famous Qiao Jing scratcher, who is best at card counting.

Qiao Zuwang immediately retorted: We don't come with money, we just buy peanuts, melon seeds and steamed buns if we win or lose.

The second aunt smiled through her nose, thinking, if you don't get money, you will stay up late every day like oil.

Qiao Zuwang took a look at her face, and then said, "Okay, okay, eight yuan is okay?"No matter how much I really can't afford my second sister.

The second aunt stopped talking, and said after a while: "Then brother-in-law, you must not forget the medical expenses."

Qiao Zuwang said: That's another matter. I will always pay you back every three to five months. Even if I don't have any money, I will take some food stamps, cloth tickets or industrial vouchers to cover the debt. Don't worry, I won't forget.Qiao Jingshazi is not reckless.

The next day, the second aunt came over and took away the little thing.

With her was her son Qi Weimin, that little cousin who Qiao Yicheng never liked to talk to.

Qi Weimin was overjoyed, scrambling to take the little thing from the arms of the second aunt, shouting repeatedly: Qiqi, Qiqi, Qiqi, laugh, ah-ah, laugh!
Qiao Yicheng cursed secretly: Crazy!
In the summer of this year, another earth-shattering event happened.

It's going to be an earthquake!

This terrible news was spread in the streets and alleys, and the government did not come out to refute the rumors, and it seemed to affirm the news.

Everyone is still thinking about the Tangshan earthquake that shocked China and the world the year before.But because there is no TV, only listening to the radio and reading newspapers, in fact, the impression is not very clear, everyone feels that such things are very far away from themselves.But all of a sudden, the bad luck that he thought would never happen to him was approaching step by step.

Fortunately, the school is out for summer vacation. Qiao Yicheng keeps his younger siblings at home like piglets every day. Sanli is timid and dare not run around. She was about to run away without a trace, and Simei was still young, so she didn't quite understand the meaning of an earthquake.

Qiao Yicheng used his imagination to describe the tragedy of the earthquake to his younger siblings. The words were so bloody and dark that the younger siblings didn't dare to run around anymore.

Every day, Er Qiang took his two younger sisters, hugged the kettle filled with cold boiled water and the rusty biscuit tin, and hid under the Eight Immortals table to play.In fact, there were no biscuits in the biscuit tin, only a handful of stale biscuit crumbs.

Qiao Yicheng hides under the table every day to do his summer homework after cooking, flipping through textbooks or those comic books that have been torn apart long ago.

Their father, Qiao Zuwang, did not believe in the rumors of the earthquake at all, and fully demonstrated the fearlessness of the proletariat. He said that Nanjing is a treasure land of geomantic omen, and many emperors have taken his fancy. Wind is rain.

(End of this chapter)