The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 4

He went to work calmly as usual, dozed off at work calmly, drank two glasses of wine at dinner calmly, and sneaked into his poker friend's house with a little sneakiness.

After another half a month, the news became more and more serious, and God also seemed to give a little omen. In July, the city known as the furnace, which was originally hot as if it was on fire, was often cloudy, and the sky was so low that it seemed to be going down. If you fall to the ground, there will still be billowing dark clouds in the sky, and there will be faint dull thunderclaps.

More and more families have started to build simple earthquake-proof shelters on the open space on the street, usually with a bamboo pergola bed, and then the bed boards are erected to cover a small area of ​​the world.Slowly, some people started to get large pieces of reed mats and surrounded them into a simple hut with some necessary things for home. People with better conditions actually got large pieces of plastic sheeting And bamboo poles, the shockproof shed built is quite decent.

At night, people lived in such shockproof sheds, lit candles, and some even brought small wireless radios, and the low voice of singing and the voice of the announcer reporting the news came out.

As soon as Qiao got married, the yard was almost emptied, and at night, they were the only ones left.It was dark and quiet all around, so quiet that even the crickets hiding in the corner of the old wall stopped singing, only the mice came and went rustling on the beams.

Qiao Yicheng remembered what his teacher said that animals could predict the coming of natural disasters better than humans, so he was so frightened that he dragged his younger siblings to sleep under the Eight Immortals table.

The table was too heavy, and they had no way to move it to the open space in the middle of the yard. They begged Qiao Zuwang several times and he refused to move it, because they were "afraid of being stolen".

Qiao Yicheng had no choice but to comfort himself. It wasn't necessarily safer to be in the open space in the yard. If there was an earthquake, the surrounding houses would fall towards the yard, and it wouldn't be a real hit!

His poor, even erroneous knowledge about earthquakes gave him a little comfort, supporting him to bravely sleep under the table with his younger siblings for several long nights.

Finally, Qiao Yicheng begged his father to move the bamboo bed to the street.He and his brothers and sisters picked up some cardboard and surrounded the bamboo bed, which looked like an animal nest, and they were very satisfied.Unexpectedly, it started to drizzle that night, and the rain gradually became a line. It was really impossible to stay outside, so Qiao Yicheng had to take his younger siblings back home.

Early the next morning, the second uncle came, took Qi Weimin, and brought a large roll of large plastic bags, some bamboo poles, and tools in a tricycle.

Without saying a word, he cut the big plastic bags one by one, spread them out flat, then fired a soldering iron and carefully glued the two sheets of plastic sheets together, and then erected the bamboo poles.In the evening, Qiao Yicheng and his younger siblings finally had a decent shockproof shed. In the eyes of Qiao Yicheng and his younger siblings, the shed looked like a transparent fairy palace. Qiang also imitated others and brought a washbasin and kettle, and packed a bag of clothes.

Second Uncle Qi Zhiqiang bought sesame seed cakes and cooked a large pot of mung bean porridge, and brought them together to the shed to eat with Qiao Yicheng and the others.

With so many people sitting in the small shed, it seemed a bit crowded, but it also showed an extra sense of security.

Qiao Yicheng looked at the tall and silent man squatting on the ground eating, and thought of the discussions behind those three aunts and six wives, those rumors that he half understood, made him uneasy and humiliated, but deep down in his heart Here, he thought, why isn't this man my dad?
So he hated it even more, drank porridge with his head down, and occasionally raised his head to look at Qi Weimin who was smirking bitterly, as if his good life was robbed by this guy.

The second uncle took Qi Weimin home.Their home also set up a shockproof shelter.

That night, suddenly there was thunder and lightning, and it rained heavily.

Qiao Yicheng's father, Qiao Zuwang, was on the night shift at the factory and hadn't come back yet.

The rain seemed to be pouring down from the sky, and there was only a roaring sound in the world.Lightning flashed from time to time, tearing a long and narrow opening in the dark sky, accompanied by loud thunder, which scared the four children of Qiao's family in the shockproof shed out of their wits.

The small shockproof shed was suddenly flooded with water, and the water quickly overflowed the legs of the bed. The washbasin Er Qiang brought from home floated up and floated out of the shed in a while.The four children were almost completely wet.Qiao Yicheng took out a buttered cloth umbrella, pushed it open vigorously, and huddled under the umbrella with his siblings, like four puppies fighting wetly.

Qiao Zuwang was really not at the poker table tonight, he was on night shift in the factory to prevent bad elements from stealing state property, and he might not be able to return until dawn.

The small shed swayed in the wind and rain, like a boat in the ocean.

Qiao Yicheng's eyesight is very good. Through the translucent plastic sheet, he saw a ball of light in the distance, moving to this side little by little.

He remembered that both his father and his second uncle had a big flashlight, which was very bright, and could draw a small bright path in the dark.

At this moment, Qiao Yicheng especially hoped that the visitor was that silent tall man. With him, he would not be afraid.

The bright light finally approached, and someone opened the shed and stepped in.

It was Qiao Zuwang.

Sanli and Simei immediately cried out in a crying voice: Dad!dad!Dad!

Qiao Zuwang was wearing a raincoat and was completely wet.

Qiao Yicheng said: Dad, you don't have to be on duty anymore?
Qiao Zuwang said: On duty, how can a thief come out to steal things this day?Let's go, let's all go home and go to sleep!
Qiao Yicheng said in surprise: Dad, maybe there will be an earthquake tonight. Our teacher said that earthquakes are often accompanied by thunderstorms.

Simei cried out, her voice high-pitched: Dad!I'm scared to death!
Sanli also cried.Er Qiang shouted: Don't be afraid.We're not in the house anyway.Dad, don't go home either!

Qiao Zuwang thought about it too, it seemed that something worse would really happen on such a bad day.

He sat down on the bamboo bed, which creaked under the weight of an adult and four children.Qiao Zuwang said: I can't sleep well, let's sit all night.

Simei struggled to move to her father's feet, tightly hugging her father's leg. Sanli saw her and crawled over to hug her father's other leg.Qiao Zuwang shook off his daughter in a rare way without being bothered.

The world is dark and damp, but the whole family is together, and it seems that they are not so afraid.Er Qiang asked: When will it shake?
Qiao Yicheng said: I don't know.Dad, when did you say it will shake?
Qiao Zuwang said angrily: Zhen, Zhen, you are looking forward to Zhen!It's really shocking. Where will our family live? If a poor family goes bankrupt, it's not a home?There are two or three things too!The house fell, and we lost a fortune!
Just as he was talking, Qiao Yicheng looked up at the roof of the shed, and suddenly exclaimed: Dad, Dad, look!
A lot of water had accumulated on the plastic roof of the small shed, and the roof was dented to a large extent, as if it was about to collapse.

Qiao Zuwang swears a foul word, but it doesn't help.Qiao Yicheng yelled: Dad, don't push it, it will break!

Qiao Zuwang said: There's no other way, let's just let it go, anyway, it's almost drenched, it'll be fine when the sun rises.

Just as he was speaking, the sunken roof suddenly tilted slightly, and the water contained in it fell to the ground with a splash, and then tilted slightly again, with another splash.

Er Qiang screamed: Second Uncle, Second Uncle is here!

Qiao Zuwang called through the plastic sheet: Qi Zhiqiang?Qi Zhiqiang!

Now, the children all saw the tall figure outside.The second uncle's voice came over: it's me.Just one more time.

The second uncle drew the curtain and walked into the small shed, stepping barefoot in the bubbling water, and said to Qiao Zuwang: It will be good if you come back.I'm worried that these children will be scared here.If there is more water, you can go out and do it like this. It is not easy to build a shed, it is really broken, and the children have no place to hide.

Qiao Zuwang snorted as a promise, and said: Maybe it won't accumulate anymore, the rain is much lighter than before.

The second uncle was in a hurry to go back to his home's anti-shock shelter. Qiao Yicheng saw that he was about to go out, so he called out: "Second uncle."

He actually wanted to say: Don't go, Second Uncle.But still didn't say it.

The second uncle is not his father after all.

It rained all night, and the five members of Qiao's family couldn't hold on in the end. They were so wet that they fell asleep in the wind and rain.

Qiao Zuwang took up half of the bed, and his two daughters curled up at his feet; Qiao Yicheng fell asleep with his legs folded with his father's; Into the bubbling water under the bed.

When the sky was bright, the Qiao family woke up one after another.

Er Qiang finally fell under the bed, but luckily the water had receded almost, he was covered in mud, like a little mud monkey, and smirked sleepily.

The rain stopped, and the wind blew over with water vapor. It was a cool summer morning like never before.

After this day, we lived in the earthquake-proof shed for about half a month, but the earthquake did not come.The public finally sent a message saying that there will be no earthquake, please go home and resume normal production and life.

For Qiao Yicheng, life is far from normal.

After the earthquake, Qiao Yicheng really took on the task of managing the daily life of the family.

He found himself involuntarily thinking the same thing every day: Where can I find something delicious?

Qiao Zuwang gave Qiao Yicheng some money every day, and told him to buy vegetables and cook. If there is a large amount of money to use, he must ask him first.

Qiao Yicheng has become a little maid who is not in charge of the house.

In the past, when my mother was here, I didn't eat very well, but it seems that my mother always has a way to arrange their meals and is thoughtful.Mom is gone, Qiao Yicheng and his brothers and sisters found that their stomachs are getting hungry day by day, like a bottomless pit that cannot be filled, and they are thinking almost all the time: eat, I really want to eat, anything is fine what.

When my mother was there, there were only three or two small gluttons in her stomach, but now, a small mouth has grown in her stomach, which is constantly biting and nibbling, making people uncomfortable.

After growing up, Qiao Yicheng thought that losing a mother is a heart-wrenching pain, while starvation is a heart-breaking pain. After this pain and suffering, he can bear anything.

After school started, Qiao Yicheng was promoted to the first grade of junior high school, but he was still studying in the original elementary school, which was called "wearing a hat" middle school.It takes one year to complete the formal entry to middle school.Erqiang is nine years old and is in the second grade.The two brothers still go to school together.When walking along the way, passing by the breakfast shop, Er Qiang always tried to suck his nose.

The leftovers from the night before should be kept for lunch. The factory where Qiao Zuwang works is far away from home.Qiao Yicheng is not yet skilled at cooking. He was afraid of delaying the afternoon class, so he always took his younger siblings to soak the leftovers in hot water and then ate a random meal with side dishes, so he couldn't take care of breakfast every day.

Twice, Qiao Yicheng held the egg laid by the reed hen that was secretly raised at home in his palm, thinking of the soft-boiled egg that his mother made for him in private, he endured it for a long time and never tasted it again.

Save the eggs and add some green onions to fry on a small plate, which can be used as a dinner dish.

Er Qiang always begs Qiao Yicheng on the way to school every day: Brother, buy a deep-fried dough stick to eat, buy it, buy it.

Qiao Yicheng actually wanted to eat it too, he wanted it terribly, but he didn't dare to buy it. The money was enough, but the food stamps were not enough.

Finally one day, Qiao Zuwang gave one or two more food stamps, maybe he took them by mistake, Qiao Yicheng bought a deep-fried dough stick and split it into two to share with his younger brother.

Er Qiang almost swallowed it, sucked his fingers for a while after eating, and said: Brother, I saw someone bought a set just now, a sesame seed cake wrapped with two fat fried dough sticks.I just saw it, boy, he eats a whole set by himself (one or two deep-fried dough sticks wrapped in a sesame seed cake is called a set).

Qiao Yicheng was annoyed by his younger brother's noise: Got it, got it.

Erqiang said: When I grow up and get my salary, I will buy a set every day to eat!
The two top performers sang "Crossing the Yalu River with pride" and walked all the way, with the ideal of eating a set of fried dough sticks every day in the future.

Every day after school, Qiao Yicheng went home to put down his schoolbag and then went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. In fact, he could go directly to the vegetable market, and there was no need to turn another corner at all.But if he entered the market with a schoolbag on his back, he would feel very uncomfortable.

The dishes couldn't be simpler, green vegetables and cabbage, by coincidence, there are tofu for sale, and there are soy product tickets, so you can eat braised tofu with shallots at night.

Sometimes Qiao Zuwang came home early, and if he was interested, he would ask Qiao Yicheng to steam an extra egg and put two drops of sesame oil on it. Plus himself, everyone can only eat their own share.Usually his share will always be more, and the children will not fight, even if they are the second best, they will be a little narrow-minded, pretending to unintentionally poach a small corner of Simei's share.

Once, Qiao Zuwang actually brought back a portion of salted duck after winning some extra money the night before!

Sitting at the dinner table, the eyes of the children were all glued to the small plate of white and tender duck meat. Qiao Zuwang divided the two pieces among them, and put the rest in front of him. After eating for more than an hour, the few small ones were all walking by the door, looking at the blue and white plate with a small hole in it.

The unfinished salted duck was placed on the window sill of the main room to blow the night breeze, fearing that it would go bad in the cupboard.

Sleeping in the middle of the night, Qiao Yicheng heard Er Qiang running out like a little mouse. He must not be going to pee. There is a curtain behind the bed in their room, and there is a toilet.

Qiao Yicheng understood in his heart and didn't make a sound, and waited for Er Qiang to go to bed and lie down like a mouse, and then said in a low voice: What are you doing?
Er Qiang was so frightened that he almost rolled out of bed, but he reacted quickly, fumbled and stuffed something into Yi Cheng's mouth: Brother, don't sue me, don't sue me!he begged.

Qiao Yicheng had half a piece of duck meat in his mouth, and kept silent.He sucked the small piece of meat like candy for a long time, chewed and swallowed it until the taste was gone.

Qiao Zuwang looked at the bowl of duck when he got up early, but he didn't say anything.The two strong eyebrows were raised with joy, and they sang for a whole day with high spirits.

And after that, Qiao Zu asked a poker player who sells meat to buy a piece of meat!

Real, white, big-fat-meat!

Qiao Yicheng learned by himself, carefully cut off the fattest part, put it in a pot to make lard, and waited for the oil residue to cool, so Qiao Yicheng picked one up and put it in his mouth .

That incense, the incense made Qiao Yicheng shiver for a while, and turned around the stove a few times childishly. When he looked up, he saw Sanli standing in front of him holding Simei, staring at him chewing. mouth.

Qiao Yicheng stuffed a small piece of oil residue into their mouths, and the two little girls made baa baa sounds, extremely intoxicated.

For the remaining meat, Qiao Yicheng added a lot of dried vegetables and burned it into a big pot.This dried vegetable is salty and fragrant, and the cooked vegetable will last for a long time.

When the aroma of dried vegetables and roasted meat wafted out, Qiao Yicheng suddenly remembered that these dried vegetables were dried by his mother last year.Maybe there is incense from my mother's hand on it.I won't be able to eat it in the future.

So I regret letting go so much.

Just thinking about it, I woke up suddenly, and I didn't see the second strong for a long time.

This guy, if he doesn't look at him for a while, has the ability to look for things to eat at home. Qiao Yicheng is most afraid of him stealing sugar.The white sugar in their family is kept in Qiao Zuwang's house. Qiao Zuwang believes that boiled sugar water nourishes people, and he likes to drink a glass of boiled sugar water to replenish himself when he is hungry.

Qiao Yicheng was in a hurry, this candy was bought with a candy ticket, so don't give him a little bit of digging, Dad asked, not only this little glutton will be beaten, but everyone will also suffer bad luck.

Qiao Yicheng rushed into the house from the kitchen, and bumped into the second strong man who rushed out.

Erqiang pushed him away forcefully, ran into the yard, and vomited into the gutter in the corner.

Qiao Yicheng was so startled that he went over and patted his back and asked: What did you steal?ah?Tell me, what did you eat?

(End of this chapter)