The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 60

4
After Yiding's mother married Yiding's father, she never had children. No matter how she behaved, the old woman was still picky, which meant that Yiding's father left her and found another child who could have children.Fortunately, Yiding's father is a conscientious one. He refused to divorce, saying that his eldest sister's family lives in the country, and she has many children, so she can't afford to raise them. Why don't she bring her here? If she brings a child, she might be pregnant.

When Yiding was picked up, he was only four years old. He had a head of ringworm. He was as thin as a monkey. He kept eating his fingers and couldn't speak well.At that time, Yiding’s mother really loved Yiding. She was reluctant to eat and wear clothes. All the money was spent on him. The child quickly grew taller and fatter, calling her dad and mom repeatedly. Yiding was sensible since childhood , very easy to carry.Within two years, Yiding's mother was pregnant, and the whole family was overjoyed.A year later, another child was born.With two extra mouths, the old woman and husband are ill, and Yiding's mother has no job, so Yiding's father is alone.People are ruthless in their bones.Yiding's mother said to Sanli, when it's okay, hello, me, hello, everyone, and when something happens, she grows her heart sideways.

At that time, Yiding's mother said, send Yiding back. When he grows up, he will be a strong worker in his family, but Yiding's father refuses to die, he is reluctant, he treats him as his own son.Yiding's mother murmured: After all these years, I have not treated Yiding well...I have treated him well.

Sanli suddenly interrupted her with a voice of hatred: Does Yiding know about this?

Yiding's mother looked at Sanli in fear: No, he didn't know, he never thought about it.He is an honest boy.

Sanli's voice was high-pitched: he's honest, you still bully him when he's honest, why don't you treat him well if he's honest?He came out to work to support your family when he was less than 20 years old. You still have no good face for him. Your heart is not growing horizontally. You have no heart at all. right?
Sanli lay on the bed and cried loudly.

She does not cry for herself, for Yiding and her present, nor for Yiding and her future.

Just because of that lonely child many years ago, who was suddenly thrown into a strange place, accepting a purposeful kindness in fear and trepidation, and then suddenly lost everything, with no relatives and no one to look around, the despair and fear in his heart was It is the same as her who hid behind the camphor wood box many years ago.

Yiding's mother actually smiled, and stretched out her hand to grab Sanli's arm.Sanli raised her head, revealing her eyes that were red from crying.

Yiding's mother said: You are right, my retribution has come.You see how sick I am, my sons and daughters live their lives comfortably and comfortably, and no one comes out to take care of me.Sanli, you and Yiding are kind people, and you will be rewarded.When I go to hell, I still think of you well.

Yiding's mother suddenly struggled to sit up on the bed, knocked her head on the back of Sanli's hand, raised her head again and again and said: I beg you something.

Sanli's eyes were full of disgust, but she saw the old lady's bald head and thin face, her brows were immersed in pain, and even her ears were shrunk into small balls, clinging to the side of her face, her bones were torn apart, and her old clothes were even more drooping. Old, the whole person is in a state of dying.After such a careful look, Sanli was taken aback, forgot to cry and the resentment in her heart, and said for a long time: What's the matter, just tell me.

Yiding's mother seemed to be unable to hold on anymore, she lay down on her side, and made a loud knock on the wooden bed, which sounded scary, Sanli quickly stuffed two pillows under her body.

Yiding's mother panted and said: Li, I know you are a kind person and a decent person. You, you see that Yiding has treated you well for so many years, don't break up with him, don't separate from him, You, you stay with him for the rest of your life, he will be loyal to you, you give him a home, you accumulate virtue, God can see it.

Sanli was stunned for a moment, she didn't know that the old lady knew about Yiding, she might have overheard it, the old lady has never been confused, she is a shrewd person who knows how to calculate, and refuses to suffer from anything , if there is anything going on in the Ren family, if she wants to know, she will definitely know, right?If she wanted to pretend to be deaf and dumb, she would definitely be watertight, right?
Sanli said: Don't worry, I will not be separated from Yiding, we are a family for the rest of our lives.It is my blessing to meet Yiding in this life, and there is no reason to push the blessing out.

While talking, Sanli quickly packed her things and went out, then suddenly turned around and said: Just because of what you said for Yiding, I will die for you, don't worry!

After Sanli walked out, the old lady turned over hard, looked at the dusty ceiling, forced a smile on her old face, and murmured: You have to hang up that water-red curtain for me, how beautiful it is where.

Half a month later, Yiding's mother passed away.

Yiding and Sanli waited for two days, but the siblings hadn't come back yet. It was too hot and the body was not good enough to be put away at home. Yiding decided to cremate the old lady. After the cremation, the siblings finally came back .

Yiding advocated buying a cemetery for the old lady and burying her with her father, but the younger brothers and sisters disagreed, saying that it would be good to put it in the funeral hall, and from the perspective of environmental protection, there is no need to buy land.

Yiding was very angry, but his mouth was clumsy and he couldn't make sense. Sanli was afraid that there would be any conflicts between the brothers, so she came out to smooth things over.

It's the winter of this year.

Qu Aying spent this Gregorian year in Qiao's old house with old man Qiao. Simei went to spend the holidays with her brothers and sisters early. Old man Qiao kept saying that he raised a group of white-eyed wolves. After Qu Aying persuaded her for a long time, the old man's expression softened a bit, and he picked some vegetables from Qu Aying's bowl, telling her to eat more too.

These days, sons and daughters are all unreliable, and the only thing they can rely on is the puff of breath in their own throats. Eat more good things, and buy some platinum and gold ones. Taking care of your health is better than raising your sons and daughters.

Qu Aying smiled and said: Well, I will buy you two boxes of Melatonin tomorrow. I heard that it is a great tonic, sleeps well, and has a good appetite. Isn't it important for people to eat well and sleep well when they are alive?If you eat well and sleep well, you will naturally live longer.

Qu Aying's face suddenly flashed a little shame: there is something, I want to ask the old man to say something to you.My eldest son, you know, used to grow vegetables in a greenhouse at home, but it was very difficult. Now chemical fertilizers are expensive, and it’s not worth it to sell them in the city. The transportation fee is not enough. Give it to the dealer, it’s too much suffer.After the new year, he wants to go to the city to work and come with his fellow countrymen. He heard that the salary is not bad, can he live here for a month, and after saving some money, he will rent a house and move out.

Old man Joe drank two more glasses, and his tongue was a little big: there's nothing wrong with it, just ask him to come.You treat me well, I won't lose you.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Qu Aying's eldest son came with a big bag on his back.Old man Qiao froze for a moment, then squinted at Qu Aying.Qu Aying came up to him with a faint smile, took off the bag from his son's shoulder, and pointed at old man Qiao: "Uncle."

When Simei came back after living in Sanli's house for two days, she found that there was an extra person in the house.At that time, Qu Aying was drying the quilt with her eldest son.Qu Aying told old man Qiao that his son came out in a hurry and didn't even bring a thicker quilt, so he took a thin duvet from Qiao's house, put a quilt cover on it and covered him, otherwise he would suffer Frozen, how can the disease be cured here, isn't it a trouble for others?

Simei immediately yelled at Mao: Who allowed you to bring this out?This is the quilt of space cotton sent by my elder brother's unit. I am reluctant to use it as a gift from him!
Qu Aying smiled and said that she didn't know it was an expensive quilt, but thought it was an ordinary duvet. Or, she said, I will pay you some money?Actually, I didn't get dirty either, so I'll put it away for you.

Simei angrily rolled up the quilt and went into the room.

Old man Qiao threw out two red bills on the spot, and repeatedly asked Qu Aying to go out and buy a new quilt.

Simei heard it in the room, and snorted air-conditioning from her nose.

After that, the situation in Qiao's old house became more complicated and dramatic.

Simei didn't have a good face when she went in or out. When she saw the things Qu Aying's son piled up under the table, she would kick her twice, and old man Qiao would scold her twice.Simei loves to be beautiful since she was a child, and she also likes to clean up at home. The floor of the main room was originally mud, and it was also when she got married that she pasted large tiles and fake marble. In the past, Simei washed it clean every day. Simei saw one piece after another of phlegm on it, some of which were dry, sticky with dust, and stuck to the floor tiles in lumps of plaster.

Qu Aying was not happy when she heard this, so she rushed in with a mop and a small shovel, and said, "It's okay to spit, and I don't want to make such bad words, not to mention I'm still mopping the ground every day."

Simei said: "Auntie, you have to know that the main room of my house is not your private plot, so you can spit at will!"Do you understand the spread of bacteria?

Qu Aying's eyes turned red suddenly: I know, you city people always think that we country people are full of germs.As he spoke, he was about to shed tears.

Simei made a disdainful chirping sound: Do you know how to do as the Romans do? Tell your son to get rid of this bad habit. It’s not a big deal to spit on the ground of my house. I can’t help vomiting everywhere on the street. The fine is 50 yuan. I didn’t earn much wages from part-time jobs, and all of them were handed over to the city!
Days slowly move forward amidst the quarrels and goose fights, and the journey is difficult, and the creaking sound of the annual rings can be heard, which is the little bit of excitement in the cutscenes of Beijing opera.

In a blink of an eye, the Spring Festival of [-] arrived, and then, on the fifteenth day, the lights went on and off.This year is the second Spring Festival after the promulgation of the ban on firecrackers. The whole Spring Festival was wrapped in a hustle and bustle. Into the mud, a little bit of broken red, not clean.The street is smooth and clean. After a day or two of spring rain, you can smell the slightly astringent fragrance of new grass at the tip of your nose. The wicker has quietly turned green at some point, and new shoots sprouted overnight on the dry branches of the plane tree. Looking at it from a distance, if there is a new green that seems to be absent, it is a small freehand brushwork in Chinese painting.This year's spring came very early and it was warm. As soon as March entered, I could no longer wear cotton-padded clothes. The old saying goes that the cotton-padded clothes were given away only after eating rice dumplings at the Dragon Boat Festival.This year, in February, it was so hot that people wished they could change into unlined clothes. The world has really changed, and God has to change his nature to follow suit.

In the past six months, old man Qiao really had no contact with those three children.In Qiao's old house, Qu Aying showed more and more the style of a hostess, leisurely and contented.She had moved into the old man's bedroom long ago, her clothes were hung in the closet, her son's bed was placed in a corner of the main room, bottles and jars of her pickles were stuffed in the corner of the kitchen, and she was drying in the yard. The quilt and her son's clothes, she quietly built her own territory in this home bit by bit, slowly and persistently.

Near April, Qu Aying suddenly told Old Man Qiao again that the local boss where her eldest son worked was not kind, and they heard that they owed migrant workers wages. It's better.It's just that there is nothing to do in the city in the future, and it would be ugly for such a big man to eat for free. Can you, can you let my eldest son work in your second-strong shop for a while?I heard that his restaurant is doing very well, so I always need a helper, even if your children don't recognize me, I will always treat them as a family.Shouldn't the family help each other?

Old man Qiao was really embarrassed, coughed for a long time before saying: You know, I and them all fell out.Now, on the contrary, I am the father to be subdued?
Qu Aying comforted: I know, I know that you are doing this for me, and I will remember your love for the rest of my life.

It's not a matter of love or not... Old man Qiao didn't finish his sentence, Qu Aying took up the conversation: I see your sons and daughters, Er Qiang is the kindest and most soft-tempered person, go talk to her He said it well, and he would not refuse.How can the son and the father have an overnight enmity?What's more, it's a matter of helping each other.

In the past two years, Er Qiang's restaurant business has been really good. Zhiyong has been admitted to a good university in another city, and Er Qiang and his wife really feel very contented.

So Erqiang was called back to the old house by his father.

After another two days of rest, Qu Aying's son officially went to work in Qiao Erqiang's shop.

5
Qiao Yicheng has proposed to Wen Ju'an.

However, the preparations for their wedding went at odds and ends.At first, although Yicheng felt that the blurted proposal at that time was somewhat impulsive, but because the object of the impulsiveness was the person he had been thinking about since he was young, he also felt that there was a kind of persistence in the impulsiveness, and he moved himself. , so I am full of enthusiasm and want to hold a wedding well.This wedding does not need to invite many people, I would rather be quiet with Ju An, but all the details of life should be purchased, arranged and planned carefully.

Soon, Yicheng discovered the strangeness of Ju An. She is not awkward. We went to the furniture store to look at the furniture together, and asked her anything, no objection, good-looking. When Yicheng really planned to buy it, she would always Let's talk leisurely and look elsewhere.

Yicheng felt that it was not an excuse, but what it was, Yicheng couldn't find the right words.He just felt that he couldn't see through the woman next to him. Sometimes when they were tired from shopping together, they would sit down in any tea bar, order a simple meal for each of them, and sit and eat slowly. Cheng looked at Ju'an, and as he watched, she moved away and became thinner. It was a visual error, but it was enough to make Qiao Yicheng more and more uneasy.

One day later, when Yicheng was at work, he overheard a married middle-aged female colleague on the phone lecturing her child who was not doing well: You can't devote yourself to your studies, you are always so absent-minded!
Qiao Yicheng suddenly realized at that moment, yes, it was such a word, and he was absent-minded.Thinking about it carefully, Ju An has been absent-minded from the beginning to the present, so where is her heart?
Only then did Qiao Yicheng realize that when he faced Ju An, his heart became 20 years younger. A 40-year-old man faces the person 20 years ago with the heart of 20 years ago, completely forgetting the 20 years in between.

Qiao Yicheng thought about asking Wen Ju'an to re-examine their relationship with the mentality and perspective of a 40-year-old man.

Always worried, he hesitated to ask Song Qingyuan's opinion. Song Qingyuan didn't laugh or mock this time, but thought about it seriously and said: My position cannot be counted, and you know why.I always feel that you are a shrewd person, but when it comes to your own emotional issues, your intelligence will degenerate, as if you have spent too much time on other things, and there is not much wisdom left for your own emotions.To make an inappropriate analogy, just like Chen Jingrun back then, he was the most confused person outside of the field of Goldbach's conjecture.In short, old Qiao, don't feel stupid just because of this. In this world, everyone is confused in their own way!

After hearing this, Qiao Yicheng took it for granted, sighed, and said, "Old Song, you really understand."

Song Qingyuan also smiled and said: Don't say that, I only understand it by watching the fire from the other side.I will also be confused one day, maybe one day, I will be confused.

Two days had passed since the conversation with Song Qingyuan. One day, Ju An went back to his house to pick up things, and then called Yicheng to say that it was too late and he would be staying at his house today.After that, she gradually lived back.

It was at this time that Qiao Yicheng suddenly realized one thing. At that time, he proposed the marriage unilaterally, and Ju An did not refuse.

But in fact, she didn't say, okay.

Qiao Yicheng's scalp went numb in shock.

Song Qingyuan was right, he was confused.And, so confused.

Qiao Yicheng stopped preparing for the wedding from this day on.

Yi Cheng didn't take the initiative to find Ju An, but Ju An didn't take the initiative to find Yi Cheng either.

Looking back, Qiao Yicheng seemed to have had a dream.

About first love, about the future, about love, about renewing the relationship.In a messy dream, there was a noiseless noise.

Qiao Yicheng spent the rest of the day lazy, as if glued, dragging forward reluctantly.

During Yicheng's most disheartened days, Yiding proposed a divorce to Sanli.

There was no sign at all, and that day was the same as before. Sanli cooked the medicine, poured it out to dry and served it to Yiding, but Yiding didn't reach out to pick it up. Sanli nudged him affectionately: continue.

The soup was thick and black and viscous, exuding a strange smell. I took it over and just stared at it. The soup condensed into a black mirror, in which was reflected the slender face of a big man, his eyebrows and eyes were due to the soup The sap thickened and turned black blindly, as if it would be so dark for a lifetime, and there was no time to light up.

Sanli asked suspiciously: Why don't you drink it?It's not hot anymore.I put sugar in it, but I didn't dare to put too much, for fear that it would damage the medicinal properties.

Yiding carefully put the bowl of medicine on the table, and said slowly: Sanli, let's get a divorce, okay?
Sanli answered readily: No.If you think the medicine is bitter, don't drink it, and don't drink it in the future, don't drink anything, it's okay if we die.But divorce, I do not agree.

Yiding said: Sanli, you are still young.

Sanli laughed: I'm almost forty, even if I can live to be 80 years old, half of my life will be buried in the ground. For the rest of my life, I just want to live a good life with you.Wang Yiding, you, you are really an honest person, even if you want to force me to leave you, you still show some intimidation, deliberately quarreling with me, or you just beat me up , I was so disheartened that I agreed to leave you, and then you hid alone and grieved.

Yiding smiled softly, pulled Sanli over, and stroked her frizzy hair: Are you acting in a TV series?

Sanli said: No, we are all ordinary people who live at home and have no talent for acting.It's Qiao Simei, not Qiao Sanli, who lives life as a drama, not to mention that Simei doesn't do this anymore.Yiding, in this life, let's live a good life.The matter of men and women, to put it bluntly, it's not that they haven't done it before, and it's not that they are newlyweds. The children are so old. In two years, you and I will be in-laws.

Yiding lowered his head, squeezed the sweat in his hands, and said in a whisper: "It's better to leave Sanli, we are still a family without us, and I recognize you as my younger sister."

Sanli pushed him away forcefully: I have two brothers, so I don't need you to be my brother!

As he spoke, he slammed the door hard and went out. With such force, ash fell on the beams of the house.

Yiding rested for a while and rushed out to look for Sanli. She sat in the small yard and took small silver scissors to cut a bunch of chrysanthemum heads planted in wicker baskets.

Yiding squatted beside her without making a sound, while Sanli sniped, cutting a basket of vegetables into bald heads.

She remembered that when she married Yiding, she also planted such a big basket of chrysanthemum brains. She and Yiding both liked this kind of fragrant dish. Add fresh duck eggs and make soup. It is a light ink color, as if you can write words with a brush dipped in it.

(End of this chapter)