Chapter 453: The Warmth of My Mother's Home

In mid-December, the second snow of 1984 fell, covering the ground thickly and dyeing the ancient capital into a world of white.

Yang Yujiao walked out of the school with her head down, turned right as usual and headed for the bus stop, only to find that there were at least two hundred people crowded around the station.

The little girl's heart immediately began to beat fast, as this was the situation she was most worried about.

Normally, when people take the bus, they queue up in an orderly manner and there aren't so many people. But today, as it snowed, fewer people rode bicycles, and there were definitely not enough seats on the normal bus schedule.

What to do then?

Come on! Whoever has the ability can go.

Many times before, when Yang Yujiao was on a crowded bus, she was yelled at by others, "Do you know the rules? You just came from out of town?"

Everybody is trying to push forward, why do you think something is wrong with me?

Maybe the other party did not intend to despise Yang Yujiao, nor did he have much ill will, but was just irritated by the depressing atmosphere at the bottom. However, the gentle-tempered Yang Yujiao always felt that she had done something wrong.

So when she saw this situation today, Yang Yujiao hesitated for only a second, then tightened the straps of her schoolbag, quickened her pace and started jogging on the snow on the side of the road.

She wanted to run home in the snow.

Because Yang Yujiao's Beijing household registration had not yet been settled, Yang Yumin asked a classmate from the Class of 1978 at Beijing University for help and arranged for Yang Yujiao to attend a middle school in Haidian, which was six or seven kilometers away from her home in Zhongguancun, and would take nearly an hour to jog there.

Yang Yujiao was not afraid of the one-hour journey. When she went to elementary school in her hometown, she had to walk an hour on the mountain road. In the past, Yang Yujiao often walked back instead of taking a bus, so she could save the bus fare.

But recently, my mother Yang Huaihua gave Yang Yujiao an order that she should help her sister-in-law with cooking during this period and must not let her sister-in-law get tired.

My sister-in-law Li Yue will be home at 5:30. If I don't take the bus and run back today, won't I have to "eat ready-made food when I get home"?

What kind of talk is that! How can there be such a lazy sister-in-law?

However, Yang Yujiao had just run two steps when she heard a familiar horn sound from behind.

“Ding ding ding~”

"Yujiao, where are you looking? Don't you see me?"

Yang Yujiao then looked back and found that her sister-in-law Li Yue's car was parked on the left side of the school gate. She habitually lowered her head and turned right when going out, so she didn't see it.

"What are you still looking at? Get in the car."

Seeing her sister-in-law Li Yue waving at her in the car, Yang Yujiao ran over, opened the door and got in the car.

Once I got in the car, I realized the comfort and superiority of car owners in such bad weather. It was so cold outside that my nose was running, but inside the car was warm as spring. It was completely two different worlds.

As the channel manager of the Beijing-Tianjin film of Pengcheng Seventh Factory, Li Yue also has a relationship with Li Ye, so his treatment in the company must be first-class.

The previous Volga has been transferred to Wang Jianqiang, and he drives a brand new Santana, which is not much different from later cars in terms of driving comfort.

Yang Yujiao said enviously: "Sister-in-law, your car is really nice."

Li Yue smiled and said, "That's great, right? From now on, when it rains or snows, just wait for your sister-in-law to pick you up at school."

"No, no," Yang Yujiao shook her head and said, "Sister-in-law, your work is more important. I won't get in the way. If it rains, I have an umbrella. If it snows, I have leather boots. Mother said that we should not be ungrateful."

Li Yue turned her head and looked at Yang Yujiao who seemed a little nervous. She could understand her "contented" mood.

Just a few years ago, wasn't she, Li Yue, the same as Yang Yujiao before?

Leather boots when it snows? Forget it! In Qingshui County, when it snows, most people wear shoes made of cattail grass, which are warm and practical, but they are not as good as boots.

As for having an umbrella when it rains? How many umbrellas do you have at home?

If a little kid can wear a piece of not-too-dirty plastic film on his head, it's enough to show off. Many people wear a fertilizer bag to avoid the rain.

So when Yang Yujiao suddenly came to the capital and was loved by her brother and sister-in-law, she instinctively felt flattered and nervous.

The road was slippery due to the snow, so the Santana was not moving fast. However, after walking a short distance north, Li Yue turned left and headed straight towards Zaojun Temple.

Yang Yujiao blinked in surprise, and then she heard Li Yue say, "Your brother's company has a reception today, and our mother will be busy until seven in the evening. Let's not go home and go to my brother's place for dinner."

"ah?"

Yang Yujiao said a little embarrassedly: "Is that appropriate?"

"Why is it inappropriate?" Li Yue said calmly, "I just called and asked. We are having hot pot at his place tonight. Xiaohui and the others will also be there. We only need two pairs of chopsticks."

"Oh~"

Yang Yujiao was very envious of Li Yue. Even after getting married, she could go to her brother's house for meals anytime, and she felt justified in doing so.

In this era, in the minds of many people, a married girl should not go back to her parents' home for no reason, let alone go back to her brother's or other brothers' home.

Santana returned to Zaojun Temple and saw Li Ye and Li Dayong wielding big brooms and sweeping the snow with several neighbors.

This is a tradition in the alleys of Beijing. Once it snows, everyone at home has to come out to sweep the snow. Although no one urges or calls out to do so, everyone is very conscious and even the laziest man has to work hard.

Seeing Li Yue's car coming, Li Ye stopped what he was doing and waved his hand to signal her to take Yang Yujiao in quickly.

"Xiaohui and the others are preparing the dishes in there! Please wait for a moment, we will finish cleaning soon."

"Okay, let's go help."

Li Yue took Yang Yujiao and went excitedly to find Pei Wenhui and Wen Leyu. Although the Yang family treated her very well, living with her mother-in-law all day was not as comfortable as being with her best friends.

Li Yue felt that the happiest time in his life was the past two years when he sat in front of the TV with Wen Leyu and Pei Wenhui, enjoying unlimited watermelon drinks and chattering and laughing.

When they saw Li Yue coming back, the middle-aged ladies smiled and said, "Okay, young man, stop sweeping and go back quickly!

My sister finally came back, so we need to take good care of her. We can’t let her think that she is disliked by her family.”

Li Ye also smiled and said, "No, there isn't much left. Look at how skillfully the uncles and brothers are sweeping the snow. It will only take a few minutes at most."

After hearing Li Ye's praise, an old man said complacently: "Hey, if you want to say something else, we dare not say it, but when it comes to snow sweeping, we Beijingers are second to none.

When that person came to Beijing that year, he wanted to see the Great Wall, but it had just snowed heavily at that time. Guess what, I participated in the event at that time, and the snow was swept away beautifully."

Kanye West in Beijing is Kanye West. When he talks, he is very knowledgeable and not just talking nonsense.

I heard from this old man that when the president of the Lighthouse visited China twelve years ago, he suddenly wanted to see the Great Wall, either because he thought, "If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you are not a true man," or because he wanted to see how big the gap in snowplows in Beijing was.

Then the capital mobilized 800,000 people overnight and swept all the way from Diaoyutai to Badaling.

It is said that the person who woke up the next morning was stunned for a long time. After returning home, he said, "I will never be able to defeat a country with such mobilization capabilities in my lifetime."

The uncle next to Li Ye is one of those 800,000 people, and he can brag about one thing for his entire life.

Anyway, after hearing this, Li Ye was surprised and envious.

If you participate in a collective activity of 800,000 people once, can't you brag about it for the rest of your life?

. . . . . . . .

When Li Ye finished sweeping the snow and returned home, the charcoal hot pot was already burning brightly.

The weather in Beijing is getting colder and colder, and there are fewer and fewer fresh vegetables on the table.

In the winter of 1984, there was not enough supply of greenhouse vegetables, and most people's tables relied on potatoes, radishes, and cabbages to fill the table. No matter how many different ways they cooked them, people would get tired of them one day.

But if you cut a few pounds of beef and mutton and eat hot pot with these three heroes, it will be completely different.

"Hurry up, hurry up, we can't let my sister go hungry! We must let her feel the warmth of her mother's home."

"Sister, please don't do it. You can't do it today! You used to cook for us, but today we will serve you."

Pei Wenhui, Wen Leyu and Fu Yiru were chattering away while arranging the seasonings and tableware, and would not allow her sister Li Yue to do anything. As expected, she enjoyed the care and attention from her natal family.

Only Yang Yujiao was a little at a loss, especially when Fu Yiru gave her a can of Pengcheng Red Bull, she felt even more embarrassed.

Li Yue pulled Yang Yujiao's sleeve and said with a smile: "Don't be restrained, we are all family, you can call the men brother and the women sister."

Only then did Yang Yujiao shyly call everyone "brother" and "sister" one by one.

The charcoal hot pot boils quickly, and the young people at the table don’t care about much and start eating quickly.

After eating a few bowls of beef and mutton, even Yang Yujiao's reservedness disappeared completely, and everyone was laughing and having fun.

In the small courtyard of Zaojun Temple, there are never any broken rules. People always advocate freedom. Otherwise, why would Li Yue, who is married, like to come back and eat for free?

After Li Yue had a great time, he instructed Li Ye, "When I leave, bring me a jar of the sauce you prepared! I'll give it to them when I get back."

Li Ye pointed to the door and said, "It's been prepared for you a long time ago. Look, it's on the cabinet at the door!"

Yang Yujiao looked at her sister-in-law who was eating and taking, and then looked at her own bowl of sauce which she was almost clearing. She suddenly thought that it would be perfect if this tradition could be passed down to her family through her sister-in-law.

A married girl is like spilled water. Yang Yujiao will also get married in the future. If she can return to her brother's house at any time like Li Yue and be welcomed at any time, that would be such a blessing.

What Yang Yujiao didn't notice was that the other girl at the table, Fu Yiru, had the same look in her eyes.

Fu Yiru, who has lived with her mother in Malaysia since childhood, desires family affection more strongly than anyone else.

The Fu family in Malaysia is the home of Fu Yiru's grandmother, and also the maiden home of my mother Fu Guiru. However, the treatment that my mother Fu Guiru received in the Fu family is really hard to describe.

Fu Yiru's sister, brother and sister-in-law are all very nice, so she believes that her future experiences will be ten or even a hundred times better than those of her mother, Fu Guiru.

(End of this chapter)