When I got home, I saw grass growing on the earthen wall at the door, swaying in the wind.
When I opened the door, I saw that the yard was overgrown with weeds.
The living room and the house were covered with a layer of dust as no one had been there for a long time.
Although they were a little tired from the car ride, Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua still let Xiaoqi go to rest while they put down their things and cleaned up.
Xiaoqi did not behave as well as before and sat down to rest as usual, watching his parents work. Instead, he picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor upstairs.
Sometimes, the poorer a family is, the more they spoil their children. Xiaoqi only discovered this when she went to college. In the dormitory, Yunshu would do the housework by herself and wash the washbasin and cups cleanly, but Xiaoqi didn't have this awareness because her mother did many things for her and she was used to not doing anything herself.
Seeing her daughter picking up the broom, Sheng Juanhua did not stop her. After the couple moved to the city, they found that life in the city was not easy. In the past, they just thought that their daughter would stay in the city after studying hard and getting into college, but staying in the city is not that easy, and they still have to be more diligent.
Xiaoqi started working with a broom, but her ears were not idle either. She opened the French tutorial saved in her mobile phone and listened while working. Knowing that there was no signal or internet in her hometown, Xiaoqi saved a lot of tutorials, enough for studying during the winter vacation. She also saved a lot of tutorials in her computer, including the content of professional courses. She planned to apply for the computer level 3 exam next semester.
She also saved some movies that she thought were good and wanted to keep them for her parents to watch together.
Xiaoqi's house is a small three-story house. The first floor is the living room and kitchen, the second floor has two bedrooms, one for her parents and one for her. The third floor also has two bedrooms, but one side is used to store miscellaneous items, rice and grain, and the other side is divided into two rooms. A bed is placed in the outer room so that guests can stay there. The inner room is also used to store some valuable things, such as old suitcases, Xiaoqi's school books, quilts and so on.
Going up further is the rooftop, which is used to dry rice during the autumn harvest. Xiaoqi sometimes comes up here to shake his phone to get a signal.
Cleaning from the top floor all the way down is actually a very tiring job.
To be honest, Xiaoqi couldn't sweep the floor clean before. She was not careful, didn't do the cleaning properly, and was impatient. Now she is much better. She patiently sweeps clean piece by piece, and she doesn't take much time.
Sheng Juanhua praised her daughter when she saw it. She didn't want her daughter to do any work before. If she didn't sweep the floor clean, she would have to sweep it again, which made her daughter tired. It would be better for her to do it herself.
"My daughter has grown up and is very meticulous in her work."
Xiaoqi felt embarrassed when being praised. Sweeping the floor was nothing. He was praised for that. His parents had very low expectations of him.
But now she really feels that no matter how big or small the matter is, if you do it, you must do it well.
After she finished sweeping the floor, her parents got even more busy. Her mother had already boiled a pot of hot water and wiped the tables and chairs, while her father had hoed the grass in the front yard and was now starting to hoe the backyard.
"Go take a bath first, the water is ready."
Sheng Juanhua flushed the bathroom thoroughly. The water in the countryside is free, it's natural mountain spring water, and she used it luxuriously, flushing with a loud noise.
Seeing that there was nothing Xiao Qi could help with and that his body was indeed sticky, he fetched some hot water and went to the bathroom.
I’m used to taking showers in the city and fetching my own hot water, but I still miss it.
It’s a bit cold in my hometown, so after taking a quick shower, Xiaoqi put on a pair of fleece jeans, a white sweater, and a purple cotton coat on the outside.
Her skin is very fair, which makes her look pretty against the purple color. Even though her top is a little bulky, she still looks good.
Mom was distributing things, these were the gifts she brought back.
Sheng Juanhua asked Xiaoqi and her father to go door to door to deliver things, some for the third grandmother, the second grandmother, her own grandmother, and her two uncles.
When she arrived at her grandmother's house, Xiao Qi was shocked by her grandmother's kind expression. In her memory, her grandmother always looked at her with drooping eyes, rarely smiled, and her cheeks were sagging, making her look fierce. She didn't expect that her grandmother could also show such a gentle and kind smile.
Xiao Qi felt uncomfortable watching this.
When Li Fengjiao heard that her son had returned, she wanted to go to his house to see what good things he had brought back. However, she thought that her eldest son was not at home. She actually had the key, but she had never gone to clean. If she went now, she might have to rush to clean and do housework, so she decided to sit at home and wait.
Her change in attitude towards Xiaoqi made Xiaoqi sigh that sometimes money is useful to relatives.
Li Fengjiao was quite satisfied with the things sent by the eldest brother, including various health products and tonics. As she was old, she paid special attention to her health and liked these things. In the past, when she saw the eldest brother, she would always tell him to be filial to his uncle, saying that without the bag of food given by your uncle, you would starve to death.
But today, she didn't complain. Li Fengjiao lost her husband early in life, so she always talked about her brother in the city, as if that gave her confidence. In fact, she knew that her brother and sister-in-law looked down on her, but she was used to it. She only had this kind of confidence, so she asked the children to give any good things to her brother first, no matter whether her brother liked it or not.
Despite this, she could still feel her brother and sister-in-law's disdain for her. Even though she was old and confused, she could still feel it. But a while ago, her brother and sister-in-law actually came to Gumula Village to see her. It was the first time in more than ten years that her brother and sister-in-law came to see her, instead of her sitting in a car and feeling dizzy and vomiting to see her brother.
Not only did her brother come to see her, he also brought a box of milk. It could be said that this was the first time she received a gift in return after giving away countless things.
She was always talking about her boss and his daughter.
Li Fengjiao felt sad and happy.
After her brother left, she hid herself away and cried. After that, she never mentioned her brother again.
Xiao Qi didn't know what was going on in her grandmother's mind, but she still felt a little uncomfortable seeing her grandmother being so gentle, which was rare. This powerful old lady seemed to have aged.
Third Grandma and Second Grandma also sent some wolfberries, red dates, codonopsis and so on. Everyone was happy.
As for my aunt, Xiaoqi sent her a gift when he was in school, but he didn't have time to go to her house after returning. He called her and she said she would come back during the New Year.
When Xiaoqi got home, he was still a little uncomfortable. It was okay without a water heater, as he didn't have to take a shower every day, but going to the toilet was really inconvenient. There was no flush toilet, not even a squat toilet, so he could only go to the dry toilet at the back door.
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua have only been in the city for the past six months. Although they have some money, they find it difficult to make money outside, and they cannot be extravagant when they return home. Moreover, Su Youfu knows his mother's temper well. She will act frivolously when she has a little money. If he really acts very rich, his mother will make a fuss.
At the end of the year, Xiaoqi's family came back late, as the Little New Year had already passed.
At night, many people came to visit. Since it was the first night, Xiaoqi couldn't hide in the room to read. Moreover, he found that hiding in the room to read was not efficient, but seemed impolite and arrogant.
Not only people from the village came here for a stroll, but also many of Xiaoqi's elementary school classmates who had returned from working in other places.
Zhang Juan also came back. The Highlander parked at the entrance of the village was the one she drove back. It was said to be worth 300,000 yuan. Her father had to clean it every day.
When Zhang Juan returned to the village, she was very flamboyant and was enthusiastically welcomed by the whole village.
It’s just that she just came back yesterday and was admired for only one day. Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoqi came back today.
As a result, a group of people were talking about Su Xiaoqi, even her parents spoke of Su Xiaoqi with admiration.
Zhang Juan was very disdainful in her heart. She knew Enhua and had specifically inquired about the private aristocratic school. Only those who did not do well in the college entrance examination went to that school. The tuition was extremely expensive. She didn't know how Su Xiaoqi's parents could afford to send her to that school.
And even if she is a college graduate from a prestigious university, what does it matter? Graduates from prestigious universities also work and are not as successful as her. Her boyfriend runs an auto parts factory, and there are college graduates among his employees.
Zhang Juan has an older boyfriend who is in his forties. It is said that the car was bought for her by her boyfriend.
The classmate who originally came to visit Zhang Juan's house said he wanted to go to Su Xiaoqi's house, so Zhang Juan went there. She was also curious and didn't know how Su Xiaoqi was doing.
In fact, the first few times she met her, Zhang Juan looked down on her. So what if she could read? She wore glasses, lowered her head, slightly hunched over, and didn't say a word. Such a person would definitely not have a good time in society.
Perhaps she was jealous of Su Xiaoqi, who was from the same village, because she could continue to go to school, and her parents were willing to let her go to such an expensive school. But in her family, she had two younger brothers, so it would never be her turn.
Several classmates made an appointment to go to Xiaoqi's house and went there in a large group.
The New Year is almost here, but the village is still very lively and you can hear the noise all the way.
Xiaoqi's family was already very large, and the living room could not accommodate them all. There was no other way, so Su Youfu built a fire in the yard. Above the fire was a simple rack, on which was placed an old iron pot, in which tea was bubbling. The tea was added with wolfberry, peppercorns, and a kind of gardenia fruit. This was a tea unique to Gumula Village, and it tasted very strange. At least Xiaoqi didn't like it very much before.
But today she helped the villagers in her family pour tea, and drank a cup herself. She actually found it delicious. It was hard to describe the taste. It had a burnt smell of tea. It was not a good tea. It was just wild tea picked and roasted by the villagers themselves. But after mixing with these seasonings, it actually formed a new taste. The layers were difficult to describe, but it was not the bitter taste she felt when she was a child. Instead, it had a long, bitter and numb taste, but also a sweet and mellow taste.
Maybe because I grew up, I started to learn to appreciate tea, unlike when I was a child, when I only liked sweet things.
Everyone can sit around the fire on benches and bamboo chairs, chat while drinking tea to keep warm, and put a few sweet potatoes under the fire and eat roasted sweet potatoes later.
Outside the old wall, there was a gurgling stream, the fire was crackling, the tea was bubbling, and the villagers were chatting animatedly. Xiao Qi sat in front of the fire and looked up to see the starry sky. The densely packed stars looked like they were painted on. It was so beautiful.
"Su Xiaoqi!" A crisp shout interrupted Xiaoqi's daze. He turned around and saw several of his elementary school classmates standing outside.
She stood up and said with a smile, "You guys are back too. Come in, I roasted some sweet potatoes. You're in for a treat."
Several classmates did not expect that Su Xiaoqi had changed so much after just half a year. She looked so beautiful. Although she was wearing a thick cotton coat, she was not wearing glasses. When she smiled, her face was bright and her voice was crisp and sweet. Several of them felt a little ashamed and stood behind Zhang Juan inexplicably.
Zhang Juan was originally very confident. She kept her head held high when she returned to the village and never lowered her head.
But at this moment, looking at the confident Su Xiaoqi, he suddenly felt guilty and uneasy for some reason.
I originally wanted to show off something, but now I feel like I can’t say it out loud under Su Xiaoqi’s pure gaze.
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