On the day off, Zhou Chengning carried a small bag of rice and a bamboo basket and went to his grandfather's house.
Not only did Gua Gua not ask his father to hold him, he also held a small bag of pumpkin pie in his hand.
Mom made pumpkin pie and said she could have two when she went to Grandpa's house! So Guagua was very happy holding the pumpkin pie.
Although he was small and didn’t walk fast, but thinking that he could eat two pumpkin pie at his grandfather’s house, Gua Gua managed to catch up with his father’s usual walking speed.
My dad has to yell at me to walk slower.
Before Guagua even reached the thatched hut, he called out, “Grandpa!”
When he saw his great-grandfather, Gua Gua rushed over immediately. Zhou Chengning followed behind him, terrified, and shouted at Gua Gua not to run.
Fortunately, the little guy didn’t fall, otherwise he wouldn’t know how to explain it to his lover when he got home.
"Gua Gua is here." When Grandpa Zhou saw his great-granddaughter, he put down the work in his hands, smiled, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened.
Zhou Chengning explained why his wife didn't come, "Grandpa, Juan is busy right now. She has to cook for her parents-in-law and prepare for the winter, so she didn't come. Guagua and I came to see you and brought you some pickled duck. This is what your aunt sent you. Juan has already prepared it. Guagua and I will have lunch with you at noon."
"I'll ask the Ocun family to prepare lunch, and we'll eat next door." If the grandfather and grandson were fine, they could just make do with it, but since the little great-granddaughter is coming to eat, the Ocun family has to prepare it.
Although his son's family is stingy, as an old man, he can still fulfill his requests.
"Great Grandpa! Have some pumpkin pie!" Gua Gua took out a pumpkin pie from a small cloth bag and handed it to Great Grandpa. The pumpkin pie was not big, and Gua Gua could just hold one in one hand.
Grandpa Zhou opened his palm, put a melon on it, then took out a second one from the cloth bag and put it in great-grandfather's hand.
He gave two to great-grandfather, and Gua Gua ran to his father and gave him one. Okay, the remaining two were his!
Gua Gua hasn’t had any snacks recently, so he was so happy to have pumpkin pie.
Although the pumpkin pie is fried, it is not greasy and has the sweetness of pumpkin. The crust is thin and crispy and the inside is soft. Even the elderly with bad teeth can eat one or two. Seeing that everyone had one, Grandpa Zhou ate one. It didn't make his throat hurt, but it was sweet and delicious. After eating one, Grandpa Zhou put the remaining one in a bowl and waited for tomorrow.
Zhou Chengning is still self-aware. He knows his position in the family. Not to mention now, when he was a child, his parents complained that he wasted food by eating a second bowl of porridge. "Grandpa, let's not go to my parents' house. They might think that Guagua and I are wasting food. Guagua and I can't eat enough at their place. Besides, Juan steamed the duck in sauce, which is delicious. The three of us can eat it."
"Guagua, do you want to go there for dinner?" Grandpa Zhou selectively ignored his grandson's words and asked Guagua.
Gua Gua shook his head, holding a pumpkin pie that he had taken two bites of, "Eat it."
Chickens crow and ducks quack. Guagua originally thought it was a crow, but his mother said it was a duck, so a duck quacks.
I usually eat alone, and there aren't enough bowls and chopsticks at home. "Okay, Grandpa, go borrow bowls and chopsticks from next door for Gua Gua, and Cheng Ning, you go soak the rice."
Last time, Grandpa Zhou excitedly called little Cheng Ning, but now that Gua Gua is here, it’s not suitable to take care of a child.
"Grandpa, there's no need to borrow it. I brought it with me. You just sit here and continue making the bracelets. I'll go wash the rice. Juan also asked me to bring you some new rice today so that you can mix it with the rice." His Juan had already made plans in advance. In order to avoid being upset during the meal, she brought her own bowl and chopsticks.
Grandpa Zhou usually drinks thin porridge, and the rice is stale rice given by the neighbor. It tastes like dust and needs to be soaked for a long time to reduce the taste. Although rice will lose nutrients if soaked for a long time, this rice that has been eaten by rice worms has no nutritional value.
Zhou Chengning knew where his grandfather put the rice, it was in the box. He brought 5 kilograms of new rice today. Of course, he didn't plan to eat the new rice at noon, so he would mix the new rice with the old rice when steaming rice at noon.
The old rice here from grandpa is of really poor quality. It is mixed with visible mud and sand, has a strong smell, and the bags used to hold the rice are not big, and there are rice weevils. Zhou Chengning carried grandpa's rice bag to the yard to dry it in the sun, and scooped out a small half bowl to wash it in the stream.
Their village is next to a river. There are almost no wells in the village. Everyone uses river water. River water is not like well water. River water will become hotter and colder as the weather gets hotter. The river water in autumn is already cool.
Guagua followed his father to the stream, "Guagua, you can't come to the water without following adults from now on, okay?"
Ever since Guagua could speak and understand what was said, the most we, as parents, could say is "I know."
"I know." Gua Gua was standing next to her father. When she was standing, she was almost the same height as her father when he was squatting.
His daughter agreed, and Zhou Chengning continued to wash the rice. The stream water was clear and translucent under the sunlight. He washed away the rice that had been eaten by rice bugs. After washing it several times and feeling it was almost done, he went back with half a bowl of water. He did not forget to hold his daughter's hand to prevent her from falling, as the gravel road beside the stream was difficult to walk on.
After all, he was still a child. When Gua Gua was in a place he was not very familiar with, he selectively relied on his father. When his father went back to the straw house, he stayed by his grandfather's side, asking his great-grandfather this and that question, and he also wanted to learn how to make bracelets from his great-grandfather.
The bracelet string has a buckle. Grandpa Zhou buckled one on his great-granddaughter's wrist. Although the three-year-old girl's wrist is chubby, it is also thin, so it needs to be adjusted. After it is adjusted, Gua Gua has the bracelet and immediately runs to show it to her father.
Zhou Chengning had just put the pickled duck in the basket on the box and was about to pick some wild vegetables to make wild vegetable soup. Seeing this, he first praised the beauty, then took his daughter's hand and went outside the thatched house, "Grandpa, will you be discovered if you give me this bracelet?"
Grandpa Zhou: "Weighing by kilograms, the flaws won't be noticed. There's also waste inside. If you put a string on Guagua, it won't be noticed."
Zhou Chengning felt relieved after hearing what his grandfather said. "Does Guagua want to go pick wild vegetables with Dad or stay here and make bracelets with Grandpa?"
"String." Gua Gua ran to her great-grandfather. She had just talked a lot with him and was considered familiar with him. Now she wanted to play with beads.
It is convenient to walk without the child. Zhou Chengning saw Gua Gua playing with beads, and went to pick wild vegetables by himself.
Zhou Chengning was used to eating wild vegetables when he was a child. He knew where the wild vegetables grew more abundantly. He picked them quickly, washed them by the stream, and came back to help his grandfather string the bracelets.
At first, Gua Gua was very serious about learning how to make bracelets, but later his little paws became too unflexible and he just "stirred the beads".
The two little paws shoveled the beads in the bead bag, and sometimes they just picked them up and threw them back in, and they never got tired of it.
Grandpa Zhou did not disturb his great-granddaughter's interest. Although the little baby had affected his speed, the old man was still very happy looking at the lively little baby.
When Zhou Chengning came back, he didn't stop his daughter. She put the wild vegetables away and went to help her grandfather string bracelets.
At about the same time, Zhou Chengning went to prepare lunch. He helped his wife cook at home. He knew a little bit about how to stew rice, so he put the rice on the stove to stew it first.
Grandpa’s thatched hut has no chimney, so they cook outside unless it rains. It’s safer. The stove is neither light nor heavy and can be moved. Zhou Chengning roughly sensed the wind direction and prepared to cook.
The stove is burning, but there are no coal balls, so the smoke is even heavier and blue-gray in color.
When I was a child, I lived with my grandfather. There was not enough rice at home, so we basically made porridge or porridge with sweet potatoes. We rarely made dry rice, and most of the time it was made by my grandfather. Zhou Chengning only knew how to cook porridge, but porridge was not enough to fill me up. After drinking a few bowls, I would just feel full of water and soon get hungry. When I was single, I couldn't cook rice well, and the food was half-cooked or burnt. After three or four years of marriage, I gradually became proficient in it. I would serve the rice after it was cooked and start to stir-fry wild vegetables.
Zhou Chengning brought a few cloves of garlic with him, hoping to make the wild vegetable soup less bitter. Later, he changed his mind and added a few slices of wild vegetables to the soup and stir-fried the rest with garlic.
My grandfather has coarse salt at home, but it has melted over time and has solidified into lumps.
The meal is ready and it’s time to eat. Zhou Chengning calls Grandpa and Gua Gua to come and eat.
There were only two stools at home, and Guagua was small so she had to stand to eat. She had no objection and it was more convenient for her to eat while standing. After eating the wild vegetables her father picked up for her, she came to the conclusion that "Mom's cooking is delicious."
Dad’s cooking is not tasty.
Zhou Chengning picked up a duck leg and gave it to his grandfather. Afraid that his grandfather would not want it, he said, "Grandpa, you eat it. Guagua has one left. He can chew it. Guagua's face is dirty from chewing it."
His Jiajuan cut the pickled duck into pieces and fried it, then put it on a plate and steamed it with appropriate condiments such as cooking wine, green onion, ginger, etc. Although it was cold and not melt-in-the-mouth, it tasted better when it was cold. Even the elderly could chew it, and his three-year-old daughter had no difficulty chewing it.
Seeing that grandpa had eaten, Zhou Chengning became happy and casually asked his daughter, "Dad, what is cooking? Is it delicious?"
Guagua hesitated for a while before saying, "It's delicious, but not as delicious as my mom's."
Mom’s cooking is the best.
Her father told her that she should know how to praise others and not make fun of others by using their shortcomings.
Zhou Chengning didn't know that he had saved himself from harm because of his education of his child. He happily touched his daughter's little head, thinking that she was really his good daughter.
After dinner, Zhou Chengning went to the stream to wash the dishes, while Guagua continued to stay beside his great grandfather and "fried pearls". He asked, "Great grandfather, is it true that no one listens to my father?"
Grandpa Zhou was curious about why his great-granddaughter asked such a question at such a young age, "Why did Gua Gua ask that?"
Guagua explained to his grandfather, "Because Dad listens to Mom, Dad listens to Great Grandpa, Dad also listens to me, and I listen to Mom. No one listens to Dad."
Anyway, the conclusion is that no one listens to dad.
Grandpa Zhou remembered the gossip from the neighbors and asked Guagua, "Guagua, is Dad having a bad time at home?"
"Dad is living a good life! Mom said Guagua is too fat, so she wants to give all the food to Dad! Dad eats a lot, more than Guagua!" The little girl sounded quite unconvinced.
Mom asked Dad to have a second bowl of rice, but she refused to eat it, saying it was too much.
Grandpa Zhou felt relieved after hearing this. "Guagua, it's not that no one listens to Dad. Your dad is a teacher. Does Guagua know what a teacher is?"
Guagua often hears his mother talking about teachers. "I know! Mom told me that I must listen to the teacher in school and not act naughty!"
Grandpa Zhou: "That's right. Many people listen to teachers. Guagua's father is a teacher."
The little great-granddaughter is smarter than her grandson. She speaks clearly and is confident and not timid. She will definitely be a promising child in the future.
Guagua: "Grandpa, if my father listens to me, does that mean he can't be my teacher anymore?"
The little girl asked a lot of questions and tried to confuse the old man. Grandpa Zhou coughed dryly and was thinking about how to answer. Fortunately, Zhou Chengning came back in time.
"dad!"
"What's wrong with Guagua?" Zhou Chengning put his things into the basket and asked Guagua who rushed over.
The look on my daughter's face when she rushed over to me showed that she had some strange questions or something to say.
Guagua: "Dad can't be Guagua's teacher anymore."
Zhou Chengning didn't know why his daughter changed the subject to this. "Why?"
Guagua: "Because Guagua has to listen to the teacher, but Dad listens to Guagua, so Dad can't be Guagua's teacher!"
Zhou Chengning: "Guagua doesn't listen to daddy?"
Guagua: "Yeah! Guagua listens to mom and not dad."
Zhou Chengning pretended to be angry, "Dad told Guagua this morning that he couldn't go to the water, and Guagua obeyed and understood, so you lied to dad? How can you lie at such a young age?"
"I'm not lying." Guagua was finally confused. Grandpa Zhou couldn't help laughing when he saw the interaction between the father and daughter.
When leaving in the afternoon, Zhou Chengning took Gua Gua to wash his hands first, and told his grandfather that he might not come again for a while, and asked his grandfather to keep warm as the weather was cold. His grandfather nodded in agreement.
When the father and daughter returned home, Xu Xiangjuan was sewing a quilt cover. When she knew that the father and daughter had returned, she didn't react much and continued to do her own thing.
As soon as Guagua entered the yard, he shouted, "Mom!"
"What's wrong? Why are you making so much noise? Don't jump on the quilt, it's dirty." Xu Xiangjuan was sitting on the floor sewing a quilt cover with an old sheet spread on the floor. When she saw her daughter rushing towards her, she said something and pushed the little girl away.
Guagua was pushed away and pounced again.
Niu Niu had already fallen asleep and was not woken up by his noisy sister. He was still sleeping in bed.
Guagua went into the inner room and lowered his voice consciously. After all, Niu Niu was still sleeping. Niu Niu would cry every time he woke up. The crybaby Niu Niu said, "Mom, Dad is a teacher. Many people listen to him."
Niu Niu is the laziest one. He is held by his mother every day and can neither walk nor talk.
"Yeah, I know." Xu Xiangjuan responded perfunctorily, not interested in her daughter's words.
Guagua: "Dad listens to Mom, Guagua listens to Dad, Dad also listens to Guagua, but Mom doesn't listen to Dad."
Although he is only three years old, his thinking logic is quite clear.
Xu Xiangjuan became interested. "Why, you're speaking for your father? Did your father ask you to speak?"
Zhou Chengning went back to the kitchen to put away the bamboo basket and dishes. As soon as he stepped into the outer room, he heard Guagua's "treasonous" words and quickly distanced himself from the matter, "Juan, I didn't say that to Guagua."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Who knows if you have it? What's the matter? Do you think I control you too much and never listen to you? So you want to start with Guagua to express your dissatisfaction with me?"
What a little girl who would hurt her father. "No, Guagua is just talking nonsense."
Xu Xiangjuan said seriously, "Guagua is right, Aning, am I really too strong? I make all the decisions at home, which is too inhumane. I will listen to you from now on. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll listen to you."
Guagua is still young but he knows how to take advantage of others' misfortunes. "Dad, I want Mom to give me candy, one a day!"
Guagua would complain to his grandfather about his mother, and his grandfather would agree with her and say, "Mom's heart is made of stone, and Dad's heart is made of cotton. Yes!"
Xu Xiangjuan: "Okay, as long as Dad says so, Mom will agree to give me Gua Gua Candy, one a day."
Guagua: "Dad, please tell me quickly."
How could Zhou Chengning dare to agree? "Guagua is not allowed to eat candy. Eating candy will damage your teeth. You will lose your teeth in the future."
He took off his shoes and stepped on the sheets. There was still enough space, so he sat behind Xu Xiangjuan, with his long legs on the ground on both sides of Xu Xiangjuan, half-encircling her.
Xu Xiangjuan was quite sensible and said to Guagua, "Guagua, you are not allowed to eat candy. If you eat more, your teeth will fall out, and you won't be able to eat the food your mother cooks in the future."
After talking about Guagua, he turned to Guagua's father, "You are such a big man, sitting behind me, you are in the way. Take Guagua to the yard and don't cause trouble for me."
"Juan, you said you would listen to me, so if I want to stay here, you have to listen to me. I told Gua Gua not to eat candy."
Hearing this, if Gua Gua hadn't been there, Xu Xiangjuan would have scolded him for being so bold, but she still pinched his thigh secretly.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Guagua, you heard what dad said, right? Dad won't let you eat candy either, so give up as soon as possible."
"Bad dad!"
Xu Xiangjuan: "Don't be mean to your dad. Hurry up and get on the bed and have a good sleep. Are you sleepy today?"
Gua Gua takes a nap every day, but he probably didn’t sleep today at his great-grandfather’s house.
"I'm sleepy. Let's go to sleep." Gua Gua yawned cooperatively and climbed into bed to sleep.
"Don't wake up your brother. If you wake him up, mom will teach you a lesson." Xu Xiangjuan said when she saw her daughter crawling onto the bed.
Guagua went to bed and fell asleep. Xu Xiangjuan turned to look at the child's father and said, "Guagua is getting more and more unruly day by day. Fortunately, the Yuhong class here has been cancelled and replaced by a kindergarten. We will send Guagua there next semester."
It turns out that there is only the Yuhong class. Their town is different from the county town. Children can still be sent to nurseries when they are six months old, and the mothers basically keep them by their side. The Yuhong class only lasts for one year, and one can only take the exam to go to elementary school after one year of study. If they really have to wait for that year, how long will they have to wait?
There is no orphanage class in the town, and the kindergarten has just been established, so the system is not yet perfect. The regulations for children to go to kindergarten are not very clear. She also asked others when chatting, and now it takes two years before children can go to elementary school. Most parents want to save some money, and don’t think studying is important at the moment. They just want to get through elementary school and learn to read. Of course, Xu Xiangjuan doesn’t think so. After all, she has a high school education and the child’s father is a teacher.
Xu Xiangjuan doesn't want to wait until the baby is four years old. Now that she is old enough, she won't wait that long. Keeping Gua Gua around just to annoy her.
In the future, when you go to kindergarten, you will have something to do instead of catching bugs and pulling weeds every day.
Zhou Chengning didn't really listen to what happened in the kindergarten. He leaned over to Xu Xiangjuan and whispered, "Well, Juan, I don't ask for anything else. Just take good care of yourself and listen to me. Don't get too tired."
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