Chapter 331 Strange Sounds
"This is a good photo. It makes people smile when they see it."
Gao Xiulan sat on the bamboo bed under the grape trellis, flipping through the developed color photos.
Daju was lying at his feet, while Zhima was holding onto the wooden frame and biting on the grape vines.
Lin Xiaotong sat next to him and said, "Mom, you and Dad should take some photos tomorrow."
Gao Xiulan glanced at Xie Dajiao who was playing chess with Chengzi, looking embarrassed.
"We're already so old, it would be embarrassing to show this photo."
If it were the 1970s, she would definitely say: "Why spend this money? I'd rather sell some meat!"
Xie Yi was eating a watermelon on the side, thinking to himself: I made money from setting up the stall, and even his mother's tone of voice has changed.
Xie Da Jiao looked at the suit Haodaer was wearing in the photo. He looked respectable and she felt a little jealous.
"Xiu Lan, I'll take you to take a photo tomorrow."
He now sells some woodworking gadgets from time to time, and specifically sells them to foreigners. The cost is not high, and when you calculate it carefully, the profit is amazing.
Of course, he basically handed over all the money in his pocket. He felt uncomfortable walking on the street with so much money on him.
Gao Xiulan gave him pocket money a few days before every month, and his walking posture returned to normal.
Ten yuan a month! More than Xie Yi made.
Gao Xiulan was overjoyed when she heard this. She and Lao Xie had been together for so many years, and this man had a good eye and cared about her in his heart.
Naturally, she knew the man was telling the truth, and she glanced at him with a smile in her eyes.
"Then it's settled. I'll take you there when the time comes."
"OK."
Xie Da Jiao looked at Xie Yi proudly.
Orange was also laughing. He stood up, picked a ripe purple grape from the fruit basket, peeled it and put it in his mouth.
He wiped his hands and sat back on the stool.
Xie Da Jiao took a big sip of jasmine tea: "Ahem, Orange, it's your turn."
"Grandpa, I don't remember placing my chess pieces like this just now, right?"
"Why not? Hurry up and leave."
Looking again, the person opposite me had a flickering look in his eyes.
The eldest son Xie Yi was so amused by what he saw that he immediately exposed the old Xie's little trick.
"My dear, your grandfather is a terrible chess player. Next time, we won't play with him."
Old Xie was so angry that he said, "Why are you everywhere? Go away."
Lin Xiaotong and Gao Xiulan watched the two bickering with amusement.
At this time, Yang Shujuan came in pushing a bamboo cart with Xiao Zhouzhou sitting inside.
Gao Xiulan closed the photo album: "Lao Yang, why are you back?"
Last summer, Yang Shujuan's company allocated her a two-bedroom apartment, and she often went there to help take care of the children on weekdays.
The room next to Old Xie's is basically just Old Xia, so it's much quieter than the west room."
Zhang Dazui came out of the west room with a big red basin in his hand, filled it with water from the pool, and placed the basin in the yard to dry in the sun.
This way, the water will still be warm when you have dinner in the evening, saving you the trouble of boiling water.
"What's wrong? You're not used to living in a building and you sneaked back?"
Yang Shujuan pushed the child to a cool place. After hearing this, she was full of complaints.
"I'm really not used to living in that building. It's not as good as our yard.
It looks tall and big on the outside, but it's a mess on the inside.
The corridor is pitch black without the lights on. There is no kitchen at home, so we have to cook in the corridor.
The last time I fried meat, there were a bunch of kids around me and their parents didn’t even call them home, which made me feel very uncomfortable.
There is no place to dry the children's clothes, and the clothes drying outside smell like cooking fumes.
Yesterday, my son Zhou Zhou's diapers were drying downstairs for a while, and when I went downstairs to get them, they were gone.
Today's buildings are not like the suites of later generations. Most of them are tube-shaped buildings.
The corridors are dark and narrow, there are no independent toilets and kitchens, and the quality of life is not high.
Lin Xiaotong moved a little, and Gao Xiulan patted the bamboo bed next to her.
Yang Shujuan thanked him, sat down, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Chengzi stood up and looked curiously at Zhou Zhou who was sitting in the bamboo chair.
"Mom, he's so small."
Lin Xiaotong leaned closer and said with a smile: "You were like this when you were a child, but it will be different in a few years."
There is also an "Orange Observation Diary" on the bookshelf at home. It contains pictures and words, recording Orange's growth in each stage, including interesting and embarrassing things.
Orange thought of the photo in the notebook of her when she was one year old, lying naked in the Red Double Happiness washbasin and taking a bath.
He hugged Lin Xiaotong's waist with his arms around her, his face flushed.
Xie Yi was confused: "Girl, don't get burned in the sun.
Your mother is afraid of heat, so don't cling to her all the time."
Chengzi felt that the last sentence of her father's words might be the key point.
The child Xia Zhou looks like his mother, with thick eyelashes and a fair face.
His eyes were fixed on the purple grapes, without making any noise or fuss.
He has a completely different personality from when Guoqing was a child.
At that time, Xia Yue entered the delivery room, and Zhou Jianguo, who was about to become a grandfather, was anxiously pacing outside.
His face was filled with bitterness and resentment, as he was afraid that the child would look like his father.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief when his grandson was one month old. He was very handsome with big eyes and a turned-up nose.
Finding a partner in the future shouldn't be as difficult as it was for him back then.
The eldest and second sons, both of whom are simple-minded and naive, are lucky enough to have found gentle and kind wives.
She has the same personality as his daughter Cui Lian.
Zhang Dazui smacked his lips after hearing this and said, "I don't know why so many people want to squeeze into the tube-shaped building?"
In fact, decades ago, the steel mill also built welfare housing, and only married employees in the factory could apply for it, but they had to queue up.
Some were also assigned to the compound, some were happy and some were sad.
She still remembered the original resident of Diao Yulian's house. The man in that family insisted on living in the same building with her leader.
I used my connections privately and went through a lot of trouble before I finally got what I wanted.
After the people moved out and the house became empty, Wu Shengli moved in with Diao Yulian.
Gao Xiulan knew what was going on: "It's all because of 'upstairs and downstairs, lights and telephones'."
Living in an apartment sounds more upscale than living in a small bungalow.
To be fair, many slums now have excessive illegal construction and the compounds are in a state of disrepair.
The people in their compound are quite caring. The houses look relatively new and clean, and people feel comfortable living in them.
Yang Shujuan nodded and said, "I'd better take the children back to live in the compound. I won't be so anxious once I'm home."
"The young couple are busy with work, and you live alone in an apartment and take care of the children.
I don’t know any of my neighbors, and I’m getting moldy from being cooped up in the house all day.”
Zhang Dazui felt that if she lived that kind of life, even braised pork would not taste good.
"Zhou Zhou is an easy child to take care of. We don't have to worry about strangers coming over and touching the child in our compound."
Yang Shujuan nodded.
"When I lived there, I was always terrified every time I walked downstairs with my child in my arms."
If something really happens to the child, the whole family will be devastated.
Orange was taking the washed grapes, peeling the skin and letting Zhou Zhou lick it, but he didn't really let him eat it.
Perhaps because he tasted the sweetness, Zhou Zhou raised his fist and grinned with his mouth bubbling.
"This child is so easy to coax." After saying this, Xie Da Jiao secretly changed the position of the chess piece.
When he saw Xie Yi's mouth full of white teeth, his hands trembled.
"What are you doing again? Your smile is so scary. Can't I play alone?"
Just as Xie Yi was about to say something, a rumbling sound came from outside the alley, one after another, from far away to near.
Zhang Dazui scratched his ears and said, "Whose noise is this kid making? It sounds like he's driving a tractor."
Gao Xiulan listened carefully and said, "This sound seems to be coming towards us?"
As soon as the words fell, the young couple rushed to the door, followed by a little tail.
Zhou Zhou was also stunned, and his sweet grapes flew away.
"Oh wow~ I'm back!"
A few people were standing on the steps of the courtyard gate when they saw Ernengzi riding a strange thing into the alley, making strange noises.
At the door, Guoqing and a few boys were poking cicadas with long sticks.
Guoqing held his head high, his hands were sore from holding them up, and he finally caught a cicada.
Hearing the sound, my hand shook and the cicada fell in the middle of the road.
He just put down the stick, wiped the sweat off his face with his white vest, and happily prepared to pick it up.
"Son, get out of the way—"
With a whoosh, a car ran over the cicada's body.
During National Day, tears came and I cried out loud.
His cicada disappeared in an instant.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
