"It's okay, I'm wearing a coat, so I'm not cold. This is the chili and eggplant from your second aunt's sauce, as well as some pickles. I also got these fried dumplings this morning and fished them out last night..."
After squatting for a long time, his legs became numb. When he stood up, his vision went dark. If his niece had not been quick-witted, he would have almost fallen to the ground.
"Be careful, Second Uncle!"
Qiu Yuling brought the man into the yard, lit the fire, and the hot water in the thermos was only slightly warm, so she let her second uncle drink a whole pot of it, and the man slowly recovered.
"Uncle, I know you must have something to talk to me about. Don't worry, warm yourself up by the fire. I'll warm up the mutton soup first. Don't go back today. Come back tomorrow when the sun comes out..."
Li Qingchuan moved his lips but said nothing. He just followed his niece's busy figure with his peripheral vision, following her as she came and went.
After Qiu Yuling finished all these, she took a small stool and sat on the other side of the stove opposite her second uncle.
Second uncle seemed to have something to hide, so she didn't rush him. Instead, she placed the peeled peanuts on a small porcelain plate and pushed it towards her second uncle. "I'll go get you a glass of wine. Drink it with the peanuts. It'll warm you up quickly."
After a glass of wine, Li Qingchuan was finally able to open his mouth. "Yuling, your cousin from the Premier League... Oh, I don't know how to open my mouth."
It was mostly consistent with Qiu Yuling's guess, so she didn't let her uncle's face, which had been saved with great difficulty, fall to the ground. She interrupted him and agreed.
"My cousin's matter is not a big deal. Uncle, when you go back tomorrow, ask my cousin to come over. He has learned some carpentry and has also studied. I will recommend him to a better position.
You too, just call my cousin and ask me to go back. It's so cold, I'll freeze here.
You are my uncle, and you took care of me and my brothers when we were young. If you have any questions, just ask me. I will not refuse if I can, but I will also find a way for you if I can’t. How can I make things difficult for you? "
Li Qingchuan's heart, which had been hanging high in the air, suddenly settled back into his chest, and he was filled with great joy. He had been struggling with the difficulties for a long time, but his niece agreed to it without any hesitation.
Afraid that he would be embarrassed, she didn't mention any of her difficulties or faults to him. In her joy, she pushed the empty wine glass towards him and said, "After drinking a little wine, you will feel warm quickly. I drank it a little too quickly just now and didn't taste the flavor. Pour another cup for my second uncle, fill it up..."
This time Qiu Yuling didn't listen to him. This wine was brewed by her and Zhuzhu themselves, and it was very strong. Her wine cup was not small, so she filled it with two taels.
He brought over a half-full cup and said, "That's all. Any more and you'll be drunk. If you're okay with it, I'll fill a jar for you and my uncle before we leave. You can take it back and sip it every night before bed."
Li Qingchuan responded with a series of "Hey, Hey" sounds. He then pointed happily at the bundle on the ground and said, "There are two sheepskins and a fox skin in it. You can use them as you wish."
Qiu Yuling happily accepted it and saw that her second uncle became more and more relaxed.
"Second uncle, please also send a message to my eldest uncle. Our factory has expanded, and we're short of elementary school teachers. Ask him to ask cousin Yingfen if she still wants to come."
Li Qingchuan was full of joy. He had thought that this night would be so tense that he would be unable to sleep.
Unexpectedly, when I opened my eyes the next day, the sun was already high in the sky and my niece had not gone to work yet. The small pot on the stove was bubbling.
"Uncle, you're awake. I made some millet soup for you. Have some and it'll make you feel better." As he spoke, he took the oily dumplings that had been warming on the stove for a long time, put them on a cloth, and brought them to the table along with the plate.
There were also two boiled eggs on the table, a small dish of cold shredded carrots, and the spicy pickles he brought.
Li Qingchuan extended his chopsticks towards the pickled vegetables. Qiu Yuling quickly moved the plate towards her. "Try the shredded carrots and see how I prepared them. This is all I got from my sister-in-law. Why are you trying to snatch it from me?"
The second uncle was not polite and ate all of his niece's gifts. "This dish mixed with oil is different."
Qiu Yuling pushed the peeled eggs towards her second uncle, not allowing him to refuse. "Don't do this to me. How can I go to my nephew's house and let my uncle go home hungry? What would I do then? If you are not in a hurry to go back, I will make you some steamed meat at noon. I am even better at making it..."
Li Qingchuan waved his hands repeatedly, "That won't do. I have to hurry back and ask your cousin Yingying and cousin Yingfen to come over quickly..." to avoid any more trouble.
Qiu Yuling did not stop her. For parents, nothing is more important than their children's future.
She handed over two small jars in a net bag, which contained wine for the two uncles, and a cloth bag containing large pre-made meat buns, which tasted like those in state-owned restaurants. "You can eat on the way. Take my bike back and ask my cousins to ride over later."
Li Qingchuan was in a dilemma, afraid of causing more trouble for his niece. "If I take your bike, how are you going to work? No, no!"
"Why not? You'll have to walk all the way back until the afternoon. Didn't you say you wanted your cousins to come quickly? Now, it's not urgent, is it?"
"Then how are you going to get to work?" He was a little tempted, but also worried about the inconvenience for his niece.
"Just walk. It's a good exercise. Besides, it doesn't matter if I'm early or late here."
It would be outrageous to push it any further. Li Qingchuan was anxious and didn't want to delay for a moment. He took the bicycle keys, took a step forward, and pedaled very fast. Before his niece had finished saying goodbye, only the exhaust gas of the bicycle was left.
Qiu Yuling simply waited at home, figuring that her cousins wouldn't keep her waiting for long.
As expected, the people on the other end came very quickly. She had just finished lunch when not only her cousins came, but also her uncle and aunt.
Qiu Yuling welcomed the people into the house and tied the mule cart under a tree. "You haven't eaten yet, right? There are ready-made meat buns. I'll also make you some dumpling soup."
This was Zhou Hongfang's first time entering this courtyard in the city. She felt that everything here was exquisite, especially the clean bed sheet. She felt embarrassed to put her things on it, so she carefully placed them on the ground to the side and rolled up her sleeves. "Lingling, sit down. I'll do it."
Qiu Yuling pushed the person back and said, "Aunt, please sit down. Are you so anxious to work on your first visit to your niece's house? Otherwise, don't go back. There is plenty of work."
On normal days, she would have agreed to it as a joke. City dwellers' jobs were all enjoyable, unlike those in the countryside where work was hard and tiring. But today, she had just found a place for her daughter, so how could she accept the joke?
"That won't do. I'm your uncle's mainstay. If I'm not here, he'll starve to death!"
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