It was already dusk when Ling Shuang walked home carrying her younger niece on her back and holding her older niece's hand.
When she got home, she saw that the yard was clean and tidy. She put her sleeping niece on the bed in her original room. Not surprisingly, the room was exceptionally clean. She smelled it closely and found that the sheets and quilt gave off a fresh smell from the sun.
Looking at the bed sheet stretched out and smooth as a mirror, I couldn't help but complain: "This guy's mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder are getting worse again..."
As soon as she put Xiao Ping down on the bed, Yong Fang came over to take Xiao Tao's hand, gently took her to wash her face and hands, and was ready to feed her. Her uncle was always very kind to her, and she even felt that he was better than her father. Therefore, she loved her uncle's two younger sisters very much. Every winter and summer vacation, she would take the two younger sisters to play. Now that the younger sister had fallen asleep, she took the older sister's hand and took care of her.
Lin Yi stood in front of the bed, staring at Xiaoping lying on the bed, wanting to say something but stopping himself: "Uh... uh, what, should you wash the child before letting her sleep?" The bed sheets have just been changed, dear.
"Don't be so nosy! The children are clean, there are no dirty children. Be careful not to ruin your image by being so picky!" Ling Shuang warned him in a low voice.
Lin Yi shrugged his nose, frowned, and went out: "Children are not dirty? Haven't you heard of the term 'little dirty child, little dirty child'?"
Ling Shuang settled Xiao Ping down, closed the door gently, and followed her out. "Where's Yongliang? He hasn't come back yet?" She had just looked around and saw that the dishes were all on the table, but she didn't see her eldest son.
"He ran away from home." Lin Yi started to serve porridge to the three children.
Ling Shuang and the three children also came over and sat down around the square table: "He left this morning and hasn't come back yet?"
"That's right." Lin Yi answered her.
Yongfang and Yongqiang both looked at their noses with their eyes and their mouths with their noses, without saying a word.
"Haha, you're quite courageous." Ling Shuang said this and stopped talking.
"Mom, why didn't my uncle come?" Yongqiang couldn't help but ask.
"Your uncle is coming tomorrow. What's wrong? Do you miss your uncle?" Ling Shuang picked up a piece of fried duck egg with chopsticks and gave it to Xiaotao.
Yongqiang didn't answer after hearing this. He just smiled and lowered his head to drink the porridge.
"How much mountain products have you collected?" Ling Shuang asked Lin Yi.
"You don't know, this afternoon I..." Lin Yi hesitated to speak.
"Mom, my dad took apart and washed all the quilts and mattresses in your room this afternoon. He even washed the buckwheat husks in the pillows, and then sewed them back up. Mom, you didn't know that my dad could actually do this." When talking about her father's actions this afternoon, Yongfang couldn't help but sigh to her mother.
"It's not just this. Go to the kitchen and take a look. It looks like it was newly renovated. My dad did it at noon," Yongqiang added.
Ling Shuang glanced at Lin Yi without saying anything. Lin Yi coughed awkwardly and said, "I asked Yongqiang and Yongfang to pick up a lot of mountain products for me this afternoon. It should be enough for me."
This surprised Ling Shuang. She nodded and said, "I asked Genbao to get some from his uncle. Xiaotao's uncle's shop is not far from the train station. You can take the goods from his shop and go directly to the train."
"Mom, my dad said he will take me and my uncle to Beijing in a few days, did you know?" Yongqiang said a little excitedly.
The farthest place he has been to is within this city. Both times he went to participate in subject competitions organized by the Municipal Education Commission. He followed his teacher there and back on the same day, and he didn't have a chance to go sightseeing. Now he is going to Beijing.
"I know. Your dad said that taking you to Beijing is a reward for your admission to the No. 1 Middle School in the city." After saying that, she looked at Yongfang and said, "Fang, it's not convenient for the three grown men to go out together this time. Don't worry. Mom promises you that I will take you next time."
Yongfang grinned at her mother and said, "Okay." She didn't really care whether or not they took her to Beijing. Her father had reassured her and her brother that afternoon that they would both go to high school together. As long as they could continue their education, she'd be perfectly content. The hurt she'd felt from her parents' previous bias seemed to have faded. At that moment, she was simply delighted.
After the family finished their meal and washed up, they were ready to go to bed. Zhao Yongliang had not come back yet. Yongqiang stood at the gate and looked back and forth several times. Seeing that it was getting later, he said to his parents anxiously, "Let's go out and look for him. It's so late. My eldest brother has bad legs and feet. Maybe he fell somewhere and can't walk anymore."
"What are you looking for? Are you free? Go back and sleep. If anyone dares to go out and look for her, I will break his legs." Lin Yi pretended to be wicked and shouted. Not only that, he also locked the door. Even if Zhao Yongliang came back tonight, he could only choose to climb over the wall to get in.
Yongqiang hesitated and didn't move. His sister pulled him aside and said, "Let's go. Big brother will be fine. Besides..." Yongfang looked up at her parents who were almost outside the room and whispered in Yongqiang's ear, "Mom and Dad have always been partial. How could they not care about big brother? They must have known what was going on. They're just teaching him a lesson. He should take care of himself. Don't worry about it. Go, go, go to bed."
When Yongqiang heard this, he said: That's right, he and his sister are also their parents' biological children. He said that even if the eldest brother is the favored one, it is impossible for his parents to indulge him without any bottom line. It's okay for trivial matters in daily life, but when it comes to major issues, his parents must not be vague.
The family went back to their rooms to sleep. Outside the village, in a large, long-abandoned irrigation well beside a field, Zhao Yongliang shivered, clutching his thin clothes.
What's the matter?
It’s quite hot during the day, why is it so cold at night?
I'm also feeling very hungry.
Why haven’t my parents come over yet?
Did I hide it too deeply this time?
Zhao Yongliang stood up, stuck half of his head out from the eaves of the well, and looked around. He saw the gentle night breeze blowing through waves of wheat. Frogs croaked in the rice fields not far away. A bright moon hung in the sky, illuminating the surrounding green mountains. In the moonlight, there was not even a ghost...
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