After Qi Tao left Xing's house, he did not go home, but went out of the yard and took a walk outside.
When he returned to the yard, it was already dark, but there were few people in the yard. It was time to take a bath, wash clothes and get ready for bed, and everyone was busy in the house.
He walked to the door of his house, but stopped and stood at the door.
In the bathroom, his wife was bathing their daughter, and the sound of talking could be heard from time to time. His mother was sitting in the living room, squinting her eyes and mending his torn military pants.
The needle passed through the cloth, she pinched the needle tip and stretched the thin thread, and the man looked up and saw him wondering, "What are you doing standing at the door?"
"Nothing." Qi Tao shook his head and walked in to ask, "Have you finished your shower?"
"I washed it after dinner," Old Mrs. Qi asked while mending her military pants, "Did you go out just now?" When she said went out, she meant that he left the Xing family and left the yard.
Qi Tao hummed: "I remembered that I have something to tell someone."
"What is it?"
"Things about the camp." Qi Tao finished speaking, and then seemed to have just remembered, "Oh, I have to take over tomorrow night, so I won't be back."
"Didn't you just start your shift yesterday?" After arriving on the island, Mrs. Qi learned a lot about the army and knew that her son started his shift every three or four days.
Qi Tao said calmly, "He's our deputy battalion commander. He has something to do tomorrow, so he asked me to cover for him for a day."
"Well, then remember to tell your wife later." When talking about Yang Yi, Mrs. Qi's attitude remained the same, as if she didn't take the apology from a few days ago to heart.
Before today, Qi Tao felt comforted seeing his mother being so sensible.
His scheming was indeed not that deep, and many of the things Xing Dong said were the first time he heard them. But he wasn't so stupid that he didn't know anything even though the fire in the backyard had reached his eyebrows.
In fact, as early as when he returned to his hometown to pick up Yang Yi and the children to join the army, he noticed that the relationship between his mother and daughter-in-law was not as harmonious as before.
However, conflicts are inevitable between biological mother and daughter when they get along with each other, not to mention that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not biological mother and daughter, so it is normal to have occasional friction. In the eyes of these men, as long as the situation doesn't become hostile, it's not a big deal.
What's more, he is going to take his wife and children to join the army. In the future, his mother and wife will not be together. As time goes by, any conflicts will slowly disappear.
Therefore, at that time, he did not delve into the cause of their conflict, thinking it unnecessary.
He was very happy that his mother and brother came to visit him this time. The last time he reunited with his family was when he picked up Yang Yi to join the army. He missed his family very much after not seeing them for several years.
Because he was so happy, he didn't even think about the discord between his mother and his wife at first. But even if he remembered it later, when he got home and saw that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were getting along well, he thought they had reconciled.
He did suspect something when he noticed his wife wasn't feeling well last week, but she refused to say anything when he asked her. As for his mother and brother, they both said everything was fine at home. Plus, he was busy with work at that time, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
Then there was the argument between Lin Wei and his mother.
In fact, if they were arguing, he probably wouldn't think anything of it even if he heard what his mother muttered. But after hearing what Lin Wei said, he felt that those words sounded a bit harsh, and when he thought about his wife crying secretly at night, he asked his mother to apologize.
His mother was unhappy at first, thinking that as a mother-in-law, it was too embarrassing for her to apologize to her daughter-in-law just because she said something wrong.
He could only talk to his mother about the situation, with his brother also helping him, and finally his mother realized her mistake.
Really, do you realize your mistake?
Qi Tao suddenly asked: "Has Xiaoze made you angry recently?"
"Your brother is very obedient, how could he make me angry?" Old Lady Qi said something nice to her youngest son and took the opportunity to ask, "Did you ask someone to help him get a job?"
Because when Qi Tao was born, Mrs. Qi and her husband were already in their middle age. Even if they couldn't be said to be blessed with a pearl, they would definitely favor such a child.
When Old Man Qi passed away, Qi Tao was already serving in the army. Although his allowance was not much, he was filial and sent all his savings back home.
Therefore, although Qi Ze lost his father at a very young age, he was spoiled by his mother in front and loved by his sister-in-law in the back. He never had a hard life and thus developed a character that could not endure hardship.
When Qi Ze was in the third year of junior high school, classes were suspended. He hung out with others in school, accusing people and posting big-character posters on them. When Qi Tao found out, he felt that this was not a good idea and wanted to send him to the army. He started school late and was old enough to join the army.
But Qi Ze felt that being a soldier was too hard and he was not willing to do it. Old Mrs. Qi also didn't want her youngest son to be too far away from her, so she refused. But he calmed down and stopped hanging out with those wearing armbands.
In 1968, when he went to the countryside to work, Qi Ze returned to his own team. But he doesn't have to go to another place to join the queue. At most, his life will be more convenient. No one will give him special treatment. He still has to go to the fields.
Qi Ze couldn't stand it after working for less than half a month. Old Mrs. Qi felt sorry for her son, so she went to ask the team leader to arrange an easier job for him. The team leader agreed for Qi Tao's sake and arranged for him to weed and harvest rice with the half-grown children, but after two or three months, he couldn't stand it.
Later, when he went to the commune, he met an old classmate. He saw that the old classmate was wearing a new work uniform. After asking around, he learned that the old classmate had joined a state-owned factory, and he became interested.
When Old Mrs. Qi heard that he wanted to be a worker, she agreed without hesitation, thinking it was so respectable, so she told Yang Yi about it. At that time, Old Lady Qi had not yet fallen out with her, and Yang Yi also sincerely hoped that her brother-in-law would be well, so she called Qi Tao and mentioned the matter. Then Qi Tao found an old friend and got him an apprenticeship spot in a state-owned factory.
It was a flour mill, not a big unit, but the work was relatively easy, so Qi Ze just kept working there. Later, he started dating a female colleague from the same unit, and they got married as soon as they reached the age limit.
Half a year after Qi Ze got married, Yang Yi came to join the army. Perhaps because he had a family, he became much more stable and worked diligently. He even became a team leader last year.
Everything was going in the right direction until he came here with Old Lady Qi.
At the beginning, Old Mrs. Qi beat around the bush, saying that the work at the flour mill was not good in this way and that way, and tried to get Qi Tao to change his youngest son's job.
But Qi Tao did not agree. He thought that arranging a job for someone was not something he could do just by talking. He also needed to ask for favors from others. What's more, his brother has become a team leader in the flour mill. If he goes to another unit, he will have to start all over again. Why bother?
Seeing this, his mother had to tell the truth. It turned out that Qi Ze did not come here on leave. He had resigned from the flour mill a long time ago. But Qi Tao was not so easy to fool. He said there must be a reason for resigning and asked them to explain. His mother had no choice but to tell him that Qi Ze had offended someone and was set up to lose his job.
But neither of them wanted to say who they had offended or what kind of trap the other party had set, so the work came to a standstill.
But Qi Tao didn't want to talk about his brother's work at this time, so he just asked: "Why do neighbors say that when they go to work in the morning, they always hear you scolding Xiaoze at home?"
"When did I teach you a lesson..." Old Lady Qi suddenly remembered and quickly changed her words, "I just spoke a little loudly, how could it be considered a scolding? It's not that exaggerated."
Qi Tao said pointedly: "You don't usually have such a loud voice. Xiaoze must have made you angry. Tell me what happened and I will teach him a lesson."
Old Mrs. Qi wanted to make up a story to get away with it, but she didn't dare to do it after hearing this. How could her younger son stand the lecture from his elder son? She said with a stiff face, "It's nothing. I'm just worried about his job. He's a grown man with a wife and children to support. How can he not have a job? Taozi, you're the older brother, you can't ignore your younger brother."
"Mom, it's not that I don't want to help him, it's that you guys didn't explain it clearly. I don't know how he was set up and why he was forced to quit his job. How can I arrange a job for him?"
"I'm not asking you to bring him back to his original unit. Why do you need to know what mistakes he made in the past when he gets a new job?" Old Mrs. Qi didn't understand and played the emotional card, saying, "Taozi, he's your own brother. If you don't help him, no one else will."
"It is precisely because he is my biological brother that I want to know exactly what he did." Qi Tao waved his hand and said, "Don't mention the work until you have considered whether to confess or not."
Before Old Mrs. Qi could say something else, Qi Tao's daughter Zhenzhen came out of the bathroom.
Zhenzhen just turned six in September. She was still young and didn't notice that the atmosphere was wrong. She jumped in front of Qi Tao and said proudly, "Dad, I learned to write your name."
Qi Tao, who had been frowning just now, smiled when he heard his daughter's words and asked, "Really?"
"Yes, I'll write it for you." Zhenzhen looked around and ran to the master bedroom to take out her small schoolbag, found a pencil and notebook, squatted beside the coffee table and wrote the two big words "Dad".
Qi Tao, who was full of expectations, looked at the two words in surprise, and then burst into laughter.
Zhenzhen saw her father smiling and thought he was happy, so she confidently pointed at the two words and asked, "Dad, is that right?"
Qi Tao said helplessly: "The character is correct, but this is not my father's name."
Zhenzhen widened her eyes, looked at Qi Tao, then looked at the words on the notebook, puzzled: "But I just call you dad."
Yang Yi came out of the bathroom after finishing her work and heard her daughter's words and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The teacher taught us to write mom and dad today. I learned it and wrote it to my dad, but he said it wasn't his name," Zhenzhen asked doubtfully, "Mom, is mom your name?"
Yang Yi explained: "Mom and Dad are titles, not names, just like your brother calls you sister, but your name is Zhenzhen."
Zhenzhen suddenly realized and turned to ask, "What are your parents' names?"
Qi Tao glanced at his wife, picked up a pen and wrote on the notebook, "My mother's name is Yang Yi, and my father's name is Qi Tao."
Looking at the happy appearance of the family of three, Old Mrs. Qi couldn't help but think of her little grandson in her hometown. She had originally agreed to return after things were settled, but now because of her eldest son's stubbornness, the return trip has been delayed.
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Qi felt that the smile on her eldest daughter-in-law's face was particularly dazzling.
The eldest son has always been sentimental and is dragging his feet on this matter, which must be because he was instigated by his daughter-in-law.
She also thought of what Qi Tao had said a few days ago when he asked her to apologize to Yang Yi, saying that it was not easy for her to be filial to her mother-in-law and raise her brother-in-law after marrying into the Qi family. She couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
Which daughter-in-law, when she marries into a family, shouldn’t be filial to her parents-in-law and take care of her younger siblings? But she was so smart and even though she didn't do much work, she felt like she was a noble person in the Qi family.
I just said a few words to her, but she acted as if she had suffered a great injustice. I, as her mother-in-law, apologized to her, but she actually accepted it calmly.
The more she thought about it, the angrier Old Lady Qi became, and she didn't close her eyes until dawn.
…
There were many people who suffered from insomnia that night, and Gao Xiu Lian was one of them.
The official name of a vegetable washer is actually a handyman. It was only after the state-owned restaurant opened that the first person who did this job joked about himself that way. Over time, everyone started calling him that and forgot the original name of the job.
It doesn’t matter if you forget the name of the job, there will be plenty of work anyway. For example, Gao Xiu Lian’s current job includes washing vegetables, washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen and many other chores.
Of course, the director of the state-owned restaurant was not a capitalist and would not exploit Gao Xiu Lian so much, so in addition to her, there was also a vegetable washer in the kitchen.
However, this job is divided into morning and evening shifts. The morning shift is the same as everyone else in the kitchen. They start working at four in the morning and work until two in the afternoon. The evening shift starts at ten in the morning and works until eight in the evening. Therefore, the time the two people's work overlaps is not long, and the work they need to do is just as much as that at the window.
Gao Xiu Lian worked the early shift some time ago. She got up at around three in the morning every day, went to work at four and worked until two in the afternoon. When she got off work, her legs were shaking and she was almost exhausted. After returning home every day, she just wanted to lie down and take a nap, but she was afraid that if she slept too much, she would not be able to fall asleep at night, and she would not be able to get up in the early morning and would have to stay awake.
But she was really tired and had no mood to go out and chat with people, which also led to her being late in getting news recently.
After finally waiting until the shift change, Gao Xiulian thought about having to go back to work at 10 a.m. the next day and had a good sleep after getting home from get off work. She was awakened by hunger at around 5 a.m., so she got up, washed, and took her children who had just returned from school to eat.
While eating, Gao Xiu Lian thought about how she had been living a reversed schedule during this period. Not only did she make the children eat in the restaurant all morning, noon and night, she also didn't even talk much to them. She was exhausted from work every day, and really didn't like to listen to the children's complaints when she got home.
But today she was in a good mood, so she remembered her responsibilities as a mother and asked a few questions about her children's studies.
If you don’t ask, you won’t know the result. If you ask, you will be furious.
It turned out that when she was busy with her work, her second daughter, Zhao Mei, went through three stages: the main teacher was injured - there was no teacher to teach, so she was forced to study on her own - a new substitute teacher appeared and classes returned to normal.
Of course, this is not the most important thing. Although Gao Xiu Lian could not get a good job due to her academic qualifications after joining the army, she realized the importance of studying. But parents of that era were not as strict as they are in later generations when it comes to their children's studies. In Gao Xiu Lian's opinion, one or two days without a teacher was not a big deal at all.
What made her angry was that the new substitute teacher arranged by the school was Lin Wei!
Although Lin Wei is currently only a substitute teacher and will not be working for a few months, Gao Xiulian thinks about how hard she works every day and how hard she tries to perform, not knowing when she will be able to be transferred back to the window from the kitchen.
However, because of her high level of education, Lin Wei quickly became a substitute teacher in the military district primary school after her good job in the hospital pharmacy was ruined.
Her mentality collapsed uncontrollably.
That night, whenever Gao Xiu Lian closed her eyes, she could not help but imagine Lin Wei standing on the podium, and the fire in her heart burned uncontrollably.
So the next morning, Gao Xiu Lian went to work with two big dark circles under her eyes.
…
The next day, Lin Wei also went out with dark circles under her eyes, but it was not because of insomnia, but because of the torment she suffered from Zong Shao.
Because of the letter, Zong Shao was in a bad mood that night, so when they were intimate, Lin Wei indulged him a little. Then one misstep led to everlasting regret, and I tossed and turned until the late night before I could fall asleep.
It was bad enough that she went to bed late, but what was even more infuriating was that Lin Wei was woken up by Zong Shao’s kiss before five in the morning. Fortunately, today was not a day off, and he was rushing out to the camp, otherwise she really felt like she was going to fall apart.
But she was not much better now. She lay on the edge of the bed with her eyes squinted. She wanted to sleep, and she seemed to be a little awake. She wanted to get up, but her head was still dizzy.
Looking at Zong Shao standing in front of the closet rummaging through clothes, he looked energetic and refreshed, and Lin Wei couldn't help gnashing her teeth.
Zong Shao put on his shirt and turned around. He couldn't help laughing when he saw her little expression. He walked up to her while buttoning his shirt and bent down to kiss her.
But before he lowered his head, Lin Wei covered his face with her hands. Then he heard her say, "I've thought of the punishment if you smoke today."
"Um?"
Lin Wei gritted her teeth and said, "Abstinence."
Zong Shao said "oh" and asked, "Can the reward be upgraded?"
Lin Wei immediately said: "No!"
Zong Shao looked disappointed: "Okay then."
It was not until Lin Wei woke up from her sleep and thought about this that she suddenly realized that she had not agreed to the reward proposed by Zong Shao. What level was she going to upgrade?
cunning!
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
