After eating the noodle soup prepared by Zhang's mother, Zhang Laoer, whose persuasion was fruitless, patted his stomach and said, "Dad, I'm going to go out first and catch up with my old friends."
"Go ahead. Drink less."
"Okay."
"Mom, go back to your room early and don't rush into the kitchen."
"Okay, just two bowls."
Zhang's mother watched her son go out, quickly put away the work in her hands, walked out of the kitchen and into the west room, where she saw her husband crawling on the ground.
She came up curiously and asked, "What's going on?"
"I have to prepare something for the kid when he goes out."
After hearing this, Zhang's mother moved the stool beside him away, sat down and pounded her legs, keeping her eyes on her husband's movements.
Father Zhang searched around and finally pulled out a piece of oil-paper wrapped around the kang. He got up, put the thing on the kang, and patted the dust off his legs with his hands.
Looking at the familiar black oil-paper bag, Zhang's mother couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are you giving away your family fortune?"
"I plan to take Xiaowu's money with me."
"Are you worried that he doesn't have money?"
"It's not much. We only made a little money during the May Day holiday, but we gave it to Shi Tou and used it to buy us a yard in the provincial capital. We can't afford to spend that much money."
Father Zhang sighed softly as he spoke, "Although the government is paying for our child's study abroad this time, it won't be enough once he's abroad. Ping An is 25 this year, and he has a lot of expenses."
"Xiaowu said he got a raise."
"It's not that I dislike my older son. No matter how much he earns, it's never enough for him to spend. He's too generous. When he came back for the Lunar New Year, he got drunk and let the cat out of the bag.
They said that many of the soldiers who went to the battlefield last time were either missing limbs or died in a bloody mess. Some of those who were not even in their early twenties were better off, as they were back home with their parents and brothers to support them.
The most pitiful are those who have just started a family and are left with orphans and widows. Once the daughter-in-law remarries, there is no one to take care of the children...
Sigh... I won't say anymore. I think our oldest son will definitely send money to those families. He is soft-hearted and will help once he sees it."
Father Zhang frowned after he finished speaking, "Remember those years? Brother Zhou donated a lot of money. I guess this family's money is not saved."
Mother Zhang blinked her eyes: She didn't quite understand what her husband meant.
"Also, don't just look at the high salary. Do we need to pay the aunt we hired? Do we need to feed and drink the three young men? Otherwise, we won't think about making money on May Day."
Mother Zhang opened her mouth and asked, "You mean, our Xiaowu has no money?"
"Oh, it's so hard to talk to you. Didn't I tell you, there aren't many left? Poor at home, rich on the road. Do you understand what this means?"
Father Zhang glanced at his wife and said, "Give us some extra money so we can go abroad on May Day. If we have money, we won't have to worry about suffering abroad. Money is courage. This is a foreign country. Brother Zhou has no right to interfere."
Zhang's mother was startled when she heard this, and smacked her lips. "You have a point."
"That's right. I've lived my whole life, how could I not understand this?"
Zhang's mother looked away guiltily: she wouldn't tell her husband. But her daughter Jiaojiao had told her privately that they had saved enough money to marry wives for not only three grandchildren, but even thirty.
Knowing that her eldest son has always been lenient, how could she, as a mother, not punish her eldest son and his wife?
Besides, her son and his wife had already discussed this with her. They had even prepared a safe yard and were renting it out to the foreigners for quite a bit of money a month.
Zhang's father, who was kept in the dark, asked quietly, "Over the years, Xiaowu has given us nearly five thousand yuan. I've collected some of the extra money for him, so we still have three thousand yuan. Do you want to take it all?"
"How much can we spend at our age?" Zhang's mother said without hesitation, "Take it all over first and keep it at home. I don't dare to go far away. What else? Here are only a thousand yuan at most."
"Yeah, okay, take them all. There are some left over there."
"Hurry up, while the second one is not here, let's seize the time."
"Is it that serious?" After saying this, Zhang Dad stuffed the money into the cabinet, immediately fastened his heels and walked out.
If he could hide it from the second son, he had to keep it a secret. He believed that even if his second son was greedy for small gains, he would not take his younger brother's things, but it was not good if he felt uneasy.
He now hopes that after he passes away with his wife, his three sons will still be so united.
When Zhang's mother saw him stand up, she hurriedly took out the eight kilograms of quilt prepared in the cupboard and put it on again: This stinky old man does what he says and is stubborn.
Go ahead and walk away. If you don’t hide under the quilt, how will you walk away?
So when they set out the next morning, Zhang Laoer saw his parents' luggage—a thick winter quilt, a large canvas duffel bag, and...
"Mom, don't you need to bring a quilt in this hot summer?"
"Who knows if it's cold abroad? Bring it with you first."
Zhang Laoer's mouth twitched when he heard this. He had seen people bringing quilts to college, but he had never heard of anyone bringing a quilt to study abroad.
Father Zhang explained, "Cotton is cheap this year. If you don't need it for May Day, just give it to your brother. Normally, you have to pay shipping fees to send things, but now you can save money."
Zhang Laoer nodded with a wry smile and hurried to move out, for he was worried that it was too late and his mother would have to bring another quilt.
He was convinced by his parents. It was not that he was reluctant to give up the things, but he wanted to take them abroad for his child. His younger brother really did not need this.
Didn’t you see what kind of quilt his younger brother prepared for his parents last year?
That’s a real silk quilt!
——Warm and light.
He couldn't say this out loud at the moment. Once he did, his parents would definitely take the baby back to Xiaowu, and Xiaowu would blame him to death.
Since he was going on a long journey, Dad Zhang naturally wanted to give his older brothers a message so that they would not be unable to find him when they came to visit: He is old, old, not only he is old, but the eldest brother is old too.
In the past, most of the old people were strong.
He could carry 200 kilograms of wheat lightly without any effort, but now, a few days ago, he saw that he couldn't even move it.
Before, he felt that his brother sometimes spoke too much, but no matter how much he said, the lifelong brothers only lasted for a short time.
——You are over seventy years old. How long can you live?
The eldest brother's health was in no way comparable to his own. He was afraid that if he stayed out for too long, he wouldn't be able to see his brother for the last time.
And there is that weak elder sister who has suffered too much over the past few decades. Not only does she have a head full of white hair, but her back is also hunched. She often complains of back pain, and her spine hurts when she sits down or sleeps.
I don’t know how the medicine I gave her worked.
Filled with melancholy, Zhang Dad glanced at his wife's brisk pace and shook his head with a smile. No wonder the old friends said they were getting younger and younger.
His eldest son and his wife are a bit of a spendthrift.
But we can’t say that all of them are bad for squandering money.
At least over the past few decades, he and his wife have been sent a constant stream of ginseng pills and calcium tablets for bone supplements, which has indeed made them live in good spirits.
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