At four in the morning, Zhang Guoqing quietly rose. He grabbed his toiletries, quietly closed the door, and headed out into the courtyard. Seeing the noises coming from the next door, he smiled knowingly, thinking his second brother hadn't slept well the previous night.
It must have snowed lightly late last night. The ground was covered with a fine, white layer, making it easy to slip. Zhang Guoqing quickly washed up and picked up a broom to clean the yard, lest his mother fall in the dark early in the morning.
Zhang Guoqiang, the second-oldest kid next door, heard the sound of sweeping in the yard. He couldn't lie down any longer. He hadn't slept all night, worried that it was all just a dream. He was both worried and excited, tossing and turning, unable to believe that he could go to the city to work, and at the bureau at that. He knew it was Xiaowu from the voice.
Zhang Guoqiang hurried to the yard, his footsteps light. He saw Xiaowu sweeping the yard. He also found a broom and looked at the snow on the ground. He whispered, "You got up early. It snowed lightly last night? I didn't even know it. Luckily, Dad asked us to hang up a tattered quilt outside the house a few days ago to block the wind."
"Haha... An old man in the family is like a treasure. Our parents are not our family's treasures! I'll get up early to see if there are any preparations. We'll go straight to Brother Qingshan and the others later. If we go up the mountain early, we can come back early to do things."
After Zhang Guoqing finished sweeping the front yard, he and his brother went to the kitchen with a lantern. Seeing that his second brother was about to wash up, he went back to his room and brought a pot of pheasant soup from last night to the kitchen.
Zhang Guoqiang saw Xiaowu carrying the pot and asked him curiously, "Isn't this for your wife to eat? Why did you bring it here?"
"Jiaojiao stewed it last night, saying it was for the children at home. Second brother, look, there is no food in the kitchen. Mother locked everything." Zhang Guoqing looked at the locked cellar and pulled the padlock.
Zhang Guoqiang hurriedly stopped him. "With his strength, don't pull the padlock off. His mother will definitely skin them alive." This padlock was newly bought, and his mother was heartbroken for a long time and kept talking about it for several days.
The kitchen was empty, and his mother was used to locking herself in the cellar. Not wanting to wake their parents, the two brothers found a few steamed buns, heated them up, and ate them with chicken soup.
Zhang Guoqing dipped the steamed bread into the chicken soup, looked at the pieces of chicken, and sighed, "Second brother, do you know what I hate the most? It's the steamed bread in our family! My eldest sister said that our steamed bread has never been the same for decades. Fortunately, these are made with wild vegetables. If they were made with corn dregs, they would be really disgusting."
Zhang Guoqiang rolled his eyes at him and pointed at him with a look of disapproval, "Luckily you told me about it at home. If you had told me at the village entrance, everyone would have beaten you to death. Even with these steamed buns, not every household in the village can eat them every day. Why did so many people come to help us this time? It's because they liked the steamed buns. They couldn't bear to eat them, so they took them back home for their children. We're lucky to have steamed buns at home."
Zhang Guoqing was deeply moved by what he said. "You mentioned it last time, and I've been paying special attention to it. Aside from the dozens of families at the northern foot of our mountain, those with many sons in the village are better off. Those with many children really don't have it easy. There are still many children at the entrance of the village wearing thin clothes covered in patches, straw sandals on their feet, and they're not afraid of the cold. They're happily playing around. It makes me sad."
"Wasn't it like this when we were little? I still remember that as soon as autumn arrived, Mom would light an oil lamp and sew furs all night long, piecing them together piece by piece to make clothes for us. In the middle of winter, she couldn't bear to waste the furs herself, so she shivered and never went out. Others said that Mom wasn't a Northeastern woman if she didn't smoke. But I know that even Dad couldn't bear to smoke, and only took a few puffs when he really couldn't bear it. But that's okay, I can't stand the smell of cigarettes - Dad was the only one in our family who smoked a few puffs.
You said you hate steamed buns the most, haha... I hate it the most when someone comes to sit on the kang and smokes a pipe. Especially in the dead of winter, with thick old curtains hanging outside and the windows tightly shut, a few people come over and sit on the kang and smoke non-stop. If they're not polite, they cough and spit. Some people even bring their children over and push their snot and other things directly onto the kang. Every winter, I absolutely refuse to sit on the kang in the main room.
Zhang Guoqing quickly drank a mouthful of soup and put down his chopsticks, "Second brother, are you doing this on purpose? I'm eating, and you're making it sound so disgusting. I won't eat anymore. Finish eating quickly, and let's go to the backyard and take a look."
Zhang Guoqiang laughed heartily, quickly finished his meal, and followed him out, scolding him with a smile: "You are so pretentious! You ran far away to apply fertilizer at home, so why are you still pooping?"
Zhang Guoqing and his brother were talking in low voices and joking with each other. They took the broom and Tiechu and went to the backyard.
At this time, the oil lamp was already lit in Zhang Dad's room in the east wing of the main house. Hearing the noise outside, Zhang Dad knew it was his son Xiaowu. Among his three sons, he was the first one to get up every morning to help him with the work.
Zhang's mother put on her clothes and looked at him. "Please put on more clothes. Why do I feel so cold today? I heard the sound of sweeping the yard early this morning. I guess it's snowing."
Father Zhang nodded and gathered himself together. "I'll go check the backyard. I wonder if the snow is heavy. I built a grass nest a few days ago. I wonder if the chickens will freeze to death?"
Mother Zhang chuckled softly, "Don't worry. Our chickens are smarter than humans. They'd have run to our windows and called out if they were cold. It's so early in the morning, and I can only hear the rooster crowing. I think everything's fine. How about I prepare some white porridge and buns this morning? We have guests, how about adding salted duck eggs?"
"It's okay if you're casual. Our in-laws aren't too particular, so just go with whatever you want. Yesterday, Brother Zhou said he wanted to take Xiaowu and his family to live in the county town in a couple of days. He and his wife planned to take Xiaowu and his wife to the county town to make some sense, so that the child wouldn't be bullied when they return. I agreed, but it was too late last night for me to tell you about it."
Zhang's mother looked at him in surprise. "You really bought a yard for Xiaowu and his wife? I was wondering why they never stopped by. No wonder they're so busy. I guess they left that old cloth in the city last night. No wonder they were so anxious to get it. So, should we go to the city to help clean it up? Do you know where the land is?"
Father Zhang smiled and shook his head. "I've already asked, and they said no. They've already found a mother and daughter to help with the cleaning and cleaning, with some food. They think they'll be done today. They said we don't need to move anything from Xiaowu's room over there, and we'll move to the courtyard next door. Everything in the city is new now, even the rice is ready. Brother Zhou is worried that he won't be able to take a vacation next year, so he's packed up first, and the couple can just move in with their clothes. They've made all the arrangements perfectly, and they really love their daughter."
Mother Zhang tutted her words, "How can you be so willing to do that? He only has one precious little kid, and he's afraid he'd feel wronged if he didn't spoil him. It's a good thing Jiaojiao is married to Xiaowu, and the couple get along well. Otherwise, just wait and see, will Brother Zhou drag his daughter back home? Didn't you see that as soon as Brother Zhou came back last night, he dragged his daughter back to the inner room, fearing that she would be tired. He even asked his eldest sister to cook something to fill his precious little kid's stomach, for fear that the child would be hungry. A man who usually looks quite aloof smiled when he saw Jiaojiao. Oh, I've really learned something, the warmth between the father and daughter."
Father Zhang chuckled, "Haha, why do you think he rushed to the city? He just wanted to pack up quickly and take his daughter to stay for a few days. Only after he made arrangements for the child would he feel at ease to go back."
After saying this, he thought about his wife's tight-lipped nature and continued, "Lao Er secretly told me yesterday that Brother Zhou is even more impressive than Old Man Lin. They were eating outside in the middle of the night when two cars arrived from the provincial capital, filled with military officers. They all called him "Brother" and were very respectful. As for Lao Er's work, our Xiao Wu didn't even need to ask. The boss had already asked him to go handle the paperwork today and asked Xiao Wu to take him to get acquainted with his colleagues.
I guess Xiaowu knows a lot of people in the county town and is quite popular. The second brother said that those people from the provincial capital all call our Xiaowu "son-in-law." Their attitude is no different from that of their own son-in-law.
Don't tell anyone about the second son's job yet. When he returns to work next Monday, if anyone asks, just say it was Meihao's father-in-law who introduced him. Zuo Lin, who came to our house last time, is the second son's boss. He and Meihao's father-in-law are close friends. Originally, it was the in-laws who asked Zuo Lin to get this job for Xiaowu. We must remember this favor."
Zhang's mother nodded and thought for a moment, "What if the second son doesn't have a car to go to work? Has he given his opinion?"
"Xiaowu and his second brother have already discussed it. He will help his second brother find money for the bicycle. Xiaowu assured me that he would make proper arrangements. He said that when the eldest brother goes to work, we will go to the city with him, and we can come back for a few days if we want. We are not allowed to work in the fields. Haha... My dear, you are enjoying yourself. You don't have to work at all now that you have a son to take care of you in your old age." Father Zhang joked.
Mother Zhang raised her chin. "That's right. People in the village say I favor my eldest son. What do they know? My eldest son is worth dozens of their sons. They stuff any food into my mouth, and the better and rarer things into my hands. You don't know that our Jiaojiao is even more caring towards me. I can use anything in her room as she pleases. She even holds my hand and secretly points out the secret compartment in her room. She lets me take the tickets and money in there myself. She tells me what's in each drawer and box, and lets me take whatever I want. She doesn't hesitate to let me use it, and she doesn't even lock it.
I wake up laughing even in my dreams. When my father was alive, he always said, "I have an old son, and I will enjoy a happy life in the future." But I really don't plan to go to the city. My home is so good. I've lived here all my life. I can't bear to leave it.
Father Zhang nodded with satisfaction. "Jiaojiao is very protective of us and treats us very well. She's more like our daughter than the eldest and second eldest children. It's just that she's a bit too generous. Last night she promised Xizi and the others a set of clothes. You should try to persuade her."
"It's useless. I said a lot, but she forgot about it later. But don't worry, you see when people like Qingshan's wife and Qingfeng's wife come over, she will hide them. When they come over with their children, she only gives them a few hard candies and won't even give out the soft ones. She knows everything, and she only gives them to our family members."
Father Zhang picked up his coat and put it on, saying as he walked, "That's good. I'll go to the backyard first. Please be quiet and don't disturb Brother Zhou."
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