"Uncle Ye, why are you always exercising outside in the cold wind?" Zhang Guoqing ran over with a smile.
When Mr. Ye saw him coming, he immediately glared at him with a stern face. This time, he was amused by him and couldn't hold back his smile, and scolded him with a smile: "You little bastard, you still remember to look for Uncle Ye? Didn't I hear you were looking for me the other day? I saw you hadn't come yet, so I came out to check."
"I knew you were thinking about me. I happened to be at the bureau the other day, and if I didn't see you, I'd ask someone else. Are you okay these days? How's your aunt?"
Ye Lao shook his head. Before he could reply, he saw the pile of work clothes in Zhang Guoqing's hands. He immediately frowned and said to Zhang Guoqing, "You're not going to work at the bureau, are you? Come in and talk."
After saying that, he turned and went into the inner room. Seeing Zhang Guoqing come in and close the door, he pointed at him and said angrily, "Why did you decide to work here? If you don't join the army, you can go to college. Why won't you listen? Didn't I hear that your father-in-law is back? Is there something wrong with that Siberian Tiger's brain?"
Seeing his temper flare up, Zhang Guoqing quickly raised his hand and said, "Uncle, it's my second brother who works here, not me. Don't worry, I'll go to college. I've already decided to take the college entrance exam. Don't worry! We've already made plans. We'll stay in the county for two years to prepare for the exam, and Jiaojiao and I will take it together. My father-in-law agreed. He's very smart. He bought us a yard the other day, and he came to transfer the ownership. I just wanted to see if you were there. It's nothing special."
Hearing this, Mr. Ye breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softened, and he asked him to sit down. "Do you two have any plans to bring the child to live in the county town? Do you plan to go to school directly? If you can't bring the child over, find someone to help you with some money."
Zhang Guoqing knew that he was most concerned about his studies, so he smiled and said, "We plan to have Jiaojiao stay at home to help the child review for two years. As for me, I will first work in the armed forces for two years. I will have nothing to do during normal times, so I can review for two years by myself, and then we can take the exam together. I have already told the principal."
Okay. Do you think this works?"
Elder Ye nodded, looking at him with disdain, and said dissatisfiedly, "You've already made up your mind before asking me? I said it's not good and you're going to change it. This is good, learning something practical, but it will be tiring. You guys do this for now, if it doesn't work out, don't go to work and go straight to school. Do you have anything else to do today? Your Aunt Ye asked Jiaojiao to stay in confinement for the full month and go to the county hospital for a checkup. She's too frail, and she gave birth so early, so the loss is too great. Your Aunt wants to find an old Chinese doctor to take her pulse and take good care of her body."
Zhang Guoqing nodded after hearing this. "I think so too. I'll take her to see Auntie after she's out of confinement. Uncle, my second brother came today to handle the paperwork. I heard there are dormitories in the bureau. Do you think it would be convenient for you to move in?"
Ye Lao rolled his eyes at him, then raised his chin and nodded forward, "Did Zuo Lin say that? There really are. There are two empty rooms right now, and they're too small to be suitable for a family. Your second brother just moved in, so tell him to take it easy and not move all his wife and children in. Wait until he's officially hired in three months."
"Okay, I got it. Uncle, if we move one room, will there not be enough space for those on duty?"
Mr. Ye shook his head nonchalantly. "There's a duty room, but it's only used in the summer when it's packed. Who wants to come in the middle of winter? Have your second brother come to me next Monday. I'll have someone clean it up in the next two days. Is your second brother assigned to the Household Registration Section? That's right, they rarely have duty. Your home isn't far from here, so it's probably just for a nap. Your second brother definitely wouldn't want to live there. The conditions are too poor. He has a wife and children at home, so who would want to live there and suffer the cold?"
"Well, let's prepare it first. He can handle it himself later. Will uncle go home at noon or stay with aunt?"
"Go back and accompany your aunt. The meal is ready. Do you want to go back and eat with your uncle?"
"No, I still have to go to the yard to see my father-in-law and others. They are all in the county town now. It's time to get off work, let's go together. Otherwise, my aunt will be waiting anxiously." After saying that, Zhang Guoqing stood up and pulled Uncle Ye out.
The two of them went out, chatting about family matters, and parted ways after passing the fork. Zhang Guoqing looked at his watch, not knowing where his father-in-law and mother-in-law had eaten.
Zhou Xiaozheng got up early in the morning and didn't see Zhang Guoqing. After asking Jiaojiao, he learned that he had gone to the mountains early in the morning and was about to rush to the county town. Knowing that he hadn't forgotten to see Zuo Lin for the day's work, he felt relieved.
After eating steamed buns and porridge, he drove to the county town with Lin Lishan. Before they reached the gate of the yard, they saw Liu Xiaoya and her mother waiting there.
Lin Lishan saw them from afar and complained as soon as she got off the car, "Why are you here so early? It's so cold. Big sister, come in with Xiaoya to block the wind."
The mother and daughter didn't say anything, but just shook their hands and shook their heads.
Zhou Xiaozheng opened the gate of the yard, gave Lin Lishan a bunch of keys, and moved the curtain fabric at the back to the steps. He said to his wife, "You guys move it in and wash it first. I'll go to the restaurant to buy some breakfast." After seeing her nod, he got in the car and went to the restaurant in front to buy ten buns.
Lin Lishan led the mother and daughter to move their belongings to the rocks beside the well. "Sister, Xiaoya, it's too cold. Let's boil some water first and then wash. These are all clean, so we just need to rinse them."
Liu Xiaoya shook her head and said softly, "Auntie, go take care of your own business. Mom and I will take care of this. No need to boil water or use coal briquettes. The water from the well is not cold even in winter. After we wash, we will go to the kitchen to clean up. It will be done quickly in the morning. Go take care of your own business and we will clean up here."
Lin Lishan looked at Liu Xiaoya's thin coat, which had several patches on it. It was obvious that the mother and daughter were very skillful, but you couldn't tell unless you looked closely. Then she looked at the black and blue lips of the mother and daughter, walked over, took Liu Xiaoya's hand, and walked towards the kitchen.
"It's okay, there's no need to waste coal briquettes. Look, there's still some firewood here. You can light it yourself and wash it after it's hot. It wouldn't be necessary at other times, but it's snowing today, and girls can't stand the cold. Don't rush to clean up, warm yourself up first. Your uncle is going to buy breakfast, wait until you and your mother have eaten before you start working again."
After saying that, Lin Lishan didn't give them a chance to refuse. Hearing the sound of the car coming back, she hurried out, took the buns from Zhou Xiaozheng's hand, put them on the kitchen table, and called out to them, "Come and eat before you work. We've already bought everything, we'll eat first before we come here. Don't be polite, when your aunt and your uncle return to Beijing, my daughter and son-in-law will stay here with the children. If you have time, come and chat with her and help with some work. I'm going to go out first, remember to eat first."
Lin Lishan left after she finished speaking, lest her presence make them uncomfortable. After leaving the kitchen, she saw her husband looking around the main room and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is there something you haven't cleaned up?"
Zhou Xiaozheng waved his hand. "No, I was planning to put up white paper on the walls today. Seeing as how clean they are, there's no need. Shanshan, let's light up the fire wall and the kang today. Wring out the quilt and curtains and hang them in the main room to dry them easily and remove moisture. What else do you want to prepare?"
After hearing this, Lin Lishan went into the inner room and looked in every room. She came out and said, "No more. We've bought everything we needed. The kitchen is already clean. After the quilts are washed, they'll put in the new pots and dishes. There's nothing left to clean up. If we're quick, we'll be done by noon."
"Then I'll drive out for a walk. Wait for Hongli to come and then go out. Leave this to the mother and daughter. Take the money and receipts with you, don't leave them here." Zhou Xiaozheng thought for a moment and gave the order.
Lin Lishan pulled his arm and whispered, "Do you want to test them? If you are a good person with clean hands and feet, then leave Liu Xiaoya to take care of Jiaojiao and Ping'an? I think the little girl is quite pitiful, and I want to give her a coat."
Zhou Xiaozheng said sternly, "No, our Jiaojiao doesn't like people like Liu Xiaoya, and I don't agree either. Even if the little girl has good character, compared to Jiaojiao, who knows what she will think and do after a long time. You'd better give up this idea as soon as possible. Even if you want to find someone, don't look for them, and don't give them coats. It's not that I don't want to, but I'm being cautious. There are so many pitiful people, and our Jiaojiao can't have strangers around her. If you pity them, give them five kilograms of food coupons after the work is done."
Lin Lishan looked at Zhou Xiaozheng in confusion. She still didn't understand. "Why? I understand not giving her the coat, but why not Liu Xiaoya? I think she has a very similar personality to Jiaojiao."
Zhou Xiaozheng sighed. He had no choice but to explain in detail, "She's petty and a little awkward. She's only 15, and her temperament is still unstable. If she sees Jiaojiao living a carefree life and being pampered by Xiaowu every day, will she be jealous? Will she do something bad?"
Our Jiaojiao doesn't talk because she's too lazy. When she does speak, it's with a certain air of generosity, like a lady from a noble family. She doesn't talk nonsense, and her words are to the point. Jiaojiao can't stand timidity, brainlessness, or those who act without regard for the consequences. She doesn't care for such people.
Do you think Zhao Yuanyuan often visits Jiaojiao? But our Jiaojiao never mentions it, because she despises her crazy temper. Jiaojiao won't speak her mind, and she treats her like a child, not sharing her heart, just being friends at best.
This Liu Xiaoya works quite efficiently, but she always looks at people with a scrutinizing look. It's a distorted look, and when someone comes by while she's working, she looks around. She's timid and a little afraid of us, but if we interact with her regularly, she becomes unbridled. She's not even as good as her mother, who has a righteous look and doesn't look around while she works. Do you understand what I mean? If you see some girls in the art troupe performing in the army, they'll stare around even while they're talking. That's because they're restless."
Lin Lishan laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Brother Zheng, haha... I understand what you mean. Then I'll ask the old lady for help later. Oh, I really didn't think of it so much. Okay, I'll listen to you. Go and do your own thing. I'll put some things in the inner room and lock the door. I'll leave when Cheng Hongli comes."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded, waved his hand and walked out, "If I'm not back at noon, you can go to the restaurant by yourself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
