Take a deep breath, hmm! The air is different, the smell of home.
We took a car to Huai County and went straight back to the town without a meal. It was early July, so my brother must have gone home.
As soon as he stepped onto the plank road, Xiao Huang Rourou and Qiuqiu rushed out of the yard and chirped at Zhou Xiang.
Father Zhou heard the chirping of the three little yellow dogs and nudged his wife, who was dozing off beside the phone, "Listen, are you thinking about coming back?"
Mother Zhou listened to the excited cries of Xiao Huang and the others outside the yard and immediately stood up. "Of course it is. They only chirp when they think about it."
As she spoke, Zhou's mother walked out of the living room door and looked at the graceful girl walking towards the courtyard gate on the plank road, tears streaming down her face.
Zhou Xiang saw that her mother had seen her, so she immediately ran into the yard.
"Mom, I'm back."
He ran to his mother, who was in tears, and she immediately opened her arms and hugged him, "Mom, I'm home."
After being hugged, Zhou's mother was sure that what was in her arms was real. Her little girl really came back. It was not a dream or an imagination.
She raised her arms and hugged the little girl, who was now taller than her, tightly, patting her back. "You silly girl, you left as soon as you left, like you were lost. You don't even want your family anymore. It's been six years. How could you bear to leave?"
Zhou Xiang couldn't help but shed tears, "Mom, I'm almost done with my work. I will go home more often in the future. I just didn't dare to come back because I wanted to shorten my stay. I was afraid that I would not want to leave after I came back."
Father Zhou turned around, wiped away his tears, and said to the mother and daughter who were still hugging each other and crying, "Come in, let's talk inside."
Zhou Xiang left his mother's arms and gave his father, who was already a little hunched over, a hug.
"Dad, I'm back."
Father Zhou nodded repeatedly, "Good to be back, good to be back! Dad will make you your favorite food."
Zhou Xiang pulled his father into the house and said, "Dad, let's make it tomorrow at noon. Just eat something for dinner. Let's talk. Where's my eldest brother?"
"Your eldest brother is painting in the studio upstairs! He usually can't hear you if the door is closed, unless you go up and call him."
After leading his parents to sit on the sofa, Zhou Xiang said, "I'll go up and call him later. It's not good to interrupt his painting."
Mother Zhou took her little girl's hand and looked at her carefully, "You've lost weight."
Zhou Xiang touched her face, but she didn't feel the need to. She had always been thin, but she had grown fast in recent years, making her look even thinner.
"Then, Mom and Dad will make me some delicious food so I can replenish my energy."
Zhou's father and mother both nodded. "You need to nourish yourself. You're too thin. A strong wind will blow you away."
Then, the mother and daughter talked about what happened in the past six years, and Zhou's father listened beside them.
After hearing her daughter's words, Zhou's mother said distressedly, "Why are you in such a hurry? One year of high school, two years of college, and three years of going straight to a doctorate. Others finish in thirteen years, and you finished in six. No wonder you're so thin. No, Zhou Quan, go to Mrs. Wang's house and buy a chicken, kill it, and stew it."
Zhou Quan immediately got up and went out.
Zhou Xiang pulled his mother aside and asked, "What happened at home? You always say everything is fine when you call me. I don't believe that nothing can happen in six years."
Mother Zhou sighed softly and told her daughter the story slowly.
In the first year, the family was relatively peaceful. In early 1990, Zhou Yue was released. It was said that he became silent after his return.
After the autumn harvest, my great uncle passed away. Although my great grandfather was angry at his son for not living up to his expectations, his son was his first child after all, and he had high hopes for him. The fact that he died before him was a big blow to him.
My great grandfather was bedridden for nearly half a year and passed away after the Chinese New Year in 1991. My second grandfather was elected as the clan leader.
Zhou's parents' unpaid leave has continued, and they feel there is not much point in going back to work.
In 1992, Mr. Zhou passed away. He was so thin that his bones were visible. Ye Xiu's family was blamed by the whole village, but she always said that Mr. Zhou deserved it. No matter who said anything to her, she would only say these two words.
In the first half of 1993, in order to revitalize the economy, the supply and marketing cooperatives began to contract out or sell their stores.
Zhou's mother remembered her daughter's words and immediately asked Zhu Hang to get the money. Starting from the north end to the south end, she bought four stores, a total of 12 stores.
Further south, the supply and marketing cooperative was unwilling to sell it, saying that it would be contracted out to individuals. Wu Haotian contracted two stores in the name of Zhou's mother.
Now only two stores next to the food station remain.
In August, Zhou Hua and Xiao Chunmei were both admitted to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
In the second half of the year, Zhu Hang's biological parents came and were very happy to see their twin grandchildren. They gave the two grandchildren a lot of New Year's money, saying that it was to make up for the previous amount, and also gave them gold locks and gold bracelets.
At that time, they asked the family to go back with them, but Zhu Hang did not agree. After staying for a few days, he hurried back. After returning, they often talked on the phone.
During the Spring Festival, Zhu Hang refused to go to Hangzhou on the grounds that the children were young and the weather was cold. But as soon as summer vacation started this year, Zhu Hang was asked to take the two children back.
Zhou Xiang didn't expect that Zhu Hang's father would come looking for him in advance. "Who were the people who came at that time?"
"His parents have a younger brother and two younger sisters, all of whom are married."
"Are his brothers and sisters not behaving well?" Otherwise, why would Zhu Hang refuse to go back in the first place, and even be unwilling to go back during the Chinese New Year?
At this point, Zhou's mother sighed. "I've noticed that his two sisters aren't easy to get along with. They live in our house, but they're quite arrogant, complaining about how bad this place is and how dirty that place is. That brother hasn't said anything, but the look in his eyes shows that he looks down on our place and the people here."
Zhou Xiang frowned, "Then you're still going to serve them? Are you going to kick them out?"
Mother Zhou patted her daughter's arm and said, "Girl, you are already 19 years old. You can't be so willful anymore. If you kick her out, will Zhu Hang look good?"
Zhou Xiang didn't take it seriously. "Humph! No matter how old I am, I don't like people who think they're superior. You don't have any skills in chasing people away. If you did, it would only be that family that would be embarrassed."
"Okay, I won't tell you any more. I've already told you everything that happened at home. If you need any more information, ask Wu Haotian and the others. Oh, and Xiao Guo quit his job in 1990. I heard he went out to avoid the family planning policy."
"Where is her sister-in-law?" Zhou Xiang still remembered the person who wanted to be her sister-in-law.
"I didn't ask. In the past few years, you were not at home, and your eldest brother didn't like to go out to play. He was always drawing in his room."
"I'm going upstairs to see my eldest brother. You call my second sister. Zhu Hang's brother and sister are like that. My second sister must be feeling wronged. Tell her that I'm back and ask her to bring the child back quickly. I don't know if she will recognize me if she's healthy."
Zhou's mother picked up the phone and scolded her, "It's strange they recognized you! When you left, they were just over a year old."
Zhou Xiang didn't answer his mother, she had already gone upstairs quickly.
Pushing open the middle door on the second floor, Zhou Xiang started shouting as he walked up the stairs to the third floor: "Brother, brother, I'm back."
In the studio, Zhou Niao, who was painting, heard the voice and blinked. Was he hallucinating?
"Brother, brother, please come out quickly and stop drawing. I, your sister, am back."
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