five
Liang Genfa's later life is enviable.
He and Qiu Zhen have five children in total. Except for Chunhua, all of them have now started their own families and have children. The most promising one is Erhua, who has the most prosperous rosewood business. Dahua and Qiuhua are also good and work hard. Not to mention Chunhua is an intellectual. In comparison, Xiaohua is a little worse, but compared with outsiders, he is still slightly better.
Unfortunately, the old man still felt a little lonely.
Qiu Zhen is gone, she had a miserable life.
Since the five children's family was well off, they were naturally more filial and were very considerate of their father in terms of material things. They would give him money and buy things for him every now and then during festivals. Liang Genfa always refused with a smile, lamenting that it was not easy for them to make money.
The most important thing is that Liang Genfa himself also has a pension.
Now the policy is good, and all elderly people can receive money on a monthly basis without having to ask their children for it. This alone can avoid many family conflicts.
But Liang Genfa started receiving his pension more than ten years ago, and countless elderly people in the village envy him.
How come all the good things happen to Liang Genfa's family?
This matter originated from the company where he worked before being transferred.
He was originally a blacksmith in a Shanghai company. After getting married, Qiu Zhen envied the land that every household in the countryside could get, but she could only live in the attic with a big belly. So the couple returned to the countryside following the trend at the time.
As a result, the company has survived all these years and has become even better and better. More than ten years ago, they contacted Liang Genfa and gave him a pension every month. Although it could not be compared with that of officially retired workers, it was a pretty good sum at the time!
It was like a pie suddenly fell from the sky, and I had no choice but to take it.
The whole family is happy for him!
However, Qiu Zhen had been gone for so many years, and although the family was growing more prosperous, Liang Genfa became increasingly lonely. His son and daughter-in-law all had work to do, and his grandson was already an adult capable of taking on responsibilities. During the day, he was the only one at home with a yellow dog.
One person and one dog can sit here from morning to night.
Apart from eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, there seems to be nothing else that requires moving the body.
This situation lasted for several years. Fortunately, Liang Genfa’s childhood friend Xiao Geda recently came back from the city. He said that he was too old to live in his daughter’s house and wanted to go home to wait for death.
The two old brothers are reunited, and life is finally not so boring.
Brother Xiao is older than Liang Genfa, but he is stronger and looks younger than him.
This old guy is a restless person. On the third day after he came back, he found out that there is a restaurant on the street where he can drink tea in the morning. A cup of tea costs five yuan, and boiled water is free. There are many people playing cards and bragging inside.
It’s a great place to kill time!
So Liang Genfa had something to do.
At five o'clock in the morning, he got out of bed, lit a fire and cooked porridge for the family.
Nowadays, fewer families in rural areas have firewood, and the stove has become a decoration. The whole family likes to eat porridge and firewood rice cooked on the stove. When Liang Genfa is bored, he likes to go to the mountainside to pick up some firewood.
The stove simmered on low as Liang Genfa prepared some rice for himself on the gas stove. Leftover rice from the previous night only needed to be boiled in boiling water for half a minute. The steaming hot rice, distinct grains no longer dry, slid down his throat moistly. With a small dish of pickles, it went down refreshingly, leaving his stomach feeling relaxed and refreshed.
After everything was packed up, Liang Genfa poured a large bowl of meat soup and rice into Dahuang's precious rice bowl before leaving.
Sometimes he would mutter to himself, "Look at how you live, eating meat soup and rice. Even the landlords don't have it as good as you. You should keep a close eye on the door. A good dog should protect its master, understand?"
Most of the time, Dahuang just buried his head in eating, as if he didn't understand what his old master was saying at all.
Liang Genfa let out a "tsk na" and patted its head hard.
I closed the gate and walked towards the bottom of the village. When I passed by Brother Xiao's house, the old man was already waiting there.
The two of them walked slowly down the street together.
In winter, when the sun rises late, the air is like cold knives, cutting the old man's face again and again. Liang Genfa pressed down the Lei Feng hat on his head to cover his forehead.
Lord Xiao was tall with long legs and took big steps. After a while, Liang Genfa felt that he was walking a little too fast, so he slowed down and took it easy.
Everything seemed to have gone back to decades ago, when the two were still children.
Similar, but actually very different.
The teahouse's entrance is small and has no sign. There is only a tattered little blackboard hanging at the door with the words "Tea 5 yuan a cup" written on it in white chalk.
It was originally an asset of the commune, but was later converted into a half-baked senior citizen activity center. It only charged a tea fee and had no need for advertising, as it still attracted a constant stream of guests.
When the two walked in, they found that the room was already full of people, some bragging, some smoking, some drinking tea. In short, the room was filled with smoke and noise.
The old man doesn't have many hobbies. He doesn't drink but likes to smoke. He doesn't like quietness but likes to be in a hustle and bustle. He just sits here, makes a cup of tea, listens to Brother Xiao bragging in his old voice, and agrees with a few "ce na" from time to time. He feels comfortable.
Liang Genfa found his energy again here.
"Yo, Genfa!"
Someone patted his shoulder hard. Liang Genfa turned around and saw that it was Ah San from the next village.
They were all friends who played together naked in childhood. Asan was very happy to see him. He moved a stool from somewhere and squeezed next to Liang Genfa.
Liang Genfa asked someone to make him a cup of tea. Asan didn't say thank you, but nodded and took it.
A cup of tea, no need to say thank you.
Asan doesn't come here often. His life is not easy. Like Liang Genfa, he has lost his spouse, but it is not that tragic. After all, older couples always die one after another. But his two children are not easy to take care of. They have to worry about his pension of several hundred yuan.
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