Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Mother-Recognition Ceremony

After cleaning up the little guy who secretly hid the candy, Shi Xiangming poured two cups of grapefruit syrup for Lin Weidong and his sister.

They had rarely had a full meal when they were educated youth. Although they were tall, they both had serious stomach problems, so Shi Xiangming did not make tea for them.

"If you complete your task well, you will be able to join the R&D team next month." Shi Xiangming put the sugar water in front of Lin Weidong and asked Zhou Yuying, "Doctor Zhou, do you want to drink the sugar water?"

"I drank in the afternoon." Zhou Yuying smiled, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, she sat directly on the single sofa next to Lin Weidong.

"I promise to complete the task." Lin Weidong couldn't help but sit up straight and promised seriously.

Shi Xiangming nodded in satisfaction, stood up and pulled Shi Wan, who was about to steal the candy, to his side: "If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask anyone in the office."

There were two single sofas, Zhou Yuying sat on one and Lin Weidong sat on another, leaving only the long sofa where Lin Jing sat with room left.

However, Shi Xiangming did not sit there. Instead, he invited the two to drink some water and then took Shi Wan out of the house.

Wang Nian was putting red dates into the pot and putting the lid on the beehive coal stove.

"I light a fire?"

The tall figure standing behind him seemed to cover Wang Nian's whole world like a cage. Warmth came from his back and a deep voice echoed in his ears.

Wang Nian shrank his neck and smiled, nodding his head.

"You light the fire and I'll cook."

"good."

A big hand pinched Wang Nian's waist and then quickly withdrew, making Wang Nian itch so much that he curled up like a shrimp.

Wang Nian is more afraid of itching than ordinary people, and Shi Xiangming knows this. The couple often joke with each other by tickling each other.

To others, Shi Xiangming, who always had a serious face at work, behaved in a surprising way at this moment.

Through the window, Lin Weidong followed Shi Xiangming's every move and of course saw the interaction between the couple.

He glanced at his sister subconsciously, and there was a look of relief on his face.

Lin Jing sat with her back to the window, drinking the grapefruit syrup in small sips as if she really liked it, and occasionally glancing at the furnishings in the room.

The decoration of the house did not match Shi Xiangming's cold and lonely personality at all. The house was bustling everywhere. Even Wang Nian in the family portrait on the wall was wearing red clothes.

His eyes wandered and finally fell on the bedroom with the door wide open.

Lin Jing was so fascinated by what she saw that she didn't notice Zhou Yuying's inquiring gaze on her face for a long time, until... her sleeve was pulled by Lin Weidong.

"Don't look blindly!" Lin Weidong said solemnly, and cleared his throat again: "See if Doctor Zhou is making fun of you."

Lin Jing held the cup tightly nervously, not knowing where to look for a moment. After looking around for a long time, she finally lowered her head.

"What's the matter? It's human nature to be curious." Zhou Yuying smiled and spoke up to help Lin Jin out of the dilemma: "I was also curious today and walked around the house."

Lin Jing raised her head and smiled shyly.

"How old is Miss Lin Jing?"

"Twenty-two."

Lin Jing's voice was soft, and the ending tone was unconsciously drawn out, as if she was acting coquettishly.

"No one?"

“…”

"I...my brother hasn't found a sister-in-law yet, so I'm not worried." Lin Jing glanced at Lin Weidong in panic, and Zhou Yuying could clearly see the pleading look in her eyes.

Unfortunately, Lin Weidong didn't notice his sister's gaze at all. After drinking a sip of sugar water, he said carelessly: "My sister's boyfriend received a notice to return to the city at the beginning of the year, and they broke up."

Because there were so many educated youth who returned to the city and were separated, Zhou Yuying intuitively felt that it was not this incident that made Lin Jing panic.

But Lin Weidong didn't say anything else. Instead, he took the opportunity to curse the man who left his sister behind and ran away.

"Why isn't Comrade Lin married?" Zhou Yuying suddenly asked about Lin Weidong again.

"There was a disease in the village a few years ago, and my fiancée died too." Lin Weidongsi talked about his past without any concern, and at the end he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Now that my work is stable, I don't have the time to think about other things."

“…”

As they chatted, the topic turned serious. Zhou Yuying pointed to the door and smiled, changing the subject: "You are in for a treat today."

"It's time to eat!"

Shi Wan leaned out half of his body and announced loudly.

"Wang Nian is really good at raising children. Look how pretty Shi Wan is. I'm so jealous of her that I want to take her home and make her my daughter."

"I have a mother." Shi Wan stuck out her tongue mischievously.

Zhou Yuying laughed so hard that she threw her head back and turned her attention to Shi Shuwen who was concentrating on his homework: "How about Shuwen be Aunt Zhou's son?"

"No!" Shi Shuwen said these two words coldly without even raising his head.

"Are you reluctant to leave your father or your Aunt Wang?" Zhou Yuying asked again.

"Auntie Wang Nian." This time he said three words, and then turned around and looked at Zhou Yuying: "Brother Liye also wants to be Auntie Wang Nian's son."

"Really?" Zhou Yuying stood up with great interest and deliberately asked, "Then why do you keep calling her Auntie Wang Nian, while Shi Wan calls her Mommy?"

Shi Shuwen frowned and angrily rebuked Shi Wan who was peeking at the door: "Traitor, my sister is a traitor."

"You and brother Liye have discussed for a long time but have not come up with any ideas. Brother Liye is the coward." Shi Wan put her hands on her hips unconvinced, and then shouted out of the door with full force: "Mom, I want to call you mom."

“…”

Wang Nian and Shi Xiangming were stunned. They had never expected that the little girl called "Mom" just because she was angry with her brother.

But once you call her mother in person, the word "Mom" becomes as easy as drinking sugar water.

Shi Wan ran over and hugged Wang Nian's legs, looking up and calling sweetly: "Mom, you are my mom."

"Yes." Wang Nian lowered his hand and rubbed Shi Wan's face with the back of his hand: "I am your mother."

"Brother, did you hear that?" Shi Wan let go, ran back to the door and proudly said to her brother, "I will have a mother in the future!"

Shi Shuwen: “…”

"I won't play with you anymore." After a long while, he finally muttered in a very low voice.

I just don’t know if I can still finish my homework after I turn around.

"Sister Shi Wan." Shi Shuwen had just lost the battle when Zhang Liye from next door popped out again, with a look of disbelief on his face: "You recognized me as your mother so easily!"

"You little brat, what do you mean by recognizing your mother?" The slap on the head came late, but after that, he twisted Zhang Liye's ear and said, "Get back here and have dinner. Don't think I don't know that you just want to cheat for dinner."

"Let Liye have dinner at my house. There will be chicken soup tonight."

As long as Zhang Liye is around, the atmosphere becomes lively. Wang Nian likes this guy very much.

"We agreed to hold a lively mother-recognition ceremony. How can you just call me mom?"

After breaking away from Liu Chaoxian, Zhang Liye ran back to Shi Wan and questioned her seriously.

"Mother-recognition ceremony?" Wang Nian stopped what he was doing and went forward curiously.

Shi Wan felt a little guilty and turned her head away. She looked to the right and met the sight of Shi Shuwen who was running out. She turned around and buried her face in Wang Nian's legs.

"Auntie Wang, it's a lively mother-recognition ceremony!" Zhang Liye explained seriously, and pointed out: "It's going to be lively with ten or eight tables."

Shi Shuwen immediately raised his voice because Zhang Liye was on the same side as him.

"The money I saved is only enough to invite two people. The ceremony hasn't even started yet, and you've already called for help. You're a traitor!"

Wang Nian: “…”

Shi Wan hesitated for a long time, probably realizing that she was wrong, and carefully pulled Shi Shuwen's sleeve: "I'm sorry, brother, I know I was wrong."

Shi Shuwen sighed, his face serious: "Just call! Anyway, I can't afford to set up the table in a short time."

The adults were all amused by the children's conversation. They looked at each other, and finally looked at Shi Xiangming and Wang Nian.

"Who told you about the mother-recognition ceremony?" Wang Nian asked curiously.

"When my father won an award, there was a ceremony to receive the award. My brother Liye and I have also agreed to make a certificate for the award when the time comes... Of course, recognizing my mother also requires a grand ceremony."

The mother-recognition ceremony was declared a failure before it even took place, and Shi Shuwen simply told everyone all the details that had been discussed by several people, mainly him and Zhang Liye.

Zhang Liye also said with particular grievance: "We have also written a plan, and we have only completed one item so far!"

After a year of discussion, the two were finally satisfied and all that was left was to implement them one by one.

Wang Nian was touched and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What is the first item?"

“…”

Zhang Liye looked at Shi Shuwen. Shi Shuwen sighed: "The plan is terminated, there is no need to hide it."

"Shu Wen has prepared a gift for you."

"Sister has already ruined our plan, so I'll give the gift to you now!" Shi Shuwen's mouth twitched slightly, and a hint of shyness flashed in his eyes, but he still turned around with strength and composure.

"If you really let these two guys hold a ceremony to recognize their mother, your name will probably spread to the neighboring county." Liu Chaoxian covered his mouth, unable to hold back his laughter.

Zhang Liang watched the whole process from inside the Zhang family's house, and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter: "The mother-recognition ceremony... Should we give Comrade Wang Nian a certificate?"

Wang Nian: “…”

Although the child's bizarre ideas made people laugh and cry, they also made Wang Nian feel warm in his heart.

Although she did not expect anything in return for her efforts, she just felt that she should do so. However, when she actually got the rewards, it undoubtedly made every day before that meaningful.

Shi Xiangming sighed with a smile, then gently put his arm around Wang Nian's shoulders.

"If you want to hold a mother-recognition ceremony, I agree."

"Don't make trouble." Wang Nian smiled.

"If we had known that Uncle Shi was willing to pay, why would we save money?" Zhang Liye suddenly interrupted, counting on his fingers: "Let me count how long it has been since I last bought candy."

"How about your uncle pay for a ceremony to recognize your mother?" Shi Xiangming asked with a smile.

Zhang Liye glanced back at his mother, shaking his head like a wave drum: "I'll do it when I meet a good mother next time. This mother is not good enough."

Puff——

Wang Nian and Shi Xiangming turned their heads at the same time, leaving Liu Chaoxian room to hit the child.

"Mom...Mom...I was wrong."

While Liu Chaoxian was beating the naughty kid, Shi Shuwen also found the gift he had prepared for a long time.

It was a headpiece made of red gauze, with a plastic pearl in the middle and some small beads on the gauze.

The young boy held the flower in his hands, raised them, and solemnly presented it to Wang Nian.

"For you."

"My brother said that I look as beautiful as a bride with a head flower." Apparently Shi Wan was there when they bought the head flower.

Wang Nian took it and handed it to Shi Xiangming with a smile: "Help me put it on."

The head flowers worn at weddings are far smaller than this one.

Shi Xiangming clipped the hairpin into Wang Nian's braid, shook his head lightly, and the flower began to dance with the braid.

"You would look better if you wore the red dress." Shi Shuwen was quite satisfied.

"I'm still calling you!" Wang Nian smiled, and flicked Shi Shuwen's cheek with his index finger: "I've already accepted the gift, why are you still calling me?"

“…”

Shi Shuwen pursed his lips embarrassedly, and opened his mouth but still no sound came out.

"Mom." Shi Wan called out first, crisply, as if to deliberately irritate her brother, and called out several times in a row: "Mom, Mom, Mom..."

"Mom." A cry not much louder than a mosquito finally floated out from Shi Shuwen's lips in the commotion. Then he suddenly raised his head to look at Wang Nian and suddenly said, "Thank you for being my mother."

"Thank you for being my son," Wang Nian responded softly, and then he said to Shi Wan, "Thank you for being my daughter."

"Dad is also very grateful to Mom for marrying me." Shi Xiangming suddenly said, and then gently shook Wang Nian's hand.

Thank you for looking back while sitting in the car that day, thank you for not resisting Zhang Liang’s constant persuasion and going to see him, and thank you... thank you Wang Nian for giving the word "home" a concrete shape.

“I was moved by what I saw.”

No matter how touching the moment is, as long as you meet Liu Chaoxian and his mother, don't expect it to last too long.

Liu Chaoxian held Zhang Liye's collar with one hand and pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes with the other hand, but was immediately exposed by her own son: "You don't even have tears. You can tell it's fake crying."

"I'm going to skin you alive today!" Liu Chaoxian roared, and this time she really used all her strength.

Wang Nian smiled, and her already handsome features became even more attractive.

"Seeing you makes me really want to have a home!" Zhou Yuying sighed with emotion, her thoughts unconsciously falling into past memories.

She and her ex-husband were classmates, and their families were old friends.

Their relationship was actually pretty good after they got married, but the turning point was because of their child.

Her ex-husband likes children and has always been looking forward to having a child to make the home more lively, but she wants to take her academic research to the next level and then have another child.

Where there are disagreements there are gaps, and third parties take advantage of these gaps to sneak in.

Although her ex-husband did not actually cheat with a third party, Zhou Yuying still chose to divorce because she could not tolerate his instability.

Over the years, Zhou Yuying never regretted her divorce, until today...she felt shaken for the first time.

After the divorce, she did not continue her academic research, but instead chose to work in such a remote place.

What if she had a child with her ex-husband at that time... What choice would she make if she saw the happy silhouette of a family earlier...

A chilly wind blew past, instantly waking Zhou Yuying's wandering thoughts.

Once my mind cleared up, I rejected the random thoughts I had just had. Everyone should have a different way of living.

She only saw Wang Nian's happy family and forgot how much he had paid.

If she had to stay around the three acres of land at home every day, Zhou Yuying would be so angry that she would throw things around in less than two months.

"Just take a look!"

Next, Zhou Yuying also joined the ranks of those who were destroying the emotions, and went over there while complaining that she was hungry.

In the living room separated by a window.

Lin Weidong and Lin Jing stood behind the window and watched everything silently.

Shi Xiangming hugged Wang Nian's shoulders, lowered his head and gently touched the top of his head. When he lowered his eyes, there was tenderness in them, as if the cold moon in the sky also had temperature.

"Did you see it?"

“…”

Lin Weidong did not shut up just because he did not hear the answer. He deliberately lowered his voice and continued, "Don't do anything stupid."

They had only been in the factory for two months, and most of the rumors they had heard came from the single dormitory.

Rumor has it that Mr. Shi's lover is vulgar and illiterate. Some even say that Shi Xiangming was forced to agree to the marriage because someone framed him and ruined the woman's reputation.

Lin Weidong didn't know where these rumors came from, but looking at them now... he just found them extremely funny.

It was precisely because of these absurd rumors that Lin Jing, her younger sister, developed feelings that she shouldn't have.

"Brother." Lin Jing called out in a hoarse voice, without any trace of the tenderness she had just shown when she spoke to Zhou Yuying: "I don't believe in fate."

"Lin Jing!" Lin Weidong called out the name anxiously.

"Can you guarantee that you will meet such a good person in the future?" Lin Jing's eyes were cold, so cold that he seemed like another person.

"Lin Jing, you are morally corrupt, don't you know that?"

"What can good people get? Can anyone bully us like we did before?"

"But……"

"Hold the bowl and eat!"

After the last vegetarian dish was cooked, Wang Nian asked everyone to start eating.

The two people behind the window quickly stopped talking and sat back in their previous seats. The moment they sat down, Wang Nian suddenly looked up at the window.

It was unfortunate - Wang Nian had learned lip reading for work in his previous life, and the two of them were facing the window, so the content of their conversation could be seen clearly.

Looking at the father and his two sons clinging to him, Wang Nian raised his lips and smiled softly… If you have the ability, try it!

***

No. 15 Family Building.

When the first glance fell on the living area of ​​Factory 431, there was already a busy scene in front of the No. 15 family building.

The open space in front of the family's building was filled with tables, chairs and benches, and even the corridor on the first floor had a square table.

Smoke was rising from the dam, and the makeshift wood stove was already starting to cook the meat, which would take a long time to cook.

The bride Li Yan is a city girl, and the groom Tan Huisong's father is the deputy director of the Political Department, and he also works in the Logistics Department.

Now there is no need to worry about being criticized. This wedding was so lively that it was probably the first time in the factory in recent years that such a grand event had taken place.

The most important leaders in the factory were among the guests, including the newly established R&D team, and Shi Xiangming was also invited.

"Comrade Wang, how do you cut the hind leg meat?"

As the head chef, Wang Nian started working in front of the family building before dawn.

The menu for the wedding banquet can only be roughly determined, and the specific dishes will depend on what the food station has available that day.

Twelve dishes, seven meat, four vegetarian dishes and a soup.

"Just cut it into slices, and stir-fry the chili later."

Due to limited ingredients, the dishes are not complicated and are mostly home-cooked meals.

There were many people helping, and more than ten middle-aged women took over almost all the work of preparing the dishes, so Wang Nian only had to be responsible for cooking.

More than 20 carps were washed, cut into pieces, sprinkled with seasonings and marinated. After that, he quickly turned around to season the meat of the braised pork with preserved vegetables.

The lady waiting to arrange the meat curiously followed Wang Nian as he busied himself in front of the three tables.

"Comrade Wang." The old lady stopped cutting vegetables and glanced back at the figure squatting in front of the water pipe washing dishes in the distance: "Is Deputy Section Chief Yang's wife from the same brigade as you?"

Wang Nian nodded and scooped some pepper powder into the pork liver.

"Then why do you look so unfamiliar?"

"There are more than a dozen production teams in our brigade. It takes half an hour to walk to the farthest ones. It's normal that I can't recognize everyone."

Wang Nian didn't expect that Zhou Shanxiu would be in the team helping at the banquet.

Although the two lived in the same building, they rarely ran into each other. It was a surprise to see them today.

"That's right. We can't even recognize all the people from the same factory." The old lady agreed without hesitation.

"It's better to gossip about others if you don't know me, right?"

The aunties who came to help were obviously acquaintances, and they could chat about anything while cutting vegetables.

"What do you mean by idle talk? What I said is all based on facts and everyone can vouch for me."

"If you want to say it, just say it. If not, I won't listen..."

The aunties had time to chat, and although Wang Nian couldn't stop his hands, his ears also stood up.

When Liu Chaoxian came to the food preparation table with the chopped green onions, Wang Nian was listening to the gossip with great interest and had almost finished preparing the seasoning for the crispy pork.

"Guess who I saw when I went to get some green onions just now?"

Wang Nian's attention was instantly drawn to Liu Chaoxian again, and he asked curiously, "Who did you see?"

"Xie Hua! She is a guest of the groom's side."

It seems that Xie Hua and Tan Huisong have a very close relationship. The two of them were smoking at the door of the new house with their arms around each other and they never stopped chatting.

As he spoke, he pointed to the end of the corridor on the second floor, where there was a cloud of smoke and two people were puffing out smoke.

"Him?" Wang Nian glanced at the water pipe unconsciously, frowned and asked, "What about Huang Xiaohui?"

"I think he hasn't come yet."

"What are you doing here so early, Xie Hua?"

"Who knows?" Liu Chaoxian disliked Xie Hua and showed no emotion when he mentioned him. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Who cares! It has nothing to do with us."

And at this time, the aunties happened to talk about Zhou Shanxiu.

"Didn't Deputy Section Chief Yang beat his wife before?"

"Who told you that? I've never heard anyone say that."

Wang Nian and Liu Chaoxian immediately stopped discussing Xie Hua and both took a few steps towards the ladies.

"It's absolutely true! Didn't we live on the same floor with Deputy Section Chief Yang when we were at the Anhuai old factory? We often heard the baby crying in his room."

"Later, my husband Liu and I went to inquire about the situation and happened to see Deputy Section Chief Yang slapping his wife in the face with the sole of his shoe."

As the auntie was talking, she raised her hands to demonstrate, even imitating the facial expressions so vividly that she directly confirmed the fact that Yang Fu was committing domestic violence.

This auntie is also a kind-hearted person. After discovering the situation, she immediately reported it to the factory.

The Women's Federation sent people to criticize and educate Deputy Section Chief Yang, and with the supervision of the enthusiastic aunt's family, the beatings gradually decreased.

"Later, Xiao Jia filed for a divorce, and I was happy for her!" Auntie shook her head and sighed, "It's just pitiful for the two girls. Now there's a stepmother. How are they going to live?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The aunt next to her immediately nudged the old lady with her arm and tried to signal Wang Nian: "Who said there are no good stepmothers? Aren't their two children fat and white?"

There is one right in front of the stepmother, how can you knock her down in front of everyone?

Besides, there were two kids jumping rope nearby, they didn't look like they were poorly raised.

"Wang Wenfang has done so much harm to people!" said Wang Nian.

"I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't told me. Look..." Liu Chaoxian suddenly pointed at Zhou Shanxiu's back and asked Wang Nian to look at her: "Look at her feet."

There seemed to be a purple bruise on the ankle hidden under the pants, and only a little bit could be seen when standing on tiptoe.

The two looked at each other... Could it be that Yang Fu's habit of beating people has not changed at all?