Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Second Sister

The autumn sky in Anhuai City is still clear, with a few floating clouds occasionally passing through the blue sky. The temperature is neither too cold nor too hot. Occasionally, a gust of autumn wind blows, which actually sweeps away the stuffiness left over from the summer.

Shi Xiangming remembers that autumn is the most comfortable season for peace and comfort, and he feels especially comfortable now.

"Should we buy school bags for the children? I see the children are all carrying red star bags, so we should prepare some for Shuwen and Xiaowan in advance."

Wang Nian's voice came from the top of the building. I wonder what he was busy with.

"Mom, Shasha said that only primary school students need to carry red star bags, so brother can just carry a military shoulder bag." Shi Wan replied downstairs.

Qiu Shasha is the daughter of Zhang Hongyan and the same age as Shi Wan, which made the two quickly become good friends.

As for the red star bag, it is a red backpack with a five-pointed star printed on it.

"You will be going to school in two days. Do you want your dad to take you or your mom?"

This time the sound came from the living room on the first floor, and then someone came out with a basin of half-spread black fertilizer in his hand.

"Mom!"

Without even a second's thought, Shi Wan quickly answered.

This time it was Shi Shuwen's turn to stop working. He stopped brushing his shoes and raised his shoe brush: "Last time it was Mom who went to the parents' meeting for you. This time it should be my turn."

"Last time it was in Changshenggou, but now it's a new school!"

"Then brush your stinky shoes yourself!" Shi Shuwen threw down the shoe brush and said, "Anyway, it's Mom's turn to go to the parents' meeting for me this time."

Even though he was the one being disliked by the two children, Shi Xiangming just sat on a chair and watched with a smile on his face.

"You play rock-paper-scissors." He even took the initiative to propose a solution to the problem to the brother and sister.

The brother and sister quickly accepted the idea, and Shi Shuwen won by throwing the stone. Even though Shi Xiangming saw that the eldest brother was a beat slow, he did not point it out.

Wang Nian came over and took a look.

"It's just a start-of-term ceremony, not a parent-teacher conference at the end of the semester. Why worry about it?"

Shi Wan: “…”

"Brother, you continue to brush my shoes. I'm going to go play with Qiu Shasha..." Shi Wan quickly became happy again and blinked deliberately: "Then it's my turn to attend the parents' meeting for the final exam."

Shi Shuwen, who tried to be clever but ended up digging a hole for himself, could only continue to brush shoes in frustration.

Wang Nian turned around and planned to go to the backyard again, and Shi Xiangming stood up and followed him.

"I haven't seen Feiying for a while. I wonder what that kid is busy with in the backyard?" Wang Nian muttered a little uneasily.

Shi Xiangming shook his head and chuckled: "He will bother us at home for a few more days, and then I will send him to kindergarten."

"I'm really worried that this kid will cause trouble in kindergarten."

"Then don't worry. The teachers at Guanghua Kindergarten are all veterans. They can teach you a lesson even if you're chasing the moon."

Wang Nian was amused and really wanted to see Shi Feiying marching in step.

At this moment, the pear tree that Wang Nian had managed to save with great difficulty fell to the ground, and the culprit Shi Feiying was making a futile attempt to rescue it.

"Shi Feiying!" The veins on Wang Nian's forehead were throbbing wildly.

Shi Feiying shuddered, raised her hands in panic, and shouted in defense: "It wasn't me!"

"If not you, then who is it?"

"It's him!" Shi Feiying jumped away and pointed at the two dogs wagging their tails at her feet: "I'm just doing them a favor."

There were two puppies, one black and one white. They looked to be about four or five months old. They were dirty and must be stray dogs.

The black dog among them looks especially like the little black dog that used to be in our home.

Xiao Hei at home was too old to withstand the fatigue of the journey, so in the end, we had to ask Liu Chaoxian to help feed him.

"What are you doing to help them?" Shi Xiangming was puzzled. Besides, the backyard was fenced: "Where did these two dogs get in from?"

"I miss Xiao Hei..." Shi Feiying pouted aggrievedly.

The two puppies were actually stray dogs that Shi Feiying saw outside the gate. Because one of them looked a bit like Xiao Hei, it was finally led in by Ban Baozi.

When she entered the backyard just now and saw two birds digging a tree, Shi Feiying thought there was some treasure hidden underground.

So... one man and two dogs dug down the tree.

Wang Nian: “…”

"Take the dog to the side and stand there for punishment."

Wang Nian took a deep breath, twisted Shi Feiying's ears and pulled her to the side, and the two puppies followed closely.

There is no treasure under the tree. It's just a puppy sharpening its claws on the trunk.

Fortunately, the roots of the pear tree that suffered a second blow were still intact. Wang Nian replanted the tree and watered a circle of water around it.

"Since you have nothing to do, help us build the greenhouse later." Shi Xiangming said.

"What about the dogs?" Shi Xiangming sniffed and tried to wink at Shi Xiangming: "If we drive the dogs out again, they will surely freeze to death in the winter."

Shi Xiangming pretended not to see it and immediately turned around to get his tools.

Wang Nian has the final say in the family, and Shi Xiangming just plays the role of doing whatever he is told and never makes any decisions.

Shi Feiying sighed in disappointment and ran to Wang Nian again.

Before he could even open his mouth, a finger was pointed at his forehead: "Who told you to move? Stand back down."

Shi Feiying returned to the wall with muddy fingerprints on his face, hoping that his pitiful eyes would soften his mother's heart and make her agree to adopt the two puppies.

“Is it too late to plant eggplants now?”

"It's not too late. As long as there is no frost, vegetables and fruits can be planted later." Shi Xiangming replied immediately.

"You're also researching vegetable cultivation?"

"You can't keep confusing green onions and garlic sprouts." Shi Xiangming handed the yarn to Wang Nian and walked to the other side with the other end: "Actually, I'm only good at talking, I'm not good at it when it comes to hands."

"Mom, let me help you knit." Shi Feiying came up to her ingratiatingly.

Wang Nian glanced at him and finally nodded.

Shi Xiangming even pays attention to horizontal and vertical alignment when building a greenhouse, and the wooden stakes must be aligned.

Wang Nian squatted down and waved to the two dogs.

The puppies pranced around on all fours, perhaps because they felt that Wang Nian was the one who had the final say at home, and they wagged their tails happily.

"From now on, Shi Feiying will be responsible for feeding the two puppies, bathing them and combing their hair. If they poop at home, you have to do it..."

Shi Feiying: I suddenly don’t want to raise a child anymore…

After the greenhouse frame was set up, Shi Xiangming found some old wooden boards in the warehouse to make a chicken nest.

"We have been back in Anhuai for almost three months. Grandpa Feiying and Grandma..."

At first, Wang Nian never mentioned this matter because he had to take care of household chores and Shi Xiangming needed to adapt to the new unit.

"Let's go after the Chinese New Year..." Shi Xiangming said coldly, hammering a little harder: "If we don't take the initiative to go, I'm afraid they will never know that I was transferred back to Anhuai."

Wang Nian had been married to Shi Xiangming for more than seven years, but before the marriage she received a telegram saying that he would not attend the wedding, and they had no contact since then.

In fact, it’s not that we haven’t been in touch at all… I didn’t have time to send money back that year, so Shi’s father sent a telegram to ask for the money.

Wang Nian had no objection and nodded immediately.

"Where's Dean Wu?"

From studying to working, Dean Wu Bin has given Shi Xiangming a lot of care. Now that he has returned to Anhuai, he must visit his teacher.

"The teacher is on a business trip out of town and won't be back until November." Speaking of the teacher, Shi Xiangming finally smiled a little.

"Let's take Shuwen and Xiaowan to see your elder sister while they are still in school," Wang Nian said.

This time Shi Xiangming quickly agreed: "Let's go next week when we have a day off."

"Dad! You have an older sister?" This was the first time Shi Feiying had heard of having an aunt since she was a child. She curiously asked again and again, "What should I call Dad's older sister..."

When Shi Shuwen and Shi Wan came to Anhuai, the people they talked about most often were their second aunt and second uncle.

I just wonder if they are still living in Jade Lane after not seeing them for almost eight years.

Wang Nian's worries came true. Shi Guizhi's family had moved out the year before last, and even sold the old house to someone else.

After asking around for more than half a month, I finally got the address of their new home.

They were surprised again when they got the address, because the new home was in Yuan'an Lane, which they had just passed by not long ago.

"Why do I feel like this road is getting narrower and narrower, like there's no way out!"

After asking people one after another on the way, the family finally found the specific direction, but as they walked, Wang Nian found that there seemed to be a dead end ahead.

“That’s it.”

Shi Xiangming stopped in front of a two-story red brick building. The number 74 on the house number was indeed the address he had inquired about.

Knock knock knock——

“…”

Shi Xiangming knocked a few times, and finally a coughing sound was heard from behind the door. Then the wooden door inside was opened, and the man looked up at Shi Xiangming through the outer iron door.

"Who are you looking for?"

Perhaps it was because Shi Xiangming had been away from home for many years, so he did not recognize the person opposite him at first sight, but he recognized the person immediately.

"Second brother-in-law!"

The man narrowed his eyes, then widened them and hurriedly opened the iron gate.

"It's really Xiang Ming, Guizhi... Come out quickly, it's Xiang Ming."

He Jian should be only forty-five years old, but his hair is already half white and his back is slightly hunched. He looks older than Wang Heping.

"Who did you say is coming..."

The female voice that responded was equally sad, and the staggering figure that came over seemed to be shaky, so her legs and feet must be in bad condition.

"Second aunt! Second uncle!" Shi Shuwen shouted excitedly through the iron gate.

Shi Wan's memory was already a little fuzzy, and she only shyly followed her brother in calling out.

"Shuwen!" Shi Guizhi came out of the dark room, too excited to control herself. She waved desperately at the two children, "Come and show me how much my two little darlings have grown up."

Shi Xiangming choked up and called out, "Second sister."

Wang Nian also hurriedly followed suit and called out, "Second sister, second brother-in-law." His subordinate touched Shi Feiying's face and said, "Call someone."

"Second aunt, second uncle." The naughty boy who had been clamoring to see his second aunt at home was so shy when he really saw her that he hugged Wang Nian and called out shyly.

Unfortunately, Shi Guizhi didn't pay any attention to this and kept crying while hugging Shi Shuwen and his sister.

He Jian looked at Wang Nian and Shi Feiying curiously and said, "This must be my sister-in-law."

"My beloved Wang Nian, this is our youngest son Shi Feiying." Shi Xiangming held Shi Feiying in front of him and laughed, "Does he look like me when I was a child?"

"Resemble it! Really resemble it." He Jian also thought it was similar.

Shi Feiying and Shi Xiangming when he was a child seem to be carved from the same mold. Her big, black eyes show that she is full of mischievous ideas.

"Come in! What are you talking about standing at the door?" Shi Guizhi wiped her tears and hurriedly invited everyone to come in and sit down.

The room was very dark. He Jian pulled down the light cord in the living room, and the light bulb lit up, barely illuminating the dark room.

The two walls of the living room are surrounded by other people's homes, and the room relies entirely on the bedroom windows for light.

But outside the bedroom was a small patio with several other families living in the yard, and the clutter blocked most of the light from outside the window.

There is absolutely no difference between having windows and not having windows; the moldy smell in the house naturally has nowhere to go.

"Hurry up and sit down."

Wang Nian finally saw Shi Guizhi's appearance clearly. She had an oval face, almond eyes, and was quite tall. She must have been a great beauty when she was young.

But now he walks with a limp, and he looks very old, so he is old.

"Sister, what's wrong with your foot?" Shi Xiangming sat down next to Shi Guizhi and immediately asked with concern.

Shi Guizhi looked nonchalant: "It's an old problem. It happens like this before the rain." She waved to Wang Nian: "Wang Nian, come sit here, second sister."

"Second sister." Wang Nian sat on the stool next to her, and Shi Feiying immediately sat next to her.

"I just found out you were getting married the last time I received your letter, and now your child has grown up so big..."

Shi Guizhi looked Wang Nian up and down and had a good feeling about her brother's second marriage partner. She was also very satisfied to see that their three children were all growing up to be energetic and vigorous.

"Time flies by so fast." Shi Xiangming also sighed. He saw Shi Guizhi unconsciously hitting her leg with her hand, so he asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with your leg?"

"Rheumatism. Your sister has had constant pain in her legs since she moved here. The doctor said it's rheumatism." He Jian replied while pouring water.

"It's probably because the room is too damp." Wang Nian followed up, "That's why my second sister suffers from rheumatism all the time."

In the previous life, there was a group called migratory birds. Those who were in poor health would go to warmer places in winter and return to their homes in summer.

Many of these people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, and they will feel much better if they move to a warmer place.

"There's nothing we can do. The house is just like this. We can't afford to rent a good house." Shi Guizhi shook her head helplessly, as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She waved to Shi Feiying and said, "Come to Second Aunt. Second Aunt has candy."

"Brother-in-law, don't you have a house in Biyu Lane?" Shi Xiangming turned and asked He Jian.

“Sold.”

"How could it be sold? That house is exposed to the sun. If my second sister..."

"We sold them to Xiaoliang for business capital. The most valuable things your second sister and I have are those old houses." He Jian smiled.

"Doing business...where is He Liang?"

Shi Xiangming then remembered his cousin He Liang. The house was so small that it didn't look like it could accommodate a family of three.

"He Liang went to the Eastern Province to do business, but we don't know where exactly..."

As soon as the reform and opening-up policy was announced, He Liang's reselling business suddenly had many more legitimate competitors overnight.

I just happened to hear from others that if you dare to go to the Eastern Province, which is close to the special economic zone, you can make a name for yourself.

He Liang immediately decided to go to Dong Province to investigate. In order to raise money for their child, He Jian and his wife secretly sold their house without telling He Liang.

By the time He Liang discovered it, the buyer had already moved into Biyu Lane.

In the end, he had no choice but to board the train to Eastern Province with the money from selling the house and all his savings.

"We can live together, as long as we have a place to sleep." Shi Guizhi smiled.

He Liang is their only hope. As long as the child is well, they are willing to sacrifice anything.

"Did He Liang write back?" Shi Xiangming asked again.

"I've written it! He said he'll come back next year once the business is stable," said He Jian.

Wang Nian didn't understand He Liang, but Shi Xiang knew clearly that his cousin was a man of his word. If he said he was stable, he must have been stable. His expression immediately softened.

"That's good." Shi Xiangming breathed a sigh of relief and immediately decided: "I'll take a leave of absence tomorrow to take you to the hospital. The constant pain is not a big deal."

"No need...what's wrong, dear?"

The sobbing sound came from Shi Wan. After getting familiar with them for a while, the little girl finally remembered how kind her second aunt and second uncle had been to her in the past.

Seeing them living in such a dark house, I couldn't help feeling sad.

Shi Shuwen's expression was also very gloomy. He looked around the room, lowered his head, rubbed his nose with his hands, and said nothing.

He has many memories of the old house in Biyu Lane. When his second uncle's unit issued meat coupons, his second aunt would go buy the meat and prepare it for them to eat when they arrived.

The aroma that instantly filled the yakiniku bowl when the lid was removed makes me lick my lips even now when I think of it.

"Actually, the house wasn't this dark originally..." Shi Guizhi quickly hugged Shi Wan and patted her face, "The lighting was good when we first rented it, but it became like this later when more people moved in..."

Yuan'an Nong is very large, and is home to not only employees from various factories, but also many migrant workers from the city.

When people get mixed together, all kinds of people emerge.

When Shi Guizhi originally rented the house, the back window faced a road, and as long as the front door was open for light and air, it was fine.

Later, the house was rented to someone else, and the tenant treated the road in front of the door as his own warehouse and piled everything outside.

Blocking half of the window was the result of many negotiations between He Jian and the other party. The landlord only knew to collect rent and was not responsible for anything else.

Later, thieves appeared in the alley again. Last year, the situation became increasingly serious, so they had no choice but to install an iron gate, which they dared not open even during the day.

"I'll go talk to them." Shi Xiangming wanted to reason with them, but was immediately stopped by He Jian: "It's no use. Even the landlord said it's someone else's door. You can put whatever you want there."

"Why are you saying that?" Shi Guizhi stood up with her knees propped up and called out to He Jian, "Go buy some food so we can make braised pork for the kids tonight."

He Jian responded with a smile.

"Your second sister and I plan to rent for another year and stop renting next year. We will move to a new house when He Liang comes back next year."

While his sister and brother-in-law stood up, Shi Xiangming suddenly squeezed Wang Nian's hand.

Wang Nian nodded.

Shi Xiangming wanted to repay his sister and brother-in-law for taking care of their two children, so how could she object?

"Sister!" Shi Xiangming stood up and pulled Shi Guizhi to his side: "You and your brother-in-law can live at my house. When He Liang comes back next year, we can find a house."

"What nonsense!" Shi Guizhi smiled and just laughed off her brother's kindness: "We have arms and legs, why do we need to live in your house?"

"Your sister is right." He Jian also said.

"sister."

Wang Nian knew it was her turn to take action, so she stepped forward and took Shi Guizhi's arm. "The house that Xiangming was assigned is big, and there are still several empty rooms in it. It doesn't matter if they are empty. You can save some rent by moving in."

"No." Shi Guizhi disagreed and looked at Shi Xiangming angrily: "What kind of job do you do? Why does your company give you a big house?"

Not only did his parents-in-law not know what Shi Xiangming did for a living, even Shi Guizhi didn't know the details.

They always thought that Shi Xiangming was the technician who controlled the machine tools in the factory.

After the surprise, the two realized that Shi Xiangming could be transferred back to Anhuai and the unit even allocated him a house.

"Sister." Shi Xiangming pulled them to sit down again and slowly explained to them: "I work in a design institute. My main job is..."

Shi Guizhi became more and more confused after hearing those professional terms one after another.

Fortunately, He Jian finally grasped the key words in the conversation: "Are you saying that you are in charge of dozens of people now?"

"Yes." Wang Nian agreed on behalf of Shi Xiangming and added with a smile: "The Design Institute values ​​Shi Xiangming very much, otherwise how could they have allocated such a large house to us."

"Okay...Okay..." Shi Guizhi patted the back of Wang Nian's hand with satisfaction, and said with emotion: "Xiang Ming can be where he is today entirely because of his own ability."

"Sister, just listen to Xiang Ming. Live in my house this year, and then find a new house when cousin He Liang comes back next year." Wang Nian saw the opportunity and hurried to persuade her.

Shi Guizhi hesitated for a while, neither saying whether he agreed nor whether he was unwilling.

"You can live here, but you have to charge me for rent and food."

Finally, Shi Guizhi nodded, but still refused to compromise on the issue of payment. She insisted on paying three months' rent and food expenses before she was willing to go and see the house.

Shi Xiangming refused to accept it, but Shi Guizhi was determined not to leave.

Wang Nian was the only one who collected the money. He lowered the rent a lot: "Three yuan a month is enough for the rent. As for the food expenses, it doesn't need to be that much. We have a yard at home, and we grow our own vegetables. We usually just buy some meat... Two yuan a month is enough."

"That won't do. Our room costs eight yuan, how can yours be only three yuan?" Shi Guizhi could hear Wang Nian's good intentions.

Wang Nian had no choice but to say, "Our house is empty anyway, and it's good enough if we can rent it out for three yuan." As he said this, he tried his best to wink at Shi Shuwen and the others.

Shi Feiying reacted the fastest, running over to hug Shi Guizhi's arm and said coquettishly: "Second Aunt, we have too many houses. If you don't live in them, mice will live in them... I don't want mice to live in my house."

"Second Aunt, it's such a pity to rent the house to others."

"We have a big yard at home, so my second aunt can get some sun and it's warm."

After several children took turns to act coquettishly, Shi Guizhi finally nodded in agreement, but she also specifically stated that she would only stay for one year and leave when He Liang came back.

Shi Xiangming didn't care what Shi Guizhi said. Once he made his decision, he urged them to pack up and leave.

We talked in the room for more than an hour, and the foul smell in my nose seemed to have penetrated into my lungs.

Living on this damp first floor all year round where you can't open windows for ventilation will cause you to get rheumatism or lung disease.

"Then I'll go tell the landlord that I won't rent the house next month." He Jian stood up happily.

Most of the furniture in the house belonged to the landlord, so when he said he wanted to leave, he could just pack up his clothes and go.

Blah-la-la——

As we were talking, a drunk passed by, stood by the door, unzipped his pants, and started peeing in the corner as if no one was around.

After going to the toilet, he drunkenly banged on the iron gate a few times as he passed by.

"Why don't you get out of here!" Shi Xiangming lifted up a bench and pretended to open the door, scaring the drunk man so much that he ran away.

Shi Guizhi seemed to be used to it. She waved her hand to stop He Jian from fetching water to wash: "We are leaving soon, why bother about him!"

"These people think your second sister and I are easy to talk to, so they always come to cause trouble."

He Jian is the typical good guy. Whenever someone needs help, they will think of him first. Bullies naturally like to bully honest people.

Shi Guizhi was indeed strong, but her health had been poor in recent years, so she was powerless even though she had the will.

"Don't worry about them, pack up now and make it in time for dinner." Wang Nian smiled.

Shi Xiangming and his sister Shuwen helped to clean up, while Wang Nian took Shi Feiying home to cook.

Shi Feiying would only make things worse if she stayed here, so she might as well go home and help pull out the weeds.

The relatives came to visit without drinking a sip of water, but when they left, there were two more people at home.