Old Zheng comes home
Sure enough, within two days, Lao Zheng's nephew found the shop and said that his father was willing to come.
So Hu Yufeng and Qin Wenli packed up and rushed to Old Zheng's house.
Before, Hu Yufeng was emotional and felt that her elder brother owed someone a life, and she wanted to repay the debt for her elder brother.
The thought also occurred to her that it was her elder brother who owed the money, not hers. But Big Brother has ended up in this lonely situation now, and she is either the main culprit or an accomplice.
At that time, Yuxiang and her mother persecuted her sister-in-law, causing her to leave home in the middle of the night to seek a living while pregnant. She saw it but did not stop it, nor did she inform her elder brother.
So the eldest brother hated them, and she also hated herself.
This is what she deserves. She must atone for her wrongdoings.
But after returning that day, Qin Wenli still told her about the hidden dangers.
After all, Lao Zheng is over 60 years old, and his legs and feet are not as nimble as those of young people. No one can prevent him from slipping and falling. What if something happens and my nephew comes to ask for money?
After Hu Yufeng calmed down, she felt that it made sense, and after they discussed it, they decided that it would be better to make some things clear in advance.
So when he visited this time, Qin Wenli also brought the employment agreement. The agreement is made in triplicate, and both Lao Zheng and his nephew must sign it, and the village party secretary must also be a witness.
The mother and son went to the village committee first. After hearing the purpose of their visit, the village cadres followed them without even stuttering.
Lao Zheng came to see them a few days ago, and he even shed tears when he was moved, which was really unbearable.
When they arrived at Old Zheng's house, Old Zheng's attitude was the same as usual, but his nephew was very enthusiastic.
Seeing that the village party secretary and director were also traveling with them, Old Zheng's nephew hesitated for a moment before smiling and greeting them.
After they got into the room and sat down, they chatted about this and that for a while as usual, and then got back to the topic.
Qin Wenli smiled and said, "You send word that we have reached an agreement, and we will come here today. We have also invited the secretary and director of our village to discuss the matter in three pairs and two faces."
Old Zheng's nephew said quickly, "Of course, of course."
Qin Wenli took out the agreement from his pocket and gave a copy to the branch secretary and Old Zheng's nephew. He continued, "In view of Uncle Zheng's special situation, there are two points we need to clarify in advance."
"First, the elderly may get hurt by bumps and falls. Uncle Zheng is old. If there is an accident, and it happens in our house, we will be fully responsible for the medical expenses, and we will not pay any additional compensation."
"The second is the elderly's illness. Because Uncle Zheng is a five-guarantee household, his medical treatment is fully covered by the state. If he needs to be hospitalized for an illness, my family will provide an additional subsidy of 500-3,000 yuan for nursing care. The specific amount will be determined according to the length of the illness."
"Think about it and see if you can accept it."
Of course, the village party secretary slapped his thigh and agreed immediately. These aren't hired workers at all; they're clearly philanthropists doing good deeds.
I didn't expect that Old Zheng, who was such a dull guy, would have such good fortune in the end.
Old Zheng's nephew's face turned red. He could tell that these rules and regulations were clearly aimed at him. They were afraid that he would come to the house and ask for money in the old man's name. He had some little plans in mind, but he didn't expect that he would be blocked on the spot. He is indeed a businessman, the only thing missing is money.
Qin Wenli seemed not to notice his resentful look, and just said to Old Zheng:
"Uncle Zheng?"
Hearing Qin Wenli calling him, Lao Zheng wiped his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "No, your family will suffer too much. The branch secretary and director are here, and I have a few words to say..."
Seeing everyone looking at him, Lao Zheng took a deep breath and said:
"First, I will give Yangcun 20 yuan every month, on the condition that Yangcun helps me look after the house and burns paper for your aunt during festivals." Yangcun is Lao Zheng's nephew.
"Second, if I get seriously ill, no one needs to pay for my treatment. Just leave me in my hometown. You don't have to feel bad about it. I also want to see my wife sooner."
"Third, if I am in good health and still alive when I am in my seventies or eighties, I will not be able to work by then, and I will return to live in my hometown. Yangcun and Murakami cannot send me to a nursing home, nor can they cause trouble for the Qin family."
After hearing what he said, everyone fell silent.
Although Qin Wenli has always been the one taking the lead in Lao Zheng's affairs, he always regards himself as the spokesperson in his heart. Just like other things at home, it doesn’t matter what he thinks, as long as the family is stable and her mother is happy. To put it nicely, it's filial piety, but in fact it's just the relationship between a boss and a subordinate. Which subordinate would treat the boss's home as his own? That person is probably not far from death.
After listening to what Lao Zheng said, he realized for the first time that sincerity really can be rewarded with sincerity, and he felt a little confused.
Finally, it was the branch secretary who spoke up: "Okay, don't worry, Old Zheng. In addition to your wages, you will also receive special hardship allowance every month. Save the money and you will have nothing to lose when you are old."
Old Zheng's nephew also assured: "Don't worry, Dad, I won't send you to a nursing home. When you can't work, come back and I'll take care of you."
The branch secretary smiled. Look, he said that if he had money his life in old age would not be bad, but now he has no money and people who are looking for retirement have come out.
All parties had no objection and signed the agreement. The branch secretary carefully folded his copy and put it in his pocket. Then he shook Qin Wenli's hand and expressed his gratitude solemnly:
"On behalf of Murakami, I want to thank you for doing this for Lao Zheng. Lao Zheng is a miserable man, so I'll leave his care to you from now on. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me."
Although he didn't know what the relationship was between this family and Old Zheng, taking care of the lonely elderly was Murakami's job. Now that he had let someone else take it over, all he could do was to ensure that the Zheng family didn't cause any trouble or make any waves.
Lao Zheng had already packed his bag, which contained only some clothes for changing. There is nothing left at home. My wife’s medical treatment has drained the money out of the house. After locking the kiln door, Old Zheng looked inch by inch at the old courtyard where the old couple had lived for decades, and a tear rolled down his eye.
He reached out and wiped it quickly, smiled, turned around and got into the car.
…
The car stopped in the yard of Old Qin's house. Qin Shengtian ran out and saw that in addition to Wenli and his mother, there was also an old man carrying a bundle.
Thinking that this was his little brother, Qin Shengtian's face smiled like a chrysanthemum:
"Is this Brother Zheng? Give me the bag, you go get off. Wenli, help your uncle."
Lao Zheng was flattered. No wonder Sister Hu and nephew Qin are both kind-hearted people, it turns out that this is the family tradition.
Anyway, Qin Shengtian's warm greeting scared away all of Lao Zheng's original uneasiness.
Everyone seems to be a good person now.
Old Zheng wanted to be settled in the old yard, and this had been discussed in the family before.
There are three kangs in the old courtyard, one in the main room, Wenli's room and the old lady's room.
Hu Yufeng originally wanted him and his elder brother to live in the main room, but when Old Zheng heard this, he waved his hands in fear. How could a helper live in the main hall of the master's house? He thought the old lady's room was just fine.
But Wenli planned to connect the old lady's house to the tofu shop, so in the end he moved into Wenli's original house.
All the bedding in the room was gone, and the old table and benches were not moved away. Yang Xiu also left a wooden box, which was just right for Lao Zheng to store odds and ends.
Old Zheng watched as several people were busying around and soon finished cleaning up. He was so moved that he wanted to cry.
After packing up, Hu Yufeng said a few words to Lao Zheng, then handed the person over to Qin Shengtian, asking him to familiarize himself with the environment.
Qin Shengtian took over happily, holding his younger brother's arm and introducing them one by one.
Hu Yufeng was happy because she had gotten rid of a worry, but she felt a headache when she thought of her elder brother. Forget it, I'll ask him about his plans in the first month of the year. If he doesn't want to come, let him stay alone for now.
Under Qin Shengtian's leadership, Lao Zheng became familiar with the environment and couldn't help but admire him. He heard Brother Shengtian say that his family had gone from being penniless to what they are today in just five years, which was truly amazing.
He also discovered through observation that it was Sister Hu who made the decisions at home. A woman can support a family, and even a grown man like him feels ashamed of himself.
Although he is sixty years old, he is still a strong laborer at this age. As long as you can do it, you should work hard to the death. This is the spiritual program of the elderly of this era. He was also a man with good sense. When he saw Qin Shengtian carrying grass, he would go and help. When he had free time, he would consciously clean the sheep pen and the cow pen. If he saw a dog poop passing by, he would immediately clean it up.
Qin Shengtian felt even more satisfied when he saw how diligent he was. When he was free, he would take him to have a rest, drink some water, and listen to him bragging.
It was boring to brag alone, so he also asked about Lao Zheng's situation. Lao Zheng told him the truth. Qin Shengtian felt complacent and pitiful after hearing it, and he treated Lao Zheng even better.
After a few days, the two of them became almost inseparable, and Hu Yufeng felt relieved seeing this.
…
The snow on the ground melted and fell, fell and melted again. Two months passed quickly and it was the end of December again.
On the 26th, the Qin family officially gave their helpers a holiday.
In the morning, Qin Wenli took Lao Zheng and brought with him the New Year gift from Lao Qin's family: four pounds of pork.
Qin Shengtian and the old lady also went with them. It was Qin Wenli who suggested it. In the past few years, he and his mother have been out all day, and his father and grandmother have been like left-behind elderly people, looking after the house. The shop was bought two years ago, and the two of them didn’t even know which way the shop door faced, so they decided to take them for a walk this time.
The two were very happy after hearing this. When the old lady saw that her grandson was thinking about her, she wiped her tears while putting on her clothes. Qin Shengtian quickly put on his clothes and got into the car, looking like he would not get out no matter how hard he tried.
Hu Yufeng simply couldn't bear to watch it. Look how scared he was. How could he go back on his word after she had already agreed?
The old lady was fine when they got to the town, but Qin Shengtian found everything strange. Yes, anyone who hasn’t been out on the street for four or five years would probably look like this.
Qin Wenli gave each of the three old men ten yuan and sent them off to wander around. He rolled up his sleeves and stood in front of the counter.
After seeing off guests one after another, the three old men finally came back with smiles on their faces.
"What did you eat?" Qin Wenli asked with a smile when he saw some red oil on the corners of Qin Shengtian's mouth.
"The mutton in the restaurant tastes better than the one we cook at home. Your uncle Zheng refused to spend money on it, and only agreed after I asked him to pay for it." Qin Shengtian said.
Old Zheng felt a little embarrassed. Wen Li offered him money but he couldn't refuse it, so he wanted to save it for later and put it secretly in the shop. However, Brother Qin insisted on making him eat mutton.
"Uncle Zheng, think of this money as my New Year's gift to you in advance. You can spend it now. Don't be reluctant to part with it."
After saying this, he looked at the old lady again:
"Granny, what about you?"
"Dumplings? It's still the same daughter-in-law. She still remembers me after more than two years and specially scooped two more for me." The old lady also smiled. Her smile showed the satisfaction of eating her favorite food, as well as the touch of being remembered by someone.
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