Chapter 96 Three years later.
In 1980, three years later, it was early summer.
In the Cheng family quarters of the family compound, bursts of children's cheerful laughter could be heard from the yard.
Tangyuan is still white and plump, but he has become much thinner and stronger. He is wearing soft and comfortable sky blue short-sleeved trousers and keeps running around in circles in the yard.
A khaki puppy followed behind him, chasing Tangyuan with its legs.
The little puppy is more than two months old. Normally, it runs very fast, but this time it seems to be matching the pace of its little master, lagging behind by a few steps at the right time. It seems to be chasing fiercely, but in fact, it seems to be teasing its little master.
Ever since bringing Xiao Huang home to raise him, Tangyuan has treated Xiao Huang like a brother. Whenever he has free time, he plays with it, observes it, and watches it eat.
When Xiao Huang grows up a little, like now, I love to play racing and chasing games with it in the yard all day long.
He Susu finished writing the manuscript and walked out of the room. She saw a child and a small dog chasing each other in the yard. They were circling around the yard again and again without feeling tired. She couldn't help but laugh and shook her head.
Seeing Tangyuan running with beads of sweat dripping down his face, she said quickly, "Come on, Tangyuan, stop running. Your clothes are almost soaked. Come in quickly and wash your face and change clothes, or you will catch a cold."
"Okay, mom, I'll be right there." Tang Yuan responded readily after hearing what his mother said, and turned to run towards her. Xiao Huang behind him followed suit and ran over, panting and sticking out his tongue because he had been running for too long and it was hot.
He Susu took Tangyuan to the bathroom, took his towel, soaked it in water and wrung it out, letting the child wipe the sweat off his face and neck by himself, then went to the room to get him some clothes to change into.
She said unhappily, "You just love playing these things with Xiao Huang. You don't feel tired even though you are sweating all over. If you want to run, run later. It's still early and it's sunny."
Tang Yuan chuckled, and went to his mother's side to act coquettishly: "I just feel like I have nothing to do. I just want to play with Xiao Huang for a while. I can finish my run early and take a bath later."
He Susu looked at his newly changed clothes and said bluntly: "You might as well take a shower right now, so your father won't have to wash an extra set of clothes tonight."
Tang Yuan slapped his forehead in annoyance. The little kid looked like an adult: "Oh, why didn't I think of that just now? Mom, you are really smart. You are worthy of being an article writer. If I had known, I would have taken a shower just now. Now that I have changed into clothes, I have to go to bed late tonight to make up for the cost."
He Susu was amused by him. She didn't know where Tangyuan got his talent for saying nice things from, but he always made her and Cheng Shi happy.
She smiled and said, "It's up to you. You can take a bath by yourself now, whenever you want. But your father will have to boil water and help you wash your clothes. You have to discuss it with your father later."
She thought that the child needed to exercise his independence as he grew older, so she consciously let Tangyuan practice bathing himself since last summer. Now, a year later, the child can bathe and dress himself independently.
Tang Yuan nodded like a little chicken pecking at rice: "I know, I'll talk to dad when he comes back."
He Susu nodded: "Okay, go get a glass of water. You need to drink more water when it's hot."
Tangyuan obediently went to get some water to drink, and also poured some water into Xiaohuang's food bowl for him to drink.
So a little boy sat on a chair and gulped down water from a cup, while Xiao Huang squatted at his feet and licked the water from the food bowl frantically, showing that he was really thirsty.
He Susu saw this scene and shook her head in amusement, then went to get the empty cup and poured some water to drink.
At the end of last year, He's mother saw that Tangyuan had grown up and was quite sensible. Even if her daughter usually wrote in the room, he could play by himself or look at some literacy cards. He was not naughty and would not make a big trouble. As long as her daughter opened the door when writing and could pay attention to the situation in the living room, it was fine to let Tangyuan play by himself for an afternoon.
She has been staying with her daughter for almost four years. Now that her grandson has grown up, it is time for her to go back to her hometown and take care of her grandchildren.
So after discussing it with her daughter and son-in-law, He's mother returned home with success and said with a smile that she would come and stay for a while when she was free.
After He's mother left, not only Tangyuan was not used to it, but He Susu and Cheng Shi were also not used to it. They had long been accustomed to living with He's mother, and it took them a long time to adapt.
Most of the housework was left for Cheng Shi to do when he came back from training or on his days off. He Susu remained the same as always. She only needed to prepare lunch and dinner every day and wait for Cheng Shi to come back and just stir-fry them.
The glutinous rice balls are easier to carry when they are big enough, you just need to keep an eye on them.
He Susu made a lot of literacy cards for him to practice, and also taught him how to hold a pen, and asked him to practice fifty words every day. No matter whether his handwriting was beautiful or not, it would become more beautiful as he wrote more and more.
For example, when she was going to write in the afternoon, she would arrange learning tasks for Tangyuan in advance and let him write at the small desk in his room. After he finished writing, he could freely arrange what he wanted to play, and she would come to check his reading and writing in the evening.
The door of her room would be open. She would seem to be concentrating on writing a manuscript, but she would also pay attention to the movements outside and would have a rough idea of any sounds.
Everything is fine so far.
Although Tangyuan has several good playmates in the family compound, they are afraid that he will be bored at home, especially in the afternoon. After discussing with Cheng Shi, He Susu adopted a local dog puppy that was only half a month old. They thought that giving Tangyuan a playmate could also cultivate his love and sense of responsibility.
With a lot of careful care, Xiao Huang is growing up healthily and is very friendly. His favorite thing to do is to play around with Tangyuan.
Whether playing at home or going out, Tangyuan must bring Xiao Huang with him, typically taking him wherever he goes.
Even if it was afternoon study time, Tangyuan would patiently sit at the small desk in his room to learn to read and write, while Xiao Huang would lie on the floor in his room and sleep.
At this time, He Susu drank some water and said simply, "Let's go, I'll take you out for a walk."
Tang Yuan was a very active person who couldn't sit still, so he happily agreed: "Okay, Xiao Huang, let's go out together."
Then he came to He Susu's side and pulled her sleeves to act coquettishly, "Mom, I was so good this afternoon. I learned to read and write and even took Xiao Huang to exercise. Can you reward me with a popsicle?"
Now it is early summer, and Tangyuan, who is afraid of heat, has to turn on the electric fan to fall asleep at night. He sweats whenever he moves, and he is a very active person.
In addition to three meals a day, his favorite thing is to eat various snacks, such as candy and pastries, and there is nothing he doesn't like.
But his mother controlled him and didn't let him eat too much. He had to complete some learning tasks every now and then before he could receive rewards.
Among all the snacks, the popsicles sold in grocery stores are the highest reward, and they are only available in summer.
Tang Yuan remembered that he had only eaten three popsicles in the whole summer last year, and he had been thinking about it. Yesterday, he heard Xiao Yuan say that the grocery store already had popsicles for sale, and he had been itching to have one.
Seeing that his mother didn't directly refuse, Tangyuan shook his mother's sleeve and added weight: "Mom, can I help clean the table and wash the dishes tonight? Just let me have a small popsicle~"
He had seen his father wash dishes, and he had also stood on a small stool in front of the sink to wash dishes a few times. Although he didn't wash the dishes clean and his father had to rinse them again in the end, his parents always praised him for being very good at washing dishes.
Of course Tangyuan didn't like washing dishes and only washed them occasionally, so when he offered to wipe the table and wash the dishes, he was really willing to do it.
He Susu did think about it and realized that it was indeed time to eat popsicles in the summer. She had worked so hard writing articles and the weather was so hot and humid, so it would be so refreshing if she could eat a popsicle.
As for Tangyuan, he is young and has a weak stomach, so he can't eat cold things often, but it's okay to eat it once in a while. This little guy made such a big promise, and he has been very well behaved recently, so it's okay to satisfy him once.
She smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I'll buy you a popsicle later. Remember to clean the table and wash the dishes at night."
"Great! Mom, you're awesome!" Tangyuan jumped for joy when he heard this, turned around and shouted that he wanted to set off.
He Susu took Tangyuan out, followed by Xiao Huang, and went straight to the grocery store.
When Tangyuan met familiar adults and children on the road, he greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hello, Auntie!"
"Xiao Yang and Xiao Li, where did you go to play?"
"Xiaofeng, let's go to hopscotch tomorrow morning."
The adults would always smile brightly when they saw Tang Yuan, and then nod to He Susu as a greeting. The children would also shout enthusiastically when they saw Tang Yuan, either chattering about where they had just come back from playing or making plans about where to go tomorrow.
He Susu watched with a smile, proud of Tangyuan's social skills. If this child goes out in the future, he will definitely have friends all over the world.
When they arrived at the grocery store, Tangyuan stepped on the low stones that the owner had placed specially for the children in the family compound so that he could see the various snacks sold in the window.
Tang Yuan: "Boss, I want to buy two popsicles."
Hehe, he has one mother and one daughter.
The boss sitting in the grocery store opened the insulated wooden box with foam interlayer and asked: "Do you want the old popsicle or the mung bean popsicle?"
Tang Yuan turned around and said, "Mom, which one do you want?"
He Susu: "I want the mung bean popsicle. You can choose whichever you want."
Tang Yuan nodded, turned back and said to the boss: "Boss, I want two mung bean popsicles."
After that, he took out a dollar from his pocket that his mother had given him before he left the house and handed it to the boss like a little adult, "Take a look at how much it is?"
Boss: "One mung bean popsicle is 30 cents, two are 60 cents, and I'll give you 40 cents."
"Okay, thank you, boss." Tangyuan took the two mung bean popsicles and returned the forty cents to his mother in his other hand.
He Susu took the 40 cents in change with a smile. When she went out, she gave Tangyuan one dollar to keep, thinking that she would let her child experience more of the feeling of buying things and paying. It would always be a good thing for children to have more experience.
Of course I have to take back the 40 cents now, otherwise this kid might come over here to eat popsicles when he comes out to play one day.
She asked the children to sit on a stone bench shaded by a tree not far away, and she started eating the mung bean popsicle first.
The popsicle was as thick as two fingers and so cold that it made her feel cold. She took a bite and felt the coolness immediately. She tasted the faint sweetness of mung beans. When the popsicle melted in her mouth and she swallowed it, her whole body felt cool.
Tangyuan sat aside licking a mung bean popsicle. He was very ritualistic in eating the popsicle and had to lick the whole popsicle once, then lick it here and there evenly. If he saw any part that was about to melt, he would lick it immediately and would never let any drop of popsicle water fall.
Little Yellow came up to his legs and barked, obviously wanting to eat too, and also wanted to feel a sense of existence as he felt left out.
Tang Yuan used his other hand to touch Xiao Huang's head and coaxed it: "Xiao Huang, be good, you can't eat popsicles, your stomach will feel uncomfortable. When we go back tonight, I will let my parents give you something delicious to eat."
Xiao Huang: “Woof woof woof!”
He Susu sat nearby, eating mung bean popsicles and laughing.
After the mother and daughter finished eating the mung bean popsicles, they happily held hands and went home.
After arriving home, He Susu sent Tangyuan out to play and went into the kitchen to prepare meat dishes for dinner.
Take out a piece of pork and chop it into minced meat. Then take out half a handful of pickled vegetables, chop them up and mix them with the minced meat. Then take out a broccoli, cut it in pieces, and wash it clean.
Some of the broccoli stems were cut separately, and there were small pieces of pork, which would be boiled in water and fed to Xiao Huang later.
Cheng came back in the evening, wearing an olive green training suit. He stood tall and straight, and his face was still as handsome as before. After being promoted to the head of the group last year, he often held meetings with his superiors and was in charge of the affairs of the entire group. He looked more stable.
As soon as he saw Susu and Tangyuan at home, Cheng Shi's cold brows softened immediately and he smiled: "I'm back."
He Susu smiled with her eyebrows curved: "I'm back."
Tang Yuan pounced over and hugged his father's legs like a little cannon: "Dad, you're finally back!"
Cheng Shi smiled and picked him up and spun him around. This was his son's favorite move recently, and he said it felt like flying. He put his son down and asked, "What did you do today?"
Tangyuan still had a smile of excitement on his face because of taking off. He chattered about what he had done today, focusing on how his mother took him to eat mung bean popsicles and that he had to wipe the table and wash the dishes tonight.
Cheng Shi smiled and said, "Okay, since you had such a good afternoon, I'll leave the task of wiping the table and washing the dishes tonight to you."
Tang Yuan stood at attention, raised his right hand and saluted: "I guarantee to complete the mission!"
Xiao Huang also stood up beside him: "Woof woof woof!"
Cheng Shi walked over and took Susu's hand. The couple couldn't help but smile when they saw this scene.
Without further delay, Cheng Shi went into the kitchen to fry the meat. After raising Xiao Huang for so many days, he and Su Su had a tacit understanding, and it was clear at a glance which dishes were fried for themselves and which were cooked for Xiao Huang.
In fact, raising a puppy is not that troublesome. Most people just feed it leftovers and bones to chew on. However, Xiao Huang cannot eat food with too much oil and salt, so sometimes I will give them some separately for him to eat.
He Susu also went to boil water to prepare the bowls. The white rice was almost cooked.
After Cheng Shi finished cooking the meat and vegetables, he went to get his clothes and take a shower as usual. He felt uncomfortable all over after sweating during training, so a shower would make him feel more comfortable.
Fortunately, He Susu and Tangyuan were not hungry either, so they waited for him to eat together. This was a habit developed in the family over the years. Even if Tangyuan was greedy for the meat dishes on the table, he didn't dare to eat first.
Cheng Shi came out of the shower and said, "Let's eat."
The whole family sat around the dining table eating, while Xiao Huang was eating from the food bowl in front of his nest in the yard.
Tangyuan no longer uses a baby high chair, but sitting on an ordinary chair too close to the dining table is uncomfortable, so Cheng Shi specially asked a carpenter to make him a small square wooden chair, which is stacked on the dining table and chair at just the right height.
At this moment, he scooped a large piece of preserved vegetable meat pie with a spoon and put it into the bowl, and ate it with white rice.
He ate the glutinous rice balls with preserved vegetable meat patties and white rice, and occasionally exclaimed in enjoyment: "The meat patties are so delicious!"
He Susu and Cheng Shi were eating. They looked at each other and shook their heads in amusement. The little guy lived up to the adults' evaluation of him when he was a child. He would eat more just by watching him eat.
Cheng Shi, the one who cooked the meat, was even happier, as this was the joy of having his cooking skills recognized.
The family talked and laughed after the meal. Tangyuan fulfilled his promise. After his mother put the dishes on the table into the kitchen, he took a wet and wrung-out rag and started to wipe the table.
He was a serious person and tried his best to wipe every spot on the dining table clean, then went into the kitchen excitedly to wash the dishes.
Cheng Shi took his small square wooden chair and followed him in: "This chair is for you to stand on, otherwise it's not high enough."
Tang Yuan looked up at his father and once again realized the height difference between him and his father. He said expectantly, "Dad, I will grow taller than you sooner or later."
Cheng Shi nodded in agreement: "Of course you will. Eat well, sleep well, and exercise more. You will be taller than your father in the future."
Tang Yuan smiled and stood on the small wooden chair, which was just the right height for him to wash dishes comfortably. He took the wet loofah from his father and scrubbed it with the loofah in one hand while holding the bowl in the other, looking like a worker who worked all year round.
Cheng Shi and He Susu watched from the side with smiles on their faces and said some encouraging words from time to time.
The more Tangyuan listened, the more excited he became. His short hands scrubbed the dishes very steadily. After he had scrubbed them all, he turned on the faucet and started rinsing the dishes.
After putting the washed dishes on the stove, he also knew to use a dry rag to wipe the water in the sink.
"I've finished washing the dishes!"
He Susu affirmed: "Tangyuan is great. I see you are getting more and more skilled at washing dishes."
Tang Yuan puffed out his chest and said, "Of course I wash the dishes very seriously."
Cheng Shi also said something affirmative and started the acceptance work.
He checked and scrubbed the one bowl and two plates that were not cleaned clean again with loofah. He put them away only after the water was clear twice. He then put all the bowls and plates aside on a wooden basket with a hollow hole for dripping water on the right side of the vegetable sink.
Although his father didn't say much, Tangyuan blushed when he saw it: "Dad, I will try to wash them all next time, and wash them better each time!"
Cheng Shi wiped the water off his hands, smiled and touched his son's head: "It's already very good. Dad believes that you will do better and better."
The blush on Tangyuan's face faded away, and he jumped and followed his father again, wanting to show him the words he had written in the afternoon.
Cheng Shi followed him to the small room to check, and also checked whether he remembered the words he learned in the afternoon. He and Susu would do these inspection tasks whoever was free. Raising a child is not the responsibility of one person, and the couple has always done a good job in this regard in the past two years.
The hot water in the kitchen was ready, so He Susu went to take a shower first.
A little later, Cheng Shi brought a bucket of water into the bathroom and let Tangyuan take a bath by himself.
After the whole family took a bath, they played together for a while.
Seeing the time, He Susu urged Tangyuan to go to bed, as children cannot go to bed after nine o'clock at the latest.
Tangyuan has also gotten used to sleeping at this time. Running around all day has consumed a lot of energy. Even if he takes a nap at noon, he still feels sleepy now.
He can now sleep in his room by himself, but he needs his father or mother to tell him a short story before going to sleep.
He Susu and Cheng Shi secretly played rock-paper-scissors with their hands behind their backs. Cheng Shi won. He stood up, got a fairy tale book, and followed Tangyuan into his little room.
The light was on and the electric fan was blowing in the room. Tangyuan was lying on his bed, covered with a sky blue quilt with a small native dog embroidered on the lower right corner. He closed his eyes and listened to his father telling him a bedtime story.
Cheng Shi sat on the bedside, flipped open the fairy tale book that Su Su had bought for him, found the latest page, and read softly, "Once upon a time..."
Tangyuan closed his eyes but pricked up his ears to listen attentively. From the fact that his eyeballs were still moving even with his eyelids closed, one could tell that the child was still energetic.
It’s just that due to the agreement with my parents, I have to close my eyes when listening to bedtime stories, otherwise I won’t be able to hear them. That’s why I can’t close my eyes.
Cheng Shi ignored his little movements and continued reading.
Thanks to reading bedtime stories to my son, he has now learned to change his tone appropriately when he reads them, and tries to read them as rhythmically as possible according to the ups and downs of the fairy tale content in the story. Otherwise, Tangyuan would complain that he read them without emotion.
When he finished reading the story, he looked up at Tang Yuan. The child was already sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, his face relaxed, and the quilt covered him tightly. Cheng Shi got up quietly, put down the mosquito net, and closed it when he went out with the book.
It is inevitable that children will turn over and kick the quilt at night. When the electric fan is turned off, the child will easily wake up from the heat. He is used to waking up several times in the middle of the night to check whether Tangyuan is covered with the quilt.
At that time, He Susu was sitting at the desk in her room, simply drafting tomorrow's plot.
In the past two years, she has gotten into the habit of doing this before going to bed. She would think about the plot points of the story to be written tomorrow in advance and write them down on manuscript paper as a draft.
This way, when she sits at her desk tomorrow, she doesn't have to think at all, and can start writing based on the plot points in the draft. Her thoughts flow smoothly, and she is not afraid of running out of plot or getting stuck.
Sometimes she would come up with some words and sentences about how to start the first sentence of tomorrow's plot, so that she wouldn't have to worry about it before starting to write the next day. As long as she started writing, everything would go much more smoothly.
This is a little trick she has learned over the years. Of course, He Susu is more casual and doesn't do this every day.
After all, doing so will only make it easier for you to write the next day, but it will mean you have to do more work that night, so it’s about the same when you think about it.
If she and Cheng Shi win the game of rock-paper-scissors and have to tell Tangyuan a bedtime story, then she can just go and tell the story and go straight to bed after returning to her room.
If she loses the game of rock-paper-scissors, she will go back to her room and think about tomorrow's plot if she is in the mood.
After she finished writing, she put the manuscript away and sat down in front of the dressing table, taking turns using bottles and jars to wipe her face and protect her skin.
He Susu had just finished wiping her face when she heard the door open. She turned around and smiled, "Is Tangyuan asleep?"
Cheng Shi nodded: "I guess he fell asleep before he finished the story. He will ask about the plot again when he wakes up tomorrow."
He Susu smiled and said, "This is simple. I'll tell him the last part tomorrow."
As for giving Tangyuan the fairy tale book directly, that was impossible. The child knew quite a few words, and if he just read the fairy tale book by guessing, how could he be coaxed to sleep afterwards?
She exchanged these fairy tale books from the shopping system. Cheng Shi was not familiar with these children's literature. She only thought that now that living conditions were better and various policies were relaxed, publishers took care of children's needs and published these books.
He Susu walked to the bed, sat down and prepared to go to sleep.
Cheng Shi followed and sat on the bed. He smelled the faint scent of grapes and couldn't help asking, "I smell the scent has changed. Did you change the facial wipe?"
He Susu nodded: "I have used up the previous one and I just changed it. Does it smell good?"
Cheng Shi smiled and said, "Let me smell it again."
He leaned over and kissed Susu, then hugged his wife and started to play. The couple's nightlife had just begun.
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