Liu Xinghua looked at Ruan Changgui and said nothing more before turning back to the house.
As the younger generation, Ruan Xi naturally said nothing and followed Liu Xinghua in.
Ruan Zhigao was not in a hurry to go out just now. When he saw them draw the curtain and enter the room, he asked, "What's the matter?"
Liu Xinghua took her needlework and sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked unhurried and said slowly, "The second son wants to divide the family property, and he and his wife are playing a double game here."
Ruan Zhigao took a puff of the tobacco pipe and said after a moment, "The wife the second son married is as smart as a monkey. If there is an advantage to be taken, she will try her best to get it, for fear that she will not get enough. If she is asked to suffer a little loss, she will run faster than a rabbit."
Liu Xinghua asked, "What do you say we should do?"
Ruan Zhigao said, "What can we do? If they want to divide it, it's up to them."
Liu Xinghua and Ruan Zhigao had their own ideas, and Ruan Xi didn't say anything to interfere, just minding his own business.
In the afternoon, Ruan Xi looked at the height of the sun in the sky, picked up half a basket of eggs and went out.
The old tailor's village, Jinguan, was lower in altitude than Fengyan Village, so she had to walk down the mountain road.
After finding Jinguan Village, she asked people along the way to find the old tailor's home.
Although the old tailor lived alone, his house was not small, and there was a neat courtyard wall, enclosing a small courtyard. A wooden board was nailed to the side of the courtyard gate, on which were written crookedly the five words "State-owned Tailor Shop".
This tailor shop was the only one on Fengming Mountain. One can imagine how comfortable the old tailor's life was on this mountain. Others had to eat coarse food and vegetables, but he had to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks.
Today the old tailor did not go out to make clothes, and the door of the tailor shop was wide open.
Ruan Xi held the bamboo basket and looked inside. He saw a grape trellis in the yard, and the green vines cast a shadow. The old tailor was lying on a rocking chair under the trellis, resting with his eyes closed, and a fat yellow cat was lying on his lap.
Ruan Xi raised his hand and knocked on the door, and then he heard the old tailor say, "Come in."
Ruan Xi took the eggs and went in. When he walked in front of the old tailor, he found that he was too lazy to even blink. He raised his hand and touched the yellow cat on his body, and asked directly with his eyes closed, "Are you making clothes?"
The old tailor is now over seventy years old, with a bright crown on his head, and his hair and beard are all white. A small tuft of beard hung on his chin, and it moved up and down with his chin when he spoke.
Ruan Xi looked at him with a basket in her hand: "Grandpa Song, I am the granddaughter of Ruan Zhigao, the secretary of Fengyan Brigade. My name is Ruan Xi. I brought you half a basket of eggs. I don't make clothes, but I want to learn tailoring from you. Do you still accept apprentices?"
The old tailor still didn't look at her, and directly replied to her: "I accept a hammer!"
Ruan Xi was stunned - hey! This old man!
Although she was rejected, Ruan Xi did not turn around and leave immediately. She clasped her hands in front of her, holding the bamboo basket and standing in front of the old tailor without moving, but raised the corners of her mouth a little higher.
The big yellow cat stretched its lazy waist and jumped to the ground, and the old tailor opened his eyes.
He lay on the wooden rocking chair and took the opportunity to look Ruan Xi up and down.
After looking at her, he met Ruan Xi's eyes and asked in a different tone: "Do you want to... learn to make clothes?"
Ruan Xi nodded and said, "I want to be a tailor."
"Not everyone can be a tailor."
If it was really that easy, there wouldn't be only one tailor shop like his on the mountain, and he couldn't live such a comfortable life.
Ruan Xi was about to say something to express her determination, saying that she would definitely learn it. But before she could say anything, the old tailor interrupted her and said, "Put down the eggs and go clean the house inside and outside."
Hearing this, Ruan Xi swallowed the words of determination and didn't ask any more questions. She thought that the old tailor was giving her a chance, so she put down the basket on the spot, turned around, got a broom from the corner of the wall, and went into the house to sweep the floor.
After sweeping the floor, she washed the rag and wiped everything in the house.
Compared with the ordinary residents on Fengming Mountain, the old tailor's life can be said to be a paradise. He has a half-new sewing machine, which is a brand from Shenhai. A cabinet is locked with honey peach cakes and other snacks.
The main living room of his house is a shop. In addition to some machine tools such as sewing machines and irons, there is also a rope with some finished clothes hanging on it. There are piles of cloth in the corner, not neatly placed, and there are folded clothes on top.
Ruan Xi sorted out these slightly messy things, put them in order, changed the rag and went into the house to mop the floor. Because there was no mop, she could only bend over and wipe with the rag.
After cleaning the whole house, she came out with a sore waist, and the sun outside had set on the top of the mountain.
The old tailor was still lying leisurely on the rocking chair, with a little bit of the sunset on his face. He didn't get up, and looked at Ruan Xi, who was panting with exhaustion, and said, "Go back today. Come back tomorrow and I'll teach you how to operate the sewing machine first."
Hearing this, Ruan Xi didn't feel tired anymore, and her body suddenly felt extremely relaxed.
She smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll come back tomorrow morning."
The big yellow cat rubbed against her feet, rubbed its head against her legs, and meowed twice.
Ruan Xi bent over and touched the big yellow cat's head, then went home with a smile.
She walked slowly up the mountain path, swinging an empty basket in her hand, and humming a folk song in a low voice when she was in high spirits. She
got home just in time for dinner, because Sun Xiaohui had gone back to her parents' home, so there was one less person at the dinner table.
No one mentioned the unhappy matter of dividing the family. Grandma Liu Xinghua asked Ruan Xi: "He accepted your eggs, but did he teach you any skills?"
Ruan Xi drank more than half a bowl of boiled water in one breath. After quenching his thirst, he slowed down and said: "Not yet. I cleaned the house for him for half a day. He told me to go there tomorrow and teach me how to operate the sewing machine tomorrow."
Ruan Changgui ate a steamed bun and said: "Teach you? He won't teach you. He is just playing with you. You pick people to deliver eggs to him and clean the house for him for free. There will be other things waiting for you to do tomorrow, maybe picking up manure and watering vegetables."
Ruan Xi looked at him, "You have to teach him a little bit even for show."
Ruan Changgui: "Just for show."
The voice-over was - delivering so many eggs and putting in so much effort, just for show?
He added, "Xiaoxi, you were not born to do this. I would say you should give up on this idea as soon as possible. You will never be able to learn this skill. I don't know how much stuff you will have to put in. You won't even have a hot dish on the table at home."
After hearing these words, Liu Xinghua's temper suddenly came up again. She looked at Ruan Changgui and said, "You have so much to say about your niece learning a skill? The lack of hot dishes has nothing to do with Xiaoxi. It's because Xiao Wuzi wants to find a wife, and I have to save the money for the bride price in advance."
Since it was brought up anyway, Ruan Zhigao next to him asked: "Your wife left because of this, why don't you go and pick her up?"
Ruan Changgui had a lot to say, but he just said: "Xiaohui said that she won't come back unless the family is divided. What can I do?"
Liu Xinghua asked him: "Then what do you think?"
Ruan Changgui was silent for a while, and after a moment he said: "What can I think? I'll listen to you."
In the evening, Ruan Zhigao was smoking a cigarette in the house and talking about this with Liu Xinghua.
Ruan Zhigao said: "If they wish, I will go find Gao Wu tomorrow. He is the best at repairing houses and building stoves. Since the house cannot be built for the time being, we will share the pots and eat. We will build him a stove and buy him a pot, prepare tables, chairs and benches, and then divide the pots and shovels, bowls and chopsticks, water tanks, chickens and ducks, and private plots in half. Give them all, and let their family of five live a good life."
As Ruan Changgui's mother, Liu Xinghua still felt very disappointed. When there is a chance to take advantage, it is to love the family. When there is no advantage, the biological son will immediately turn his face and refuse to recognize him, just to make his own life easier.
Not to mention how much advantage their family has taken before, even if they didn't take advantage, isn't it their duty to help support the family? I worked so hard to raise him, saved money to help him get married, and lived with him for so many years, but he refused to help his parents with any of the necessities.
He has only asked for things from childhood to adulthood without giving anything in return. He is just like an ungrateful person
. Even if you raise a dog, it will only wag its tail to guard the house.
Not even bothering to scold, Liu Xinghua took a deep breath and said, "If we break up, don't let him regret it."
Ruan Zhigao said, "He definitely won't regret it. Xiao Wuzi is really useless. He will probably be a burden in the future. It's all your habit. And Xiaoxi is not cut out for tailoring, but you force her to learn it. It's a waste of the family's stuff."
Liu Xinghua was unhappy to hear this and said in a slightly higher voice, "No matter how useless he is, he is still his biological brother. Besides, there is no such thing as good or bad in this mountain. We are all digging for food in the fields. The second child is much younger than Xiao Wuzi at this age. How much better? It's still the same that we have to worry about everything. Xiao Wuzi is still young now. When he gets married and has a family, he will naturally know how to support the family. The old tailor is cunning. He may like our Xiaoxi. If she really becomes a tailor, you can only be jealous! "
Ruan Zhigao laughed, "Why should I be jealous? Xiaoxi was raised by me, the grandpa. If she becomes a tailor, I, as the grandpa, will be the first to enjoy the happiness."
Liu Xinghua glared at him, "You enjoy a shovel!"
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