Chapter 95

Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows proudly: "Are you scared? If you are scared, it's not too late to surrender now."

He looked like he was asking for a beating, as if to say, "Come and beg me, I'm waiting for you to coax me and be nice to talk to me."

Xu asked: "..."

I don't know whether I should say "Ma Ma" or not?

Since this man arrived at her house, it seemed like he had switched on his second personality.

His personality is still less mature than Dongsheng's.

In front of the child, Xu Wen could only swallow the curse on his lips, take a deep breath, and remind Lu Yuanzheng as objectively and rationally as possible: "Comrade Lu Yuanzheng, the place you are going to is my mother's home! Is it appropriate for you to complain about me to my parents?"

"What can I do? I don't have parents to support me, right?" Lu Yuanzheng said with a wronged look on his face. "Besides, I believe that my husband Taishan and my mother-in-law are reasonable people. They won't help you just because you are their daughter!"

Lao Taishan means father-in-law in Wei Zhuang Commune.

The problem is that they favor you.

Xu Wen was furious. "I wish I could record your appearance and show it to your soldiers."

"Comrade Xu Wen, this is exactly what you are doing wrong! Public matters should be public, and private matters should be private. You cannot bring your daily life into the army. Besides, I just went to my mother-in-law's house for a meal and chatted with my eldest brother-in-law. What's wrong with that? My brothers would support me if they knew about it."

Xu Wen still didn't quite believe it. To be more precise, he couldn't imagine that Lu Yuanzheng would go to his elders like a child with a tough face full of justice and a scary scar to complain.

The picture is too scary.

So Xu Wen nodded, carried Dongsheng onto the bicycle, smiled and patted Lu Yuanzheng on the shoulder, "Since you insist on being stubborn, I want to see how you complain."

He said he would ride his bike first and walk ahead, "The person who filed the complaint is only fit to walk."

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

When Lu Yuanzheng arrived at Xu's house, Xu Qie, the uncle, had already taken Dongsheng out for a run and play.

Xu Wen was holding Chunsheng in his arms and sitting on the kang in the inner room with Sang Xiaoqing, watching the child and chatting.

Zhu Meizhen was cooking by the stove.

Xu Qiushi has not returned yet from staying with his grandmother.

Xu Wen sat by the stove and made a fire.

As soon as Lu Yuanzheng entered the door, he called "Mom" sweetly.

Zhu Meizhen turned around to look at him in her busy schedule, responded, and greeted him with a smile: "Xiao Zheng, please sit down by yourself." Then she turned to the inner room and called, "Xu Wen, Xiao Zheng is here, please bring him some fruit snacks."

Xu Wen blurted out subconsciously: "It's not like he doesn't have hands."

I regretted it as soon as I said it.

really.

Inside the house, Sang Xiaoqing let out a cry of surprise and asked her in a low voice, "What happened? Did you two have a fight?"

Xu Wen shook his head.

At the same time, Zhu Meizhen's voice came from outside: "How can you talk like that? You and Dongsheng rode your bikes here, but Xiaozheng came on foot. What's wrong with asking you to bring him some fruit? Xiaozheng knows how to care for you, so you should also care for him..."

Xu Wen took a deep breath, handed Chunsheng over, looked at the lively Sang Xiaoqing, got off the kang reluctantly, took two apples from the cupboard and placed them on the square table.

Zhu Meizhen was pouring out the water for washing vegetables when she saw this. She frowned and scolded her, "I asked you to bring some fruit and you only brought two apples? Why didn't you bring more? Why don't you wash them!"

Xu asked: "..."

She protested to Zhu Meizhen: "Mom, Lu Yuanzheng will be 27 soon, not 7! Besides, I am his wife, not his nanny, so I don't need to serve him so well."

Normally she didn't care and would often cut fruits for him on the island for him to eat when he returned from a long expedition. But today he came to complain, so why should she serve him?

Zhu Meizhen cleaned the vegetable basin, poured some warm water into it and handed it to Xu Wen, glaring at her: "How can a girl talk like that? Why do you need to separate the inside and outside of your life so clearly as a couple? Didn't Xiao Zheng always pick up vegetables for you during meals and you didn't say anything? Why are you so aggrieved just because I washed an apple for you?

Ask a couple to live together. They need to support each other. You can’t just let him take care of you…”

Xu Wen felt a headache suddenly as he listened to Zhu Meizhen's nagging. He could only take the basin and put the apples in to wash them.

Just after washing, Lu Yuanzheng said in a particularly pretentious tone, "Wife, I want to eat pears!"

Xu Wen glared at him with gritted teeth, and said in a voice that only he could hear: "You look like a pear to me."

"Mom!" Lu Yuanzheng shouted.

Xu asked: "..."

She froze for a second, smiled, and said softly, "I'll wash it for you now."

Xu Wen took the pears back and put them in the vegetable basin, scrubbing them vigorously, clearly treating the pears as a long journey.

While washing, she smiled at Lu Yuanzheng sinisterly and asked him, "Do you want me to chew it for you?"

Wei Zhuang Commune had always been poor. When it was time for children to start eating complementary foods, if there was no suitable food at home, they would just be fed rice soup, eggs, or even steamed buns.

But how can a four or five-month-old baby chew it?

Many parents, especially the elderly, will chew eggs or steamed buns into pieces before feeding them to their children.

Xu Wen had seen this several times and was unable to accept it both physically and mentally. He turned his back and almost vomited in disgust.

Most people in the production team don't brush their teeth all year round and even chew food before feeding it to their children.

That picture...

Xu Wen still can't think about it. Whenever he does, his stomach starts churning.

Who knew that the next second, Lu Yuanzheng actually nodded, "If you are willing, I can accept it."

Xu asked: "..."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to."

She just took the pear out of the sink, stuffed it into his hand, and whispered, "Eat it if you like!"

Lu Yuanzheng looked at her and smiled, but he didn't make things difficult for her. He took out the military folding knife he carried with him and used it as a fruit knife to peel off a thin layer of pear skin.

His hands were steady and his technique was good. He peeled the pear in circles until the entire pear was peeled without breaking. Then he stood up and took a plate. He peeled the pear into pieces and placed them on the plate. He then placed the plate in front of Xu Wen.

I took the pear core with a little flesh still on it and ate it.

Only then did Xu Wen remember that she liked eating pears.

The frustration she felt because of Lu Yuanzheng's disturbance was instantly gone, and she said that Lu Yuanzheng was not such a tactless person.

With the corners of his mouth raised, he pinched a piece of pear and put it in his mouth.

Lu Yuanzheng threw the core of the pear into the swill bucket, wiped his hands, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and stood beside Xu Wen, "Brother, I'll light the fire. You take a break and have a cigarette."

After he finished speaking, he held the cigarette box for a long time but couldn't take out a cigarette.

It was normal for men to pass cigarettes to each other, so Xu Wen didn't think much about it and actually looked up and waited.

As a result, I saw Lu Yuanzheng holding the cigarette box upside down in his hand for a long time. Finally, he threw the empty cigarette box into the stove with an embarrassed look on his face, laughed dryly twice and said nothing.

Xu Wen silently took out his own cigarette and gave one to Lu Yuanzheng. He turned around and looked at Xu Wen and asked, "Wenwen, you can choose not to give Lu Yuanzheng money, but you don't have to be so strict, right? It's okay at ordinary times, but on New Year's Day, if you see someone on the street, shouldn't you give them a cigarette?"

Xu Wen said as he made way.

Lu Yuanzheng sat down and made a fire. After lighting a cigarette with the flame, he turned around and winked at Xu Wen proudly.

Xu asked: "..."

Dog man! A real dog!

Xu Wen stood up, opened the drawer on the cabinet at home, took out a box of cigarettes and threw it to Lu Yuanzheng, "You too! You have a lot of allowances, but you don't even save some money for cigarettes on your body and give it to her to manage?"

Lu Yuanzheng took the cigarette, but did not pack it up. He put it on the stove and said softly, "Why do we need so much money? Look at how hard we work to run the household, managing the daily necessities. If they give us money, we spend it, if they don't, we don't spend it!"

Xu asked: "..."

She was too lazy to even roll her eyes.

Before Mingming went out, she saw Lu Yuanzheng put two unopened boxes of cigarettes into his pocket.

He was clearly acting like a show-off here with an empty cigarette box in his hand.

Xu Wen looked at Lu Yuanzheng and mouthed silently, "Do you still have any shame?"

Lu Yuanzheng only replied with four words: "Soldiers never tire of deception."

Zhu Meizhen also listened to the conversation between Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng. Seeing that Lu Yuanzheng was so generous and Xu Wen was so stingy, she turned around and looked at Xu Wen and tapped her with her index finger: "Wenwen, you are being a little unreasonable. It's not easy for a family to live, but Xiaozheng is not a child. He knows what money should be spent and what should not be spent. You don't have to be so strict with the money.

What your brother said just now is right. It's New Year's Day, and you always run into acquaintances on the street. Men, which one won't give up a cigarette? It's always others who give it to Xiao Zheng, and Xiao Zheng doesn't give it to others. Doesn't it make Xiao Zheng look particularly incompetent? "

After reprimanding Xu Wen, she said to Lu Yuanzheng lovingly, "Xiao Zheng, I'll give you some money later! You can keep a portion of it when you get paid. If you want to know if Wen agrees, come and find me."

Lu Yuanzheng turned around and raised his eyebrows proudly at Xu Wen, saying obediently: "Thank you, Mom! But I don't want the money. Xu Wen will give it to me later, right? Wife?"

Can Xu Wen say no?

He squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Of course."

After Zhu Meizhen finished making dinner, she still hadn't forgotten about this matter and actually took out fifty yuan from her home to give to Lu Yuanzheng.

Fifty bucks!

Although it is not as much as Lu Yuanzheng’s monthly salary, it is definitely equal to Xu’s family’s monthly income.

Not to mention Lu Yuanzheng, even Xu Wen didn't dare to take it, so they had to give some money to Lu Yuanzheng in public.

Lu Yuanzheng smiled innocently and proudly.

Xu Wen gritted his teeth in frustration.

She had never known that Lu Yuanzheng had such a side.

Drama Queen!

Still a drama queen who likes to tell on others.

New Year's Eve arrived in a busy mood.

Early in the morning, Lu Yuanzheng and Dongsheng finished pasting the couplets in their own home and cleaned the yard. They then took Xu Wen to Xu's house to help paste the couplets.

Xu Wen went to the hospital to take over from Xu Qiushi.

These past few days, Xu Qiushi, Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng have taken turns to look after grandma.

My eldest aunt, second aunt and second uncle were all busy preparing New Year's goods to send out everywhere, so they had no time to spare.

Xu Qiushi had a large family, so he took on the responsibility of taking care of his grandmother.

Xu Wen also wanted to stay with her grandmother, but no one let her. After she left, Dongsheng was left alone at home.

Ordinary people attach great importance to posting couplets.

On a door, there are five pieces in total: one horizontal scroll, one pair of couplets and one pair of wide couplets.

The horizontal scroll and couplets are pasted on the door frame, and the pair of couplets, which are about 30 cm wide and 50 cm long, are pasted on the door leaf.

The inner room doors and window frames all need to be pasted.

Every household does this, it is very grand.

This year's Spring Festival couplets are particularly beautiful because they were written by Lu Yuanzheng.

This job was previously done by Xu Wen. Xu Wen's handwriting was good, but his calligraphy was not good.

The long journey means that all the words are beautiful.

When he started posting them this year, the whole family kept praising him for his good writing.

Don't underestimate the simplicity of couplets. If an uneducated person writes or posts them randomly, they will become a joke.

Last year, Xu Wen saw it once when he went to pay New Year’s greetings.

There was a family whose bedroom window had a broken glass that had never been repaired.

Then during the Chinese New Year, the couplets posted on the windows read: Try your best to come in.

Everyone was joking.

“Who is this encouraging to work hard to get in?”

"You can't get in through such a small window no matter how hard you try, right?!"

Even though they were just being teased, the host still felt embarrassed.

Also, because the couplets cannot be taken down before the first month of the New Year, they can only be left there and made fun of by everyone.

Although Xu Wen has never made such a mistake, she thinks her handwriting is ugly, and writing and sticking it on the wall is a socially suicidal act in itself.

Xu Wen was very happy that he finally didn't have to suffer humiliation in public this year.

The praised Lu Yuanzheng was happier than her.

Zhu Meizhen was busy killing and chopping chickens, and picking and washing vegetables.

In Wei Zhuang Commune, there was no New Year’s Eve dinner, but it cannot be said that there was no New Year’s Eve dinner, it was just moved to noon.

In the past, Chinese New Year was not so troublesome because we had no money and we just ate whatever we had.

Even egg and mushroom soup can be considered New Year’s Eve dinner.

This year was different. Lu Yuanzheng and Xu Wen bought piles of food.

After the Chinese New Year, the weather will be warmer and you won’t be able to keep it.

There is an old saying among the common people: "It doesn't hurt if you eat, but it hurts if you go blind."

What it means is that you don’t feel bad when you eat it, but you will feel bad when you throw it away if it goes bad.

Zhu Meizhen is so busy because she has to cook for ten people.

Xu Wen hurriedly washed his hands and helped Zhu Meizhen to wash vegetables and light the fire.

After Lu Yuanzheng had pasted up the couplets for Xu Qiushi's family, he went to the front and pasted up the couplets for Xu Wen's family as well.

This was the first year that Xu Wen and his family had moved, and to make it more formal, the paper for the couplets cut for their home was made slightly wider.

The two boys, Xu Qie and Dong Sheng, were so tamed by Lu Yuanzheng that they were very obedient and basically followed one command and one action.

Helping to apply paste, get stools, and pass couplets.

There was a hint of competition between the two of them, as they scrambled to get the job.

Lu Yuanzheng stood on a stool and pasted the couplets one by one. He had to get down to find his balance and then stand up again to make corrections.

At first, it was Xu Wen who helped him with this job, but Xu Wen still held a grudge against him for reporting him, so he would torment him instead of giving him proper instructions.

Then he asked the two younger ones to help him see how high it was.

As a result, Xu Qie and Dong Sheng always had conflicting opinions. One said it was high and the other said it was low; one said it was on the outside and the other said it was on the inside.

In the end, Lu Yuanzheng paid them 20 cents each to send them away and decided to do it himself.

After he put up the couplets, he began to sweep the yard. He swept Xu's house first and then Xu Wen's house.

I had just finished sweeping and was walking back with the broom in my hand when I saw an ambulance coming towards me. I frowned and thought, "Oh no!"

Sure enough, the ones who came back were Xu Qiushi, Xu Wen, and their grandmother who was carried back.

Cars were a rarity these days, and they made a lot of noise, so anyone who heard the noise would come out to watch.

Zhu Meizhen and Xu Wen also followed out.

Seeing Xu Wen walking back with his grandmother on his back, he hurried forward to help.

Lu Yuanzheng went forward to pay the fare and handed two cigarettes to the driver.

Xu Wen was sharp-eyed and noticed that the money Lu Yuanzheng gave to the driver was not the two big reunion notes she gave him.

What this means is that Lu Yuanzheng has private property and money!

Liar! Drama queen!

But it was just a glance, there was no time to set off on the expedition.

It's not a good thing for grandma to come back at this time.

When she returned to the room, Zhu Meizhen had already made the bedding for her grandmother and helped her lie down.

Xu Wen tugged at Xu Wen's clothes and asked, "What's going on?"

Xu Wen pursed his lips, pulled Xu Wen out the door, and Lu Yuanzheng followed him out.

Xu Wen lowered his voice and said, "Grandma insisted on coming back for the New Year!"

"Why would the doctor let me?" Xu Wen frowned. Grandma's condition was very bad and she couldn't leave the ventilator at all.

Xu Wen sighed heavily: "The doctor said that grandma will die in the next two days. The elderly always believe in returning to their roots. If she wants to come back, then she can come back! If grandma wants to eat, be careful not to bite or hold it."

Xu asked: "..."

His face turned pale.

Lu Yuanzheng patted Xu Wen's shoulder soothingly and said softly, "I'm here."

At lunch, everyone in the Xu family had a happy look on their faces.

He also brought an armchair, carried grandma out and placed her on the chair, and put a pillow behind her back so that she could lean on it comfortably.

No one showed any sadness.

Dongsheng and Xu Qie are young and don't understand the separation of life and death.

Others suppressed their sorrow deep in their hearts, forced themselves to smile and thought about spending a happy New Year with their grandmas.

I don’t know if it’s because she’s in a good mood or if it’s just a last burst of energy, but grandma looks a lot better.

He doesn't even breathe heavily when speaking.

My appetite was still poor, so I only drank two sips of chicken soup before putting down my chopsticks.

She looked at Chunsheng with joy in her eyes, "My life has not been lived in vain. I have lived to the point where four generations of my family live together. Even my great-grandson has seen it. I can close my eyes now."