Chapter 2【2】 Dream again
Tang Yuanyuan: "Okay, you have guts."
"Hard-headed."
"I hope you'll keep your word."
She really didn't care that Tang An was still hungry, and turned around and left the school. It was almost time for evening self-study. There were many stalls in front of the school, selling fried noodles, eight-treasure porridge, and fried food. The rice noodles with meat sauce were the most expensive, costing 80 cents per serving.
Yuanyuan held his breath and went to eat at the rice noodle stall.
Cook the rice noodles until they are transparent, add bean sprouts and greens, and simmer the minced meat over low heat with the salty aroma of soy sauce.
I slurp a piece of rice noodle into my mouth, and the hot fragrance fills the tip of my tongue, making me feel completely satisfied.
It’s really delicious.
No wonder Zhou Wei said it was delicious.
Tang Yuanyuan sucked on them one by one. After eating about seven or eight, she put down her chopsticks in satisfaction, pulled up the two ends of the plastic bag, and tried to pick it up from the bowl. The red oil mixed with the soup stuck to the transparent plastic bag. When she touched it with her hand, it was just a little oily, not noticeable.
This plastic bag was too thin. Tang Yuanyuan was afraid that it would break, so she asked the boss for another bag to cover it. The basket of the bicycle had long been rotten, so she didn't dare to leave it there, so she hung it on the handlebar. On the way home, the aroma of the rice noodles kept coming into her nose on the wind.
From a distance, she saw her mother Zhang Lancao waiting at the entrance of the alley.
"Yuanyuan, Xiaowei said you fainted. How are you?"
Zhou Wei didn't mention that Tang An came back to ask for money, but she still mentioned that Tang Yuanyuan fainted.
Zhang Lancao looked at Tang Yuanyuan nervously, took out a White Rabbit from her handkerchief, peeled the shell, and stuffed it into Tang Yuanyuan's mouth: "Hurry and eat one."
Tang Yuanyuan pushed the bicycle and took her mother's hand into her mouth: "Mom, I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Look, I brought you some rice noodles."
“It smells so good!”
Zhang Lancao: "Eat it yourself. Why are you bringing it to me, kid?"
"From now on, if you're hungry, just eat out. Don't save money. You have to take good care of your health."
As he said this, he took out five dollars from his pocket and stuffed it into Tang Yuanyuan's pocket.
There was a fixed amount of money in the family, and the money her mother gave her came from her own pocket, which she used to pay for food, clothing, and daily necessities.
Her mother sweeps the streets and has to get up at four in the morning. It's a very hard job.
"Mom, I have money. Today is an accident. You can keep it for yourself to eat. If you are hungry in the morning, buy yourself some buns."
Zhang Lancao: "Mom is not starving herself. I am an old man with no place to spend money. You are growing up, so you can't let your body suffer."
Tang Yuanyuan: "Keep it for yourself. If you don't eat it, I won't eat it either. And this rice noodle, if you don't eat it, I'll throw it in the trash later."
Zhang Lancao: “…”
The mother and daughter pushed the food back and forth for a few times, but Zhang Lancao still didn't get to eat it.
Tang Aiguo was wearing a half-worn workman's coat, his blue marching cap tilted to one side, and he tapped the yellowed welding smoke stick on the wall. "Where have you been, late at night? My dad has a stomachache, and I've been looking for you for ages."
Tang Yuanyuan tightened her grip, her stomach felt uncomfortable, this must be due to diarrhea.
Zhang Lancao: "I'll go wash it right away."
Tang Yuanyuan pulled Zhang Lancao: "Mom, you go to work at four in the morning, it's time to go to bed now."
"Dad, Grandpa isn't just your son. Your second and third uncles should also contribute. We can't let Mom do it all alone."
Tang Aiguo: "Your second aunt is an educated person, how could she do this? Your third aunt has young children and has to work, so she has even less time."
"Besides, I'm the eldest son, so it's my responsibility to be the father!"
"Washing clothes, how can it tire your mother?"
Tang Aiguo is a team leader in a grinding wheel factory and earns more than 300 yuan a month.
Although Zhang Lancao is illiterate, she is hardworking and has been sweeping the streets for years. The couple has double wages and is considered a well-off family, so they can easily support their two children.
The winter before last, my grandfather suddenly got liver disease. The doctor said that the disease was difficult to cure, and perhaps there was hope of cure in big cities. So my second and third uncles said they would take him home and provide him with good food and drink.
Tang Aiguo stood up and said, "Go to the capital and get Dad treated. We can't let him go home and die!"
My second and third uncles disagreed. The profits of the grinding wheel factory have been getting worse and worse in recent years, and the medical expenses of the employees' immediate family members are no longer covered, let alone going to the capital. They all disagreed.
Tang Aiguo called his second and third uncles beasts and said he was in charge alone.
In this way, not only did he take away all the family savings, he also borrowed money from everywhere. After the spring, he took his grandfather to the capital, visited all the hospitals, and even met a scammer, who cheated him out of all the money for the return trip.
In the end, my second uncle borrowed money and went to the capital to bring the person back.
Because of this, the second and third wives did not do anything to help Grandpa. Zhang Chunlan was so busy sweeping the streets and taking care of Grandpa who was now seriously ill that she had no time to rest.
As for Tang Aiguo, his position as team leader was also taken over by someone else, and he is now just an ordinary worker. Even now, the more than 100 yuan worth of Chinese medicine his grandfather spends on every month is also paid for by his family.
The question is, my second uncle and third uncle said that it was my father who said he wanted to take care of it alone.
There was not a penny of spare money at home, let alone borrowing money, so Tang Yuanyuan dropped out of school.
Even Tang An's tuition was paid by Tang Yuanyuan using her salary from the textile factory.
Tang Yuanyuan stiffened her neck and asked, "If you're not tired, go wash it yourself. My mom's hands are peeling, can't you see?"
"Don't talk to your dad like that."
Zhang Lancao knew her daughter's temperament all too well. She nervously tugged at her arm and said, "Do you really want to ruin your reputation? You don't even expect to get married?"
"I beg you, please stop talking."
Tang Yuanyuan didn't care about getting married. She had disagreed with her father taking full responsibility for her grandfather's illness, and she had quarreled with Tang Aiguo and her second and third uncles.
Tang Aiguo has earned the reputation of being a filial son. When people in the compound mention him, they all give him a thumbs up and praise his filial piety.
When talking about Tang Yuanyuan, people would say: "That girl is amazing!"
"She's so cold-hearted that she doesn't even want to care about her own grandfather."
"My parents are both honest people. I don't know how they raised such a daughter."
Everyone in the compound asked their children to stay away from Tang Yuanyuan, for fear that they would learn bad things from her.
Tang Yuanyuan didn't take it to heart, but Zhang Lancao cried every time she heard the gossip, and her eyes were red and swollen. Later, whenever she found Tang Yuanyuan in conflict with others, she would cry and beg her.
Tang Yuanyuan could only hold back her resentment.
"Mom, you go take a rest, I'll go wash."
Zhang Lancao had already rolled up her sleeves. "Girl, what kind of girl would wash a grandfather's underwear? Do you still want to keep your reputation? I've got some food warming up in the pot for you. Eat it and go to bed early. Leave your clothes here. Mom will come back and wash them for you after she finishes scrubbing them."
Tang Yuanyuan could only watch Zhang Lancao roll up her sleeves and go to the main room with red eyes.
Turning back, Tang Aiguo picked up the rice noodles on the handlebars and said, "What is this? Damn girl, you're wasting money again."
As he said that, he carried it to his room.
Tang Yuanyuan lifted the lid of the pot and saw a thin circle of cornmeal pancakes. In the middle of the pot, there were some bright red shredded meat in the emerald green cucumber. The color of the cucumber was still very fresh, and it was obvious that it was made just for her.
The residual warm water vapor seeped into my eyes, making my eyelashes wet.
There is mung bean soup in another pot.
Tang Yuanyuan took a bite of corn tortilla, ate cucumber, and drank mung bean soup, tears falling one by one.
She is not afraid of hard work.
She just didn't know how to make her mother less tired.
I originally thought that I could just drop out of school.
But her mother's life is clearly harder than before.
The family always needed money, and people came to collect debts every now and then. Her mother was a simple person, and she was always worried when she owed people money, so she wanted to save it and pay it back as soon as possible.
It's 1992 now. Who would still pick up other people's old clothes to wear? Her mother would rather pick up other people's old clothes and think about saving money to pay them back.
She was also reluctant to let herself suffer. Many girls in the compound dropped out of school after junior high school, and some of them came from families better off than hers.
Zhang Lancao cried secretly all night.
The next day, she came back with fifty yuan and took her hand: "Yuanyuan, look, Mom has borrowed the tuition. You don't have to drop out of school."
Tang Yuanyuan was so happy!
In the evening, she found out. Her mother went to everyone and knelt in her uncle's yard.
Many people in the compound knew about it.
Tang Yuanyuan knew that although her mother was always polite to others and worked as a street sweeper, she never asked to borrow a penny from anyone.
"Tang Aiguo's wife, the street sweeper, knelt down in front of her brother for 50 yuan. She's completely shameless for money."
Tang Yuanyuan felt uncomfortable after hearing this.
When he got home, Tang Aiguo was still cursing: "You've made me lose all my face... Do you have any shame? You kneel down to someone for 50 yuan..."
In a poor family, the one who is willing to suffer losses is often the one with the softest heart.
Tang Yuanyuan wiped her tears and said firmly, "I won't read it anymore!"
"Mom, give the money back."
Zhang Lancao felt bad for a long time. When talking about studying, she always said that she felt sorry for her.
In this compound, many families favor boys over girls, especially the eldest daughter, who starts working at the age of seven or eight and takes care of her younger brothers. The laundry and cooking at home are left to the eldest daughter.
Zhang Lancao was not like that. She hardly ever ordered Tang Yuanyuan around. If she only had one candy, she would secretly hide it and leave it for her alone, asking her to eat it by herself.
I don't even want her to do small things like washing dishes.
She always said, "Mom is here, she will wash it."
The house was stuffy in the summer, so Zhang Lancao would fan her with a palm-leaf fan and fall asleep with the fan in her hand at night.
For this reason, even Tang Yuanyuan, who wanted to study so much, said without hesitation: "I will drop out of school and let my younger brother study."
As long as it can make her mother feel a little more at ease, it's fine.
But my mother still works so hard.
She didn't know what to do.
Tang An is only 15 years old now, and it will take him four years to go to college.
The age in the dream seemed to be around 30.
Does it mean that my mother will have to work hard for 15 years?
As long as her mother doesn't have to work so hard, it doesn't matter whether Tang An can take care of her or not.
Tang Yuanyuan ate up the meal in big mouthfuls, washed the pots and pans, and then picked up a bucket to boil water for her bath.
"Go and rest quickly, mom will cook it for you."
Zhang Lancao held onto the bottom of the wooden barrel and said angrily, "You've been tired all day."
Tang Yuanyuan puffed out her cheeks and said, "I'm not tired. Go to sleep. I have to go to work soon."
After filling the water, Zhang Lancao put the wooden bucket down. "What are you afraid of? I get off work early, and you've been working all day. The night shift is tiring. Eat well and sleep a little longer. Don't do housework. Wait for mom to come back and I'll make up for it tomorrow."
Tang Yuanyuan didn't want to argue with her. The broom for sweeping the floor was so big and the street they swept was so long. It was no easier than working in a textile factory.
What's more, her mother made breakfast before going to work, and then had to take care of her grandfather right away when she came back. Now she can only sleep for a few hours during the day.
She returned to the room in a depressed mood. After a while, the bath water was ready. Zhang Lancao even adjusted the water temperature for her. While she was taking a bath, she rubbed her work clothes.
I really hope her brother can become successful sooner.
Let her mother enjoy her life sooner.
With this thought in mind, Tang Yuanyuan dreamed of Tang An again.
This time, it was at a lecture at a university. Tang An was still wearing a brand-name suit, with a red flower on his chest and a microphone in his hand. The nameplate on the cotton swab read: Famous entrepreneur Tang An.
"I was born in a small town called Miancheng. My father was just an ordinary laborer. My deepest memories from childhood are the leftover cabbage stewed with vermicelli in winter, the stewed beans and cucumbers for every meal in summer, and the meat we could only eat during festivals. The heavy labor broke my father's back early on. I should have become an ordinary person like most children of workers. Fortunately, I have a good father, and he is the one I am most grateful to."
"My father is a very generous man. When my grandfather was ill, and my second and third uncles didn't care, he took him to the capital to treat him. He spent all the family savings and borrowed a lot of money. My mother and sister resented my father for this for a long time, but my father told me that as a person, you must be true to your conscience!"
"I've kept his simple words in mind for the rest of my life. My first job was at a feed factory. Everyone else was stealing, but I refused to go along with them. The factory director valued me and entrusted me with an important task, which marked the beginning of my first career..."
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