“You’ve worked hard for most of your life and never enjoyed a day of luxury. Now you can finally relax and enjoy your retirement in the capital. The conditions in the capital are much better than in our hometown. I can rest assured with you by my side,” Cheng Baidong advised.
"Grandma knows that the capital is good, but no matter how good the capital is, it is not Grandma's home. Grandma is eighty years old and has never traveled far in her life. The farthest she has ever gone is the county town. The conditions in her hometown are not good, but there is food and drink and she does not go hungry. It is much better than when she was young and went hungry."
"Besides, even if Grandma goes to the capital with you, will she be able to get used to it? Grandma's legs aren't good, it's hard for her to walk from the house to the front door. Going to the capital with you would just mean changing houses. Back in our hometown, at least I have my old friends and neighbors who come over to talk to me and keep me company. If I go to the capital with you, I won't know anyone. I won't be able to find any old friends my age to talk to every day. Even if I'm not sick, I'll get bored."
The old lady's mindset had never changed. Cheng Baidong tried to persuade her for a long time, but she insisted on her own ideas and even tried to persuade Cheng Baidong in a very reasonable way.
Cheng Baidong remained silent.
“Child, Grandma knows you are filial, but filial piety doesn’t mean bringing people to live with you.”
The old lady patted Cheng Baidong's hand: "Child, don't try to persuade Grandma. Grandma won't go with you. If you miss Grandma, come home often. Grandma is waiting for you at home."
Even the elderly don't leave home.
The elderly have an attachment to the land they live on that is incomprehensible to young people.
The old lady had lived in her hometown her whole life, and naturally she didn't want to leave when she was nearing the end.
Cheng Baidong nodded.
"Let's go take some pictures."
Nowadays, there's no posing in photos. Whether it's a solo photo or a photo of two people, they're all stiff and formal, either standing or sitting.
The old lady sat in an old-fashioned armchair and took a solo photo.
In the subsequent photos of the two people and the group photos, the old lady did not move. Cheng Baidong and Qiao changed her position, either standing to the side or holding the child and standing behind.
After the photo shoot, Cheng Baidong asked for a few smaller 2-inch photos. The photo studio could develop the smaller photos themselves, and they would be ready to pick them up in just seven days.
Five-inch and seven-inch photos need to be taken to a higher-level photo studio in the city for developing, which takes longer. Even at the fastest pace, it takes about a month. In some cases, it might take two months to develop.
Cheng Baidong can't stay at home for that long; whether it's fast or slow, he can't keep up.
They decided to develop two copies of each negative. Once they were developed, they made two copies: one for the old lady and the other for Xiaoqiang to send to Beijing.
After the photos were taken, the old lady seemed to have a weight lifted off her shoulders, and her whole demeanor became much more relaxed.
She looked up at the sky and said to Cheng Baidong, "It's still early, let's not rush home, let's take another stroll around Wolong Lake."
Cheng Baidong came out specifically to take the old lady out, and since she wanted to go, he naturally had no reason not to.
Wolong Lake is in the next town, but it's not far; it only takes about half an hour to walk there.
Although Wolong Lake is called a lake, it is actually a man-made reservoir with a large area. Many people died during its construction.
Back then, there were no machines, and building reservoirs relied entirely on manual labor, digging shovel by shovel. It took a lot of hard work and real blood and sweat!
So, in every village, there are always a few young and strong people who die from overwork or sunburn.
Cheng Baidong's second uncle, who died young, was also a laborer who built a reservoir. He died young from illness, and no one knows whether overwork was one of the reasons.
However, Cheng Baidong was still very young at that time, and he did not know that there was such an inside story.
He only thought that the scenery of Wolong Lake was beautiful, so the old lady wanted to come here to relax.
We had only circled most of Wolong Lake when it was already noon, so we simply went into the neighboring town and had lunch at a state-run restaurant.
After lunch, the children were about to take a nap, so Cheng Baidong found a shady spot by the lake and rested for a while.
The truck stopped, and the old lady and her four children took a nap.
A few lotus flowers grow sparsely along the lake.
In autumn, the flowers have faded, the leaves have begun to turn yellow, and the lotus pods stand tall on the water, plump and tempting people to pick them.
"This lotus pod looks pretty good; the lotus seeds inside must be especially plump," Fang Qiao said enviously.
However, all the lotus pods near the riverbank had been picked, and the remaining ones were some distance from the lake.
It's not easy to pick.
Cheng Baidong asked her, "Want to eat?"
Fang Qiao: "I want to eat it, but it's not easy to pick it."
“What’s so difficult about that?” Cheng Baidong immediately took off his shoes and rolled up his trousers: “I’ll get them back for you.”
"Don't get your pants wet," Fang Qiao reminded her.
"Don't worry, it won't get wet. I'll be careful."
Cheng Baidong's tone was excited.
He had wanted to go into the water for a long time, but he wasn't a child anymore. When he wanted to go into the water, he didn't think about anything, took off his clothes, and jumped in.
A father should always maintain a mature, stable, and serious image in front of his wife and children.
Fang Qiao wanted to eat lotus pods, which was just like a pillow being delivered when someone is sleepy!
A ready-made opportunity.
Cheng Baidong quickly waded into the water and headed straight for the area with the most lotus pods.
Fang Qiao kept reminding him, "Slow down, don't rush, it's very slippery inside, watch your step."
"I know." As soon as Cheng Bodong finished speaking, he quickly and swiftly broke off two lotus pods.
He was very quick, and in no time he had picked a whole bunch of lotus pods. Since he couldn't carry them all in his hands, Fang Qiao used Cheng Baidong's coat as a bundle to hold a whole bundle of lotus pods.
Having picked enough lotus pods, Cheng Baidong even managed to find three sections of lotus root by hand.
This was done by hand; if I had brought tools, I could have dug up all the lotus roots in that area.
Cheng Baidong had been underwater long enough, so he climbed out.
Fang Qiao washed her hands, peeled a lotus seed, and fed it to Cheng Baidong.
Cheng Baidong opened his mouth and ate it.
Fang Qiao looked at him with bright eyes: "How was it?"
Cheng Baidong chewed it, tasted it carefully, and said, "It's sweet, not astringent."
Fang Qiao laughed: "Of course it's not bitter, I removed the lotus seed hearts inside."
Cheng Baidong leaned closer to Fang Qiao's face: "Peel two more, I want more."
"OK."
That's just enough to peel all the lotus seeds from the whole lotus pod.
Cheng Baidong's real intention was not what it seemed. After eating a few lotus seeds, he got closer and closer to Fang Qiao, and finally managed to steal a kiss from her lips.
"So sweet."
I don't know if they're talking about lotus seeds or the wife.
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