Chapter 262 Grandfather
It was already dark when Lu Shaotang returned home. The lights of thousands of houses were bustling, and the air was filled with the aroma of mutton soup and fried hairtail.
Back in Courtyard No. 8, it was even more lively. Laughter floated out from the upstairs, and he could hear it clearly outside the courtyard.
Panpan inherited his pointed ears. When he heard the sound of the jeep, he immediately rushed to the window, opened the glass, waved and shouted, "Dad!"
After shouting, he turned and ran out. Tiantian and Hou Wei followed immediately. Hou Bo and Hou Ying also ran out. "Grandpa and grandma are back!"
Chen Yanming was sitting outside near the door and reminded the children, "Slow down, be careful not to fall!"
Zhan Qiuran took advantage of Zhan Jiali's inattention and grabbed all the spiced melon seeds in the lunch box in front of her and put them in his pocket to eat slowly. The spiced melon seeds fried by Lin Shu were so delicious, and they were fragrant but not irritating!
Zhan Jiali was startled, "Ah, sister, you're too much! Brother-in-law - take care of your wife!"
Zhan Qiuran immediately stuffed a few peeled melon seeds into Chen Yanming's mouth, grabbed his arm and said, "Go out and take a look."
They followed Hou Jianwen, Sister Lin, and Lin Shu and went out to meet them.
Lu Ping naturally took Lu An with him and asked Zhan Jiali to go downstairs together. Grandpa Hou and Grandma must have brought luggage back, so they helped to carry it.
Lu Shaotang parked the car outside the gate of No. 8 Courtyard and got out to help unload the luggage on the roof of the car.
As soon as Hou's mother got out of the car, she saw her grandchildren and sons and daughters-in-law coming down happily, shouting "Grandma/Mom, you're back!"
Hou's mother nodded and agreed repeatedly, "I'm back, I'm back!"
Her eyes were red.
Unexpectedly, she and Lao Hou would come back one day.
"Mom, where's my grandpa?" The children didn't see Hou Deming, and they all became puzzled.
Hou's mother hurriedly explained: "Mr. Shao is hospitalized with pneumonia, and your grandpa is staying with him in bed."
Hou Deming and Dr. Shao knew each other before in Qizhou, and their relationship became even better after they went to the farm to help each other.
Dr. Shao's wife has long since passed away, and his children and grandchildren are no longer around. There is no one to take care of him, so Hou Deming took the initiative to take care of him.
Hou's mother: "Your grandpa is always like this. He's not even stable yet and he's already thinking about helping others."
Hou Bo: "Grandma, my grandpa is very affectionate and it's a good thing."
Hou's mother was stunned. Her grandson is much more sensible than before. He has really grown up.
Her eyes were moist. She hugged the child and patted his head, and they had to exchange some pleasantries.
Lin Shu and Sister Lin said it was cold outside and asked her to go upstairs to have some hot food to warm up.
Hou Jianwen said to Lu Shaotang: "Don't take the things upstairs. Send them directly to my place. Let my mother live there first."
Chen Yanming asked Lu Shaotang to go upstairs to eat, and he helped Hou Jianwen with his luggage.
Sister Lin and Zhan Qiuran also wanted to help, but they were snatched away by Xiaozhuang.
Hou Jianwen: "Wife, go upstairs and talk to mom. I'll be right back."
A group of people went upstairs. Lin Shu and Sister Lin served the two people mutton soup and made dumplings again.
Zhan Qiuran also cared about the physical condition of Doctor Shao. "Is it pneumonia caused by a cold and fever? He is a doctor, how can he delay it so seriously?"
Lu Shaotang paused: "The old man is stubborn."
The old man has a kind of stubbornness that doesn't care about other people's lives and his own lives.
He thought it was okay to catch a cold, and he just had to bear it. He didn't even bother to find some herbs to boil and drink. He thought he was in good health and everything was fine.
As a result, he delayed it a lot.
Zhan Qiuran was speechless after hearing this, and said to everyone: "If you are sick, you must see a doctor as soon as possible. This disease doesn't care whether you are a doctor or not, and it doesn't matter how good you are."
When Lu Shaotang drank the mutton soup, he tasted it and added half a bowl of vinegar, which made Zhan Jiali swallow her saliva.
She whispered to Lu Ping: "Your third uncle is so jealous?"
Lu Ping whispered: "Yes, my third uncle loves to be jealous."
Lu Shaotang paused when he thought that adding more vinegar would taste just right, and then started to drink the soup as if nothing had happened. After drinking half a bowl of soup, he asked Lin Shu: "Is Hehuan not here?"
Before he went to pick someone up, Lin Shu told him that she would ask Lu Hehuan to come over.
Lin Shu: "She said she was busy and would not come."
Lu Shaotang frowned slightly, but did not say anything.
Over there, Hou's mother drank a bowl of mutton soup and ate a large bowl of dumplings. She burped and thanked Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang vigorously, praising the dumplings Lin Shu prepared for being delicious.
Lin Shu smiled and said, "Eldest sister and the children came back in the afternoon to welcome uncle and aunt."
Hou's mother hugged Hou Wei, her eyes were sour, and she wiped them quickly. Old Hou didn't know if he had hot meals in the hospital.
After dinner, Lin Shu handed the bath ticket to Sister Lin, "When Auntie comes to rest, you can go to the bathhouse with me to take a hot bath and relieve your fatigue."
Hou's mother didn't expect Lin Shu to be so considerate. She wanted to be polite but she really wanted to take a bath. The main reason was that it was inconvenient at the farm and she couldn't take a bath when it got cold. After
chatting for a while, Zhan Qiuran signaled Zhan Jiali to say goodbye together. Tomorrow was not a day off, and everyone had to go to school and work.
Zhan Jiali was a little reluctant to go back, and muttered, "There are no new classes tomorrow, I can take a leave."
Zhan Qiuran: "You just think about playing all day."
Chen Yanming smiled, and Guan Lu Shaotang took the car keys to send them off.
Lin Shu quickly filled an enamel basin with dumplings, "The mutton is cold and you may get sick of it, so take some dumplings to Uncle Hou and Doctor Shao."
Hou Bo and the others also said, "Uncle Chen and Aunt Zhan, please tell Grandpa for us that we will go to see him tomorrow."
In the evening, in order to let the children get close to their grandma and dad, Lin Shu asked Lu Ping and Lu An to come back and sleep in the same room with Pan Pan, Hou Ying and Hou Wei to go back to sleep, and Tiantian to sleep in the separated outer room in the big room.
After washing and soaking her feet, Tiantian ran to the big bed of Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang and lay down in the middle, "I want to sleep with my parents."
When she was a child, she and Panpan slept with her parents. Every time they squeezed in between them, they didn't know why they slept on the outside, and her father slept in the middle.
Dad always said that the two of them were not honest when they slept, but she didn't believe it!
When she and Panpan slept in between grandpa and grandma, why didn't grandpa sleep in the middle? Why did they become so obedient? They were
always treated as children and fooled around.
Seeing the lady lying in the middle of the big bed with her legs crossed, Lu Shaotang didn't chase her away. Children fall asleep quickly, so it was better to rush her away after she fell asleep.
Sure enough, Tiantian exercised in the morning, played crazy with classmates in school during the day, and came back to make dumplings and recite lessons in the afternoon. Now she was really sleepy.
She lay down and talked to Lin Shu for three sentences, and let her mother rub her with fragrance. When Lin Shu's soft and warm hands rubbed her little face twice, she fell asleep instantly.
Lu Shaotang unceremoniously carried the lady to the small bed outside.
Lin Shu smiled secretly, "Bring her back when you get up tomorrow morning."
It's no use using the excuse that the girl is not good at sleeping. She can't just move from one bed to another.
Lu Shaotang smiled and agreed to his daughter-in-law's suggestion.
As for Sister Lin, after she and Hou's mother took a bath and went home, they would inevitably talk about the past with tears in their eyes.
Hou's mother could still hold back in front of Lin Shu, but she couldn't hold back in front of her son and daughter-in-law. She couldn't stop crying.
"I thought I would never come back like those people. I had to work in the fields in the winter on the farm. It was icy and snowy. Your father and I, both from the old days, couldn't do it."
She showed her rough hands and feet to her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. "It was too cold. My feet got frostbite. The cold and hot temperature caused them to crack and bleed. It was really painful."
She had never suffered this in the past.
Hou Wei and Hou Ying were young and full of emotions. They couldn't help crying. They felt sorry for their grandparents.
Although Hou Bo was older and could control his emotions, his eyes were red and he wiped his tears silently.
Sister Lin comforted her, "Mom, it's good that you're back. You don't have to do that anymore."
The children also said that they didn't need their grandmother to do housework anymore.
Mother Hou sighed, "In fact, there is not much work for us at home. At most, we buy vegetables, cook and wash clothes. The farm is really busy. Going to work is not enough. We have to fetch water, pick up firewood, grow vegetables and mend clothes by ourselves. We have to worry about everything."
She wiped her tears and said, "Fortunately, only your grandfather and I went there. You don't have to follow us. Don't suffer too much."
Hou Wei cried so hard that his eyes were red and his long eyelashes were stained with tears. Now he said with bright eyes: "Grandma, we are like this in Panpan's house. Panpan's second uncle fetches water every morning and evening. We planted a lot of vegetables in the yard. We watered, weeded and caught insects every day. We also went to the fields to pick wheat ears and bean pods. It was fun."
Hou's mother was startled and looked at Sister Lin and Hou Jianwen in a daze.
Hou Jianwen knew that his mother had been pampered in the past. She made a lot of money with his father's family and had never suffered hardships. Naturally, she couldn't stand working in the countryside.
What she described was the daily life of the rural members, which was also experienced by the educated youth who went to the countryside, or it was something that he, his wife and children also needed to adapt to.
Fortunately, with the help of Sanmei's family, they don't have to worry about food and drink, and they won't be ostracized and bullied. The heavy physical work is also done by others.
So he is deeply grateful to the old Lu family and his mother-in-law's family. If it weren't for their help, where would he be today?
As early as the beginning of going to the countryside, you may have been depressed and fell ill.
Furthermore, my parents would have suffered many times the punishment on the farm if my third brother-in-law hadn’t said hello and asked him to take care of me.
At least now they won't be asked to do any work that is too dirty or tiring, and they will have enough cotton-padded clothes and quilts to keep out the cold in winter. They will also bring some bacon and grain as subsidies.
If it weren't for the third brother-in-law, my parents might not be able to come back in another two years.
Dad knows all this.
The mother didn't pay much attention to these things, but was more concerned about her suffering. Hou Jianwen didn't say anything to her, lest she think that her son and daughter-in-law didn't feel sorry for her suffering.
She was suffering, and everyone had to feel sorry for her, and never say that she didn't suffer that much.
Sister Lin also kept signaling Hou Jianwen not to say anything else, and just gently comforted her mother-in-law, letting her rest assured that she would not let her suffer again in the future. "There are many uncles and aunts in this courtyard. Mom usually talks with them more, goes shopping, and goes to the theater."
Seeing that her daughter-in-law cared about her, Hou's mother felt more comfortable.
She asked her little girl how she was doing, "Hey, I missed you and the children when we were on the farm, and I really couldn't worry about Shuxian."
Sister Lin said: "Mom, how is Shuxian? You and Dad need to work on everything when you go to the farm. She still has to work at the Tang family. Let's live the old days. "
At most, she doesn't have a strong support from her mother's family, and she doesn't have Lu Shaotang's influence. Her husband's family no longer supports her as much as before, but they won't bully her too much. After all, she also gives birth to children for the Tang family.
The key is that Lu Shaotang is his brother-in-law, and the Tang family is afraid of bullying his sister-in-law.
Marquis: "Then give her a call tomorrow and ask her and Tang Peng to come over for dinner."
Sister Lin agreed.
She went to make the bed for Hou Mu.
There are two rooms in the house, with a big bed in the middle and two sets of iron bunk beds outside.
She cleaned up one of the lower rooms and put an extra mattress on it for Hou's mother to sleep on.
Hou's mother sighed as she looked at the narrow bed. She thought it would be fine when the old man returned to work. Then the unit would allocate rooms for her, and she would have a big room and a big bed to sleep in.
The next day, the children got up for morning exercises as usual and went to school in the morning. In the afternoon, because the school basically did not teach new courses, except for Lu Ping, they all took leave to see Lu Deming and Doctor Shao.
If Panpan Tiantian had not strongly refused, and Guan Zelili and her group of children had also wanted to take leave, the teacher would probably go crazy.
Lin Shu knew that the children all liked to join in the fun. Even though there was nothing to do with Lu An and Panpan Tiantian, the three of them also took leave.
Okay, go ahead.
She packed a few snacks and boiled a pot of Tremella, Lotus Seed, and Autumn Pear Soup with red dates, longan, and rock sugar. It was sweet. She
directly filled a thermos with water for them and went there to drink it.
Hou Bo and Lu An took their brothers and sisters to the PLA Hospital by bus. There was a direct bus from the Revolutionary Committee, which was very convenient, and children could get half the ticket. When they
arrived at the gate of the PLA Hospital, they greeted the guard and went in directly.
Panpan, Tiantian, and Hou Wei had come here with Chen Yanming several times, and the guards knew them.
After asking around, they went directly to Doctor Shao's ward and took a look at the door. It
was a three-person ward, and all three beds were occupied by patients receiving saline drips. One of them had a family, but the families of the other two were not around.
However, Hou Bo knew Old Man Shao, after all, they had been to the farm.
Even if Hou Bo hadn't introduced him, Panpan and Tiantian could guess who was Old Man Shao at once.
That's the old man lying straight on the bed against the wall, looking hopeless. Look at how energetic he is lying there.
Although the old man didn't say anything or sit down, his posture while lying on the bed made people feel that he was mad at something.
Hou Bo led them in. Usually, there were many people around Lin Shu, so the children were not afraid at all.
Everyone else in the ward turned their heads to look over, but Old Man Shao was the only one lying there indifferent, as if he had no interest in the outside world.
Hou Wei summoned up his courage: "Grandpa Shao."
He was quite afraid of this serious old man. In the first winter when he went to the farm with his parents, he happened to see the old man quarreling with someone .
In the second winter when he went to the farm, he ran into him quarreling with two geese, a dog, and two cats.
Old Doctor Shao was immersed in his own world, competing with some invisible thing. When he heard the voice, he turned his head and was shocked by what he saw.
Where did such a group of children come from!
Hou Bo, Hou Ying, and Hou Wei also called him Grandpa Shao.
Doctor Shao narrowed his eyes and recognized them. "Hou Bo, Yingying, Xiaowei? You... are here to see Grandpa. Hey, it's all because of me, an old man, that your Grandpa can't go home."
Hou Bo immediately said, "Grandpa Shao, you and my Grandpa are good friends. It's only right for good friends to take care of each other."
Lu An and the others also greeted Grandpa Shao, and then helped to get lunch boxes and bowls, and poured Tremella and Snow Pear Soup for the old man to drink.
Grandpa Shao was a little at a loss, "You came, why did you bring so many things? I sent you dumplings last night."
The children talked to each other for a while, and then drank the sweet soup together.
Hou Bo brought a lot, and he also gave a bowl to each of the two beds next door.
At this time, Tiantian found that the old man's drip was finished. She didn't call the nurse, but said, "Grandpa Shao, do you want to change other medicines?"
Grandpa Shao shook his head and said, "No more, I'll give you another one tomorrow."
Tiantian quickly helped him pull out the needle. There was a cotton ball under the tape, and she signaled the old man to press it for two minutes.
Grandpa Shao looked at her in surprise, "Little girl, how old are you?"
Tiantian: "Eight years old."
Her family has the gene of tall people, and she eats well. She is 8 years old and taller than others who are 9 years old, but she looks very young and childish.
Grandpa Shao is a doctor, so he can guess it almost right.
He was curious, so he chatted with Tiantian. He heard that her grandfather was a barefoot doctor in the countryside. He studied medicine for a few years when he was young, and then studied medicine on his own. Now he specializes in giving injections and prescribing medicine.
Mr. Shao thought she was interesting. The little girl was pretty, like a snowball. She wore an olive green old military uniform, had two flower buds in her hair, and wore a red headband. She was childish but acted mature.
He joked for the first time and teased Tiantian: "So you learned acupuncture from me?"
Tiantian nodded: "Yes, I can now acupuncture my hands, feet, arms and legs." She tilted her head to look at Grandpa Shao, gestured a few times and said: "Grandpa Shao, your cold and fever have turned into pneumonia? You are taking injections and medicine now, if you cooperate with our Chinese medicine acupuncture, you will get better faster. Of course, it is also good to cooperate with moxibustion. Moxibustion is safer and ordinary people can do it."
Grandpa Shao The wife became interested, "Then where do you think my moxibustion is effective?"
Tiantian said casually, "Like Dazhui, Feishu and Geshu, they must be moxibustioned, plus Zusanli, Kongzui, Qihai, Shenque and other acupoints." Shao
Laozi nodded, "You memorized it well, did your grandfather teach you?"
Tiantian: "Yes, my grandfather borrowed medical books from others, and my mother and I helped him copy them, and I also memorized some."
At this time, Hou Deming came back from the bathroom.
Shao Laozi was hanging an IV to reduce fever and sweating a lot, and his sweat shirt and autumn pants were soaked. Hou Deming cleaned himself and let Laozi change into it, and he went to the bathroom to wash.
Both grandfathers like to be clean.
It's just that in the past, Sister Lin washed the clothes in the Hou family, but now the grandfather washes them. The grandpa
and grandson were so happy to see each other that they kissed each other.
Hou Deming was also interested in Lu An, Pan Pan and Tian Tian, and praised them.
The children pulled their grandpa to drink the sweet soup quickly, because it would become cold and not tasty.
Grandpa Shao looked at the old man surrounded by the children, and envy appeared in his eyes.
Hou Deming drank two sips of the Tremella sweet soup and praised, "It's delicious. Bring another bowl to your Grandpa Shao, he hasn't eaten much these two days."
Hou Bo immediately helped.
Grandpa Shao didn't refuse. He was sick and had no appetite, and his mouth was bitter. He felt very comfortable eating the sweet soup.
Well, the cooking skills are good, and the cooking is quite professional.
Don't underestimate such a bowl of sweet soup. Different ingredients are cooked at different temperatures. If you are not careful, the final product may be a pot of mushy soup, which will affect your appetite. And the red dates, if put in the wrong way, will taste sour. If the wolfberry is cooked too much, it will not only taste sour, but also rot in the soup, which will make people feel sick.
This bowl of soup is very pleasing to the eyes of him who likes to pick and choose, and he drank it very comfortably.
Panpan said, "Master Shao, you should take the injection and medicine and get well soon. My mother said that before you and Master Hou get your work arranged, she will take you home to stay for a few days to recuperate." After that, he said proudly, "My mother's cooking is delicious!"
It seemed that my mother invited you to dinner to give you face, so you should not be angry and spoil the fun.
The old man actually read his hidden message from Panpan's eyes!
This child... is young, but he has a lot of ideas!
Tiantian took out another pack of medicinal tea from her bag and said to Hou Deming, "Grandpa Hou, there is licorice chrysanthemum tea and some wolfberries in it. You can use them to make tea."
Hou Deming smiled and said, "Your mother asked you to bring it. Thank you very much."
Hou Wei said proudly, "Grandpa, it was brought by sister Tiantian herself. She knows a lot and often prepares medicinal tea for us to drink."
Mr. Shao had no one else in his eyes. He kept staring at Tiantian, then at Panpan. He felt that the child was laughing at him!
It seemed that he knew that he had done something stupid by enduring the illness and contracting pneumonia.
Hou Deming was chatting with the children over there. He asked them how their parents were doing, what they were busy with, what books the children were reading recently, what they were learning in school, etc.
The children talked about it all at once. The books they read were very diverse. It was not that they read whatever they wanted to read, but whatever books were available.
Various comic books, magazines, newspapers, medical books, poems by thousands of families, high school textbooks, and also found books written in basic semi-classical Chinese, such as the Analects, Zhuangzi, letters, and books of Sun Tzu's Art of War and Thirty-Six Stratagems.
Some were borrowed by Yan Guoqiang and his brother, some were found by them at the scrapyard, and some were stolen from home by Guan Ze and copied for them.
Hou Deming knew less about traditional books. He smiled and said, "Your Grandpa Shao read a lot of books. He read Guiguzi, Records of the Grand Historian, I Ching, and various medical books."
What is Guiguzi?
The children had never read it and were quite curious.
Grandpa Shao cleared his throat and began to popularize science for the children. He went to a private school when he was young, and now he habitually uses intonation and rhythm when he lectures, and shakes his head a little to help.
"Guiguzi is great. His tactics are worth learning. Children will benefit from learning early and will suffer less losses in the future."
Panpan asked curiously, "Is he the same strategist as Su Qin, Zhang Yi and others?"
Grandpa Shao's eyes flashed, "Young man, do you know why Su Qin, Zhang Yi don't know their teacher?"
Panpan: "Guiguzi is their teacher?"
Grandpa Shao said proudly, "Yes!"
Panpan: "Wow, that's amazing. Then Grandpa Shao, can you tell us a little bit?"
Grandpa Shao said casually: "Gui Guzi said: 'The poor value profit, and use profit to get started; the rich value nobility, and use elegance to get started; the strong value results, and use deeds to get started; the weak value respect, and use humility to get started; the old value praise, and use courtesy to get started; women value affection, and use tenderness to get started; villains value scheming, and use falsehood to get started; gentlemen value cultivation, and use truth to get started.' Do you know what it means?"
Lu An and Hou Bo have no interest in ancient books. It's mainly because they are not assigned by teachers, but they find them to read on their own. As long as it's not a story or a war story, they are not very interested.
Pan Pan and Tian Tian were enlightened by their father Lu when they were young, and their father Lu was enlightened in an old-style private school, so he was naturally used to semi-classical language, so the two children had no problem reading ancient texts.
They don't need to learn anything extra, as if they can understand it naturally. There are also many gossip stories in history books, so they often collect them to read.
Panpan and Tiantian explained one sentence at a time, and their explanations were all appropriate.
Not only Hou Deming was shocked, but also Grandpa Shao was surprised.
These two children, although young, know a lot.
However, Grandpa Shao found that they didn't look proud or complacent, as if they were talking normally, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised and admired.
It seems that the adults at home taught them well.
Thinking of Lu Shaotang's serious look at a young age, he thought it might be genetic.
He said: "This sentence teaches us the principles of how to behave in society. If you can understand it, you will benefit from it for the rest of your life."
Panpan couldn't help but say: "Master Shao, isn't this just saying one thing to one person and another thing to another?"
Master Shao was stunned, then laughed and clapped his hands, saying: "Yes, you can also say that, it means that you don't use one set of methods to deal with everyone, but use different methods to deal with different people. Of course, you know the different classifications in your heart, but you can't tell others."
Panpan was not as simple as Tiantian, and couldn't help but criticize the old man in his heart: You talk nonsense, say different things to different people, aren't you a stubborn person?
It can be seen that adults are good at talking, but it is difficult to practice.
Grandpa said it well, people who practice what they preach are very remarkable, such as his father.
Tiantian expressed her curiosity about Guiguzi and wanted to borrow it to have a look.
Grandpa Shao was not stingy either. He immediately rummaged through his old bag and took out a thick, wrinkled black-thread bound manuscript. The cover was a thick and hard paper-pasted cardboard shell. On the front were some pulse cases and prescriptions he wrote, and on the back were his copies of Guiguzi, as well as his reading experience. "I'll lend it to you to copy and return it to me after you've read it."
Tiantian and Panpan's eyes lit up as they stared at the manuscript, and they exclaimed in praise.
Grandpa Shao's vain heart, which had not been active for many years, suddenly soared. He
was very proud!