Tomato and Egg Salted Noodles

When they arrived in the city, Song Shixia did not let Xiao Li continue to take them there. His brother's small truck had four seats and there was still room for people to sit behind the driver's seat.

Xiao Li refused to agree and insisted on completing his task before going home. There was no choice but to let Xiao Li go with him to the county town.

The last time I drove home I spent a whole day and night, probably because we chatted along the way. This time I drove two cars and arrived at the county town in the afternoon.

It would take about 40 minutes to drive on the muddy yellow mud road back to the village. For safety reasons, Song Qiu Sheng suggested staying at his eldest sister's house, just in time to drop off the New Year gift prepared for her.

Song Shixia and Ji Weiqing had no objections. The cold wind in the north in winter was like a knife blowing on one's face. There were almost no pedestrians on the road at night. It was already dark after six o'clock, and people went home early.

The yard of my eldest sister's house was brightly lit. Song Shixia got out of the car and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

The eldest sister's voice came from the yard.

"Sister, it's me."

Song Chunxia opened the door with a look of surprise on her face.

"You guys came back so soon. I thought you would stay for two days."

Song Shixia smiled at her elder sister: "Teacher Ji's school closed early, so he notified my brother to come back quickly."

The old lady was cooking noodles in the kitchen, and the brothers and sisters were sitting in the living room chatting and chatting. Song Chunxia's eyes drifted to the bedroom from time to time. The little guy had fallen asleep because he was too tired on the road. As soon as he arrived, he was put on the bed in the guest room and did not sleep in the same room with Maodan.

Song Chunxia resisted the urge to gossip and turned to torture her cheerful brother.

"Qiu Sheng is amazing, why did he drive a car back again this time?" His brother-in-law is a city dweller and has a driver, so we'll talk about that later. The driver is still helping to light the fire in the kitchen.

Song Shixia was gloating on the sidelines, waiting to see how her brother would make an excuse.

Song Qiusheng said truthfully: "This car was lent to me by my friend."

Song Chunxia didn't quite believe it: "Which friend is so nice to you? Is he the same friend who lent you the car last time?"

Song Qiusheng giggled: "Of course she's not just an ordinary friend, she's my girlfriend."

Song Chunxia laughed at him: "I'm not making fun of you if you say it's your boss's car. It's so glorious to be a driver in the city. You made up this joke to tease me. You're not going to lie to your parents during the New Year, are you?"

The smile on Song Qiusheng's face fell.

"Am I that kind of person? How could a mature and stable man like me joke? If you don't believe me, ask my sister and brother-in-law. They have met my girlfriend."

Song Shixia quickly clarified: "Stop, I've only seen him once, Teacher Ji hasn't."

Song Chunxia quickly asked, "Is your brother's girlfriend real? Is she real? What's she like? Does she have a good temper?"

Song Shixia answered one by one: "My brother does have a girlfriend. She is very beautiful, like a TV star. She is very generous. She gave me this down jacket when we first met."

Song Chunxia reached out and touched her sister's clothes.

"Is this a down jacket? Why does it feel so cold? Is it really warm?"

Song Shixia patiently explained: "Down jackets are filled with down. The material feels rough because the down inside needs to be protected to keep warm, just like using coarse cloth to block the wind. This kind of clothing is especially popular outside, and only a few people in the capital wear it."

Song Chunxia reached into her sister's sleeve and touched her.

"You know what, it's surprisingly warm in there."

Song Shixia was tickled and dodged away.

"Sister, what is my brother-in-law doing in the kitchen? Why doesn't he come out and talk to us?"

"Your brother-in-law is in the kitchen making skewers. We were originally busy together, but now that you guys are here, someone has to come out to entertain you. Your brother-in-law is not good at talking, so I'll just chat with you guys."

Song Shixia rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let my brother-in-law bring the food over so we can help. We have nothing to do while chatting anyway."

"Bye, aren't you tired from driving and riding all day? Go to bed early after dinner. I'll hang out with your brother-in-law for an hour and then it'll be over."

Song Qiusheng asked jokingly, "You made a lot of money from this stall, didn't you?"

Song Chunxia had a faint smile on her face.

"It's true that we make a lot of money. I originally thought that there weren't many people eating here in our county, but I didn't expect that everyone here is a wealthy person who is willing to spend money."

The old lady brought the noodles to the table, and Song Shixia quickly got up to help, but unexpectedly Xiao Li brought a chopping board with three bowls of noodles on it.

"Sister-in-law, you don't have to go to the kitchen. I've brought everything here."

The old lady praised Xiao Li.

"This guy is very skillful, but unfortunately he already has a girlfriend."

Song Chunxia looked at her sister in surprise.

"Is this your husband's brother?"

Song Shixia lowered his voice and said, "Yes, driver. We'll talk later."

Song Chunxia was secretly shocked. What kind of family did her sister marry into?

The old lady made hand-rolled noodles with tomato and egg salsa.

My brother-in-law warmly entertained me: "This is my mother's specialty noodles. The noodles are chewy and keep coming out. The fastest-selling noodles every day are the hand-rolled noodles."

After saying that, he brought a large plate to the table, which contained chopped bacon.

"You're welcome. I just had it last night."

Song Shixia took a look and asked: "Can you bring some vegetarian dishes?"

Song Chunxia laughed and scolded her: "It's not good enough to give you meat. Who wants to eat vegetarian food? We have a lot of salt at home, so you can eat as much as you want."

Song Shixia stuck out her tongue. Isn't this because she is worried that her sister's family will suffer losses?

Song Qiusheng sucked on the noodles: "Sister, how is your work going?"

Song Chunxia's smile faded: "I am now focusing on business."

Song Shixia looked up in surprise. Her sister, who pursues stability, would not quit her job after only a few months of business, right?

The old lady spit on her daughter-in-law's behalf.

"A leader of the supply and marketing cooperative wanted to arrange a job for his daughter-in-law, so he found an excuse and said that Chunxia had made a mistake and asked Chunxia to pay compensation. Chunxia couldn't stand it and came back."

Song Qiusheng put down his chopsticks and asked, "Is there no one taking care of this?"

The old lady sighed: "This leader seems to be someone's son-in-law. I heard that his father-in-law is very powerful. We ordinary people can't afford to offend him."

Seeing that her sister was in a low mood and clearly didn't want to talk about this, Song Shixia quickly stopped him.

"Brother, you brought a lot of New Year gifts for sister, hurry up and finish your meal and bring them in."

Song Qiu Sheng understood his sister's expression and finished the remaining noodles in two or three bites, without touching the brined pork on the plate.

"Yao Xue has prepared gifts for everyone in our family. She is going home for the New Year this year. I will bring her back to meet my parents when I have time."

The old lady, her brother-in-law and the driver Xiao Li did not hear the owner of the car. Song Shixia and her sister did not intend to make this known to everyone, so they told others that they borrowed the car from a friend.

Song Qiu Sheng brought in a lot of bags.

Song Chunxia was surprised and asked, "So many? What does your target's family do?"

Song Qiusheng was vague: "Her family runs a small business, and I got to know her through business."

"With so many gifts, we will only accept two as a token of our appreciation. You can take the rest."

"No, Yao Xue picked these things for you personally. If I were to take them back, she would probably think you don't like her."

Song Chunxia was in a dilemma. If she accepted such an expensive gift, wouldn't it be like they were taking advantage of the girl if the two of them failed?

Song Shixia helped to persuade them, "Sister, Sister Yao Xue is very generous, just accept it. My brother will definitely return the gift for you, don't worry."

Song Qiu Sheng assured his sister: "Yes, I definitely wouldn't take someone else's things for free. Just take them and I'll repay the favor."

"How can I do that? When you go back, please bring me some gifts in return. Even though they are not expensive, they are a token of my love. They will let the girl know that our family values ​​her."

My brother finally found a relationship and we can’t let it be ruined.

Song Qiusheng smiled foolishly, "She likes hats, scarves and gloves knitted with wool. The brighter the color, the better."

"That will take a little more time. Does she have a sweater style she likes?"

"It's so windy in winter, so I knitted her a turtleneck sweater. I've never seen her wear a turtleneck before."

Song Shixia wondered if Yao Xue had never worn a turtleneck and might not like it. After all, with her sister-in-law's wealth, she could buy any sweater.

"Turtleneck? Don't worry about my craftsmanship. I promise to make it for you before you go back."

The old lady and her son stared at the gifts on the table in a daze. How much could these things, which looked expensive, be worth?

At night, Song Shixia and Professor Ji slept in the same guest room with the children, while Song Qiu Sheng slept with Xiao Li.

The bed at home is made of a wooden board with dry straw spread on top, and then a layer of bedding and sheets. It creaks when you turn over slightly.

Song Shi couldn't sleep that summer night: "Is the bed too hard?"

Professor Ji warmed her hands and said, "That's right. Don't move around. Be careful not to fall."

Song Shixia wanted to get up: "Are the children covered with quilts?"

"It's already covered, so they won't disturb you when you sleep in the middle of the night."

Song Shixia turned over and faced away from him. She was the only one in the family who was disturbed in her sleep.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, when Song Chunxia opened the door to the main room, she was startled by something on a car in the yard.

"Song Qiusheng! Are you pulling this big cart of stuff home to do business?"

She even lowered her voice, worried that her sister and brother-in-law had not gotten up yet.

Song Qiusheng explained with great joy: "I made a little money before the New Year, so I bought all these appliances and installed them in our house to make my parents look impressive in the village."

He went out to work and vowed to achieve success before returning home, but a traitor turned up inside and he lost all his money in business. When he returned home, his parents did not blame him at all, but just asked him what he wanted to do next.

He resigned himself to his fate and wanted to continue farming, but after a few days he realized that he could only be a farmer for the rest of his life if he only relied on farming. After seeing the city outside, how could he be willing to continue staying at the bottom of the well?

When he was hesitant at home, his parents supported him again and gave him the little savings left in the family. It was only half a year since he was most confused, and now everything has changed dramatically. Not only did he keep the original capital, but he also earned a lot of money, enough to make his parents proud in the village.

Song Chunxia wanted to hit him, thinking that keeping these things in the village would only arouse envy, but when she saw the confident smile on her brother's face, she swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

In the past few years, Qiu Sheng was doing business and rarely went home during the Chinese New Year. The villagers said all kinds of things about him. Even if he sent good things back home, there would still be all kinds of gossip in the village.

Including Qiu Sheng's business was cheated, everyone in the village knew that he had left with a few young men in the village in a rage, and in the end they all returned home in a mess. Those people had already discussed it as a joke behind his back, thinking that he had high aspirations but low skills.

She felt that her brother was capable and that the failure in business was not the fault of just one person, but her brother had to bear all the insults and ridicule. She knew Qiu Sheng must have felt aggrieved.

After Song Shixia got up, she looked around and found that her sister and brother were getting along peacefully. She didn't see them quarreling over a large truckload of things.

She teased her brother: "Not bad, how did you convince my sister?" According to the sister's personality, she would definitely criticize him severely and then ask him to return the things.

Song Qiusheng squatted under the eaves.

"It's not that simple. I appealed to her emotions and reasoned with her, and our eldest sister softened her heart."

Song Chunxia stuck her head out of the window.

"Just this once. Since you've bought so many things, remember to stop at the entrance of the village for a while so that everyone in the village knows that you have made it."

Hey, what happened?