Old Mrs. Cheng had been waiting at home since early morning. When the two of them arrived, the food was ready. As she had said yesterday, she had specially prepared a few dishes that Bai Luochuan liked. The old lady invited them to dinner. The whole family was very warm to them. Some of them didn't know what was going on, and some vaguely felt something but pretended not to know. It was rare for them to get together as a family once a year, so during the two days of the New Year, everyone only talked about happy things.
Old Madam Cheng usually dotes on the younger generation, especially Mi Yang, whom she holds in her hands and protects. Seeing Cheng Qing and his wife hesitant to speak, the old lady was afraid that they would say something that would irritate the child, so she spoke first: "It's giving me a headache to have so many of you drinking together. I don't want to sit with you. You can sit at one table. I'll take the children to a separate table and we'll have a good time. Don't disturb us." After the old lady finished speaking, she stretched out her hand and led Mi Yang to the table, and said, "Luochuan, come too, sit next to me!"
This kind of protection is simply limitless.
As soon as Mi Yang left, the remaining children followed him. Mi Xue saw that there were not enough stools, so she picked up a stool and went over. The Cheng family children had been used to following their eldest cousin since they were young, and they were very disciplined in everything they did. They went over one after another like a row of little groundhogs. When the last little cousin went over, he also took a plate of candied apples, which seemed very convenient.
Mi Zehai stood there and before he could say a word, he saw the two brats being taken away by his mother-in-law.
He didn't dare to say anything and could only sulk for a while. Cheng Qing called him twice in the small kitchen. Mi Zehai stood there and watched his son and the boy from the Bai family leave, then went back to the kitchen.
Cheng Qing was searching in the kitchen, and when he saw him come in, he asked, "Did you see the sugar when you were frying the rice cakes? Where did you put the sugar?"
Mi Zehai was much more familiar with the kitchen. These past two days, his sons-in-law had cooked for him. He found some food in the cupboard for her and whispered, "I'll have to teach Yangyang later."
Cheng Qing didn't hear clearly, so he asked him, "What?"
Mi Zehai worked silently and whispered, "What else can we do? Teach him to cook. Won't he be the one doing the kitchen work in the Bai family in the future?" The tradition of loving the daughter-in-law in their family must be passed down, even if they marry a boy.
Cheng Qing thought about it, nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, you can teach him later."
On the other side, Grandma Cheng took them to have a reunion dinner together. The New Year is considered the New Year as long as the first month of the lunar year is over. As long as there are many relatives, everyone will be happy wherever they are, especially the elderly who are surrounded by a group of children, they can't stop smiling.
Bai Luochuan opened a bottle of red wine. When the old lady asked him to pour Sprite into it, he did it very obediently without even blinking.
Mi Yang couldn't help but glance at him.
Old Madam Cheng said with a smile: "Luochuan, have a drink too. You and Yangyang are both adults, you can drink."
Mi Yang hurriedly said: "Let me drink it, he doesn't usually..." drink this kind of thing.
Before he finished speaking, Bai Luochuan had already poured himself a glass. It was surprising that the young master, who was usually so picky about wine, was so easy to talk to at this moment. He would probably drink poison without batting an eyelid.
Bai Luochuan took a sip and said, "Mi Yang, stop drinking. We have to go out soon, and he will drive."
Old Mrs. Cheng nodded and said, "Okay, where are you going?"
Mi Yang said: "Go to my grandfather's place."
Old Madam Cheng immediately said, "I haven't seen my in-laws for a while. I'll go over with you guys later."
Mi Yang saw her concerned look and then he remembered that he hadn't had time to tell the old lady about his grandfather's attitude yesterday. It was estimated that Mrs. Cheng didn't know that Mi Hong already knew and supported them. It was not easy to talk about this at the dinner table, so Mi Yang nodded and agreed: "Okay, let's go together."
Old Mrs. Cheng knew her in-laws' temper. Mi Hong had a strange personality and would definitely not accept any gifts that were too expensive, so she prepared some New Year's food to take over, including a lot of fried spare ribs, crispy meat, mung bean meatballs, hairtail and the like. She picked out some of the good-looking ones and packed them in a box with Mi Yang and took them to him.
Mi Yang took advantage of the time when they were alone in the small kitchen to catch some fresh air with Old Lady Cheng.
But the old lady still didn't believe it: "He really said that? He didn't say anything else to you, and you agreed?" The old man touched his arm and asked worriedly, "Didn't he beat you? Your father said yesterday that you were also taught a lesson, how did he teach you a lesson?"
Mi Yang smiled and said, "No, Grandpa was just trying to scare my dad. He hit the sofa with the bamboo stick, not me."
Old Mrs. Cheng was half-believing and half-doubting, but she still insisted on going with them.
Mi Hong didn't want to be disturbed by others, but Old Lady Cheng was an exception. When she was young, she had helped Mi Hong and his wife. In that turbulent period, it was difficult to fill their stomachs, and no one had extra food. She gritted her teeth and gave half a bag of food to Mi Hong and his wife, which helped them get through the most difficult time at the beginning.
Mi Hong was polite to her and invited her in. He poured her some tea and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with at home?"
Mrs. Cheng put her things down and smiled, "Nothing, I haven't been here for a long time. Yangyang and the others are coming over, so I came to see you. I hope I didn't disturb you."
Mi Hong shook his head, "It's okay."
He was not one to be polite, and he drank a cup of tea quietly with Old Lady Cheng without any intention of speaking. However, the old lady spoke to him a few words and slowly found out what he meant.
"It's their own business. It has nothing to do with me." Mi Hong said calmly, "It doesn't matter who you are with. Just remember that this is your own choice. When you grow up, you have to learn to be responsible for yourself."
Old Mrs. Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's right, that's what I told them too."
Bai Luochuan was smart. He stood behind Old Lady Cheng and said, "Grandma, don't worry. I will definitely treat him well."
Old Madam Cheng said, "It's mutual for two people to live together. Xiaoguai has a good temper, and I'm relieved about you. But after a long time, there will definitely be quarrels. You young people should not be impulsive..." She was talking to Bai Luochuan, and Mi Hong over there looked up at Mi Yang and said to him, "Come with me, I have something to tell you."
As soon as the grandfather and grandson stood up, Old Mrs. Cheng stopped chatting and immediately turned her eyes away.
Mi Hong explained: "I won't embarrass him. I heard him mention opening a book repair shop in the capital before, and I want to ask him something."
Mrs. Cheng was relieved and nodded, "Okay, you guys go ahead and get busy. Luo Chuan and I will be waiting here."
After all, I'm still worried and have to accompany him in person.
Mi Hong nodded: "Okay."
The cabin was very small. In winter, an open shed outside was half-closed and a box was placed there. Mi Hong took Mi Yang over, moved it open, took out a set of tools and gave it to him, then asked him a few questions.
Old Madam Cheng watched nervously by the window. She could only vaguely hear them talking about something like "Liulichang" and "Yisantang". She didn't understand, so Bai Luochuan, who was standing nearby, explained to her, "It's a shop in the capital that Xiaoguai owns. It mainly does the work that Grandpa Mi did before, repairing books and dealing in ancient books. Yisantang is the shop's signboard, and it was also the signboard of the old shop where Grandpa Mi worked. Now some of the people in the shop have gone abroad, and some have stayed and don't do these things anymore, so we bought the signboard and opened a new one."
Mrs. Cheng nodded and asked him, "Will it interfere with your studies?"
Bai Luochuan smiled and said, "It won't delay him. I'll send him to school. It's also somewhat related to his major, and he'll be in contact with people he knows well. He can start working directly after graduation."
Old Mrs. Cheng didn't quite understand all this, because Cheng Qing had rented a house and done business for many years, so she thought the two children had rented a store, and she thought that they should go back and support their grandchildren a little.
Several people had different ideas. Mi Hong only chatted with Mi Yang for a few more words and then brought him back. This time, Mi Yang brought not only the tools in the wooden box, but also a dozen books.
Mi Hong walked and said, "It's the same if you put it in the refrigerator. Once it's a little cooler, just cut it with a knife. Be careful. I've already cut it before."
Mi Yang reached out to touch the pages of the book while listening. This time, Mi Hong was restoring the "old" parts. Some pages of the book were really old and not beautiful, but they wanted to keep the original paper. The old craftsmen in the past would use an extremely sharp knife to split the paper - a single page could be split into three to five parts, and each page felt thick, with little change from before. It was really a unique skill.
Mi Hong didn't take that much, he cut about one third, but the touch was not much different from before.
"There are some books here that I found from other places, and some that I accumulated in the early years. The other boxes were sent from the old house of the Bai family and repaired," Mi Hong said here, looking up at Bai Luochuan, which made Master Bai a little nervous. He couldn't help but stand up straight and try to be respectful. Mi Hong just looked at him without any expression, "I'll sort out these bits and pieces in a month or two and mail them to you. Since you have your own shop, they have a good place to go. Maybe they will be noticed by someone who is destined to see them there. It's better to take them back and put them there than to put them in these wooden boxes."
Mi Yang nodded and agreed, and then asked him: "Grandpa, won't you come with me to take a look?"
Mi Hong thought about it for a while, then shook his head and said, "No, there's no one I want to see."
There was only one person he wanted to see, and that person was right here on this land, so he would not leave.
Mi Hong said it calmly, but Mi Yang still felt a little bitter in his heart. He put his hands in his pockets and clenched them for a long time without taking them out. The room became quiet for a while.
Bai Luochuan reminded him quietly, "Didn't you take pictures? Show me the sign and the patio. After so many years, show me if there have been any significant changes."
Mi Yang was stunned for a moment, then he remembered and took out the photos from his mobile phone to show Mi Hong. Mi Hong became a little more interested in these. After seeing them, he felt a little emotional and asked them who they found to buy the plaque. Mi Yang told him one by one.
"When Master was still around, there were very few people left in the capital. Many of our brothers returned to their hometowns. It's normal that we can't find him." Mi Hong touched the plaque of Yisan Hall on the screen with his finger. "The person you are looking for is Master's nephew. He doesn't like to learn these things. He has always been like this. I knew it was him when I heard you say that. Is he doing well now?"
Mi Yang said: "Everything is fine. He is retired now. He used to work at the China Bookstore. Now he has a lot of free time. He grows flowers and raises birds every day."
Mi Hong felt a little relieved when he heard him say this.
Mi Yang saw that his expression had eased, and wanted to say a few more words to him about his old friend. When Bai Luochuan went to find him, the other party also asked about Mi Hong, but before he opened his mouth, Mi Hong interrupted him and said, "That's it. Since the shops are 'back', you don't have to look for that person anymore. That senior brother is better than me, but many years have passed. You have learned much more than me. It's time for you to do something on your own." He thought for a while and said, "You don't need others to teach you. Life is your best teacher. As time goes by, you will slowly learn everything."
He gave Mi Yang a few words of advice and let them go.
Mi Yang was reluctant to leave and looked back at him every few steps. However, Mi Hong's eccentric temper had not changed at all over the years. As soon as his grandson left the house, he closed the wooden door tightly. He had no intention of getting closer to anyone, as if the previous greetings had used up a year's patience.
As soon as Mi Yang left, Mi Zehai arrived. He came to bring food to Mi Hong every afternoon for the past two days. Sometimes there were four dishes and two soups, and sometimes there were five dishes and one soup. The staple foods were steamed buns, pancakes, and dumplings in turn. Whatever other people's elders ate during the New Year, Mi Hong's was also indispensable.
He had just knelt in the yard yesterday, so he didn't dare to provoke his old father again. He put the insulated box of food at the door, knocked on the window lightly, and whispered, "Dad, I put it at the door for you."
After a while, she raised her voice a little: "Dad, I'll leave it at the door. I won't bother you today. Happy New Year!"
Mi Hong heard him repeating "Happy New Year" from the 28th day of the lunar year to the 3rd day of the lunar year, and it seemed that he would repeat it for a few more days.
There was a rustling sound outside the door, as if someone knelt down and kowtowed, then stood up and left.
Mi Hong sat in the room, listening to the sound of cars outside, which slowly moved away from near. Only the crackling sound of burning wood in the iron stove on the side of the wooden house remained. The water in the old brass kettle on the stove had been heated and was bubbling.
Mi Hong didn't care about all this and just sat there in a daze.
He looked at the bedside. Although so many years had passed, he could still vaguely see his Guizhi lying half-way on the wooden bed, with a thin blanket covering her legs, leaning on the bed and talking to him with a smile, as young and beautiful as she was decades ago. She looked at him with a smile, her black braids hanging down in front of her chest, her voice was a little coughy but always sounded as beautiful as singing: "Sister Cheng is so nice. If we have children, we should marry a girl from her family. She will definitely be as enthusiastic and cheerful as her..."
He was just a young boy that year and knew nothing. He just wanted to fulfill all her wishes and didn't want her to suffer any injustice again.
He asked Guizhier if she wanted a child.
Then that fall, he managed to earn some money and food stamps and adopted a boy.
…
The sanxian was humming softly. Mi Hong was stunned for a moment, then he looked down and found that it was a tune played by the radio he had played. The tune was familiar, as if he had heard it in a theater before, but he could not remember the name of it.
That’s right, he didn’t go to the theater from beginning to end.
He went to see that person.
Mi Hong looked up at the photo frame on the table, reached out and wiped the photo habitually, smiled, and said softly: "Guizhi, you didn't make a mistake in choosing the child, he is a good child."
"He's very obedient."
"Everything is fine at home, just relax and wait for me."
The radio was still playing softly with a little noise. The opera was singing, "What a beautiful day, what a beautiful weather, so who can enjoy the pleasure?"
Then you will be as beautiful as a flower and time will pass like flowing water.