"Do you want eggplant? Sell it cheap, sell it cheap, you can't buy it and you can't suffer a loss, and you can't be cheated. This pile of five yuan only costs five yuan."
"Sister, do you want a radish? Big and delicious radish."
"It's the last bit. I sell two pounds as one pound. I don't make any money. I sell it and go home."
…
At nine-thirty in the morning, the sun was already high in the sky. In a small town in the south, there was a lot of people shouting and shouting, and it was very lively.
There are many fruits and vegetables on the street, which are roadside stalls. Because of its backwardness, the traffic police will not drive us away. Most of them are nearby villagers, selling the fruits and vegetables they grow at home and making money. Extra income.
On both sides of the road, there are rows of houses with various storefronts, all decorated in a unified style, with white walls and gray tiles, which looks unique.
"came back?"
"Yes, I bought the ingredients." The person who spoke was slightly fat, with two jade earrings hanging on his ears, a gold necklace on his neck, two gold bracelets on his hands, and a shoulder bag on his body.
Although he is over fifty, he dyed his hair and tattooed his eyebrows and lips, making him look like he is in his early forties.
When speaking, his tone was slightly raised and his voice was slightly loud.
"You are lucky, your wife is capable." The neighbor's old lady said with a smile.
"I just know how to make some drinks and snacks, what else can I do?" Tong Zhenmei carried several bags in both hands and walked straight into the shop inside. "We'll have tea later and talk. I won't talk anymore. There’s a lot going on.”
The neighbor's old lady looked at her figure and sneered, seeming a little envious and a little disdainful.
Tong Zhenmei walked all the way inside. There were many tables, chairs and benches on both sides of the first floor. She walked to the back kitchen, piled the bags on the round table, and called upstairs, "Xiao Ni."
"Xiao Ni?!"
No one responded.
She frowned and said louder, "Xia Ni?"
Still no one responded.
She lowered her face, feeling slightly displeased, with some anger in her brows. She suppressed it, turned around and walked out.
At this time, an electric car rode in. After it stopped, the woman got out of the car. She was thin, with smooth skin on her face and small features, but her face was yellowish, slightly haggard and had dark circles under her eyes.
She was wearing an extremely simple pair of short-sleeved clothes, jeans on the lower body, and one long straight leg. Even if she was wearing a sun protection mask, at first glance, she had a great figure.
"Mom." Shani took off her mask and called.
"Where have you gone?" Tong Zhenmei pursed her lips, slightly unhappy.
"Send Xiaofan to kindergarten." Shani said, feeling a little unsure.
"Ouch." Tong Zhenmei's tone suddenly rose, she was a bit weird and confused, and she said exaggeratedly, "It only takes two minutes to go to the kindergarten. It's already past ten o'clock. Did you walk to the kindergarten and come back?"
Shani was embarrassed and explained, "I met a fellow countryman and chatted for a while."
In fact, she knew it was only half past nine, but she didn't dare to talk back to Tong Zhenmei.
"You guys have been chatting for a really long time." Tong Zhenmei just said that, turned around and twisted her thick waist into the back kitchen.
Shani didn't dare to delay and walked in quickly.
Their family runs a snack bar, serving afternoon tea and late-night snacks, as well as some snacks and drinks. In the morning, her mother-in-law will buy ingredients, and they will start preparing them when they come back. They start selling at two o'clock in the afternoon until the evening, and the business is not bad.
Tong Zhenmei took out the things one by one and murmured, "Yesterday's taro was not soft and glutinous. I just scolded the old man today. You didn't taste it when you cooked it. How dare you sell this garbage to me again?" Me, I will take care of his stall tomorrow! Also, today I heard them say that the milky taro is too sweet."
"You don't have to pay for milk and sugar? Just put in less and taste more. If you don't buy the ingredients, you don't know how expensive they are!"
"Mom, I understand."
…
"Pumpkin powder should be finer, you know?"
"Okay, let's work, young man, be more agile."
…
Tong Zhenmei peeled the taro, steamed it in a pot, and put peanuts in it to cook. There were several pots next to the kitchen. She washed the ingredients to be used and put them in, plugged them in and cooked them.
"Okay." Tong Zhenmei swept the things on the floor, tidied them up a little, and worked for a while, then looked at her, "Just keep an eye on it. Just put it in the refrigerator when it's ready. I'll go to Xiaonan's to wash my hair." , I have been suffering from back pain recently, so I went to get a massage.”
After saying that, he didn't wait for her to reply, and said as he walked, "Ji Huai hasn't woken up yet? He's been sleeping all day long, and let him come down and finish his work later."
"How old are you?"
…
She cursed and walked out.
Shani responded perfunctorily. As soon as she left, the slight discomfort in her heart diminished a lot. Looking at the pile of unfinished work, she could only immerse herself in it.
Xiaonan is a woman who has been doing beauty treatments for a long time in big cities. She opened a shop in the town and it was quite popular.
Older women like to go there to wash their face, shampoo their hair, and then apply a facial mask.
In middle age, my children are older, and I have some spare money on hand. I use facial masks worth tens of dollars each, apply them once a day, and then steam them with a steamer. I don’t know how to put them in, but I feel rosy and white all of a sudden. I really know how to do it. Look better.
The newly married daughter-in-law next door told her that her mother-in-law went back every morning to apply a facial mask, wash her hair once every three days, and get a full-body massage, which cost dozens of yuan each time.
She didn't know how much money this snack bar could make. Anyway, the shop was owned by her family. At first, Tongchenmei asked her to study at someone else's place for three months, and she opened it in her own shop when she came back.
She and Ji Huai worked there, and her mother-in-law was responsible for her son's expenses. She would give him a few hundred yuan in pocket money every month. Ji Huai would occasionally ask for more money.
I will give more when the child is sick and when he returns to his parents' home. The rest of the time, when he is sick, he doesn't have money for injections, and he has to wait until New Years and holidays to buy new clothes.
Shani looked at the time. Her son was about to get out of school, and she quickly sped up her movements.
The taro was extremely hot after being cooked and had to be set aside to dry. The same was true for the steamed pumpkin. When she took it out, she burned her fingers and almost threw them out in pain.
But you still have to be able to endure the busy work.
"Yuanyouliu" is a mixture of glutinous rice and mung beans. It tastes like pearls, but more elastic. It needs to be added to cold drinks and snacks. After cooking, it should be placed in cold water immediately to maintain chewiness and elasticity.
Wait until the taro cools, crush it, add cornstarch, milk, sugar and salt in proportion, and set aside.
For pumpkin, cornstarch and brown sugar need to be added and rolled into strips.
In addition, there are some snack ingredients that need to be prepared. Wash and cut the cilantro and green onion, and scald the vermicelli. The vermicelli needs to be mixed with eggs in advance and put in the refrigerator, otherwise it will be too late to stir.
There are mangoes and lemons to squeeze into juice, and homemade plum juice to make. There is always a lot to do.
There are three large refrigerators in the back kitchen. She needs to put the prepared ingredients one by one to keep them fresh so that she can start selling them in the afternoon.
Shani's hands and feet were nimble and she could still cook. She went to the small kitchen at the back to cook the soup, and took advantage of the gap to start cooking at around eleven o'clock.
I fried a green vegetable and then fried chicken. When I was taking out the vegetables, I heard footsteps.
"Ji Huai." She shouted.
"Huh?" Ji Huai scratched his messy hair, came downstairs wearing slippers, and looked at her as if he was half asleep.
"I forgot to give the quilt to Xiaofan. Go and give it to him quickly. After a while, he fell asleep and got cold. I was cooking." Shani stuck her head out and said urgently, "The pot for boiling red beans is boiling." , quickly, help me lift the lid."
Ji Huai walked over and opened the lid of the red beans, "You have cooked so many today?"
"It was sold out at ten o'clock yesterday. Mom said we would cook more today." Shani replied.
"Oh." He nodded and took the key from the table. "It's time for a nap. I'll go give it to him."
"Remember to buy a bottle of soy sauce when you come back."
"knew."
…
Ji Huai drove the black semi-old electric car in the store, turned a corner, drove out, and drove to his son's kindergarten in the scorching sun, wearing big pants and relying on his memory.
Facing the hot wind made his mind clearer.
In this life, he spent most of his time in this small town. The couple helped in the store, and Tong Zhenmei supported their family of three. They couldn't say anything harsh. The store belonged to their parents, and the store was opened by their parents. Anyway, they just keep working and working and working.
After all, it was his parents, even if it was the least favored one among the three, he had no objection except for being a little unhappy in his heart.
There are people who are raising children, eating and drinking for free, and there are two floors above the shop. Their family now lives in one room, and when the son grows up, the parents will pay for another building in the future. Isn't it enough to live a leisurely life
How could they live so freely
But Shani left this place when her son was in junior high school. She would rather go to the city to wash dishes and serve dishes and live in a village in the city. She struggled to support her son who was still studying in an aristocratic school. Faced with the high tuition and food expenses, she gritted her teeth. And don't stay with him anymore.
The son was very successful and passed the high school entrance examination. Later, Shani went to college with him and continued to work in that city. She didn't contact him for a long time.
Everyone said that the two of them were cruel and heartless, and he also followed suit. Virgin Mei cursed Xia Ni every day for a good death, lit incense and cursed, did not know good from evil, and was a white-eyed wolf.
But he forgot that Shani once cried and told him that she didn't want to live in a life where he had to ask his parents for money for sanitary napkins. She had been working hard for fifteen years and begged him to go out to make money together, even if he went out. Begging is fine.
He scolded her for being ignorant and too ambitious. She had a house and a car at home, what more could she want? What should I do if I leave the store at home? If you just want to live a peaceful life, why bother? How can other people have such a good life
They don't need to work hard anymore.
He ignored the fact that she gave birth to a baby due to overwork, and she didn't even sit during the confinement period. Later she became ill and couldn't get pregnant again. He even thought that if she had one child, she would forget about it. If she couldn't give birth, she couldn't give birth. He thought it didn't matter and had no obsession. He ignored her being Virgin Mei made things difficult for her, and they made peace with each other, ignoring her grievances and sadness and just trying to coax her.
More often than not, he would persuade Xia Ni to be considerate of him, not to make any noise, and to understand her parents. He would even call the Xia family and ask the Xia family's parents to persuade Xia Ni to live a good life and not to make any noise.
There was even one time when she said she couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to jump into the river. After he tried to stop her, he only treated it as a joke. Little did she know that by then she had reached the limit of her endurance and was on the verge of collapse. She was about to give up on him completely. Everything was just to survive. , until his son grows up.
At home, he had nothing to do all day long, living his life, eating and waiting to die. To put it nicely, they were selling their labor force at home in order to survive. In fact, in the eyes of Virgin Mei, he was just worthless and languishing, while Shani was worthless and relied on charity. A few mouthfuls of food.
So he became more and more lazy and ignorant, while Shani worked all day long and lived her life based on people's looks.
Finally, the eldest sister came back from divorce and could get money from Tong Zhenmei. The younger brother used tens of thousands to chase girls in the big city. In the end, the whole family even gritted their teeth and bought him a house in the market.
And he, his wife and children have been separated, and he has always been helping in this store. He does the most work and spends the least. He has always been foolish and filial, and he has always been scolded as worthless.
He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t gamble, and he has a good temper, but why does he need to go back and forgive his wife and children
Because he is insensitive, because he is cowardly, because he is irresponsible, because he is stubborn, foolish and filial...
Such a person seems to be a good person in everyone's eyes, but only those closest to him know that he is not a good person.
Shani cried for the last time and said, "I can't bear it. Please, let me go. Can you give me a way out? I beg you, okay Ji Huai?"
She was still good, and finally brought her grown son to recognize him and ease the relationship between them, but some things were lost when they were lost.
"Come to give the children clothes?"
The security guard at the entrance of the kindergarten said with a smile, disrupting his thoughts.
"Send me a quilt. I forgot to bring it this morning." Ji Huai stopped the electric car and took out the key.
The security guard opened the door for him.
Because he often comes to pick up and drop off children, he knows the classroom very well. He walked across the small basketball court and walked up to the second floor.
The children have all eaten their lunch and are ready to go to bed.
There is a lounge in the classroom. Each child has a small wooden bed, which is spacious, and three teachers sleep with him on one side.
As an aristocratic kindergarten in a small town, the cost of a semester is nearly 8,000 yuan. After Tong Zhenmei sent Ji Fan here, she often said that it was too expensive.
He thinks it's good. If the tuition is higher, the quality of food and teaching will naturally be better.
"Xiaofan." Ji Huai didn't need to look at his face. The one without a quilt was his son.
The person on the small bed turned over quickly and cried out happily when he saw him, sweet and waxy, "Daddy."
I remembered that my son in his previous life was taller than him, his face was alienated and unnatural, and he was also a bit complaining and aggrieved. His current look was extremely cute and kind.
"Quilt." He walked over, took out the quilt, and spread it on his little bed.
"Thank you, Dad." He smiled again, squinted his eyes, reached out to hold his big hand, and said in a sweet voice, "It was a little cold just now."
"Then why don't you tell the teacher? You'll catch a cold later." Ji Huai scolded him lightly.
"It's not cold!" He denied again, grabbing his quilt and fidgeting with his little head, "It's not cold!"
Ji Huai had no choice but to look at the teacher, said hello, and walked out of the door, "Go to sleep, dad is back."
"Goodbye dad."
"sleep tight."
Ji Huai walked downstairs with a smile.
He once scolded Shani, saying that she was cruel and determined, and did not consider her son's feelings at all, so she made him a child of a single-parent family and lived a hard life with her.
Shani refuted him, saying that he had rewarded her son a lot for his hard life, and he was not a qualified father, so she would try her best to make up for it.
Why.
In this life, he still has to try his best to be a good example.