"Is this Xiaoyu?"
"Ah Xiang, the longer your daughter grows, the more beautiful she becomes."
"What's your job now?"
"You've really changed as a person. You even bought clothes for your parents? How filial."
…
Cheng Yunyu was surrounded by a group of aunts, and they all praised her highly. Cheng's mother just came back from the vegetable garden and caught up with her. She was a little surprised when she saw her daughter dressed up.
Cheng's mother chatted with a few people, while Cheng Yunyu walked home first.
Cheng's father was chopping firewood in the yard. She took the clothes to the living room, then went out and said, "Dad, I bought you clothes. Come and try to see if they fit."
"I'm spending money indiscriminately. I have enough clothes!" Cheng's father said.
Cheng Yunyu: "Didn't they say it will be very cold this winter? I bought you a thicker one."
"How cold can it be? Just wear more layers if it's cold." Cheng's father didn't agree. He put down the knife, walked aside to wash his hands, and walked to the living room.
When Cheng's mother came in, Cheng's father had already put on a sweater. Cheng Yunyu took the opportunity to ask: "Mom, does it look good?"
"Little girl, don't spend money randomly, you have to save some money." Cheng's mother said.
"Does it look good?" Cheng Yunyu asked again.
Mother Cheng was helpless when she asked: "It looks good."
Hearing this, Cheng Yunyu frowned, then leaned over and asked Cheng's father: "Dad, does it look good?"
"It looks good, but it's expensive." Father Cheng touched the material with a look of reluctance. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Cheng Yunyu. She smiled and said, "As long as it looks good, it's worth it."
Although Father Cheng was still talking about wasting money, there was still a smile in his eyes when he looked at the clothes.
He hasn't bought clothes for several years. A piece of clothing costing more than ten yuan can last fifteen or sixteen years. The material looks good at first sight. He really can't bear to part with it. He feels that his daughter is spending money indiscriminately, but at the same time he is a little happy for her filial piety.
Cheng Yunyu took out the coat he bought for Cheng's mother and put it on for her: "This material is very comfortable and warm. Put a long sleeve on it and it won't feel cold at all."
"Prodigal girl." Cheng's mother scolded her as she dressed, but there was not much harshness in her words.
"Then it's a waste." Cheng Yunyu helped her button up with a smile on her face. Because they were so close, Cheng's mother smiled slightly. She could clearly see the crow's feet at the corners of the other person's eyes, and she was extremely moved and even a little sad for a moment.
She used to buy clothes and shoes for her parents, but they were not expensive. In her opinion, dozens of shoes were very good, and she could wear clothes for twenty or thirty yuan. She could even go to that kind of specialty store. They didn't dare to go in.
The past six months had been really hard. She and Ji Huai went out early and came back late, which was very uncomfortable at first. Standing in front of the stall late at night, she would be so sleepy that her eyes would close. When she went back, she would often fall asleep in the car with her arms around him. He would drive the car very slowly and only wake her up when he got home.
When the two of them woke up in the morning, they were busy again. There were too many trivial things and they were very busy.
Hardship comes after hardship, busyness comes after busyness, the satisfaction at that moment when I have money to buy things for my parents and can afford to buy the things I want to give them is incomparable.
Cheng Yunyu put the things in the room, took out a small stack of red banknotes, gave Cheng's father two thousand, and gave Cheng's mother another two thousand.
The two of them didn't want it, and Cheng's mother asked, "Where did you get so much money?"
"One thousand was given by me, and the other thousand was given by Ji Huai." After Cheng Yunyu finished speaking, he continued, "He and I also bought the clothes together."
"How can you ask for his money?" When Cheng's father heard this, his joy disappeared, and Cheng's mother was not happy either. Although they are poor and live in straitened circumstances, they will never allow their daughters to spend men's money.
Cheng Yunyu knew her parents' temperament, and immediately said: "I also told him that I can't ask for this money. He said it was his wish. We want to get married next year, and he said he would honor you with me."
"What are you getting married for?" Cheng's mother raised her forehead.
"Mom, you said last time that he agreed to let me marry him when he opened a store. We opened the store last month. After the Chinese New Year, he would go home and build a house. He would make money while building the house. After the house was built, he would get married." Cheng Yunyu said. You have to be very confident.
"Have you really opened a store?" Cheng's mother was slightly startled, and then said, "Building a house is a big deal, and it's no joke. It won't cost tens of thousands to build it. Then we'll have to get married, and we'll have to spend money on everything."
Cheng Yunyu: "The profit of the store is not bad. We will build it while making money. At worst, it will be like our house. We will build a rough one first and then slowly decorate it after we get married."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, the two looked at each other in confusion, and their expressions gradually calmed down. Father Cheng thought for a while and said, "You are young, so there is no need to be in such a hurry to get married."
"Yeah, it's too early to get married next year." Although Cheng's mother felt that it was okay to fall in love at the age of twenty, getting married was indeed too early and she was not ready. Her daughter suddenly said she wanted to get married, which always felt unrealistic.
"If you said he opened a shop and built a house, he would agree with us." Cheng Yunyu caught on to what she said last time.
Cheng Mu choked, and then said: "I agree, but we need to build the house first!"
The house is not just built. She still doesn't believe that Ji Huai can build the house next year. Young people always underestimate themselves.
Cheng Yunyu didn't argue with them, but they didn't ask for her money. Cheng's mother kept giving her money. In the end, Cheng Yunyu gave in and asked her to take the thousand yuan she had. Neither of them wanted it, and asked her to return what Ji Huai gave to Ji Huai.
Cheng Yu said earnestly: "Little girl, you should keep more money with you and be more courageous."
"I'm not short of these thousands of dollars." Cheng Yunyu lowered his eyes and spoke very quietly.
She went to the provincial capital to study alone before, and her parents also gave her money in the same way, and even deposited a thousand dollars on a card, for fear that she would need money urgently and be short of money.
Thousands of dollars are really not that much for her now.
Mother Cheng didn't hear what she said clearly, so she carefully took off her coat and walked out again: "Mom, go kill a chicken and make fried chicken for you."
The New Year in the village is very lively. Every household hangs up red lanterns and posts couplets.
There are many children playing on the road outside, and occasionally you can hear the sound of firecrackers and laughter.
Cheng Yunyu and Ji Huai briefly talked about what had just happened. He did not force her to give the money to them again, but said: "When we recover, we will renovate the house at home. When you return to your parents' home, You can live more comfortably.”
Her mother's family was involved, and her face turned red.
"What are you doing?" Cheng Yunyu asked him.
"Post the couplet, it will be offered to the ancestors soon. I will go and do some work first and chat in the evening." He sent this sentence and then sent an emoticon to express his love.
Cheng Yunyu didn't disturb him again.
The other end.
After Ji Huai sent her the message, he put the phone aside and continued to brush the dust with the long broom. His head was covered with cobwebs and he was blinded by dust. He almost choked. He walked out and took several breaths.
In front of him was an old house, the Incense House.
The Ji family has three houses. In the early years when Grandpa Ji was still here, he helped Uncle Ji and Uncle Ji build new houses with money and effort.
Ji's father had run away from debt a long time ago, so Ji's family naturally ignored him. Everyone lived in a new house, and because Ji's father was the eldest, he inherited this incense house, and he has lived here ever since.
The Incense House has been built for fifty or sixty years, and the wooden piles on the roof are also crumbling with insects. The thresholds, windows and doors are all made of wood, and they are also pitted with insects.
If he doesn't come back, no one will come to this room. The ground is covered with thick dust, and the ancestors will be worshiped in the evening. Grandma Ji asks him to clean it quickly.
She was afraid that he wouldn't be able to finish cleaning, so she came to help, but she was more urging him.
The eldest son ran away due to debts, and the remaining son had no future and attended a junior high school. The second son married a teacher, and the younger son knew some crafts.
Uncle Ji Er gave birth to a son, who is in the third grade of junior high school this year and is said to have done well. Uncle Ji gave birth to a son and a daughter. The daughter is a sophomore and the son is entering high school this year.
He is the only one in the family who is a scumbag and a gangster. He has no father or mother, and he often receives pitiful looks from others.
Fortunately, he was shameless and optimistic, and he was busy cleaning all the way, saying hello to a few people, and taking out the table dedicated to ancestors and cleaning it.
Aunt Ji used her teacher's quota to get an apartment in the city two years ago. After the renovation, the family moved to the city and her energy was completely different.
The ancestors had to prepare a large table of dishes. My cousins were all scholars, so naturally they didn't know how to cook. They all wore glasses and were incompatible with Ji Huai. He was busy cooking twelve dishes with Grandma Ji. The dishes were brought to the incense house and placed on the table.
After setting it up, Uncle Ji wanted to pour the wine and light the incense, but Ji Huai was one step ahead of him and had already started.
He took a lighter, lit candles and incense, and poured wine for his ancestors. Uncle Ji and Uncle Ji looked at the rotten wooden beams of the Incense House and said, "The wood in the past was good, it was all good wood. This house has been built for decades without any problems, and people can still live in it." "
"I can definitely live here. I can live here for another twenty or thirty years, no problem."
…
The two of them were talking, and Aunt Ji smiled and said to Ji Huai, who was folding paper money next to her: "Don't listen to them. If you were rich, you would have pushed down the heavy cover. It will collapse in twenty or thirty years."
"How can I have the money to cover it?" Ji Huai smiled and continued to fold the paper money, "There's nothing I can do if it collapses."
"It still needs to be built if it collapses." Aunt Ji also answered, "How else will you marry a wife in the future? It won't collapse for a while."
"Everyone is renting a house now, but if it's not possible, they'll rent a house outside." Uncle Ji said.
"Whether it's renting a house, it only costs a few hundred yuan a month, and there are a lot of people renting out their houses now." Aunt Ji said, referring to their school, "Many people rent, but renting doesn't have the peace of mind of buying a house. Step by step .”
Although they said this, they all knew that Ji Huai would not be very promising, so they chatted with him with the intention of joking, but they looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts.
In the past, they relied on Grandpa Ji for help, so they built a new house. Now Ji Huai has no education or ability, his father has run away, and his mother is married as a stepmother. This life is actually ruined. If he still wants to build a house, he is afraid that he will have to save half his life's money. .
"Step by step." Ji Huai nodded and continued to work, burning paper money, adding incense and pouring wine, and bowing to worship his ancestors.
Everyone praised him for being "sensible", and secretly said that their children were nerds, too quiet or too shy, and they only knew how to read.
Grandma Ji looked down on Ji Huai, who dropped out of junior high school, and said in a deep voice: "It's a good thing he cut off his hair, otherwise he would look like a gangster and not a decent person. He just needs to work hard and don't eat and drink like his dad." Just prostitution and gambling."
The eldest son is not as promising as the other two sons, and Ji Huai has few other grandchildren who can study. She has long since ignored him. Grandpa Ji left some money before his death, and she secretly gave it to her other two sons. Among them, Uncle Ji took a lot when he bought a house.
Uncle Ji felt that the atmosphere was awkward, so he took out a cigarette and gave it to Ji Huai. It was still soft Chinese. He usually smokes cigarettes that cost ten yuan a pack. Isn’t he going home to celebrate the New Year? Full of face.
Ji Huai had quit smoking a long time ago, but he didn't refuse. He handed it to his ear and continued to fold paper money. Several people looked at his skillful movements and sighed with pity.
When it was almost done, Ji Huai took the stove, put the paper money in it and started burning it.
By burning it and worshiping, and then pouring wine, you have finished serving the ancestors. When the ancestors are full, it is their turn to eat.
The whole family gathered around for the New Year's Eve dinner, and his cousins had nothing to talk to. They felt that he had not read much. Unlike them, Ji Huai had long been used to it.
He has set up a stall to earn a living, and he is thicker-skinned than anyone else.
Aunt Ji Er asked him: "You have been working for so long, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Yes." Ji Huai didn't hide it.
Hearing this, Aunt Ji was also a little surprised. She looked at her son next to her and asked Ji Huai, "It seems like we're getting married soon, right? I'm going to take my wife home."
"If you don't study, get married early and have children. Otherwise, what else can you do?" Grandma Ji said.
Ji Huai also nodded in agreement: "We want to get married next year."
"It's better to get married early, start a family of your own, and then have a child, and you will be responsible." Several people said this, shaking their heads inwardly.
After the dinner was over, they left separately, and when they arrived at the bungalow where they lived, Ji Huai naturally became a negative example for them in educating their children.
People who don't study have left society early. Wouldn't they just find a woman like him, get married and have children
Uncle Ji's eldest daughter is called Ji Xue. She was in the same high school as Ji Huai. After returning to the room, she also said: "What kind of good woman can marry him? She must be a little girl who doesn't study in her teens. She can What’s the point? It’s not a good thing anyway.”
Her tone was very disdainful, and Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji didn't refute, so they acquiesced.
evening.
Ji Huai didn't go back to the house and climbed to the hillside to watch the fireworks.
Today is New Year's Eve, and people will set off fireworks from time to time. Cheng Yunyu is chatting with him on the phone. She heard that his cousins are good at studying. She said with envy: "It's really good."
"I used to be very good at reading." Ji Huai snorted and said.
"Are you good at studying? You are the last in the class." She laughed at him.
Ji Huai was dissatisfied and retorted: "I went to the city to study in kindergarten. At that time, I went to a bilingual kindergarten. Do you know what a bilingual kindergarten is? English is taught in kindergarten! There is only one kindergarten in the city, and my grades are better than theirs. much better."
"Are you so powerful?" Cheng Yunyu did not pursue the question, for fear of touching his sadness.
Ji Huai didn't care: "My dad made a bet, otherwise I might not have to build a house by myself. But it doesn't matter. You can make money quickly by building a house. It's all a trivial matter." After he finished speaking, he added, "Tomorrow I went back."
Cheng Yunyu: "Are you going back so soon?"
Ji Huai: "You stay at home for a few more days. I have nothing to do here, so what are you doing? I'll go back and wait for you."
…
The Ji family did not expect that Ji Huai would leave on the first day of the new year, but no one cared about him.
Ji Huai was not idle when he returned. He went to the store to tidy up and opened the door to sell rice noodles on the morning of the second day of the lunar new year. He guards the store alone, from morning to noon, and then into the evening. There is not much traffic, but it is just enough for him to be busy and earn two to three hundred a day.
Cheng Yunyu only came here in the fourth year of junior high school. I heard that he came to the store on the first day of junior high school. I was heartbroken.
Before she came, she bought three sets of clothes for him, all from specialty stores, and she was not lenient at all when paying the bill. He used to be very fashionable in his clothes. He would cut his bangs every now and then, and he was very narcissistic.
Ji Huai said she spent money recklessly, and said, "Just buy it for yourself. If you can't return it, just use it and change it for yourself. I wear chef uniforms all day long, how can I have time to wear new clothes?"
Cheng Yunyu: "I want to buy it for you, and I want to keep it. I also bought shoes. You can't wear them with clothes. Can you take care of the shoes?"
"So caring?" Ji Huai was making sauce, smiling and waving to her, "Come and give her a kiss."
Someone looked around and walked towards him with small steps, with a smile in his eyes.
Ji Huai circled the person over, lowered his head and kissed her pink lips, then pecked her: "Are you happy going home?"
"I'm so happy. I ate three chickens." She frowned, "I've been buying ribs and fish in the past few mornings. My mother said that I may have eaten, but I still have to eat meat."
"Isn't it good to eat meat?" He raised the corners of his lips, tucked her hanging hair behind her ears, and pinched her fleshy cheeks.
Cheng Yunyu: "I want to eat beef. My mother bought it for me on the first day, but not on the second day."
Ji Huai: "Why?"
Cheng Yunyu imitated Cheng's mother's tone: "What kind of family are we? Such expensive meat is just enough to satisfy your craving. Do you still want to eat it every day?"
She couldn't pay for it herself, so she was taken away abruptly.
He laughed softly: "I still have it in the refrigerator, I'll make it later."
She held his arm: "Well, I want to eat a few more meals."
Ji Huai nodded and answered cheerfully: "Okay, eat more meals."
…
The shop continued to operate, and people nearby also returned from their hometowns, making the shop gradually lively.
Their business is very stable, and their income is also very stable, which is around one thousand every day. Excluding costs, they don't earn much. Cheng Yunyu is a little anxious, and Ji Huai comforts her every time: "Just wait until school starts."
It’s not about how many students it can sell to, but the flow of people.
In a blink of an eye, school started.
Sure enough, as Ji Huai said, as soon as the students started school, the business in the store immediately surged. Every time after school, students would line up in a long queue. Due to lack of manpower, he found a small worker to cook rice noodles while he was cooking rice noodles. Grill the BBQ.
Grilling and grilling requires certain skills, otherwise it will become scorched and not tasty enough. Cooking noodles is not difficult, just cook them thoroughly, and the soup and sauce meat are all prepared.
"Bake ten more chicken feet."
"Ten chicken wings."
"Five chicken wings."
"Eight duck feet and eight duck chins"
…
…
Customers kept placing orders, and Ji Huai held more than a dozen skewers of meat in his left and right hands, flipping them skillfully on the grill, and occasionally quickly applying the sauce with a brush.
Soon, the reputation of their small shop spread. More and more people knew about this small shop and came here to eat. Even if students are not out of school or on weekends, their small shop is always packed with people.
Especially at night, there are no empty tables and several tables are placed outside.
Late at night, after closing time.
Cheng Yunyu was doing the accounting and counted today's turnover. She confirmed it again and couldn't help but exclaimed. She hugged his neck excitedly and shook her: "We may have made three thousand yuan tonight!"
Three thousand yuan.
Money they could only earn in a month before!
Ji Huai was calmer than her and hugged her back: "If we save for another half month, we will go back to build a house and save money to get married."