The most distinctive part of this small courtyard in the slum is not the rare quietness, but the rare cleanliness. The equally simple courtyard door is mottled, but there are no mud spots and footprints that are common in this block. Xu Le quickly stretched out. A palm, blocking the courtyard door that was about to be closed, looked at the aunt who was wiping sweat with a towel in the courtyard, and shouted excitedly, "Aunt, I'm back."
When Aunt Susan heard the voice behind her, she was a little puzzled, thinking that she was really old, otherwise how could she have heard the royal pronunciation that she only had the chance to hear when she was a child, she laughed at herself and turned her hands yellow. He threw the towel into the wooden basin beside the machine well, subconsciously looked back, his body stiffened in place, his broad palm rested on his sturdy waist, and he forgot to remove it.
After an unknown length of silence, Aunt Susan finally recognized the face in the shadow of the square hat. She screamed in shock, covered her mouth in disbelief, then opened her arms and walked quickly. Walking to Xu Le, he hugged him and hugged him hard.
The aunt beat him hard on the back, as if she was blaming him for his sudden disappearance, and she also seemed to want to call him the original serious injury number and put him back in the attic to keep him in the attic, lest he suddenly disappear again, no matter what. How hard was she beating, Xu Le just hugged her tightly, her face resting on her fleshy shoulders, showing a happy and happy smile.
At the entrance of the small courtyard, Zhong Yanhua's mouth was wide open. Looking at the scene in front of him in surprise, he vaguely guessed who this chubby woman was, but he still couldn't adapt to his seemingly omnipotent brother. Would snuggle up to such an ordinary woman like a child.
Hugs and rude beatings were not enough to express Aunt Susan's surprise at the sudden reunion. She held Xu Le's face and looked at him seriously, trying to see what injuries and hardships he had suffered over the years. His lips kept moving, expressing his concern in a vague hometown dialect, and then he kissed him hard on the cheek.
Xu Le also gave her a fierce kiss on the forehead.
Because of this kiss, Aunt Susan seemed to remember something, and her face suddenly became extremely nervous. She twisted her bloated body and rushed to the door like a hurricane. Like a lioness protecting her calf, she watched vigilantly. In the alley outside the gate of Liangyan Courtyard, I noticed that no one passed by.
After closing the door tightly and inserting the iron rod, she really relaxed, slapped her chest like a drum, looked back at Xu Le's face, rubbed her rough fingers, and asked in a rough voice, "Little guy, you Is it an exiled noble or a Commonwealth?"
After a pause, Aunt Susan tried her best to make her expression look as vicious as possible. She put her right hand on her waist and threatened in a low voice, "If you are a federal citizen, leave immediately, or maybe I will call the police later."
Xu Le knew this kind aunt too well, smiled nonchalantly, shrugged and said, "Aunt, of course I'm not from the Federation. Uh, this is my sister."
He pulled out the clock firework who was still in a semi-sluggish state behind him.
Aunt Susan looked at this beautiful and lovely girl, and for some reason, she nodded with satisfaction, then slapped Xu Le on the back of the head and said, "Why are you still standing there, bring the little girl in for tea."
Two cups of weak tea, steaming hot, and the room was very warm. Aunt Susan naturally cared about where he went and what he did over the years, but Xu Le found that he couldn't answer this question at all, and couldn't help feeling a little ashamed.
His eyes drifted a little because he was ashamed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that there was only a pair of chopsticks in the leftover dish caged by a gauze umbrella on the small table. He asked in confusion, "Where's Paul? He should have graduated from No. 2 University the year before last. Now, in which department do you work now, don't you usually come back to accompany you?"
Aunt Susan took out a plate of nuts from the cabinet and pushed it kindly in front of Zhong Fireworks. She looked back at Xu Le and explained, "Paul has gone to the front line. Speaking of which, this is really a troublesome thing, and it is also a very annoying thing for me. The proud thing is that the salary is good now, but the child has sent back two-thirds of the monthly allowance, and I am a little worried that he will not be able to eat enough on the front line."
That kind and warm-blooded young man from the Empire, as he feared back then, embarked on a battlefield full of death and slaughter, Xu Le couldn't help but feel a little gloomy, forced a smile, and said to Aunt Susan: "The troops cost very little, Don't worry about these issues."
Aunt Susan looked at him with a smile and said, "Knowing that you are still alive, I have fewer things to worry about. How many days do you have to stay this time to make it inconvenient?"
"I'll stay a little longer." Xu Le replied with a smile, without saying any polite words to trouble the other party. In this small courtyard, any politeness towards a fat woman is unforgivable hypocrisy. How is your business? Have you hired a few more people?"
During this time, Xu Le confirmed that Aunt Susan's life was good these years, at least much better than the poorest days, and there was even a TV in the room.
"The business is getting worse and worse. Those high-definition players you made were all copied by those damned guys. Paul and I don't have the skills you have." Aunt Susan sighed and said: "Fortunately, Paul now has a high allowance. , he asked me to turn the stall directly, but I was still a little reluctant."
Xu Le mentioned the parts he bought at the hardware store, looked at his aunt and said with a smile, "It's okay, since I'm back, I'll design a few more 3D players, weld some physical codes, and let those guys eat shit."
Aunt Susan clapped her palms, laughed loudly, and said in a rough voice: "Of course it's good, you are a man of merit, say, what do you want to eat today, and now the days are better, I changed a large refrigerator, and there is still If you have beef, do you want steak?"
"I just want to eat chowder, I will never forget the taste." Xu Le said with a smile.
"it is good."
Aunt Susan quickly put on an oversized apron, rubbed her hands on the greasy front, and picked up the kitchen knife to go out to the hospital to slaughter chickens.
Seeing the stout figure disappearing into the doorway, Zhong Huanhua, who had not spoken, turned around and looked at Xu Le like a monster, spread his hands and shrugged cutely, and asked in disbelief, "The most powerful man in the universe. Engineer, assembling pirated high-definition players in the Empire?"
Xu Le stood up and walked into the courtyard, preparing to help Aunt Susan, and after hearing this, he replied with a smile, "Don't look down on this job, the whole year's expenses in this small courtyard come from that. "
The white porridge in the cauldron exudes a simple and charming fragrance along with the hot mist. The tender and fresh green vegetables are cut into pieces by a sharp kitchen knife, mixed with bloody black feather chicken pieces and a few small red oranges. Throw it into the porridge to boil, add a spoonful of spice, and the steaming pot of chowder does most of the work, just add some chopped green onion later.
Aunt Susan rejected Xu Le's idea of helping, and solved all the affairs swiftly. After putting the lid on, she clapped her hands happily, turned her head and asked Xu Le: "That little girl is very beautiful, but she looks young at her age. Come on, when are you going to have a baby?"
At this time, Xu Le was leaning against the door, looking around at the once-familiar kitchen, his chest and abdomen were full of warm and relaxed emotions, he suddenly heard this question, stood up nervously, and explained, "Don't get me wrong. , she's really my sister."
"I'm not blind." Aunt Susan glared at him angrily and said, "How can you have such a beautiful sister."
Xu Le was speechless, wondering if this is the only way to judge whether they are related by blood. If the aunt saw Huaicao Shi and Jian Shui'er, she would definitely not think they were sisters.
Aunt Susan pinched a fresh green onion with water droplets and was about to cut it, but her hand holding the kitchen knife slowed down. After a moment of silence, she sighed and said, "You promised me and Paul back then that you would definitely do it when you left. Tell us, where did you think that you disappeared so quietly, and it took so many years to disappear."
Xu Le looked at the back of the aunt next to Guotai, and watched her raising her arms to wipe her tears. Her heart was also a little sad, and she explained in a low voice, "The situation was so tense at the time, I really didn't have time to come back and talk about it."
Aunt Susan turned around, looked at him worriedly, and asked, "Is it related to the army's entry into the city that day? The blocks around the white yard were all leveled."
"Yes."
Xu Le didn't want to hide anything at all, and answered honestly, "I was in the white yard at the time."
"Paul insisted that it had nothing to do with you, but I knew at the time that you must be in that yard." Aunt Susan put down the kitchen knife, stepped forward, rubbed Xu Le's head, and said, "You must know , we are really worried about you."
Xu Leqiang smiled to himself and said, "It's alright, don't worry."
"Are you okay?" Aunt Susan reprimanded in a low voice, "Do you know that even Her Royal Highness the Princess came to this yard later. Although there are other things, I know that she must be looking for you too."
Xu Le smiled, took Aunt Susan's hand, and said, "It's all right, Her Royal Highness... I'm quite familiar with me now."
Aunt Susan was stunned for a while, but she woke up immediately, took a sip, then poked his forehead heavily, and laughed, "This guy has learned to lie and brag now."
Xu Le covered his aching forehead and said sadly, "This is the truth."
"Although Her Royal Highness is a good person, she is a high-ranking noble. You can't make fun of her in the future."
Aunt Susan said seriously: "After she came to the small courtyard, the guys from the Sheriff's Department dared not accept my money again, and she never allowed Paul to join the army and go to the front line. Until last year, Paul went to the army to make trouble many times. , I secretly went to the troops while His Highness was not in Tianjingxing."
Xu Le's brows wrinkled slightly, not because of pain, but because of doubts. Is Huaicaoshi taking care of Aunt and Paul like this because of her own reasons, or is there some other reason
Aunt Susan sighed with emotion and answered his question.