Zhou Mingli was very unhappy, and when he was unhappy he would make others feel unhappy as well.
Originally, he didn't agree to go back to the countryside to celebrate the Spring Festival. It was dirty, dilapidated, boring and poor. What was the point of going there
If he had had a little expectation for rural life before, after listening to the complaints of his classmates who had experienced rural life, that little expectation disappeared without a trace and turned into deep contempt and disgust.
"You know what? They wash clothes and vegetables in a small ditch at the door. They wash vegetables downstream, and there are children peeing in the water. When I eat, I dare not touch the food on the plate. When I see those vegetables, I think of those children peeing in the water."
"Their toilets are all outside the yard, without doors. When you're having a good time, someone suddenly breaks in. Once I was almost scared to death and fell into the pit. Yes, you heard it right. Their toilets are just big pits, and the feces inside are piled up and fermented. Maggots will crawl on your shoes."
"What's wrong with that? The meat they eat may have maggots on it. They are reluctant to throw away the meat with maggots. They wash off the maggots and continue to eat it. It's really disgusting."
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Zhou Mingli doesn't want to eat vegetables washed with river water where children have urinated, doesn't want to squat in the toilet where maggots might crawl onto the uppers of shoes, and feels sick when thinking about meat that has maggots on it.
He didn't want to come, and neither did his father. But his mother Fang Yijing insisted that they must go back to their hometown to celebrate the Spring Festival this year, because she hadn't celebrated the Spring Festival in her hometown for many years. His father couldn't insist, so he agreed to his mother's request. He couldn't do it alone, so he had to come back with her.
He thought that since his mother's hometown was next to Yanjing City, how poor could it be
However, the ride was bumpy and the car skidded several times and almost fell into a snow ditch. He was filled with fear and disgust about the place he was going to.
When I arrived at my destination and saw that I had come to a primitive village, I felt that the vegetables soaked in urine and the toilet full of maggots were beckoning me right in front of me, and I could no longer suppress my anger.
He didn't dare to get angry at his parents, but he did say a few harsh and undignified words in front of his poor relatives. They could only listen with frustration and then apologize to him timidly, saying that the conditions were not good and the hospitality was not good and asked them to bear with them. Isn't this the style and behavior that rural people should have
At least that’s what Zhou Mingli thinks.
It is said that children speak without restraint, but this boy's words really made the relatives who came to greet him with smiles feel a little disappointed.
A son does not despise his mother's ugliness, and a son does not despise his family's poverty. Yanziwu is half of Zhou Mingli's hometown, and it is very uncomfortable to be belittled and scolded by him.
Besides, the people of Yanziwu are naturally proud, and they are suspicious and look down on everything outside. When the proud Yanziwu people heard Zhou Mingli describe Yanziwu as a place where "no one lives", some of them looked unhappy.
Lu Wan and her eldest aunt Fang Yixin stood at the front of the crowd to greet them. When they heard Zhou Mingli's words, they couldn't help but pause. The two of them paused, and naturally the others followed suit.
When the atmosphere was awkward, my aunt Fang Yijing came out from the other side of the car and shouted, "Zhou Mingli, how dare you talk like that? This is Yanziwu - it's my mother's home. I was born and raised here, and I think it's great. What are you dissatisfied with?"
Zhou Mingli curled his lips, obviously not agreeing with his mother's point of view, but just didn't want to argue with her.
The door of the passenger seat was opened, and Fang Yijing's husband Zhou Fan opened the door and got out of the car. He glanced at his son and said to his wife, "Forget it. It was just a joke from the child. Don't take it personally. He's a big boy, so you should give him some face in front of others."
Zhou Fan also thought it was a trivial matter. Besides, his son was right. Yanziwu was a deserted place. He had come here for the third or fourth time, but he still couldn't remember the way. Later, when his wife came back, he refused to come here on the pretext of being busy with official business. He really didn't want to come to this place.
Fang Yijing was furious, but she couldn't argue with her husband and son in front of her brother and sister-in-law. Their views were deeply rooted, and she couldn't change them in a short time.
Zhou Fan stood there with a somewhat arrogant attitude, looking at everyone, and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, we came back late-----"
Lu Wan's mood had calmed down, and she said, "It's okay, I'm glad you're back. Everyone is waiting for you to eat."
Then he turned to look at Zhou Mingli and said, "This is fortune telling, right? I was there to hold the baby when it was born, and I went to drink birthday wine when it was one year old - how come it's grown so big in the blink of an eye?"
"Sister-in-law." Fang Yijing came over and took Lu Wan's hand, saying, "I'm sorry. Everyone must have been waiting anxiously, right? After getting off the plane, Zhou Fan said that since we were in Yanjing, we should go visit the leaders. After all, it would be more respectful to pay New Year's greetings before the New Year. My phone ran out of battery again, so I couldn't contact you."
"It's okay." Lu Wan said with a smile. "Just come back safely. I was worried that something happened to you on the way, so I was going to ask Fang Yan to drive to find you."
Fang Yan parked the car and walked over. He took the initiative to greet his aunt and said with a smile, "Aunt, long time no see."
"Fang Yan." The aunt came forward and hugged Fang Yan, saying, "Just now your mother said that this boy grows fast according to fate, won't you grow faster? You can get married now, right? Do you have a girlfriend? If you do, you must bring her home for the New Year. Your aunt will help you check it out."
Fang Yan is the only child of the Fang family and is loved by his three aunts. Fang Yan has a very good relationship with his youngest aunt. His youngest aunt hasn't come back for several years, and he hasn't seen her for a long time. Now he is full of joy.
"Sure." Fang Yan said with a smile. He then greeted Zhou Fan and said, "Uncle, welcome home."
"Yeah." Zhou Fan nodded, stepped forward to shake hands with Fang Yixing, and said, "Is the meal ready? I have to have a few drinks with Big Brother today."
Zhou Fan took the initiative to talk to Fang Yixing, but Fang Hao and Zhao Chengxin who were standing next to Fang Yixing ignored him.
Fang Hao was lucky. He was born in a poor family and was adopted by Mr. Fang as a disciple. Later, he fell in love with his master's eldest daughter Fang Yixin, and then married into the Fang family. Zhao Chengxin was from the Zhao family of Yanziwu. The Zhao family not only had a high status in the inner world, but also had a lot of industries outside. They were naturally arrogant. He took the initiative to come out to greet him, but Zhou Fan treated him as nothing, which naturally made him unhappy.
Fang Yixing pulled Zhou Fan into the yard and said, "It's already ready. We need to have a few drinks today. Fang Hao, Cheng Xin, don't even think about being lazy. You need to keep Zhou Fan company today. It's rare for him to come back."
"Numerology. Come meet your eldest cousin." Fang Yijing pulled Zhou Mingli in front of Fang Yan and said, "This is the cousin Fang Yan I told you about."
Fang Yan stretched out his hand. Zhou Mingli curled his lips and said, "You don't have to be so old-fashioned? You still need to shake hands----"
Fang Yijing slapped Zhou Mingli on the head and said, "Why are you talking to your cousin?"
Fang Yan waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I just have to do this because of the circumstances. In fact, I don't like shaking hands with people all the time -"
After hearing what Fang Yan said, Zhou Mingli finally had a favorable impression of Fang Yan. He looked at Fang Yan and asked, "My mom said that everyone in your family knows martial arts. Is that true?"
"Really." Fang Yan nodded.
Zhou Mingli pointed to a bluestone brick at the door and said, "Can you break it with one palm?"
Fang Yan laughed and said, "That's about right."
"Is this true?" Zhou Mingli's eyes widened and he said, "Chop it for me to see."
Fang Yan refused and said, "Why are you chopping bricks for no reason? You've been traveling all day, go in and eat something first. Are you starving?"
"We've already eaten there." Zhou Mingli said impatiently, "We ate at the Yanjing Hotel. My dad went to pay New Year's greetings to his boss, so we ate at the Yanjing Hotel. Can you really split bricks? You're not kidding, are you?"
"Zhou Mingli-----" Fang Yijing couldn't help but get angry. This bastard kid, how could he say such things that he shouldn't say
She called home in advance and said she would come back in the evening to have dinner with everyone. But after they arrived in Yanjing, her husband had to visit the leader. It is said that it is better to go early than late. After the Spring Festival, the leader is busy and there is no chance to meet. Visiting before the New Year shows respect for the leader and can make the leader remember deeply.
As a wife, she could only show her support for her husband's career advancement. When they arrived at the hotel where they had agreed to meet, her son said he was hungry. She said she would eat after returning home, so her husband took the initiative to order a big meal for his son.
It would be fine if you just ate it, but how would your relatives at home who were waiting for you and starving feel if you shouted it out in public like that
Fang Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, but he didn't want to argue with his aunt's child, so he said, "Why would you lie about this? It's a very common thing. But I think it's really unnecessary - this is a door brick, and you need to use it to cover the door."
For the men of Yanziwu, splitting bricks with one hand is more common than splitting wood with an axe, and it is not something worth showing off at all.
He didn't want to enthusiastically perform brick-breaking just because the child asked him to. When the family met, there must be more important things to do.
Moreover, after waiting for so long, he was really hungry.
"I didn't say anything wrong." Zhou Mingli said to his mother in dissatisfaction. "You praised your family as if they were all martial arts masters, but they don't even dare to break a brick - what kind of Swallow Village is this? Is it a liar village?"
Fang Yan slapped Zhou Mingli on the head and said with a smile: "This child is quite naughty."
thump!
Zhou Mingli lost his balance and fell to the ground. (To be continued)