Return to the 1982 Staff Compound

Chapter 88 Bamboo Chair

The eldest sister opened the screen door and saw the malted milk on the table. She looked at the youngest sister and said, "I found it."

"So fast?" The younger sister quickly squeezed in, was startled, and then jumped up, "Brother, did you buy it?"

"Who else but me? Try it and see if it tastes good."

The eldest sister hesitated, "Should we wait for mom to come back?"

"Don't worry, I have opened it. There is a spoon inside. Just drink as much as you want." Qiu Huoming continued to squat down and serve his precious car.

After a while, the eldest sister went into the kitchen and made two cups of milk. A strong milky aroma quickly spread.

The little sister endured the heat and took a sip, "It's delicious."

The eldest sister was restrained. She put the cup aside, bent down, turned on the stove, and replaced the waste carbon from the morning.

Qiu Huoming finished wiping the car, went into the inner room, took out the oiling nozzle, rolled the chain and sprayed it evenly, then straightened up. The car was reborn and looked shiny and glossy.

Chen Suniang then appeared at the entrance of the alley, carrying a basket of vegetables.

Qiu Huoming took a few steps forward and took the basket from her hand.

"Let's make dumplings today." Chen Suniang walked into the house with a smile, and then walked out, "Who brought this malted milk?"

Qiu Huoming put down the basket in the kitchen and said, "I bought it. I really want to drink it."

"Well, drink it then. There are a few grains spilled on the table. We can't waste them." She muttered to herself and went back into the house. After a while, she came out wearing an apron.

The eldest sister held the cup to her lips and said, "Mom, the temperature is just right, take a sip."

Chen Suniang smelled the fragrance and subconsciously took a sip.

"Is it delicious?" The eldest sister looked at her expectantly.

"It's not like I haven't tried it before." Chen Suniang had just finished saying this when she felt that she had dampened her daughter's enthusiasm, so she changed her words and said, "It's really delicious, better than the last time I drank it."

"Puchi" the eldest sister covered her mouth and laughed, "Mom, then leave this cup here for you to drink, I'll go get another one."

"Leave it there. When you scoop it out, don't spill it on the table. Be careful..."

"Don't worry, there won't be a single grain left."

Qiu Huoming pushed the car into the living room and saw his little sister lying on the table, picking up the malted milk sprinkled on the table with her fingers and putting them into her mouth one by one.

Qiu Huoming:...

Without saying anything, he directly pulled her to wash her hands.

Chen Suniang was very efficient. It didn't take long for her to make plump dumplings, which were neatly arranged on the flour-sprinkled table.

Qiu Jianshe returned home just as the dumplings were being cooked.

Chen Suniang smiled and said, "You are the one who is blessed with good food."

Qiu Jianshe smiled happily and quickly went into the house and put down his handbag.

Then he walked to the kitchen door and poked his head out to tell Chen Suniang, "I called Hongling this morning. She said she would be back on Saturday afternoon and I could stay until next Tuesday."

"That's great. We should bring more things back to her this time. What time did you say?"

Qiu Jianshe shook his head. "No, there is only one bus in the afternoon. Let Huo Ming ride his bike to wait for it..."

Qiu Huoming shouted in the living room, "Okay, I'll go answer it."

After eating dumplings at noon, Qiu Huoming was so full that he walked to Ding Yu's house. Before he even entered the house, he heard Ding Yu bragging to his mother in the yard, "The test paper is not difficult, I know all the questions..."

His brother's voice rang out from not far away, "Yes, you can brag about every question, so you'd better pack up and come back to work early..."

The two people immediately started arguing, and Ding's mother laughed and said, "He only boasted about one skill, why don't you let him finish his words?"

Qiu Huoming stood at the gate of the yard and shouted, "Ding Yu!"

Ding Yu immediately pulled himself away from the verbal battle and responded, "Huozi, wait a moment, I'm coming out."

"Huo Ming is here, come in and sit down." Ding's mother walked out from the living room.

"Mom, we still have things to do. You can be polite to him later." Ding Yu rushed to the bicycle, kicked open the rear stand, pushed the bicycle and walked out.

"Auntie, I'll go first." Qiu Huoming greeted Ding's mother while standing at the entrance of the yard.

"You can't fall into the water while rowing! Behave yourself..." Ding's mother's voice floated over.

"Don't worry, there will be a girl here..." As soon as Ding Yu finished speaking, he realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and started yelling, "The wind is blowing, Huozi, hurry up."

The two men fled on their bikes. Ding's mother chased them to the door and looked at their backs, "Ride slower..." She didn't know if they heard her or not. She touched her forehead and suddenly felt a few more wrinkles. Raising a son is so energy-consuming, but she gave birth to two sons in succession, but the daughter she dreamed of did not come.

Qiu Huoming sat in the back seat of Ding Yu's car with a helpless look on his face. He was afraid that he would lose points in the eyes of Ding's mother this time.

"Let's go find Gu Xiaoran first." Ding Yu suggested.

"I'm OK."

"Huozi, let me give you the car to ride." Ding Yu stepped on the brake, and the car stopped with a "squeak".

"Hey, there are a lot of people over there, I'm a little scared to ride a bike with one person."

Qiu Huoming patted his shoulder and held the handlebars, "You've gained all this fat for nothing!"

When they arrived at Gu Xiaoran's house, the yard was closed. Qiu Huoming stopped the car, walked quickly forward and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Me, Qiu Huoming and Ding Yu."

The wooden door opened with a creaky sound. Gu Xiaoran was wearing a smart shirt and trousers with his cuffs rolled up and work gloves on his hands. He seemed to be working. A small area in the yard had been cleared.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead.

Ding Yu poked his head out from behind Qiu Huoming and said, "Want to go boating? I'll treat you, and I'll invite Li Ming along."

"Now?" Gu Xiaoran looked back at the yard. "I just happened to be in the mood to clean the yard. Why don't you guys go? I'd better get the job done in one go."

"Cleaning the yard is easy. Let's do it together. I'm the one who usually cleans my yard." Ding Yu said bluntly.

Qiu Huoming thought to himself that he might not be able to change his bragging skills.

"That's so sorry." Gu Xiaoran said with a slightly red face.

"What are you sorry for? A man should do his job, right Huozi?"

Qiu Huoming nodded with difficulty.

Gu Xiaoran made way for the door and said, "Well, come in. There are too many things and I'm afraid you will have to throw away a lot of garbage."

Qiu Huoming looked at his new clothes and then at the miscellaneous items in the yard.

He glared at Ding Yu sadly and had to follow him into the yard.

Qiu Huoming was in the yard. He looked down and saw the broken bamboo chair in the corner. He walked over. In the past, he always looked at this side from the top of the wall, but now he stood where the grandmother with glasses was sitting and looked up.

The light is against that place now, so you need to squint to see it clearly.

He picked up the bamboo chair and took a look. The main parts of the bamboo were all fine, only the connecting brown rope was broken. If there was a brown rope available, it could be repaired.

"Do you have this kind of rope here?" Qiu Huoming asked, pointing at the remaining rope on the chair.

Gu Xiaoran straightened up and took a look. "Yes, my grandma used this rope to tie the grape vines."

She went into the inner room and came out after a while with several circles of such brown ropes hanging in her hands.

There were scissors in the yard, and Qiu Huoming squatted on the ground and began to repair the bamboo chair.

Ding Yu was already working enthusiastically, and he went wherever Gu Xiaoran pointed. In a short while, he cleared out many abandoned flower pots and dead plants.

An hour later, Qiu Huoming placed the repaired bamboo chair on the ground and shook it left and right.

"Okay." Qiu Huoming didn't know why, but he was particularly happy at this moment.