man and boy

Chapter 09

Chen Yang went into the room to look for Yan Qi, and was surprised to find that Yan Qi was lying on his side on the bed hugging the quilt, curled up in a ball and fell asleep.

Chen Yang bent down to cover him with the quilt, only to find that his face was stained with tears and his eyelashes were still wet.

Yan Qi woke up after sleeping for a while, opened his eyes and saw Chen Yang sitting on the head of the bed, reading a book with his head down.

"Brother..." Yan Qi slowly got up, hugged Chen Yang's waist, and put his face on his back.

Chen Yang put down the book, turned around and picked him up, and said, "Why are you crying?"

Yan Qi lowered his head and said nothing.

"You don't want your brother to go out to work?"

Yan Qi raised his head quickly, his eyes completely betrayed his hidden thoughts.

Chen Yang patted his head and said, "Brother can earn more money when he goes out to work, and he can buy you a lot of things."

Yan Qi shook his head vigorously and said, "I want to be with my brother, even if I don't have any delicious food or buy new clothes, I still feel very happy."

In Yan Qi's heart, the fear of being alone with Zhao Juan far outweighs the anxiety of not having enough to eat.

Chen Yang looked at Yan Qi's face, his big black and white eyes were full of fear, as if as long as he said that he would go out to make money alone, there would be no sparkle in these eyes.

Chen Yang sighed and said, "Brother will take you out together."

Yan Qi opened his eyes wide and looked at Chen Yang in disbelief.

"Really, brother won't lie to you." In fact, Chen Yang had this idea in his heart when the relative proposed to take him out to work.Although it would be inconvenient to take Yan Qi with him, Chen Yang was a little uneasy leaving Yan Qi at home.

He thought of Zhao Juan beating Yan Qi with a wooden stick when he came back that day.

Yan Qi became happy, and Chen Yang said: "But going out with me will be very bitter, the food on the construction site is clear soup and white water, and at night you have to sleep in a room crowded with others, the room is very small, maybe there is no window. "

"I'm not afraid. As long as I'm with my brother, no matter how hard it is." Yan Qi grinned and said, "Brother, I can also help you with work."

Chen Yang smiled, the construction site was full of tiring work, and Yan Qi was too young to do anything except pick up some scraps.

The New Year's Day is coming soon.

Chinese New Year is the happiest day of the year. Even in a remote mountain village like Chenjia Village, the village is full of joy on Chinese New Year's Day.

Every family stew meat and fish, and spend the rare squandering of the year on this day.

On the day of Chinese New Year, Yan Qi likes to eat two dishes the most.

One is rice cake stew.Cut the rice cake into large pieces, cut a piece of rice cake into five sections, put the meat in the pot until half cooked, put it in the pot, add a few shiitake mushrooms and a few slices of dried winter bamboo shoots to enhance the flavor, the aroma is overflowing when it comes out of the pot, the rice cake Soft and chewy, delicious.

Another dish is taro dumplings.Boil the taro with skin, remove the skin while it is hot, and form a ball with sweet potato powder, roll it into a dumpling skin with a rolling pin, wrap it with celery meat stuffing, when you eat it, the dumpling skin is soft and slippery, more than usual Dumplings made with flour are delicious.

Zhao Juan was stewing meat, and Chen Yang called Yan Qi over to post Spring Festival couplets together.

Chen Yang wrote the Spring Festival couplets himself on red paper, and asked Yan Qi to see if they were posted crookedly.

"Brother, the one from above has to come a little to the right." Yan Qi raised his head and opened his eyes wide, trying to face the direction, for fear that he would call the left and right wrong.

It took the two of them half an hour to put up a room full of Spring Festival couplets.

"Clear the table and prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner." Every New Year's Eve in the village, the New Year's Eve dinner starts early in the evening.

Now at four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhao Juan came out to ask the two to clear the table, and then brought out one dish after another.

There are six dishes in total, plus a plate of dumplings and a plate of glutinous rice balls, eight dishes, it is the most sumptuous dinner of the year.

Yan Qi looked at the steaming rice cake stew in the middle of the table, and licked his mouth. Chen Yang gave him a piece of rice cake, and Yan Qi stuttered happily.

It's delicious, the rice cakes made at home are particularly chewy, with the fragrance of mushrooms and bamboo shoots and the fat of the meat, Yan Qi squinted his eyes comfortably.

Chen Yang brewed a pot of homemade rice wine, poured a glass for Zhao Juan and himself, and said to Zhao Juan, "Mom, I would like to offer you a glass. I hope we will have a better life in the coming year."

Thinking of Chen Shibin, Zhao Juan felt a little uncomfortable. When she heard Chen Yang's words, her eye circles became a little hot, and she said, "Yes, it will get better and better. Your father will also pray for us."

Yan Qi was still young and couldn't drink rice wine, but he was greedy for the rice wine in Chen Yang's cup and looked at it longingly.

Chen Yang had no choice but to pour some for him, and added some warm water to dilute it.Yan Qi took a sip, it was sweet, he took a peek at Zhao Juan, saw that she was calm today and there was no look of impatience in her eyes, Yan Qi plucked up the courage to hold up the cup, and shouted timidly: "Zhao Juan Aunt……"

Perhaps it was the festive day of Chinese New Year, Zhao Juan even liked Yan Qi a bit, and even raised her hand to touch Yan Qi's head, then put a chicken leg in his bowl.

Yan Qi had always been afraid of Zhao Juan. Seeing her treating him so kindly, he became more courageous. He stretched out his hand to hold a piece of rice cake for Zhao Juan, looked at her with bright eyes, and said, "Aunt Zhao, you The rice cakes are delicious."

Seeing his expectant look, Zhao Juan suddenly felt a sense of warmth in her heart. She looked up, just in time to see Chen Yang also had an expectant expression on his face. Suddenly, Zhao Juan's love for Yan Qi The disgust just faded away.

On this day of family reunion, although their family lacked the most important role, the existence of Yan Qi, in a sense, filled another role.

In the past six months, Yan Qi has been working hard to learn how to do things to please her. When he first came to their house, Yan Qi had to wear clothes for a long time, but now, washing clothes, carrying water, washing dishes, picking up rags Selling money... Yan Qi almost helped her share half of the housework.

"Mom, we are a family." Chen Yang said in a timely manner.

Zhao Juan felt a soreness in her throat, yes, if such a small child grew up in their parents, when he grows up, he will be another son.

Thinking of this, Zhao Juan looked at Yan Qi with a gentler look.

During this New Year's Eve dinner, Yan Qi and the others finally felt the warmth that this family hadn't seen for a long time.

That night, according to the custom in the village, there was a night watch. Children wandered around the village in small groups, while adults dropped in to play cards and mahjong. At midnight, the village was still very lively.

When the clock struck zero o'clock, the first sound of firecrackers sounded in the village, and then the fireworks shot into the air, flashing colorful colors.

Every household began to light firecrackers and fireworks to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

Chen Yang took out the firecrackers and fireworks that he bought at home. They didn't buy many fireworks, but they finally had one.

Yan Qi crouched behind Chen Yang. He really wanted to light the firecrackers, but Chen Yang was worried that he would be blown up, so he asked him to hide behind the door.Yan Qi did not follow him, and he must follow behind him, so Chen Yang had no choice but to stop him with one hand to prevent him from jumping out, and light the firecrackers with the other.

"Crack, crack!" With a sound, the firecrackers were ignited, and Chen Yang went to light the fireworks again. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the fireworks were set off, which was extremely beautiful.

Yan Qi's eyes widened excitedly, and he held Chen Yang's hand and jumped up and down.

Seeing his unusually happy appearance, Chen Yang felt relieved and a little sour in his heart.

It's been a long time since he saw Yan Qi's expression of such joy and relaxation. This six-year-old child has been honed by life prematurely into a silence that does not belong to his age.

Chen Yang bent down, picked him up, and walked around the yard a few times.

Yan Qi giggled happily, put his arms around Chen Yang's neck, and said loudly, "Brother, Happy New Year!"

"Happy bride." Chen Yang said with a smile.

In the village, the fireworks went up and down, and the sound of firecrackers continued. Chen Yang carried Yan Qi and walked around the village twice. Seeing Yan Qi's excited eyes sparkling, his emotions were also infected by him.

At this moment, the pressure on his shoulders was also relieved, he and Yan Qi looked up at the gorgeous fireworks in mid-air, and said, "Xiao Qi, please make a New Year's wish."

Yan Qi really closed his eyes and made a wish very involved.

"What wish?" Seeing Yan Qi's serious look, Chen Yang asked jokingly.

"Brother, it won't work if you express your wish." Yan Qi said seriously.

Chen Yang said with a smile: "Share your wishes with your closest relatives. Not only will your wishes not fail, but they will even come true."

Yan Qi blinked, and Chen Yang continued to say: "Brother, tell your brother's wish first, okay?"

Yan Qi nodded vigorously, he also wanted to know what wish Chen Yang had made.

In fact, Chen Yang didn't make a wish. Seeing Yan Qi staring at him with wide eyes, he casually made a wish: "Brother hopes that Xiao Qi and mother can live happily."

Yan Qi blinked slowly, his eyelashes were very long, under the reflection of the fireworks, he could almost see the projection under his eyelashes.

"My wish is that my brother can live a little easier." Yan Qi said.

Chen Yang was taken aback, and said, "Didn't you make a wish for yourself?"

Yan Qi scratched his head and said, "I'm afraid that if I make too many wishes, it won't work. So I only made one wish."

Chen Yang didn't speak for a while.

He looked at the child in front of him, who was only as tall as his waist.The child believed that the wish would come true, but made such an important wish to him.

No to himself, no wish to find his mother.In the heart of this child, he has become the most important person.