stay with ghosts

"Chenchen, I'm going to school. When I come back, I'll take you to go skating on the west barrage. Today we have half-day class." Hu Yifei said to his little cousin sitting on the top of the kang, leaning on the door frame with his schoolbag on his back.

"Goodbye, Brother Yifei." The corner of Yichen's lips curled up, and he waved his hands obediently.Two years later, Hu Yichen was already five years old. Compared with when he first came here, Yichen has grown up a lot now, and his complexion is also good, and his small face has become fatter, looking very healthy.

"Let's go, don't be late again." Second Uncle Yichen stretched out his hand to cover Yifei's head and pulled him out, and leaned into his body himself, "Father, I'll go directly to Yifei's grandfather's house later, and Aunt Yifei tomorrow Good day, I'll go to help."

"Go, I'll go there early tomorrow morning. Will your wife take Pangpang with her?"

"Take it away, and tell him to press the bed."

"You can let your daughter-in-law watch over her, don't pee on the new bed."

"That's what I said too. Let's go and have a look, anyway, they have a lot of children."

"Dad, hurry up, I'm going to be late." Yifei yelled loudly outside the window.

"Okay, here we come."

Yichen leaned against the window and blew, exposing a small round hole in the window grille. Through the round hole, he watched his cousin kicking the snow with his feet outside, and the snowflakes got on the black cotton shoes. The second uncle looked at his feet Xue, stepped forward and kicked him lightly, reprimanded him, and stretched out his hand to pat the snow clean.The second uncle's big motorcycle was very big, Yifei climbed on it very happily, and went away with a rumbling sound.

"Chenchen, you will go to your fourth grandfather's place later. Grandpa and your grandma have something to do. There may be no one at home. Your aunt will come back to cook at noon. Let her pick you up then." The old man was thinking about the happy event of his in-laws tomorrow, I have to go to a fair with the old lady.

"I know, Grandpa." Chenchen let out a sigh of relief towards the window, making the ice flakes on the window melt bigger and allowing her to see more clearly.

Hu Siye's family lives in the middle of the east end of the village. There are five big tile-roofed houses and two lower rooms. There is almost an acre of land in the front and back of the yard. As a vegetable field, the other part was dug deep, and more than a dozen big geese were raised in the family.

The tricycle for the market was waiting at the crossing. Grandpa Yichen didn't enter the courtyard. Yichen went in by himself and closed the gate. A few big geese from Mr. Hu's family walked over with their heads held high, and yelled twice. The voice was not loud, more like greeting Yichen. Yichen took his hand out of the cotton glove and reached out to touch each one.

Hu Siye's big geese are famously fierce in the village. He doesn't eat them when he raises them. He raises them to guard the house. A dozen of them go out together at a time. There are no dogs in the village who dare to mess with them. Yichen is very fond of them. Except for a warning on the first day, after that, every time he came over, the goose would have friendly exchanges. Sometimes Yichen would go home by himself and goose would escort him, and he would only return after seeing him enter the house, which was very popular.

The courtyard was quiet, a few big geese greeted each other, then returned to the nest and lay on their stomachs, Yichen carefully opened the door, the old man was sitting cross-legged on the kang in the east room, writing big characters.Yichen didn't make a sound either.Take off the collar of the clothes by yourself.

The fourth old man put down his brush and tilted his head to look at Yichen. The little guy folded his padded jacket obediently.

"Your grandfather sent you here? Why didn't he come in?"

Upon hearing the question, Yichen grinned and said, "Grandpa is in a hurry to go to the market with grandma. The village car is waiting at the crossing."

"Well, by the way, his in-laws have a happy event tomorrow." The fourth grandpa seemed to have heard someone say it.He put away the big characters he had written. He went to a private school when he was a child. Although he didn't learn the Four Books and Five Classics very well, he didn't let go of his calligraphy. He always wrote twice every morning.

"Come on, come over and have a look, do you know what the grandfather wrote?" He said and waved his hands.

Yichen climbed onto the kang and knelt on the other side of the table, the fourth grandpa dropped the rice papers one by one.

Yichen looked at it, pointed to the first word and the last word, "Knowledge. Goodness is like water." Yichen read it carefully.

The fourth grandfather stroked his beard after hearing this, laughed and said, "That's right, you've learned a lot in the past two years."

"This sentence is a sentence in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. The highest kindness is like water, which means that people must have a personality like water." Seeing Yichen's little confused face, the fourth prince smiled, "You don't have to remember too much, you will understand it later. .” Although the child is still young, although he looks smarter than other children of the same age, he still can’t understand too much.

"Today, ten big characters are coming first."

Yichen nodded, and took out his pen, ink, paper and inkstone from the top of the box lid.

After being in touch with Hu Yichen for a period of time, Fourth Master Hu fell in love with this child. Although he is young, he is very stable, can calm down, and is very serious and attentive in doing things. In addition to his gradually revealed special talent, Fourth Master Hu intends to pass on It's just that what he studies is miscellaneous, and it's hard to make a choice at the moment, for fear of teaching the child badly. After all, his methods are no longer applicable in this age.

Fortunately, the child was close to him, so Mr. Hu put some things in the story and told him, so that he could absorb some of them.After a year like this, the kid actually absorbed those things, and then Fourth Master Hu became serious and taught him deeper things.

I taught my father and son all morning, learned how to play chess, and had fun.At noon, Hu Yifei came rushing over with the red scarf still around his neck, probably as soon as he got home.As soon as he entered the yard, the big geese in the yard quacked, and then the door rang, "Chenchen—"

"Every time you come here, you make my place go crazy." Mr. Hu blew his beard and cursed.

"Fourth Lord, there are chickens and dogs in your house." Yifei said with a smile, not afraid of him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll take Chenchen to play."

"What are you playing and haven't eaten yet. I'll leave after dinner."

"My aunt is cooking at home."

"Then you go and tell her to eat here at noon."

"Oh." Hu Yifei responded and ran out again.

"Yesterday, your grandmother's house killed more than a dozen chickens for the New Year. I asked her to stew a chicken at noon. The three of us will eat together." Fourth Master Hu was very excited, even though he was over 80, he was full of energy. Yes, you can eat two bowls of rice for each meal.He has three sons. Originally, the eldest son and his family lived with him, but both his son and his wife died young, leaving two grandsons under his care. One passed the exam and started a family and started a career abroad, and the other young one also had a job in the county.He comes back every weekend on weekends. He is used to living alone and doesn’t go to other sons and grandchildren’s homes. The meals are delivered by several daughters-in-law in turn.

Hu Yichen pursed his lips and smiled, the chicken made by the old lady was delicious, and the little guy was drooling.Help the grandfather to collect the things on the table.

Fourth Master Hu liked Hu Yichen's obedient appearance, and he was destined to be with this child.

Hu Yifei came back very quickly, he didn't take the usual way, he climbed over the courtyard wall at the back, and ran west two doors away.When I came back, I was still holding a large bowl with a lid on it.

Walking from behind, I happened to meet the grandmother who delivered the food, "You boy climbed the wall again. The wall of your grandfather's house will be collapsed by you."

"Hey, grandma."

"What are you holding?"

"My aunt made sauerkraut and stewed big bone sticks. Grandma, you warm it up, it's cold." It's cold for a while, and the big bowl has no temperature.

The old woman went into the room and put down the vegetable bowl from her hand, took the sauerkraut from Yifei's hand, stretched out her hand and knocked on Yifei's forehead, "Next time, don't climb the wall with things. It's a pity to fall."

"Hey - I'm amazing." Yifei didn't care, entered the room with a smile, climbed up the kang and sat on the top of the kang with Yichen, whispering in Yichen's ear.

The old lady is the youngest daughter-in-law of the fourth grandpa, who is not yet 50 years old this year, and is very filial. In fact, the fourth grandpa is respected in the village because the children he raised are all filial, and the brothers are harmonious. Most of the grandchildren have left the mountain village to develop outside.

After listening to her father-in-law's order, the old Naitou also knew that Fourth Master Hu wanted to eat chicken, mainly for the son of Hu Lai's family. She was also very rare about that child. He looked like a doll in a New Year picture, and was cute and cute.

The chicken was stewed early in the morning, and a handful of potato flour was added. I have figured out the child's preferences for more than two years.

As soon as the dishes were served, Hu Yifei picked up a piece of chicken leg and wanted to put it in his mouth, but suddenly stopped and put the chicken leg into Yichen's bowl, "Chenchen, eat it, chicken leg."

"Brother Yifei eat." Yichen said and also picked up a piece of meat for Yifei, he wanted to eat the vermicelli in the chicken even more.Just thinking about the old lady bringing up a small bowl filled with vermicelli and still soaking in soup, "The vermicelli is a bit melted today."

"Thank you grandma. Grandpa, you can eat too." Grandfather's teeth are not very good, so it's just right to eat vermicelli.

Seeing the two great-nephews eating deliciously, Fourth Master Hu felt satisfied, and suddenly remembered that his little great-grandson opened his mouth and asked his little daughter-in-law, "When will our Yimin come back?"

The old woman brought the warm wine to the table, "His parents are busy at work, so it's always around New Year's Eve. It was Hu Yan who called and asked Dad to celebrate the New Year."

"I won't go. It's not interesting to celebrate the New Year in the city. What are you going to do?" Fourth Master Hu vetoed it with his mouth open.

"That's not because your eldest grandson respects you and wants to take dad to see his legs. I heard that the doctor in the capital is good."

Fourth Master Hu stared at him, "It was Xiao San who asked you to say it."

"Your son is worried about you." Compared with the two sister-in-laws above, Fourth Master Hu's old daughter-in-law is more courageous and is not afraid of the old man's stare.

Fourth Master Hu took a sip of his wine, "Call him and ask him to come back, and spend the New Year at home no matter what. As for whether to go to see a doctor, we'll talk about it after the year."

The old lady laughed when she heard that, she knew that the old man agreed.The old man has always been in good spirits, but his leg was injured when he was young, and it has been difficult for him to walk in the past two years.These children all know that Fourth Master Hu is a treasure in the family, and having him at home is like having a Dinghai magic needle, and everything goes well, so they all hope that their old man will live a long life.

After lunch, the two brothers squinted at the Fourth Master's for a while, and when they woke up, Yichen was dragged by Yifei to the west barrage. In the early years, the barrage was quite full of water, and the water level has been getting lower and lower in recent years. This summer, the water level only reaches the calf of the child, so it is estimated that it will be deserted.

However, the low water level is a good thing for children. They go swimming in summer, and the dam is frozen with ice in winter. The big area is smooth and smooth, and it has become a paradise for children.Hu Yichen has been playing on the barrage for two years here.

When the two brothers arrived here, there were already many children, not only children from their village, but also children from nearby villages came to play.

Yifei did not know where to get the ice cart, let Yichen sit on it and he pushed it. Yichen came for two years and became a starlet for two years. The children in and out of the village either secretly watched or They ran to Yifei's side to join in the fun, obviously they all wanted to play with this beautiful child.

Yichen was sitting on the ice cart, and was pushed onto a higher bulge by Yifei, and then Yifei jumped onto the ice cart and hugged Yichen, the ice cart slid down rapidly, ah——Yichen couldn't help shouting , the car bumped into a child skating in front, and the three rolled into a ball immediately.After landing, he laughed.

This kind of activity is not seen in the city. The ice is covered with thin snow, and you will fall if you take two steps.Take two steps and fall.Yichen didn't feel pain, but only felt happy.

A group of children played until after four o'clock in the afternoon, and the children who were far away went home, and Yifei took him back.

When we got home, grandma was cooking in the outside room, watching the two of them come in, "Where did you go to play, your shoes are wet. Come in and get on the kang. Take off your shoes and I'll bake them for you. Yifei, you kid too It’s headless when you play.”

Yifei stuck out his tongue, and dragged Yichen into the room.

Yichen's grandparents live with his second uncle and second aunt. Yichen's eldest aunt, Hu Feng, is married to someone in the street. My younger sister is not married, and is now a primary school teacher. Yichen's third uncle is also married, but the father-in-law A daughter, Grandpa Yichen decided to let the third uncle build a house in a neighboring village to take care of her nearby, not far away.Uncle Yichen is in the third year of high school this year, and he is the best student in the family. If there is no accident, he will be admitted to university next year.

Hu Lai's business is doing well, but he didn't let his brothers in the family work with him. It's not that they have a bad relationship, but mainly because the grandfather doesn't let him. The old man knows that it's not easy for the eldest son to be outside, so the business is so easy?Don't let the whole family get confused, and nothing will be done in the end.Hu Lai bought a big cart for the two younger brothers, and he used to do transportation in the county on weekdays. After the two of them got acquainted with the job and saw the world, he tried to find a way to bring them to the city, so that the second and third brothers also borrowed a lot. The days are booming.

The next day, Yichen and his grandparents went to the banquet at the second aunt's natal house. Marriage in the countryside is also very interesting. Relatives all go to join in the fun, and there are many children, so they have a lot of fun.Yichen also worked as a escort driver and got a red envelope.

Life in the countryside is fresh and interesting, and Yichen is used to this kind of mountain village life.

In the blink of an eye, it was the New Year again, and Hu Lai and Li Wan went home to celebrate the New Year.

On the second day after Hu Lai came back, he took Yichen from door to door.It is good for Hu Laixin to come back this time. On the one hand, his son is cheerful and healthy, and on the other hand, Hu Lai's business has made further progress. It finally has a certain scale, and he can be regarded as the number one person in D City.

"Son, what did your fourth grandfather teach you?" Coming out of the fourth grandfather's courtyard, Hu Lai pulled Yichen up to his neck and asked, holding his son's legs with both hands.

"Write big characters, and draw pictures." The big characters are real, and the pictures are also right, but they are just array diagrams and talismans.

"Oh, my son can write? He's so smart. Tell Dad what reward he wants. Dad will buy it for you."

Yichen hugged his father's head and nodded, "Well, Dad let me think about it."

"Okay, tell Dad when you think it over." Hu Lai was happy, and his son would choose again.

The two fathers passed by Hu Lai's second master's house, and saw the second master standing there leaning on a walking stick at the door.

Hu Lai's grandparents included Hu Erye and Hu Siye, "Second Master, why didn't you stay indoors, it's so cold today." Hu Lai stopped in his tracks.

"What's the cold? It's warm today. I'm basking in the sun."

"Has my second brother come back? I heard that my second brother made a fortune in the south last year, so he should be back."

"Not yet. I called before and said that Laba was coming back. It's already [-] years old and I haven't come back. I guess it's delayed by something. I haven't sent a letter." The second grandpa sighed.

"It's okay, maybe it's snowing and the road is not easy to walk. It has been snowing in the north these days, especially these few days. I drove back because the road was not easy to walk. I waited for a few days. Don't worry." Hu Lai comforted.

"Well, I see. You go back quickly. The child is frozen."

"It's okay, our family is used to the weather here." The man said but walked home.

Yichen, who was sitting on her father's neck, turned her head to look at the Second Grandpa and the faint figure beside him, silent.