Jean Love

"Will sister-in-law do it?" I asked.

"Yes, I've been here for two or three years, and the child can walk and bark. I'm sure she will. She's done well. Let's go." Grandma replied.

I picked up another bean puff, sat down, and slowly gave way, showing no sign of standing up.Grandma began to tell interesting stories about her little niece, saying that her little niece was smart. She said that once she took her little niece to dry rice in the grain drying field. Carrying on the back, step by step, supporting the base of the wall, it is very hard, and the little niece who is not yet two feet old will say on the back: "Grandma, put me down, let me down."

Grandma panted and asked, "What are you doing down here?"

"If you let me down, you won't have to hold on to the wall. I'm so tired." Hearing the thoughtful words of the babbling child, grandma couldn't believe her ears at first, she was stunned for a long time, and after a while, she recovered. He was so moved that he immediately let go of his burden, and kissed his little niece a few times. "My dear grandson." He kept admiring.

I'm also intrigued, this little guy is so smart, no wonder I see every adult likes her so much these days, and she's alive and kicking, especially clingy to my younger brother.However, she doesn't seem to welcome me very much. Maybe I am more serious, and I have never been very good at teasing children.

In the kitchen, the sister-in-law was teasing the little niece, you clapped, I clapped, big hands against small hands, it was a joy.Seeing me coming in, she stopped her movements. The little niece turned her head and called me uncle.

"Uncle will take you to play, okay?" I asked tentatively.

"Okay."

"What are we playing?"

"You take one, I take one. Mom taught me this just now."

"Oh, good." I approached my little niece.The chubby little hands are round and smooth, the chubby face is rosy and fair, the thin orange hair looks like an imported doll, and the big eyes are bright and clear.The upper lip is like an inverted brace, covering the lower lip, exquisite and exquisite.Wearing a floral padded jacket, padded trousers, and a pair of newly bought velvet-colored children's shoes, she is a beauty. The only fly in the ointment is that her nose is a bit flat.

"You lost, you lost, uncle, you lost." The little niece jumped up happily: "I made this move, you want to make that move, and you also made this move, so you lost. Haha."

"Mom, uncle lost. Mom, uncle lost." The little niece ran out of the kitchen and went to the living room to spread the news of her victory.When crossing the threshold, holding on to the door frame with both hands, she was very careful and cute.

"Nian'er, your uncle lost, what should he be punished for?" In the living room, three or four women turned their heads at the same time, looked at the niece, and offered advice.Zhao Xin said to buy candy, grandma said to spank, mother put away the chopsticks in everyone's hands, scraped the basin clean, and stood up: "Ask your uncle to bring these let's make good bean bubbles to cook, and add some water."

The sister-in-law didn't say anything, and opened her arms, welcoming the little niece who rushed in with her arms full.I first fetched warm water to wash their hands, then took a pot full of beans and soaked them into the kitchen. Under the stove and beside the firepit, there were two clay bricks separated by more than ten centimeters, and it was easy to put the pot on. Pick up some pine needles and pine branches, crackling, and light a fire.

When the women were done with their work, they went about their own business.Grandma paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, lifted the cover of the dining table to have a look, and moved the crooked stool, like a cadre going to the countryside to inspect work.Zhao Xin and her sister-in-law were teasing their niece, while her mother brought her unfinished shoe soles and sat on the edge of the brazier, needle by thread, going up and down, occasionally scratching her hair twice with the tip of the needle like combing.

A few years ago, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, we usually didn’t go out, and stayed at home. Fortunately, I have a lot of family members, so I don’t feel bored. The children have become pistachios, and the working life of adults has become the main thing. topic.

"When do you go to work after Chinese New Year?" I heard my sister-in-law ask Zhao Xin.

"Not going. I resigned."

"You mean you quit your job at the Changping Plastic Factory in Dongguan?" the sister-in-law asked again, not surprised.

"Yes, it's the same effort over and over again, and the wages are so low. There is no one from my hometown, so it's annoying." Zhao Xin lowered his head, added a stick of charcoal into the basin with tongs, and continued, " I want to go to the town to learn the tram for a few months and learn some skills. The uncle next door is working as a tailor in Zhuhai. I will trouble him then. Can you help me find a garment factory? With some skills, the road will be wider and more selective. Bigger too." I pricked up my ears, feeling that it was the first time I heard Zhao Xin analyze the problem so rationally.

"Have you discussed it with Mom?" The sister-in-law looked up at her mother.

"I know, I discussed it with my mother. The aunt next door knows it. She said that she will go to Zhuhai with them when she learns."

"Oh. It's better like this." Sister-in-law nodded: "Then when are we going?"

"After the Lantern Festival, I've asked. It's next to the old market in the town. The tuition fee is a few hundred yuan a month, and I bring my own firewood, rice, oil and salt."

"What about you, sister-in-law, what are your plans after the new year?" Zhao Xin asked.

"I'm going to Guangzhou, your brother is in Guangzhou."

"when to go?"

"It's time to finish the Lantern Festival, don't worry."

"What about my niece, stay at home or take her?"

"Stay at home. I haven't got a job yet. How can I have the ability to take care of the children?" The sister-in-law suddenly felt a little sad.

"Mao Ya, is it cooked? Don't add too much firewood. If you get on steam, reduce the firewood, or it will be overcooked." Mother suddenly remembered, and said loudly to me.

"Oh, I know, the fire has been reduced, and it can be eaten right away."

I went out of the kitchen, out the hall door, and stood outside in the hall smoking a cigarette.The firecrackers and confetti all over the ground are like pine needles and broad leaves falling from the mountain, layer by layer, bright red, covering the front door of every household, flying in the streets and alleys.Set against the Spring Festival couplets in front of the door, it is red and festive.

Three sticks of incense and two red candles were burning in the incense bamboo tube on the half wall outside the gate. When a gust of wind blew in, the flames swayed and looked like they were about to go out. When the wind stopped, they sizzled again, dropping drops of red wax. drop.

On the balcony, one or two pieces of red cloth with the words "Gong Xi Fa Cai" and "Congratulations to the New Year" either fluttered in the wind, or hung there quietly, like banners or flags, which were left after tens of thousands of firecrackers were set off. red cloth.

The wooden frame structure balcony that was refurbished last year looks very eye-catching. Three thick logs support the entire structure, and the brightly planed and whitened wooden pillars are neatly distributed one by one, just like the current aluminum alloy windows.It looks more attached than aluminum alloy, but it is quite different from the walls of this decades-old house.

Clothes of the whole family are hung on the crossbar of the balcony to dry, in various colors, sizes, and styles.When it comes to wet weather, there are too many clothes to dry, so I add two bamboos and put them on the balcony and the tiles or beams on the opposite side. Sometimes the tiles are accidentally broken, or a house cat runs on the roof at night. It is likely to cause water leakage in the house. Take a bucket or a washbasin to catch it. When the weather is fine, my father climbs up and repairs it. If it is not repaired in time, the water seepage and leakage will become more and more serious. If it affects the wall, it will easily become a problem. Dilapidated houses, this is the disadvantage of earth tile houses.

There are sixty or seventy households in the entire village, half of them are now estimated to be left, and half have been moved away. Those who earn money from working outside have moved to the town, and in the city, there are also a few who have found a place at home to build a new concrete and steel building. .

My home is at the east end of the entire village, and there are a few families living here in a slightly dense manner.Along a straight alleyway, they are close to each other, and they are still in their original appearance. The neighbor next door, diagonally opposite is Xinlan's house, which is 30 meters away, and it is very convenient to come and go.

My house is divided into two buildings, each covering an area of ​​about sixty to seventy square meters, each with two floors, and each floor is separated by yellow beams and wooden boards. It is wide, and there is a ditch in between. The side is slightly raised and cement is paved, which is convenient for washing and washing clothes.Sometimes it is very convenient to kill fish here, facing the tap.

The family has not yet separated, and they eat and live together, so the lower building is used as a bedroom, and the upper building has a living room and a kitchen.Directly opposite the living room is a big "Chairman Mao goes to Yan'an", bought by my father and hung up for many years.Behind the wall is a hut.On the left is the kitchen, facing down is a combined TV cabinet, on both sides are half-person-high second-hand speakers, on the combined cabinet is a TV bought last year, on the left is a boiling water thermos, and on the right is a rice cooker.The squares in the middle are all painted with egg yolk, and after a few years of storage, they have lost their dazzling luster.There is a round dining table against the wall on the right. When guests come during the holidays, it is lifted to the middle, and most of the time it leans against the wall. There is a dilapidated long wooden sofa in the corner on the right hand side of the door, and the mother’s bedroom is on the left side. .

I have been living here since I was a child. Many years ago, these two houses were the glory of my grandfather and fathers. Many years later, they became the shame of our brothers. This is also a true portrayal of not advancing or retreating.