spring dream

010

Yin Yuefang can't take time off every year during the holidays. She either chooses some cosmetics and skin care products for the girls in the group who are younger than her, or gives some tobacco, alcohol and special products to the young men whose families are out of town. Of course, the main energy has to be It was used on the Xiao family. After all, Mr. Xiao and Xiao E were her "bosses" in name, and she had to curry favor.

Lu Xiaozhao was carrying a bunch of supplies and supplements for food and clothing, and followed closely behind Sister Fang: "Who are you bringing the gold and silver jewelry you bought here? There are four men in the family, not four girls."

"What do you know?" Yin Yuefang tucked her hair behind her ears, her movements were elegant and gentle. Although the mink coat on her body was thick, it still showed her graceful figure, "Oh, it's broken."

"What's the matter?" Lu Xiaozhao stepped forward to be side by side with her, turned his face and asked.

"That boy Xiaoer saw me wearing mink, wouldn't he throw me out?" Sister Fang said in a depressed voice with a gray face, "Forget about this, how precious he is to his mink, aren't you? Know."

Lu Xiaozhao smiled and wanted to wave his hands, but holding five or six gift boxes, he could only shake his head: "No way, Master Xiao is very gentle."

"Tch, pull it down." Yin Yuefang rolled his eyes at him, "His gentleness is all wrong. To Wen Qi, to you and your brother, when did you see him being gentle to a woman?"

"Why do you want to send gold and silver jewelry?" Sister Fang sighed "Hey", and her heart was broken like a mother. "In the future, when you marry a daughter-in-law, you will have to give a dowry gift. The Xiao family has no shortage of literature and stones, but the woman My family doesn't understand these things, the tradition of the ancestors, wearing gold and silver, I have to prepare it for you in advance."

Lu Xiaozhao subconsciously wanted to refute her, but he didn't know what to say.

Today is New Year's Eve, there are few cars and people on the road, and the vision is wide. There are lights and festoons everywhere, and it is prosperous, but there is no life.Every household in the alley is just the opposite. The door is open, and passers-by can see the scenery inside and outside the house at a glance. Neighbors give gifts to each other, those who are familiar with a little money, and those who are not familiar with food, cakes, candies, dried chestnuts , There are still many families with only one person, and they simply don't bother to get angry, and go directly to the neighbor across the door to have a New Year's Eve dinner.

At the end of this road, Xiao's family will arrive. Lu Ran greets Yin Yuefang at the door, waving at Yin Yuefang from a distance. Gao Jun stands on the stone steps with red lanterns hanging on both sides of his head.

Sister Fang likes Lu Ran's character the most. He is gentle and easy-going, and gets along well with others. She often doesn't see each other in person, so she can't help but quicken her pace at this time.

Lu Ran stepped down the steps, first gave Yin Yuefang a friendly smile, and then took the things from Lu Xiaozhao's hands, leaving nothing behind.

"Brother." Lu Xiaozhao wanted to snatch back one or two things to help his brother share, Lu Ran turned sideways, and signaled him with his eyes, "Don't worry about it, go to the hospital".

The red plums in the yard bloomed in large pieces, and the branches were full of joy, which hit people's eyes, and the corners of their eyes curled up comfortably.Yin Yuefang opened her voice and called "Old Man", and saw Old Man Xiao stepping out of the main room, holding a big cigarette stick in his right hand, his voice was not at all inferior to singing: "Hey, which lady is visiting my house?" ?”

"You're still a lady." Yin Yuefang mocked her own age, hugged the old man's hunched body lightly, patted that hunchback, "Yellow-faced woman, yellow-faced woman."

Both of them were wearing thick clothes, tightly wrapped and not afraid of the cold, sitting on the stone chairs in the courtyard and chatting without saying a word.Lu Xiaozhao put two cups of good Pu'er in their hands, and Lu Ran took a bunch of presents to the main room.

The steaming heat engulfed the rich tea fragrance and dispersed in the air. While chatting happily, Yin Yuefang suddenly asked, "Where is Xiao Er?"

"Sleeping in the house." The old man put down the cigarette rod, tapped twice on the stone table, poured out the black smoke foam, and put in some new tobacco.

Xiao Er could hear everything that happened in the courtyard clearly.

He lay upright on the bed with his eyes open. It had been two days and he didn't feel sleepy at all.During the day, there are always disturbing firecrackers in the alley, and at night, it is easy to fall into negative emotions and cannot extricate yourself. When I close my eyes, my heart beats in my ears, and the sound is getting more dull, so I just look at the ceiling like this, and I can count on it for a day. one day.

Sister Fang had some snacks with the old man, and then chatted a few words about the things in the teahouse. She didn't accept Lu Xiaozhao's invitation to stay for dinner, and before leaving, she stuffed three red envelopes into his arms, his one being the thickest.

Lu Xiaozhao, like Lu Ran, can't learn to accept other people's kindness, just about to decline, Yin Yuefang stretched out her index finger and tapped his nose: "I am your elder, and I am your 'leader' at work. New year's money and bonuses, neither of which is missing."

Lu Xiaozhao squeezed the red envelope, pursed his lips and turned to look at his brother, Lu Ran nodded gently at him.

"Thank you, Miss Fang."

"Hey, why are you welcome?"

After sending Yin Yuefang away, Lu Ran and Lu Xiaozhao got into the kitchen and started to work. Mr. Xiao was the only one left in the big yard.He got up slowly, stood under the red plum tree and looked up. The festive red always makes people feel more happy and comfortable.

Then he kicked open the door of the east wing, and lifted Xiao Er from the bed.

At the corner between the main house and the east wing, there is an unremarkable hut, which is piled with stones and wood collected by the old man when he was young, such as Hotan, Nanhong, turquoise, agarwood, etc., and emeralds account for most of the proportion.

In the early years, when these "playthings" were not popular in the market, the old man liked to toss these things. Others exchanged food stamps for food, and he exchanged food stamps for stones, and was always called a "lunatic".

As the times develop, people's living standards continue to improve, and the economic base can afford spiritual consumption, "playing with things to lose one's will" becomes "playing with things to nourish one's will".The eyes of the rich are no longer limited to conventional real estate. The rise of jewelry has driven the appreciation of raw materials, and the stones in this house have shown their due value in the current society.

Those who once called the old man "crazy" have shut up now.

"After the fifth day of the lunar new year, go to Ruili, Yunnan, and send a stone to the 'Chen Sheng Club'." The old man stood on tiptoe as he said, looking for the cracks and stepping down, for fear of trampling on his treasure.Walking to the innermost space next to the wall, Xiaoer followed his grandfather's gaze and saw the wooden box placed in the corner.

The old man bent down, and when he heard a "creak", he almost broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly leaned on the wall and waved at Xiao Er: "You have no eyesight, don't know, come and help me, stick it there to see your grandfather." The stone 'bows'."

Xiao E imitated his father's appearance and stepped in, walked to the old man's side and couldn't help but smile and said, "That's right, I still want to make money at an old age."

"Who am I for?" The old man raised his hand and slapped Xiao E on the back, and swung it firmly. Xiao E narrowed his eyes in pain, "Hey, be gentle."

The stone inside is not light, and Xiao Er can barely hold it with one hand. When he gets close, he can still smell a faint fragrance of nanmu on the surface of the box.

When the light was brighter at the door, Xiao E saw the golden water ripples flowing on the surface clearly, and raised his eyes and asked his master, "Golden silk nanmu?"

"Well, it's worthless."

"A box made of such a large piece of wood has natural and smooth patterns and lines. Judging from the craftsmanship, it must not be machine carving. No one will use a machine to spoil/scratch the material. The manual cost alone costs a lot of money, and it is not worth it?"

The old man tugged at the tips of his ears, glanced at Xiao E, and said falteringly, "Right now it's probably... fifty or sixty thousand."

Xiao Er picked up a cigarette and asked curiously, "How much did you pay back then?"

The old man answered very honestly: "Six cents."