Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

The Shandong wife put the roast duck on the table, touched her hands on the apron in front of her chest, and then picked up the vanishing cream. She had heard of this thing, and only city women touched it. She put it carefully into her clothes pocket and waited until her face was clean before touching it again.

After the food was distributed, Zhao Shanhe began to eat noodles in big mouthfuls. After finishing a bowl of noodles, his stomach suddenly felt comfortable and his whole body felt refreshed.

After Zhao Shanhe sent the bowl to the kitchen, he saw several children holding half a roast duck and arguing about how to eat it. You asked why there was only half a duck. Needless to say, the other half must have been hidden by the children's mother, so it was good enough to be given half a duck.

The Shandong wife was a little embarrassed and explained, "This roast duck is too greasy. I'm afraid they will get stomach upset if they eat too much."

Zhao Shanhe nodded with a smile, then walked up to the children and said, "Daniu, come here, uncle will tell you how to eat it. First, slice the duck meat and put it on the spring roll. Then add cucumber and scallion, roll it up, and dip it in the sauce. That's it. Try it." Zhao Shanhe handed the rolled spring roll to the youngest child, who was already waving his hands in anxiety.

The other children looked at the youngest child and said, "Good, really good, I have never eaten anything so delicious." The other children also imitated Zhao Shanhe, who had already sliced ​​the duck.

"It's delicious, so delicious." The children were eating happily, and the Shandong wife's throat moved as she watched them.

"Daniu, if you get something good, remember to give it to your parents. You see how hard your mother works, shouldn't you give her one?"

Daniu looked at his mother, nodded, rolled another one in his hand and handed it to his mother, "Mom, eat it, it's delicious."

What Zhao Shanhe didn't expect the most was that Erniu rolled one up but didn't eat it. Instead, he handed it to him, perhaps being a little shy, and said in a low voice, "Uncle, you eat it."

"Uncle doesn't want to eat anymore. He is full. You guys should eat quickly," Zhao Shanhe touched Erniu's pot-covered hair.

"Sister-in-law, where is my third child? Has he gone to work?"

"No, he was drunk too. My husband and uncle took him home last night. I went to see him this morning and he was still asleep."

"Where are grandma and second aunt?"

"It's also at my father-in-law's place."

"Okay, I'll go take a look."

"Daniu, don't eat yet. Take your uncle to your grandfather's place."

"Oh," Daniu responded, but his eyes were still fixed on the roast duck, afraid that it would be gone when he returned.

"It's okay. I'm not in a hurry. Let the child eat first and then I'll go over after he finishes eating."

The two families are very close, about fifty or sixty meters apart. The Shandong family is at the end of the village, and the old house is also at the end of the village, with only two houses in between.

When we arrived at the old house, it was obviously very dilapidated, with holes all over the walls.

"Shanhe, you're awake." Second Aunt and the others were in the yard, chatting with grandma and Huang Duoduo. There was also a young woman holding a baby, probably the youngest sister.

"Brother, thank you," Huang Duoduo quickly stood up and said.

"You are my third brother's wife, which means you are my sister-in-law. My family has wronged you by bringing you here to suffer in the countryside. Otherwise, you would still be working in the factory."

"Brother, I wanted to do this myself. I had been planning to get married to Shanhai secretly. He treats me very well."

"You gave up your family for him. If he dares to treat you badly, I will break his legs."

"You must be the youngest sister, the third uncle's youngest daughter."

"Big Brother" the woman called out in a low voice.

Zhao Shanhe took out another five dollars and stuffed it into the child in his youngest sister's arms.

"Brother, I can't have it."

"It's for the child. It's the first time we meet. I bought something for the child. It's not much."

"Chunsheng, call me uncle, this is uncle"

"Uncle"

"Hey, so good."

"Chunsheng, come down and play," Da Niu called to the child in the arms of the youngest sister.

Chunsheng soon struggled in Yaomei's arms and wanted to get down. After Chunsheng got down, Zhao Shanhe discovered that Yaomei's belly was bulging, probably another pregnancy.

"Little sister, are you pregnant again?"

"Yes, brother, Chunsheng is already two years old, and she's pregnant again."

Zhao Shanhe took out another five yuan and said, "Here, the little one in your belly will probably be born by the next time we meet. Use it to buy some food to nourish your body."

"Where's Shanhai?"

"Shanhai is drunk and hasn't woken up yet," Huang Duoduo replied.

Zhao Shanhe thought it was normal. The third brother had a low alcohol tolerance and his uncle's wine was strong.

"Grandma, where is Grandpa? I'll go burn some incense."

After burning incense, Second Aunt took them around the old house. At that time, his father lived in the east wing where Shanhai lives now. Later, Second Uncle also lived there for a while before he joined the army. Third Uncle used to live in the west wing. After Grandma passed away, Third Uncle moved to the main house. Second Aunt and Grandma have been living here for the past few days.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Shanhe went out for a walk alone. There were not many people in the village at that time, as everyone had gone to work. There are two shifts a year in Shandong, so there is no time to rest.

Zhao Shanhe walked around and found that his third uncle's family conditions were really good. The houses of his three sons were the best in the village. The houses of other people were similar to his third uncle's old house. The children playing on the street were all naked, but his nephews, regardless of age, at least had clothes to wear.

After walking around for a while, I came to where my uncle and his colleagues were working. All the workers were harvesting wheat here. The spring wheat was already ripe.

Zhao Shanhe felt that farmers had a really hard life. They had to work in the fields under such hot sun and could barely fill their stomachs after paying the tax. They worked hard for a whole year but got very little money in the end. The money a family saved after a year of hard work was not as much as his monthly salary.

Zhao Shanhe was a little emotional at this moment. He remembered a netizen saying that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, agriculture accounted for 70% of the national income. At that time, farmers were called "uncle farmers". After the reform and opening up, as the proportion of industrialization increased, farmers became "brother farmers".

With the development of modern society and informatization, farmers go out to work and eventually become "migrant workers". The previous slogan was that hard work can make you rich, and it is true that as long as you are diligent, there is hope for life. Now farmers are the hardest working, but with the rise in the prices of fertilizers and pesticides, let alone getting rich, it is difficult for farmers to just have enough food and clothing.

Zhao Shanhe now thought that he could not change the society, but he could change his third uncle's life. After the reform and opening up, he must find a project for his third uncle to do, so that at least he would no longer have to work hard in the fields.

"Shanhe, it's really you. Why are you here? Go back quickly. If the wheat awns stick to your body, it will be very itchy." Uncle San came over without knowing when.

"It's okay, Third Uncle, I just came out for a walk. I'm far away and won't be in the way. I've never seen wheat harvesting before. Let me take a look." Zhao Shanhe had never seen farmers harvesting wheat in his two lives. In his previous life, his family was well-off, and in this life he was born in the old city. Except for the last time he went to the fields to experiment, the harvesting was done by a harvester.

"If you're bored, go to the front, where there's a rice field with loaches. I have to go harvest wheat, so I won't care about you."

"Well, Uncle San, you go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me."