Three or Two Things about Rebirth

"Mom, what are you talking about? How can I laugh at you? I am also a mother, and I understand mothers' feelings the best." Liu Xiaomei hurriedly comforted her mother-in-law, "I heard from Huaixin this afternoon that Lu Ming had a fight with someone, and I was so worried that I couldn't go to work, for fear that she would get hurt or something.

Now Lu Ming's skin is not even scratched, which is better than anything else. If you hit someone, just hit him, it's better than being hit by someone. Our Lu Ming should be more powerful. Those people in the fields of culture, education and health love to exclude and oppress others, which is very boring!"

Qiu Huaixin said in disapproval, "Where did you get this conclusion from? You can't generalize. My parents and I are all from the cultural, educational and health sectors in your words!"

"I'm not talking about our family!" Liu Xiaomei laughed, "Mom, hurry up, let my dad feel your pulse so we can go home without any worries. Dabao is still at his grandma's house."

He Manshu felt much better after hearing her daughter-in-law's words. When she heard about her eldest grandson, she immediately extended her hand to her husband, "Then hurry up!"

Qiu Jiye really felt her pulse, and nodded seriously at the end, "Well, the patient is 52 years old, not 53 years old. She is irritable, hot and sweaty, sore waist and back, and restless. These are the symptoms before and after menopause. We should balance the yin and yang in the kidney. I will prescribe medicine and continue to regulate the patient's body, but another important medicine is needed."

"Ah? What kind of medicine is it?" everyone asked.

"We urgently need a little boy named Qiu Xiuji, who can always stay by the patient's side, play around his lap, sing and laugh, and often recite the soup song aloud!"

The whole family burst into laughter. He Manshu rolled her eyes at her husband and said, "You just want to make fun of me."

"Okay, okay, the children are grown up and can handle their own problems. You and I don't need to worry too much about them and hurt our health." Qiu Jiye gestured to Qiu Luming, "Hey, didn't you say you don't have pens and water cups? Why don't you prepare them?"

"Hey hey!" Qiu Luming felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly returned to his room.

******

After dinner, Qiu Huaixin and his wife went home. Qiu Jiashu set up the folding bed in the living room. Qiu Luming also returned to the small bedroom and heard his parents talking in low voices.

"Is God really trying to balance things out? None of the three kids in front of me have given me such a worry. She could only get a single-digit score in math! Her friends are all ugly and none of them are good at studying! You sacrificed your reputation to let her go for training, but she didn't bring back a single word! We tried every hospital and went to the library... You just told me not to think too much, but which mother wouldn't think too much?" He Manshu's voice was filled with grievance and frustration. "You said we are not stupid, so why did we give birth to such a thing!"

Qiu Jiye snorted, "Good or bad, they are all our biological daughters. If you don't expect her to conquer the world, how can you expect her to be outstanding? Besides, she has us to take care of her now, and her three brothers will take care of her until she is old. What else do you have to worry about? We have had a bumpy road, worrying about this and that, and always trying to save face and be reasonable. I think we are not as free as Lu Ming! Go to sleep, everything is the best arrangement!"

"When we first came to support the border, we were obviously excluded, but you said it was the best arrangement. Later, when we were criticized, you said it was an inevitable disaster. Now that Lu Ming is like this, you say it is the best arrangement again!"

"Yes, it's the best arrangement. Healthy people have nothing to worry about, and sick people gain wisdom. Lu Ming brought the three brothers together to work together. Even when I lost my face and asked for help, those colleagues became closer to me."

"What a bullshit theory! You wait till I get through menopause... Oh my, why am I so upset? I can't even lie down. What kind of bullshit medicine did you prescribe, Qiu Jiye? Are you trying to murder my wife and remarry?"

Qiu Luming quickly rubbed his ears, turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The next day, Qiu Luming went to work as usual. The bicycle had been repaired by his second brother overnight, so it was indeed not a big deal.

She put a bundle on the back seat, which contained a small cotton-padded jacket, and a feather cushion that her eldest sister-in-law had hurriedly sent her this morning. Inside the cushion was a canned fruit bottle covered with red wool, also given by her eldest sister-in-law. She said that there were many readers in the reading room, so she didn't recommend her to use a blue-and-white porcelain cup, as it would be a pity if it got bumped. In addition, in the pocket of her down jacket was a Hero gold pen with a tip that her eldest brother had given her, saying that it was for her to practice calligraphy.

In the middle of winter, her sister-in-law made a special trip to see her before she went to work, which touched her deeply. Recalling the past, it seemed that she had always taken good care of her and indulged her since the day she met her sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law is also very good to my mother.

——It must not be because she has deep feelings for her and her daughter, but because her eldest brother is good to her and she loves him deeply, so she can treat his relatives as her own.

With the care and love of his whole family, Qiu Luming pedaled the bike very vigorously.

When he arrived at the library, Qiu Luming took a detour and parked his bicycle under the window of the south reading room. Although it was a bit troublesome, it effectively prevented anyone from pulling out the valve core again.

She turned east and went directly to the boiler room shared by the library and the cultural center. She put down the lunch box with her name on it and a piece of adhesive tape. The boiler operator smiled and asked her, "Girl, are you new here?"

Qiu Luming nodded.

"Are you new to the library?"

Qiu Luming understood what he meant, smiled, and shook his fist at the old man, "Yes, it's me!"

The old man laughed, "This little girl is quite interesting!"

After getting a can of hot water from the water room, Qiu Luming came out of the boiler room and met Sister Zhang and Sister Wan from the reading room. When their eyes met, Qiu Luming smiled slightly.

The older sister Zhang looked her up and down, her eyes like a knife. Sister Wan, who was in her thirties, smiled and said, "Xiao Qiu, come over and deliver the lunch box too!"

"Yes, Sister Wan, I want to borrow some books. Do I need to get a permit from you first?"

"What certificate do you need? People in our unit read books and just read them directly!"

"Okay, I'll come find you guys later!"

Qiu Luming walked around and entered the library from the main entrance. She greeted Uncle Li, turned a corner, opened the door of the reading room, checked everything first, took off her down jacket, put on a small cotton jacket, and was about to wipe the dust off the table when she heard Sister Zhang and Sister Wan coming in. She waited for two more minutes, threw down the rag, locked the reading room, and came to the window of the lending room, "Sister Wan, I'm here!"

"You're here, Qiu. Here's the catalog." Sister Wan put down the feather duster in her hand and pointed to the two catalog books in the window. "If you want to read something, write the number on the spine on the small piece of paper and I'll find it for you. Readers are not allowed to come in."

"Ah? Then the workload for both of you must be very heavy, running back and forth all day to find books and put them back in place?" The rules of this library are somewhat different from those of the middle school library back then. Qiu Luming was very surprised.

"Hmph, your job is the most leisurely in the whole museum. You, a young girl, have a regular position as soon as you start working, and you get a salary of 128 yuan. Hmph, what could be worse than having a good father!" Sister Zhang came back dragging a wet mop, and said sarcastically.

Sister Wan hurriedly took it over and said, "I'll do it, Sister Zhang, you just take a rest."

As soon as Zhang let go, the mop fell into Wan's hands. She sat down on the chair by the window, which creaked. "I've worked all my life, and I only make 30 yuan more than you. How can I complain?"

Qiu Luming glanced at Sister Zhang. She was about the same age as her mother and must be in menopause. She smiled tolerantly and did not retort. She was afraid that Sister Zhang would be sweating and crying like her mother.

I took out a piece of manuscript paper cut into small pieces from a paper box at the window and wrote down the numbers of the five books I had chosen. Sister Zhang saw it and said impatiently, "So many? Count them. Who has time to find them for you? Just come in by yourself!"

Qiu Luming followed the instructions and entered the reading room. She saw the rules and regulations on the wall: Non-reading room personnel are not allowed to enter at will! Still feeling a little guilty, she quickly found the corresponding bookshelf according to the number she remembered in her mind. One, two, three, four, five, she put a pile of books in front of Sister Wan, "Five books, Sister Wan, please remember the number."

"What are you recording?" She pointed to the red books neatly placed in a wooden box on the desk and joked, "Don't worry, there are three to five books in each book. No one likes to read the ones you are reading. Besides, the books borrowed by readers must be registered on the library card, and the card behind the book must also record the borrower's name. You don't insist on getting a card for you, do you?"

Qiu Luming always felt that this was a bit against the rules, but he didn't say much. He just took the paper with the five book numbers and the books away. "Sister Zhang, Sister Wan, do you want to read magazines? Readers, New Youth, and Contemporary Music have all come out."

"Okay, I'll go see it later!" Sister Wan smiled with her eyes narrowed. She was a very attentive and thoughtful person, but for some reason, Qiu Luming always felt that her smile was a little fake.

Putting down the book, Qiu Luming began to clean the reading room.

At nine o'clock, readers arrived one after another. A few little girls gathered together and whispered, occasionally glancing at Qiu Luming.

If she paid a little attention, she could tell that they were talking about her great achievements yesterday.

I didn't want to pay attention to them, but they got more and more excited, even digging up her junior high school grades and her previous record of fighting in the hospital. Qiu Luming cleared his throat and said, "Four readers over there! Please keep quiet. If you need to communicate, please go to the corridor outside!"

Those female students were about the same age as Qiu Luming, and when they heard this, it was as if they had received a challenge. The four of them looked at Qiu Luming at the same time, their eyes full of provocation and disdain.

Qiu Luming showed no sign of weakness. She glanced sideways and confronted them. She was not afraid of fighting. Back then, Tian Peizhi and Luo Fangfei could not beat her alone even when they joined forces. Although there were four of them this time, she could not lose momentum. If she really couldn't do it, she would call Uncle Li over first.

"Hey, little fat pig! I'm here to see you!" A loud voice broke the deadlock at the door of the reading room. A tall girl ran in, hugged Qiu Luming, and jumped twice. "For half a year, you didn't even write me a letter. You must be dying of worry!"

When Qiu Luming saw the girl's face, he immediately knew who she was. "Hey little mouse, I don't have any lamp oil here, only books. Don't eat them all!"

The tallest of the four girls said, "Hey, hey, let's be quiet, but you are the one singing, reciting, acting and fighting!"

Qiu Luming and Qin Huifang looked at each other and laughed with their hands covering their mouths.

Qin Huifang moved a chair and sat next to Qiu Luming. She took the half-written manuscript paper given by Uncle Li on the desk and wrote quickly: I heard that you had a fight with someone. We, the Seven Freaks of Jiayang, cannot be bullied. They will be here soon. Let’s see how we will vent your anger!

Qiu Luming quickly took the pen and wrote: Don't worry...

After writing, he blackened the word "介".

Don't be like this, I haven't suffered any loss. If you come again, you will really be bullying me.

Qin Huifang clicked her tongue, then grabbed the pen and started writing again.

In this way, the two of them went back and forth, and soon they had written more than two pages of manuscript.

"Oh my god! Luming, you are practicing calligraphy!" Qin Huifang just discovered Qiu Luming's handwriting at this moment and blurted out.

Qiu Luming nodded.

Qin Huifang gave her a thumbs up.

At this time, an old man came to apply for a reading card. Qin Huifang quickly stood up, moved the chair away, found a magazine, and flipped through it casually.

Nearing half past eleven, four or five boys rushed in. Their arrival aroused the dissatisfaction of the readers. Qin Huifang raised her index finger to ask them to be quiet.

After half past eleven, several people left one after another, but there were still three or four people still sitting there reading magazines. The five boys could no longer hold back, and surrounded Qiu Luming, saying in a flurry, "Hey, silly roe deer, you actually go to work in the library!" The speaker was Xu Zhenhua, now a sophomore in No. 1 Middle School. He was an okay student, but he was a big mouth, and he always liked to call Qiu Luming silly roe deer.

"Hey, yesterday Li Yu from my class said he saw you beating up a girl. It was so fierce. Is it true?" This is Ma Mingjun, a sophomore in high school at No. 2 Middle School.

"I heard that your brother went to the police academy for further studies. Why, are you also learning the enemy-capturing boxing?" This is Zheng Wei. He repeated a year and still failed to get into a technical secondary school. His family used a backdoor to get him into the second middle school, and now he is a freshman in high school.

Qiu Luming was unable to get a word in for a while, and the three or four readers couldn't stand it anymore and stood up, put the books back on the shelf, went to Qiu Luming to get their reading cards back, and left angrily.

"It's good for everyone to leave!" Yang Dawei sat on the corner of Qiu Luming's desk and tapped the tabletop, "Let's go, it's time, I'll treat you to Zheng's Baozi Shop!"

"No, no!" The shortest one, Lu Jiaming, said in a low voice, "Their buns are so delicious, I always want to go there to eat, but my mom said they must have added opium, so I'm going!"

Qin Huifang snorted, "Your mother said what your mother said, your mother said everything, she has never seen a man like you!"

"How many men have you met?" Lu Jiaming's face flushed, and he defended himself: "Besides, what's wrong with me listening to my mother? I didn't ask you to listen to her too?"

"Bah! Why should I listen to your mother? Are you looking for a fight?"

Several boys burst into laughter, and Qiu Luming quickly signaled them to be quiet. "I can't leave my post at noon. I have a day off every Monday. I'll treat you to roast chicken then!"

"What kind of roast chicken are we eating? Why don't you treat us to a video? God of Gamblers or A Better Tomorrow will do. I've watched them twice. They're so interesting!"

"What's the point of watching the video? I won't watch it!" Qin Huifang objected, "Luming, let's go get our hair blown out. They all have their hair permed and curled up. They look so pretty!"

"What's the flip?" Qiu Luming was puzzled.

Xu Zhenhua added, "It's the kind that makes the bangs into a big mess. My sister also had one on New Year's Day. The hairspray fixed it so hard that it didn't look good. We men don't ask them to flip it up, we ask them to wave and stop! Hahaha!"