Three or Two Things about Rebirth

He Manshu sat up at some point and said behind Qiu Luming: "Yes, it's like you haven't fallen in love or married yet, but your mother tells you that love is just a flash of fireworks, and some people don't even have the chance to love in their entire lives. It's not as romantic as the novels you read, where two people stay together for a lifetime, and every day is just about firewood, rice, oil, salt, and trivialities, and they have to rely on character and vulgar money to maintain it."

Qiu Luming smiled in his heart. As expected of Mr. He, who was tireless in teaching, he would never miss any opportunity to present facts and make sense.

She took off her shoes and sat on the kang, leaning against the fire wall so that she could see her parents at the same time.

The moment He Manshu stood up, Qiu Jiye stopped talking and habitually gave the opportunity to express himself to his wife.

He Manshu hugged the pillow in her arms, leaned against the pile of quilts, sighed and said, "I thought a lot just now."

She glanced at her husband, then sat up straight and called Qiu Moshi and Liu Xiaomei, who were looking in at the bedroom door, to come in. Qiu Moshi stood by the windowsill, his eyes wandering over his father's bookshelf, while Liu Xiaomei brought the stool in front of the sewing machine to the door and sat down, raising her chin to signal Dabao in the living room to continue watching TV.

"The world is changing, society is changing, and people are changing too." He Manshu smiled bitterly, "The world is yours, and it is ours, but in the final analysis, it is yours. You young people are full of vigor and vitality, and you are in your prime, like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Hope rests on you!

Back then, your father and I came to the border for complicated reasons. Although some of them were evasive, the country had not yet called on educated youth to go to the countryside on a large scale. We were among the first intellectuals to take the initiative to support the border.

We came to this land with good wishes and sincere hearts. At that time, there were very few doctors. In order to treat patients, your father rode a horse sleigh in the winter and rode a horse to the countryside in the summer. It was common for him to go to the countryside in the wind and rain, not to mention how much medical expenses he paid for the patients. In the past 30 years, the number of patients he treated is countless.

We don’t have any lofty ambitions. We just want to influence and save some people within our capabilities.

Even though we have been persecuted, we have never given up our ideals. To cure diseases and save lives, to teach and educate people, is our mission and destiny!

They all envy me and say that I have three promising sons, but I don’t think so. My greatest luck is that I have a partner who shares the same ideals as me. We are always in step with each other and have the same thoughts. Choosing your father is the best thing I have ever done in my life!"

Qiu Luming glanced at Qiu Jiye and saw that the old man raised his eyebrows unnaturally, but continued to keep a serious face.

He Manshu continued, "The world has changed. In the 1950s, people helped each other. In the 1960s, people bullied each other. In the 1970s, everyone cared about themselves. In the 1980s, people cheated each other! Now we have entered the 1990s. What kind of era will it be?

In the 1950s, I was studying at university, and that was truly the happiest time of my life!

But when I was a child, your grandmother said that the world would eventually become disordered and everything would be destroyed.

I still don't believe it. ——Just like Yoyo, she always refuses to believe what I say.

She didn’t want me to study at a normal school, but I insisted on doing so. She didn’t want me to be outstanding, but I insisted on being brilliant. She wanted me to stay by her side, but I ran away thousands of miles away… Even after I became a mother, I still couldn’t really appreciate her loving heart. It wasn’t until she passed away that I began to regret it… I was so stupid that I never imagined that she would die…”

He Manshu burst into tears, she took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, "Don't talk about this!

Since when, people who work hard are laughed at, as if only those who are lazy, have bad attitudes towards customers, and often steal some of the company's supplies are respectable people! Moral people are criticized, and honest people have become a derogatory term. No one wants to find an honest person as a partner, because honesty is synonymous with cowardice and disadvantage!

Your eldest brother is right. People need to be flexible. It’s just that the world is changing faster and your parents need to adapt.”

Qiu Luming heard Qiu Huaixin's breathing in the north bedroom was a little rapid. He woke up and kept listening quietly.

“During the reforms in the past few years, many people in Jiayang have made a lot of money and bought leather jackets and mink coats worth thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, motorcycles, and color TVs, but few are willing to spend a few dollars to buy a few books to read.

I am a chatterbox. I know that my students call me a teacher behind my back, but I really treat them as my own children and want to share my experiences and lessons with them!

I just figured it out. It's ridiculous that people are free from doubts at 40, but it took me until I was in my fifties to figure this out: you have to write and experience your own life. My experience may not be suitable for you or for this era. My kindness is nothing but wishful thinking!

Old Qiu, do you think this will work? Our so-called pride and character disappeared long ago when we used the backdoor, so naturally we have no right to ask our children for anything. Let them go out and make their own way. There are so many people in this world who gave birth to four children just to prevent our children from fighting alone. They help each other, so we should also do our best to support them. Our face has been lost, so we simply don’t care. Let’s all look for old connections, be fashionable, and use the backdoor! Then, you and I will stay together in this small city in the northern border until we grow old. "

Qiu Jiye smiled slightly and nodded.

Qiu Luming lowered his head, feeling sad. His father had done things against his will twice for her job. Although he smiled nonchalantly, Qiu Luming could sense the pain and humiliation his father felt at that time.

The wall of fire on his back made his back feel hot and Qiu Luming broke out in a thin sweat.

Somehow she remembered that her father remarried when she was ten years old during the Republic of China. Whether he did it for her mother or because he was afraid of her suffering, it was already quite rare. But she had always turned a blind eye to it. Until today, when she could no longer see him, she really understood...

"Xiaomei, wait until the eldest wakes up, and you can talk to him. I won't say anything. Dabao now regards you as his idols and worships you, but almost no one can regard their parents as their idols for a lifetime. One day, he will take the first step in building his self-confidence by defeating his parents, especially his father.

When the second child is not at home, you can tell the third child as well. You are all the same. Mom and Dad are not the kind of people who rely on their sons for their old age. We have endless things we like to do every day. We can read books and play the piano, compose poems and play chess, plant flowers and vegetables, swim and skate... We don't have to cook for you and take care of the children!

It is your freedom to choose where to work and who you want to date. You can even take a leave of absence from your job and start a business. We have no objection to whatever decision you make.

Only Youyou, you are almost 20 years old this year, you have too little social experience, your parents let you go, it is extremely irresponsible to you. You are a girl, you can't be compared with your three brothers, your parents have paved the way for you, it is the most suitable for you. Hey, why are you crying? I won't give in even if you cry!"

"My sister is crying, who is crying on New Year's Day? I won't leave either. I have a good job and I have ready meals every day. I won't leave!"

"Hey!" He Manshu grabbed her daughter's ankle and dragged her to her side, "Let me see if you are crying?

Don't compare yourself with your brothers. The lyrics say, the world outside is wonderful, but it's also helpless. Although men and women are equal, that refers to spiritual equality, not physical strength and labor. After the crackdown, society has stabilized a lot, but it is still not suitable for a girl like you to go out and explore. "

"I just told dad that I really don't want to go out. I'll live in Jiayang. People are not as good as they used to be when they are away from home. After all, other places are not my hometown!" Qiu Luming didn't understand why her mother was sure that she also wanted to leave home.

"Tsk tsk, Yoyo is now good at making excuses, and still thinks people are inferior when they leave their hometown." Qiu Moshi smiled and squeezed in next to He Manshu to sit down.

"Go! The kang is so big, you're squeezing me!"

"No, I just want to be next to my mom!"

"It's annoying!" He Manshu said she was annoyed but a smile appeared on her face.

I don't know what I remembered, I stroked my youngest son's hair, and pinched my daughter's ankle, "There is no equality and fairness in this world, what you do depends on whether you are willing or not.

Men will never understand the process of childbirth. Even your father, who is a doctor, cannot truly understand how a 6-7 catties ball of flesh is formed in the mother's body. He also does not know how the ball of flesh consumes the mother's essence and blood to grow little by little, and how the mother's milk is transformed... Being a woman is not easy. At the age of 49, the menstrual cycle ends, and both the physiology and psychology will undergo a huge change. Some people are lucky enough to survive without feeling it, but that is because they have accumulated virtue in their past and present lives. For an unfilial girl like me who disobeyed your grandmother, I still have to suffer for several years even though I have a famous doctor. It is really retribution. As for being squeezed by my own children, I deserve it..."

"Mom!" Liu Xiaomei's eyes turned red and she called He Manshu guiltily.

Dabao also ran from the living room into the bedroom, climbed onto the kang, threw himself into He Manshu's arms, and hugged her neck, "Grandma!"

He Manshu held her grandson in her arms, hugged him affectionately, and suddenly smiled slyly, lowered her head and asked, "Dabao is the smartest, grandma has a question for you!"

"it is good!"

"Grandma asks you, who do you think is better, grandma or mom?"

Dabao was stunned. Not only Dabao, but everyone in the room was stunned: When did Teacher He do such a childish thing?

Liu Xiaomei was about to speak, but He Manshu reached out to stop her, "Don't make a sound, let Dabao answer it himself!"

Liu Xiaomei had no choice but to shut up and looked at her son worriedly, afraid that he would blurt out "Mom is good", but also afraid that he would actually say "Grandma is good". She was very conflicted for a moment.

"Everything is fine!" Dabao smiled and looked at grandma, then at mom, "Grandma and mom are both fine!"

"Even if everything is good, there has to be a first place!"

“Both are first place, tied for first place!”

"Yes!" Qiu Moshi said, "If you must rank them, just arrange them alphabetically by last name!"

"Yes!" Liu Xiaomei also laughed.

He Manshu smiled and patted her grandson's butt. "Go watch TV. Today is not a time limit. Why don't you watch it? If you feel sleepy, go to your aunt's room and sleep!"

Dabao slid down the kang and ran to the living room to watch TV. Liu Xiaomei went to the kitchen and brought back a plate of melon seeds and peanuts and a small bowl of frozen pears. "I forgot to eat the melon seeds. The frozen pears are just the right amount of soft, just like ice cream, and they don't drip with soup."

Qiu Luming picked up a frozen pear with white frost on it, wiped the frost off with a handkerchief, took a bite, and it was indeed sweet and refreshing, almost like eating ice cream, but it was inconvenient to chew. "It's more convenient to cut it into pieces. I'll go cut it." After saying that, he was about to get off the kang.

Liu Xiaomei stopped her and said, "How can you cut a pear into pieces? You should keep the whole piece intact."

"Oh." Qiu Luming retracted his feet, placed the pear under his handkerchief, and continued to eat it.

"Never separate." He Manshu smiled.

***

"Mom, come out and watch TV, Zhao Benshan's skit!"

Qiu Moshi called everyone in the living room to watch TV.

"Let's go watch TV!" He Manshu got off the kang and put on her shoes. Qiu Luming quickly got off the kang and sat next to the fire wall.

Liu Xiaomei put the working board on the dining table, divided the dough that had been kneaded in advance into four doughs, kneaded them one by one, and then covered them with a basin.

"Don't cry, what are we going to do if the police come? I don't even have my ID with me..."

"This one, one, one, one, one for a long time, and there's not even a two!"

"For parents to read their children's letters is equivalent to the leadership reviewing them!"

The whole skit was full of witty remarks from beginning to end, and everyone laughed out loud.

But Qiu Huaixin had been sleeping in the north bedroom and had not come out.

Dumplings that are prepared at midnight are usually eaten around 11 o'clock, because 11 o'clock is the beginning of the midnight hour.

The family made dumplings while watching TV. They only made 160 cabbage and pork dumplings. It was the middle of the night and no one could eat much. If it wasn’t for the wish of “abundance every year”, they would have made even fewer.

At eleven o'clock, Liu Xiaomei stood from the kitchen to the door of the living room and looked at He Manshu.

He Manshu said: "Cook it, don't wait for him!"

Liu Xiaomei responded, took a lid of dumplings and went into the kitchen.

Qiu Luming and Qiu Moshi began to clean the table, sent the surface of the washbasin to the kitchen, and brought over the chopsticks, plates, soy sauce and vinegar.

Liu Xiaomei added a piece of firewood to the stove, and stopped burning the stove pit, otherwise it would be too hot to sleep at night. She gently pushed the edge of the stew pot with a spoon, making a soft metal friction sound. Boiling dumplings is also a technical job. The dumplings must not stick together or break, so the water for boiling dumplings must be wider and the movements must be gentler.

If the dumpling has an opening or the filling is exposed, we cannot say it is broken. Instead, we say “赚(正)了”, which is a homonym for “making money”.

When the first pot of dumplings was served, Qiu Moshi went to the north bedroom and dragged Qiu Huaixin out, pushing him to the dining table. "Brother, you are drunk. You haven't even seen this year's skit. It's so funny! Eat the dumplings! There are four coins in these!"

Qiu Huaixin's eyes were red and a little swollen. Qiu Jiye and He Manshu didn't look at him, but asked him to eat dumplings. He Manshu brought a plate of dumplings to him and said, "It's hot, eat slowly."

Qiu Luming didn't care and looked at his elder brother several times. Dabao said directly, "Dad, don't drink anymore in the future. Drinking is bad for your health. Your eyes are swollen!"

Qiu Huaixin hummed, picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the sauce, took a bite, was stunned for a moment, and spat out a one-cent coin with a "clang".

Dabao cheered immediately, "Oh! Dad is so awesome, he is the first one to eat the money!"