double struggle

Father Chu came back just before dinner, with big and small bags of New Year's goods in his hand.Chu Wendao picked it up and took a look, there were cookies, candies, melon seeds, fried dumplings and the like.

"Dad, the family has been stocking for so many years, you are going to eat it until next year." Chu Wendao took out the cans from the bag, sorted them and stuffed them into the locker.

Father Chu took the hot soup that Mother Chu handed over. He didn't know what he had eaten, and the lines on his forehead were wrinkled together. He wanted to put the bowl back after changing hands.

Mother Chu didn't even look at it, and said lightly: "After drinking it, drink another bowl after eating, and there will be no dregs left."

Father Chu had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and drink it up by the spoonful.

Chu Wendao put away his things, and on the way to the kitchen, he sang and echoed: "Only by suffering and suffering can one become a master."

Father Chu managed to finish the last bit of soup dregs, his mouth was so astringent that he didn't want to speak.After a while, he glared at Chu Wendao who came out with the dishes.

"Your mother doesn't peel the lotus seed heart every time, the pain makes her teeth ache."

"That's for your own good." Chu Wendao picked up Chu's father's bowl to fill the rice, and his tone was a little gloating, "I wanted to help my mother peel the lotus seeds, but the old lady Chu said that you haven't been sleeping well recently, and the lotus seeds are on the ground." Don’t remove the core, clear the heat.”

Mother Chu came out of the kitchen just in time to hear the conversation between the two father and son, and slapped her son's arm dumbfounded.

"You talk too much."

"Mom, I'm talking nice things to you." Chu Wendao smiled and took his mother to the seat, and then put the heavy bowl back.

Chu Wendao has been taught by his parents since he was a child that he should not talk when he eats or sleeps, and that no matter how important things are, he would choose to discuss them after meals.Although most conversations among Chinese people take place at the dinner table, it is not a rule in the Chu family.Forget the babble, every meal should be the most satisfying time of the day.

After the meal, Chu Wendao was about to pack up the dishes and go to the kitchen when the cell phone in his trouser pocket rang.Holding the greasy dishes in his hand, he quickly put the things into the sink in two or three steps.

"You answer the phone, I'll do the laundry." Mother Chu interjected at the right time.

"No, you and Dad go for a walk." Chu Wendao casually turned on the faucet and rubbed his hands, and connected in time a few seconds before the phone was automatically cut off.

Chu Wendao didn't have time to look at the caller ID just now, so he greeted politely.It was really inconvenient to wash the dishes with the mobile phone between them, so he turned around and went to the living room.Remembering that the earphone was left on the sofa, he picked up the pillow with one hand and turned it over twice to find it.

"Teacher, did I disturb you?"

It was only half a day later, when I heard Xu Qingzhou's voice again, I felt inexplicably far away.

Chu Wendao put on his earphones and waved to his parents who went out hand in hand.

"No, I have nothing to do just after dinner." He couldn't help laughing, "Your call came in a timely manner."

"Ah... is it?"

Chu Wendao could imagine Xu Qingzhou sticking to his mobile phone now, and the expression on his face changed from uneasy to relaxed.He put on his gloves, picked up the bowls in the sink and began to scrub.

The breathing from the earphones seemed to cover the sound of the faucet, and he suddenly felt that washing dishes would be a good job.

Xu Qingzhou listened there for a while, and suddenly asked suspiciously: "Teacher, is it raining over there?"

There was a window in the kitchen facing the outside, Chu Wendao raised his head to look out the window, there were stars and the moon, but there were no raindrops.

"No..." He lowered his head and continued to wash the dishes. The clear water washed away the foam, and he suddenly laughed out loud, "Oh, that's not the sound of rain, it's just me washing the dishes."

"Washing the dishes?" Xu Qingzhou seemed a little unconvinced, or a little unbelievable.

When Chu Wendao was in M ​​City, his house never opened fire. Every day it was either in the canteen or takeaway, and occasionally he would grab the lunch brought by Xu Qingzhou.In this regard, it resembles the laziness of the rich second generation.

"Your grand master and grand master went for a walk, leaving your master alone to work hard." Chu Wendao didn't intend to save his image in Xu Qingzhou's heart, and polished the dishes with great interest.

Xu Qingzhou was silent and didn't know what he was thinking about.

Chu Wendao asked back: "You don't think there are a lot of people serving in my family like TV dramas, do you?"

"No...I haven't."

This hesitant tone is clearly there.

Chu Wen laughed angrily, and stretched out his hand to hang the dishcloth on the hook: "Sun Hai's hometown is in charge, and I'm much poorer than him..."

"I'm sorry." Before Chu Wendao finished speaking, Xu Qingzhou hurriedly began to apologize.

Chu Wendao was very helpless, why did Xu Qingzhou apologize to him all day long?After a few years of acquaintance, this problem lasted for a few years, and every time it made him feel embarrassed to continue teasing.But on the other hand, seeing Xu Qingzhou flustered, he couldn't help but want to tease him.

"Okay, the topic is all about thousands of miles away." Chu Wendao returned to the bedroom, picked a book on the bookcase and continued to read, "Did you call me for something?"

Xu Qingzhou was silent for a few seconds, and said softly: "Teacher, that... that is, where is the remote control of the heating? I didn't find it..."

Chu Wendao just lay down on the bed, and put up pillows on his back. "Remote control?" He was obviously stunned for a while. After all, he put things away, and sometimes he couldn't even find them. "Look in the cabinet under the TV. If you don't have any, go to the coffee table. Look for it, it should be in these two places."

He opened the cover, only to realize that something was wrong: "It's so cold today, you haven't turned on the heater all day?" Xu Qingzhou's body is not cold-resistant, and it's thanks to the child that he didn't call himself until night.

Xu Qingzhou should be looking for the remote control, but before he could say anything, he sneezed a little.Chu Wendao pinched his eyebrows, feeling powerless.

Chu Wendao has lived for 35 years, and there are not many people who can worry about him. Except for his parents, the rest is Xu Qingzhou.In the past, Zhang Zhiyuan was in good health, rarely had a fever and cold, and his work and rest habits were healthier than Chu Wendao's, so he naturally couldn't care about it.In fact, his parents don't need his care too much, that is to say, they have been getting old in recent years, and they have more or less minor illnesses, but they are still in good health on the whole.In this way, Xu Qingzhou is the only one Chu Wendao cares about the most.

I told Xu Qingzhou to take care of my body a lot, but the result is that it always goes in the left ear and out the right ear.Chu Wendao knew clearly that Xu Qingzhou wasn't turning a deaf ear, but simply didn't care about himself.Xu Qingzhou is a careful person, he can carefully consider anything and anyone, but he only instinctively forgets to consider himself.

Chu Wendao thought this was the result of Xu Qingzhou's family background many times. From the time he knew Xu Qingzhou, he found that this child was very good at taking care of others, as if this was a natural habit.But how can it be born?More is probably the formation of the day after tomorrow.

He has a rough understanding of Xu Qingzhou's family situation. It is a middle-class family with parents and a younger brother who is ten years younger.In addition, he is not easy to inquire, so he can only figure it out by himself.

Xu Qingzhou doesn't know how to take care of himself, so as a mentor and elder, Chu Wendao thinks he needs to bear certain responsibilities.I can't bear to scold, so I can only worry more.

Chu Wendao stared at the densely packed text, but his mind drifted away.

After a while, Xu Qingzhou finally said: "I found it, the third cabinet under the TV."

Chu Wendao hummed absently.Xu Qingzhou's voice has always been warm and moist, not fast, fluttering like catkins.He listened quietly, his memory still stuck in a long time ago, and he couldn't come back in a trance.

"Teacher?" Xu Qingzhou called out uneasily.

Only then did Chu Wendao wake up, and he rubbed his brows amusingly.He closed the book and put it aside, and lowered the brightness of the lamp on the bedside table.Xu is sleepy, and his head is not clear.

"You can go home the day after tomorrow." He said.

Xu Qingzhou said with a smile: "Well, teacher, you still remember."

"Although I am middle-aged and my memory is beginning to decline, I still remember clearly what happened a few days ago." Chu Wendao squinted at the warm-colored light circle, then got up from the bed and left the bedroom.

He looked down from the stairs, Father Chu was reading a book in the living room, and Mother Chu was cutting fruit at the dining table.

"Do you have any plans for the holiday? Except New Year's greetings."

"Huh? No..." Xu Qingzhou said flatly, "Actually, I basically don't go to New Year's greetings at home."

Chu Wendao laughed: "Are you afraid of the excitement?"

"No, I just... don't like it very much."

Chu Wendao stopped talking immediately. He vaguely knew that Xu Qingzhou and his family members were not very close, but he didn't expect that they would be so unfamiliar.It was inconvenient for him to know the reason, but in this festival where the whole family was supposed to be reunited and laughing, he alone felt an inappropriate coldness.

"After spending the Spring Festival with your relatives there, do you want to come over for a few days?" Such an idea even surprised him to himself.But when the words came out of his mouth, he didn't have to regret it.

Xu Qingzhou's side suddenly became quiet, so quiet that he couldn't even hear his breathing anymore.

Mother Chu fiddled with the fruit plate, and when she brought it to the living room, she saw her son on the second floor and yelled for someone to come down and eat the fruit.Chu Wendao nodded to indicate that he would go on for a while, and said with a smile: "I will be free after the third year of junior high school, so I can be your companion—how about it?"

"Really, is it really possible?"

Xu Qingzhou couldn't speak easily anymore, and probably felt a little embarrassed, hesitatingly and carefully added: "Except for the first and second grades of junior high school, I have to be at home, I can do it anytime—but is it really possible?"

Chu Wendao replied sincerely: "It is really possible. Just tell me before you come here, and I will pick you up."

"Teacher..." Xu Qingzhou called out hesitantly.

"Huh?" Chu Wendao walked down the stairs slowly, listening patiently.

"Thank you."

Why did Xu Qingzhou thank you, but Chu Wendao didn't explore it.This child has always been like this, he can thank and apologize for anything, and his sensitivity is so sensitive that people feel sorry for him.

He accepted it generously: "You're welcome."

"Smile so happily, eat a few more oranges." Mother Chu pushed the fruit plate towards Chu Wendao after he hung up the call.

Chu Wendao was startled, and subconsciously touched his lips.

"Are you happy?" He reached out and picked up an orange petal and threw it into his mouth. The juice was juicy and sweet, and he couldn't help chewing a few more.Chu's mother should have warmed the fruit with warm water, the entrance temperature was just right, and the sweet and sour taste permeated the whole mouth.

"That should be very happy." Chu Wendao nodded and repeated.