double struggle

Chu Wendao was not idle in the few days before New Year's Eve. There is a tradition in G City. Every three days before the Spring Festival, different flower markets will be held.Chu Wendao these days is either going to the flower market or playing with those potted plants at home.

Since this is a duplex property, the space in the home is relatively large, so it is not an easy job to decorate it cheerfully without looking tacky.The two elders in the family were even more picky, and Chu Wendao often tossed back and forth.When New Year's Eve came quietly, he was already exhausted and his limbs were weak. He only wished that he grew up on the bed.

Mother Chu also sympathized with her son's hard work in the past few days, and only woke him up after noon.The Chu family didn't have the habit of going out to eat on New Year's Eve. Most of them cooked a good meal at home, and then watched the Spring Festival Gala and ate fruit.Although the Spring Festival Gala is getting more and more unsightly, compared to the local TV shows, there is still some fun.Anyway, this is the case every year, and there is no need to change it deliberately.

The Spring Festival of the Chu family is ordinary, but this ordinaryness is rooted in their generations.

Mother Chu was still cooking for dinner, and when Chu Wendao was about to go to the kitchen, he saw Father Chu making red envelopes there.Chu Wendao also knew how busy Chu's father was usually, and he couldn't help feeling strange that it was rare to see his father staying at home comfortably at this moment.

"Dad, why are you so free today? No one invited you to drink tea?" He leaned forward and asked.

In recent years, the crackdown on bribery has been very severe, and the number of people visiting at home has decreased, but the number of people who invite them to dinner has increased a lot.The closer the Spring Festival was, the more people came to invite Father Chu for morning tea or dinner. In previous years, Chu Wendao rarely saw his father before the Spring Festival.

Father Chu folded a piece of 100 yuan and stuffed it into a red envelope. After a while, he said, "I promised your mother that I will stay at home more than go out."

Chu Wendao nodded knowingly. In the past few days since he came home, Chu's mother has often talked about Chu's father's health in his ears.After all, people are in their 60s, and they will be 70 in two or three years. No matter how strong the body is, it will gradually weaken.Others have already retired at this age, but Chu's father is still running the company conscientiously there, so it is understandable that Chu's mother takes Dad so seriously.

Chu Wendao may also take over Chu's father's company in the future, but not now.He has always been not interested in doing business, not to mention that Chu's father runs an IT-related high-tech enterprise, which is even more difficult for Chu Wendao, a literary student.Fortunately, his cousin Chu Jie has made some achievements in this area, and now he is also doing well in the company. According to Chu's father's idea, the two brothers can support each other even after he comes back to help him.

Chu Wendao and Chu Jie have a very good relationship, and they have no objection to this.Chu Wendao even felt that it wouldn't matter even if he handed over the full power of the company to Chu Jie.Of course, this is just his whimsy.He has already made his parents worry about him for a long time, if he continues to be selfish, it will be unfilial.

The dinner was very rich, and the whole table was filled.Chu Wendao didn't think so when he was helping in the kitchen, but now looking at the dishes on the dining table, he felt that they could last for three days.He took out his mobile phone, adjusted several angles, and took a few photos of the dining table.After picking and choosing the last three photos, each added a filter and uploaded them to WeChat Moments.

I haven't looked at WeChat much for a few days, and my circle of friends is full of excitement that belongs to the Spring Festival.He swipe down casually, almost all kinds of New Year's dishes.Sun Hai just posted a selfie just before he posted it on Moments. His face covered a corner of the photo, and he could see a few children lighting firecrackers behind him.

Sun Hai also lives in City G. When he came back the day before yesterday, he specifically told Chu Wendao.Every Spring Festival, Sun Hai has to go back to his hometown villa, which is almost the suburb of City G, and it is also the so-called rich man's villa area.Sun Hai's family has many relatives and many children, and he never complained to Chu Wendao about how skinny those children are every year.

Chu Wendao knew that Sun Hai was just complaining, but in fact he was happy with it.When he was in high school, Chu Wendao invited Sun Hai to his home for the festival, but within a few days, Sun Hai couldn't take it anymore.The festive atmosphere of the Chu family was too quiet, except for a few relatives who came and went occasionally, there was almost no special flavor of the year.For Sun Hai, who loves to be lively, this is simply a torment.

However, the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve is still different from the usual ones. For example, they will break the rule of not talking, chatting about the big and small things of this year without saying a word.Whether it's current affairs, or career, or gossip about neighbors, talk about everything.Probably a family is like this, chatting about things around them in a casual way, and then discovering that this is another year spent together.

After bathing, Chu Wendao glanced upstairs. His parents were watching the Spring Festival Gala in the living room, leaning against each other and talking in a low voice.He smiled softly and went back to the bedroom.

There was a marble platform under the window of the bedroom, covered with a layer of blankets, he opened the window halfway and sat on the platform.The blanket was soft and warm, and even though there was a gentle evening breeze blowing from the window, he didn't feel cold.

Chu Wendao touched a cigarette and lit it, and the white smoke swayed out of the gap between the windows. The sparks from the cigarette end were like stars in a bright night, or like lanterns on a tree.He leaned close to his mouth and took a breath, took out his phone and clicked on WeChat.

He seldom goes to Moments on purpose, and most of the time he is driven by inexplicable impulse.

Chu Wendao put the cigarette between his teeth, and subconsciously searched through the news.After he saw Zhang Zhiyuan's circle of friends posted two hours ago, he suddenly woke up.Years of habit, it is difficult to change.

It's a lie to say that you don't want to see it, but it will make you sad again.Chu Wendao blew out a smoke ring in self-mocking, really not understanding what was going on with him.

Zhang Zhiyuan, like most people, only sent a few photos of the reunion dinner, and the style should be in the restaurant.

Chu Wendao still remembered that Zhang Zhiyuan said that he didn't like to have reunion dinners in restaurants very much, because he always felt that it was a bit less flavorful.Chu Wendao said with a smile at that time, then you come to my house, I will let you taste the New Year.From then on until last year, Chu Wendao would take Zhang Zhiyuan home for dinner when he was in the third year of junior high school.That was also one of the few times he had the experience of cooking himself.

Chu Wendao guessed that Zhang Zhiyuan's girlfriend should be next to him at this time, and maybe it was tonight that he made a promise for the future.Zhang Zhiyuan's parents will be very happy, and maybe they will discuss the auspicious day and the marriage in the near future.Zhang Zhiyuan should also be very happy, because he can finally have a dream home.

These are not what he should care about, they are far away from him.

After a long time, the cigarette between his fingers had burned out, so Chu Wendao crushed it and threw it into the ashtray.He opened the friends table, pulled to the option beginning with "X", and clicked on the contact with the note "Little Apprentice" there.

This is Chu Wendao's note to Xu Qingzhou, out of some kind of bad taste.This is why Sun Hai followed Chu Wendao and called Xu Qingzhou a "little apprentice". Of course, Xu Qingzhou never knew this note.

Xu Qingzhou's Moments are twice as frequent as Chu Wendao's. As long as there is good weather or good scenery, or a different understanding of academics, or different dishes every day, he can upload them to Circle of friends.

Chu Wendao seldom paid attention to what Xu Qingzhou posted on purpose. He thought that the little apprentice would post some lively photos like others tonight, but to his surprise, Xu Qingzhou was strangely quiet tonight.Maybe it's busy, after all, Xu Qingzhou is a child who can take care of others very well.

Chu Wendao leaned his forehead against the window frame and looked out boredly.There are only a few houses with lights on in the real estate opposite, and the neighborhood is very quiet, not as full of children's laughter as usual.Sun Hai is indeed right, this year is too quiet.

He unlocked the phone screen again, opened the chat box with Xu Qingzhou, and his fingers froze in mid-air.He was thinking about what to post, but his mind was blank.

"Happy New Year's Eve." After a long time, he sent a short greeting.

Probably this sentence will also be drowned in all kinds of blessings, it is so inconspicuous, like a ridiculous clown.But Chu Wendao was also thinking that Xu Qingzhou should be able to see it and reply.

Because, that child likes him so much.