Crossing the green wheat ears

After lunch, Xi Wei and his uncle had long since disappeared. They probably went to catch the grasshopper and asked Wei Cheng to go with them. Wei Cheng didn't go, so he had to stay at home to help his brother with work.

Wei Cheng regards himself as a little adult now, and he stretches out his hands for any work at home. Xiyuan thinks that he is still young, and he is afraid of exhausting the child, so he only asks him to do some light work. This is not a kind of pampering. .

In the house, Xiyuan's mother and grandma are cutting fabrics to make clothes for grandpa. Others can put them away first. For birthdays, the old man must wear brand new and brand new ones.

Grandpa sat on the top of the kang, chatting with uncle Xi Mingwen, asking how the Xi family was doing.On the ground beside the kang, there is a pillar on which many small objects are hung jinglingly, such as pipe pots, small hammers, small chisels, small whetstones, small pestles, etc. In short, there are so many things to see.By the way, shouldn't the pestle be placed in the stove? Why did grandpa hang it on the kang?

Xiyuan had doubts but didn't dare to show it, probably it was grandpa's hobby.Sure enough, after a while, grandpa took a small hammer off the pillar and rubbed it carefully with his hands.

"Hey, your family is a living family. It is right to marry Winter Solstice to you." Grandpa sighed after listening to my uncle telling him about the family situation.

"Father, will you stay with me at our house for two days after your birthday?" Niang Xiyuan put down the scissors, looked at the old man and said.

"Father really wants to go, to see your newly built house..." Grandpa thought for a while, "I still don't want to go, now that my legs and feet are not good, and I'm old, just stay at home and don't worry about it." People hate it."

"Look at what you said, our old man and the old lady can still dislike you, but Xiao Yuan and the others are your grandsons, let alone you and my mother to stay for two days, and let Xiao Yuan's father drive you away tomorrow Send it back with my mother." Xiyuan's mother actually wanted her father and mother to stay at her own house, and she lived in such a nice house, and her parents had never even lived in it, so she felt uncomfortable.

"I won't go, if your mother and I are not at home, then both of you will not be able to eat." The old man still declined.The daughter lives with her parents-in-law, not by herself, and going to cause trouble for the daughter.

"Father, just go to my house and stay for two days. My father and mother have nothing to say." Xi Mingwen also persuaded the father-in-law that the old man was brave all his life, and now that he is old, the family still lives like this.However, he still admires the old man. Although the old man can't do it in ordinary life, he is very discerning in many major issues.

When he was on a blind date, the old man looked at his house and himself, and agreed.The old man knew that his daughter was not good at living, and he also saw that the Xi family was passing by, the old couple of the Xi family had serious business, Xi Mingwen was honest and willing to work, and the daughter could not suffer along with her.

Facts have proved that the old man's decision is correct.In Xi Mingwen's mind, his family Xiaoyuan inherited the character of the old man. You can see that he is usually lazy, but he can make up his mind on major issues, otherwise their family would not be able to live like this.

If Xiyuan knew that his father thought so, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh, but he came here from far away, and even made his father and grandpa get involved.

"Let's think about it again, can't you live for a few more days?" Grandpa put down the small hammer and picked up the small chisel again.

"Why don't you stay for a few days? We have to leave after your birthday. There are chickens, ducks, geese, and crops at home. The old man and the old lady can't take care of them." Xiyuan Niang lowered her head and sewed clothes.

"Can't you stay for two more days?" As soon as I heard that my daughter would leave after staying for two days, even the quiet grandmother spoke up.

"I can't do it now. After a few days, the work in the field will be over. I will come back to live for a few days. His father still has to deliver food to Judelou, and he can't leave. This time, he will ask his second uncle to help deliver it once." Only then did you have the time to come." Xiyuan Niang explained to the old man.

"If you don't wait, don't wait. Living a good life is the business." The old man said.

Xiyuan and Wei Cheng listened to the adults gossiping for a while, then went out to another room.Xiyuan leaned on the edge of the Kang, looking at grandpa's house.

It is an ordinary thatched house, even more dilapidated than his original thatched house. Some corners of the walls are cracked and filled with mud, but you can still see the light coming in through the cracks. When the water is pouring, how cold is the room, how can people live there.

The home furnishings are also very simple. There are two wooden boxes in one room, and the folded bedding is placed on them. They are all patches and patches. The clothes that grandpa and the others wear are also covered with patches. In some places, the patches are worn out, and they are patched again. layer.There are only simple pots and pans in the kitchen.Xiyuan knew that his grandfather's life was not good, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

"Far away," Xi Mingwen stood at the door and greeted Xi Yuan hesitantly. Xi Yuan was looking at his grandfather's house. Wei Cheng was leaning on his elder brother, fiddling with his little bow. Even when he went out to visit relatives, he would take it with.

"Hey, dad." Xiyuan got up quickly, and winked at Wei Cheng, telling him not to follow, because daddy looks like he has something embarrassing to tell him.

When the two of them came to the stove of the grandfather's house, Xi Mingwen didn't say anything, and lifted the lid of the rice vat to show Xiyuan, there was only rice in the bottom of a small vat.

"father?"

"Father wants to ask if you have any money left. I will lend it to you. Daddy will return it to you tomorrow. Daddy wants to buy some rice for your grandma's house. Otherwise, before we leave, there will be no rice for cooking." Xi Mingwen understood As for the situation of the father-in-law's house, I went to the back room to find out. The old man might feel that they bought clothes for him and brought so many things. He was embarrassed to search for his daughter again. He vaguely refused to talk about it, so Xi Mingwen found a chance to come out and see for himself.

But the money in the pockets of the couple was originally intended to prepare a banquet for the grandfather, if they all bought rice, it would be impossible.Moreover, more than 100 Wen can't buy much rice.

"Father?" Xiyuan was stunned for a long time, it's only been a few months, and there are at least two months before the harvest of wheat, so there is no food at home?

"Father, dad, why can't dad just look at it and pretend he didn't look at it?" Xi Mingwen rubbed his hands in embarrassment, and he was really embarrassed to borrow money from his son.

"Ah, dad, it's okay. I'm afraid there is something to spend money on, so I took a lot. You and your uncle will go buy more food tomorrow. You must buy enough to last until the old autumn." Just eat white noodles, that is precious food.

Xiyuan took out some money from his sleeve, about one or two taels of scattered silver. Fortunately, he heard from his mother that the second aunt's family looked down on them, so he wanted to take more money for emergencies, and now it really came in handy use.

"I can't use these." Seeing that his son had come up with so much, Xi Mingwen declined again.

"Father, take it all. Isn't my money also our family's, and I don't usually spend much." Xiyuan put all the money in his father's hands.

At dinner, Xiyuan finally realized how his grandpa's family couldn't get along—grandmother actually butchered a chicken for them!

The key is that my grandma's family didn't have any chickens, and this chicken was brought by Xiyuan and the others.Grandma deliberately picked the eggs that lay well and took two.For the dishes on my grandfather’s birthday, I just need to buy some meat, so these two chickens don’t need to be slaughtered at all, just keep the eggs for laying. Now it’s summer, and the chickens are free-range in the yard, and they can eat by themselves without much effort. Hey, grandma actually killed one!

Xiyuan speculated that the grandma might think that her daughter, son-in-law and grandson are all here, and wanted to cook something delicious, but there was nothing at home, and it happened that the daughter brought two chickens, so she slaughtered one. The intention was good of.

Grandmother did not butcher the chicken for them to eat. When they were eating, grandparents, grandparents and uncles all picked up potatoes stewed in the chicken and ate them. Only the younger uncle picked up a few chopsticks and was hit on the hand by his grandfather, "Eat, eat, I just know how to eat, and even compete with the children for food."

"Oh, what are you doing? You don't like me all the time. Your grandson is your own. I picked it up, right?" The uncle didn't see how angry he was, so he yelled at his grandfather and continued to put vegetables in his mouth. eat.

"As greedy as a dog, why are you so unbelievable." Grandpa muttered.

Xiyuan is still puzzled, isn't it greedy for a cat? It should be said that it is as greedy as a cat?

"Your grandpa's family used to have a dog. Your uncle is very rare. That dog is also smart, but he is greedy." Xi Yuan's mother explained Xi Yuan's doubts.

Xiyuan was not happy when he heard it, but Xiwei started to giggle. He was very relaxed when he came to his grandpa's house, and everyone in his grandpa's house loved him very much.

"Wei, don't have fun while eating, look at it and choke." Grandma said at this time, she has a good temper, and she doesn't get angry when grandpa takes care of uncle.

Well, looking at such grandma's family, Xiyuan felt helpless and angry, as grandma said, they are kind-hearted, and they won't give you half a catty of meat.However, Xiyuan would rather not eat those things than to hope that grandma's house is like this, they can't keep how many things you give them!

Lying on the kang, listening to the cries of the grasshoppers my uncle caught for Xi Wei and Wei Cheng hanging under the cucumber rack in the yard, Xi Yuan turned over.

Before dinner, Xi Wei took the grasshopper cage made by his uncle to show off to his brother for a long time, and Xiyuan finally realized from his uncle's craftsmanship why Xi Wei had quarreled with him for a long time because of this.

Uncle’s katydid cage is indeed well woven. It is made of straw, with even stripes and a faint pattern of poplar leaves. Xiyuan feels that Uncle has an artist’s temperament, but he has not received the corresponding education. , and there is no room for him in this village.

There was nothing to say all night, and after breakfast the next day, Xiyuan and Wei Cheng followed uncle and father to tidy up the inside and outside of the grandfather's house, the yard was cleaned, and the things in the house were neat and tidy.

After a busy morning, after lunch, Xi Mingwen didn't rest, and drove the donkey cart to the town with his uncle.The weather is a bit hot now, so I dare not buy meat too early for fear of spoiling it.

"Mother, don't you say that my second aunt and the others can come yesterday?" Xiyuan asked his mother. Tomorrow is grandpa's birthday. Why hasn't the girl come yet?

"I guess it's time. I came early and I have to work and help out. I'm afraid that your grandma's family will lack anything and let them spend money to buy it. I yell about my family's life all day long, and I don't see them. Help me out, buy some pastries for your grandpa during the Chinese New Year, and you've seen something." Niang Xiyuan didn't like this sister who was ten years older than her.

The words of beating his mother really came, when it was almost time for dinner, the father and uncle had already returned from the town, Xiyuan and the others were unloading things in the yard, and the second aunt's family came.

"Why do you buy so many things?" The second aunt was tall, she also looked a bit like my grandfather, and she spoke with a loud voice.

"Ah, I just went to town and bought them all." Xiyuan Niang returned indifferently.

"It's a waste of money. How much does it cost!" The second aunt probably thought it was the money from the grandfather's family.

"The money our old man and the old lady gave us was for our father's birthday. I thought I wouldn't be able to spend it. Our father didn't have much rice in their jars, so I asked his father to buy more grain."

"Ah, this rice is enough to eat until old autumn." The second aunt heard that the money was spent by the sister's family, so she stopped messing around, and the four or five members of their family came, so they brought two bags of pastries.

"This is Xiaoyuan, isn't that...?" The second aunt stood in front of the car watching Xiyuan and the others go down to get things, saw Wei Cheng, and asked.

"My second child, Cheng Zi, is called Second Aunt." Xi Mingwen, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth. He also looked down on his brother-in-law's family. After entering the yard for a long time, they all stopped there, without a helper. Condescending look.

"Second aunt." Wei Cheng greeted, and walked into the house with his brother carrying things, Xiyuan smiled at the family as a greeting.

"Hey, you said that our aunt and the others don't have enough food every year." The second aunt began to arrange for the grandmother again. She was quite old when the grandmother came in. She hasn't been called mother for so many years, only aunt.Grandma has a good temper and doesn't care about it.

"Your family lives better than ours. If you have nothing to do, please help me out." Xi Mingwen was a little displeased. She was his wife's mother, and his wife was run out in front of outsiders. A man couldn't stand it.

"It's okay, let's make do with it. My family will have enough food, or I will bring some for our father." The second aunt was a little unhappy when Xi Mingwen choked, and turned around to lead the family into the house. The cousin has caught up with the uncle, and he didn't say that he would stay and work hard with him.

Fortunately, without them being in the way, Xiyuan and the others slowly finished moving the things on the car, and the whole family tacitly didn't want to hurry up, and had to deal with the second aunt and the others after finishing.

After finishing the work, Xiyuan didn't enter the house, and led Wei Cheng to sit in the yard and watched his uncle weave the grasshopper cages. The uncle saw that Xi Wei and Wei Cheng couldn't put down his grasshopper cages, and planned to make two more for the children. take it back.

"Father, try wearing this dress. See if it doesn't fit and I'll change it for you." The voice of Xiyuan's mother calling grandpa to try on the clothes came from the room. Finish the old man's clothes.

"Try what, don't try." Grandpa is probably quite satisfied.

"Try it, the needle and thread are just confiscated now, and I will change it directly for you."

"It's going to take a lot of trouble. You don't believe me when I say you don't need to try it." The old man muttered, but he still tried it after listening to the sound.

"Oh, this fabric is really good, isn't it expensive?" The second aunt first entered the house and showed that she had this and that in her house. Later, she saw that the girl bought food for her mother's family, and bought food for tomorrow's banquet, and gave it to the old man. Father made clothes, and now he stopped, and he stopped squinting at Xiyuan's mother, and changed to suspicious eyes.

"It's not expensive, I bought it in the town." Niang Xiyuan didn't say much. He told the old lady to put away the fabrics he bought for the old lady and Xiyuan's two uncles. Life is going so well, my eyelids are very shallow, it seems that the old lady has something good here, I should ask for it.

The next day, grandpa had three banquets for his birthday. There was no way, the second aunt’s family would have one table, plus grandpa’s nephew and other relatives and neighbors.

For the dishes cooked by Xiyuan's mother, Xiyuan helped to light the fire in the kitchen, and Wei Cheng was next to him, handing something or something. Xi Wei didn't go out to play wild with his uncle today, but helped carry the dishes.

After the dishes were fried and served, Niang Xiyuan went to the back room to change into the new clothes Xiyuan bought in the town, put on the silver hairpin with lotus buds, and then went out to chat with relatives and neighbors.

People were surprised when they saw Zhang Dongzhi's attire. The silver hairpin on his bald head was worth a lot of money. This is really the right marriage. Everyone said that the Xi family was a Zhengba family, and they were right.Several young daughters-in-law came up to take a closer look at the hairpins and the embroidery on the front of the clothes. The expressions in their eyes could not be concealed with envy.

The second aunt was bragging about how her family was doing there. When Niang Xiyuan made her appearance, she choked back half of what she said. The poster said how nice his home is, who saw it?Zhang Dongzhi wears it on his hair in a bun, and wears it on his body, and the yard calls "uh, huh", but it is right in front of his eyes.

With Xiyuanniang's current cooking skills, everyone in the village is very satisfied with the food. Besides, there are no eggplants and beans, so it feels very fresh to eat suddenly.The stir-fried vegetables were basically eaten up. After the meal, the villagers chatted for a while and left.Grandpa and nephew, who is also Xiyuan's mother's cousin, came to pat Xiyuan's little brother on the head, and left without saying anything. He could see that the two daughters, the eldest, sat on the kang in the house. To show off, the younger one silently helped with the work.

The next day, Xiyuan, Wei Chengcheng and his father drove the donkey cart back, and the second aunt's family was still there. Xiyuan didn't want Wei Cheng to be uncomfortable, so he went home with Xi Mingwen.

His mother and Xi Wei will stay for a few more days.His mother's purpose is to make the clothes of grandma and uncle and uncle well. Although grandma is more than ten years younger than grandpa, she is also in her fifties and sixties. It is very difficult to do needlework.In addition, she was afraid that if she left, the second sister's family would search for these fabrics again, and they would be embarrassed to open their mouths with her here.

The little guy Xi Wei just didn't play enough with his uncle, so he didn't want to go back. Although his uncle is 21, Xiyuan felt that he was just like a child like Xi Wei after two days of observation.

Grandmother and uncle sent them far away, even grandpa sent them out on crutches, the donkey cart walked on the main road, Xiyuan turned around and saw grandpa's family standing at the entrance of the village looking at them.