general in prison

"A Niu is back from slaughtering a pig?" The old man, who was walking with his hands behind his back and hunched over his back, saw the young man walking towards him, and greeted him with a smile, his face wrinkled.

Zhao Chaoxu, a man nicknamed A Niu, said, "Grandpa, where are you from?"

"Just came from the field."

"It's thirty today, grandpa, you still go to the field."

"Haha, I'm getting old and I can't sit still. What I care about most is the harvest in the field." The uncle's cloudy eyes rolled, and his eyes fell on the big basket in Zhao Zhaoxu's hand, "Didn't you also just come back from killing pigs?" Yes, what did you bring?"

Zhao Zhaoxu changed his hand to carry the basket, and the basket was heavy without shaking. "I just stick to my craft, and earn as much as I can."

Grandpa’s throat moved, but he still couldn’t bear to ask a younger generation for some pork. It’s not easy for every family these days. Two years after the end of □□□, the people in the village ran out uneasily and left their wives in the village Children, it is rare to pick up family members.The grandpa's little granddaughter is like this, and she is still pregnant with the third one. Alas, the whole family is already suffering haha, but this adds a few more mouths, making it even more sad.

"Good boy, good boy." If it weren't for the chaos in Zhao Zhaoxu's house, the grandfather really wanted to tell him about his little granddaughter. Don't look at how many children his granddaughter had and ran away with men, she is a good hand outside the family , is a person who lives.His little granddaughter's conditions are actually comparable to A Niu's. A Niu has a powerful stepmother and an incomprehensible father. In elementary school, apart from being able to butcher pigs, he is an idler. He is still the oldest, 29 years old, and everyone has a decent net worth...

The more he thought about it, the more the grandpa felt that it was the best idea to give his little granddaughter to Zhao Chaoxu. It was to give Zhao Chaoxu a home, and he could be a ready-made father after getting married. How wonderful.

"A Niu, my Xiaoli was talking about you yesterday." The grandfather became more and more cordial.

Zhao Chaoxu: "..."

No, don't mention me.

Zhao Chaoxu, "Grandpa, I'm going to pick some vegetables in the mountains, so I won't talk." Before the grandpa could speak, he turned around and ran away.

Grandpa smacked his mouth twice, "I just want you to hang out with my Xiaoli, and I don't want your meat, so why run away?"

It's not easy for anyone these days.Zhao Zhaoxu, who earns a living by a craft, doesn't want to be a good person, so he gave it to the grandpa and the second grandpa, and he couldn't stop it after opening a mouth.

Zhao Chaoxu really went to the mountains to pick vegetables. Two years ago, he was separated by his father before he had a family. He set up his own family, so he brought two bowls, two pairs of chopsticks, a pot, and the usual cover from home. A quilt and a straw mat.Where there is a stepmother, there is a stepfather. This is true. Zhao Zhaoxu lost his mother at the age of four, and his father married his wife the next year. At the end of the year, he gave birth to a younger brother, a younger sister in the second year, and a brother in the next year. Sisters, they can't support themselves, and their stepmothers don't give good looks to their stepsons. In the most difficult years, they can't wait to have Zhao Zhaoxu's flesh and blood to fill their stomachs.

When Zhao Zhaoxu was young, he lived a hard life under the hands of his stepmother. When he grew up a little bit, he tried to find a way to fill his stomach. He learned the craft from the pig butcher in the village. He cared more about his master than his father.

A few years ago, the pig butcher got old and passed away. Zhao Zhaoxu took over all his business, raising and killing pigs in the brigade. After the turmoil ended, there were more people raising pigs, and his business was getting better and better. After all, it is still difficult.

after that……

Zhao Chaoxu thought for a while, he would take advantage of the spring breeze of reform and opening up to raise and sell pork by himself, and when his business grew, he would open a factory to make meat products, such as ham, bacon, sausage, luncheon meat, etc., decades later The most sold meat products in the freezer in the supermarket is the brand he founded.

These things were all things that popped up in Zhao Zhaoxu's mind after a fall.

It is not known whether it is true or not.

But it's always a good hope. If it's true, he can lead Su Ruoyun to live a good life.

Zhao Zhaoxu left the house without leaving the house, and he didn't have a piece of land in his family. In order to eat a few mouthfuls of vegetables and food, he opened up wasteland in the open space in the mountain. Now the land is barren at this age, and there is not much to harvest. , but enough food for two.

After picking some lettuce, long lettuce and two radishes, he squatted next to the water pool, and after a few ten minutes of harvesting, he finally caught a catty of shrimps. He knew this water pool was beside the steep cliff, and ordinary people seldom come here. Careful, she often comes here to make up for Su Ruoyun.

Cover the way you came here with hay so that no one will find you.Zhao Chaoxu walked home with a basket that was heavier than when he came. He lived next to the village primary school and was taken in by Su Ruoyun, who was also the principal of the primary school. They lived in the two rooms together.

The sound of Lang Lang's reading can still be heard in the school. Some children stayed here to study after the [-]th year, but there were only three or four, and most of them were called home to work.There are also some adults who are studying hard in their notebooks full of words, and will continue to take the college entrance examination in the coming year.

Zhao Zhaoxu deliberately walked past the teacher's window, glanced around, and smiled contentedly when he saw the handsome, tall and thin young man.

He will be busy preparing lunch, and then start cooking the New Year's Eve dinner.

When he got home, Zhao Zhaoxu hurriedly found a basin and poured the shrimp into it for dinner.He found another half-broken enamel basin and poured the pig offal into it. The two-knife meat and pork suet are the most precious. He made holes in it, stringed straws and hung it on the beam, and used it later to cut the fat. The meat and suet are refined, and the oil residue and radish are used to make dumplings.

Zhao Chaoxu is a butcher of pigs. Pig farmers sometimes give him some money, and sometimes they give him unrefined pigs. He killed three pigs early this morning and got a whole set of pigs. He didn't ask for five catties of meat and a large piece of suet, so he wanted to have a good meal with Su Ruoyun during the Chinese New Year.

Zhao Chaoxu learned from his master how to treat the large and small intestines, rubbing them with plant ash and then beating them with vinegar can remove the fishy smell and dirt.The cold hands were red, but Zhao Zhaoxu's heart was hot. When he saw the thin man walking over with a few books in his arms, he became even hotter.

"There is water in the thermos. I got some malted milk. You drink it. Don't do anything." Zhao Zhaoxu stood up and ran over, pushing Su Ruoyun into the room with his greasy hands, "Dirty, don't you Clean it up, I'll get these things. Go read the books, you don't like the books I got from the waste collector, so read them quickly."

"It's dark inside."

"Then you just watch over here, I'll light up the stove, and you stay by the side to keep warm."

Su Ruoyun: "A Niu, I can do some jobs."

Zhao Chaoxu refused to let Su Ruoyun touch his hands. Those beautiful fingers should be used to hold a pen and turn over a book. They are not for work, and there is not much work. He does it very quickly.

But he knew that Su Ruoyun was very stubborn, so he looked around and saw that there was a basket of soybeans that he didn't pick. He said he was going to cook tofu, but he forgot when he got busy. "Xiaoyun, you pick the soybeans, and we'll grind the soybeans to make tofu in two days."

With something to do, Su Ruoyun laughed happily, "Well, I'll pick next to you."

"It's cold here, and it smells bad." Zhao Zhaoxu guarded the door and cleaned up the pig's intestines.

Su Ruoyun dragged a small stool and sat down, "It's not cold with you by my side. Ah Niu, don't spoil me, I will be spoiled by you."

"You are my daughter-in-law, I don't spoil anyone."

Su Ruoyun pursed her lips, stretched out her hand and pinched Zhao Zhaoxu's soft waist, Zhao Zhaoxu immediately changed his words, "It's a lover, it's a partner."

Su Ruoyun let go of her hand, and rubbed the pinched place, "No one will kill a pig in the first month, follow me to read and write."

Zhao Zhaoxu's face fell, "No need, my fingers are thick and I can't hold a pen."

"The policy is different now. If you are uneducated, you will suffer in the future. You can kill pigs for a lifetime. We need to find something else to do." Su Ruoyun didn't want Zhao Chaoxu to keep killing pigs and get a lot of blood on his hands. "Educated people can do anything, even if they know a few words, they won't be cheated and have to give them money."

Thinking of the sudden extra memory in his mind, Zhao Zhaoxu nodded helplessly, "Okay, whatever you say is up to you."

···

After packing up the pig intestines, put them in a pot and cook them with sliced ​​ginger and aniseed ingredients to remove the dirt and fishy smell. After they are soft, they can be fried and eaten later, otherwise they won’t be able to chew.

Every household is not rich these days, and there are not many good things that can be served on the table during the Chinese New Year. A bowl of meat is already good.Zhao Chaoxu is the chef, and his skills are not bad. He made small fried pork, fried large intestine with garlic leaves, sliced ​​pig heart, fried liver tip, boiled shrimp, sliced ​​lettuce and lettuce soup.

During the New Year's Eve dinner, Zhao Zhaoxu conjured up a bottle of rice wine, and each of them poured a glass. The rice wine was slightly muddy, sweet and a little sour. The taste wasn't the best, but it set off the atmosphere.

Su Ruoyun's face became redder and redder after drinking, and under the light of the kerosene lamp, it looked even more delicious. After eating the last bite, Zhao Zhaoxu carried Su Ruoyun into the room, leaving the leftovers on the table cold.

"You slow down."

"Uh, I can't take it anymore, let me take it easy."

"Zhao Xu..." Muttered affectionately.

……

……

The old wooden canopy bed creaked under the heavy load, and there was a lover's whisper in the sound.

After finishing the exercise after dinner, Zhao Chaoxu and Su Ruoyun went out side by side.Su Ruoyun is an educated youth from a big city, he did not leave like others, but stayed here to teach.According to the customs of his hometown, on the night of the New Year's Eve, one has to cross a hundred bridges and touch the doornails, praying for peace, prosperity, health and tranquility in the coming year.

There is a bridge in the small village, but there are no door nails. The third New Year they spent together was just going out for a walk like before, crossing the small bridge with an oil lamp, walking past almost everyone, and then they could go home.

On the way home, just after getting off the bridge, Su Ruoyun grabbed Zhao Zhaoxu's hand, "Listen, Ah Niu, what's going on?"

"What?" Zhao Zhaoxu held Su Ruoyun's hand instead, and his hand was cold.

"Like a cry, a child's cry."

"Where are children coming out now, stop listening and go home."

Su Ruoyun was dragged away for a few steps, stopped suddenly, and looked at the small river under the bridge, "No, it's the cry of a baby, I heard it, it's just under the bridge, in the reeds."

Zhao Chaoxu felt very nervous, "The baby cries at night and panics." He led Su Ruoyun a few steps forward, "Go home and make dumplings, and go to bed after eating."

Su Ruoyun followed and walked a few steps forward. When he was missing, you couldn't bear to look at the reed prodigal behind you, "No, we're going to take a look. If we don't hear it, forget it. If we hear it, if we don't save it, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."

"Don't go, I'll go and see." Zhao Zhaoxu rubbed Su Ruoyun's head through the hat, "You are just soft-hearted. You hold the lamp, I'll go down and have a look."

"Together." Su Ruoyun forbade Zhao Zhaoxu to act alone, "Is there anything we can help you with?"

Stroking away the reeds, Zhao Chaoxu walked in front, and Su Ruoyun walked behind with a lamp to illuminate them. The two found a wooden basin in the puddle at the root of the reed. There was a baby in the basin. One month old baby.The baby's face was pale from the cold, and it was crying like a kitten, and the voice was so small that it couldn't be heard very far.Zhao Zhaoxu stood up holding the washbasin, and walked to the shore with Su Ruoyun. Su Ruoyun reached out to touch the swaddle, "It's all wet, I'll hug him, it will freeze to death if it goes on like this. It's only so big, how can I have the heart to throw it away?" .”

"There's a lot of patience."

Su Ruoyun was silent. In these years, she couldn't support herself, let alone a child.Some people threw their babies into the ditch when they gave birth on the same day. There were many small white bodies floating in the ditch. Most of them were baby girls. It was already difficult for this baby to be placed in a basin. .

He took the child out of the wet swaddle, and it was naked inside. She was a very good-looking little girl, who was hugged by Su Ruoyun tightly, her little face was nestled against his chest following the warmth, and she clasped her hands together, Show dependence.

"She is destined to be with you." Zhao Zhaoxu poked the child's face with his thick finger, the child just moved his mouth, he didn't cry or make a fuss, but she didn't have the energy to cry now. "Since there is fate, let's take care of it first, and then send it away when we find a suitable family."

"Let's talk about it, let's go home, it's cold outside." Su Ruoyun liked this little doll from the bottom of her heart.

As soon as he got home, Su Ruoyun asked Zhao Chaoxu to make malted milk, which he had never tasted before, and which Zhao Zhaoxu bought specially for him.

"Really, you haven't had a drink yet."

Su Ruoyun took a sip with a small spoon, blew it, touched it with her lips, and fed it to the child's mouth when the temperature was just right. The child wriggled its small mouth and began to drink.

"Boil hot water and scald the child's body."

Zhao Chaoxu went to do it, and when he was done, he returned to Su Ruoyun and muttered, "It's agreed, I won't raise it."

Su Ruoyun looked at the little guy in the bed, smiled and held Zhao Zhaoxu's hand, "She will be our little girl from now on, call you daddy, call me daddy."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhaoxu's heart burned.In the messy memory of the future, there seemed to be a little girl stumbling towards him, Zhao Zhaoxu's heart softened all of a sudden, and he hugged Su Ruoyun, "I will take care of you for the rest of my life." At the end, he kissed Su Ruoyun's face big Take a sip, "Daughter-in-law, we will be together forever."