The modern fortune-telling history of a small shopkeeper

The sun has not yet set, and it is still early at this time. Most people in the village have not started cooking, and their dinner is ready.The sunlight outside the yard has moved over, they put the dining table in the yard, and served the prepared meals on the table.

The siblings set the dishes and chopsticks, and the third sister Qiao called her grandpa to eat. The little girl was not afraid of anything but her grandpa. She looked like a little lady in front of her grandpa. Shouting: "Grandpa, the meal is ready."

"Hey, just come. Will it be ready so soon?" Zhang Mingde walked over with his granddaughter, and was a little surprised when he saw the dishes on the table.

Qiao Sanmei said it was, and didn't care who cooked the food.

At this moment, Qiao Minglang came out of the kitchen, looked at his grandfather and said, "Grandpa, sit down and eat."

"Okay, you made all of these?" Zhang Mingde sat down and looked at the dishes on the table. He didn't expect his grandson to cook well.Qiao Minglang nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, Grandpa, try it and see if you like it."

"Okay." Zhang Mingde replied with a smile twice.

Seeing that the elders had sat down, Qiao Minglang asked his younger brothers and sisters to sit down, carried the twins to their little chairs and sat down, put the spoons into the hands of the two little guys, and filled half of them with a small bowl. With a bowl of rice, he took two pieces of meat with his chopsticks and gave them, saying, "Okay, eat."

I don't know if there is grandpa here today, but the two little guys are much better than usual.

Everyone sat down around a small table. Zhang Mingde watched a group of grandchildren grilling rice, a flash of relief flashed in his heart, he picked up the bowl and took a sip of the soup. The thick white fish soup tasted fresh and sweet. He nodded and said, "It's delicious, very good."

"There are a lot of fish heads and bones in the fish balls made there every day. The aunt asked us to bring some back, and I just cooked it for soup. Come, grandpa, eat a piece of meat." Qiao Minglang poured it into the old man's bowl Two pieces of meat were caught.

"Oh, that's good, don't waste it. Hey, I'll do it myself, don't need to hold it for me, you all eat, eat." Zhang Mingde saw the grandchildren eating the rice in the bowl, knowing a few The child must not have eaten much meat on weekdays, so he was not willing to eat it, and wanted to save the meat for the children to eat.

"There's still meat here, grandpa, you don't have to be polite, they all have something to eat." Qiao Minglang looked at his little brother sitting beside him while eating, and seeing that grandpa didn't need him to bring food, he said, "Then grandpa, what do you want to eat?" Just pick it up yourself, you're welcome."

Qiao Xiaohui was in charge of taking care of the little sister, and each of the two looked after the little one. As long as the little one had something to eat, he would be honest and eat whatever he gave.

Maybe it's because the family hasn't eaten meat for a long time. As soon as they tasted the meat, the two little guys kept asking for meat.

Not to mention the two little ones, even the big kids like them may not have eaten meat for a long time. Qiao Xiaofen and Qiao Mingcheng haven't stopped since they picked up the chopsticks and served the bowl, and soon they ate to the second. Two bowls of rice.

With so many people eating, there are only two dishes in one pot, and there is nothing left in the end.

After eating, Qiao Minglang asked his younger brothers and sisters to stay at home while he sent his grandfather back.When they went out, they had to pass by the door of the neighbor's house, and met a woman who just came back from outside, Qiao Minglang greeted the woman.

"Grandpa is here, where are you going?" Chen Fang knew her grandpa, and asked with a smile.

"Yes, I'm planning to go back." Zhang Mingde replied.

"I'm going back so soon, don't stay longer."

"If you don't sit, it will be dark if you sit any longer."

"Oh, that's exactly what you said. Mingming, are you taking grandpa out? Go slowly, and pay more attention on the road."

"well."

Qiao Minglang nodded to the woman, and continued walking with his grandfather.

Sunset and sunset, the west is full of red clouds.At this time, the people in the village started to cook dinner. On the way out, they met some people they knew in the village. They called and took care of them, and they responded to others.

When he reached the entrance of the village, Zhang Mingde turned his head and said to his grandson, "You go back, grandpa can go back by himself, there is no need to send grandpa off."

"It's not far away. I'll send grandpa back and come back."

Qiao Minglang was worried that the old man would go back alone. It was still four or five miles away from their house to the village where his grandfather lived. Come back before dark.

"Grandpa is not a child. Grandpa often takes this road. Grandpa just goes back by himself."

"I saw grandpa off, and I happened to talk to grandpa on the way."

"You child." Seeing that the grandson stubbornly wanted to send him back, and it would be dark if the dispute continued, Zhang Mingde couldn't help it, so he had no choice but to ask the grandson to send him for another walk.

Knowing that his grandfather's feet were inconvenient, Qiao Minglang slowed down on purpose, and walked beside the old man. Cooperating with the old man's footsteps, both grandpa and grandson walked very slowly.

Both sides of the road are full of trees, and when a gust of wind blows, the trees are swinging and making a rustling sound.

One old and one young walked on the sandy road, leaving a long line of footprints.

On the way, the grandfather and grandson were talking, Zhang Mingde asked his grandson about his future plans, "Are you going to do business with the family in the future?"

Among the grandchildren, Zhang Mingde likes this eldest grandson the most. This child is most like him when he was young. He has been quiet since he was a child, smart, studious, and determined.What Zhang Mingde hopes is that this eldest grandson can read more books, get admitted to university, get out of this place, go outside, see the outside world, and not be trapped in this place all his life.

But now that the family is like this, the grandson wonders if he will have the opportunity to go back to study.

"It's my plan. During this period of time, I will do business with my family first, and I can make some money." Qiao Minglang knew what the old man meant by asking this question, but their family has no money now, and they still owe a lot of debts. There are a group of brothers and sisters to support, all of them are at the right age to eat.

Compared with reading, eating a full stomach is obviously the first problem they have to solve at present.

Zhang Mingde was silent for a while. He knew the reason why his grandson did this. The old man knew that if he couldn't even eat enough, how could he talk about other things, "Don't just look in front of you, but look farther away."

"When I look back, I'll talk to your uncle and uncle to see if they can help your family."

"Grandpa, I know your kindness. But this, uncle, they also have their own wives and children to support, and their own lives to live. Our family's affairs..." A large group of children in their family, no matter who they are, want to Helping them is a huge burden.No one can help them except by their own efforts.

Qiao Minglang understood what the old man meant. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept the old man's kindness, but that he didn't want to embarrass the old man and put a burden on others. He looked at the old man and said, "Grandpa, I've grown up. Family matters , I will find a way to solve it, you don't have to worry about me."

"Hey, if it wasn't for your parents, they would have left you and left..." Zhang Mingde sighed, and said, "Grandpa has no skills, so he can't help you." There is still a little pension, and after his own monthly food and expenses, there is not much left.

The eldest son and his daughter-in-law are teachers in the city and live there with their children. They will come back to visit him on New Year's Day and give him some money.The youngest son runs outside and has not come back several times throughout the year. Once he comes back, he will bring back a lot of things and give him money.

The life of the daughter is difficult after marriage, and there are still a group of children to support, especially since the daughter fell ill, the life of the family has become even more difficult.Every time he came over, he would buy something for his daughter's house and put some money in her hand. The little money he saved over the years was subsidized to her daughter back and forth, and he didn't have much money left. .

Since his retirement, the eldest son said that he would take him to live in the city, but Zhang Mingde was not very willing, and he just cared about his daughter.Unexpectedly, not long after the daughter left, the son-in-law also left, leaving behind a group of children, the youngest and the oldest, who are about to raise a family.

Looking at a group of grandchildren who lost their parents at such a young age, Zhang Mingde felt uncomfortable. He wanted to help them, but he was powerless.The old man's eyes were a little sore, he sniffed, and said, "My child, the road is difficult now, and we have to go on. After we have passed, in the future...you will get better, and when you look back, there is nothing wrong with these things. What's the matter."

His own life was not all smooth sailing, and he had lived through even more difficult days, but he never thought that his grandson would be like him, why couldn't he... live a little smoother, life had to be so hard.

"Grandpa, you have helped us a lot. I understand what you said, and I will take care of my younger brothers and sisters to live a good life." Qiao Minglang helped the old man walk slowly, knowing that the old man was feeling uncomfortable, and there were still a lot of troubles on the way. Comforted the old man a few words.

The setting sun shone on them, and there were long shadows on the ground, one long and one short.

After sending grandpa back to the village where he lived, and back home, Qiao Minglang helped the old man to sit on the bed inside the house, and then left the house.Outside there was a small kitchen built with a shed, and a small stove. We scooped water into a pot, put the pot on top of the stove, and lit a fire.

There was a well in the yard of my grandfather's house. Seeing that there was no water in the tank, he helped my grandfather draw a tank of water.

When the water in the tank is ready, the water in the pot is also heated.

Finding the wooden basin that grandpa used for bathing, Qiao Minglang poured the boiled hot water into it, scooped two spoonfuls of hot water into it, and brought the wooden basin into the room where grandpa lived.Zhang Mingde, who was lying on the bed, saw his grandson coming in with water, sat up from the bed, and asked in surprise, "You child, why haven't you gone back yet?"