Golden bachelor

Ai Dongdong's first visit to Zhou Gang's house was an eye-opener.

Zhou Gang's house is located in the northwest corner of the county. It is actually an old house from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a small three-story western-style building next to it.

Ai Dongdong has seen a lot of Xiaoyanglou, but this is the first time he has seen such a quaint old house. The house has three floors inside and outside, and the building is very grand. Grass.When I entered the yard, I found that the inside was much wider than the outside. There were flowers and plants in the yard, and there was a dog and a few chickens.

Ai Dongdong walked inside with Zhou Ming, admiring as he walked, Zhou Ming looked back and said with a smile: "Our old house has been around for a long time, and it was passed down from the older generation. It is the inheritance left by our ancestors. In the past, we There are still a few old houses like this in this area, but it’s a pity that they were renovated a few years ago, and ours is the only one that has been preserved, and the old lady insisted on it, and the small western-style building next to it is where my elder brother lives.”

Ai Dongdong asked: "Is your home considered a cultural relic protection unit?"

Zhou Ming smiled, and pointed to a silver sign on the pillar next to it. It was indeed one of the few ancient buildings in Gucheng County.There was a sound of children playing and making noise from inside the room. Zhou Ming went in and almost bumped into a child who ran out. He laughed and cursed, saying: "Don't run around, be careful not to knock you down."

A three or four-year-old boy ran out, called "Dad" to Zhou Ming, then leaned against the wall and stared at Ai Dongdong.Ai Dongdong bent down and greeted him a little embarrassedly: "Hello."

He's actually not very good at getting along with children, although he likes them very much.Zhou Ming put down his bag, knelt down and said to the child, "Say hello to big brother."

But the child was probably timid, so he didn't dare to scream, and looked at Ai Dongdong timidly.Zhou Ming stood up and said to Ai Dongdong with a smile: "The child is young, so he is afraid of meeting strangers."

Ai Dongdong smiled and said, "This is the first time I've come back, and I didn't bring anything..."

"What are you bringing, come in." Zhou Ming picked up his bag again, and led him into the house. After opening the curtain and entering, he shouted, "Mom, I'm back."

"Have you brought the child back?"

"Bring it back." As Zhou Ming said, he looked back at Ai Dongdong. When Ai Dongdong walked into the house, he immediately felt the heating coming. The decoration here really opened his eyes. Don't look outside the house. It looks mottled and old, but the decoration inside is luxurious.

This kind of luxury is not the luxury of modern villas, but antique, but the tables, cabinets and beds are all bright, but they are very textured, and they are all good things at first glance. Landscape paintings are hung on the main hall. Bodhisattvas are enshrined on the table.There were several people in the room, young and old, and two or three children. Zhou's mother was lying on the bed, leaning against the three-layer quilt, and she was very peaceful: "Come here."

Ai Dongdong hurriedly bowed: "Grandma is good."

His standard Mandarin surprised everyone in the room. One of them, a woman in her forties, said, "This kid looks neat."

Ai Dongdong felt like Lin Daiyu entered Jia's mansion, being commented on from head to toe, he felt a little uncomfortable, but he still had basic manners. Hearing Zhou Ming introduce him one by one, he He said hello to each of them. He was a little nervous about the third aunt and aunt, and he didn't remember it after a glance. Zhou Ming's wife was very impressive to him. She was a very fair and kind woman, and she didn't get along with Zhou Ming. At first, he thought it was Zhou Gang's wife.

Whether Zhou Gang has a wife or not, he has never been very clear, but he hopes that there is no wife, otherwise he really doesn't know what he should do.

"Zhou Gang told us about your affairs on the phone, don't worry, even if you live here, treat it as your own home."

Ai Dongdong didn't know how Zhou Gang introduced himself to his family. He was just a little surprised that Zhou's mother called Zhou Gang by his first name. They all have nicknames, of course, maybe because Zhou Gang is a capable person, so everyone in the family calls him by his name, which looks solemn.

Ai Dongdong's usual wit was gone, and he kept telling himself subconsciously that this was Zhou Gang's home, and it might be his home in the future, so he had to treat it with caution.Because of this thought, he has been very nervous. He lacks the experience of getting along with elders, but his intuition tells him that if he is as glib and dishonest as he is to Zhou Gang, he probably won't please Zhou's mother.

The Zhou family is a big family, and to his surprise, their family is far more traditional than he thought, a bit like what he saw on TV, it has the air of a big family, if it weren't for the few parked in the yard A van and a motorized three-wheeler, and there are lights, televisions and refrigerators in the house. He almost feels like he has traveled to the Republic of China.

"How old are you? According to Zhou Gang, you are fifteen?"

In the end, before Ai Dongdong could speak, Zhou Ming's wife next to him said, "Oh, that doesn't look like it. My natal nephew, my brother's eldest son, is fourteen years old, and he is much stronger than he looks. Much taller too."

"Some people develop early, some people develop late, and boys grow up when they say they grow up."

"No."

A group of women chattered there, Zhou Ming might feel a little uncomfortable, put down Ai Dongdong's bag, and said, "I have something to do ahead, let's go first?"

"You go, let Ruiling do the rest."

Rui Ling is that white and clean woman, Zhou Ming's wife, who looks very young.

Zhou Ming glanced at Ruiling, smiled, turned his head and went out, Ruiling stood up, patted the peanut crumbs on his trousers, and said, "All right, Mom, I'll take Dongdong to see his room first ?”

Zhou's mother nodded and said, "Hurry up and come back after watching, I like this child at first sight."

Ai Dongdong smiled shyly, and bowed to Zhou's mother again, maybe he was too polite, several people actually laughed, the room was full of women's laughter, it sounded quite lively.

Ruiling suddenly pointed to a little girl next to her and said, "This is my elder brother's daughter, nannie."

Ai Dongdong knew this, Zhou Gang's daughter was named Zhou Ting, and Nannan was her baby name.He looked at it and found that Zhou Ting was very petite. She didn't look like she was in her teens. It was said that girls develop earlier than boys. Ai Dongdong has seen 11-year-old girls who are as tall as him, but This Zhou Ting was only as high as his ears.

Ai Dongdong greeted her with a smile: "Hello."

Zhou Ting was very shy and hid behind a woman. Everyone laughed, and Ai Dongdong laughed too. Zhou's mother said: "She is naughty at home, and she is afraid when she sees strangers. Don't worry about her. go first."

Ruiling led Ai Dongdong out, Ruiling smiled and said to Ai Dongdong: "Don't be restrained, why do I think you are a little nervous?"

"It's really a little nervous. I didn't expect your family to be so big. It's like watching a TV show."

Ruiling pursed her lips and laughed: "That's not always the case. Isn't it winter? The old lady fell and was lying on the bed and couldn't move. The few of us came over to talk and play cards after eating, so as not to The old man is lonely, if it is normal, we would rarely get together so neatly." She said while introducing him to the houses along the road, who lives in this, and who lives in that: "This old courtyard is just old and young. The old lady lives here, we live upstairs at the back, and the elder brother lives in this small western-style building next to it. I originally wanted to arrange you with us, but there is no one upstairs, so it is inconvenient for you to live. But the elder brother is on the phone It said inside, let you live with him, saying that you just came here, so you might be timid if you live with us."

Zhou Gang's thoughtfulness made Ai Dongdong feel warm in his heart, of course he would prefer to live with Zhou Gang.

"Nuan has been living with her grandma, so the elder brother is usually alone here, but now he is in prison, so you live alone, and you don't want to start a gang. I will come and call you when it is time to eat, and we will eat together."

After speaking, Ruiling opened a small door between the old courtyard and Zhou Gang's residence.The yard is not as big and luxurious as Ai Dongdong thought. It is an ordinary concrete floor. There is an open space in the south, and a pomegranate tree and a persimmon tree are planted on it. They are all in the southwest corner, against the west wall of the building. , there is a big tree that has been around for a long time, I don't know what kind of tree it is, and the leaves are almost falling.However, the yard was cleaned very cleanly. Ruiling took out a bunch of keys and opened the door, rubbed her hands together and said, "I'll turn on the air conditioner for you later to warm you up. Do you know how to use it yourself?"

"I know." Ai Dongdong hurriedly responded, and Rui Ling smiled and said, "That would be more convenient."

As she spoke, she led him upstairs, and Ai Dongdong saw the whole picture of the living room clearly. At this moment, Zhou Gang's aristocratic temperament was revealed. The building looked okay from the outside, but the decoration inside It's a grand style, not much worse than their villa, with sofas, oil paintings, and tables, all of which look upscale. If you don't see it with your own eyes, it's really hard to imagine this small county. , there is such a high-grade decoration.

"My elder brother's place is quite good, but it lacks a little popularity." Ruiling said and went upstairs: "Your room is upstairs, and there is a river behind our house. The first floor is also easy to be cold, so we all live upstairs, and your room is next to my elder brother's room."

Ai Dongdong followed Ruiling up the stairs. Upstairs was a row of four rooms facing each other. His room faced the west. There was only a bed, a chair and a table in the room.

"My elder brother just told us about your coming here the day before yesterday. The preparations were a bit hasty. This room was originally empty and no one lived in it, so we just bought the furniture and so on. Two days, but the main thing is to install the air conditioner for you, and it was installed yesterday..." Ruiling said, she found the remote control and turned on the air conditioner: "It will be warm in a while."

After talking so much, Ruiling smiled when she saw him: "Okay, pack up, come over for dinner later, I'll go first."

"Excuse me, thank you, Auntie."

Ruiling walked away with a smile, Ai Dongdong put down the bag in her hand, walked to the window and looked out, and sure enough, she saw a wide river not far away, with tall buildings standing beside the river bank, which was very grand.