When they reached the edge of the forest park, the old man pointed the way and they drove into the forest.
There was a small road in the forest, barely big enough for a car to pass through. There was a billboard at the end of the road that read: Christmas Tree Logging Area.
The old man gestured for him to slow down. "Slow down, let my presbyopia take a good look and find the prettiest Christmas tree. This year, you're coming to celebrate Christmas with me. I can't fool around like I used to."
Li Du laughed. "Have you always been fooling around?"
The old man shrugged. "Sophie didn't bring me a son-in-law. Of course I had to fool her. No, I wasn't fooling her. I was expressing my silent protest. "
As he spoke, he laughed.
Li Du had a question that had been buried deep in his heart. Now that they were alone, he could not help but ask, "James, since I came to America, I've been discriminated against a lot …"
The old man patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Don't worry about what those idiots think. They're too stupid."
Li Du said, "It's nothing. I don't care what they think. However, discrimination is real. They don't want to be friends with me, but I feel that you and your wife seem to treat me very well. You're even happier about my relationship with Sophie. To be honest, I'm a little flattered. "
When Li Du had first arrived in America, he had been warned not to be interested in white and black girls at gatherings with his Chinese classmates. Even if they were willing to accept him, their parents and family would not.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin were the opposite. From the first time they saw him and Sophie together, the two of them had shown a positive attitude. This unusual situation made him puzzled.
Hearing his words, the old man laughed. "So that's what you're talking about? What's so strange about that? You're a good guy. My wife and I think you're a good guy. Sophie likes you. Why wouldn't we be happy? "
Li Du smiled. "Thank you for your praise and support."
The old man waved his hand. "To be honest, my wife and I have been clear since Sophie was in middle school. As long as she's willing to fall in love, as long as she finds a good kid, we'll support her."
"But, you know, son, the private lives of the teenagers here are very messy. To prevent Sophie from getting hurt, we took her to church from an early age so that she could listen to the Lord and be disciplined by God. "
"In the end, Sophie was too devout. She obeyed God's instructions and kept herself clean before she came of age. She didn't have too much contact with the opposite sex and didn't even date boys!"
At this point, not only did the old man wave his hands, but he also began to shake his head. "Can you imagine? She never dated any boys until she graduated from university. Her mother and I even suspected that she didn't like men."
Li Du laughed and said, "Isn't that a little too much?"
Grandpa Sheng shook his head solemnly. "No, no, no, not at all. For a long time, we were really worried that she would choose to stay with a girl, until you appeared …"
At this point, he patted Li Du on the shoulder and said, "So now you know why we support you so much? Because we were worried that she wouldn't fall in love with any man! "
Hearing him say that, Li Du could not help but laugh. How pitiful of parents.
After wandering around the edge of the forest for a while, the old man found a small fir tree. He waved and said, "Come, young man, this is the perfect Christmas tree we've been looking for."
Fir trees were similar to pine trees, both perfect choices for Christmas trees.
However, finding a fir tree to make a Christmas tree was more difficult than finding a pine tree. This was because fir trees could grow up to a height of 40 feet, which was too high for a person to wrap their arms around.
Because of this, they could grow very fast and large. By the time people found them, they would have already missed the height suitable for a Christmas tree.
After finding the Christmas tree, Li Du took the axe off his shoulder, found a place to chop it down, and said, "James, stand back and watch me chop it down."
Grandpa Sheng laughed and said, "Don't rush. Is this your first time chopping a tree? Then I have to teach you some tricks. "
Li Du asked, "Isn't it just finding an empty space to chop it down?"
Grandpa Sheng said, "It's not that simple. Well, it's actually very simple, but you have to let me teach you, because I've long looked forward to the day when I can teach my child how my father taught me to chop down a Christmas tree."
It was said that American parents did not have a preference for boys. In fact, this was not true. It could only be said that most American parents loved their children, regardless of gender.
However, for both sexes, they all hoped to have a child of the same gender as themselves.
In other words, fathers liked to have sons, and mothers liked to have daughters, so that they could instill some of their dreams and experiences in their children.
This was especially obvious in the Southwest United States. Many cowboys in the Southwest liked to raise sons. If they had daughters, they would also raise them like sons before they reached adulthood.
Grandpa Sheng took the axe and said, "It's much more difficult to chop a tree with an axe than with a chainsaw. Nowadays, many people choose to use a chainsaw, but it doesn't have the fun and Christmas spirit of chopping trees."
Li Du nodded and said, "I agree. We should respect tradition."
He was respecting his future father-in-law.
Grandpa Sheng was very pleased with these words. He laughed and said, "That's right. Come, when you want to chop down a tree, first find an empty space like you said just now.
"After you find it, first chop twice from the front, diagonally from the top and bottom. Then draw a horizontal line on the opposite side. This horizontal line is your target. Finally, chop this horizontal line as hard as you can. "
He explained it to Li Du and demonstrated it himself. Only then did he hand the axe to Li Du.
Li Du had the little bug to strengthen his body and energy. He could be called a beast in human form. His body contained a terrifying amount of energy.
Swinging the axe, he swung it a few times. The fir tree quickly let out a cracking sound that made one's teeth ache, and was directly chopped down.
Grandpa Sheng was stunned. "You're so strong. I was going to teach you some tricks to exert your strength."
While dragging the fir tree, Li Du once again showed his strength and explosiveness. He dragged the fir tree alone and walked very fast.
In fact, he was not alone. Ah Meow, Ah Ow, and Crispy Noodles were also helping to push the fir tree.
After bringing the Christmas tree home, Sophie made them hot coffee and they could go rest. Sophie and her mother tidied up the Christmas tree, hung the lights and tied the ribbons.
Next was to wait for the Christmas Eve feast in the evening. In the Southwest United States, people regarded the Christmas Eve feast as the most important dinner of the year. It was a bit like New Year's Eve in China, where the whole family gathered for a feast.
Christmas was like the Spring Festival. It was the most important holiday, but there was no feast, at least not as grand as Christmas Eve.
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