The old house was no longer rented out. After being abandoned for a long time, there was a musty smell inside.
Jiang He took some time to go back to the old house to tidy it up. She tidied up the kitchen and the bedroom, and opened the windows to let in the fresh air for two days.
Standing in the house and looking at the familiar room, she smiled. In the past, this was the place where Xu Qing, that guy, would think of all sorts of ways to trick her into holding hands and hugging her. Then, they would live together. Because of this, she would hide in the storeroom to keep warm in the summer.
He even boasted about being smart. Tui!
When Xu Qing and Xu Wenbin were busy with the transfer of ownership and finding a kindergarten for the children, they considered many aspects and found that the old house still had to be used. Otherwise, it would be impractical for Xu Qing to replace Jiang He every day to make her cook, or for them to take the children to and from school to cook.
The kindergarten and elementary school were nearby, not far from the flower shop. If they used the old house, Xu Qing could stay in the shop at noon, and Jiang He could come here to cook. When the children went to elementary school, they could come to the old house to eat and rest after school at noon, or go to the shop to play. At night, they could go home to do their homework.
Originally, they had to come here to go to school. Compared to going home for lunch and then going to school for lunch, it was better to stay in the old house.
As the saying goes, old people become shrewd, and old cats can also become shrewd. When they lay there, they became more stable, like a scheming person. They were indifferent to everything, but they were alert to all movements.
The two human cubs could already run and jump when they were two years old. They were not cute at all, and they didn't need to look at them all the time. They even needed to avoid them. After Zhuangzhuang stuffed its tail into its mouth, White Gourd's hair stood up. From then on, it stayed far away from this little bastard.
Xu Jin and Xu Shi 'an's personalities seemed to be taking turns. The originally dishonest Xu Jin grew up and became more and more stable, while Xu Shi' an became more and more restless. He was more curious than a cat and wanted to stuff everything into his mouth.
"Watch mommy show you how to eat a big bun in one bite!"
When Xu Qing came back from the transfer of ownership, Xu Jin was sitting at the side playing with his car. Jiang He took a big bun and sat in front of Xu Shi 'an. He waved the bun in his hand and swallowed it whole. Xu Shi' an's eyes widened in surprise.
The steamed buns were steamed by himself, not like the steamed buns that could be stuffed into three at a time. The steamed buns had to be the size of a fist, which made Jiang He's cheeks bulge out. Even Xu Qing had to admire this unique skill, which he could not do.
It was even more impossible for Xu Shi 'an to do it. After a moment of surprise, he prepared to eat his steamed bun, but then he lowered his head and froze for a moment.
Eh? Where's my Steamed Bun?
Looking at Jiang He chewing with all his might, he realized that it was his steamed bun. He pursed his lips and was about to cry.
"You're teasing him again!"
Xu Qing looked at Jiang He angrily as he coaxed him. This person could do anything when he had nothing better to do. Teasing the child to tears, then coaxing him back to his senses after.
There seemed to be a guy who did this to kill time. When he had nothing better to do, he would scold his girlfriend until she cried. After that, he would coax her and the day would be over.
"It's my son. If I don't tease him, who would I tease?"
Jiang He didn't mind and even said, "If I don't tease him more, he won't be as fun as he is now when he grows up."
"Then give birth to another one and we can continue playing."
"I think you need to be taught a lesson."
Xu Jin drove the car to Xu Qing's feet and asked him to give way.
"You're a girl, you should play with dolls."
"No, I want to play with cars!"
Xu Jin saw that his father wouldn't give way, so he used the car to hit his shoes and the car flipped.
The two kids were getting bigger and the house was no longer as quiet as it used to be.
White Gourd avoided the two of them as much as he could. When he had nothing to do, he would follow Jiang He to the shop and act as a mascot to attract money.
At night.
Xu Qing pulled the two kids in front of him seriously and told them that they were going to sleep in separate rooms.
"Are you two going to sleep together or separately? Anyway, you can't sleep with Daddy and Mommy anymore. The bed is too small and can't fit you two. "
The two kids were confused and hadn't reacted yet. Xu Qing took it as they had agreed. "Alright, then it's decided. You two will sleep separately, and we'll sleep in each other's room. Don't act shamelessly."
"I'll sleep with Mommy." Xu Jin refused.
"I, I …"
When Xu Shi 'an heard his sister say that, he wanted to say that he would sleep with Daddy, but he didn't want to. After a while, he said loudly, "I want to sleep with Mommy too!"
"No, I'm the only one who can sleep with Mommy. You two have to sleep by yourselves."
"No, I want to sleep with Mommy!"
"You have to sleep by yourself."
"I won't!"
"Then we'll let Mommy decide who she wants to sleep with." Xu Qing pulled over Jiang He, who had just finished showering and was drying his hair.
"You can sleep with Shi 'an. Xu Jin can sleep by himself. I'll sleep by myself too."
Jiang He said without hesitation.
"…"
"…"
The father, son, and daughter were all confused.
"Do you have any objections?" Jiang He looked at Xu Qing.
"Of course I have no objections … But Shi 'an, cough, Shi' an, do you want to sleep with Daddy? Daddy will snore at night, howl like a wolf, and … ah! "
Xu Qing stood up and touched his waist. He suddenly felt that this was great.
"Shi 'an, let's go to sleep."
Xu Shi 'an looked back three times with every step he took. He was brought back to the room by Xu Qing and closed the door. The two of them went to the second bedroom to rest. Jiang He helped Xu Jin tuck the blanket in the bedroom. He watched as she lay down and closed her eyes. After closing the door, he came out of the living room and continued to surf the Internet in front of the computer.
Late at night, she turned off the computer. When she turned around, she saw Xu Jin standing at the door and looking at her.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I want to sleep with Mommy."
"Hmm …"
Looking at his daughter's little face, Jiang He's heart softened. He picked up Xu Jin and kissed her. He turned off the lights in the living room and brought her back to the bedroom.
…
At dawn, Jiang He got up and made breakfast for the family of four. He knocked on the door and called the father and son. Then, he went downstairs with White Gourd to open the door of the florist.
The family was left to the few of them to deal with.
At noon, Xu Qing brought the child to Zhou Suzhi's place. She wanted to order takeout herself. It was hard to describe how Xu Qing cooked. Jiang He was happy to have a change of taste.
There was a dish of diced carrots with pork ribs and potatoes. It only cost more than 20 yuan in the red packet. It looked delicious.
Jiang He, who was ready to eat, picked up a piece of chopsticks and put it into his mouth. His expression suddenly changed.
"Didn't Xu Qing bring you food today?" Gong Ping was wearing white casual clothes today. She was still young and beautiful.
She didn't know why, but she dressed more and more plainly in the past two years. The black and red dresses that she used to like appeared less and less frequently. Instead, clean sportswear appeared more often.
Maybe it was because she was getting older. She looked younger this way.
"The familiar taste. It's the same as what my family makes. It tastes terrible."
There was no one in the shop at noon. Jiang He put down his phone and said casually, "I took the child to grandma's place."
"White Gourd is such a good boy." Gong Ping hugged White Gourd and stroked him. "He seems to be very old, right?"
Now, Winter Melon didn't dislike her anymore. She didn't have that annoying perfume and other smells on her body. The smell of laundry detergent was very clean, similar to Jiang He's. So, she didn't struggle and just stayed beside her big bear, squinting her eyes and letting out sounds of enjoyment.
"It's said on the Internet that cats can live to 17 or 18 years old. It's probably equivalent to a person in their forties. It's only about half of it."
Cats were like family when they were raised for a long time. They could even understand human language. They could understand everything.
Occasionally, they would lie there and not listen to others. It wasn't that they didn't understand, but they were too lazy to pay attention to them.
"What do you think about opening a branch shop? Sometimes I envy you. You want to open a small shop and raise a cat. You can stay here every day and wait for people to come to your shop. "
"Okay, learn from me. When the time comes, you can quit here and open your own shop. We can invest money in you and continue to open a shop together." Jiang He said without hesitation. He paused and said, "You can also move the Guzheng into the shop. Flowers and music go well together."
"But it's so hard to think about it." Gong Ping took Jiang He's hand and looked at it. Her hand had been taking care of flowers and plants for a long time. It was not the kind of hand that she imagined.
"It's not hard when it's done."
Jiang He was a little helpless toward her best friend. "Don't think about opening a shop. Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No hurry. I haven't met the right one yet."
"My Xu Jin is almost three years old. He's about to go to kindergarten."
"Ah … What's there to compare? Song Hui is about to go to elementary school … We all have our own lives. We can't rush it. If we don't take care of him, we can get married in a hurry and then we have to get divorced. Look, I have a friend who is one year younger than me. She has been divorced twice."
She didn't know if people would be like this when they were older. Their thoughts changed day by day. Last week, they were in a hurry to get married, but today, they were in no hurry.
"How can you raise a child and open a small shop with peace of mind? You don't seem to be in a hurry at all. I think Song Hui is about to go through menopause because of her child. "Gong Ping was very puzzled about how Jiang He maintained this state of life.
She couldn't explain it. Anyway, from the beginning until now, she had always been calm. In the past, she went fishing, went shopping, skateboarded, and now she was raising flowers, playing with cats, and taking care of the child. She had never changed, and she had never been worried.
The better the development of the city, the faster the pace of life. It was different from a few years ago. A few years ago, takeout was more than ten yuan, and breakfast was only three or four yuan. Now, it was no longer the same.
"What's there to worry about?" Jiang He asked.
"Is there nothing bothering you?"
"There used to be, but not anymore. I suspect that Xu Qing used to be a multi-level marketer."
Jiang He was fiddling with the flowers. Seeing someone stop outside the door, she stopped talking and went to the door to greet him, asking if there was anything she needed.
The other party looked around casually, nodded politely, and left after watching for a while.
Seeing that the person had left, Jiang He turned back and said, "What's there to worry about? Just look for him, and he can make you laugh.
"… You've picked up a treasure."
Gong Ping touched White Gourd's soft fur and smiled. There seemed to be something wrong with those words. With a woman like Jiang He, she always felt that Xu Qing had picked up a treasure.
…
Xu Qing was being nagged by Zhou Suzhi.
"I heard from Shi 'an that the two of you know how to fight. Be careful. You're already adults, don't let the children see everything. The two of them are not young anymore, they know better …"
“？？！”
"Mom, don't think too much. We were … were … really fighting." Xu Qing couldn't help but interrupt. Listening to her tone, the misunderstanding was so big that he wanted to take the two children back home.
"Really fighting?"
"Really fighting, the kind where one of us dies."
"Nonsense. Anyway, you have to be careful. If you lead the two of them astray, I'll break your legs and make you sit in a wheelchair with that Prince … Prince."
For a moment, Zhou Suzhi couldn't remember Wang Zijun's name. She only remembered his nickname. Being in a wheelchair at such a young age, he was naturally used as a bad example.
"You're not young anymore, but as a father, you're still so frivolous. Let the children see … Where's Jiang He? Jiang He, come over and talk to me! "Zhou Suzhi was still nagging in a low voice. The two children were so young, yet the two of them were already so inconsiderate.
"Don't, don't. Mom, we were really fighting. We were using swords!"
Xu Qing dug his ears. If Jiang He came over and was nagged at, no matter if he would fly into a rage out of humiliation or embarrassment, they would have to spar again when they got back.
Xu Wenbin wore his glasses and accompanied Xu Jin to read a comic book. Shi 'an sat on the ground and played with his little Chirps. Only then did Zhou Suzhi glare at Xu Qing and end the conversation. She went over to stop the unlucky child from messing around.
"Be careful, he'll pee all over you."
Xu Qing said.
"What's wrong with my grandson peeing all over me?"
"… Nothing."
Good heavens, the old lady was possessed. Her son was picked up, but her grandchildren were the real ones.
…
Gong Ping came out of the flower shop with a bouquet of purple roses. She twirled it between her fingers.
Crossing the road, she walked leisurely on the street. She looked up at the sky. The sky was blue and the clouds were misty.
She was alone, relaxed and happy.
After taking a few turns, she returned to the neighborhood where she lived. At the main entrance, Zhao Shu was smoking a cigarette. His white sideburns indicated that he should have retired, but he was still sitting here to earn some cigarette money. He wasn't tired, as he was already used to it. To him, sitting here was probably not a job, but a part of his life.
In him, Gong Ping saw Jiang He's shadow … or rather, Xu Qing's shadow. Jiang He was influenced by Xu Qing, and Xu Qing got along well with him.
She could still remember how Xu Qing sat at the main entrance and smoked with this old man.
Gong Ping walked to the door. She had lived here for a few years and was already familiar with Zhao Shu. They nodded to each other as a greeting.
She slowed down her pace and took a closer look at Uncle Zhao. The old man's face was full of relaxation and satisfaction, as if nothing could affect him. Sitting at the door was his paradise. There was no such thing as a new neighborhood, and there was no mandatory greeting or greeting, but he had always been responsible. He had almost never been late or left early, and he would ask questions when strangers came alone.
"To be able to live a peaceful life for decades without ups and downs, with a happy family, healthy parents, and harmonious children, this is something that most people can't even dream of. What nonsense are you thinking about?"
This was what Zhao Shu said to Xu Qing while pointing at the building behind him. Xu Qing said it to Jiang He, and now she heard it from Jiang He.
Gong Ping looked at the building in the distance, and then looked at the old man who was comfortably enjoying his cigarette. She tilted her head and twirled the rose on her fingertips.
"Uncle, I'll give you a flower."
"Hmm?"
A puff of smoke came out from Zhao Shu's nostrils, and he raised his head in surprise.
Gong Ping smiled and turned around.
The elegant figure walked away, and with her hands behind her back, she tiptoed, looking like she was dancing.
It was good to be healthy like this. It was enough to have half of the happiness. Why think so much?
"This girl …" Zhao Shu picked up the flower from the table and smiled. He would bring it back to the old woman later.
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