Shen Youchu had written a letter early to tell her mother-in-law and A Ning the date of the flight back. Therefore, at around 8 pm, as soon as Chen Hansheng and Shen Youchu appeared on the mountain path, a little figure ran over happily.
"Sister, brother."
Of course, it was little A Ning. She shouted as she ran. She stepped on the snow and immediately left a row of cute little footprints behind her.
"Slow down. Don't fall."
The heavy snow should have just fallen not long ago. Shen Youchu was worried that A Ning would slip, so she walked forward and caught her sister steadily.
"A Ning, you've grown up."
Shen Youchu picked up A Ning and found that although her sister was still thin, she was a little taller.
She was happy. Although she was not good at expressing it, she still wanted to share it with Chen Hansheng.
"Really? Let me try to hold you."
Chen Hansheng took A Ning from Shen Youchu's arms. He was worried that Shen Youchu would be a little tired after a long day of traveling.
"Brother!"
A Ning called again. The child's voice was crisp and clear. In this deserted mountain with no street lights and only the moon, her voice spread far and wide.
"Okay."
When Chen Hansheng held A Ning, his hands suddenly loosened, and A Ning's little body instantly slid down.
"Ah!"
A Ning let out a cry of surprise, but as soon as she slipped a little, Chen Hansheng immediately held her up. Only then did little A Ning realize that her brother was playing a prank on her.
"Hahaha …"
A Ning couldn't help laughing again. She held Chen Hansheng's neck tightly with her little arms, for fear that her brother would leave her alone again.
Her mother-in-law was still standing at the end of the path, quietly waiting for Shen Youchu. It seemed to be the same as two years ago.
Time seemed to flow very slowly in the mountains.
"Grandma."
Shen Youchu held her mother-in-law's arm.
Grandma looks at Shen Youchu with cloudy eyes. The elderly seem to have a set of experience in judging whether their children are happy or not. Shen Youchu is undoubtedly happy now. Grandma's eyes are somewhat gratified. She holds Shen Youchu's hand more tightly.
Returning to the familiar little courtyard, Chen Hansheng took a few glances under the cool moonlight and found that the place had obviously been tidied up.
The farm tools were all placed in a corner, and there were only a few pieces of firewood left. The place was empty, and it was not as messy as a normal residence.
Judging from this, Granny and A Ning should be ready to leave. Maybe there was a suitcase in the central room.
The few of them sat around the mud stove in the small kitchen. The flickering firelight was like magic, exaggeratedly reflecting their shadows on the wall.
Shen Youchu was preparing noodles for Chen Hansheng. She was preparing the ingredients on the chopping board. Her mother-in-law was sitting on a stool with her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep.
A Ning was filling the firewood and asked Shen Youchu some strange questions from time to time. She had lived in Jianye for two months during the summer vacation, and she still remembered the lively main road.
Chen Hansheng sat for a while and felt that something was missing. Later, he realized, "Where are the puppy and the big cat?"
"They are in Uncle's house."
A Ning raised her head. Her little face was flickering with the dim yellow firelight. "Grandma said that after we leave, the puppy will be in Uncle's house first."
"Oh."
Chen Hansheng nodded regretfully. He had planned to bully the little puppy.
"Brother, do you want to see them? I can call them back."
Little A Ning stuffed a piece of wood into the stove, ran to the yard immediately, and shouted in a direction, "Eggy, Eggy …"
The village in the mountains was very quiet. Little A Ning's voice could almost cover the whole village.
Chen Hansheng couldn't believe it at first, until the sound of running came from afar. The familiar little puppy soon appeared in front of him.
It also recognized Chen Hansheng and ran around Chen Hansheng's feet happily.
"Brother, look."
Little A Ning squatted down and patted the puppy's forehead with her little hand. She smiled very happily.
Chen Hansheng was also smiling. This was probably the legendary "communication basically depends on shouting, and security basically depends on dogs".
However, when the puppy was called back, the people were also called back.
When Chen Hansheng was bullying the little puppy, Uncle, his daughter, and son-in-law pushed the door open and came in.
At this time last year, Uncle's daughter had just gotten married. Chen Hansheng had been drunk at the wedding for the bridegroom. Wang Zibo had also complained that the bride was very beautiful and the bridegroom was not compatible with her.
"Brother."
The bridegroom called her by this nonsensical name again, but it was also very unique.
The bride was shy and didn't want to greet Chen Hansheng. However, when she saw Shen Youchu was busy, she naturally rolled up her sleeves to help.
The women in this place seemed to have some characteristics of traditional women.
Chen Hansheng took out a Zhonghua cigarette and threw it to Uncle and the bridegroom. Uncle saw it was a cigarette again, but he didn't want to enjoy it. He put it in his ear and took out tobacco leaves and white paper to smoke.
Uncle came over to chat with his mother-in-law. Everyone in the village should know that his mother-in-law and Ning were going to the big city, so relatives wanted to see each other more often. There might be fewer opportunities in the future.
It wasn't difficult to guess what the bridegroom was thinking. He had been asking about the outside world. When Chen Hansheng told him that there were often traffic jams of several kilometers, he was shocked.
He had only seen a car once when he went down the mountain to buy medicine. It ran on four wheels on the ground and passed by him in a flash. It was really a rare thing.
However, in the big city, it could be blocked for several kilometers.
"College Bro …"
When the bridegroom, who was under 20 years old, was about to speak, the obedient little dog suddenly stood up and barked. There were sounds of footsteps in the snow outside.
"Someone is here?"
Uncle was close to the door, so he immediately went out of the kitchen to check.
Chen Hansheng thought that there couldn't be a thief in such a poor place except for acquaintances and mountains.
He liked to watch the fun, so he followed the bridegroom out.
It was a woman standing at the door of the yard. She was quite tall, but looked very thin, as if she could be blown away by a strong wind.
She was stopped by Uncle. She kept waving her hands, as if she was trying to explain something.
When more and more people came out, the woman's voice became lower and lower. She just lowered her head and stirred her fingers uneasily.
"She is Ning's mother."
Shen Youchu explained to Chen Hansheng in a low voice.
"Oh."
Chen Hansheng suddenly understood.
Ning's father went out to work in the 1990s. He hadn't come back yet, and there had been no news of him.
Thinking on the bright side, he probably made a lot of money and forgot his family, but the possibility was almost zero. In fact, it was more likely that there was an accident.
In that era, there was no need to talk about it.
Her mother stayed for a few years and finally remarried. Of course, she was not far away.
Chen Hansheng glanced at little Ning and found that her little face was full of tears, but she didn't dare to make a sound. She just sniffed.
Ning didn't want to leave the mountain because she didn't want to leave her mother, who had remarried.
Shen Youchu felt sorry for her sister. She held Ning in her arms and comforted her. The bride, Shen Ruyi, also wiped her tears.
Chen Hansheng was very curious. He walked a few steps closer and asked Uncle, "What is she doing here?"
"The little girl just shouted. She thought that Ning was going to leave the mountain now, so she wanted to see her off secretly," Uncle explained.
"Then come in and have a look."
Chen Hansheng said with a smile, "Why are you hiding? It will be a little difficult to see her in the future. Tonight, you can have a good talk with Ning."
"Wait."
Uncle, who was honest and simple, stopped him. "Since she has remarried, Ning has nothing to do with her anymore."
"What?"
Chen Hansheng was stunned and turned to look at his mother-in-law.
The old woman just stood at the kitchen door with a crutch. She didn't say a word, but her attitude was obvious.
"She is a traditional and somewhat strict old woman."
Chen Hansheng sighed and figured out many things in an instant.
Why did Shen Youchu always wait for Chen Hansheng to eat before she dared to eat?
Why did Shen Youchu always choose Chen Hansheng's favorite fruits when she bought fruits? Why did she just pick a few fruits casually?
Why did Shen Youchu always look at the price when she bought clothes for herself? She was very generous to Chen Hansheng and even Liang Meijuan.
… ….
Shen Youchu only lived with the name "Chen Hansheng" in her life, and the main reason was that her mother-in-law instilled and guided her.
However, it couldn't be said that her mother-in-law didn't love Shen Youchu.
No matter how late Shen Youchu came home, her mother-in-law was always waiting for her with a candle.
Shen Youchu was beautiful, so her mother-in-law strictly told her not to raise her head outside the mountain.
The money Shen Youchu sent home, except for Ning's school and expenses, was collected by her mother-in-law little by little and left to Shen Youchu.
Her mother-in-law probably couldn't change some ideas, so after Ning's mother remarried, she was a real outsider in her mother-in-law's heart.
"I see."
Chen Hansheng nodded slightly, turned on the mobile phone light and impolitely shined it on Ning's mother.
The light was quite strong, so she hurriedly covered her front with her arms.
Chen Hansheng looked at her. In addition to being thin and weak, she was probably very poor. Her cotton-padded jacket was thin and probably not stuffed with too much cotton. Her chin was almost hidden in the jacket, which showed that she had a very deep sense of inferiority.
Especially standing in front of her mother-in-law.
"We are going to sleep. What are you doing here?"
Chen Hansheng shook the mobile phone light and said with a frown.
People like him wouldn't try to change anything at all. For example, he would clamor that "mothers always have the right to see their children. You shouldn't deprive them" or "mother-in-law, you have to change this idea. Women should have their own legal rights."
This was the way of Douban literary young people. Chen Hansheng would only stand on the side with more people.
"Let's go, let's go back quickly."
Chen Hansheng drove her away loudly, but said intentionally or unintentionally, "Our flight will take off at 3 o 'clock tomorrow afternoon. We have to get up at 6 o' clock in the morning and set off at 7 o 'clock on time. Otherwise, we won't be able to catch up."
"You are disturbing our rest now. If we can't set off on time at 7 o 'clock, I will definitely ask your husband to pay for it!"
"Well, it's 7 o 'clock!"
… ….
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
