Aunt Zhang prepared the boiled hot water for the old man, otherwise the stubborn old man would inevitably be infected with the cold if he took a bath with cold water. One silently lit the fire and poured water, and the other silently watched. No one spoke.
But the picture is unusually harmonious and peaceful.
The old man looked at his rough-tongued wife who had been with him for more than forty years and saw that she had used the last firewood to boil hot water for him. He hesitated for a moment and then said in a deep voice:
"I'll go to the neighbor to borrow firewood later."
The good-looking old woman looked tenderly at her husband, who had been speechless for most of her life, and said softly: "No, you go chop down new firewood tomorrow. We will use our own firewood, not anyone else's."
The old woman knew that this man had never asked anyone for most of his life. It was already particularly difficult for him to say these words at this time. She knew that he said such words because he felt sorry for her, but she also felt sorry for herself.
As for the man next to me, my man knows what kind of virtue he is. If he skips a meal and tolerates it, it will be over. It’s not a big deal. Thinking of this, a voice suddenly came from outside the door:
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Ma's house?"
When the voice sounded, the old man's eyes twitched obviously. He obviously recognized the owner of the voice. He was the brat from the morning. However, he still didn't say anything. Aunt Zhang walked out of the house looking for the voice and saw a man in gray with a bright smile.
The young man, carrying dozens of fist-sized firewood on his left shoulder and dozens of big fish in his right hand, was smiling and asking:
"Aunt, is this Uncle Ma's house?"
"Hey, yes, yes, I wonder why the young master came to my husband's office?"
Seeing that he had found the right one, Dongzhang's smile became brighter and he said with a smile: "Auntie, Uncle Ma left the firewood to the boy this morning. During the break, Uncle Ma said that the rice balls made by Auntie were delicious.
, No, this kid hasn’t had decent rice for many days, so he caught some fish and shamelessly came to the house in exchange for food. I wonder if it’s okay.”
Looking at this familiar young man, Aunt Zhang was a little unsure and said, "Yes, yes, but."
Before he finished speaking, Dongzhang had already thrown the mountain of firewood on his shoulders under the eaves with a bang: "Let's put it here."
Then he casually handed more than twenty fish to Aunt Zhang and said, "Aunt, is there any hot water in there to drink? I'm really thirsty after traveling all day."
"Hey, yes, yes, old man, hurry up and serve tea."
“If you want a drink, get it yourself!”
Hey hey hey, this old man still has such a personality. Looking at Aunt Zhang who looked a little angry, Zhang Dong smiled and said quickly: "Don't bother Auntie, I can just beat him myself."
After saying that, he walked into the house without looking at the old man. He walked to the water stove, picked up the ladle, scooped up tons and tons of water and drank it. After drinking, he looked at the fish in his hand with a worried look on his face.
Aunt Zhang from the house smiled and said:
"Auntie, you don't know, but I got a lot of help from Uncle Ma this morning. By the way, where is the ax? I chopped the firewood outside."
"It's outside the door. Well, that can't be done. We can just chop it ourselves."
But before he finished speaking, Zhang Dong had already walked out of the door and started chopping firewood. Facing this mysterious young man talking to himself, Aunt Zhang could only walk towards the silent old man with a nervous expression and whisper.
asked: "Master, whose child is this boy?"
But the old man remained silent and didn't answer. Aunt Zhang could only raise the fish in her hand to signal the old man to explain. At this time, Zhang Dong's voice came from outside the door: "Aunt, remember to call when the meal is ready."
Me, I have to try the delicious food that Uncle Ma said."
"Hey, okay."
Aunt Zhang could only answer in a hurry, and then ignored the silent old man and went to light a fire to cook. At this time, only the sound of Dongzhang chopping wood outside the door and Aunt Zhang cooking were left.
Despite the sound, the old man still sat in his chair without saying a word.
After a while, Dongzhang chopped all the firewood and stacked it neatly under the eaves outside the door. He walked into the house with a relaxed expression and sat down next to the old man. He also winked at the taciturn old man from time to time.
Aunt Zhang who was cooking next to her also made Aunt Zhang laugh. Only then did she believe that the young man Dongzhang really did not have any ill intentions, so he continued to cook with peace of mind.
This time, thanks to the fish brought by Dongzhang, we had delicious river fish one after another. During the meal, the old man still silently plucked the rice from his bowl without touching the fish on the table, while Aunt Zhang
We have become very familiar with Dongzhang. Aunt Zhang picks up vegetables for Dongzhang from time to time, and Dongzhang also picks up vegetables for Aunt Zhang from time to time. Occasionally, he even picks up a handful for the old man. When he sees the old man trying to get the vegetables out, he
Aunt Zhang immediately glared, and the old man could only silently eat the food that Dongzhang gave him, which made Dongzhang express his interest.
"Xiaodong, where are you from? How could you travel so far away? Where are your parents?"
"I have never seen my parents since I was born, and I don't know whether they are dead or alive, or what they look like. The boy has grown up eating Baijia rice since he was a child. As the old saying goes, raising a child is better than living. The uncles and aunts in the village follow
My parents are not much different."
Aunt Zhang was so distressed that she didn't know what to say to this young man who was always smiling. She could only try her best to pick up food for Zhang Dong. Even the eyes of the old man who was eating silently by the side became much softer.
"That's enough, Auntie, I'll eat it myself. This rice is so delicious. No wonder Uncle Ma feels like he's eating some delicacy in the world."
Aunt Zhang rolled her eyes at the old man, who seemed to blush unnaturally. Then Aunt Zhang continued to say to Mr. Dong enthusiastically: "If you like it, I'll cook it for you."
"That's enough, that's enough. Let's leave it to uncle. He likes to eat."
"He has been eating it for most of his life, and he has long been complaining that he is tired of it."
Hearing this, Dongzhang glanced at the old man next door with a playful look. The old man coughed twice unnaturally, and rarely said, "Eat, eat."
Hehehehe, this old man can be shy.
After the meal, the old man couldn't bear the physical fatigue and went to sleep first. Dongzhang sat on the couch outside the door holding a water glass and stared at the stars in the sky in a daze. Aunt Zhang came to Dongzhang's side quietly.
Sat down.
Glancing at the calm child, Aunt Zhang said softly: "You are a good child. The old man at home has such virtues. If there is anything wrong with the child, I will apologize to you."
"What's the matter? Uncle Ma is a good man. It's Dongzhang who has taken care of him and is very envious of him."
Dongzhang calmly looked at the stars in the sky and said softly.
"You kid, your own man still doesn't know what he looks like?"
Dongzhang just smiled and said nothing.
"Yes, that's how he is. He doesn't say anything. In fact, he knows everything in his heart. Doesn't Auntie know whether the food he cooks is delicious? But even so, he will finish it every time. When Auntie was young,
Because he was not in good health, he would not let his aunt go out to work for the rest of his life. Other families would go to work and return home together, but in our family, uncle would come home alone every time. My aunt felt distressed when she saw it, and she would not even cook.
Auntie couldn't do such a simple thing, and she couldn't give birth to half a child for him in this life. Seeing that uncle took care of all the work at home and outside the house by himself, aunt was thinking, how stupid is uncle like him?
Only a man would treat a useless person like my aunt as a treasure."
"But life is like this. If there are people who are good at talking, there will definitely be people who are good at listening."