On the twenty-fifth day of the year, Yu Jianguo held a summary meeting for the first year of Yu's Restaurant, paid each employee a salary, gave them a big red envelope, and treated them to a feast that they had missed for a long time.
Zhou Xiaoyan drank too much, grabbed Yu Jianping's sleeve and refused to let go, and said reluctantly: "Uncle Jianping, please don't go back. Our Yu's restaurant will be open as usual during the Chinese New Year! I am willing to come to work every day, even on New Year's Day."
!” In the final analysis, I just couldn’t bear to part with the delicious sauced pork knuckles.
It made Yu Jianping dumbfounded.
"Come, let's all have a drink together. I hope our Yu's Restaurant will reach a higher level in the coming year!" Yu Jianguo stood up and took the lead in raising his cup. Everyone followed and shouted: "A higher level!"
Most of these employees are young people in their twenties like Zhou Xiaoyan, but at this moment, they are all full of energy and high morale.
On the twenty-sixth day of the year, Yu's restaurant put up a sign saying it was closed for business, leaving only two ancient red lanterns burning, indicating a prosperous future.
The two brothers of the Yu family packed their luggage and embarked on the journey back to Rao hometown.
Along the way, Yu Jianping was silent and vaguely uneasy.
"Don't worry, the old lady won't blame you." Yu Jianguo patted his leg and told him to relax.
Yu Jianping didn't say anything, he just smiled a smile that wasn't particularly good-looking, but his eyes drifted to the clouds outside the plane window.
Fear of being close to home.
This is probably the best portrayal of him at the moment. He has gone from Raoxiang to the capital for more than 20 years, and he has almost reached an old age from a young boy. Hometown is the untouchable pain that exists in his memory.
…
After a flight of more than two hours, the plane quickly arrived at Yangcheng Airport. Unlike the dry freeze in Beijing, even the air in the winter in the south has a sense of humidity.
Yu Jianping, who has long been accustomed to the northern climate, shivered as soon as he walked out of the airport gate.
"Jianguo, Jianping, here!" Yu's mother borrowed a neighbor's car to pick them up in Yangcheng, along with the two children of the Yu family.
"Dad, Uncle Jianping." Yu Jian walked up to them with a smile and took their suitcases. Yu Yuan, on the other hand, had probably just woken up and was still a little dazed. He was holding his sister's thigh and hiding behind.
Make a sound.
Yu Jianguo picked him up, held him in his arms and spanked him. The little guy called out: "Dad." Then he turned and called, "Uncle Jianping."
"Ajian, why have you lost weight again?" Yu Jianguo looked at his daughter's thin cheeks and the veins on her arms, feeling very distressed, "Are you too tired from studying?"
He wanted to say that if he was too tired, he could just go to any university without having to go to Beijing University. But when he thought about his daughter persisting for so long, he would definitely not give up halfway.
Then he said: "It seems that your Uncle Jianping and I have to give you some nutrition." We must take advantage of the Chinese New Year to let her gain a few more pounds.
Yu Jianping looked at Yu Jian and felt very uncomfortable. He had no children of his own, but he really loved Yu Jian and Yu Yuan, especially Yu Jian. If Jianguo hadn't agreed, he would have really wanted to recognize him as his goddaughter.
Who doesn’t want to have a pretty girl who calls out “Daddy” softly and sweetly?
It takes nearly two hours to drive from Yangcheng to Raoxiang. Along the way, Yu Jian whispered to Yu Jianping about the changes in Raoxiang over the years, from road repairs to park development, from the rise of commercial streets to snacks
The decline of the street, bit by bit, no matter the details.
Yu Jianping listened carefully and fell into trance without realizing it.
The village of Xi'ao has not changed much, and the folk customs on the entire island are still honest and simple. The fishery has developed well in the past two years. Many young people have come back to contract the sea farm, or raise fish or crabs. There are more people in the village than before.
Popularity.
"Jianguo is back? I heard you opened a restaurant outside? Business is booming!" The old man who drove the ferry had been driving on this sea road for most of his life. He greeted Yu Jianguo happily and looked at the people following him.
It looked familiar. I got closer and took a closer look. It took me a while to realize, "This...is this Jianping?"
"Uncle Wang, I am Jianping." In these words without any accusation or doubt, Yu Jianping's heart suddenly calmed down. He smiled for the first time since the day and held Uncle Wang's hand.
In the local dialect of Raoxiang, "You are still the same as before, nothing has changed."
…
"Jianping, come home for dinner after your work, let's have a good chat! Uncle has hidden good tea at home, waiting for you to come and brew a pot!" When they arrived at their destination, Uncle Wang also asked Yu Jianping, and after seeing his promise,
Only then did the ship's engine restart.
This came and went, one trip after another. Uncle Wang had been doing this for forty years, rain or shine, all year round.
Yu Jianping admires such old people. Their persistence does not involve many interests, but is simply to connect the village with the outside world and guard the road leading to the outside world.
"Yuanyuan, remember to say hello to Grandpa Wang next time you see him. Grandpa sails here every day and it's very hard." On the other hand, Yu Jian was educating Yu Yuan. After this child became familiar with him in the village, there would be no seniority or seniority.
Very polite.
"Oh." Yu Yuan pursed his lips. He didn't have to listen to anyone's words, but his sister's words were always like an edict to him.
Grandma Yu had been waiting at the entrance of the yard for a long time. She watched the group of people approaching from a distance. The last figure was much shorter than in memory, and her eyes gradually turned red.
"Mom - it's so cold, why don't you wait in the house?" Yu Jianguo grabbed his old mother's hand, and as expected, it was freezing cold.
Grandma Yu was so preoccupied with Yu Jianping behind her that she had no time to pay attention to him. She threw his hand away hastily and walked forward, calling tentatively: "Jianping?"
With a "pop" sound, before Grandma Yu's hand reached out to him, Yu Jianping bent his knees, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed heavily, "Godmother——"
The son is unfilial, the son is back...
In front of the shrine, Yu Jianping respectfully placed three sticks of incense and brushed off the ashes on the ancestral tablet.
Grandma Yu, with tears in her eyes, murmured to the old man's memorial tablet: "Old man, Jianping is back! I'm offering you some incense..."
"Godmother, it's all my fault. I will be filial to you from now on..." Yu Jianping was also very excited, his eyes were red.
Yu Jianguo left the two of them talking alone, sighed, and turned around and entered the kitchen.
Yu Jian was sorting vegetables. When she saw him closing the door, she asked, "Where is Uncle Jianping?"
"With your grandma! Your uncle Jianping's heart has opened up..." After all, it is a happy thing. Yu Jianguo shook off the remaining sadness, looked at Yu Jian busy, and said:
"What are you going to do?"
She moved the things on the long table to other places, and now dozens of vegetables were neatly arranged, while Yu Jian was still picking at the basket, enjoying herself.
"Let's make wontons~" the little girl said crisply, looking up at her father, "Sheng Jin twenty-four Qi."