After Li Dajuan and Zhou's mother went out, Zhang Chongxin couldn't help complaining to his son: "Why didn't you wake me up when your second uncle left?"
"Dad, you are not in good health. It was my second uncle and the others who didn't let me wake you up. I said you don't need to send me to you."
Zhang Hao spread his hands.
"It doesn't matter whether you send it or not. I originally wanted to go back with your second uncle to move the grave, but now it's all in vain."
Zhang Chongxin said helplessly.
If he directly expresses his attitude that he wants to return to his hometown, his wife will definitely not agree. After much deliberation, it is best to use it as a gift and then make a show of it first. By then, it will be too late for his wife to stop him.
Zhang Hao glanced at his father with a face full of joy: "Dad, what you did is too unreasonable. If you really run away, my mother will blame me to death?"
"Relocating ancestral graves is a big deal..."
"No matter how big the matter is, you can't make fun of your body, right?" Zhang Hao said.
"Your second uncle can do it, why can't I?"
Zhang Hao persuaded with bitter words: "Dad, don't you know your old body? Just like my second uncle said, you worked too hard when you were young. Now you need to take good care of it and try not to travel far unless there are special circumstances."
"Huh, I'm all worried about you. If you could be sensible earlier, I wouldn't be like this."
Zhang Chongxin was angry.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault." Zhang Hao hurriedly coaxed, "You should enjoy your old age in peace and don't worry about it. When my wife gives birth, you will have to help us take care of the baby!"
"As long as your mother and your mother-in-law are here, how can I, a grown man, know how to take care of children?"
Speaking of his unborn grandson or granddaughter, Zhang Chongxin couldn't help but smile. He has no other pursuits now. He just wants his son and daughter-in-law to have more precious grandsons and granddaughters.
"You are being modest, aren't you? Aren't Big Pudding and Little Pudding well taken care of? Even though they are clamoring for daddy all day long, the two of you are the closest to us."
Zhang Hao sighed.
Zhang Chongxin snorted coldly: "Isn't this your fault? Do you owe your two children too much?"
"Dad, I will make it up to them."
Zhang Hao felt guilty.
"It's no use just talking. Big Pudding and the others don't lack food, drink, or toys. What they lack is..."
"Dad, I understand. Summer vacation is coming soon. I won't go anywhere in the past two months. I will just stay at home and spend time with them." Zhang Hao quickly interrupted.
"Don't just play around, the company's business cannot be lost."
Zhang Chongxin reminded me.
"Don't worry! I know what's going on."
Zhang Hao assured with a smile.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Li Dajuan and Zhou's mother finally came back. They were talking and laughing all the way, and they were in a very good mood.
"Mom, have you received the relief fund?"
Zhang Hao stepped forward and took the handbag from his mother, opened it and took a look. Sure enough, there were several wads of fresh banknotes lying inside.
Li Dajuan's face was full of smiles: "Didn't you see it? Including your mother-in-law's share, 70,000 yuan is a lot."
"Mom, how do you plan to spend this money?"
Zhang Hao asked casually.
"Your mother-in-law and I have just discussed that we are going to go to the temple to burn incense in a few days, and then donate all the money to collect blessings for Da Puding and his two brothers."
Li Dajuan replied.
This money is an unexpected windfall. If you don't feel safe with it, it's better to use it to do good deeds.
Zhang Hao frowned when he heard this: "Mom? If you want to donate, it should be donated to the welfare home. What's the point of donating to the temple? Buddha and he are not greedy for money."
"This is incense money, you don't understand."
Li Dajuan explained casually.
"Then it doesn't take so much, does it?"
Zhang Hao felt unwilling.
In the dream, he had lived a hard life for more than twenty years, and he had long understood the truth that no one could rely on the gods and Buddhas in the sky, he could only rely on himself.
Li Dajuan said impatiently: "I remember you told me that it seemed like you spent a lot of money doing charity, right? I've donated hundreds of millions, isn't it enough? I have to keep an eye on the 70,000 yuan in my mother's hand.
?”
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything anymore. If you always want to donate to the temple, just donate it!" Zhang Hao reluctantly gave up the persuasion.
Let mom seek some psychological comfort!
…
A few days later, summer vacation arrived as scheduled.
Li Dajuan immediately decided to go to Guangxiao Temple to burn incense.
Guangxiao Temple has a long history and is the most famous temple in Huicheng. Even in such a difficult situation, its popularity remains unabated.
On the first day of summer vacation, the whole family got up early.
After breakfast, Zhang Hao set off with his parents, ex-mother-in-law, and two sons.
As for Yang Huaqing, since she was about to give birth, it was safer to stay at home. Li Dajuan was afraid that her daughter-in-law would be bored, so she specially invited her mother-in-law over.
At 8:30 in the morning, the group finally arrived at Guangxiao Temple.
This was Zhang Hao's first time here, and he felt a little fresh. Guangxiao Temple was indeed the largest temple in Huicheng, and it was crowded with pilgrims early in the morning.
"Grandma, there are so many people here!"
Little Pudding said excitedly.
Children all like fun.
Li Dajuan quickly grabbed her grandson's hand and said, "Follow grandma and don't run around, you know?"
"Well, I won't run around."
Little Pudding nodded obediently.
Although the little guy is naughty, he is also very obedient.
Mother Zhou on the side immediately pulled her grandson's hand: "Big Pudding, did you hear what your grandma said? Don't run around."
"heard it."
The big pudding is crispy and chewy.
Zhang Hao smiled and comforted him: "Mom, don't worry too much. Dad and I are watching from behind? Besides, there is Captain Fang and the others, so nothing will happen to them."
"It's better to be careful. No matter how many people there are, there are times when carelessness is inevitable. A few days ago, your Aunt Fan came to chat with me and said that there was a family in the next village..."
How could Li Dajuan be so relieved?
Seeing that his wife was nagging endlessly, Zhang Chongxin quickly interrupted: "Okay, it's getting late, let's go in quickly!"
"What's the rush? You have to be calm when worshiping Buddha."
Li Dajuan said unconvinced.
Before entering, Zhang Hao casually reminded: "Mom, there are many people in the temple, so be careful of pickpockets."
You know, my mother carries a huge sum of 60,000 yuan, and she is easily targeted by thieves.
"Okay, your mother and I are not a child."
Li Dajuan waved her hand.
Guangxiao Temple did not charge entrance fees. First of all, everyone went to the place where incense was sold and bought a lot of incense for 50 yuan.
The first place to worship is the Main Hall.
The group waited in line for five or six minutes before it was finally their turn. Li Dajuan and Zhou's mother quickly pulled the two little guys to kneel on the worship mat and kowtowed several times seriously.
Zhang Hao saw that there were not enough prayer mats, so he simply stood and prayed, praying to the Bodhisattva to protect his family from illness and disaster, to be healthy, and to bless his daughter-in-law to give birth safely.
After kneeling down, Li Dajuan took out a stack of unopened banknotes from her bag and stuffed them directly into the merit box without any hesitation.
It attracted everyone's sideways glances.
Generally speaking, the average person can get away with five or ten yuan. Some generous pilgrims can only get one hundred yuan at most, but those like Li Dajuan who can get ten thousand yuan at a time are very few.
It's just that the opening of the merit box is a bit small, and Li Dajuan couldn't stuff it in even after stuffing it several times.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Hao immediately stepped forward to take the banknote from his mother's hand, broke the seal, and then divided it seven or eight times, finally stuffing all the 10,000 yuan into it.
Zhou's mother followed closely and stuffed a thousand yuan into her pocket.
After leaving the Main Hall, Zhang Hao clearly felt that there were a lot more eyes on him. He gently nodded towards Captain Fang, signaling the other party to be more vigilant.
Next door to the Main Hall is a building that is under repair. Looking around, there are several similar scenes inside the temple. It is probably caused by the snowstorm two years ago.
Seeing this scene, Li Dajuan quickly stopped her son: "Xiao Hao, please quickly ask someone to see if there are any houses in the temple that need to be rebuilt. If so, we can rent one for our family."
"Mom, look at how popular the incense is here, the temple must not be short of money, so asking is in vain."
Zhang Hao said reluctantly.
"Since there is no shortage of money, why have the repairs been delayed until now?" Li Dajuan is not that easy to fool.
"Maybe it's because of the lack of building materials. After all, the disaster was so severe before. The official's main task is to rebuild, so the temple must take a back seat."
Zhang Hao tried to explain.
After listening to this, Li Dajuan couldn't help but feel disappointed.
…
By the time we came out of the temple again, an hour and a half had passed.
Why it took so long:
On the one hand, the temple is relatively large, covering an area of nearly fifty acres, and with the large number of people, it takes a lot of time to walk around it; on the other hand, Li Dajuan and Zhou Mu are very devout and do not want to miss a Bodhisattva.
"Big pudding, little pudding, are you two hungry?"
Li Dajuan expressed concern.
A full four hours have passed since breakfast, and after walking so much, it is normal to be hungry.
Little Pudding raised the biscuits in his hand: "Grandma, I ate several biscuits and I'm not hungry at all."
Big Pudding also shook his head, then pointed to a long row of stalls on both sides of the road, and said expectantly: "Grandma, there are people selling things over there, let's go shopping?"
Li Dajuan was a little hesitant. When they went out in the morning, they only brought some snacks with them and had no intention of eating out. If they missed lunch, they would have to go to the canteen of their son's company to deal with it.
How can the food in the cafeteria be as good as the food at home?
Zhang Hao casually advised: "Mom, it's hard to come out. Let's take the opportunity to go shopping for a while. It's not too late to go back in the afternoon."
"What's there to see? I don't have all the things at home." Li Dajuan complained habitually.
"Old Li, didn't Zhang Hao say a few days ago that he wanted to buy a fish tank for fishing? Let's go over and try our luck, maybe we can just buy it." Mother Zhou helped to persuade.
"Grandma, I want to fish."
Little Pudding's fishing addiction was instantly aroused.
Li Dajuan patted her little grandson on the head and said dotingly: "Little debt collector, please stop pulling grandma's clothes. Grandma will just promise you."
"Wow, that's great!"
The twins immediately cheered.
Soon, everyone started strolling along the road.
Seeing a store selling baked tofu, Little Pudding immediately pulled his grandma over and walked over, his eyes shining:
"Grandma, I want to eat tofu."
Li Dajuan looked at the stall owner: "Girl, how do you sell tofu?"
The stall owner is a young girl in her twenties.
"Our tofu is sold by weight. A pound of tofu costs ten yuan, plus a pound of food stamps. There is no limit on the type."
"Why do you still need food stamps?"
Li Dajuan frowned.
"Auntie, are you joking? Food rations are so tight now. If we didn't collect food stamps, our whole family would have starved to death." The stall owner explained with a wry smile.
Hearing this, Zhang Hao quickly took out a few food stamps from his pocket and handed them to his mother:
"Mom, I brought food stamps."
Whenever he goes out, he always takes a few food stamps with him. This is a habit developed in dreams. If he doesn't bring it, he always feels uneasy.
Li Dajuan counted the food stamps and found that they added up to exactly five kilograms, which was enough for her grandchildren to "spoil", so she picked out a one-kilogram food stamp and handed it to the stall owner:
"Then take a pound!"
The stall owner excitedly took the food stamps and said, "Auntie, please wait a moment, I will make it for you now."
While they were roasting tofu, Li Dajuan and Zhou's mother chatted with the stall owner.
"Girl, do you need to pay for this stall?"
"Of course I do. There are a lot of people here at Guangxiao Temple, so the fees are very expensive. The stall fee plus other miscellaneous fees add up to more than 300 yuan!"
"Three hundred yuan a month is not much."
The stall owner shook his head and quickly corrected: "Auntie, not every month, but every day. If it were three hundred yuan a month, I would have been rich long ago."
"So much? Can you make money?"
Li Dajuan was shocked.
A pound of baked tofu sells for ten yuan, and three hundred yuan costs at least fifty pounds of tofu, which can exhaust people to death.
"It's not bad, business has suddenly become booming recently, with small profits but quick turnover, I can barely make ends meet."
The stall owner simply responded.
Mother Zhou smiled and echoed: "How can it not be popular? The relief fund was just distributed a few days ago. Now everyone has money, of course they are willing to spend it."
In addition, you don’t feel bad spending the money you “picked up for free”.
This is also an important reason.
"What Auntie said is that she really hopes to be paid every month. In fact, she doesn't need 10,000 yuan, a thousand yuan is more than enough." The stall owner said with a hopeful look on his face.
"Well, this is impossible. No more money will be issued for at least two or three years."
Zhang Hao couldn't help but interject.
"I also know that there is little hope, but having said that, sending money will treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Only by truly solving the employment problem can the entire society form a virtuous cycle."
The stall owner was quick in his movements and talked eloquently.
Zhang Chongxin said "Hey": "Little girl, you have a good opinion. Are you a student of economics?"
"I used to work in a securities company, but I lost my job two years ago. Now I can only take off my long gown and set up a stall to earn some hard money, otherwise I will really starve to death."
The stall owner couldn't help but sigh.
"No wonder! You can be considered self-reliant."
Zhang Chongxin sighed.
Ten minutes later, the grilled tofu was finally ready.
The so-called grilled tofu didn't put a drop of oil in the whole process. It was only brushed with a thin layer of soybean paste and sprinkled with a little salt and chili powder. The taste can only be said to be about the same.