[69 Book Bar-www.] Stepping into the small courtyard, the two of them were stunned by the scene in front of them.
The yard was very desolate, with only a few chickens, all skinny and listless, nesting together.
After entering the house, there was a small tile-roofed house with three rooms, dimly lit, a wood-burning stove with dry firewood piled next to it, and a broken table with leftovers on it, which could vaguely be distinguished as some fried radishes.
.
The room where I slept was even more dilapidated. The paper on the wall had long lost its original appearance. It peeled off layer by layer and turned black and yellow from the smoke. There was a person lying under the quilt on the earthen bed.
, although he was only in his fifties, his hair had already turned gray. There was a white porcelain bowl filled with water and some medicines beside the pillow.
"Yousheng, your comrade's children are here to see you." Dandan's mother said loudly.
She helped Lin Yousheng sit up. He had long been so thin that he was out of shape. His eyes were hollow and lifeless. He had an incurable disease due to long-term pain and suffering, but he was clean and tidy, his body was not dirty or messy, and his hair was combed.
It's very organized, I guess it's because Mommy Dandan takes good care of it.
When Lin Yousheng saw them, he just kept smiling and drool dripped from his mouth. Dandanma quickly brought a handkerchief to wipe him clean, "He can't even remember what happened before, and he can't speak.
I have a whole body of illnesses.”
He Yining took his lower pulse and found that he had severe lung disease.
Sure enough, Lin Yousheng started to cough while trembling, and he only stopped coughing up some blood.
Gu Nianxi stood aside, his expression getting colder and colder. If Gu Zhenting saw his former comrades in such misery, he didn't know what he would think in his heart.
"This illness will require hospitalization. If it gets worse, I'm afraid..." He Yining shook his head.
Dandan’s mother sighed, “The subsidy from the government is not even enough to take medicine. How can I still have money for hospitalization?”
At this time, a little boy of five or six years old ran in and wiped his nose dirtyly. When he saw someone in the room, he shrank shyly behind Eggman's mother. Eggman's mother smiled and said: "Egg,
Call aunt and uncle quickly."
Dandan shyly revealed half of her dark little face, "Auntie and uncle."
He Yining smiled and asked: "Is this Uncle Lin's child?"
Eggman's mother looked embarrassed, "To tell you the truth, I am not Yousheng's first wife. He divorced his ex-wife, and his wife took the children to make a living elsewhere. Later, I heard that his ex-wife died in an accident.
He left his four-year-old son who was adopted by others."
"What about you?"
"When Yousheng came back, he had lost his memory, and there was no one to take care of him. He was about to die of illness. My husband also passed away, so I moved here to take care of him. It has been more than 20 years now. I adopted Dandan.
My child is very obedient and sensible.”
It turns out that it is like this. It is really rare for a woman to give without any reward. However, I don’t know how Lin Yousheng’s son is doing now and whether he is still alive in this world.
Eggman thought of something and hurriedly said: "You haven't eaten yet, I'm going to catch a chicken and kill it. It's the New Year soon, and the family hasn't bought any new year's goods... The government subsidies haven't been paid yet."
He Yining quickly grabbed her and said, "Aunt, stop it, let's go to town for a bite."
"That's...that's fine, let Dandan lead the way for you, he's ready." Dandan's mother pulled Dandan out, and he immediately smiled with two little teeth.
Dandan was bouncing in front of him, as if he was very happy. He was wearing very shabby clothes, and a pair of cotton shoes had been mended over and over again. He Yining looked sad and said to Gu Nianxi: "Let's buy some New Year's goods for Uncle Lin's house.
"
He put his hands in his pockets and said nothing, as if he was thinking about something.
Lin Yousheng has lost his memory. How can he know what happened back then from his mouth? He can't even speak.
"He Yining, I'm afraid we have to stay here for a while."
He had to find a way to get Lin Yousheng to tell what happened back then. Even if he couldn't speak, there would always be other ways.
He Yining agreed with his idea. Seeing the Lin family's predicament made her feel uncomfortable. If He Wei knew about it, he would definitely be very sad.
They plan to celebrate the New Year here, in this remote town.
After eating at a small restaurant in the town, Dandan seemed to have never eaten such delicious food. After eating two large bowls of rice in a row, He Yining touched his head and said, "Dandan, eat slowly, Auntie
Can I take you to buy clothes later?"
"New clothes?" He blinked and smiled quickly, "Can I have some too?"
"certainly."
The market at the beginning of the year is very lively, decorated with red couplets, all kinds of New Year's goods are piled up in hills, and shouts come and go.
Gu Nianxi held He Yining's hand, and He Yining held Dandan, just like a sweet family of three.
Seeing someone selling candied haws, He Yining bought two. Gu Nianxi didn't like sweets, so she and Dandan each had one, and they ate like a competition. Gu Nianxi saw how happy they were smiling, and the corners of her mouth were filled with laughter.
Lifted it up gently.
"Gu Nianxi, is this your zodiac year?"
He frowned, "What is animal year?"
"Aren't you born in the year of Tiger? It will be the Year of the Tiger soon, which is your birth year." She happily pulled him to a stall selling underwear, pointed to a pair of red shorts and said to the boss, "Boss, give this to me.
Get a new one, the one with the word "福" at the end."
"Okay, what size do you want?"
He Yining pointed to Gu Nianxi next to him, "He can wear it."
The boss looked up and down and immediately took out a new box, "Here, fifteen yuan."
"Hey, He Yining, who wants to wear red? Are you a country person?" Gu Nianxi pulled her and started to leave.
She stubbornly took the box and gave the money with a smile, "Thank you, boss."
"I won't wear them anyway." Seeing her put the shorts into her bag, Gu Nianxi snorted angrily, red underwear, how can this woman be so tacky?
"You must wear it. Wearing a red envelope in your zodiac year will ensure that you will have success and safety this year."
He leaned over, looked into hers with his dark eyes, and smiled with a malicious smile, "You change it for me, and I'll wear it."
She quickly covered his mouth and was talking nonsense again. There were children beside her. Dandan just kept smiling. He probably thought these two adults were quite interesting.
He Yining bought Dandan new clothes, a brand new set of sportswear. He was so happy that he insisted on holding it by himself. The child had never worn any decent clothes since he was born and had always relied on donations from neighbors.
He Yining bought a set for Dandan Mama and Lin Yousheng by the way. Gu Nianxi had a big bag of small rolls in her hands, with a look of reluctance on her face.
Passing through the daily necessities area is the food area. He Yining bought a lot of various frozen fish, shrimps and vegetables. He also had someone write a couplet on the way. It was like the kind of old man with a white beard wearing glasses sitting on the roadside and writing and selling them.
Yes, the pen peak is vigorous, like a dragon or a phoenix.
In the end, only fireworks and firecrackers were left, and they couldn't take too many, so they just bought some.
When Dandan's mother saw that they had brought back so many things, she was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to do. Dandan snuggled into her arms and said happily: "Mom, auntie took me to eat a lot of delicious food and bought some
New clothes."
The child's face was filled with contented happiness, but He Yining felt a sour feeling in his heart when he looked at it.
"Auntie, the Chinese New Year is the day after tomorrow. We are here to celebrate the New Year with you, so we won't disturb you, right?"
When Eggman's mother heard this, she beamed with joy, "Oh, I really don't want to know. I thought you would dislike it. Look, I bought so many things. I don't know how to thank you."
"Auntie, don't be polite to us. Come, let me help you pack these things."
Years ago, the town provided subsidies to families like theirs, and also sent rice, flour and oil, which made the originally tight New Year's Eve life full of life again.
Dandan asked He Yining why he wanted to celebrate the New Year?
He Yining explained to him that Nian is a monster, and in order to drive it away, everyone set off firecrackers and hung red banners during the twelfth lunar month. Over time, they developed the habit of celebrating the New Year.
Dandanma was making noodles and steaming steamed buns, and He Yining came to help. Gu Nianxi stood aside and watched, laughing at her, "He Yining, what are you making? An octopus? It's so ugly."
This was her first time steaming steamed buns, so why did they look ugly?
Dandan lay on her lap and said with a smile: "It looks good, like a dinosaur."
"..." This child can't speak anymore.
He Yining put some flour on his little face and he chuckled.
She stuck some more and rubbed it on Gu Nianxi's face. He moved quickly and frowned in disgust, "He Yining, you dare to touch me and try."
She refused, jumped up from the kang, and chased him to the ground.
Eggy was also covered in flour and followed her, watching the three people chasing each other laughing and joking. Lin Yousheng, who was sitting inside, had a naive smile on his face, his lips moved but he made no sound.
Dandan Mama shed tears while pinching the steamed buns. Their family had not been so lively for a long time. Every New Year, the neighbors set off firecrackers, cooked sheep and slaughtered cattle, leaving them alone in their three small tile-roofed houses to calm down.
.
Gu Nianxi was rubbed with flour on her face, and she suddenly became angry and carried one in one hand, like a chicken.
The two of them hurriedly begged for mercy and spontaneously smeared flour on their faces. When they saw two colorful-faced cats, he proudly let go.
"You guys, you know how to waste food." Eggman smiled and shook her head.
He Yining sat cross-legged on the kang and continued to make steamed buns. Dandan asked curiously: "Auntie, is this uncle?"
Gu Nianxi followed and looked over, her face darkened, and she reached out to grab it. This bold woman actually dared to pinch him. He Yining hurriedly shrank into the earthen kang, shaking the soft dough in her hand, "Auntie, I have reserved this.
I'll eat it soon."
Dandanma smiled and said: "Okay, okay."
Gu Nianxi glared at her fiercely.
The large iron pot on the stove was steaming steamed buns, and on the other side of the stove was a large pot of stewed meat. The rich aroma of meat was coming out, making my mouth water.
Women and children were busy outside the house. Gu Nianxi stood on the peeling and rough old wooden floor, flipping through the old books in his hands. Lin Yousheng glanced at him from time to time and smiled.
He found that when he was in a good mood, he would tap his fingers back and forth on his knees. At first, there seemed to be no rhythm or pattern, but after a while, it became more and more obvious that it was a kind of message transmission.