Dongshan Town covers an area of less than 200 square kilometers. It is surrounded by mountains in the northeast. The two main streets are in a herringbone shape and meet at the foot of the mountains. With the development of the economy, several communities have been planned in the town and many buildings have been built. But in the east part of the town
But it still maintains its original appearance, because most of the houses here are old-fashioned buildings, and there are even ancient houses that are more than a hundred years old.
Duanmo and Xu Huaizheng's home is in the east of the town. The alley is relatively narrow, and the car can only park on the side of the road at the entrance of the alley.
After entering the alley and turning a corner, within a hundred meters, you saw two adjacent courtyards, separated by a hollow brick wall.
Duanmo walked to the larger courtyard, opened the door, and saw a path leading directly inside, which had a deep feeling of the courtyard.
A dark-faced old man in his sixties was squatting in the courtyard smoking. When he saw the door open, he quickly got up and put out his cigarette. He shouted into the room: "Xiao Mo is back!" As the words fell, a woman about the same age as him came.
People came out to welcome him.
Stepping forward to call her uncle or aunt, the woman stopped her hand and looked at her carefully: "Why are you so thin? Are you too tired from work?"
"It's okay, I'm not tired." Duanmo called his aunt yesterday to tell her that he was coming back, but he didn't say that he would bring someone with him. He quickly introduced Lu Wuchuan and Yan Linfei to the couple.
When her uncle heard that he was her colleague, he took the initiative to come over and say hello: "It's a cold day, don't talk outside, and come inside quickly. Huai... Huai Zheng, come in and warm yourself up."
Auntie glanced back, quickly looked away, and pulled Duanmo inside.
Yan Linfei and Lu Wuchuan quickly looked at each other. Why did they feel that the couple seemed a little dissatisfied with Xu Huaizheng?
Pass by the kitchen, bathroom and stairs and enter the living room at the top.
The living room has a masonry floor, which is polished very brightly. The white walls, wooden walls, and neatly arranged wooden beams on the ceiling all reveal a rustic atmosphere.
Most of the furnishings in the house are old objects, such as a Western-style fireplace, carved wooden bookshelf, old-fashioned piano, and ink paintings on the wall. It makes people feel as if they have entered a time tunnel and traveled decades ago.
After letting everyone in, my aunt was going to cook. Duan Mo wanted to help, but she sat down on the sofa and stuffed an apple into her hand: "The dishes are all ready, just put them in the pan and stir-fry."
"Xiao Mo, just leave it alone and let her take care of things." The uncle raised his eyes and looked at Xu Huaizheng, "Huaizheng, you can have lunch here too."
Xu Huaizheng said nothing, but nodded slightly.
Yan Linfei looked here and there and praised: "This house is really nice. Xiaomo, is there any room available? I want to live here."
There must be rooms in the two-story building. But Duanmo is not sure whether the other rooms except her bedroom can be occupied.
She asked her uncle with her eyes, and he rubbed his hands in embarrassment: "I didn't know beforehand that you two would come, so I packed up Xiao Mo's room. There was nothing in the other rooms, just the bedding...it had been left there for a long time and was not dried.
"
"It doesn't matter. There's enough sun today, so it's not too late to get some sun. If it doesn't work out, go out and buy two sets. Don't you think so, Nochuan?"
Yan Linfei winked, and Lu Wuchuan nodded obediently: "It's up to you, I can do whatever you want."
Since the guests had said so, Duanmo immediately went upstairs with his uncle to clean up the house.
After they finished cleaning up, the food was brought out and a full table was set.
"I don't know how to cook anything. It's just home-cooked food, just enough to eat." My aunt wiped her hands on her apron, looking a little embarrassed.
Duanmo helped set the dishes and chopsticks, and everyone sat down to eat.
My uncle and his wife are both honest people, and they don't know how to talk in a formal way. They only talked a few words about home-cooked food and make do with it.
Among the people at this table, Yan Linfei was the most talkative. He tasted each dish, pointed to the fish on the big plate and asked, "What kind of fish is this?"
"There are all kinds of fish." The uncle listed the names of several kinds of fish. "These are all caught today. They are fresh."
"My uncle's family has a boat." Duan Mo briefly introduced the situation. His uncle's family is located in Honghai Village, not far to the west of Dongshan Town, next to the seaside. In the past, every family relied on fishing to make a living, but in recent years, they have gradually begun to develop aquaculture.
After dinner, everything was packed up, and his uncle said he still had work to do and wanted to go home. Xu Huaizheng asked the driver to take him there, but the couple refused to say anything.
Lu Wuchuan raised his chin towards Duanmo: "Didn't you say you wanted to take me out for a walk? I just happened to be on my way."
Yan Linfei yawned and said he was a little tired and wanted to take a nap. Xu Huaizheng, with his face as usual, sent him to the alley and returned to his home.
Driving past a supermarket in the town, Lu Wuchuan said he wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes, so he parked the car on the side of the road and asked Duan Mo to wait in the car with the old couple for a while.
Finally there were no outsiders, so my aunt asked: "Xiao Mo, has Xu Huaizheng lived in Liancheng forever?"
"Well," Duanmo nodded, trying his best to explain to the old couple in words they could understand, "his family opened a branch in Liancheng and sent him here."
Auntie said hesitantly: "Xiaomo, don't blame auntie for talking too much. That boy seems to be pretty solid now, but he was ruthless when he was young. You have to be more refined, but don't follow him in a daze."
Duanmo couldn't laugh or cry: "Auntie, he and I are old neighbors, there is no other relationship. Besides, I have no plans to fall in love yet."
"You're not young anymore. You're about to graduate from college now. If you find the right person, you'll be everywhere. Don't delay..."
"Okay, don't worry about it anymore." My uncle interrupted my aunt, "People in the city get married late, and Xiao Mo is not a child without ideas. She knows it herself."
My aunt gave my uncle an angry look and did not continue the topic.
After chatting casually for a while, Lu Wuchuan came out of the supermarket and put a few bags into the trunk.
When he arrived at Honghai Village more than half an hour later, the car stopped on the side of the road, and he took out the bags again.
"What are you doing?" His uncle stopped him from taking it out.
Lu Wuchuan smiled: "It's just some food. If you don't dislike it, just accept it."
Duan Mo didn't expect that he got out of the car just now to buy gifts for his uncle's house, let alone that he would still be so good at talking.
Walking along the downhill dirt road for about a hundred meters, you arrived at the small courtyard of your uncle's house.
The sound of children playing could be heard through the brick wall. As soon as the iron gate was opened, a small football flew over.
Lu Wuchuan took a step forward, blocked in front of the old couple, pushed it with his shoulder, and the football fell down. He raised his toes slightly, and his movements were coherent and smooth. By the time everyone reacted, the ball had been firmly touched by him.
Control is under your feet.
"You brat, you know how to lead your sister crazy." The uncle scolded, "Why don't you come over and call someone!"
The little boy opened his mouth abruptly: "Hello, uncle, hello, sister." The little girl next to him also followed his brother and called him uncle and sister.