Backyard, large dining room Cheng Tianyuan is having breakfast with four old people while chatting about how many fruits the pomegranate tree in the back garden can bear this year.
"Not last year!"
Dad Xue curled his lips: "There was too much rain during the flowering period, and the flowers fell to the ground. In the end, each tree only bore a few fruits."
Liu Ying laughed and said: "The pomegranate tree is of good variety and the fruit it produces is so delicious."
"Yeah yeah!"
Mother Xue smiled and narrowed her eyes: "There are few knots, but they are all big and red, especially the juice is very sweet."
Xue’s father disagreed: “This year is better.
It happens to be sunny during the flowering period, and there is rain when the fruits grow, so they have sufficient nutrients, water, and juice."
"Less but better."
Mother Xue said: "Anyway, we have five or six trees. Even if there are only a dozen fruits left in one tree, there will still be dozens of fruits collected.
Just make sure this is enough to eat, don’t be greedy for too much.”
"yes!"
Liu Ying laughed: “It’s easy to get bored if you eat too much.
If you eat dragon meat every day and you don’t find it delicious, how can pomegranate fruit compare to dragon meat, right?”
Everyone laughed.
Xue Zhilan joked: "It seems that my mother-in-law has eaten dragon meat and knows that dragon meat is definitely better than pomegranate fruit."
Everyone laughed again.
Xue Ling came and sat next to Cheng Tianyuan.
Liu Ying invited her to drink corn juice and explained: "This is squeezed from fresh corn. It tastes really good and very sweet! Add a little bit of sugar and it's already sweet enough."
"Okay, then I'll try it too."
Xue Ling took a spoonful and looked around: "By the way, where is the third child?
Didn’t he say he was going out early today?”
Cheng Tianyuan replied: "He got up late and took a few steamed buns and a glass of corn juice to eat on the way.
He asked Xiao Huang to go out with him and drove out in your old BMW."
"good."
Xue Ling nodded.
Xue Zhilan asked doubtfully: "Ling Ling, didn't you agree on the work last night?
Why did Ah Heng and his daughter come over so early in the morning to have breakfast?
I can see that his face looks very bad, and the dark circles under his eyes are extremely dark. He must have been too busy last night and didn't sleep at all."
Forehead?
Xue Ling's eyes flashed slightly, he turned away and took a small steamed bun to eat.
"We didn't reach an agreement, so he was busy until midnight before going to bed.
Afraid of delaying the process, he brought the plan over early in the morning and asked me to help review it.
He also wants to send Xiaohan to study, so he came here to have breakfast together."
"So that's it."
Xue Zhilan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Recently, his mother and I fell ill one after another, and it was quite hard for him to support himself.
I can see that his hair has become a lot thinner these days, as if he will be bald soon.
By the way, Ah Huan is the same, his forehead is getting cleaner every year, and he will probably go bald before he reaches fifty, and just become a monk."
"where!"
Xue's father objected: "We don't have this inheritance in our family! You and I, although we have gray hair all over our heads, there are still some hairs on our foreheads."
"real."
Xue Zhilan couldn't laugh or cry: "Both brothers are like this, one is brighter than the other.
I asked Ah Huan about it, and he said it was probably because he was under too much pressure at work, too busy every day, and the hormones in his body were not as good as when he was young, so he was losing piles of hair every day."
Cheng Tianyuan asked curiously: "Uncle, isn't this related to genetics?"
"Maybe."
Xue Zhilan said: "Speaking of genetics, we really don't have such genes here.
However, their uncles are all like this, they are all bald-headed in their forties or fifties.
Maybe there’s also the genetic influence from their mother’s side.”
Xue Ling thought for a while and said: "Nowadays, more and more people are bald, and they are getting younger and younger.
Every time there is a high-level meeting, the male compatriots are almost all bare-headed.
Even young and middle-aged people have thinning hair.
I think this should be related to the high pressure of young people nowadays, diet and health, etc."
"Why!"
Dad Xue lamented: "Young people today are really under a lot of pressure."
Liu Ying shook her head: "What pressure?
We have food, clothing, shelter, transportation and sanitation, so where does the pressure come from?
It was really difficult when we were young.
If you don't work, you probably won't have anything to eat tomorrow.
You can't eat much meat all year round, you go hungry every day, drink cold water and do heavy work, why don't you get by as usual?
I think it's mainly because young people today have such a good life that they develop a lot of problems.
Just like the depression mentioned on TV yesterday, why can’t I just think about it?
How can I still be depressed when I have food and drink?
Let me tell you, if you let them do heavy work and hard work for a few days, they will know how wonderful their life is now, and they will no longer be depressed."
Everyone laughed one after another.
Cheng Tianyuan said warmly: "Mom, depression is a neurological disease and is very complicated.
You, just talk and laugh, but don't talk nonsense when you go outside, lest people think you are insinuating someone."
"yes."
Xue Ling whispered: "A few days ago, the depressed patients in the Siheyuan community jumped off the building. Everyone still remembers it.
You, old man, mean what you say, but the person is mentally ill and may be very sensitive. If you accidentally irritate the person, that would be bad."
Liu Ying nodded "Oh": "That's okay...I won't say anything about it in the future."
"It doesn't matter if we talk about it at home."
Xue Ling smiled and said: "We won't tell anyone anyway."
"That's right!"
Mother Xue said: "We are just having fun at home, what are we afraid of!"
Xue Zhilan stood up after eating, "Brother Wu, let's go to the back garden to take a walk in the shade?"
"Walk!"
Dad Xue gestured and said: "The sugar cane I planted has grown so tall, let me take you to take a look!"
Xue Zhilan suddenly became interested, "It seems that there is still sugar cane to eat this winter - it's great! The vegetables and fruits grown at home are sweeter than those bought outside. I must order one first."
"No problem, no problem."
After a while, the old people went for a walk after eating, leaving only Cheng Tianyuan and his wife.
Xue Ling lowered his voice: "Do you need to go out in the morning?
Why don't you take a day off and stay at home to rest.
You almost didn't sleep all night last night, and you don't look very good."
Cheng Tianyuan smiled bitterly: "There is a contract to be signed in the morning, so I won't go.
I'll come back when I'm done and try to take a two-hour nap at noon.
Have both father and daughter been coaxed?
Going to school?"
"Alas..." Xue Ling nodded: "I've stopped it for the time being."
Cheng Tianyuan was still not at ease: "A Heng is not safe enough, so you still have to help take care of him.
I remember when we were working in the county town, A Fang quietly ran away with us, and my parents didn't know about it until the next day.
At that time, communication and transportation were poor, and looking for someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We had no choice but to post a missing person notice.
People, when we are young, we are impulsive and confused. Once we take the wrong step, we will make many wrong steps in the future.
It’s okay if you can come back, but if you can’t come back, you’ll be like that for the rest of your life.”
After a pause, he added in a serious tone: "We can't let her follow her mother's old path."
Xue Ling patted the back of his hand and whispered: "Don't worry, I asked Xiao Chao to follow quietly.
He will keep an eye on Xiaohan secretly and contact us immediately if anything happens.
Things are different now. Communication and transportation are excellent, so it is not difficult to find someone."
Cheng Tianyuan smiled slightly and said yes with approval.