Serial novel "The Son-in-Law at Home" (Twenty-eight)

As soon as Gensheng let go, Xia Yan squatted softly on the ground against the wall. She touched her neck with her hands, as if there were a pair of iron pliers around her neck, clamping her tightly. She gasped for air, and then coughed repeatedly until tears and snot flowed from her cough. Yusheng turned pale with fright. He came over to help Xia Yan and whispered, "Sister-in-law, I'll take you back to the rental house to rest."

Xia Yan glanced at Yusheng gratefully, her eyes so scared that Yusheng almost screamed. Xia Yan's eyes were already big, but at this time, her big eyes were filled with bloodshot eyes, redder than a rabbit's eyes. Yusheng's furry eyes turned red and became wet. He grinned, a look of horror on his face, and quickly took his eyes away and looked at the ground.

Xia Yan said weakly with a trembling voice, "You don't need to send me off. I'll go back by myself. You hurry to the kindergarten to pick up Li Han. Be careful if you're late. Li Han will run back by himself."

After Yu Sheng heard this, he let go of his sister-in-law's arm. His nephew Li Han was very naughty and mischievous. He would run back from the kindergarten at every turn. The teacher was so frightened that he privately advised Xia Yan to transfer her son to another kindergarten. Xia Yan calmed down the situation by buying three sets of cosmetics and giving them to the three teachers in her son's class. Fortunately, he went to a private kindergarten. If he had gone to a public kindergarten, he would have been expelled long ago.

Xia Yan walked towards the rental house with her head lowered, fearing that she would meet an acquaintance on the road. The proprietress of the cigarette shop next door came out to use the public toilet and bumped into Xia Yan. She wanted to say hello to her, but she didn’t expect that Xia Yan had no hair. Lift it and walk over. The proprietress looked at Xia Yan's back and froze for a while. She always thought that Xia Yan was a nice person, but she didn't expect that she didn't even say hello when they met, so she saw the root of the problem. The proprietress went to the restroom and returned to the store angrily. She told her husband that she was really following whoever she was following. Xia Yan asked Gensheng to teach her and ignore me.

The husband said, I just poured leftover tea at the door and saw Gensheng pinching Xia Yan's neck and pressing her against the wall. We knew Gensheng's behavior, so we didn't go over to break up the fight. There happened to be a customer in the store and it was inconvenient to talk, so I thought I would tell you later. The landlady said oh. The boss added that if Xia Yan didn't look up, she must be crying and she was embarrassed to be seen.

The boss’s wife knew that she had wrongly blamed Xia Yan, and said angrily that it was just a dog that couldn’t change its habit of eating shit. The boss didn't want others to hear him and his wife talking about the length and breadth of the Gensheng family here, so he stretched his head and looked outside the store, lest a customer suddenly walk in and catch the two of them off guard. The boss didn't see anyone outside the door, so he leaned his head towards his wife and whispered, there is one more thing I didn't tell you. The landlady asked, what happened? So mysterious.

The boss said that it was not mysterious, but he felt a little uncomfortable. You went back to your hometown a few days ago, and Gensheng came to the store carrying a small plastic bag, saying it was a specialty of Henan and letting me try it. He was very nice and took it out of the bag for me to see. When I saw it, it was such a big lump, thicker than the mouth of a bowl and smaller than a washbasin. The boss gestured to his wife with his hands.

When steaming, you may use cabbage leaves as a cushion. You can see a few leaves still sticking to it, and the color is green and yellow, just like the jelly we dry in Shaanxi, but it is much harder than the jelly. . Gensheng saw me in a daze, so he smiled and said, We produce sweet potatoes in Henan, and if we can’t finish them all, we crush some of the sweet potatoes into vermicelli, and cut the vermicelli into sections to make stews to entertain guests. I looked curiously at the lump of food called Stewed Zi. He was suddenly so enthusiastic. I didn't know what to say. Gensheng put the stew back into the plastic bag, pushed it towards me, and patiently told me that the stew can be eaten stewed or stir-fried. It is delicious with green and red peppers and shredded pork. . I was flattered and opened my mouth to refuse, but he walked away. By the time I kicked him out from the counter, he had already disappeared. I wanted to send him back, but I didn't have the nerve.

The boss’ wife likes to eat. The boss described the stew as so delicious, which aroused her greed. She asked eagerly, where is it? Why didn’t I see it? The boss said that when I think of what he did to us, I have no appetite for the food he brings, even the delicacies. A familiar customer happened to come by and bought two cigarettes. He saw the braised rice on the counter and asked me what it was. I said Henan braised rice. It was given to me by others and I don't like it. The customer said, "It smells weird. If you don't like it, I'll take it home and eat it," so I gave it to him.

The landlady couldn’t blame her husband, so she said that Gensheng was obviously trying to get close to him. People like him can’t afford to start early without profit, so we’d better be careful.

Mi Xian and Gensheng have an agreement that the project payment will be settled in two installments, before the start of the project and after the project is completed, so both parties will not be under great pressure. Before the Mixi'an engineering team started work, Gensheng paid the first payment. After the work started, he returned to Lijiazhuang every two days. Although he was contracted to the engineering team and his father-in-law was the supervisor, he did not want to be a hands-off shopkeeper. , he wants to control the progress of the project. To put it bluntly, his money must be spent clearly, and no one can fool him.

This afternoon, Gensheng returned to Lijiazhuang. He always returned to Lijiazhuang after four o'clock. At this time, the store was not too busy, and the engineering team had not yet finished work, and they could rush back to Xi'an in the evening. , three without delay.

Gensheng drove the motorcycle directly to the yard, where sand, cement, steel and wooden boards were piled up in random directions. The father-in-law had a keen eye and quickly came over to clear an open space for his son-in-law to park his car. People say that the mother-in-law loves her son-in-law, but in Xia Yan's family, the father-in-law loves her son-in-law. Gensheng smiled gratefully at his father-in-law under his helmet and turned off the motorcycle. When Mi Xi'an heard the sound of the motorcycle, he knew that Gensheng was back. Gensheng came back frequently, and he knew that Gensheng didn't trust him. Although he felt a little unhappy, he still advised himself not to care about it. Building a house was a major event in life, and it was understandable if people were worried.

Mi Xian walked over with a smile. Gensheng took out a box of Furong King cigarettes from under the back seat of the motorcycle, tore open the package, took out one and handed it to Mi Xian. Mi Xian took the cigarette without lighting it. Instead of holding it, he was going to pin it to his ear. He already had a cigarette pinned to his other ear.

Gensheng took out the lighter from his pocket and lit the flame to light Mixi'an's cigarette. Mixi'an had no choice but to light the cigarette against the flame. Mi Xian's smoking also showed the sincerity of Shaanxi people. He smoked half of the cigarette in one puff, and then blew out a string of smoke rings from his nose. My father-in-law was also a smoker. When he saw that Gensheng was handing Furongwang cigarettes to the foreman, he wisely walked aside. Gensheng took out another box of Furongwang cigarettes from under the back seat of the motorcycle, ran over and stuffed it into his father-in-law's arms. The father-in-law pulled it with his hand and said he didn't want it. Gensheng said, "Take it." When he met the village cadre, he handed it to him. Gen, my father-in-law took it.

Mi Xi’an squinted his eyes, took the last puff of cigarette, and put out the cigarette butt on the sole of his shoe. He smiled and said, "Your father-in-law is really a nice person. He worries about you wholeheartedly." Gensheng didn't appreciate it and said that in name he was building a building for me, but in fact I could only live there a few times a year and it was his family who lived there. Mi Xi'an felt uncomfortable hearing it. It seemed that his son-in-law and son were very different. In the final analysis, the son-in-law was still separated by his belly. No wonder they all want to have a son. Mi Xi'an didn't answer Gensheng's words, and he couldn't answer such words. Someone happened to call him, and he smiled apologetically at Gensheng and said, "I'll be busy then."

Although the construction team is building the house, the customs in rural areas are still indispensable. After the main body of the first floor is built, it is necessary to go up to the slab. In the past, building a tiled house was called raising beams, but now building a cement building is called raising slabs. . Although the name is different, the meaning is the same. In rural areas, raising the slab is the most important step in building a house, and a ceremony is required. On this day, relatives and friends will give gifts, and the host family will have a big banquet for the guests. They will put a red cloth on the beam, set off firecrackers, and release flying monkeys. The more lively it is, the more auspicious it will be.

Gensheng returned to Lijiazhuang early in the morning the first day to prepare the ingredients for the banquet at noon the next day. He rode on a motorcycle and took his father-in-law to buy the ingredients in the town. If not, I’ll go back to Xi’an to buy in the afternoon. The necessary arrangements were made and everything was ready, and he rushed back to Xi'an without stopping, fearing that the shop would be closed if it was too late.

Climbing the floor was a big deal, so Gensheng decided to close the motorcycle repair shop for a day. The family of three went back with Yu Sheng. If they lost their money, they could still earn it back, but they couldn't make any mistakes when going up to the floor.

It was dawn and the street lights were still on, so Gensheng woke up Yusheng, washed himself briefly, and set off without eating breakfast. Gensheng and Yusheng rode a motorcycle each. Xia Yan held Li Han and sat on the back seat of Gensheng's motorcycle. On the luggage rack of Yusheng's motorcycle was a tall pile of cardboard boxes, which Gensheng purchased. Cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and Lao Tie’s cured beef and mutton bought at Huiminfang.

It was the first time for Yusheng to go to Lijiazhuang. He followed Gensheng all the way out of the city. The motorcycle bumped along the country road. Yusheng had grown so thin that his whole body turned up and down with the car. Fly, the butt was knocked out of the butt seat. Xia Yan was afraid that Yusheng would lose her, so she looked back from time to time to remind Yusheng to ride slower and avoid big rocks to avoid overturning. He was so angry that he scolded Xia Yan, "Shut your crow mouth. If you don't know how to speak, don't speak."

Two motorcycle riders followed him to Lijiazhuang.

As soon as they entered the village, Li Han broke away from Xia Yan's arms and tried to get out. Gensheng had no choice but to stop the car. Li Han slid off the motorcycle and ran away. Gensheng and Yusheng arrived at the door of their house. There were already villagers coming in and out, busy with work. The villagers' main task today was to help with the cooking. At noon, almost half of the village people came to eat. The more people eating, the more popular they are. The better. What matters when building a house is popularity. It will be good if it is lively. The kitchen helpers are all women, helping with washing and chopping vegetables. Most men in Shaanxi are chauvinistic and do not cook at home. However, whenever a family celebrates weddings or weddings, the chef is always a man.

When Xia Yan’s father saw his son-in-law and daughter coming back, he came over. He had met Yusheng at the motorcycle repair shop and greeted Yusheng with a smile. Back! Haven't had breakfast yet? Yusheng wiped his neck and didn't say he had eaten or not, he just grinned. Xia Yan's father knew that Yusheng was thin-skinned, so he must not have eaten. He turned to the kitchen and touched two steamed buns, stuffed them into Yusheng's hands, and said, "It's still warm, so eat it while it's hot."

Xia Yan also went to the kitchen, with her orchid fingers raised, she held a steamed bun filled with spicy oil in each hand. fell to the ground. There are ten strange things in Shaanxi, and one of them is a dish called Youpo Lazi. Ever since Gensheng got married to Xia Yan, he has fallen in love with eating spicy food. Every time he eats, he always eats spicy food. Xia Yan first handed one to Gensheng and ate the other one herself. He said, let's get hungry first, because we won't have time to eat when we get busy later. Gensheng's favorite was hot steamed buns stuffed with oily spicy seeds. He bit off half of the steamed buns in one bite and said vaguely, "One is not enough, please give me two more." Xia Yan entered the kitchen again.

Xia Yan’s family was having a big banquet for guests and occupied the kitchen of the Mixi’an engineering team, so they could not make breakfast. Xia Yan’s father simply picked up several baskets of steamed buns from his own house and put them in the yard for the engineering team Eat as much as you can.

When Mi Xian saw Gensheng, he came over to say hello. Are you back so early? Gensheng looked at his watch and said, it's not too early, it's already seven o'clock.

Xia Yan’s father said beside him that the beam must be mounted before twelve o’clock, and the morning time was quite tight. Mi Xi'an smiled and said, Uncle Li is a person who has been here before, so what he said must make sense. Mi Xian told the construction team members that everyone should eat quickly, drink water as soon as possible after eating, and go to the toilet immediately after drinking water. After the stool and urine are refreshed, they can start working and strive to erect the floor slabs at 11:30.

With steamed buns in their mouths, there was a shower of steamed buns popping out, and they expressed their opinions in unison, no numbness!

Dong Yan was also busy in and out of the yard. She saw that Xia Yan was feeding Gensheng steamed buns with oily spicy seeds and Yusheng was eating steamed buns with nothing on them. She was on her motorcycle. When the car repair shop saw Yusheng, he complained and said, "Xia Yan, you are too partial. You are so arrogant and worthless that you are reluctant to let others take advantage of you." Yusheng lowered his head shyly, and Dongyan snatched the steamed bun that Yusheng was eating and said, hum! If she doesn't clip it for you, I will clip it for you.

Yusheng's face turned red. He had not eaten spicy food since he was a child. He would get red pimples whenever he ate spicy food. Every time Xia Yan would set aside dishes for him without spicy food. After hearing this, Yusheng became even more shy and embarrassed to tell Dongyan that he didn't eat spicy food. Dong Yan came out of the kitchen and took two steamed buns stuffed with spicy seeds. Yu Sheng didn't take out the half-eaten one. Dong Yan stretched out her hand to Yu Sheng from afar and said loudly, "Here!" Eat as much as you can, and you won't be able to eat enough of the greasy and spicy food.

Yu Sheng was too embarrassed to refuse, so he bit the bullet and started eating. After taking a bite, tears and runny nose started to flow. Dong Yan didn't think she was going too far, but said with disdain that she was a man and couldn't even eat spicy food. Xia Yan's father happened to see it and couldn't help but laugh too. He felt that laughing was inappropriate, so he stopped laughing and criticized Xia Yan for not stopping Dong Yan and letting Dong Yan do whatever she wanted. He also told Yu Sheng to go to the kitchen and drink a few sips of cold water. Don't dare to drink hot water. The more you drink, the spicier it will become. Yusheng obediently went to the kitchen.

Xia Yan’s father is well-known in the village, and almost half of the villagers come to help. The men went to help Misian wherever they could, sifting sand and cement, handing out bricks. Mi Xi'an handed cigarettes to the villagers over and over again to express his gratitude. If someone couldn't take the cigarette he handed to him, he would pin it on his ear for that person. He didn't say anything, but he was actually sweating in his heart. If he couldn't successfully lift the floor slab to the roof at twelve noon, he would be in trouble.

The place where women live is lively. A group of women who are helping the cooks are chattering and making jokes about the chef. That person's head.

Yusheng didn’t know what he should do. He stood at the door of the kitchen for a while, and then looked at the door again. Dong Yan suddenly stood next to him, dazzled a pack of Wangwang snow cakes in front of his eyes, said, "Here, take a sweet bite."

Yu Sheng’s furry eyes flickered, his head hid behind him, and he said in a panic that the snow cake is for the little kid to eat, and I won’t eat it.

Dong Yan giggled and said like Yusheng, I won’t eat it! What can I do if I eat it? Eat it! Must eat! Yu Sheng did not dare to speak anymore, fearing that Dong Yan would imitate him. Dong Yan stuffed the snow cake into Yusheng's hand and turned away. Yusheng couldn't see Dongyan out of the corner of his eye, so he tore open the package and started eating.

While Yusheng was eating with gusto, Dongyan appeared again, put her head in front of Yusheng, and whispered, Yusheng, your eyelashes are so beautiful, thick and long, and they curl up. How about we switch?

Yusheng blushed, lowered his head, and murmured, "I look like my dad, we both have this kind of eyes, not good at all, like a girl."

Dong Yan said, you must give birth to a girl in the future. Girls are beautiful if they have eyes like this, but it would be a pity to have them on a boy’s face. After hearing this, Yusheng was so ashamed that he wanted to lower his head to his feet. Dong Yan didn't take it seriously and made fun of Yusheng, which makes you embarrassed. You will be considered pure only if you don't get married in the future.

Xia Yan’s father seemed to realize something when he saw the two of them hanging out together. He came over and said to Dong Yan, “Other people are so busy that they are on their backs. You are enjoying your leisure time here, why don’t you hurry up and help wash the vegetables?” go. Dong Yan pouted and said, "I don't want to take a break and call my mother here if I can." My mother didn't know what it meant. She didn't show up on the day the construction started, and she didn't show up when she went up to the floor. In the future, when the building was built, she would still have the dignity to live there.

Dong Yan spoke without restraint and said this in front of Yusheng. If it reached Gensheng’s ears, she would get into trouble again. Xia Yan's father was so angry that he tried to beat Dong Yan, but Dong Yan was so quick that she ran away long ago. Xia Yan's father smiled awkwardly at Yusheng and put a high hat on Yusheng's head, making Yusheng embarrassed to say this. Uncle likes a good boy like Yusheng, who is not troublesome and understands everything in his heart.

Yusheng didn’t know what to say, so he just looked at Xia Yan’s father with his fluffy eyes. Xia Yan's father sighed in his heart, it would be great if Gensheng was as easy to get along with as Yusheng.