Flower Room

Chapter 5 Redemption
Manzhi posted a recruitment notice at the entrance of the flower shop, looking for a gardener. Her plant rental business is getting bigger and bigger, and it is no longer enough for Su Jinbao to run alone.My father is getting old, and he has to travel to seven or eight companies a week, which is really tiring.When it's too late, Li Qian and Manzhi will go to a nearby unit to act as temporary gardeners whoever is free, but it's not a long-term solution.

The business of the store has also improved. Most of them are repeat customers. Most of them live in nearby communities. Many of them are housewives. Chatting, the topic of calm and clear, let Manzhi have the pleasure of stealing half a day's leisure, which became another pleasure for her besides flower shop.

"Today's roses are not bad, Xi'er, did you still get them from Boss Hang?" Manzhi asked Li Qian while holding the bouquet.Li Qian was cleaning the utensils on the shelf, and answered through the glass, "Yes, Boss Hang asked about you, why hasn't he seen you for so long?"

"Then what do you say?"

"Busy."

Manzhi lowered her head and smiled, thinking of Boss Hang's meaningful eyes. Doing business is really not easy, especially for women. When you meet a man, he either despises you or wants to occupy you. A little cheap.It's no wonder that Shao Yun objected from the very beginning. He himself came here in the business field, so it's possible that he doesn't understand that way.

When I think of Shao Yun, my heart is disturbed again. I don’t know what happened to him recently. It seems that he has suddenly changed his sex. He appears more and more times at home. Although he still talks to himself in a light tone, it is not like before. The voice is angry.Before Mengmeng goes to sleep, he will come to say goodnight to her. Sometimes, that doting gaze will affect Manzhi before she can take it back, but she feels uncomfortable.

After finishing the flowers, Manzhi turned around and saw Chang Shaohui walking in. Manzhi's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she smiled and said, "Oh, why is Mr. Chang here at this time?"

Li Qian poked her head out from behind the shelf for a while, then retracted quickly.

Chang Shaohui was still smiling, his eyes flicked over the clusters of flowers, and he said slowly: "I want to pick some flowers to give to others."

As he spoke, he stretched out his palm and stroked it gently on the top of the flowers, as if he was playing a silent tune. Manzhi noticed that his ten fingers were slender and flat, which was a pair of hands full of wisdom.

Manzhi smiled and said, "That depends on what it is and who you are sending it to. There are many people who pay attention to sending flowers."

Chang Shaohui pondered for a moment before saying, "Send your girlfriend."

Manzhi was really taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "Then give roses, this is the most suitable gift between lovers, well, here are all."

She introduced him a little too enthusiastically, and then asked, "Well... How many branches do you want?"

"...I have no experience, so I don't know how suitable it is. You can figure it out."

Manzhi laughed and said, "It's what the song says, so giving 999 flowers is the best way to express my heart, but I'm afraid you will say I'm blackmailing you."

Chang Shaohui also laughed when he heard that, "Then... 29 flowers."

He held a large bouquet of bright red roses in his hand, which was extraordinarily dazzling. Chang Shaohui stared at it for a while, his eyes were a little strange, as if he hadn't quite gotten used to it yet.

After seeing off Chang Shaohui, Manzhi was a little restless, with a trace of subtle emotions lingering in her heart, which could not go away.

Li Qian suddenly said, "I came to buy flowers at this hour, probably because I have made an appointment to have lunch together."

Manzhi heard this, and couldn't help laughing, "You are really more and more careful."

Li Qian's face turned red suddenly, and she sighed again: "I don't know what kind of person is worthy of Mr. Chang, but it must be very outstanding."

Manzhi nodded and said with certainty, "That's for sure."

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Public Security Bureau called Manzhi, saying that the two suspects who robbed her last time had been caught and asked her to identify them.

Li Qian counted with her fingers, and almost a month had passed, so she said, "How can you be trustworthy?"

Manzhi smiled and said, "This is pretty fast."

When I came to the Criminal Case Division of the Public Security Bureau, I found Lao Yang who had called her, and was immediately led into a small room with a closed-circuit television.

Lao Yang's voice was loud and lingering, "These two guys came from other provinces. They committed four or five crimes in the past month. They were arrested in the suburban county last Friday. The dry duck is still tough, we will not admit it without evidence, so I want you to come and find out if they were the ones who robbed you of your money last time."

Manzhi sat in front of the monitor and waited. Two or three minutes later, five suspects appeared on the screen, lined up, standing facing forward, holding a number plate in their hands.

Lao Yang said to Manzhi: "Don't be nervous, take a good look, they don't know who is identifying."

Manzhi then carefully looked at each of them, trying to find the appearance that matched the jigsaw puzzle in her memory.

There was a figure she was puzzled by, that is, the young man sitting on the back seat of the motorcycle, standing tremblingly at this moment, with his hands clinging to the seams of his trousers, with suppressed tension on his face, Manzhi looked at him intently.

Lao Yang saw some clues, leaned down and asked Manzhi, "Is that him?"

Manzhi noticed that the man's fingers on the seam of his trousers trembled slightly.

"Is it him?" Lao Yang asked again to confirm.

Manzhi felt like a hunter, searching for the prey that had fallen into the bag, the light in its eyes was weak and humble, as if begging for mercy once.

He just made a mistake, and he probably wants to change it. Who makes a mistake and doesn't want to change it?Why not give him a chance?Chance?
Manzhi's mind suddenly buzzed, and for a moment, she felt that the young man she had recognized on the screen was either someone else or herself, waiting for someone to redeem him.

"No." Manzhi finally spoke, with boredom in her voice, "At that time they were all wearing helmets, and I was nervous, I couldn't see what they looked like, I couldn't be sure it was them."

Lao Yang didn't give up, and continued to lobby: "Don't worry, you can recall the memories carefully, such as whether there is anything special about them that impressed you deeply, and whether they can do some actions to help you..."

"No need." Manzhi interrupted him hastily, stood up, and shook her head regretfully, "I'm sorry, I really can't remember anything, sorry."

After sending Manzhi away, Lao Yang called Shao Yun unstoppably. It was the first time he was so angry after more than ten years of acquaintance.

Shao Yun listened on the other end of the phone, just smiled and comforted Lao Yang.

Lao Yang couldn't get rid of his anger, he roared so much that his saliva flew all over the place.

"If it weren't for your good talk, why would we spend so much police force on this case? Let me tell you, there are still two murder and robbery cases waiting to be solved. Your wife is fine. I don't remember a word, so I just pat it lightly." Ass gone."

Shao Yun smiled and said: "Uncle Yang, don't complain to me, why don't you hurry up and organize manpower to catch these two bastards, or they can upgrade you to a murder robbery, the current group of big kids , all of them are very courageous."

"Then what about your daughter-in-law's case? You have to ask me to give you an explanation. I see her state, and I won't be able to explain if I catch ten more people."

"Then it's up to you to see what to do, how to interrogate and how to interrogate."

Lao Yang was still annoyed, "You think it's so easy to interrogate the case, and if you need the cooperation of the parties, you might as well do it." Shao Yun smiled and said, "Me? I was disabled, will you catch me or let me go?"

Only then did Lao Yang laugh, "You boy, you are still as ruthless as you were when you were a child. It's a pity that you didn't get into the police academy!"

Autumn began in a blink of an eye, and God finally let go of the air of anger and returned the coolness to the world. It only happened once in a while, which is commonly known as the autumn tiger, but it was the end of the battle after all.

Manzhi loves autumn the most, not only because of the crispness of autumn, but also the sweet scent of sweet-scented osmanthus in the air. If Manqi is still there, she must also like it. Manqi was born in autumn and always thinks that autumn is the best season.

Manzhi's little niece, Feifei, was also born in autumn, and she aroused amazing admiration as soon as she was born, and she was a beautiful little doll.After leaving the hospital, relatives rushed to see.

Among the people in the room, I don't know which aunt said, "Look at this little appearance, it looks like it was carved out of the same mold as Manqi."

As soon as the words came out, the atmosphere suddenly froze. Manqi was no longer there at that time. Although Manzhi still greeted the guests with a smile, her brows and eyes were trembling, and her heart was shivering, but she still worked hard. Smiling, holding up the scene, refusing to lose her sense of proportion, even though everyone looked at her in unison.

At that time, although her heart was hurt, it was not riddled with holes.

Li Qian called Manzhi several times before she heard it.It's Feifei's fourth birthday today. In the morning, Manzhi's brother Haifeng called to ask her family to have dinner. Her thoughts turned seven or eight times, and she started to think too much.

After Su Jinbao went to several units to maintain the plants and came back, he hurriedly asked Manzhi, "Will you go at night?"

Manzhi nodded yes.

"Will Shao Yun go too?" The old father asked again worriedly.

"I've called, and he said yes, take Mengmeng with me after work."

Su Jinbao said "Oh", and seemed to be talking to himself, and also seemed to be explaining to Manzhi, "Your brother specially asked Shao Yun to go, I don't know why?" Looking up, Manzhi has already gone to greet the guests up.

A girl with a very delicate dress came in. Her white and round face looked like an egg with its shell peeled off, her hair was neatly tied behind her head, and her clothes were impeccable. A lit cigarette.

Li Qian waved the lingering smoke in disgust, and said politely, "I'm sorry, miss, we can't smoke here."

The girl smiled, walked to the door, raised her hand lightly, and threw the cigarette butt out.She doesn't look at the products very much, but she always likes to look at Manzhi, which makes Li Qian panic, and secretly said to Manzhi during the checkout: "The girl is not interested in you, she wants to be with you." Are you playing the female version of Brokeback Mountain?"

Manzhi slapped her in the face, but Li Qian dodged it with a smile.

Manzhi noticed it too, and became puzzled.

In the end, I just picked a pot of naive prickly pears. At the checkout, the girl said that she didn’t bring cash and asked if she could use a card. There are many foreigners visiting Manzhi’s store. She had equipped a machine early in the morning, so of course she replied yes.

When signing, the girl took the pen and stroked it a few times skillfully. Manzhi took it, her eyes stayed on the signature for two more seconds, and the cash register spit out the bill.She raised her head again, presented the card and the list, and smiled very softly, "Miss, please take your card and shopping list, welcome to visit again."

There was a hint of doubt in the girl's eyes, but seeing Manzhi's pure smile, she could only smile back and left like that.

Li Qian snorted, "This kind of person looks very fashionable, but his quality is very low. In all likelihood, he was taken care of by others."

As soon as he finished speaking, he remembered Manzhi's admonishment, not to talk about guests casually, and immediately stuck out his tongue, and glanced at Manzhi quickly, the latter's face was pale, his thoughts went somewhere, and he forgot to ask himself, no I feel lucky.

On this day, work was finished early again, and when Manzhi arrived at her natal home in Xishi Old Street, Mengmeng and Shao Yun were already there.Four-year-old Feifei and six-year-old Mengmeng had a good time playing together. As soon as Manzhi stepped into the open door, she heard Mengmeng teaching Feifei a nursery rhyme: "You made a big mistake today, and I will punish you One thousand, one, two, three, I pinch it, four, five, six, I chop it, seven, eight, nine, I put it in the oil pan, ten, ten, and 12, I put it on the table."

Shao Yun and Su Haifeng sat far away on the hardwood sofa and chatted.As usual, Haifeng talked a lot, and Shao Yun listened casually.

As soon as the children here finished reading the nursery rhymes, Shao Yun frowned and smiled, "The current kindergartens don't know what to teach, and they obviously tend to be violent."

Haifeng agreed, and continued to talk about his topic patiently, "This place must be demolished. It has been broken down for decades, so it's our turn..."

Hearing the sound, he turned around and saw Manzhi coming in through the front door carrying a large bag, and immediately stood up to greet her, "Oh, my little sister is back." He took the things in her hand by the way, "Why do you buy so much?" Well, it’s just the kid’s birthday.” He hurriedly turned around and greeted Feifei, “Come here quickly, let’s see the good things my sister-in-law bought you.”

The two children couldn't sit still for a while, and rushed over together, Mengmeng pouted and asked, "Mom, do you have mine?"

Manzhi squatted down, picked out a pack of colorful candies from the handbag on the ground, and gave her a smile: "How can you forget my baby?"

Mengmeng happily kissed Manzhi's cheek resoundingly, and Feifei immediately moved over to do the same, "I want to kiss too."

Manzhi smiled so that her face was blooming like a flower, her eyes fluttered, she inadvertently touched Shao Yun's unfathomable eyes, she immediately turned away, and asked Haifeng, "Where's Dad?"

"I don't know, maybe helping Shuzhen in the kitchen."

"Oh, then I'll take a look too."

Liu Shuzhen was very busy today, but it didn't bother her, she was a capable person, cooking a table of dishes by herself showed her ability.

Su Jinbao sat on a small stool to choose vegetables. He was a boring gourd and had no opinion on anything. You said he would do it, so he and Shuzhen got along well.

Manzhi stepped into the kitchen, called her sister-in-law, and was about to help her, the small space seemed cramped because of one more person, Shuzhen yelled to drive Manzhi out, "How can I let you do it, it's rare Come back once, hurry up and sit down." He raised his neck and called to his husband, "Haifeng, Haifeng, the rice wine is gone, go buy a bag and come back."

Manzhi insisted on going, but Shuzhen refused to say anything, and still let her go to the living room, and pushed Haifeng to buy it quickly. Haifeng had to leave Shaoyun behind and reluctantly accepted orders to leave.

Manzhi was forced to sit down beside Shao Yun by Shuzhen, and she swiftly made a cup of steaming tea and put it in front of Manzhi with a smile on her face, "Sit for a while, I have to wait for dinner Well, I'll ask Dad to come over and talk to you."

Only Manzhi and Shao Yun looked at each other awkwardly, and what filled their ears was the dialogue between the sisters in the corner, who had already started drawing.

"Do you know why it's called 'Lotus Leaf'?" Mengmeng is like a little teacher.

Feifei replied crisply, "Because it was born in the river."

Mengmeng nodded and said: "Yes, besides this, there is another reason, because it looks like a leaf."

After the two sisters reached an agreement, they continued to paint with confidence.

Manzhi and Shao Yun laughed silently.When Shao Yun spoke, his voice softened a lot.

"Haifeng just mentioned that this place will be demolished."

Manzhi was a little alert, "What did he say?"

"He took a fancy to a house, and all his savings and demolition funds were added up, and there was still a gap." Shao Yun pondered for a while, took out his wallet, flipped through it a few times, took out a bank card, and handed it to the house. To Manzhi, "There is about [-] in it, which is enough for him to pay the down payment. Is it suitable for me to give it to him? You should give it to him."

Manzhi felt ashamed and annoyed, how could her elder brother go around her and open the mouth to Shao Yun, so she shrank her hands and did not answer, "No need, I will figure it out myself."

Shao Yun still smiled and said, "You spent a lot of money opening a store, what can you think of?"

Manzhi whispered angrily, "Keep your money for someone else."

When Shao Yun heard this, his expression changed suddenly, "What do you mean? Who else?"

At this moment, Manzhi raised her head slightly, with a sneer in her eyes, facing him without fear, and said in a low voice, "Another woman."

Shao Yun looked at her arrogant and mocking expression, his well-defined face suddenly turned from white to green, like the darkness before a storm, he tried to lower his distorted voice, "Su Manzhi, don't be so weird with me, my It's not your turn to take care of it."

After he finished speaking, he stood up abruptly and strode out. It didn't take long before the sound of a car starting. The car seemed to be angry and roared away.

Manzhi froze on the spot, unable to speak for a long time, she didn't know what was wrong, as if she wanted to provoke him, she knew exactly what kind of person he was.

Su Jinbao happened to come over at this time, heard Shao Yun's last harsh words, and saw an angry back, trembling with anger, muttering, "How could he treat you like this, how could he?"

Manzhi understands that her father loves her very much, and tries hard to find some words to comfort him, but all of a sudden, her mind is empty, she smiles bewilderedly, a great sadness wells up in her heart, she has to find a place to hide for a while , so turned and went upstairs.

Excitedly, Su Haifeng made rice wine and stuffed it for Shuzhen, then hurried to the living room, but Shao Yun and Manzhi were gone, only two girls, Qingqing and me, were playing house.

"Mengmeng, where are your parents?"

Mengmeng played hard, and replied perfunctorily, "I don't know, you can ask grandpa."

Haifeng walked to the front door and saw his father was smoking in a bamboo chair worriedly, so he asked the whereabouts of the two of them again, Su Jinbao said angrily, "One has run away, Manzhi will rest upstairs for a while."

"Are you fighting again?" Haifeng asked worriedly.

Su Jinbao didn't answer, and sighed heavily.

Haifeng felt anxious all of a sudden, he originally wanted to ask Shao Yun for help with two things today, but now he failed, and if he asked Shao Yun to come over again, it would be difficult, he would not come easily.He turned around and was about to go upstairs to find Manzhi, but Su Jinbao stomped hard behind him, "Stop bothering Manzhi with your own affairs!"

Haifeng paused, thought for a while, and waited for Manzhi to come down by himself, so he went to the kitchen to discuss countermeasures with Shuzhen.

Manzhi is now staying in the room on the second floor where she lived when she was not married—the boudoir shared by her and Manqi.Since their elder brother got married, their dilapidated private house has been renovated again.The room of the sisters is the best of all the rooms, spacious and bright, facing south, warm in winter and cool in summer.It can be kept intact because of Shuzhen's superstition and cowardice. Manqi died, although she didn't die at home, but after all, she died unexpectedly. She always felt unlucky about the things she had been stained with, so their new house was built in the next room, which also faced south, but it was a bit smaller.

As long as Manzhi is free, she will always come back to tidy up and try her best to maintain the original appearance of the room.During her four years in college, Manqi lived alone in the room, and her things took up most of the space.Later, when Manzhi came back, she didn't intend to stay long. She had found a promising job in the big city where she was studying, and she was going to take up the job after finishing Manqi's affairs. Therefore, in this room, Manqi still has more things than her, Manqi's clothes, shoes, cosmetics, hair clips, review books for the adult college entrance examination... It seems that as long as Manzhi calls "Sister!" Manqi will appear in front of her with a smile .

The beds of the two sisters are only separated by a narrow corridor. Between the two beds is a faded writing desk with a shared lamp on it. There is also a group photo of the two of them traveling to Mount Jiuhua, which is Manzhi In the sophomore year, my brother took them there, the only long-distance trip.

Haifeng made some money by buying stocks at that time, so he became bold, saying that he had never traveled before, and that he must go out for a family of four. Zhi remembered that his elder brother laughed at him at that time, "Our house is full of gold, and the ground is also covered with gold bricks. Dad, you must take care of it."

Su Jinbao smiled with a good temper, as long as his children are happy.

Manzhi picked up the photo and looked at Manqi who was smiling like a flower inside. She was really beautiful, with a long round face and clear eyebrows that made people feel pitiful. I was suddenly plucked at the heartstrings, silently, but hard to forget.She stretched out her fingers and flicked the photo, the sour feeling in her heart rose up, and rushed to her throat, eye sockets, and the tip of her nose.

She said slowly to the smiling Manqi: "Sister, I don't mind, really, I don't mind at all..."

The tears rolling down her cheeks were like broken beads and she couldn't control it, but she still murmured, "I forgive him, I forgive him..."

The birthday dinner became a bit dull because of Shao Yun's sudden departure, but the child didn't realize it, Mengmeng only asked where his father was going, and still happily played with his sister.

When the birthday cake was served, Feifei and Mengmeng cheered happily, and the atmosphere finally eased up.

Haifeng took advantage of this enthusiasm and said to Manzhi: "I wanted to ask Shao Yun for a favor, but unfortunately he left beforehand, and I told you the same."

Manzhi divided the cakes in her hands and handed them to everyone one by one, saying: "Then you can tell."

"I've been working on building materials recently. Isn't Shao Yun and his company also working on real estate? Can you give me a recommendation? The quality of the materials is absolutely reliable. I'm your brother, so I can't lie to you."

Manzhi frowned and said, "Isn't your stainless steel window business doing well? Why change it again?"

"Oh, you don't know that there are too many people making anti-theft windows nowadays, and the profit is not high. Sooner or later, I have to close the door. Isn't it for my family, and I have to demolish and buy a house soon, and there are a lot of things waiting to be used for money. "

Manzhi said: "The matter of demolition has not been written yet, don't worry for now, I will find a way for you when the time comes." Shuzhen immediately showed a displeasure look on her face.

"As for the building materials business, it's useless if I say it. Shao Yun won't listen to me. Besides, you can't tell the origin of your stuff. Who dares to want it? What if there is an accident?"

Haifeng said anxiously: "If he is not willing, you can ask his uncle, hasn't he always admired you?"

Manzhi became a little impatient, and said: "I am no longer working under him, how dare I say this." Fu said earnestly: "Brother, according to me, you still found a job that you are good at. , keep working hard, as the saying goes, rolling stones don’t grow moss, you may not be able to make money if you keep changing and tossing like this.” Su Jinbao interjected: “I think what Manzhi said makes sense, Haifeng You have to think about it."

Haifeng let his sister say so many words, and he really couldn't get off the stage. He picked up the rice angrily to express his dissatisfaction. , but don't get your hopes up too much."

Only then did Haifeng's expression soften.

At night, when Haifeng and his wife closed the door, Shuzhen let out her anger.

"Is there such a thing as your sister, my brother asked her for a favor, pushing and blocking, oh, she lives in a mansion and a villa by herself, she would think it good or bad if we want to change to a new house."

Haifeng was already annoyed, and shouted: "Didn't she say she helped?"

Shuzhen sneered for a while, "I don't think you should count on her anymore. It's important to figure out a way yourself. They say your second girl is shrewd. I'm afraid she's too shrewd. If she marry herself well, she won't care about her natal family anyway." It's life and death, no one in this family can take advantage of her, hmph, even my own sister dares to plot against her."

Haifeng sternly shouted: "What nonsense are you talking about, be careful to let Dad hear you."

Shuzhen became more and more annoyed, "Did you hear that? What's the matter? The men in your Su family are all useless, and they only know how to listen to her, Su Manzhi. Yes, she is a college student and studies a lot, but I tell you Su Haifeng, although I Uneducated, but I will never kill my sister and replace her!"

No matter how honest Haifeng was, he wouldn't allow Shuzhen to talk nonsense like that, and slapped her face with a slap. Shuzhen was taken aback for a moment, and then burst into tears.

Su Jinbao heard the noise downstairs, and angrily ran up to knock on the door, "Stop making trouble, be careful to wake up the child." Shuzhen is also a person who wants to save face, so she immediately fell silent, lying on the bedside twitching aggrievedly. take.

Haifeng sighed depressingly, and said: "Manzhi has her own difficulties, she and Shao Yun... well, she is all for the children."

Shuzhen cried for a while, then stopped her tears, and said coldly: "Just think about her, when did she think about you and this family? What did your family do when I married you, and what do you do now? .I was really blind to pick on you." As he spoke, the circles of his eyes turned red again.

Haifeng also felt guilty towards his wife, so he didn't go to refute her at this time, he groaned for a while, and only said: "Manzhi's life is not easy."

Seeing that he was still defending Manzhi blindly after talking for a long time, Shuzhen turned cold and fell asleep, and finally muttered, "It's hard for her to live in a mansion and eat delicacies every day, but it's better for us to eat corn-bread and pickled vegetables and live in a straw shed." It's over." Hearing her speak so harshly, Haifeng was so angry that he couldn't speak for a while.

(End of this chapter)