One big and one small are practicing love

Liu Xiaochen hurriedly took out his hand, moved back, and said, "Goodbye, Teacher Zuo, I will take good care of the children."

After the car stopped, Zuo Kunmin got out of the car. Two tall men wearing military green jackets came to the front of the car. Zuo Kunmin shook hands with them and said, "Sorry to trouble you."

Not long after they parted, the children all fell asleep with their heads tilted.

Liu Xiaochen looked at the scenery outside the window: sparse low houses, long roads, dead trees and grass, unmelted snow, and a cold and desolate atmosphere.

The heating in the car was suffocating, and there was a muffled roar of machines. After Liu Xiaochen yawned a few times, he couldn't bear the fatigue and fell asleep.

I don't know how long it took, but I heard someone shouting: "Miss Liu, we are here." Liu Xiaochen opened his eyes and looked out the window. The car stopped in front of an old low building. He woke up the children and got out of the car together.

Although the sun was shining brightly outside the car, the air was chilly.

Worried that the children would catch a cold, Liu Xiaochen led them quickly upstairs as soon as they got off the car. The two men and the driver followed behind, carrying luggage.

Zuo Kunmin had informed Liu Xiaochen in advance that his home was on the third floor of the first building, West Gate, 302.

I came up quickly and saw that the door was open, and a smiling woman was standing at the door. She had dyed yellow hair, gold earrings, and tattooed eyebrows. She said enthusiastically: "You guys are here."

"Are you Aunt Liu?" Liu Xiaochen asked.

"Yes, yes!" Aunt Liu nodded vigorously to let them in, and said loudly: "My name is Liu Shufen, and I live upstairs. I have been cleaning the Zuo family these years. During this time, I will take care of your daily life. I just made lunch, please wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Aunt Liu spoke warmly and familiarly, as if she had known them for a long time, and Liu Xiaochen suddenly felt at ease with them.

"Hello Aunt Liu!"

Zuo Yan and Zuo Xu bowed respectively and greeted politely.

Aunt Liu smiled and said: "Hey, these two little babies are so beautiful."

The room was heated exceptionally well, so they took off their thick coats, went to the bathroom, and washed their hands.

After finishing all this work, when I returned to the living room, all the luggage had been loaded up. Seven or eight boxes were lined up against the wall, and the space in the room suddenly felt smaller.

Aunt Liu and the three men carrying the luggage spoke loudly and enthusiastically in Northeastern dialect.

"You guys should stay and eat too. I've cooked a lot, and Mr. Zuo said he wouldn't come back to eat. I can't even finish it!" Aunt Liu said with a smile.

"No. We still have work to do. We have to report back right away."

"Then I won't keep you here. Come and sit at home when you have time!"

……

Not allowing Liu Xiaochen to speak, Aunt Liu, like a hostess, exchanged greetings with the three of them and sent them off.

"Aunt Liu, come and eat with us. There are so many meals, and the three of us can't finish them without Teacher Zuo." Liu Xiaochen said while serving rice to Aunt Liu.

"Hahaha!" Aunt Liu said with a hearty smile: "I am the only one in my family. I am too lazy to cook anymore. In order not to waste food, I won't be polite to you." After saying that, he walked closer and stood next to Zuo Xu. Sat down.

Hearing Aunt Liu's laughter, Liu Xiaochen and the children laughed unconsciously.

At this moment, the sunshine spreads over half of the living room, making it warm and lively, as if the cold outside is unreal. The brand new wooden table is filled with dishes, which are full of fragrance.

At this moment, the strange feeling of coming to a foreign place for the first time disappeared.

Aunt Liu was eating and talking. She looked at Zuo Xu and smiled and said: "Hey, this child looks exactly like Mr. Zuo when he was a child. The last time I saw Mr. Zuo, he was as old as Xiao Xu. I was still a young girl at that time. , in a blink of an eye, his child has grown so old, time is really not forgiving!"

"Aunt Liu, have you always lived here?" Liu Xiaochen asked.

Aunt Liu swallowed the food in her mouth and said: "I lived here when I got married when I was 21 years old. I left for a few years and then moved back. When I first lived in this building, this building was still a new house. It was all us. This kind of young newlyweds lived here. Only the father and son lived here. A few years later, the son of the Zuo family went to Shanghai to do business, and only the old man lived here. Later, the son of the Zuo family only came back for one or two days a year, taking him with him. My daughter-in-law is Mr. Zuo’s mother. Let me tell you, Mr. Zuo’s mother is really a beauty. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed that there was such a beautiful person in the world.” After saying so many words, Liu My aunt just picked up vegetables to eat.

Liu Xiaochen now knows that Aunt Liu is very talkative. When asked a question, she can tell a lot of information on her own. Fortunately, Aunt Liu eats a lot, otherwise Liu Xiaochen would be worried that she would not be able to finish the meal.

Therefore, Liu Xiaochen spoke to Aunt Liu very restrainedly.

"Aunt Liu, was my dad naughty when he was a child? Did he study well?" Zuo Xu asked.

Aunt Liu scratched Zuo Xu's nose with her hand and said with a smile, "Are you very naughty and want to prove that your father is just like you?"

Zuo Xu smiled and nodded.

Aunt Liu smiled, turned around and thought, and said: "Your great-grandfather always praises your dad when he meets everyone, saying that his eldest grandson is a child prodigy who is very good at calligraphy, piano, painting, English, and Peking Opera. I have seen your dad. When it comes to writing, your dad was only seven or eight years old at the time, and he could write in any font, and he could write really well."

"My great-grandfather?" Zuo Xu asked.

"Yeah!" Aunt Liu just took a mouthful of rice and hurriedly swallowed it and said: "The old man loves this little grandson very much. He buys him whatever he wants. He is so old. He takes his grandson to climb mountains and fish every day, and even goes up trees to dig out bird eggs. . It’s a pity that six months later, the old man suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at home in the middle of the night, and he passed away because he was not treated in time.”

Zuo Xu didn't seem to understand the meaning behind the words, and said with a smile: "It sounds so interesting. I also want to climb mountains, fish, and dig out bird eggs."

"When I look at your cleverness, I can tell that you are a playful little troublemaker." Aunt Liu smiled and touched Zuo Xu's head and said, "You have to learn from your dad. A big entrepreneur saved such a big man." The steel plant has solved the problem of feeding tens of thousands of people, how great it is!"

Hearing this, Liu Xiaochen slowed down while eating. Thinking of coming to Shenyang this time, Zuo Kunmin only said that he wanted to work here and stayed for a long time, without saying anything specific.

Thinking again of what Secretary Zhou said at the airport in the morning when so many important leaders were picking him up, Liu Xiaochen wondered what Zuo Kunming was doing. Looking at Aunt Liu, she asked: "Aunt Liu, is Teacher Zuo really that powerful?"

Aunt Liu put down her bowls and chopsticks and said seriously: "Of course, the Bayu Steel Plant is the economic backbone of the entire Daxing District. Men from many families can go there to work without having to go out to work. The family can be reunited, stable, and raise children. Because the workers are paid, the business of opening a small shop is also good. However, in recent years, the steel factory has been in recession and cannot pay wages. Many young people have left, and those who are old and have families to support cannot leave, so they have to Receiving the minimum wage, these people, old and young, had a hard time. At the beginning of November, everyone saw Mr. Zuo coming to the steel factory and heard about his strength. They all felt that they had hope in life and believed that he would We can save the steel plant so everyone can go back to their old lives.”

Liu Xiaochen wanted to ask some more questions, but seeing Zuo Yan's sleepy look, he knew it was time for her to rest. She couldn't sleep well at night, her cough was better at noon, and she could lie down to sleep to supplement her sleep. So, I didn’t ask any more questions, answered a few gossips casually, and finished the meal.

After dinner, Aunt Liu arranged the room, which Zuo Kunmin had ordered in advance.

Zuo Yan and Liu Xiaochen lived in the master bedroom with a bathroom, and Zuo Xu lived in the second bedroom next to the master bedroom. The bedroom next to the kitchen was empty, so it belonged to Zuo Kunmin.

Although this house looks old from the outside, it has a reasonable layout. The buildings are widely spaced and there is no obstruction between them. There is a row of tall poplar trees and a barren mountain behind the house.

The house faces south and faces north, with good lighting and ventilation. The bedroom is square, spacious and has sufficient heating. The interior decoration is minimalist, with smooth water-polished cement floors, white paint on the walls, and green-painted wooden doors.

The house is connected to the sun, air, trees, and the earth, and people are connected but separated from each other. People feel very comfortable staying in this kind of space.

"Aunt Liu, thank you. You can go back and rest. I'll trouble you if I have anything else to do." Liu Xiaochen said.

Aunt Liu said goodbye with a smile and said: "Okay! It must be very hard for you all to travel all the way. Get some rest. I will come over in the evening to help you pack your luggage and make dinner for you."

After putting the children into pajamas and putting them to bed, Liu Xiaochen sat alone at the wooden table in the living room, staring at the sunshine outside the window in a daze.

Thinking about what to do next: packing your luggage and tidying up your room. Thinking about what he had seen and heard in the past half day and what Zuo Kunmin was doing, it was impossible to discuss it at all, and he felt deeply suspicious and uneasy in his heart.

The gap between them was deeper and further than she thought. Also, how would others evaluate their relationship if they knew about it? What is he doing now? ...Thinking, thinking, Liu Xiaochen lay on the table and fell asleep.