Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

"An Feng, you are talking nonsense. Our restaurant employs the best chefs. How can the food not be delicious?"

“I really want to eat in a restaurant every day.”

Zhao Shanhe joked, "The way you guys are eating today, I think the restaurant will go bankrupt because of you guys."

"But I finally don't have to eat my mom's cooking anymore. There's only one meal left tomorrow morning, so I'll be relieved."

"Dad, why didn't you find an aunt earlier?"

"Okay, okay, you have never been hungry. Don't you know that when you are hungry, you will even rush to eat wild vegetables. In some places, even the bark of trees is eaten up, and in the end you can only eat Guanyin soil."

"Dad, have you ever been hungry?"

"Of course not. At that time, your grandfather had just died, and it happened to be a natural disaster. The ration was reduced again and again, and every household had to tighten their belts to get by."

"I and your second uncle were at the age when we were able to eat. We were so hungry that we didn't even have the energy to study. Our stomachs were empty and it was difficult to even go to the toilet."

"If you want to talk about miserable lives, your grandma and aunt were really miserable when I first met them."

"Your grandmother's first husband was a hunter. He died while hunting in the mountains, so the family drove them out."

"When your grandfather brought your grandmother and your two aunts back home, your grandmother was almost on her last legs. It was not certain whether she could survive. Your aunts also had nothing to eat and were so hungry that they looked pale and skinny."

"Luckily, your grandma was very strong and managed to survive after drinking some rice soup. There was no woman in the family at that time, and your grandpa felt sorry for her, so he kept her. Then your grandma has been taking care of us ever since."

"And your cousin Bang Geng was assigned to a particularly poor area in Shaanxi. It happened that the area was hit by a drought that year."

"Banggeng started to flee. According to Banggeng, he was the only one left. The others all died. Even Banggeng almost died. Maybe it was not his fate because he happened to meet He Daqing, who was still riding a tricycle at the train station."

"Bang Geng stole things when he was young and didn't study hard. When he grew up, he hung out with bad friends and didn't do anything serious. It was because of that escape that Bang Geng changed completely. Look how good Bang Geng is now."

"Sometimes I really want you to suffer a little, but your father has worked hard for half his life just for you to live a good life. If you force yourself to suffer, you are just asking for trouble."

"Dad, I didn't expect it to be so difficult back then."

"In fact, life is still difficult in many places now, but it is much better than it was then, so cherish the hard-earned life now and don't waste food."

"Okay, we've heard the story enough. Let's go give your grandma a present, and then we'll go home."

When they arrived at the courtyard, Zhao Shanhu and his friends were having dinner. Since they didn't see the movie, Zhao Shanhe and his friends had dinner early.

"You guys eat, you guys eat, we've already eaten, we just came to take a look."

After dinner, while Aunt Chen was cleaning up in the kitchen, Zhao Shanhe came to the kitchen and said, "Aunt Chen, here is a gift I bought for you. Take it and have a look."

Aunt Chen saw that they were a pair of gold bracelets. "They are too expensive. I don't want them. Besides, I'm old. I just cook every day. Why should I carry things with me? You can give them to Jingru."

"Aunt Chen, what's so valuable about a pair of bracelets? Our family is no longer the same as before. It's just a small token of my appreciation. I haven't given you any gifts in all these years, so you can just keep them. But An Rong picked them out especially for you.

As for Jingru, I also bought one and put it in the car. Since I already bought it, you can wear it."

Zhao Shanhe took the bracelet again and put it on Aunt Chen. "Well, An Rong has a good taste. This bracelet is well chosen, but Aunt Chen still has a better temperament."

Shanhe, why did you put it on me? I still have to wash the pot later, it's dirty."

"It's okay. If you don't like this pair anymore, we can buy another one. Otherwise, why do we earn so much money? Isn't it to spend it? If I wasn't afraid that you would get tired, I would have bought you a pair that weighs two kilograms."

"Okay, Shanhe, I accept it. Thank you." Aunt Chen covered her mouth and cried.

"It's New Year's Day, why are you crying again?"

"I am happy. I am happy to see that life is getting better and better."

"I'm glad you're happy, Aunt Chen. It's getting late, so I'll go home first."

After Zhao Shanhe and his group returned home, Qin Jingru began to complain, "You guys came back so late, are you going to have dinner?"

"Mom, we've eaten."

Zhao Shanhe thought to himself, oh no, he forgot to bring food for Qin Jingru.

Qin Jingru said, "When you guys have eaten, at least give your family a call to let them know. I've prepared everything and was waiting for you to come back for dinner, but you never came back. Who's going to eat all the rice left?"

"I'm so sorry, we forgot. We will definitely do it next time. But we can't waste the food after it's cooked. It's shameful to waste food."

"Why don't we take some food to the guards at the door? Some of them haven't eaten yet."

"Mom, take a rest while we take it and wash the pot for you later."

The guard at the door couldn't resist, and with Zhao Shanhe also trying to persuade him, the leader in charge of the duty finally agreed.

It is really not easy for several people to eat the steaming hot rice in the cold wind.

After eating a few bites, he cursed his leader inwardly, thinking that he had offended the salt seller.

When An Rong came over to collect the lunch boxes, he asked the guard who had just finished his meal, "Uncle, is the food my mom cooked good to eat?"

The guard thought the child was right. Salty food goes well with rice.

In the evening, Qin Jingru didn't help Zhao Shanhe wash his feet, and she was a little angry in the afternoon.

This was the first time that Zhao Shanhe poured footbath water after his marriage, and he felt it was a bit novel.

After washing his feet, Zhao Shanhe went to bed and pushed Qin Jingru. "What's wrong? Are you really angry?"

"no"

"Don't be angry."

"You said you guys had eaten but you didn't tell me. I was waiting for you guys to come back for dinner. I haven't eaten yet and you guys gave all the food away. I'm still hungry."

"Ah, you didn't eat. I thought you had eaten. I'll go get you some noodles."

"No, I'm full of anger. Don't think I don't know that you hired a nanny because you dislike my cooking."

"Okay, okay, don't be angry. We bought you a gift. See if you like it."

Zhao Shanhe took the coat and handed the gift to Qin Jingru.

"The children chose it, and I paid for it. This is our gift. Come and see if you like it."

Zhao Shanhe put a necklace and a bracelet on Qin Jingru, forgetting that Qin Jingru didn't have pierced ears, so she couldn't wear earrings.

Holding Qin Jingru's face, he said, "My wife looks really good in it, especially her temperament, which is amazing."

"Why did you suddenly think of buying these for me?"

"I haven't given you a gift in all these years, so I thought of giving you a gift. You have really worked hard for me over the years."

Qin Jingru lay in Zhao Shanhe's arms. "For the sake of the gift, I am not angry anymore."