Three or Two Things about Rebirth

Fu Xinyang's mother was wearing dark clothes and seemed thinner than the last time she saw her in the hospital.

Fu's mother obviously recognized Qiu Luming. She noticed Qiu Luming's sudden gaze towards her and said with a smile, "Xiao Qiu is so good-looking. Where does your partner work? When are you getting married?"

Qiu Luming didn't believe that Han Meifen didn't tell her about herself. She had always thought that her voice was sharp and piercing, which made her feel uncomfortable both in her ears and in her heart. This question made her feel even more disgusted.

Han Meifen said quickly, "Mom, Lu Ming is from the customs and doesn't have a boyfriend yet. She has to carefully choose the best one!"

"Oh, then you have to choose one carefully."

Qiu Luming looked at the wedding character on the wall, swallowed the words on her lips, and pretended to continue admiring the photos, but Fu's mother's two high cheekbones seemed to be imprinted in her mind and could not be erased.

She had never seen such a person before. On that face full of wrinkles due to thinness, only two protruding cheekbones were smooth and reflective. The two deep vertical lines between the eyebrows and the brackets at the corners of the mouth were almost connected together through the wings of the nose. This face made her feel weird and she didn't want to look at it again.

——I really don’t know why Han Meifen feels that this person is so friendly!

Fu's mother brought out the candy box and was busy boiling water and making tea. She was especially attentive to Qin Huifang. She held Qin Huifang's hand, leaned forward, and looked up at her eagerly. --Perhaps she thought this was very kind.

But Qin Huifang's expression was frozen with embarrassment.

Qiu Luming signaled to Ma Mingjun with his eyes, and Ma Mingjun understood and said, "Xinyang, we have to go to work in the afternoon. We have seen the new house and the door, so we will not disturb your rest!"

Qiu Luming was the first to step out, while Fu's mother and Han Meifen were still trying to keep him behind him.

There was still some time before work, so the five of them went straight north along the road to the riverside embankment. Last year, red tiles were paved on the embankment, making it very cheap to walk or ride a bike.

Qin Huifang pushed the cart and walked beside Qiu Luming, wanting to say something but stopping herself several times.

"Tell me, what is it that has made Miss Qin speechless?" Qiu Luming said kindly.

"I mean, her mother-in-law looks..."

Zheng Wei is a straight-talker. He added, "In ancient times, even now people say that women with high cheekbones can kill their husbands without a knife. That's why Fu Xinyang's father died at a young age."

Qin Huifang suddenly turned to look at him, "Old Zheng, do you think my cheekbones are high?"

"Not bad." Zheng Wei really took a few serious glances, then looked at Qiu Luming's, "You have a round face."

Lu Jiaming snorted and asked with a smile, "What do you mean? Qin Huifang, why don't you just kill me by pouring a bowl of arsenic into my mouth!"

Qin Huifang refused to accept it. "What do you mean? You want to be Wu Dalang, but I don't want to be Pan Jinlian!"

When Lu Jiaming heard Wu Dalang, he immediately got really angry, "You think I'm too short now? I'll sue you, Qin Huifang, but it's too late!"

The couple actually started fighting.

Qiu Luming laughed and did not try to stop the fight. She asked Ma Mingjun, "Hey, Old Ma, how tall are you?"

"I'm one-seventy-six. What's wrong?"

Zheng Wei added, "I'm 184."

Ma Mingjun nudged Zheng Wei with his elbow and said, "No one asked you! You just want to show off your height!"

"Oh." Qiu Luming nodded and coughed lightly, "I have a true story, do you want to hear it?"

"What's the truth? Tell me!" Even Lu Jiaming stopped arguing and came over.

"My second brother is from the Public Security Technology Department. Once, they went to the scene and followed the footprints. They found the Nanshan grove but lost the clue. My second brother pointed at the footprints and said to the criminal police captain, 'Based on the footprints, the suspect is a male, about 1.69 meters tall...' Before he finished speaking, a man on the tree next to him shouted angrily: You are talking nonsense! I am 170!"

After two seconds of silence, Qin Huifang burst into laughter, and Ma Mingjun also laughed, "This is not true at all, you are making up stories about us men again, but men do care about height, just like you women care about waist circumference."

Lu Jiaming, "Why do I feel like it was Ge who was slandering me?"

Qin Huifang laughed even harder, and her bicycle fell over while she was squatting on the ground.

Lu Jiaming was so angry that he parked his bicycle and went to help his wife up. "Laugh, laugh! You just laugh! People are insulting your man and you're still grinning!"

Qin Huifang simply sat down on the brick floor and laughed until tears came out.

Qiu Luming was stunned and said to Ma Mingjun, "Is it so funny?"

Lu Jiaming said, "This woman has been having trouble thinking since she got pregnant with Bingbing. When she was pregnant, she suddenly forgot my mother-in-law's home phone number, and she kept looking for chopsticks in her hand. A few days ago, she even went to the washing machine to look for her child!"

Qin Huifang stopped smiling immediately, stood up and kicked Lu Jiaming.

The five of them laughed all the way, and no one mentioned Han Meifen and her in-laws again. They had chosen their own path and had to walk it on their own, while others also had their own paths to walk.

——Many times, friends are like this, they just drift apart as time goes by.

There were already people swimming in the river, so the five of them locked their bikes and went down to the beach to sit.

For some reason, people in Jiayang have the habit of sitting by the river, especially in the evening when the afterglow of the setting sun illuminates half of the river surface, making the waves sparkle. People either stand on the embankment or sit on the beach, feeling the river breeze, chatting, or keeping silent, just watching the river flow silently eastward.

But it's noon now and there are very few people.

Qin Huifang asked Qiu Luming directly, "Did Mou Shanjiang ask you out?"

Although the three men didn't look over, they all pricked up their ears.

Qiu Luming said, "Last month, he called me twice. The first time he asked me to go dancing in a ballroom, but I refused because I can't dance. The second time, he asked me to go eat ice cream. Because my father doesn't allow me to eat cold food, I didn't go either."

"Tsk! You don't need to give me face. If you don't like me, just say so. Even though your dad doesn't let you eat it, you've eaten a lot of triangular ice cream!" Qin Huifang rolled her eyes at her. "In fact, Mou Shanjiang has very good conditions, both in terms of personal conditions and family conditions! He doesn't have any ulterior motives. Except that his academic qualifications are not as good as Fei Yuanhang's, everything else is not bad!"

No one dared to mention Fei Yuanhang in front of Qiu Luming except Qin Huifang.

"He is indeed a nice guy. I can tell from the first glance that he is a decent person."

"That's right! My mom wouldn't introduce you to a bad one! Just look around!"

Qiu Luming shook his head. "I can't delay them. I really don't plan to find a partner. Tell me, who would want to date someone who is not sincere? Also, my mother said it's best not to get married in your birth year. Now it seems that this year is impossible anyway. So let's not rush it. It's fine before the age of 36!"

"What are you talking about? Thirty-six! Do you know how beautiful Liu Yali from the Housing Management Office is? There are so many men chasing after her. But she is too picky. She thinks this guy is too short, and that guy has too many brothers. As a result, she is still single at the age of twenty-eight. Last year, guess what? She found a dead wife! Isn't that so unfair? That guy even has a child, and she became a stepmother as soon as she got married! Qiu Luming, don't be confused. You are twenty-four this year, and you will be thirty in a blink of an eye! It will be too late for you to regret it then!"

"You're more nosy than my mom!" Qiu Luming rolled his eyes. "One more thing, I have a chance to study in Russia for a year, but I'm wondering whether to go or not, because if I go, I'll miss my self-taught exam."

"Go!" Qin Huifang and Ma Mingjun said in unison.

"That means you can go abroad!" Ma Mingjun said enviously, "The self-taught exam file is right there, so you can graduate a year later at most! By the way, your job here won't be affected, right?"

"No impact." This opportunity was fought for by Director Wu, and her family members also advised her not to let down the leader's kindness.

Zheng Wei didn't say anything. He picked up a flat stone and threw it against the water surface with force. The key chain hanging on his body made a jingling sound. He jumped twice due to the force, stood firm, and then silently watched the string of water floats on the river.

At this time, Ma Mingjun's cell phone rang, and everyone looked over. Among the seven eccentrics of Jiayang, only Yang Dawei and Ma Mingjun had cell phones, while the others were still using pagers. Yang Dawei's salary for half a year was not enough to buy a cell phone, but his mother spoiled him and bought him one if he wanted.

Ma Mingjun is different. He went back to work at the post office after graduation and was assigned to the communications service department. It was no problem for him to have a mobile phone. There are no more than a hundred people using mobile phones in Jiayang now. They are generally the top leaders or second-in-command of each unit. Their mobile phone expenses are reimbursed by the unit. Those who use mobile phones at their own expense are generally wealthy private individual bosses. Ordinary people, probably only Yang Dawei.

Of course, who really knows whether he paid for it himself?

Ma Mingjun looked at the number and smiled subconsciously. He waved to a few people and walked away on the beach stones, talking with his head down. Qiu Luming's hearing was ten meters away against the wind. She moved her ears and heard Ma Mingjun say, "I'm going to a banquet. Don't be angry. I'll go to see you this Sunday. Don't worry, I'll go even if it rains knives from the sky!"

Qiu Luming held back his laughter and stopped eavesdropping.

It’s a good time to fall in love. All the friends around me are in love, getting married and having children.

Qiu Luming threw a stone at hand high up, and the stone fell vertically, and with a "pop" sound, it went into the water.

Qin Huifang's pager also rang, and she pressed it twice, "No, I have to go home, my daughter is making a fuss again."

When Lu Jiaming heard this, he became even more anxious than her and strode towards the embankment.

Look, those who have families are even more helpless. They are no longer the Seven Freaks of Jiayang during their school days...

"Old Ma! Let's go!" Zheng Wei did not forget to greet Ma Mingjun. Ma Mingjun waved his hand, signaling them to go first.

Zheng Wei muttered, "It's free to use the phone now, I can use it all day long."

***