Three or Two Things about Rebirth

During the Republic of China, her father had a high salary and was willing to spend money on Qiu Luming. At one point, the family hired two maids at the same time, but they could not really teach her how to behave. They just kept her from going hungry or freezing.

At this moment, Qiu Luming racked his brains but could not remember the lessons He Manshu had taught him before. Instead, he remembered clearly the compliments that his neighbor Aunt Zhang had given him over and over again.

She reached for the bottle and poured her mother half a glass of wine.

He Manshu took a sip of wine and said to Qiu Jiashu, "Second brother, remember, you are going to Harbin for further studies this time. There will definitely be people in your bureau who will be jealous. If you are not envied, you are mediocre. We are outstanding, so it is inevitable that we will be envied! But, we must guard against villains! So, what should you do? Yes, you must be low-key, always low-key! Other people's praise may not be pertinent, but envy is real! Jealousy, jealousy of talents, jealousy of beauty, jealousy will make people lose their reason and do things that harm others and themselves! Mom hopes you can make it clear. Hey, all of you listen and remember that as a person, you must have the highest aspirations. If you are a middle-class person, you will enjoy the lowest blessings; if you choose to stand on a high place, you will sit on a flat place and walk towards a wide place. We should not be the rafters that stick out, the beautiful trees in the forest. We must learn to find the safest position. Even in good times, we must always keep more than three ways out for ourselves!"

Qiu Jiashu had obviously heard this before, more than once. He nodded respectfully but absentmindedly.

The eldest sister-in-law pretended to listen and said, "Mom, what you said is so good and so right!"

Qiu Luming felt truly benefited and nodded repeatedly.

He Manshu pinched her face, "Mom only tells these things to her own children. I don't even tell my students! Oh, back then... forget it, forget it. Anyway, these experiences are all learned by your father and I through our mistakes!"

The couple thought of something, smiled bitterly at each other, and clinked their glasses at the same time, "Cheers to today's happy life!"

“Cheers to the experiences we can pass on to our children!”

******

It was almost four o'clock after dinner, and it was already dark. The redness on He Manshu's face faded, and she urged her eldest son and his family to go home early, "The road is not easy to walk on, go back quickly, and take Dabao to bed early!"

Liu Xiaomei wanted to clean up and wash the dishes, but He Manshu stopped her and said, "You don't need to do that. Just let Youyou wash it."

Liu Xiaomei smiled at Qiu Luming and said, "Thank you for your help, Dabao's aunt!"

After his eldest brother and his family left, Qiu Luming was worried about the two large basins of dishes in the kitchen. Qiu Jiashu put the dining table back by the window, walked into the kitchen, picked up the kettle on the stove, poured the hot water into the large basin, and threw a small piece of baking soda into it.

Qiu Luming felt a little embarrassed when he saw him rolling up his sleeves to wash the dishes. Just as he was about to wash them together, he heard the second door open, and then the side door opened. Before he could see who was coming, a little girl's voice came, "Luming! You're finally back!"

She took two steps forward and said, "Oh, it's Meifen! Come in, come in!"

She looked back at Qiu Jiashu, and the handsome second brother shook his head at her, motioning her to go back to her room.

She smiled and took Han Meifen's hand, "Let's go to my room!"

The Qiu family lives in a red brick house that was newly built three years ago on the north side of Binjiang Road. There are six buildings in a row, each with two families, with an area of ​​60 square meters. The front yard and the back garden are not small. It is considered a pretty good house in the county.

Han Meifen's family also lived in Daobei, west of Qiu's family, separated by a house. Her father was a section chief in the Grain Bureau, and her mother was an employee of the County Civil Affairs Bureau. She was also the youngest daughter in the family, with two older brothers and one older sister.

When they first moved in, Han Meifen liked to go to the Qiu family to play with Qiu Luming. There were probably two reasons for this. First, they were of similar age, she was half a year older than Qiu Luming. Second, they were both the most mediocre children in the family. Han Meifen's eldest sister, Han Meiyun, was one of the most beautiful women in the county. She married the second son of a retired county party committee leader. Her two older brothers had good academic performance. One was admitted to Hebei University, and the other was admitted to Mudanjiang Normal University. Only Han Meifen looked like her father but had the brains of her mother. There was nothing outstanding about her.

Qiu Luming could still be merciless and ruthless, but she didn't even have the courage to argue loudly with others. She always kept her eyebrows down and spoke softly. Many times, Qiu Luming had to stand up for her.

Qiu Luming pulled Han Meifen into the bedroom, closed the door, asked her to sit on the kang, and took out the candy he brought back from Harbin from the drawer and gave it to her.

Han Meifen ate candy while whispering, "Luming, your second brother is so nice. He can even wash the dishes. My eldest and second brothers didn't even bother to help when their oil bottles fell over. My eldest sister and I did all the housework. As soon as my eldest sister got married, I took on all the housework. I even had to carry the coal and dump the ash! You are so nice. Your three brothers take such good care of you."

"Yeah!" Qiu Luming also felt that his second brother was really good.

"Hey, you've been there for half a year. Is Harbin fun? Which stores did you go to? What clothes did you buy? Oh, I haven't been to Harbin yet!" Han Meifen said enviously.

"I didn't buy anything." Qiu Luming patted her pants, "I bought two pairs of stirrup pants, why not give you one?" In fact, there were a few sweaters, coats, jeans, leather pants, leather boots, hats and gloves in the two big bags, but none of them were bought for family and friends, not even for her nephew, which was really shameful. She thought of her mother's words at the dinner table, and she felt that she should be appropriately low-key, and if she didn't show off, others wouldn't be jealous, so she only mentioned the stirrup pants and didn't mention anything else.

80s leggings

"No, no, I just asked casually. I don't want it! My mother also bought me a pair of stirrup pants, which are perfect to wear with leather boots during the Chinese New Year." Han Meifen waved her hands repeatedly. She glanced at the direction of the door and lowered her voice, "Did you buy the book?"

Qiu Luming was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said, "Ah, I bought it." He then took out several novels from the bookshelf, along with several books on the desk, and put them all on the kang. "I've finished reading them all, you can take them. I didn't bring you any gifts, so I'll give these to you."

"Ah? All for me?"

"All for you. I'm going to work at the library tomorrow. It'll be very convenient for me to read books."

"That's right." Han Meifen smiled and touched the portrait on the cover of the novel, saying, "Thank you, Lu Ming."

"Oh, will reading novels affect your studies? Your mother won't come to find me, will she?" Han Meifen is now in the second year of high school. Her grades in junior high school were better than Qiu Luming's, and she was admitted to the second middle school in the county.

"My mother doesn't care about me. She knows I can't get into college, so she wants me to get a high school diploma and then find a job." Han Meifen saw the Complete Works of Lu Xun on Qiu Luming's desk and was surprised. "Oh my god, you are looking at this? Can you understand it?"

Qiu Luming nodded.

Han Meifen tilted her head and looked at Qiu Luming, "Luming, you seem to have changed!"

Qiu Luming's heartbeat quickened a little, and he smiled at her. "Really?"

"Look, your smile is different!"

"People change, and you have changed too."

"No, you are gentler than before. When you smile, you are like the heroine in Qiong Yao's novels."

Qiu Luming laughed out loud after hearing this, and couldn't help but raise his chin slightly, imitating He Manshu's behavior.

"Really! Luming, you've changed a lot in the past six months!" She stood up and looked at Qiu Luming's study notes. "Oh my god, your handwriting is so beautiful! What should I do!"

When she said this, she pretended to sob twice.

Qiu Luming and Han Meifen are both the most unsuccessful children in their families. Although they have only known each other for three years, their similar experiences have allowed their friendship to sail high.

Han Meifen has always been inferior. Although she was admitted to high school, she is not as pretty as Qiu Luming, and her family is not as tolerant as the Qiu family. The reason why she always comes to the Qiu family is that she likes the atmosphere of their family. How she wishes she had such a family, but her parents and brothers and sisters have always been sarcastic and critical of her, and never take her self-esteem into consideration.

Also, she has always secretly liked Qiu Jiashu in her heart, but she never dared to show it. She silently endured the pain of secret love and enjoyed the sweetness of secret love. She felt that her love was more tortuous than those in Qiong Yao's novels.