all the way

The refrigerator was bought, and there was still more than half a bag of milk powder Liu Xia bought for the cat, so he started to give the cat fresh milk every morning.

Liu Xia took it for granted that fresh milk was definitely better than powdered milk, so he brewed the powdered milk himself as tea, and the cat had a catty of milk each morning and evening.

In the morning, milk is used as half of the porridge, and at night, the milk is used as water, and the cat is drinking it while doing homework, and it will be over soon.

Of course, every time Liu Xia had to drink a few sips of Mao'er before he would drink obediently.

Both Maoer and Liu Rui performed well in the mid-term exam. Liu Rui ranked sixth in the class, 21st in the whole grade; Maoer ranked No.10 in the class, and ranked 45th in the whole grade.

Mao’er has a perfect score in physics, and he should also have a perfect score in mathematics, but since he entered the county, he got a perfect score in every math test. The teacher felt that this seemed unreasonable. This time he finally found a mistake. "Arc" wrote "Hong" by mistake, and one point was deducted.

Mao'er doesn't care about this at all, he always remembers Liu Xia's grades in high school, he feels that as long as he can get good grades in the final college entrance examination, the current quiz can be ignored. Don't give yourself an award.

Mao'er's problem is still the composition. This time he only scored [-] points for the composition, and the full score is [-]. This means that Mao'er failed for the first time.

But because Mao'er's total score in Chinese is passing, Liu Xia deliberately didn't remind Mao'er of this depressing fact.

Mao'er is relatively poor in history and politics, but they are all above 85 points. Liu Xia doesn't mind this at all, but for Mao'er's composition, which only gets [-] points, Liu Xia is actually a bit brooding: he He doesn't mind that Mao'er failed in the composition, but he doesn't mind the teacher showing up in class as a negative teaching material.

So when the two of us were having dinner one night, Mao'er casually said, "The school ordered magazines and books." Liu Xia's first reaction was to take out all the monthly living expenses in the drawer and put them in front of Mao'er. : "Good boy, order them all into books, order more, and order whatever you like."

The cat put down the chopsticks, picked up the money and put it back in the drawer: "There are so many good books in our house, why should I order those? Waste of money, don't order."

Liu Xia didn't take it seriously: "Most of our books are not suitable for you to read, they are all books for grown-ups, you should read more at your age."

The cat picked up the bowl and drank porridge: "There are a lot of "Youth Literature and Art" and "Children's Literature" in our class. I have read a few of them, but they are not good at all. They are not as good as the books you read to me before."

Liu Xia also picked up the bowl to eat helplessly: "You have been spoiled by famous books, what should you do? Tell me, I have read so many famous books to you, since you were more than one year old. , Reading up to now, why haven’t you made any progress at all?”

Maoer plausibly said: "That's not because you read too little to me. If you don't believe me, try it. You will continue to read to me every day until I am in the third year of high school. I will definitely make progress in the college entrance examination, and it will be huge. progress, just like you did during the college entrance examination.”

Liu Xia stretched out his hand and scratched the little guy's nose: "At the beginning, there was no way. You cried as soon as I left, so I had to read novels to put you to sleep; you are ten years old now, a junior high school student, and let my uncle read you." How about patting your butt to sleep while reading a novel?"

Mao'er smiled and nodded: "Well, I'm ashamed. When I'm [-] years old, my uncle reads novels to me and pats me to sleep. I also feel ashamed."

Liu Xia was restrained by the little rogue, so he had to resort to a killer move: "When you are a hundred years old, my uncle will be a hundred and one, and then you will be a old man with dim eyesight, deaf ears and age spots on his face , At that time, you still want my uncle to read to you?"

The cat blinked: "That's right! Then, I'll read it to you, and the little old man will read it to the old man. Hahahaha, it must be interesting. The two old men are still reading classics while lying in a wheelchair!"

Liu Xia found that the little guy could find a reason to make him happy no matter what, so he decided not to argue with him anymore, and let him go: "From now on, if we can go to bed before ten o'clock, my uncle will read it to you, which one do you like?" Book?"

"How the Steel Was Tempered."

However, later facts proved that even patting the buttocks of a grown-up child by reading novels can't put him to sleep, it will only make him more energetic.

This year's winter came very late, and it has already entered December in the Gregorian calendar. Liu Xia's field work area still has the beauty of late autumn. If you don't consider the pressure of work, Fengxi Mountain can be regarded as a good place for leisure and health preservation. place.

Liu Xia and his team and the other team joined by the vice-captain Pan Liucheng personally worked in this pleasant scenery for nearly two months. Liu Xia and his team went to Shangcheng County in Rongze, Fengxi Mountain For the extended work here, Pan Liucheng's team is working in Nanchen County. Liu Xia and the others can return to Rongze Base every night. Pan Liucheng's team rented three houses in the village closest to the work area. Set up camp in the ground, and did not come back until late December, after all field data collection was completed.

It was Monday when Liu Xia and the others completely finished the Fengxishan Mine Exploration Project, and they returned to the unit after four o'clock in the afternoon. After Liu Xia and the rest of the team handed in the equipment, the first thing he did was to take a shower.

The hydrology team has its own internal bathhouse. The opening time is not fixed according to the season and climate throughout the year, that is, it is not open in summer. In the other three seasons, employees and their families can bathe for free, and they are not open to the public.

After taking a shower, Liu Xia felt refreshed both physically and mentally. Although there were still vegetables in the kitchen, enough for dinner, he rode his bicycle to Gudukou Road and bought a lot of things.

Millet sweet potato porridge, fried tofu with celery, pork ribs stewed with carrots, Liu Xia is very satisfied with the quality of his cooking today.

Although the porridge is a bit thick, but the sweet potatoes I bought today are soft and sweet, boiled in the millet, and the whole pot of rice is sweet;

The stir-fried dried tofu with celery is a bit salty, but when these two are fried together, the color is emerald green and bright yellow, and the color is very beautiful.

The pork ribs were stewed quite successfully. The short ribs I bought were full of crispy bones, which is the cat’s favorite. The saltiness is just right, no star anise is added, and there is only a light, numb aroma of peppercorns. If you want to eat two bites, the little guy must have a big bowl.

Liu Xia took a small pot and put the cooking plate on, checked that it was almost time, put on his coat, whistled all the way downstairs, and rode his bicycle to pick up the cat.

When he came to the school gate, it was 10 minutes before the cat finished class. He stood outside the gate with dozens of other parents who came to pick up their children, waiting quietly in the slightly cold night wind in early winter.

Hearing the bell rang for the end of get out of class, he turned his bicycle around and pushed the bicycle slightly to the side. He estimated that the first wave of bicycle traffic would rush out in less than 2 minutes. He didn't want to block those rampaging people. The way of middle school boys.

But he didn't expect that the first one to rush out was not a bicycle, but a figure that was as agile and nimble as a little leopard that he was all too familiar with.

Although Mao'er was running fast, he still saw Liu Xia from a long distance away, and rushed over with a shout of 'Uncle'.

Liu Xia stepped onto the car and put one leg on the ground, and at the same time dodged his upper body, the cat flew and sat on the front beam, and yelled: "Uncle, let's go."

Liu Xia laughed loudly and shouted: "Come on—" With a hard push, the bike rushed out. At the same time, he also saw a team of bicycles that quickly gathered in the campus rushing out.

Liu Xia and Mao'er rushed down the slope laughing and yelling, crossing Xinghua Road, completely throwing off a large group of little boys who kept screaming strangely behind them.

When we got to the middle of the spacious Zehe Road, the tide of students had dispersed, and the strange screams had completely disappeared, so the cat turned and asked, "Uncle, why did you come back so early today?"

Liu Xia slowed down and rode at a normal speed: "This is a secret, I will tell you when I get home."

The cat blinked several times, and asked tentatively, "What little secret?"

Liu Xia shook his head: "It's no secret if you tell me."

Mao'er blinked and looked at him for a while, then slowly turned around, making Liu Xia think that it was the little guy instead of him who had the secret.

When he got home, the cat became a little suspicious when he saw the plate on the dining table, and ran into the kitchen immediately. When he saw the porridge and stewed pork ribs, he turned around and rushed out to hang on Liu Xia: "You are back, Sandaohe The project is over, uncle, you don’t have to go there tomorrow, right?”

Liu Xia raised his eyebrows, and rubbed his forehead vigorously with his chin.

Mao'er immediately understood that he had guessed right, and hugged Liu Xia's neck and rubbed against his face: "Ahaha, uncle, you are back, uncle is back, I can see you at noon, hehe , see you every day."

Liu Xia put him on the small chair: "Come on, let's start the meal, eat the meat first and then drink the soup, the child is fat and white, my uncle is determined to feed you white and fat this winter."

Mao'er ate a large bowl of pork ribs in a very face-saving way, and he was full of praise for the porridge and fried celery. He praised Liu Xia so much that he ate half a bowl of rice.

Both of them ate too much. After eating, they sat there and touched their stomachs, and they didn't even want to stand up.

Still, Liu Xia was older, and his willpower seemed to be stronger. He stood up first, and Mao'er followed closely behind, ready to pack his things.

Liu Xia stopped him: "Hey, I wiped the table. You should do your homework earlier. My uncle will rest for a few days. I won't do calculations today. You should finish your work earlier and we will sit under the covers and read."

"Okay!" Mao'er agreed very straightforwardly. Usually, when he came back early, he would compete with Liu Xia every time he cleaned up the dishes, and he didn't want Liu Xia to do anything.

But today, he really wants to finish his homework early and sit in the warm blanket with his uncle, and he knows that washing the dishes is very simple and only takes a little time.

Both Sun Chang'e and Xiumei's pots and stoves are very clean, and the small brooms for sweeping the stove are often at hand. Usually, when the food is ready, the stove is also cleaned at the same time.

Although Liu Xia and Mao'er never touched the cooker when they were at home, the two of them watched Chang'e and Xiumei's cooking since they were young, and subconsciously developed the habit. The rag is at hand, and after cooking, the small kerosene stove and chopping board are cleaned up.

The three pots of the two of them have been used for several months, and the porridge overflowed the pot several times, but because they were cleaned immediately, the three pots and the kettle are still as good as new.

Similarly, their clothes are also used to taking them off and washing them immediately, so the house is not at all messy and smelly like dormitories for single boys.

After the weather cooled down, they moved to the bed to sleep. The bed covered with a large mattress and orange wide plaid sheets was very warm and comfortable, which made the whole house look a little more cozy. The cat's favorite now, It is to go to bed as early as possible, and read a book while sitting under the quilt with my uncle.

After Liu Xia washed the dishes, he came and sat next to the cat. The cat was doing Chinese homework, so he took the cat's math book and flipped through it.

Mao'er has long been formed by Liu Xia into fixed study habits, such as previewing, completing homework as soon as possible, paying close attention during class, playing to the fullest after class, and so on.

Liu Xia seldom tutored Mao'er's homework, because generally speaking, what needs tutoring is mathematics, physics, chemistry and English, and these few subjects, the little guy almost doesn't need tutoring.

As for homework such as politics and history that require rote memorization, no one else can help except for my own efforts.

However, it is also a geography class that needs to be memorized by rote, but Maoer learns it very well. Liu Xia finds it incomprehensible. Simple knowledge of geography! Besides, don’t we want to see all the interesting places in China? Of course I have to remember all the places.”

Liu Xia was speechless by Mao'er's divine logic.

Mao’er, like countless middle school students in China, has been trained to write quickly due to heavy homework. It’s just that Mao’er has been practicing handwriting since he was a child, so even though he can use his brush like flying, the handwriting is still very beautiful. He has automatically Enter Xingkai mode.

After finishing the Chinese, the cat said to Liu Xia when he was changing maths: "Uncle, it's getting cold, don't sit with me, go sit under the quilt and read a book and wait for me!"

Liu Xia flipped through the Chinese documents and said, "It's okay, it's early, it's too early to sit under the covers, please hurry up and write, let's sit under the covers together after finishing."

Mao'er refused, and pushed Liu Xia onto the bed with his head bowed.

Today, I only finished all my homework at 49:[-], and Liu Xia has already warmed up the bed.

After the cat washed, she flew onto the bed, took off her clothes and got into Liu Xia's arms directly: "Huo Huo, it's so warm, here, I'll give you ice feet."

Liu Xia has a fever in his palms and feet all year round. When he sleeps in winter, as long as the bed is warmed up, he has to stretch out his feet, or his feet will be stuffy and uncomfortable.

Of course, the few winters in Jiangcheng were an exception, because in those four winters, he could hardly warm the bed.

The cat stayed outside for a long time, her feet were cold, next to Liu Xia's feet, both of them felt very comfortable.

Mao'er found the most comfortable position and lay down. Liu Xia put one arm around him, turned "How Steel Was Tempered" to the page where he folded a corner, and began to read:

"Below is a big, dark lake, and around it the pines shake their tall heads.

These trees are like living people, Tonya thought.She lay in a low meadow on the granite bank, and above, behind the hollow, a pine forest...

……

No, I don't come often, I only come when I have free time.

So where do you work?Tonya..."

"Uncle, why didn't Paul say a word?" Mao'er stood up a little and interrupted Liu Xia's question.

Liu Xia asked strangely: "Why didn't you say anything? Didn't he answer 'I'll come when I'm free'?"

"I'm not talking about that, what I'm saying is that Tonya changed Pavel's name casually. Although Pavel was originally called Pavel and not Bovka, if Pavel wanted to call himself Pavel, Why did Tonya ask him to change it to Paul? Paul didn’t make a sound and just passed by.”

Liu Xia couldn't explain this question either, he quickly glanced at the back ten lines, and finally saw 'Paul's eyebrows raised up, he thought to himself, why should I chat with this goblin?Look at her look, she doesn't like the name Bovka for a while, and don't swear at people' for a while, so she said to the cat: "There will be explanations later, let's read it slowly and see if there is any." ,OK?"

Mao'er said: "Okay." Then he put his head back on Liu Xia's chest: "If anyone dares to change my name indiscriminately, I will beat him to death. My name is the best, and both names are the best. No one will change it."

Liu Xia said: "Of course, who came up with it! Only a man as talented as your uncle and me can come up with such a good name with lofty artistic conception and auspicious meaning. Even the nickname is full of meaning. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the 5000-year-old Chinese folk culture essence!"

Mao'er proudly rubbed her little head on Liu Xia's chest a few times: "Well, my classmates all said that my name is nice, and I can wait to see my name."

"Uncle thought about it for a long time before he came up with a name. It doesn't sound good, so I'll give it to my child?" Mao'er would forget to speak Mandarin when she was excited, and would automatically turn it into a local dialect. He would naturally accompany him to say whatever he abducted.

Mao'er raised his eyebrows in a particularly smug manner, and opened the closed book: "Then let's continue reading, uncle!"

Liu Xia picked up the book again and started reading.

The news that Liu Xia might stay at home for many days after finishing work made the cat so excited that he couldn't sleep at night. After Liu Xia studied, he talked with him for a long time. The two didn't fall asleep until after one o'clock, so the first The next day, neither of them heard the ringing of the yellow dog's alarm clock. When Liu Xia suddenly woke up from his dream, it was already ten past seven.

Liu Xia hurriedly called Mao'er to get up, the little guy was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, Liu Xia pulled him into his arms and helped him pull on his sweater, and he still staggered and wanted to lie down and continue to sleep.

Liu Xia was so distressed that he stopped wearing the sweater that was half covered. After hesitating for about half a minute, he said resolutely: "Sleep, baby, my uncle will ask you for leave later. Let's take a day off today. You Isn’t there a schedule, when you get up, you can study at home, and my uncle will tell you.”

Mao'er's eyes opened immediately, and she looked at Liu Xia brightly: "Really, uncle? Are you really going to ask me for leave and ask me to stay home for a day?"

Liu Xia was very puzzled by the little guy's reaction, but his distress still had an absolute advantage, so he nodded: "Yes."

"Oh, beautiful! I don't need to go to school today——I can stay with my uncle all day——I can see my uncle all day—" The cat jumped up, wearing only his trousers , with the sweater hanging around his neck, he ran into the kitchen.

Liu Xia hurried over, and the cat had already come out with a small aluminum pot and opened the refrigerator.

Liu Xia pulled him and asked: "What are you doing, baby? It's so cold, put on your clothes first, let's go out to eat... Cat, what are you doing with all these eggs?"

The cat continued to take the eggs from the refrigerator and put them into the pot: "You are having a baby today, uncle, I have to cook some eggs for you, so that you can eat it for many people, brother Rui and the others, and Uncle Wan next door." with Aunt Guo;

A few days ago, I heard from a few classmates in Rong Zeli that eating eggs after giving birth is a disaster. Ann. "

Liu Xia thought for a while: "It seems that I really have a baby today, I am twenty! Okay, cat, did you make up your mind not to go to school today?"

The cat smiled and went into the kitchen with the pot: "I wrote a leave note to Brother Rui when I was studying at night, and asked him to ask for leave for me today. I didn't know you had a project at night. It's over, if I knew earlier, my son would have asked for leave."

Liu Xia watched Mao'er skillfully lit the kerosene stove, put the pot for boiling eggs away, and carried him back to the bed. Although he couldn't bear it, he still said to Mao'er seriously: "Boy, going to school is a serious matter. We can't just ask for leave, if you are sick or something important happens at home, then there is nothing you can do about it, like today, it's not right to ask for leave because my uncle gave birth."

Mao'er hardly remembered Liu Xia being so serious to him, so he was very wronged, and said a little at a loss: "You have a baby today, I, I always want to make dumplings for you, if I go to learn , then I can’t buy stuffed meat and radishes. White radishes have to be boiled and chopped. If I go to learn it, I will definitely not be able to make it when you come back at dusk... I, I just want to surprise you... "

Liu Xia took the cat into his arms and hugged her tightly: "My uncle is not yelling at my child, but my uncle is always afraid that if you ask for leave so casually, the teacher will yell at you if he finds out, my uncle should feel sorry for you.

It's okay baby, in fact, my uncle doesn't want to ask you to go to school, my uncle just wants to ask my baby to stay home all day, and stay with my uncle. Whenever my uncle wants to see my baby, my precious baby will be in front of you!

Come on, let's put the quilt in the bed to warm up for a while and then get up. When we get up, let's go to Gudukou to drink spicy soup and buy vegetables. When we come back, let's make dumplings together. Are you cute or not? "

Cat looked at his face and asked very carefully: "Are you not angry, uncle?"

Liu Xia kissed him hard on the forehead, then rubbed his forehead against the tip of the little guy's nose: "When did uncle get angry? Uncle told you that because he was afraid of the teacher yelling at you, you don't want to go to school every day Uncle won't yell at you either.

My uncle used to be like this, especially after having you, my uncle made up nonsense all day long to coax your grandma, and wanted her to promise not to let me go to school, so that I could stay home and watch you.

You are still thinking about my uncle today so you don't go to school, why would my uncle be angry? "

Mao'er hugged Liu Xia's neck, and it took a while to let go: "I will study hard when I go to school, and I will definitely be admitted to Kehaoli University in the future. Uncle, don't be afraid that I will not be able to pass the university entrance exam in the end.

Uncle, shall we get up early?I have only learned how to make noodles with Aunt Guo twice. I am afraid that the reconciliation will not be good, so I will try it twice. If you get up late, you will not be able to eat dumplings at noon. "

After the two got up, each of them ate two eggs before riding to Gudukou Road to eat and buy vegetables.

On the way, Liu Xia looked at the furry head of the cat sitting in front, and suddenly remembered the way the cat looked at him last night.

Now he understands that the little guy really harbored a little secret at that time, and asked for leave specially for his birthday, a little secret that he firmly believed would bring him surprises.

What a joyful heart the little guy prepared for his birthday at that time, but what did he do today?

He wanted to slap himself, and thought to himself: Damn it, anyway, I can't support my baby boy, let alone take a day off from now on, so what if he doesn't go to school?

Alas, it will be great when China can restore the ancient system. Whoever falls in love with scholars will hire a gentleman, and those who don’t fall in love can play casually at home. Everyone will stop going to school, so no one will laugh at anyone who is uneducated .

Children nowadays are actually not happy at all. They have to go to school at such a young age, and they have so much homework every day, as well as morning self-study, evening self-study, and exams...

In my next life, it would be great if I could take my baby cat and live in a world where I don’t have to go to school...

Mao'er obviously planned it many times long ago. The minced meat, white radish, onion and ginger, and thirteen spices were all bought in one go. The process of mixing the stuffing after returning home was also very smooth. 10:30 , the whole room is already filled with the unique aroma of dumpling stuffing.

The difficulty lies in Mao’er’s expected kneading of noodles. Mao’er has recalled several times the essentials of kneading dough that Guo Liping taught him, but the kneading noodles are still a bit too soft. When Liu Xia rolls the skin, he always puts it on the small rolling pin Sticky, put too much face cloth, and the cat can't squeeze it when wrapping it.

After making it for a long time, the cat only made seven dumplings, and each of them was lying crookedly on their stomachs. It was not at all the chubby dumpling that the cat had expected.

The cat was so anxious that the tip of his nose was sweating.

Liu Xia first wiped his hands with a rag, then wiped the cat's sweat with his hands and said, "Good boy, why don't we do this? We are both big men, we don't need fine hair, let's reconcile these faces, no Then cut it into small doses, let's divide it into ten doses on average, and make ten big dumplings, what do you think?"

"Ah? What if I don't win?" Mao'er was a little uneasy, he had already smashed the dough, if he couldn't make it again, he would only be depressed after thinking about the surprise for his uncle for so many days up.

Liu Xia said very firmly: "For sure, it is to combine a few small dumplings into a big one. As long as the taste is good, we will eat it later. The big and small ones are not the same. Anyway, after entering the stomach, they will be scum." !"

Cat finally decided to give it a try.

It turned out that a large pile of dozens of small noodles was redistributed into ten large noodles about the size of a cat's fist, and the rolled out skin was bigger than Liu Xia's palm.

The cat spread the skins on the chopping board, dug stuffing on it, and then wrapped it directly on the chopping board.

Soon, ten super-large dumplings were made, and each one stood bulging.

Maoer first gave Liu Xia a half bowl of noodles, mixed with tomato and egg marinade, let Liu Xia eat first, and he started to cook dumplings.

Eating noodles for birthdays is a custom that has been passed down in this area for many years. The noodles on birthdays are also known as "longevity noodles", so although Liu Xia tried his best to dissuade him, Maoer still insisted on cooking him a stew before starting. To mix stuffing, Liu Xia must eat noodles first, even a single one is fine.

Their pots are not too big, and the ten dumplings are cooked in two pots.

The dumplings seemed to get bigger after cooking. The cat didn’t dare to put them in a bowl. The mouth of the bowl seemed not big enough. He was afraid that the dumplings would be broken. He put the dumplings on a big plate, and the dumplings occupied at least four-fifths of the plate .

After Liu Xia finished eating the noodles, he helped Maoer serve the dumplings, because the dumplings were too big and too long to be scooped up in the bowl like small dumplings, these dumplings had to be carefully arranged and neatly stacked, soft and full The dumplings are so big that you can't use your hands directly. It is not easy to place them, and they may break if you are not careful.

Finally, the dumplings were served on the dining table. There were ten large dumplings and seven small dumplings, which filled three large plates.

Liu Xia held a plate and blew hard on the dumplings: "Puff, puff, it smells delicious, I'm so anxious, let's cool it down."

Mao'er gently blew on another plate, looking at Liu Xia nervously.

Liu Xia pried up one end of a dumpling with chopsticks, blew it twice, then took a big bite, chewed it twice, nodded vigorously and said to the cat: "Ah, it's delicious, baby Be good, come and have a taste, come quickly."

Mao'er used to lie on Liu Xia's plate, Liu Xia picked up the dumplings, Mao'er took a bite, chewed slowly, his little face gradually turned into a flower with a smile: "Haha, I knew it, I will definitely give it to you." You make delicious dumplings, is it true, uncle?"