all the way

In the business department of ICBC, Liu Xia sat leisurely on a row of chairs, with his right leg resting casually on his left knee, whistled almost silently, and looked at the little guy sitting in front of the counter skillfully filling out the documents with a smile in his eyes.

The cat filled out the last slip, checked it carefully, pushed it to the salesperson along with the other two, and then took money out of the schoolbag hanging on his chest, one stack, two stacks, three stacks...

"Take out the money on this list first, add the [-], and deposit it for five years; the [-], and deposit it for one year."

Seeing the little guy seriously watching the salesperson collect the money, stamp it, and then sign it seriously, Liu Xia was so happy that he almost fluttered.

However, looking at the face of the stinky kitten, when he comes back after the new year, he must not be able to pick up the sand table in a short time, or the little guy will really be angry.

Sigh, why did the stinky kitten grow up so quickly, and pretended to be training me with a straight face, huh?train me?Uncle training?How could you forget this?This kind of atmosphere must not be indulged, and this stinky kitten must be properly repaired, let him know the dignity of the elders and the orderly teacher, and let him know that the uncle is for love, not for scolding, but——, why? What about repairs...

"Uncle, all right, let's go." Mao'er reached out and picked up a bag of ribs and vegetables next to Liu Xia.

Liu Xia picked up a bag of light but colorful things, put one arm around the cat's shoulder, walked out of the bank, and finally blew out his whistle: "Our life is full of sunshine".

The world around me is icy, snowy, cold and windy, but the melodious whistle has the taste of spring sunshine.

Mao'er put his left hand in the pocket of Liu Xia's down jacket, and felt that his pace was not in line with Liu Xia's. He adjusted after a little haste, and then blew his whistle in keeping with Liu Xia's rhythm. The melody accompanies the two all the way home.

I have already agreed with Liu Chuan that we must leave before twelve noon. It is almost nine o'clock now, and the two of them dare not delay. First, they washed and stewed the ribs and carrots at high speed, and then Liu Xia went to wash the clothes, cat Wash vegetables and steam rice.

The cat finished cooking relatively quickly, and the ribs had to be stewed for a while. He came to help Liu Xia wash the clothes. The washing machine made the pants all tangled up, and the two pulled them apart next to each other.

Mao'er tugged at the clothes and said to Liu Xia: "I'll tell you again, this is the last time, if you want money like this again in the future, I will go home and tell Grandpa to spank your ass with the sole of your shoe." .”

Liu Xia laughed: "The soles of the shoes are your grandma's patent. Grandpa always hits them with a tree branch or kicks them directly. Which one do you want my uncle to suffer?"

The cat was so angry that there was no way out, it stopped what it was doing and stared at Liu Xia for a few seconds, then suddenly threw the clothes in its hands and jumped on it, jumped up and hugged Liu Xia's neck, with its legs around his waist On the ground, he lay on Liu Xia's face fiercely with his teeth bared: "Eh, er, er, bite you, you are so big and you don't even know how to cherish your own body, I taught you for so many days and you still don't like it!" I plan to change it, er, er, I will bite you hard."

He left a shallow tooth mark on Liu Xia's right cheek, and then, almost nose to nose, looked at Liu Xia provocatively.

Liu Xia blinked and confronted him for a few seconds, then turned his left cheek with a smile: "Here, keep biting, if you have the ability to bite off a piece."

"Aha~, uncle, why did you learn to be so angry——, how did you become a mangy dog? I won't let you do that again——" The cat was so angry that he lost his temper completely. He rubbed and rubbed his own face against Liu Xia's, wanting to be ruthless but reluctant.

Liu Xia won a complete victory and was in a very good mood, so he patted the little guy's butt generously: "Okay, good cat, if you rub my uncle's face again, you will have to shed your skin. Next time there is a sand table, if you My uncle picks it up in spring and autumn, but not in summer or winter, okay?"

Mao'er doesn't quite believe it, and Liu Xia's integrity has plummeted recently: "If you dare to take the sand table in this season again next time, I will skip class, skip school, and follow you to watch you."

Liu Xia touched his forehead with his forehead: "Deal."

A few days ago, Liu Xia led a team to do two consecutive projects in Shangcheng County, one was reservoir expansion measurement, and the other was highway reconstruction and expansion. Another new road project was opened.

Before Liu Xia left, Wang Dongping introduced him to the work of making sand table models for the Land Bureau of Shangcheng County. He took the time at home to sort out all the previous data. Go to the Land Bureau to make a sand table.

Almost all of Shangcheng County is mountainous. It used to be poorer than Rongze. In the past decade or so, a lot of metal deposits have been discovered. The mountains that used to symbolize poverty and backwardness immediately turned into a cornucopia. In a short period of time, the economy has developed to several blocks away from Rongze.

As the tide rises all boats rise, Shangcheng’s large and small units have become more powerful in the past few years. The Land Bureau looks much richer than the Rongze County Land Bureau. Also doubled.

Liu Xia was in a hurry. Every day when he came back from the construction site, he only took about ten minutes to finish eating and washing, and then immediately went to the Land Bureau to start working until around twelve o'clock in the evening. The sand table can be completed before all three projects are completed.

So after the project was over, Liu Xia did not return to Rongze with the team, so he called Ma Qianli and Yue Desheng to ask for leave.

After the middle ten days of the twelfth lunar month, the taste of the new year will come up. When those who have finished the project return to the unit, the team will generally not send any more work. The day Liu Xia and his team finished their project was the fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, so they received his call Ma Qianli and Yue Desheng readily agreed to the phone call.

After finishing the team, Liu Xia called Mao'er to ask for leave to explain.

Mao'er was furious at the time, and chatted with him on the phone. When Liu Xia was sorting out the materials given by the Shangcheng County Land Bureau at home, Mao'er told him that he was not allowed to accept this job. He had to wait until the end of the new year and when the weather was warmer to pick it up. He didn't expect that Liu Xia had been working behind his back for more than a month.

Maoer was only two days away from the final exam, otherwise, he would have asked for leave to go to Shangcheng County.

He insisted on finishing the last exam four days later in the afternoon, and said hello to Liu Wei and Su Xiaohui, saying that he had something to do with Liu Xia, and that he might be a few days late this year, so he told his family not to worry, and then he took the exam with him. The bag I prepared in advance ran to the side of the national highway, stopped a long-distance bus to Shangcheng County, and left.

When the cat pushed open the door of the magnificent office building of the Shangcheng County Land Bureau in the evening, Liu Xia was bending over to glue the blue cloth strips representing the river. The cat was full of anger when he saw the familiar figure from behind. In an instant, it all turned into distress and happiness.

Surprised and yelling, Liu Xia, who hugged him breathlessly, turned three times on the spot. As soon as Mao'er's feet hit the ground, he pulled off his down jacket and stuffed Liu Xia's hands under his armpits. He just touched Liu Xia. hands, cold and cold.

Liu Xia wanted to pull his hand out: "Hey, it's not cold, look, the electric stove is on in the room!"

The cat clamped his arms tighter: "In such a big room, with ventilation on all sides, what's the use of a small electric stove?"

The electric stove in the master bedroom of their house is warm because the room is small and well sealed, and the electric stove is not turned off all day long.

The place where Liu Xia is making the sand table now is the lobby of the main office building of the Land Bureau. Not only is it many times larger than their bedroom, but it is also a passage connecting the upstairs and other offices on the first floor. Plug it in, so the heat is almost the same as if there is no heat. It is better than the open air outside, that is, there is no wind, and the temperature is almost the same, which is seven or eight degrees below zero.

Maoer warmed Liu Xia for a while, and let him go when he felt his hands were warm, but did not stop Liu Xia from continuing to work. After finishing the work, other actions are unacceptable or embarrassing for my uncle.

Liu Xia started working again, and the cat ran out to buy two warm water bags, two towels and a kettle at the grocery store.

The warm water bag filled with boiling water is very hot, and the skin cannot be directly touched. Last winter, when Mao’er came home from school every night to do his homework, Liu Xia would hug him with a warm water bag wrapped in a towel. After writing for a while, he felt cold. He put his hands in the interlayer between two layers of towels, and it would warm up soon.

Now, Mao'er warms Liu Xia's hands in the same way.

On the day the cat arrived, Liu Xia finished work at nine o’clock. For the next eight days, Mao’er and him started work at seven o’clock in the morning. Before 08:30 in the evening, as long as the work reached a certain point, the cat would be quick I tidied up all the tools, and there was no room for negotiation.

If Liu Xia tried to argue, Mao'er would put his hands on his hips and scold him with a small face: "Do you want to bring back frostbite to make grandpa and grandma feel sorry for you or make uncle feel guilty? You know that our family can't bear you to do this." Suffer you to take on this kind of work in the winter. I didn’t let you leave the work here and go home. It’s enough to give you face. How dare you push an inch and ask for continuous rotation? Do you know how you get back pain? "

Liu Xia smiled and pinched the little guy's face: "I don't know."

The little guy squinted at Liu Xia's hand with all his strength: "Huh, you dare to be stubborn, if you get frostbite on your hand, you will never pinch my face again, so I won't let someone with hands like a rotten pumpkin pinch me!" ?” The little guy said cruel words with fierce eyes, but he remained motionless and let Liu Xia tease the flesh on his face.

Liu Xia made an epiphany: "Oh——, you mean that as long as you have good-looking hands, you can pinch you casually?"

The cat was in a hurry, and pushed Liu Xia out of the door with his head on his stomach. He ran back to quickly unplug the bolt, pack the tools, turn off the lights, and then the two ran to the guest house all the way to the guest house.

A similar situation happened every day. Liu Xia happily completed the task and got a payment check immediately.

The cat was furious.

On the penultimate day when they took a shower in the guest house, he discovered that there were two hard lumps on Liu Xia's right buttock, which were mild frostbite that had just formed.

In the past few days, besides helping Liu Xia with some work within his capacity, he also took great care to boil several pots of water to keep the two warm water bags very hot at all times. He would put Liu Xia's hands on the warm water bag to warm up for a while, and when Liu Xia was sitting there quietly working, he would put the warm water bag on Liu Xia's feet to warm his feet. Liu Xia's body was frozen to death.

So until yesterday, that is, the evening of the 26th lunar calendar when they came back together, the little face of the cat was smelly.

When they came back, they didn't get off the car halfway and turned to Wangning and went straight home. Apart from waiting for Liu Chuan and taking home the clothes they wore for the New Year, the most important thing was to cash the check and then deposit it.

All the remaining funds for the project at Sang Deshan had been settled before New Year's Day, and Liu Xia came back mid-way to put the money in demand deposit temporarily.

After the financial appropriation from the county government arrived for the free project for Rongze High School, Wang Zhanjie called Liu Xia and insisted on giving him 1 yuan. Wang Zhanjie said that even for unavoidable reasons, there must be a bottom line for taking advantage Or it's brazen.

Adding up the income from several places, Liu Xia's wish to save 5 yuan for the cat's pension has finally come true. For him, there is nothing more wonderful than this in the world. Of course, with his precious cat Except for staying together at ease.

After drying the clothes, the pork ribs were cooked, and the two of them worked together to cook a vinegared cabbage heart. Liu Xia went to the reception room and sent a message to Liu Chuan, asking him to come back for dinner.

After waiting for a few minutes, Liu Chuan didn't return the call. Liu Xia decided to eat with Maoer first. Since the day Maoer went to Shangcheng County, Maoer didn't drink milk. He felt that Maoer's health was weak, so he had to eat more quickly. Order good supplies and come back.

Although an appointment has been made in advance, if Liu Chuan goes out, he can't control the time himself, so there is no need to wait for him, the rice is left in the pot, and it can be reheated when he comes.

Carrying rice in one hand and vegetables in the other, he walked into the master bedroom and put the food on the small dining table. When he stood up, Liu Xia saw that the courtyard door was pushed open, and a tall man in a sea-blue down jacket and carrying a big backpack came in. , with a puzzled expression on his face, it suddenly turned into joy when he saw the oak and persimmon trees in the yard.

Liu Xia stared blankly for a second, then yelled "Six Brothers" outside, and then ran out shouting: "Baby cat, your sixth uncle is back, come here and be good, your sixth uncle is back, sixth brother !"

He ran into the living room, opened the door leading to the balcony, just in time to face Liu Hai, he yelled "Brother Six", rushed forward and hugged Liu Hai.

The cat ran out with a spoon and chopsticks, and saw Liu Hai holding Liu Xia, and he couldn't tell whether he wanted to cry or laugh and said, "But I'm back, baby, I want to die soon You, I miss you to death!"

Liu Xia said like a child: "Brother, I can miss you too, baby we will still be talking about you!"

The cat grinned happily and shouted, "Uncle Six!"

Liu Hai let go of Liu Xia, put the bag on the sofa and picked up the cat: "Baby, have you grown so tall? Do you miss Uncle Six?"

Mao'er looked at Liu Hai, he didn't feel the slightest sense of birth, as if Liu Hai just went to school in the morning, and now he came home after school, he said with a smile: "Of course, I will tell my uncle, if If you put it at home, you will definitely make sweet and sour pork ribs, which is more fragrant and delicious than our stewed rice, if I knew you would come back, I would not make it, and I will eat it when you come back."

Liu Hai hugged Mao'er vigorously: "If you want to eat sweet and sour, Uncle Liu will make it for you tomorrow."

Liu Xia suddenly remembered Liu Chuan, and said to Liu Hai: "Sixth brother, you go inside with the cat, I'll hurry up and send a page to our third brother, saying that you are back, tell our third brother to come over quickly."

Liu Hai put down the cat: "I'm 27 today, I thought you and my baby had already gone home, when we arrived at Yuancheng Railway Station, I sent a page to our third brother and asked him if he came home , I waited for a few minutes and the third brother didn't answer the call. I saw that the car was coming to us and it was time to leave, so I didn't wait any longer..."

The sudden sound of brakes outside interrupted Liu Hai's words, Liu Xia and Mao'er said at the same time: "The third brother is here."

"The third uncle is here."

Before the two of them finished speaking, Liu Chuan opened the door and ran in: "Yao'er, Mao'er, you two come out quickly, put down any work now, and come with me to pick up...Xiao Hai? Boy, you are back ?”

When Liu Hai saw Liu Chuan, he revealed the real face of his elder child. He hugged Liu Chuan in surprise, but said very aggrieved: "Third brother, I sent you a page, but you didn't reply. I thought you and the baby were both Already home... I feel, I feel like I've been taken by no one..."

Liu Chuan's eyes were red, and he patted Liu Hai's back to comfort him: "Boy, no, there was a group fight at the train station market, I'll help Xiaojun deal with it, it's the Chinese New Year, the market is always chaotic, but no matter how young the kids are, they let it go." Playing with guns, I didn't hear the pager go off."

Liu Hai was a little embarrassed: "I know you didn't mean it, Brother Li, I just miss you all the time, and I just want to see you sooner, even a minute earlier."

Liu Chuan said: "Baby, me too. Seeing that it was you who sent the call, I didn't even have the heart to send Renbang Xiaojun to his place, so I wanted to pick you up quickly."

Liu Xia snorted his face: "Third brother, sixth brother, it's always cold here, you go to the bedroom and wait, my son and I will serve you a meal, we can go home after eating early, my sixth brother is sure But think of our uncle and our mother, I haven't seen Brother Wu yet, so let's hurry up and go back earlier."

The meal for three people is not enough for four people to eat evenly, but there are steamed buns brought by Liu Chuan from the work unit in the refrigerator, two of them are enough to warm up.

After eating warmly, Liu Hai told Liu Xia and the others how he suddenly decided to come back.