Envy

Zhou Fang was led to his house by her mother-in-law.The mother-in-law left on the pretext of taking care of the business of the tea stall.

The girl's voice was a little soft and shy, she didn't say a few words, but cleaned his yard from inside to outside.

Yan Zhaohan said, "Girl, I can't see."

She was a little nervous: "It's okay, I will take care of you. I will clean the house, wash and cook for you. I... I can do everything. "

"My house is bare and penniless."

"I don't care, as long as the two of you live together, it's fine if it's a little bit harder... It doesn't matter if it's a little bit harder..." The more she spoke, the more incoherent she became, and she wanted to bite her tongue off in shame.

The man frowned his warm eyebrows and smiled gently at the corner of his mouth: "Okay."

She was dazed by this smile, and blushed again.She passed by the tea stand every day, and seeing him couldn't help but feel flustered.Which family's handsome gentleman has a demeanor that cannot be concealed by coarse linen clothes.It's a pity that the eyes were ruined.

Yan Zhaohan accompanied her out of the courtyard.After the girl walked away, his warm smile slowly cooled down.He thinks that this is probably the case for a lifetime.

The mother-in-law asked later: "What do you think of Miss Zhou?"

Yan Zhaohan said that the girl was very nice.She would come over to help him clean the courtyard, wash his clothes, and sometimes bring some melon and fruit snacks.Every time she comes, she talks very little and does a lot.He has nothing to fault.

But he thought Miss Zhou was pretty good, but was deeply disgusted by Miss Xia Houyao.

Miss Zhou came to see him in the evening, and they chatted in the yard.Yaoyao came in through the gate and watched the two of them silently for a while.When the theater fan Yaoyao came in, she imagined that she was a resentful wife who was betrayed by her husband.

But obviously she doesn't have the talent to be an actress, as a "resentful woman", she should have tears in her eyes and said sadly: "Husband, why did you betray me!"

She was indeed tearful, and indeed distressed.She stomped her feet angrily, pointed at Miss Zhou and asked, "Brother Yan, who is this woman!"

This is a bit of a shrew.

Yan Zhaohan was sitting on the rattan chair, but he hadn't had time to say anything.She walked up to him, raised her head and wailed loudly, asking, "Brother Yan, don't you want to wait for me to grow up! Do you want to marry someone else!"

Miss Zhou covered her lips and smiled: "Whose girl is this, she looks so handsome."

Yan Zhaohan said, "The little girl next door is not very sensible yet."

Miss Zhou took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her tears, but she stared back.Those big eyes were full of childish hatred.She yelled, "I hate you! Don't come here! I hate you!"

"Miss Zhou..." Yan Zhaohan felt a little embarrassed, picked Yaoyao up and let her sit on his lap.

The little girl wiped her tears, obediently remained silent, and wrapped her thin arms around his neck.She looked at Miss Zhou provocatively.

Zhou Fang nodded knowingly, and said, "I'll go back first today, you can coax this little girl."

"I want you to manage, you go away!"

Miss Zhou glanced at her, smiled softly, said softly "see you later" to Yan Zhaohan, took the basket she brought up, and went out through the door.

Yan Zhaohan held her in his arms, stroking her soft hair with his fingers: "Be good, don't make trouble. That is my future wife."

Yaoyao curled her lips after hearing this, and changed from a docile kitten back to a little tiger: "She doesn't look good, she's fat and short."

"I do not mind."

Yaoyao's nose was sour, her tears were like broken beads.She cried uncontrollably: "I don't care, I like Brother Yan, I want to marry you. You clearly promised me!"

"How can you not count your words!"

Yan Zhaohan didn't know how to reason with a child, so he fell silent.

"Brother Yan doesn't want me..." Yaoyao wailed again, wiping her tears with both hands, "I don't care, you said you wanted to marry me, you can only marry me!"

He listened to her cry for a long time.

Yaoyao was tired from crying, her breathing was not smooth, and she coughed a few times heart-piercingly.He followed the child's back and asked, "Why are you so persistent."

Yaoyao sobbed and said, "You don't understand, you haven't liked anyone before."

He couldn't laugh or cry: "You are still so young, how do you know what liking is? Besides, how do you know that I have never liked anyone before?"

She choked and asked, "Then... what is she like?"

"Unruly and unrestrained, sometimes he will act recklessly," Yan Zhaohan recalled seriously, "but very gentle...and very persistent."

Yaoyao choked up and said, "I...I can do as well as her."

The child wet his skirt from crying.His fingers gently brushed her pigtails: "I am 25 years old this year. When you grow up, your brother will be old."

With tears in his eyes, the child threw himself into his arms: "I also like it when I get old, but you can't like others. Otherwise, I will be very sad and sad."

He still didn't respond.Yaoyao waited and waited, but failed to wait, and fell asleep leaning on his shoulder in a daze.

He felt as if he was still waiting for something, and he still had some expectations in his heart, but after waiting for too long, he would sometimes forget what he was waiting for.

……

Yan Zhaohan mentioned to her mother-in-law about going to the grave in the morning.He said he wanted to see his mother.

The mother-in-law was busy with work, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said kindly: "Hey, you go. The tea stand is not busy. Be careful on the way...how about I ask my old man to go with you?"

"Don't bother, it's not too far away, I'll ask a passer-by to guide me for a short walk..." He was a little embarrassed, "Grandma, can I pay you some money in advance?"

He never thought that one day he would be so impoverished that he would not even have the coppers to pay for his mother's grave and buy some paper money and fruits.

The mother-in-law nodded and sighed: "Did you get your little coppers stolen by that bully on East Street again?"

"Ah."

"If it doesn't work, you should report to the official. It's not an option to continue like this. How will you live in the future when he comes here every day like this." The mother-in-law lamented, "Look at you, how thin you are."

"Hmm. I'll think of something."

In fact, how can the government care about it.The world is so chaotic, and the government is also bullying others with its power, running rampant in the countryside, treating the people as mere weeds, so how can they care about their lives.

The mother-in-law was making tea, watching the mist rising, she was stunned for a while, and suddenly thought of something, she asked: "Your mother is buried here?"

"Yes. It's on the bank of the Xinghua River."

She wondered: "You and your mother used to live here? I have been in Yunqi Town for decades, and I don't seem to have heard of her."

"We lived here more than ten years ago, and then we left. Auntie is nostalgic for this place, and once said that she wanted to be buried in Yunqi Town."

The mother-in-law had a strange feeling in her heart, and she couldn't explain why.She paced around the stall a few times and worked for a while. When she walked out of the tea stall, she remembered something, and her mind was buzzing.

More than ten years ago, the Yan family sent people to this small town to pick up a mother and child.There was an uproar in the town at that time, and they were still watching on the pier when he left.The child who was picked up seemed to be Yan Shuhan's youngest son, and it was said that he later became a remarkable person.

Thinking of this, my mother-in-law didn't dare to think about it anymore.She made herself spin like a top, trying to forget about it.