devil's son

The next day.

Old Li couldn't remember how he got home at all. When he woke up, it was already the evening of the next day.

He slept for a very long time and was very heavy. When he woke up, his head was still a little dizzy. He always felt that he seemed to have forgotten something important. After thinking about it, elderly people have a bad memory. That's normal, just forget about it.He got dressed slowly and got up, maybe because he slept for too long, he felt a little stiff, and his hands and feet were not as flexible as before, but probably the medicine prescribed by the doctor yesterday took effect, and it took only one day and one night. The sprain didn't hurt at all.But I don't know what's going on, my back seems to be a little hard to straighten up, but fortunately it doesn't hurt at all, Old Li didn't care too much, and walked out with his back on his back.

The sun has set, and the sky has not yet completely darkened. The few clouds in the sky are coated with a layer of gold by the setting sun.

A few days ago, Old Litou sawed off the blackened trunk of the old pagoda tree, leaving only a carbon-black pile about the height of the winter cub.Grandma Sun asked him to dig the roots of the tree together. Dong Cub acted coquettishly and stuck it on the pile like a puppy skin plaster. No way, in the end I had to leave the stump of the old pagoda tree.

I didn’t feel anything special before, but today Lao Li felt that the stump of the old locust tree was very pleasing to the eye. It would have been nice if it hadn’t been burned. At this time of the year, the branches and leaves of the old locust tree can cover the whole yard, and it is very cool in the evening. It's not like now.

Old Li shook his head and sighed. There was no old pagoda tree for shade, the yard was very hot, and the light was too glaring, which made people uncomfortable.No wonder winter cubs like to hide at home during the day.

Thinking of his precious son, Lao Li became more energetic all of a sudden, and the speed of his feet also increased by two points.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Sun has already prepared dinner. The meat that Lao Li bought yesterday was chopped into pieces by her, and made into a long-lasting meat mince with salt and soy sauce. He can eat half a bowl of rice more, and his eyes will shine.After the lard is boiled, put it in a clay pot, cook the noodles, put a little while cooking, it has a meaty smell, Dongzai likes it very much.Granny Sun scooped up a large spoonful of the oil residue left over from oil refining and made a bowl of roasted eggplant. She put all the rest in the cupboard and kept it for cooking slowly.

For dinner, besides roasted eggplant with oil residue, there is also a bowl of cucumber soup, a plate of fried cabbage, and a plate of cold tomatoes.

When their family seldom sees meat all year round, they usually eat vegetables from their own vegetable garden. Tonight's meal is already a rare hearty one.Usually, if the dinner was so rich, Old Li would definitely not be able to resist having a drink, and urged Dong Zai to pester Grandma Sun to ask for more oil residue for him to drink, but today, unexpectedly, he didn't feel hungry at all. The table was full of dishes, but he couldn't smell any fragrance.

The food had obviously been ready for a while, and there was no heat left. Dongzai was like a little greedy cat, staring at the food on the table with his mouth pursed and his big eyes unblinking. His big eyes lit up for a moment, then he turned his head to look at Grandma Sun obediently, and softly called out: "Mom," pointing to Old Li, "Dad."

Dad is here, mom can have dinner.

Winter Cub finally spoke, but all he could say now was 'Mama' and 'Daddy', and nothing else.

When Dong Cub couldn't speak, Mrs. Sun and Lao Li knew what he wanted to express. Now that he can call someone, how could he not know what Little Greedy Cat meant?

"Damn old man, after sleeping for so long, hurry up and wash your hands and come over to eat, our winter cubs are starving." Grandma Sun's voice was a little hoarse, her complexion was not very good, her sallow face was turning blue, and her body was very bent. , but the spirit seems to be better than any day before, and he is no longer coughing to death as usual, and he has a large table of dishes.

It seems that the medicine I bought yesterday really worked.

Old Li put down a big stone in his heart, he teased Dongzai and said, "Dongzai, call Dad again and let me hear."

Dongzai: "Father." There was no superfluous expression on her delicate and pretty face, and her voice was unexpectedly soft and waxy.

Old Li took the water basin brought to him by Mrs. Sun, twisted his facekerchief, and said, "Good boy, yell again."

Dong Cub remained expressionless: "Daddy, Daddy."

Old Li was so beautiful, he washed his face and sat next to Dong Zai, picked up several big pieces of oil residue for him, and said, "Eat it quickly."

Dongzai ate chicken cakes in the afternoon, and he wasn't very hungry, but meat was rarely eaten at home, so he was hungry for a long time, and the little guy buried his head and stuffed his mouth with food.Seeing his delicious food, Old Li was very happy. Although he had no appetite, he put a piece of oil residue into his mouth.

What's this smell?

Bitter and astringent, with a rotten smell!

I couldn't swallow it in my mouth, so Lao Li spit out the oily residue with the first bite, and hurriedly said, "Don't eat Dongzai, old lady, did you spoil the lard, why does it have a strange smell?"

Grandma Sun said: "What's all the fuss about? There's a strange smell. I think it's because of your mouth. Leave him alone and eat well."

Dong Zai was like a puppy protecting food, holding a small bowl, chewing the food with his mouth full, and staring at the oily residue in the bowl with his big eyes.Unlike children of the same age who ate by themselves and scattered all over the table and floor, Dongzai has eaten well since he learned to eat by himself with chopsticks. .Usually, there are only a few vegetables in the vegetable garden, and there is nothing to choose, but once in a while, Dong Zai will focus on the meat folder, which is fast and accurate.

Seeing that the cubs were eating deliciously, Old Li felt that it should be his fault.Dongzai is not picky or partial to food, but he will not eat something that tastes bad or is broken. The little guy is smart.

Unable to eat the oily residue, Lao Li turned to cold tomatoes. The tomatoes they grow themselves are rich, sour, sweet and delicious, and they are better than the fruits sold outside. But today, for some reason, they seem to be unable to taste at all. .Lao Li didn't have much appetite at first, so he couldn't eat any more after eating half a bowl of rice.Grandma Sun ate even less than him. After the two elders put down the bowls and chopsticks, they quietly watched Dongzai eat.

Don't look at Dong Cub's skinny appearance, his appetite is bigger than children of the same age.The table was full of his favorite dishes, and he was full by accident.

After Dong Zai finished his dinner, Mrs. Sun put the rest of the food in the cupboard and cleaned up the dishes.

Old Li was holding a children's enlightenment picture book, holding Dongzai in his arms, sitting next to the old locust tree, and slowly telling Dongzai the stories in the book.Old Li is not very literate, and he can't even recognize all the characters in the enlightenment book, but he can still tell the whole story to Dongzai by comparing it with the pictures.Occasionally, he would stop to teach Dong Cub how to read and write.

"The word is Dong, the winter of winter, the winter of Dong cubs, our Dong cubs are born in winter, so our Dong cubs' names are Dongsheng, Li Dongsheng." Old Li pointed to the words on the picture book and said, "Come on, follow Dad to read, Dong, Dong."

Dongzai turned to look at Old Li, and said crisply, "Father."

"It's not Dad, it's Dong, Dong."

"dad."

Dongzai was unexpectedly stubborn. After Lao Li taught him a dozen times, he called Dad more than a dozen times. His milky voice was soft and waxy, which made Lao Li's heart melt when he shouted. Can be defeated, continue to show pictures and tell stories to Dongzai.

The sky was getting dark, and Dongzai fell asleep at some point. Old Li tiptoed him into his small bedroom, covered him with a quilt, and exited carefully, for fear of waking him up.

There was no TV to watch at home, and after Dong Zai fell asleep, Old Li and Mrs. Sun also went back to their rooms to sleep.

He had no appetite at night, and he insisted on eating half a bowl of rice. Old Li slept until midnight, and suddenly woke up with a stomach upset.

"Old woman, old woman." He wanted to call Grandma Sun to pour him some hot water, but no one answered when he called twice, and when he touched the bed, there was no one there.At this time, there were rustling sounds and a few muffled crowing sounds from the yard.

Did someone steal something?

There are occasional chicken thieves in Lijia Village. Their family has not encountered it yet, but he has heard about it from the villagers.

If a chicken thief just steals some chicken, there is nothing to be afraid of, but he is afraid that the other party will have evil intentions.Mrs. Sun was not in the room again, and Old Li's heart sank instantly. He quickly got up from the bed, took a wooden stick from behind the door, and tiptoed out.

The weather has been fine recently, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is still a month away. The moon is round and bright, and the white moonlight dispels the darkness.

There is a dark shadow in the chicken coop.

It really is a chicken thief!

Old Li headed forward cautiously holding the wooden stick, and almost got behind the chicken thief before he could see where the chicken thief was.

Old Li put down the wooden stick and said angrily, "Old woman, what are you doing in the chicken coop without sleeping in the middle of the night?"

Grandma Sun turned around leisurely, with disheveled white hair, mouth full of blood, and chicken feathers sticking to her mouth, tightly holding a dying hen in her arms. She rolled her eyes mechanically, and slowly moved the half-dead hen Pass it in front of Old Li, "Take a bite too."

Old Li Tou should have been scared to death, but he found that his heart didn't even beat, and there was a sweet fragrance coming from his nose, full of indescribable temptation.

'Gudong'.

Old Li swallowed hard.

Dongzai's nose has been particularly bright since he was a child. Before he opened his eyes in the morning, he first smelled a strong aroma of stewed chicken.Smacking his small mouth, Dong Zai changed his usual slow movements, rolled around holding the quilt, got up with a grunt, put on his clothes and shoes, and walked to the kitchen on his short legs, at a faster pace than usual More than twice as fast.

Stewed chicken, the last time I ate it was during the Chinese New Year.Dongzai, who had just turned three years old at the time, firmly remembered the delicious taste of country chicken, and has never forgotten it until now.

Had chicken stew again and it tasted just as good as I remembered.

Eating chicken and drinking chicken soup, Dongzai's big round eyes are about to bend into crescents.

For several days in a row, Dongzai ate chicken and chicken soup every day. He even ate mutton stew for the first time in his life. There were also two faint blushes on the pale face, and the flesh was so pink and tender that one couldn't help but want to pinch and touch it.

In previous years, when the Ghost Festival came, Dongzai would have a serious illness and had to... to get better. This year, I don't know if his body has grown stronger, or what, but he survived safely.

However, Lijiacun has not been very stable recently.

From nowhere came a vicious chicken thief who only steals hens from other people's homes. Several households have had their laying chickens stolen.