Bandit Reborn

Little and worst command, everyone held down one of Li Bao's legs and didn't move at all. Although it looked like three against three, in fact he was fighting alone.

Before the sun set, Li Chengkui triumphantly led his three elder brothers home who were also triumphant. The three brothers from the uncle's family jumped up and threatened that they would not be allowed to enter the city in a bullock cart tomorrow. Meng Guangqing raised a flag on his father's shoulder. The middle finger, Li Long and Li Hu didn't understand what it meant, but they also raised one, and the expressions of the three brothers were also very consistent.

On the 29th of the next day, Li Chengxiao caught up with the bullock cart and took three of his own family and three of his younger brother's family into the city. Turn a deaf ear to the 'war' between the six kids in the car.

The ox cart was so slow that it was maddening. The war between the six boys ended with Li Li slapping a big bag and crying loudly. Li Li in the head was not spared either.Peace was restored on the oxcart, and the aunt took out a bag of pine nuts from her bag and gave them to them. The children reconciled, knocking on the pine nuts while listening to Li Cai brag about his adventures when he went up the mountain in summer.

Before noon, their ox cart finally arrived at the county seat. Meng Guangqing saw the long-famous county government. The drum for complaining of grievances was very large at the gate, with a cowhide head and a red body. The yamen guard standing at the entrance of the county yamen was not at all mighty, similar to the policeman in the previous life. Meng Guangqing touched his little nose, subconsciously wanting to do something bad and challenge the IQ of the ancients, but at this time his mother picked him up After getting off the bullock cart, Meng Guangqing lay softly on his mother's body, forgetting what he had just thought in a blink of an eye.

The county town is very prosperous, and his uncle parked the ox cart in an open space, and sat on it to watch the cart gnawing dry food, while the woman took the children to wander around.

Both his mother and aunt came prepared, and they discussed and planned at home. What to buy first, and what to buy later, the six children followed, the older led the younger, and ate crispy sesame seed cakes while walking. Occasionally, when we saw something novel, we clamored for it together, but we got very little. Most of the time, these guys just gave up with just one look.

Even so, when they went back, they still had a good harvest. Each child had a share of wooden toys and bundles of firecrackers. Meng Guangqing also got a new set of the Four Treasures of the Study, which his father specially told him before he came out.

Back on the ox cart, the newly bought things took up a lot of space, such as shochu, pastries, muslin and all kinds of small things. Meng Guangqing was hugged by his mother, covered with an old quilt, and the other side Li Li, who was also being hugged, fell asleep with his feet on his feet.

It was already dark when they got home, and the uncle sent them home first, and their father waited outside the gate with his arms folded. His mother helped him up with difficulty and said, "San'er has really gained weight. My legs are numb."

The bleary-eyed Meng Guangqing was transferred to his arms. His father sent him to the house before turning around to get his things. The charcoal fire in the house was burning. Meng Guangqing sat up for a while and got out of bed with his short arms and legs. The kitchen fetched things, and by the time his father and mother entered the house, the three brothers had already finished eating two fried rice cakes.

"These gluttonous cats, it's alright, eat less, the fish is still hot in the pot." Li Chengkui has been a father and a mother these years, and a butcher has never heard the phrase "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen". Get your meal ready.

On the early morning of the New Year's Eve, the three elder brothers were all dressed up, and they followed Li Chengkui out of the house without eating any food. They met with the four fathers of Li Chengxiao's family. The men of the Li family went to the cemetery outside the village to burn paper money for their ancestors. , Li Chengkui chattered while burning, "Father, mother, ancestors, this is my third son Huaixi, your good grandson, isn't it beautiful, and the endorsement is good, the husband praises it, and the one who will give you money in the future There's one more, don't you be happy? My newly married daughter-in-law has cooked dinner and is waiting for you. Go home to celebrate the New Year. I'm going to take San'er to the house again. Don't blame me, I'll be back soon. "

After chatting with the dead, Li Chengkui took Meng Guangqing's hand and told the two elder sons, "Go back with your uncle first, and help your mother with some work. If there is any heavy work, tell your mother to keep it for me. San'er and I I'll be back in a while."

"Father, why are you going? Let's go too!" Li Long and Li Hu said together pulling his younger brother.

"Let's pay homage to the Meng family, what are you doing, go back quickly."

Li Long and Li Hu went home with their uncle, and Li Chengkui carried Meng Guangqing in his arms and walked directly across the bare fields to the ancestral grave of the Meng family.

Throwing a futon on the ground, Li Chengkui put Meng Guangqing on the ground, pulled Meng Guangqing, who was still in a daze, and said, "Kneel down, this paper money is up to you, but don't be afraid, it won't burn you, Dad is here. "

Meng Guangqing looked at the dozens of graves, large and small, all of them were named Meng. His father, a scholar, was leaning on the far side, and the name was engraved on the newly erected stone tablet. Meng Guangqing was horrified when he saw it. Father has the same name as him, also called Meng Guangqing!

Meng Guangqing was terrified, and immediately changed his name in his heart. From now on, he will be called Li Huaixi, but he should not be Meng Guangqing who died twice. This name must be a taboo!

The new Li Huaixi kowtowed three times. It turned out that he didn't believe in ghosts and gods, and he never blinked when he killed people. But after time travel, he believed it. He didn't dare to go out to pee at night. He had to put a chamber pot under the bed.

After kowtowing, Li Huaixi found that his stepfather also knelt down, and began to babble again and again in front of a pile of earthen bags, "Meng Xiucai, the ancestors of the Meng family, I am Huaixi's current father, I My name is Li Chengkui... Huaixi is doing well at home, she has gained weight recently, you see, she is white and fat, and it feels a little heavy to hold... I am a butcher, um, I can't read, but Huaixi goes to school Yes, I didn't delay him, I envy you scholars, hehe... It's far away, it's far away, so what, today's Chinese New Year, I will bring Huaixi over to give you some New Year's money. Bring him here, although he has changed his surname now, he is still the root of your Meng family, if he wants to change his family and business in the future, I won't say anything, it's the same anyway..."

Li Chengkui chattered endlessly. Li Huaixi became impatient. He felt that the dead people in the underground should also be impatient. He stood up and pushed his father. Li Huaixi said, "Father, let's go, if you continue, I The relatives in the underground are too late to do New Year's goods! Who keeps entertaining you here!"

"Eh? That's right, then let's go, your mother will be anxious for a while." Li Chengkui was taken aback when he heard this, but he also felt that what his youngest son said was very reasonable, so he hastily ended his self-talk, After packing up their things, holding Li Huaixi in one hand and the basket in the other, the father and father walked across the field and returned home.

11. Chinese New Year ([-])

At home, Li Long and Li Hu were posting Spring Festival couplets on stools. The couplets were written by begging old scholars from neighboring villages. I write the Spring Festival couplets myself, and our family will post them on the door to ensure that the old guy will have no business in the next year."

His father put him down, slapped him on the buttocks, and said to him, "You boy, you can just write your own, and you still want to grab other people's jobs, and the old scholar recruited you? It doesn't matter what you say ...Father can tell you, you can't look down on people just because you have a little ability, you know? And you have to respect the old, otherwise you will be looked down upon when you go out."

"Understood, dad, are you tired? Shall I rub your shoulders?" Li Huaixi stuck out his tongue, and quickly made amends.

"Do you know that Dad was tired and didn't come down just now? Just send the basket to your mother. Dad's meat is too hard for you to squeeze." Li Chengkui pinched his younger son's face twice and let him go into the yard to play.

Li Huaixi carried a basket into the courtyard, the main room was filled with cigarettes, and there was an altar table to honor the ancestors and gods from all walks of life, and the fancy snacks bought from the city the day before were all placed there.

His mother was kneeling on the bed and pasting window grilles on the newly pasted window paper. The charcoal fire in the room was too hot, so his mother set up a window and called Li Huaixi through the window, "Huaixi, call your father in, Tell him to kill the fish in the tank, see if the brothers have finished posting the couplets, call them in after posting, and mother will fry delicious food for you later."

Li Huaixi put down the basket unhurriedly, turned his head and said to his mother, "Who can hear your loud voice, my father came in after helping to put up the Spring Festival couplets."

His mother choked on him and just wanted to scold him for being lazy, but seeing that Li Chengkui really brought his two sons in, she had to shut up resentfully.

The three boys gathered around the water tank, watching their father fight alone with the big fish weighing more than ten kilograms in the water tank. The big fish was very powerful in the water, and it was slippery. Li Hu suggested to put the water tank down. , taking into account the freezing temperature outside, Li Chengkui vetoed this proposal.

Li Huaixi handed his father a ladle, his father understood and praised his third son for being smart.After scooping up the water, the big fish didn't have much to jump about. Li Chengkui bent down and lifted the big fish out of the water. The fish out of the water was put in a big pottery basin with its mouth opening and closing. Li Chengkui used a butcher's knife A cut was made on the belly of the fish, the white fat was exposed first, the big fish twitched suddenly, and the blood came out after a while.

Li Huaixi was very happy to have avenged his revenge. He squatted aside and watched his father clean up the fish. After watching for a while, he felt strange, so he asked innocently, "Dad, why didn't you take the swim bladder out?"

He asked the question unintentionally, but unexpectedly his father's face turned red, he hesitated for a long time before replying, "Well, this swim bladder is too big, it's useless."

"It's useless if it's too big?" Li Huaixi was puzzled, looking at his father's blushing face, he felt very suspicious, so he went on to ask, "Then what's the use of those?"

Li Chengkui looked left and right, not knowing how to answer his younger son's question, how could he use the swim bladder of a big fish weighing more than ten catties thicker than a child's wrist?He's not a donkey either!After hesitating for a while, Li Chengkui had a solution and shouted to the kitchen, "Damn it, is the food ready? Bring it out and give it to them!"

This can’t be blamed on him for fooling the child and changing the subject. The swim bladder was given by the wife. When the village’s Wen Po came to drink the wedding wine, she said that his newly married daughter-in-law was still a bit thin and not suitable for immediate pregnancy. At that time, Wen Po offered two options. For contraception, one is to take medicine, and the other is to use swim bladder. Taking medicine is for the wife to take medicine, and the daughter-in-law does not want it. Although the swim bladder smells a little bit fishy, ​​it has no side effects, so swim bladders of appropriate size are kept at home.No one thought about when these little things caught the eyes of the younger son. Li Chengkui thought it would be best for the younger son to forget this question while eating. If he really couldn't forget it, he would ask his mother. He really didn't know. How did you answer.

Li Huaixi was dragged away by his mother without getting an answer, his current childish voice was crisp, and his mother clearly heard the conversation between the two of them in the kitchen, and her teeth itched with hatred.The newly fried rice cakes were still a little hot, Li Huaixi was gagged by his mother just as he was about to speak, it was so hot that he sucked for a long time, and shut up wisely.

Li Long and Li Hu were also called in by his mother to eat together. The three brothers ate very quickly without even sitting on a stool.After eating the fried rice cakes, Li Long and Li Hu took the firecrackers and went out to set them off. They were reluctant to set them off in clusters, so they took them apart one by one. Seeing the chaos of chickens flying and dogs barking and the laughter of the three children, the two couples who were snickering in the yard turned into wry smiles in an instant. They didn't need to go out to see and knew that someone's cat and dog must have passed by again and came to the house to complain. More and more, the couple are used to it.

I ate something casually at noon, and the three brothers were all driven to bed to sleep. Although his father was illiterate, he was still using his own method to settle accounts and do a year's "work summary". His mother was embroidering and the family raised Recharge your batteries and wait for nightfall.

In the afternoon, after waking up, Li Huaixi moved a small stool and sat at the door of the kitchen, instructing his mother to cook. The New Year’s menu was drawn up by him. Some dishes have been cooked by his mother these days. It was his mother's first time making such a dish, Meng Guangqing was worried after explaining how to do it, and sat at the door like a supervisor, directing his mother around.

"You can grow up quickly. When you grow up, marry a daughter-in-law and change to someone else. I will never give your daughter-in-law small shoes to wear!" People say, "If you marry a daughter-in-law, you forget your mother." Too difficult to serve.

"It doesn't count if I say it. You can bear it for a few more years. When I am taller than the pot, I will cook for you." Meng Guangqing replied without turning his head. He was looking at his little hand against the light. It's as red as transparent.

His mother didn't see the indifference on his face, and she was very satisfied with getting a bad check. She put the scallions into the pot with a thump, and said while busy, "That's good, my mother is waiting, and I will serve you now." A few years." The fragrant scallion oil smell filled the whole kitchen, and Li Huaixi sat at the door and smiled intoxicated.

In the evening, Li Chengkui picked up the Stove Lord and his wife by himself. After the small report, the Stove Lord sat on the north wall of the kitchen with a new look. I went back to the main room for dinner.

The New Year's Eve dinner at Li Chengkui's family is extraordinarily sumptuous. In the middle is a traditional hot pot, which is different from modern hot pots. The ingredients are already placed in it, and you just need to stretch out the chopsticks to pick it up. Next to the hot pot, Li Huaixi taught his mother to cook The fish head bubble cake, the huge fish head is stacked on a large plate, the soup is thick and the meat is rotten, the freshly baked scallion pancake is cut into small pieces and placed aside, exuding a unique aroma; the lion head is fried with four huge meatballs After it was ready, it was boiled in chicken soup, and when it was finally out of the pot, it was poured with the prepared thick sauce. The cabbage hearts blanched in boiling water were piled on the bottom of the plate, which set off the oily lion head, which was very beautiful; Li Huaixi was in a few days ago A few rings of garlic cloves were placed on a plate, watered every day, and the garlic sprouts grew quickly. Today, I just added a little to some meat dishes. The fried fish slices have a sweet and sour taste, which is very popular with the two brothers.

"No one believes our food, and the county magistrate's family may not eat better than ours!" Li Chengkui said proudly, holding a small wine glass.

"That's not it, who loves to toss around like our third son, maybe I'm being pushed this afternoon." His mother stretched out a hand and squeezed Li Huaixi's small face, Li Huaixi was gnawing on a chicken wing, shaking his head and struggling away .

In fact, this is not only the most prosperous year for Li Chengkui's family, but also the most prosperous year for Meng Guangqing and now Li Huaixi. In the previous life, there were only him and his master, and his master didn't need a family. New Year's Day, these ordinary festivals were just a luxury for Meng Guangqing back then. Whenever he heard other people's homes setting off firecrackers happily, he would usually hide and sleep. Later, when his master was gone, he simply hid in those who did not celebrate the Spring Festival. Go to the country, hide among the foreigners, and don't get involved with the Chinese at all.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, his mother put a bowl of leftovers in a large bowl and placed them on the altar religiously, praying that there would be surplus every year.

Li Huaixi sat cross-legged on the bed, two elder brothers and a father who was rarely at leisure, the four of them sat around and played flower cards together.

"Father, you can't be with San'er, he's already cunning enough by himself, it's not fair!" Li Hu stopped playing with the flower cards in the second round.

"Huh? Why is it unfair? Could it be that San'er is on his own?" Li Chengkui was very happy to win, and he didn't care about his second son's feelings at all.

"That's right, second brother, you can't break the rules." Li Huaixi smirked while holding the cards, and hid several cards under his buttocks.

Li Long crawled over without making a sound, and pushed Li Huaixi aside when he came up, "Do it all over again, the previous one doesn't count, look at the bottom of San'er's ass, bullying us for not knowing how to count?!"

Li Huaixi got up and threw back his hand full of bad cards solemnly, "Do it all over again, it's too unruly!"

"It's because you didn't obey the rules!" Li Hu became even angrier when he saw the cards discarded by his younger brother, but there was no way, the cards were all mixed up, so he had to start over.

After kneading the dough and chopping the stuffing, his mother sat behind Li Chengkui with a flower frame, turned on the oil lamp a little, and sat under the lamp to embroider. Do you still want to go? I think it’s fine to just take the three of them with you. You’re exhausted after the New Year, so you should rest at home.”

Li Chengkui replied while playing cards, "Why don't I go? Why am I so tired? Isn't it a rest to go to relatives? You are all gone, leaving me alone at home is so boring."

"Last time I heard from my elder brother that he planned to let Cheng An go to the city as an apprentice after the next year. He said he had found a silk and satin factory, but I heard that being an apprentice is hard, isn't it?"

"Isn't it? It's hard to be an apprentice. How old is Cheng An? He's only 15 years old, right?" Li Chengkui has a good memory. When he returned home last time, he remembered a few children, and his uncle's eldest cousin, Cheng An, was one of them.

"It's fifteen! You're young." Cheng replied, picked up the wick with an awl, and turned on the oil lamp a little.

Li Huaixi listened to his parents chatting while playing cards, a little disapproving. In his previous life, when he was 15 years old, he had already done a lot of business. He was old enough for roadblocking and robbery. His eldest cousin Cheng An was an apprentice and was told by his parents It's like going to be punished.

There is no clapper knocker in the village, and their family does not have the luxury of a copper kettle dripper. After filling the lamp oil, his mother put down her work and went to the kitchen to make dumplings. Li Long and Li Hu took Li Huaixi outside to set off firecrackers. , the eldest son of the neighbor’s family is not yet married, and it’s rare to come out after staying in the tofu shop all day. At this time, he happily took a hanging whip and put it outside. them.

Li Huaixi was chewing dried tofu while setting off firecrackers. The dried tofu was a bit salty, but it tasted good. The boys in their family didn't have to worry about being sent as apprentices. School would start again after the fifteenth day. They enjoyed this short vacation very much.

12. New Year's greetings

On the second day of the first lunar month, Li Huaixi's family of five locked the door and walked to his grandmother's house. His mother let him go by himself, but when he walked a third of the way, his father couldn't stand it anymore and walked behind secretly to hug him. up.His mother took a look out of the corner of her eye, didn't speak, and let them go.

His aunt is also at her natal home. The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day when a married daughter can return to her natal home in a fair manner. The rest of the days are not so convenient, especially for those women who are not strong, and it just so happens that his aunt is Belong to this row of women.

The aunt looks very haggard, the young woman in her thirties looks like she is in her forties, she has not applied makeup, and she is sitting there in a daze. It's blocking.

Li Huaixi's cousin Yan Ying, as usual, came with my aunt today. She was wearing new clothes for the New Year, covered in silk and satin, but there was also a slight sadness in the corners of her eyes and brows. She looked like the [-]'s version of Lin Daiyu.

His eldest cousin, Cheng An, who is going to be an apprentice, is still at home now. The 15-year-old boy has delicate features and looks a little like Li Huaixi.

When he came last time, Cheng An was quite cheerful, he led a group of younger siblings, and looked like a big man, but this time he obviously had something on his mind, and he was a little absent-minded no matter what he played. The other children still insisted on me, only the same The frowning Yan Ying often stayed by her cousin's side, and the two talked in a low voice from time to time, but most of the time they were silent together.

Li Huaixi was very greedy for the warmth his grandma brought him. He didn't play with his cousins ​​in the yard. He was tired of being around the old lady and didn't want to go anywhere. He took a small hammer to knock walnuts for his grandma, and when he knocked one, he put it next to him. In a small basket, his grandma told him to make caramelized walnuts for him later.

Li Huaixi pricked up his ears while knocking walnuts. His soul in his twenties shamelessly hid in his five-year-old body and eavesdropped on the conversations between several women. His uncle was going to take a concubine in a few days , the other party is only, the age of a flower, the old aunt is destined to stay alone in the vacant room.

Auntie is a weak woman, without the bearing that a housewife should have, and sadly tells all the sufferings she imagined.She had been beaten often, and now she was even more anxious, worried that she would never have a good life again, and even shed a few tears when talking about the tragic ending of the imaginary divorce.

When encountering this kind of thing, women can easily form an alliance. His mother and aunt are doing the work at hand, while making suggestions, but these two women are small families. Because of his background, he has only seen such things in a limited number of dramas, so what he talks about is all blind ideas, such as getting off the horse, giving shoes to concubines, buying clothes and jewelry to regain a man's heart, etc. Anyway, to Li Huaixi, it sounds like a blind idea that is getting worse and worse.

Grandma took the small hammer in Li Huaixi's hand, smashed a walnut with a 'click', and said unhurriedly, "Shut up, what are you talking nonsense in front of the children! What's wrong with taking a concubine? No matter how much you spoil her, she is still a concubine, look at you guys who are not stingy enough to carry baskets!" Thin fingers pinched the walnut kernels and threw them into the basket, and grandma shouted to Xiwu through the curtain, "Cheng Kui, come here and put them in the basket." Take Huaixi away and go outside to play for a while! Our mothers and I can talk for a while."

Li Huaixi didn't wait for his father to come to pick him up, he got off the ground quite consciously, but he didn't go far, went out for a circle and then came back, squatting next to the brazier in the middle of the hall to roast chestnuts.Thiefly, he gently pulled the chestnuts with a torch, and at the same time listened to his grandmother teaching his eldest daughter the secrets of the boudoir in the room separated by a curtain.The most critical content must be to avoid children. Li Huaixi gained experience in the swim bladder incident.

Li Huaixi doesn't think his behavior is shameful, but instead finds it quite interesting. He thinks that it may be useful when he marries a daughter-in-law in the future. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles. Women are recognized as the most difficult creatures in the world. Men have been thinking about it for thousands of years and haven't studied it. .

The aunt was still chattering, but the old voice of the grandmother suddenly came from inside, "You are not young anymore, you can't sleep without a man sleeping next to you?! The first and fifteenth day of the new year are not enough for you?!" No wonder Grandma wants to drive him out, because this old lady is always so sharp, Li Huaixi's ears are set higher.

"You have a daughter and a daughter. After a few more years, the daughter will get married and her son will be in charge of the account. How old is the concubine's child? Can she compete with you?! Your three brothers are not breathing for nothing. , What’s wrong with Yan Shigui? Isn’t it just how much money he has? A lowly businessman, even if I borrowed three guts from him, he wouldn’t dare to do anything to you! Let me tell you, he dared to beat you, and you will be regarded as turning over from now on. After getting married, if he dares to beat you again, no matter what the reason is, let's push it to 'doting concubines and destroying wives'. If you are still afraid of shame, your mother will go to the county government to file a complaint for you. I will let your brothers first Get rid of his balls and let his concubine marry for nothing!" Grandma's voice was ruthless, and Li Huaixi outside the door touched his little balls and gave a jolt.

"Don't do anything, just do what you want. If she offers you tea, you should continue. Don't bully her when you have any work at home. If two people should do it, two people should do it. If one should do it alone, let her do it alone." She is a bought concubine, and you are a wife carried in a sedan chair. Don't take her too seriously, let alone your man!

What really needs your attention is your son and daughter, especially your son, who crawled out of your stomach and is closer than your man. Hasn't Yan Li started to learn how to manage accounts?Let him study hard, he is the eldest son of the main house, no one can be older than him, even if Yan Shigui can spoil his concubine and destroy his wife, can he spoil his concubine and destroy his wife?His bastard is still there!

Mother can't teach you other things now, just take one step at a time, but daughter, don't be so sad, people say you are jealous, as long as you don't steal people, your good life will come, Yan Shigui wants to take a concubine, let him Let him accept it, you don't have to work if you accept ten or eight, you should have fun secretly. "

This is the first time Li Huaixi heard that a husband can have fun while taking a concubine as a regular wife, but thinking about it, it’s true. Most women in this era marry blindly, and love only plays a very small role in getting along with their husbands. If there is no love, there is nothing to be sad about. After figuring out the stakes, you can really have fun secretly here with Auntie.

At this time, his mother's voice came out from inside, "Mother, what are you talking about, the elder sister's face is flushed." Before the words fell, his mother lifted the door curtain and came out, just facing him. The smirk on Li Huaixi's face has not been suppressed yet.

His mother was taken aback, and called her man loudly, "Hey, Cheng Kui! Didn't I tell you to lead him out? Why is this little bastard here?!"

Li Chengkui came out of the room on the other side, and quickly hugged Li Huaixi, "It's so cold outside, I don't have a place to take it. Isn't San'er roasted chestnuts? He doesn't understand you, what are you talking about?" After finishing speaking, Li Chengkui secretly squeezed his youngest son's buttocks, and Li Huaixi cooperated and lay on his father's shoulder, pretending to be good, with an expression of 'I don't understand anything'.

"Huh," his mother didn't believe that he didn't understand anything. She could see the expression on Li Huaixi's face just now, but she was also afraid that the elder sister inside would be embarrassed, so she stopped there and changed the subject, "Cheng An is over. I entered the city in [-], so go and get a red envelope, I heard that apprentices don’t get paid for the first two years.”

"Okay, I'll be there in a while. You can leave some money for your mother. I usually buy snacks or something. I'll give you the money bag. You can figure it out." Li Chengkui held his son in one hand, and untied the money bag with the other. Pass it to the daughter-in-law.

"Okay, I got it. Huaixi, come down, go play with your brothers and sisters, don't stay in the house!" His mother grabbed the youngest son by the neck, wanting him to go out and play with the children , this child is always eavesdropping on what adults say, and knows everything he should understand and not understand.

"I'm not going, it's very windy outside." Li Huaixi was still in his father's arms, peeled a chestnut and stuffed it in his father's mouth, Li Chengkui laughed and carried his youngest son away.

As soon as his mother turned around and went back to the house, she couldn't help pursing her lips in joy, "Mother, really, now the two of you are closer than your own. Huaixi is the heart of the three of you now, I can't even lift a finger." .”

"Of course not, Huaixi is so painful! Look at this basket of walnuts. You guys haven't peeled them for me since you grew up." Li Huaixi is also his grandmother's heart, so it's a good thing.

"That little thing will do this, flatter the horse." His mother picked up a walnut and threw it in her mouth, picked up the half-filled shoe sole and continued to work.

"Hehe, you mother is actually beautiful in your heart, don't you think we don't know?" The eldest aunt teased the sister-in-law with a smile. Li Chengkui gave him a very rich New Year's gift a year ago, and now she very much welcomes the sister-in-law to come and go with her family. There is also a lot of intimacy between the speeches.

The woman's side quieted down, and Li Huaixi was carried by his father to the west room. His uncle was drinking water, and when he saw them coming in, he smiled and said, "I heard it all, what kind of red envelopes are there? It’s just learning a craft. Cheng An also went to school for a few days. I thought he should learn everything quickly, so I asked someone to find such a place for him. No pain."

Li Chengkui put down his son, filled his own cup with some hot water, sat on the chair with the cup in his hands and said, "It's not hard for an apprentice, it's not just about doing the work on the cabinet, you have to do all kinds of work there." Do it, there was a child in our village who went to apprentice the year before last and said he was struggling.

Who is Cheng An's employer?Have you prepared all the gifts for your boss?It's better to give some gifts, and I can be more considerate. "

"Ready, the owner is Ruixiang Silk and Satin Shop in the east of the city. His surname is Zhou. He has a son and a daughter. I heard that doing business is also a duty. They should be easy to get along with."

The two men were talking while drinking water. Li Huaixi put another handful of chestnuts in the charcoal brazier in this room. After a while, the chestnuts began to crackle, and Li Long and Li Hu also came in.

"Cousin Ying gave Cousin An a very beautiful purse, we saw it." Li Long and Li Hu whispered in Li Huaixi's ear, as if they had discovered a big secret.

Li Huaixi rolled his eyes, without making a sound, he took out several chestnuts from the basin and gave them to his two elder brothers, and then waited with his mouth open, whoever peeled them first had to feed him one first.

The three brothers sat together to eat chestnuts, and after they finished eating, they all went to their father to ask for water. The children outside cheered and played the game of getting married. The lively wedding of Li Huaixi's mother gave these children inspiration. Cousin Ying dragged out a dress in red and green, and then asked the strongest Cheng An to dress up as the groom, carrying Cousin Ying around the yard on his back. Li Huaixi stood by the door and watched for a while. Cousin Yan Ying is quite a match.

In the afternoon, the aunt took her cousin away first, and the sad housewife wanted to go back to prepare for her husband to take a concubine. After thinking about it, the aunt was no longer as sad as before. Although the words of the grandmother were comforting to the daughter, they were not unreasonable. .

Li Huaixi was waiting at the door of the kitchen with a small porcelain pot in his hand. His grandmother was cooking caramelized walnuts for him. After the pot was ready, he had to fill up his small porcelain pot before distributing it to other children. Li Huaixi felt that this was very It's not fair, but as a beneficiary, he was smart enough not to express any opinion.

The caramelized walnuts that had just come out of the pan exuded a tempting aroma. Li Huaixi tiptoed to watch eagerly as his grandma spread the finished walnuts on the curtain, waiting for them to cool before putting them into jars.Grandma picked up a walnut and blew it a few times, then fed it to his mouth, and asked him with a smile, "Is it delicious?"

"It's delicious!" Li Huaixi narrowed his eyes with joy, and acted coquettishly with his arms around his grandma.

After putting the caramelized walnuts into the jar, it was time for Li Huaixi's family to leave. The eldest cousin Cheng An put Li Huaixi's small porcelain jar into an old schoolbag he had used, rubbed it a bit and said sentimentally, "I'm sorry for this thing." You don’t need it anymore, you don’t have to pay it back.”

Li Huaixi took the schoolbag and hung it on his body, glanced at the big patch on it, and replied in a very ugly way, "I didn't plan to return it at first, it's worth running around for such a broken thing." Li Long gave him a blast from behind. Li, the three brothers followed their parents and went home.

13. Spring is warm and flowers are blooming

Li Huaixi did not go to see the lantern on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Although it is a dreamy place where countless men and women travel through time to seek chance encounters, Li Huaixi is not as tall as the wall of the pigsty in the yard when he stands up now, so he does not have any beautiful thoughts. It was cold again, and on the day of Lantern Festival, their family had a good meal at home, and then went to bed early.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the school started, and the weather gradually warmed up. Li Huaixi grew a little taller, and after several times of vigorous washing by his mother, he also became much whiter. His hair was black and shiny, only about an inch. After a while at home, I cut my hair short. It looked like a dog gnawed it. After his mother came back and beat him up, he repaired it again, but the situation was not much better. No one of the two brothers followed him. I think that my younger brother is not as beautiful as before.

Li Huaixi doesn't care whether she is pretty or not, as long as she doesn't need to comb her hair every day.He still doesn't know what he looks like. His mother's original bronze mirror was pawned when his talented father fell ill. His stepfather is a rough old man. He hasn't thought of buying a new mirror for his wife yet. Once when the elder brother praised him for being beautiful, he just lay down on the edge of the well and took a look for himself.