Chapter 1: Time Changes

Early summer 2005.

In the corner of the courtyard, a delicate shack is erected in mid-air, and a pair of white pigeons are raised in it, cooing twice from time to time.

In the room, Gu Yuanshan sat on the sofa, bowed slightly, and read the newspaper intently. Today, it is the 18th month that he has been transferred to the provincial party secretary of Province G. No matter how reluctant he was to leave Jindu, he could only obey the organization's arrangement.

For Gu Yuanshan, it is far better to stay in Jindu and stay put. As the saying goes, when a man moves, a tree moves. Gu Yuanshan's thinking was just the opposite, feeling that if he left Jindu, it was equivalent to a seed leaving the fertile soil, either rotting in the soil, or stunting.

"Daddy—Daddy—" A little girl of the age of her year old staggered as she toddled in the gap in the room, babbling and laughing.

"Yuanshan—take a look, Ruoxi's walk is getting more and more steady, and she still calls her father—did you hear that?" Li Fenglan tightly tugged on the cloth strap tied to Gu Ruoxi's waist, looking happy.

"Ouch-my daughter can call her father! she is so capable!" Gu Yuanshan put down the newspaper and walked over to hold his daughter with both hands, Gu Ruoxi danced in the air, giggling.

Li Fenglan untied the cloth strap tied to Gu Ruoxi's body, stood aside, and looked at the happy father and daughter with a smile, feeling that the efforts of the past few years have not been in vain. God finally opened his eyes and gave her a lovely girl.

It is said that the girl is her mother's intimate little padded jacket, and she is her father's little lover in her previous life, looking at Gu Yuanshan's expression, it really seems like that.

Since the birth of his daughter, 70% of Gu Yuanshan's heart has been at home, and he hurried home as soon as he got off work, always feeling that there was a rope at home, which tied his heart, and he dragged it back when it was some.

At this moment, Gu Yuanshan gently rubbed his stubble on his daughter's immature little face, and at first, Gu Ruoxi giggled and twisted her face to dodge, and after a while, she cried aggrievedly.

Li Fenglan took her daughter in her arms distressedly, and complained: "How hard your stubble is, how can Ruoxi's little face withstand rubbing!

"Look at you, just like I'm a heinous devil, can I not feel sorry for my own daughter? Little baby, where is there anyone who doesn't cry!" Gu Yuanshan glared at Li Fenglan unconvinced, and returned to the sofa to sit down and pick up the newspaper again. I thought: I'm forty-five years old, I just got such a baby, can I not feel distressed!

Not to mention Li Fenglan, begging her father to tell her grandmother, she finally fulfilled her long-cherished wish with Gu Yuanshan and upgraded to become a father and mother. For the girl, she is naturally afraid of melting in her mouth, and she is afraid of flying in the palm of her hand.

From pregnancy to Gu Ruoxi's imminent one-year old, for almost two years, all of Li Fenglan's focus was on her. Even Gu Yuanshan felt that his status in Li Fenglan's heart had plummeted.

……

Golden City.

On the front of the bustling snack shop, there is a sign that reads 'Tie Egg Skewer Incense', and the shop is spacious and full of customers, and Tie Dan is busy in the kitchen separated by glass windows.

Tie Dan held the stainless steel basin with his left hand, added various seasonings to it with his right hand, mixed well, soaked the skewers made of bamboo skewers into the juice, and handed them out of the window. shouted: "Table 8." ”

Xie Yuhan ran over quickly when he heard the sound, picked up the vegetable pot, trotted all the way, stopped in front of a table, put the basin lightly on the table, and said with a smile: "A few people, please use it slowly, if you need to say hello at any time!"

Mr. Mu cleaned up the plates and empty wine bottles from the table, cleaned the bones and napkins on the floor, and looked up from time to time to greet the customers who had just entered the restaurant with a smile.

Now, it is the fifth year after the earthquake, high-rise buildings have risen from the ground, and Tie Dan has seized the opportunity to occupy a leading façade house in the southeast and northwest of Jindu, which was the first to be completed and become the main store of 'Tie Egg String of Incense'.

The other three stores are being renovated and will be ready for business in a few months. Tie Dan struggled at the bottom of the society for more than 20 years, and finally became the boss.

Tie Dan had already discussed with Teacher Mu and Xie Yuhan, but there were not enough people, so he hired someone to manage and conduct strict training. Tie Dan is responsible for mixing and packing the juice every day and delivering it to each branch.

After several years of development, 'Iron Egg String Incense' has already become a well-known iconic snack in Jindu.

The wealth is rolling in, and the small treasury of Tiedan's family and Mr. Mu's family is full, and Tie Dan often tells Mr. Mu and Xie Yuhan: "The better the business, the more we should pay attention to service and quality, and we must not smash our own signboards!"

Teacher Mu and Xie Yuhan kept Tie Dan's words in mind, and they were meticulous and careful, and the three of them cooperated very well.

After a few hours of busy work in the kitchen, the customers gradually dispersed, Tie Dan carried a bench, sat leisurely at the door to enjoy the coolness, lit a cigarette, took two leisurely puffs, looked at the endless crowd, and couldn't help but smile.

Tie Dan never expected that he was in his forties before he gained a firm foothold in Jindu. Time flies like a white horse, more than 20 years have passed in a flash, and when I open my eyes every day, I feel that I am still stuck in the time when He Shanzi just stepped into Jindu University.

Every day is busy, in the store, at home, the heart that can't be finished, even so, Tie Dan is still alive and energetic. Looking back, he had mixed feelings in his heart, and it was not easy for his wife and children to live a life that was more than enough, and he believed that the days would go up to a higher level with time.

Tie Dan's heart is faintly hidden in an ambition, he is not willing to stay only in the development of Jindu, one day in the future, he has to let the 'Tie Dan String of Incense' into the provincial capital, to the whole country.

Tie Dan didn't dare to tell anyone about this plan easily, even Teacher Mu and Xie Yuhan. He was afraid that they would say that he ate from the bowl and looked at the pot, and that they would laugh at him, and that the mountain looked high at the mountain.

So, Tie Dan hid the ambition in his heart deeply, secretly planned, secretly worked hard, he always firmly believed that as long as the kung fu was deep, the iron pestle was sharpened into a needle.

In the more than ten years since graduating from college, because of the life of iron eggs, the former buddies have gradually drifted apart, and there is no longer any intersection, even Gu Yuanshan has been transferred.

Every time Tie Dan recalls the past, he can't help but feel empty in his heart, how much he hopes that time has not passed, and all people and things are still in the best past.

"Yang Wentie, Xiao Zheng is in trouble again, the teacher just called and asked the parents to go - you go, or will I go?" Xie Yuhan's anxious voice pulled Tie Dan back from his uncertain thoughts.

Tie Dan stood up suddenly, untied his apron, and asked, "What's wrong this time?"

"Oh, who do you say Xiao Zheng's baby looks like? Messing with trouble all day long, how old is this, if he doesn't mess with something for a day, he will be uncomfortable - how can it be good when he grows up!" Xie Yuhan was full of resentment, and it was not good to send it out directly, the old man was used to the baby, which was reasonable, and then he said, it was Yang Wentie's father and mother.

"Yuhan, you are also in a hurry, boy, it's normal to be naughty. What did the teacher say? I'll go to school right away. Tie Dan pushed the bicycle and was about to leave, Xie Yuhan grabbed him, looked around, and whispered: "Don't play tricks with the teacher, Xiaozheng - Xiaozheng kissed someone's little girl!"

Tie Dan snorted and laughed, Xie Yuhan glared at him angrily, and said with a calm face: "You can still laugh - tell me, how old is Xiao Zhengcai, clean up these filthy things-"

"Okay, don't think about it, five or six year old baby, what does he know? It must be a joke! After speaking, Tie Dan flew onto his bicycle and hurried to school.

Xie Yuhan looked at the back of Tie Dan in the distance, felt uneasy in his heart, and sighed deeply.

Teacher Mu walked over, pulled Xie Yuhan to sit down, and asked, "What's wrong?

"Sister, why do you say that Xiao Zheng and Xiao Ran, these two babies, have such a big difference in personality? Xiao Ran is well-behaved and sensible, and never makes people worry about it; Xiao Zheng is naughty and mischievous, and never makes people worry--where is this like twins with the same father and mother!" Xie Yuhan looked at Teacher Mu with a bitter face, his brows furrowed.

"Sister, the boy is like a worm, moving all day long, if Xiao Zheng is as disciplined as Xiao Ran, I'm afraid you will have to worry about it again! Don't think so much, as long as you guide and educate well, Xiao Zheng will change!" As a person with senior education experience, Teacher Mu explained Xie Yuhan with his own understanding.

"Sister, I am also weak, you say, as far as the two old men in my family are used to Xiao Zheng not being human, I can't say it yet, as soon as I say it, I will be anxious with me-alas-" Speaking of the old man's doting on Xiao Zheng, Xie Yuhan was extremely dissatisfied.

"Intergenerational parenting, this is a real problem in every household in China, and the elderly have no bad intentions, we should look at it in two. Take my dad as an example, isn't he also used to Xiangxiang?" Teacher Mu knows the disadvantages of the old man doting on her baby, but she is also powerless, busy with business all day long, only caring about making money, and she is also facing this serious problem.

"Sister, Xiangxiang is so sensible! Besides, the situation in your family is really different from mine-the old man is used to Xiao Zheng, and he is obedient, that is called eccentricity-what should Xiao Ran think? Playing Xiao is like that, Xiao Ran has grown up slowly and is sensible, I am really afraid of causing a shadow in her heart-" Xie Yuhan said and said, she couldn't help wiping a handful of tears, the palms and backs of her hands were full of meat, and whoever suffered, her heart would hurt.

Teacher Mu hugged Xie Yuhan's shoulders and comforted him softly: "Don't be sad, isn't Yang Wentie spoiling Xiao Ran, on weekdays, how close the two are!"

"It's a shame that Xiao Ran still has his parents in pain, otherwise-Yang Wentie doesn't have to say anything to Xiao Ran, I'm not afraid of your jokes, sometimes, I'm a little jealous!" Xie Yuhan glanced at Teacher Mu embarrassedly and smiled awkwardly.

"Woman, understand!" Teacher Mu chuckled, with mixed feelings in his heart.

Teacher Mu looked ahead and thought: Life was originally a patchwork of short trivial things in the parents, and there was no wave, so how could we talk about life-

...

(Nine-headed Bird Academy)