The weather is warm, the begonias in the yard are blooming, a gust of wind rises, and the begonia petals flutter and fall in the courtyard.

Knowing that Tian Guo came back today, grandma didn't sleep in the afternoon, so she troubled Liu Changjiang to move a folding chair and prop it up at the door of her house. In the sun, the petals and branches were reflected in the grandmother's silver-white hair and blue cloth gown, like a few bright flowers, a thin layer, and the edges were puffy.

After all, he was old, and the long wait made the old man's body weak, and he was about to squint his eyes with his head pillow on the back of his hand holding a cane, and he walked into the yard with his feet raised. The soles of his shoes rubbed against the ground, making a stabbing sound, like a patient who couldn't lift his legs.

Grandma's eyelids didn't lift, and her voice was soft, "The Yangtze River is back?" ”

The Yangtze River rested today, and ran to Jiutiao with Tadpole and Xu Qiang to have a meal of braised soup, and at this moment, his throat was still full of the smell of boiled soup. "Yo, grandma, why are you still sitting here, and I'll help you into the house, right?"

Grandma Mimi smiled, "No, I'm waiting for Xiaoguo here." You have good eyes, help me take a look, see if there is her shadow at the mouth of the alley? ”

The Yangtze River just slipped over from the mouth of the alley, just after noon, the alley was very quiet from beginning to end, and even the Japanese wolf green with the strongest temperament in the backyard of Zhao Sheng's house was sunburned, and he honestly lay on the ground, next to two pieces of pig's stick bones that gnawed white. When the Yangtze River turned around, I only saw a person sharpening scissors and knives at the mouth of the alley, squatting on the ground and eating baked cakes. "Grandma, Tian Guo took the car from Zaozhuang at noon, why did you have to get to the city after four o'clock, don't wait, it's windy outside, and the sun is shining, I'll help you go back to the house."

Grandma was dazed for a moment and asked, "What time is it?" ”

"Ten past two."

"It's just past two o'clock," Grandma sighed, her brows furrowed slightly, feeling that time was passing too slowly.

The car was not easy to sit in, Tian Guo waited for three cars to finally squeeze in, and it was almost six o'clock in the evening when he got home. "Grandma-" shouted as soon as he entered the courtyard gate.

The voice was a little loud, and the people in the yard poked their heads out.

"Xiaoguo'er is back." Neighbors laughed. Since Tian Guo "reformed", the attitude of the people in the courtyard towards her has improved significantly, and they used to hide when they met, as if Tian Guo was a bandit.

It was the time of dinner, and every household was busy cooking, and the yard was filled with the smell of scallion oil from the boiling pot.

"It's back, it's back!" Tian Guo waved and smiled at everyone like an old cadre. When passing by the door of Liu Changjiang's house, his footsteps stopped for a moment and asked Changjiang's mother: "Auntie, is Brother Changjiang at home?" ”

"I'm looking for tadpoles." Changjiang's mother said that her family ate fried noodles today, the kitchen window was open, and Tian Guo saw the boiling fried sauce in the pot, and the oil flowers were full of flowers, and it smelled very fragrant.

"Auntie, thank you for helping to take care of my grandma during this time, this is the cornmeal brought from the countryside, give you half." Tian Guo took out the plastic bag containing the noodles from his bag.

Aunt Wu gave Xiao three catties of cornmeal, and she carried it all the way and choked the fruit of the field. When she sat in the car, she thought about it and gave half to the Yangtze River's family.

"Yo! How embarrassing is that. Changjiang's mother didn't dare to take it, but her eyes were on the yellow cornmeal. Fortunately, now that the Yangtze River has a job, the unit occasionally sends some benefits, and the food stamps will be enough. In the early years, she often ate the last meal at home, ate a steamed bun for a day, and often starved her eyes faint when she walked on the road, and almost fainted a few times.

Changjiang's mother has also been in the countryside, and just by looking at it, she knows that the cornmeal is of good quality, and it is delicious to make wowotou or white flour to make paste.

"This is freshly beaten cornmeal, right?" She leaned her head closer.

"Not really!" Tian Guo smiled, "Auntie, go to that pot, I'll pour half of it for you." ”

This month, my cousin Changjiang came to stay at home for a few days. Seeing that the food stamps are not enough, if Tian Guo can really give her half of the cornmeal, she will not have to tighten her belt to live this month.

"Well, thank you so much." Changjiang's mother finally stopped being entangled, touched her hand on the apron twice, took out a large white porcelain bowl from the cupboard, and took out a small porcelain bowl from the noodle bowl next to the stove and handed it to Tian Guo, "Xiaoguoer, you don't need to give half, just a little." ”

Tian Guo smiled, and didn't stop until the cornmeal filled the big porcelain bowl.

"Is there anyone in the Yadan family?" At the gate of the courtyard, Aunt Wang suddenly shouted.

Tian Guo looked at it and said, "No, the door is locked." ”

At this time, Aunt Wang had already raised her feet and entered the courtyard, looked at the door of Yadan's house, frowned, and said, "It's been three days since I left, why haven't I come back yet?" ”

Changjiang's mother said: "She has a relative who got married, and the banquet in the countryside will take at least three days, and it is estimated that she will have to come back the day after tomorrow at the earliest." ”

"Nothing will happen, will it?" Aunt Wang is very vigilant.

Tian Guo and Changjiang's mother laughed at the same time, and Changjiang's mother said: "Oh, what can happen, her family of four took a long-distance bus together." Now the law and order are better, unlike in previous years, when accidents occurred every three or five times. ”

A few years ago? Tian Guo blinked.

Aunt Wang waved her hand, looking like "what can you people/people/groups/people know", and said with a straight face: "Let me tell you, summer is coming, as a lesbian, you have to be careful when you go out at night, according to statistics, there will be an increase in cases of assault against single women in June and July every year." Turning his head and pointing at Tian Guo, "Especially like Xiaoguo'er, who is beautiful and young, you have to pay more attention when you go out." What time do you get off work at night? ”

"Eight o'clock at the latest."

"Eight o'clock?! No, no, it's too late! Aunt Wang looked anxious, "Tomorrow I will go to the barber shop and tell your leader that I will let you get off work at six o'clock at the latest." ”

Tian Guo did not have persecution paranoia, and he was not afraid of encountering hooligans on the road at night, because he had prepared a guy in his pocket in advance, which was handmade wolf-proof chili water.

"Aunt Wang, now our barber shop is the busiest time, even the master gets off work at eight o'clock in the evening, you go over like this, it seems that I am so detached from the people, everyone has just accepted me, so troublesome, everyone must think I am squeamish again." Don't worry, I have a guy with me, I don't think I will let the hooligans succeed, and it's not so easy to take advantage of me! ”

"Really?"

"Like a begonia tree guaranteed!" Tian Guo straightened his back.

Aunt Wang thinks about it carefully, I think it's right, the hooligan who can take advantage of Tianguo at present may not be born yet, she is lucky not to molest others, you must know that at the age of fifteen, she dared to take a polished kitchen knife and rested three hooligans who molested women from good families at the mouth of the alley.

The soft are always afraid of the hard, and the hard are afraid of the dead. Yonedaka is the one who doesn't want to die. Who isn't afraid?

Before leaving, Aunt Wang handed Tian Guo a small envelope, "This is the oil ticket for next month's Yadan's family, put it here for you first, and when her family comes back, you hurry up and give it to her." ”

It stands to reason that the monthly oil stamps are issued together with the food stamps, this month is a little late a few days, except for her, the other three people are workers, the oil stamps are half a catty per month, although the Yadan entered the garment factory, but the household registration is still in the countryside, and the monthly oil stamps are three or two. This month, her family also has a sesame oil ticket for two taels.

Tian Guo opened the envelope and counted the votes, all right, put away the cornmeal, said goodbye to the two elders, and went back to his home.

******

When he was in the countryside, Tian Guo learned a lot of cooking skills from Aunt Wu, thinking that he would show off in front of his grandmother when he went home this time.

"Grandma, let's not eat rice today, I'll make you a cornmeal paste, how about it?"

"Good!" The old man smiled from ear to ear.

There happened to be leeks at home, and Liu Changjiang had just bought them for his grandmother in the morning. Leeks are new stubble, just down, green and tender dripping. Tian Guo washed the leeks and then cut them into minced foam, the meat filling was mixed with minced ginger pepper water to remove the smell, and the noodles were reconciled in the basin.

"Grandma, I'll go to the grocery store to get some oil, you wait at home for a while."

Tian Guo took off her apron, tore off an oil ticket from the drawer of the cabinet in the inner room, and grandma sat on the kang, not forgetting to remind: "Look carefully, don't take it wrong, the girl's mother has a strong mouth, be careful to let her gossip." ”

"Don't worry, it's in the envelope at her house, it's good." Tian Guo turned around and walked out of the house.

There is a state-run restaurant in the alley across the street from the grocery store, where you buy fritters and pancakes in the morning and a variety of noodles and rice stir-fry at noon and evening. Last month, his family opened a small new window on the street, specializing in snacks such as roasted cakes, sugar ears, donkey rolling, etc. Tian Guo bought 4 baked cakes and 2 sugar ears, and saw that several aunts behind him said that his Aiwowo was also doing well, and he sold 2 Aiwowo.

I heard that if you bought dim sum or something ten years ago, you had to take a non-staple food book, but now that your life is improving, you only need food stamps.

When he came back, it was already dark, and Tian Guo in the distance saw a child squatting next to the Niujia cart crying quietly, and when he walked in, it was Yang Xiaohong's five-year-old daughter Wang Xiaoyue.

"Xiaoyue, what are you doing squatting here if you don't go home at night?"

Seeing someone coming, Xiao Yue felt even more aggrieved, grinning, looking at Tian Guo, tears crackling and falling, aggrieved so much.

Tian Guo chuckled in his heart and hurriedly asked, "Did someone bully you?" Male or female? You sue Auntie, and Auntie will help you settle accounts with that family! ”

There are a few boys in this alley who specialize in bullying young girls, pulling pigtails or sticking notes on girls' clothes, and the adults in the family don't care, saying that boys are naughty when they are young, and if they are not naughty, they will become fools.

Tian Guo can't see this, "naughty" and "annoying" are completely different things. Bullying girls is a matter of poor character and no tutoring! Since the adults in his family don't care, Tian Guo is in charge, and he takes care of it to the end, and several times he grabbed the boy's ear and taught him a hard lesson, and now these boys see Tian Guo as if they saw a ghost, and they began to hide from people far away.

"Sue me, who bullied you, Auntie will stand up for you!"

"No, no one bullied me" Xiao Yue raised her hand to wipe her tears.

The child's nose is smart, Xiao Yue smells the smell of sesame sauce and baked cakes in the Tianguo basket, and her big eyes secretly look at the basket, and her small mouth smashes it.

Tian Guo asked, "Have you eaten?" ”

"Nope."

"Where's your mother?"

Yang Xiaohong doesn't go to work, her husband is a demobilized soldier/person, and after retiring/leaving the army, he found a good job in a bicycle factory, and his monthly salary is enough for the family to spend, but he is too busy at work and always travels to other places.

As soon as she heard Tian Guo ask her mother, Wang Xiaoyue's expression immediately turned down, and said: "I don't know where she went, she said she went out in the afternoon, but she hasn't come back yet, Aunt Tian Guo, do you say my mother doesn't want me anymore?"

Five or six-year-old children lack the most sense of security, Xiaoyue's father is busy with work, and her mother is not in tune, in fact, Tian Guo knows that Yang Xiaohong may not be able to go to someone's house to chat.

"Let's go, Xiaoyue, go to Auntie's house for dinner, and I'll send you back later." Tian Guo took Xiao Yue's hand and stood up.

Xiao Yue's eyes looked into the basket again, "Are you eating baked cakes?" ”

Tian Guo touched her head and smiled: "Not only baked cakes, but also sugar ears and Aiwowo." ”