"These are two different things, how can they be involved! There are guests coming to the house, I want to clean up the environment, are you going to go online with me? His father's words made Zhou Jianping feel very aggrieved.

"It's not like I haven't had guests before, can't this home entertain guests anymore?" Zhou Xuecheng is a loyal and honest man, and his temper is also a tendon.

"Dad, are the guests the same as the ones before?" Zhou Jianping asked almost helplessly.

Zhou Xuecheng did not answer immediately.

Chen Xiuhua couldn't stand her husband's unreasonable trouble, "Jianping is right, you are so old, don't you understand this truth?" ”

After a few minutes, Zhou Xuecheng put on a look of irrelevance: "How do you like to clean up, don't count on me if you pay for it, I still have a lot of work in the field with your mother." "I see! Zhou Xuecheng was afraid of spending money, and he was unwilling to work.

"Dad, I didn't say that I asked you to help with the work, let alone let you take the money! You're the same as my mom and I normally, what should you do? You can rest assured, don't talk about you, I don't even need Brother Jianwen, I have my own opinions. ”

"Jianping, cleaning up the house is not a simple job, it is dirty and tiring, can you endure that tiredness after eating that hardship? Besides, you can't be busy yourself, just let your brother Jianwen help you, he is in his twenties and can do anything. Of course, mother Chen Xiuhua has to feel sorry for her son.

"Mom, what's this hard work? When your son first went out to wander, he suffered so much and was tired, I want to tell you that you can cry. ”

"Really? I didn't expect you to suffer so many sins outside, Jianping, why do you still have to insist? If you can't do it, you can go home, and you can support your family in the countryside. ”

"Mom, what I do is not just to support my family, everything is difficult at the beginning, how easy is it to do one thing? If you don't persevere, you won't have a chance of success. To endure hardship now is to avoid suffering in the future, and to suffer now is to suffer less in the future. ”

"Jianping, we don't understand these big truths, you are a scholar, you have an opinion, we don't interfere with what you want to do. It's just that this is cleaning up the environment, let Jianwen help you. ”

"Jianwen wants to help you work in the field, and if you ask him to help me clean up the house, won't it delay the farm work in the field?"

"There is no time to finish the work in the countryside! With me and your dad, we can't delay anything. ”

It was impossible for Zhou Jianping to clean up the house by himself, he agreed to let his own brother Zhou Jianwen help, in addition to the two brothers, Zhou Jianping also found his uncle and second brother, he asked Zhou Jianliang to stop wandering around, and come over to help these days.

"How can you help?" Zhou Jianliang asked.

"Help me clean up the house."

"Clean up the house? What are you doing when you're okay and tidying up the house? ”

"I have a partner, in a few days my parents invite the woman's parents to come to the house to meet, just the environment of my home, I can't see it if I don't clean it up!" Zhou Jianping said.

"When did you get on the subject? What a job of secrecy! It's going to be married, and I don't even know any news. Zhou Jianliang was very surprised.

"I'm not at home, we rarely see each other, where do you know? Besides, do you know what it does? Zhou Jianping said.

"yes, it doesn't matter if I know it or not, I don't care about you. Uh, let me help you clean up the environment, is this what the second uncle and aunt said, or is it your idea? ”

"Does it matter whose idea it is?" Zhou Jianping was puzzled by the words of the second brother.

"You asked me to help, I didn't say that; What if the second uncle and second aunt asked me to help, and I wouldn't go? ”

"Why? You've got a lot of problems! ”

"The second uncle looks at me unpleasantly, he is annoyed when he sees me, and I don't like him." Zhou Jianliang said bluntly.

"Hey! What's the matter with you? Everyone has their own way of living, and as long as they don't get in the way of others' affairs, others have no right to interfere in other people's lives. Well, as far as my dad's temper and personality are concerned, don't talk about you, I'm also a non-professional person in his mind, let's not be like him. Zhou Jianping didn't expect that there would be such a deep contradiction between their uncle and nephew.

"I'm not bothering with him, he's my second uncle, what else can I do with him? I don't want to be with him, so as not to annoy him. ”

"Don't worry, he was against me cleaning up the house, people didn't contribute effort or money, he and my mother still work in the field as usual, they don't care about this."

"It's better that way! Uh, it's just the two of us to clean up the house, and there aren't enough people! ”

"And Jianwen."

"What will Jianwen do? A small child. ”

"Who are you looking for?"

"Find Song Chengquan, this kid is clever and can work."

"Forget it, Chengquan still has farm work at home."

"Who in the countryside doesn't have farm work? There's no end to it. He's your little hair, why do you help such a small favor? ”

Song Chengquan and Zhou Jianping in the same year, the two were in the same production team (later called Xiaocun), from the first grade of primary school to the graduation of junior high school in the same class, Song Chengquan is skillful, what to do is like something, but he is afraid of the exam, especially in the junior high school stage, the worse the test results in the later stage, of course, the usual academic performance is not much better, and he naturally does not have his share when he goes to high school.

The two had a good relationship, but since Zhou Jianping entered high school, Song Chengquan had fewer opportunities to meet him, even if he returned home on Sundays and holidays, Zhou Jianping found that this old classmate always avoided him, and when he couldn't hide, the verbal communication was basically limited to "Are you back?" A few words.

Zhou Jianping knew that this Song Chengquan was cheerful on the surface, but in fact, he was not very open-minded in his heart, if he wanted to say that they had any mustard, Zhou Jianping couldn't remember where he had offended him, at most one of them went to school, and the other returned to the village.

Zhou Jianliang wanted Song Chengquan to help with the work, but Zhou Jianping didn't want to trouble him, "Second brother, it's not about repairing a house, just clean up the house and environmental sanitation, the three of us are not enough?" ”

"You think it's easy to clean up the house? How many years has your house not been cleaned up? Should the broken walls be repaired? The roof tiles are blown over by the wind, should they be rebuilt? Isn't it time to level the potholed ground? Your future father-in-law and mother-in-law are visiting your house for the first time, and since you want to save face, you should clean up a little bit decently, or you might as well leave it as it is. Jianping, don't look at you as knowledgeable and knowledgeable as me, you are not as good as me in this regard. ”

Zhou Jianliang wanders around the village all day long, he goes to join in the fun wherever he has something, he is the son of the village party secretary, anyone can give him a face, don't look at his age, he does have some experience in this area.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Zhou Jianping said.

"Then find Song Chengquan, he can do it better than the two of us."

"Do you have to look for him? I'm afraid he won't give me face! Or you go to him. Zhou Jianping was obviously a little embarrassed.

"Didn't I say he's better at work than we do, so we've got to find him. Are you afraid that he will not give face? Well, I'll go to him, this kid is going to talk to me, I'll tie him up with a rope. Zhou Jianliang's words are by no means bragging.

More than half an hour later, Zhou Jianliang really dragged Song Chengquan from the field, and Zhou Jianping greeted him from afar, "Chengquan, this has to trouble you!" ”

"Jianping, what's going on with your family? Why didn't you tell me earlier when you cleaned up the house? Song Chengquan looked very enthusiastic.

"Hey! I didn't know that my old classmate had such a big ability, but I just heard my second brother talk about it. ”

"What is this called? Just a coolie. ”

"You two will talk about this later, and if it's complete, you can take a walk around first and see how to clean up." Zhou Jianliang said.

Zhou Jianping's house is five main rooms, and two side rooms are used as kitchens and storage rooms for stacking farm tools and sundries. Song Chengquan first looked in the courtyard, and then went into the house to walk around room by room, taking this opportunity, Zhou Jianliang reminded: "Jianping, there is no smoke at home, right?" You ask Jianwen to buy a few boxes of cigarettes. ”

"Oh, thanks to your reminder, the second brother is experienced, apart from this, how to arrange lunch and dinner?"

"Lunch is casual, what you have to eat at home, and you have to drink at dinner."

Zhou Jianping knew it in his heart.

About ten minutes later, Song Chengquan returned to the courtyard. "How?" Jianliang asked.

"It depends on how far you want to clean up?" Song Chengquan said.

"Of course, it's to be eye-catching, but there's no need to be too extravagant, after all, it's not about building a new house, is it? Jianping. Zhou Jianliang replied.

"Then I know, I'll write you a list, you go to the street and buy the building materials you need, and I'll go back and prepare the tools. Is this going to be done this afternoon or tomorrow? ”

Zhou Jianping exchanged glances with his second brother, "Let's start tomorrow, it just so happens that we will go to buy building materials in the afternoon." Zhou Jianliang said.

Judging from the situation on the second day, Zhou Jianping's brothers were just a starter, and the real work basically depended on Song Chengquan, because for things like plastering walls and tiles, Zhou Jianping and his brothers couldn't do it at all, and Zhou Jianliang couldn't do it well.

Where the wall skin fell, Song Chengquan used white ash to mend and smooth it, and a few rooms came down, and he was busy for a whole day. There was a rain leak on the roof, and the eaves were also damaged by the wind in a few places, which looked very unsightly, and Song Chengquan went up to the roof the next day, found the leakage, plugged the leakage, covered the new tiles, and repaired the eaves. On the third day, the ground inside and outside the house was leveled, which was much simpler, and under the command of Song Chengquan, it took half a day to complete the work.

Song Chengquan packed up his tools and wanted to go home, but Zhou Jianliang told him: "It's okay, you send the tools home first, and then hurry up and come back." ”

"When you're done, what are you going to do when you're done?"

"Come back for dinner! Jianping has already arranged, and after the work is done, let's go to the restaurant on the street to drink. ”

"I haven't drunk less every night for the past two days, besides, why do you drink and run so far?"

"This is Jianping's intention, don't say so much. Hurry back and send the tools, hurry up and come back, we are waiting for you! ”

Carrying the tools to the gate of the courtyard, Song Chengquan turned his head and said, "Go for a drink, I won't go." ”

"What's wrong with you, kid? Eat one's word. We'll wait for you for twenty minutes, and if you don't come back within twenty minutes, I'll come to your house and look for you!" ”

Song Chengquan believed that this was true, and if he didn't come back, Zhou Jianliang would definitely go to him.

Zhou Jianwen was the youngest, and he didn't want to go out to drink with him from the bottom of his heart, "Brother, second brother Jianliang, I don't know how to drink, so I won't go with you." ”

"Hey! Do you want to be special? Zhou Jianliang disagreed.

"Your brother has a treat, do you dare not go, don't you know how to give him face?" Song Chengquan also fanned the flames on the side.

From three o'clock in the afternoon to the evening, all four of them were drunk to varying degrees, but Zhou Jianwen was the first to get drunk.

Carrying his stumbling brother back home, Zhou Jianping inevitably faced his father's reprimand.