There's someone in the yard! At the moment when he covered the chai door, Cheng Xiaojiu suddenly became alert. He quickly turned his head, his fists clenched, ready to fight back, only to see a familiar figure sitting quietly in the moonlight, as peaceful as a statue in a temple.

"Mother, why haven't you slept yet?!" Cheng Xiaojiu breathed a sigh of relief and dragged out his voice. I am no longer a child, and I will not get lost and find my home every night. My mother didn't feel at ease at all, so she had to sit in the yard and wait! It's humid in the middle of the night, and once you boil your bones, I'm afraid it's another trouble.

Cheng Zhu didn't move, still sitting there quietly, breathing long and even. "Mother, go back to the house and sleep!" Xiao Jiu smiled dumbly, walked closer, and shouted in a low voice.

"Ahh Cheng Zhu was awakened from his sleep, his body shook, and he almost fell off the stool. "You're back!" She stared at her son, her face full of joy. Standing up, he stroked his wrinkled face with his hand, and as he walked into the room, he couldn't wait to say, "I made a bowl of sour soup, and it's still warm in the pot." The hot water is in the pot, too. You wash your face first, and you can drink the decanting soup right away! ”

"Mother, I'm not drunk." Cheng Xiaojiu's chest seemed to have been pounded suddenly, and he was sullenly painful. He slowly lowered his voice and explained to his mother with a smile, "I'm really not drunk!" Don't be busy! ”

Cheng Zhu didn't seem to hear it, and still hurriedly walked towards the house. Suddenly she stumbled under her feet, stumbled a few times, and narrowly fell.

Cheng Xiaojiu was shocked, rushed over in one step, and held his mother's arm, "Mother! I'll never come back so late again, don't be mad at me, okay? ”

"You kid!" Cheng Zhu stopped and shook his head with a smile, "How can my mother be angry?" When someone invites you to dinner, it means that you have grown up and are useful to others! It's too late for my mother to be happy, what kind of child is angry? ”

"Mother——! Looking at his mother's weak and rickety body, Cheng Xiaojiu didn't know how to express his thoughts at the moment. There was a warm wave of heat slowly rising from my heart, surging to the corners of my eyes little by little, and penetrating into my nostrils little by little. He smiled and grinned, "Mother, I'll fetch water and wash my face by myself, you just put the soup on the table in the outhouse!" ”

"Hmm!" Cheng Zhu smiled and nodded, his eyebrows and eyes full of pride. Regarding the news that her son went to the school to recruit Xiang Yong, but was lucky to be promoted to Bing Cao by the county magistrate, she has heard countless times today. Every time it is like in a dream, only when I see my son standing in front of me, can I feel the reality of life.

She walked lightly into the door, and smiled as she brought out the decanting soup she had prepared for her son from the wooden rack in the pot. Then he stood by the stove with a smile and watched his son fetch water, wash his face, rinse his mouth, and change his clothes. It wasn't until he saw his son tidy up that he smiled and sat down on the stool next to the dinner table, full of peace and happiness.

"Delicious!" Cheng Xiaojiu drank a big mouthful of decanting soup and praised it loudly. "It's much better than the soup in the restaurant, and I can't get used to eating what other people make!"

"Deliberately fooling my mother again!" Cheng Zhu shook his head with a smile, his face full of love. The son completely inherited his father's looks and virtues, and was as serious as his father. This made her a mother proud and worried. I am proud that I finally raised him ** and lived up to my husband's entrustment. But I was worried that he would suffer the same hardships as his husband because he was serious about his work, and he would never return one day.

"In the future, I will not only receive rice, but also a fixed salary!" Wanting to make his mother happy, Cheng Xiaojiu drank the soup in a big gulp while showing off the news he heard from Jiang Archer to his mother.

"I know!" Cheng Zhu nodded slightly. "Your uncle has already told me about it when he came this afternoon. He said don't listen to what your concubine said that day, there is no need for the family to put on such a big show! The bride price money has three or five hangs, which means that the meaning is enough. After this summer, I will start arranging your marriage with Xing'er! ”

"Uncle?" Cheng Xiaojiu paused for a moment, holding the soup bowl, and it took a while to come to his senses. According to the information leaked by Jiang Archer, Bing Cao could get a salary of thirty hangs a year. During the New Year's holidays, the Yamen and the Municipal Bureau will also have another carriage and horse fee for filial piety. Cheng Xiaojiu was still wondering if he would find a way to advance a few months' salary before the end of the year, and first collect the bride price money for his uncle's family. But I didn't expect that when I had the ability to gather the bride price, my uncle suddenly became generous again!

"Don't take the past too seriously. After all, your uncle and concubine also have to think about Xing'er's future! Cheng Zhu saw his son in a daze, thinking that he was still angry about being asked for a huge amount of bride price a few days ago, so he smiled and told him seriously.

"No one asks about the poor in the downtown area, but the rich live in the mountains and have distant relatives!" Since we all live in this world, why force everyone around us to be high-minded? In the future, Xiao Jiu will be out of breath, and others will no longer look at their mother and son with white eyes, so that's it. Being too attached to the past makes one's life unhappy.

Thinking of this, she felt that there were some things that needed to be mentioned to her son, pointed to the firewood pile in the yard, and said with a smile: "The blacksmith Zhang on the front street heard that you were a soldier, so he specially sent a single knife and an axe for handling firewood and grass. He said that people used to be old and confused, and often did wrong things, and I hope that you adults have a lot, don't give him general knowledge! Dogstreet Scar's mother came here and gave me twenty eggs. Their life is very difficult, I didn't dare to accept it, but I promised to wait for you to be free, and I will go over to see the scar. He was drenched in the rain that day, and he held phlegm in his stomach, and he still hasn't woken up! ”

"Mother, I know. The past is gone, and I won't trouble anyone else. Besides, I have just been promoted by the county magistrate, and I can't easily cause trouble, so as not to make people think that I am pampered and arrogant! Cheng Xiaojiu put down his job and promised very seriously. After drinking too much wine, his head has been groggy until now, but the string in his heart has been tense, and he has never dared to relax at all.

"If only you knew how important it was!" Cheng Zhu was very satisfied with his son's performance and praised it with a smile. Turning around, he pointed to Xiao Jiu's bed and continued, "Master Jiang sent an apprentice to give you a piece of silk and a piece of brocade. Zhao Ji Rice Shop sent a sack of brown rice, saying that it was for you to make porridge. The Changjia butcher shop sent two whole pieces of smoked dried pork legs, and the guy at the Wang family bookstore said that he didn't know what kind of ancient scrolls you like to collect, so he sent a set of pen, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as five hundred meat ........"

She said a gift, and Xiao Jiu nodded. Say the same, little nine o'clock. Until Xiao Jiu's neck was a little sore, the gifts he received this afternoon were not clear. Looking at his son's dazed appearance, Cheng Zhushi sighed and summarized in a low voice, "I have put the gifts and gift lists on the side of the bed for you, go back and see for yourself!" ”

"Hmm!" Cheng Xiaojiu felt that there was a commotion in his head, as if there was a nest of bees crawling back and forth. However, after only being a soldier for half a day, he was able to receive so many gifts! This wealth that fell from the sky caught him a little off guard. He remembered that when he was a child, his father, who was a general, had not confiscated so many benefits. Could it be that the world has changed, and people are learning to be polite more and more?

"Xiao Jiu. When your grandfather was a general, my mother had never seen him receive so many benefits. They wouldn't want you to do anything else, would they? After all, he was still not at ease, Cheng Zhu hesitated for a moment, and frowned to remind.

Sensei said that he was still drunk, and even when he was sober, Cheng Xiaojiu couldn't give a definite answer to this question. He was convinced that there was no merit and that 'what is given, what is sought' is what is sought. But in his own home, even the house is rented, what can others ask for for him?

In order to make his mother feel at ease, he pretended to smile lightly and responded in a low voice, "Maybe they confused me, a soldier who was temporarily promoted, with the position of the county prince, so they gave me a lot of congratulatory gifts so that it would be easier to communicate in the future." However, I have already used Master Jiang's mouth to pass the message to the other people in the yamen, just help the county commander train the army, and do not interfere in their duties. It shouldn't be hateful either! ”

Hearing that his son knew the advance and retreat like this, Cheng Zhu slowly put the heart he was carrying back into his stomach. There is nothing left in this home that is worthy of other people's plots. The windfall in front of me is at worst a big deal to fly away again. As long as the mother and son are safe, it is a rare blessing.

Picking up her son's empty soup bowl, she went straight to rinse it with cold water. Suddenly looked up and saw the shrine enshrined on the stove, thought about it, and then admonished, "Xiao Jiu, don't go to sleep yet." After washing his hands, he put incense on the stove king. You have just taken office, please ask him to say a few more kind words on God's side, and you will be promoted step by step in the future! ”

"Hmm!" Cheng Xiaojiu was secretly amused when he heard this, but he still stood up obediently, walked to the stove, split three bamboo strips that Niang and two daily use to replace the incense, ignited it with fire, and respectfully inserted it in front of the stove king.

Whether the road ahead is a blessing or a curse, he himself cannot see clearly. But people do things, and the sky is watching. As long as you don't lose heart, you are not afraid of any traps and tribulations waiting ahead. In the incense that swirled around Yingying, Cheng Xiaojiu laughed softly, revealing a mouth full of healthy white teeth.