I didn't wake up late the next day. But I had a headache and my eyes were uncomfortable. However, I didn't lie down, I was angry with myself, I spread out the manuscript paper and wrote, I couldn't write, I didn't want to write, I still barely wrote. From half past seven in the morning to half past ten, I wrote more than 500 words in total. During these three hours, I heard the voice all the time: "Why don't you let them live well?" "I still want to stubbornly use all my strength to resist it. But gradually my pen refused to obey me.

I read the more than 500 words I had written several times, and in this short fragment, I saw for the first time the influence of Mrs. Yao. I threw my pen away angrily, and I couldn't tell why I was angry. It was at this time that Lao Yao came in.

I looked up in answer to his greeting and smiled at him reluctantly, I still sat in the wicker chair and did not stand up.

"Why don't you look good today?" He asked aloud, surprised.

"I didn't get a good night's sleep last night writing an article," I replied in a low voice. I lied to him.

"Yes, I came back after twelve o'clock last night and heard you coughing in the house," he continued. "Actually, you're not in good health, so you shouldn't go to bed too late. Anyway, it's quiet in the garden, and you have time, so why bother writing at night! "From his voice and the look on his face, I know that his concern is genuine. I am very grateful to him, so I would like to take this opportunity to talk to him about Xiaohu and give him a piece of advice.

"Did you come back with Xiaohu?" I asked.

"Not bad. Xiaohu, a child, knows a lot about Peking Opera. He was very interested," replied Old Yao with a boastful smile.

"But it's too late, and it's not very good for him. The child should go to bed early on weekdays, and he should review his homework at home in the evening. His grandmother spoiled him too much, and I was afraid that it would delay him. Of course you know better as a father," I said to him earnestly, and I deliberately slowed down my voice so that every word could reach his ears clearly.

He laughed out loud. He slapped me on the shoulder: "Brother, you are really a scholar." I am very sure about Xiaohu's education. Zhaohua didn't approve of my method at first, and she also said something like you. But now she's convinced me. When dealing with children, I am afraid that he does not like to play, and the family is not without money. Playful children are very lively. Children who don't like to play are all yellow-skinned and dull-brained, even if they read a few more books, they may not be able to figure it out clearly. It's not my father's bragging, Xiaohu goes outside, which one doesn't talk about him! ”

"Except for the Zhao family, I'm afraid Xiaohu rarely goes to other homes," I sneered coldly.

He didn't seem to understand my words, but still smiled at me proudly: "Even the Zhao family has a lot of people!" ”

"It was his grandmother's house. It's a very common thing for a grandmother to favor her grandson," I said seriously. "But what about the others? Do they all like him? I wanted to swallow something like this, but I finally said it.

He hesitated for a moment, but he still held his head up and replied, "Who are you?" Take our family as an example, Zhaohua has never said a bad word about him. My sister doesn't like children very much, but she is also good to Xiaohu. This kid is just too smart and too conceited. Naturally, smart children are inevitably conceited. I'll have to teach him well in the future. ”

"It's very important, or I'm afraid I'll hurt your wife in the future. I think you're a little partial to Xiaohu. Be careful not to spoil him. "I am giving sincere advice, not cold ridicule.

"Where is this kind of thing?" He laughed. "You're not married, you don't know what it's like to be a father. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not a fool. ”

"But I think you should think about it," I said stubbornly.

"Brother, this kind of thing is not clear to bystanders. I expect a lot from Xiaohu and certainly don't neglect his education. He patted me on the shoulder. Let's stop talking about this kind of thing, because talking about the Fa in this way will not lead to results, because you are a complete layman. He smirked.

I didn't laugh. I turned my head and bit my lower lip hard. I secretly complained that my mouth couldn't speak. I can't make him open his eyes to the truth of the matter; I could not make him know a corner of the soul of the woman he loved.

It was at this time that his wife came. It was still the same dress from yesterday, and the smile lit up her whole face like the sun. She greeted me, and then said to her husband, "The Zhao family sent someone to pick up Xiaohu again." ”

"Then let him go," said her husband without thinking.

"I think Xiaohu is playing too much, and it's not very good. He has had very little time to review his homework lately, and I fear that he will be again this year—" She expressed her opinion softly, but at the word "yes" she swallowed the words at once, and looked at her husband with eager eyes, waiting for his answer.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter," he said, shaking his head; "Last time, the school was unfair, and I don't blame him. And today is a week, the Zhao family came to pick him up, and if he didn't go, the Zhao family would gossip again. In fact, the Zhao family likes him, and when he goes to the Zhao family, we can rest assured. ”

"But it's not good to go to Zhao's house every day, don't study, and learn some of the temper of the young master," she hesitated, glanced at him, buried her head again, and said slowly.

"Daddy! Father! Xiaohu shouted happily outside the window. He ran into the room with a sweat. He wore a white shirt with a roll-neck and white canvas shorts. When he saw his stepmother, he hurriedly called "Mom", and then greeted me in a muffled voice. He nodded at me, but he did it so fast that I could only see his head shake.

"What's the matter? You're so happy! My friend asked with a pitiful smile.

"Grandma sent a car to pick me up," Xiaohu replied as he ran up to his father and took one of his hands.

"Okay, but you have to come back early today," said Yao as he stroked the child's head.

"I know," said the boy, cheerfully agreeing, as he lowered his father's hand, and then said, "I'll go get my clothes," and without looking at his parents again, he ran outside.

Mrs. Yao looked out the window, as if thinking about something.

"You're too easy to talk as a father," I jokingly said to Yao. I am not satisfied with this "education" of his.

Mrs. Yao turned her face to look at me.

"This is the relationship between father and son, there is no way," Lao Yao shook his head and said, looking at his face, I knew that he was not completely satisfied with his "education".

"I'm worried that Xiaohu has been playing for a long time, and I don't have the heart to study," Mrs. Yao interjected, smiling at her husband.

"No, no," Lao Yao shook his head one after another, "you are too worried." I'm sure I won't let Xiaohu get bad habits. ”

"Mr. Li, do you believe in his certainty?" She asked me with a pursed smile on her lips.

"I don't believe it," I replied, shaking my head. "According to him, he is sure of everything."

Mrs. Yao nodded and said, "That's fair." He is very conceited about everything, and he is not willing to listen to others. She looked at him again.

Still with a pleasant smile, he moved his mouth, and was about to speak, when Sister-in-law Zhou's long face appeared.

"Master, my aunt and wife invited you to go and said that there was something to discuss with you," Sister-in-law Zhou said.

Lao Yao said to me, "Then let's talk again in the afternoon." Zhaohua could have sat a little longer. He immediately followed Sister-in-law Zhou.

"Mr. Li, I've already told you about the poem, and I'll bring you the desk in a moment," she said, standing in front of the window and looking at her husband's back, she suddenly turned to me and said.

"Thank you. Actually, it's okay not to change it, and this square table is not bad," I said politely.

"This square table is a little lower. You have to write so many words in a day, and your head is buried too low, and it's uncomfortable," she said.

"I'm used to writing like this, but I don't think it's anything. It's too much trouble for you, and I'm also very upset. ”

"Mr. Li, don't be so polite in the future, okay? You're an old poetry classmate, so you shouldn't be polite to me," she smiled gently.

"You're not welcome—" I was interrupted by a commotion.

"What's the matter?" She muttered to herself in surprise and walked towards the door, where I had gone.

The children of the Yang family and Zhao Qingyun were standing in front of the stone railing and quarreling, and the children of the Yang family shouted: "I came to talk to Mr. Li, you have no right to interfere with me." ”

"Mr. Li doesn't recognize you. You're obviously sneaking in and stealing things, and you're afraid I won't know your details! Zhao Qingyun scolded with a red face.

"Zhao Qingyun, you let him in," Mrs. Yao commanded inside the door.

"Yes," Zhao Qingyun agreed, and then stopped talking.

The children of the Yang family walked to the door, saluted her, and called, "Mrs. Yao." She nodded with a smile and replied softly, "Young Master Yang." ”

He called out to me again, "Mr. Li." ”

"Come in and sit down. What are you looking for Mr. Lai? She asked him gently. Without waiting for him to answer, she said to me again, "I'll go first." If Young Master Yang wants flowers, Mr. Li, please fold two branches for him. ”

"Thank you, Mrs. Yao," the Yang child replied gratefully.

She's gone. I saw the child's eyes send her back out.