"Hey Horse Manager?"

At half past five o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, after the exhibition closed, Ma Guiying had just left the museum and was about to pick up the car to return to the company, when she suddenly received a call in the square of the convention and exhibition center, which was from Wei Qinghua, the marketing director of Yanxin Technology.

"Mr. Wei, hello, hello!"

"Manager Ma, I'll call to tell you that I'm leaving Shenzhen today and going back to the head office in Chongqing tomorrow."

"Uh...... You're going back before the show is over? Aha! Manager Ma was a little surprised.

"Oh what, I'm a little disappointed! Let me tell you that it is also feedback, this year's Anke Exhibition...... Tut! It's not the same as what I expected. ”

"What? Haha, Mr. Wei, you speak directly, I'll listen! "Manager Ma sincerely asked.

"What......

Wei Qinghua, who speaks Trump (Sichuan Mandarin), scratched his head, squeezed his eyes, and said seriously: "I guess you also have a bottom in your heart, except for the neighbors, there are more people, and the back is not as good as one, yesterday we received almost no feedback from seven or eight booths!" What are the customers in the industry, the partners and the people who come to consult...... Nothing! Personally, I was very disappointed, I asked a few companies I knew, and everyone responded the same! You Anke Exhibition, you can't compare with the previous years! I have high hopes for these few times, but each time I have not achieved the desired results! This time I am really disappointed, I am a very direct person, so tell me the truth, Manager Ma, don't be surprised (tone word in Chongqing dialect)! ”

"No, no, no...... Ahaha...... How could it be! Hey...... The two of you will come up on the weekend, do you want to stop watching it? Ma Guiying was embarrassed.

"No need! Both of them are ordinary visitors on the weekend, and there is nothing to look forward to, I estimate that there will be no cooperation opportunities for our Yanxin Technology in this year's exhibition! Pull a ...... Pull a ...... Manager Ma: I'm going to have to hang up the high-speed train at seven o'clock in the evening! We...... If there is cooperation, will it be negotiated? Buying and selling is not in favor of people! This one...... Aha......" Wei Qinghua smiled disappointed and embarrassed.

"Good, good! Don't delay Mr. Wei! Belch...... Forgive me......"

"Why, it's normal to have ups and downs! I personally ...... Thank you very much Manager Ma for your personal hospitality! Special thanks! Pull a ...... I asked our colleague Li to prepare a gift for you, and I asked you to take it down. Other...... What's the matter after the exhibition, Manager Ma will help you take care of it! ”

"Okay, no problem! Mr. Wei, don't worry, we have been cooperating for so many years......"

"Then Manager Ma, I'll hang up first, let's get in the car!" Manager Ma was not finished yet, and was interrupted by Wei Qinghua.

Hanging antelope words, Ma Guiying sighed in her heart. This is not the first time she has received such feedback, even if she is not popular enough, the response is doubtful, and the evaluation is poor, she still has to laugh and deduce a scene of hurry and confidence, the eldest sister is very busy, and the exhibition is prosperous.

Because he was worried about the old man's illness, Gui Yingjiu left the company in a hurry. After arriving home at half past ten, He Zhiyuan was preparing stewed chicken soup in the kitchen. When Gui Ying went to see the old man, the old man slept very deeply and called a few times but did not respond. Taking off the uncomfortable suit, the woman changed into a fresh sportswear and came out.

"Thanks to you!" Ma Guiying held on to the kitchen door and rushed to the distance.

"It's okay, I'll stew a big pot of chicken soup, and you can drink some later." Zhiyuan's eyes were as warm as ever.

The husband and wife haven't seen each other for a long time, and after this sentence, the two were silent.

"How's it going today?" He Zhiyuan put away the big stuff and turned around to ask his wife.

"Hey...... The response was not very good. It's not popular, and it's cooling, and everyone is worried! A lot of customers are just unclear about their faces! ”

"When you go home, put your work aside and let yourself rest." Zhiyuan comforts.

"Hey...... I can't put it down. Gui Ying clasped her hands on her chest, looking lonely.

After two minutes, He Zhiyuan put a pot of prepared chicken soup on the stove, and then turned on the fire to let the chicken soup simmer.

"Where's the boy?"

"Oh yes......"

The couple spoke almost at the same time.

After a pause for a few seconds, Zhiyuan replied, "Boy'er went to take a bath." I'll come over tomorrow morning to send Yangyang to school, and you'll talk to Dad later. Wait a minute, I'll tell you the medicine that my dad drank, I drank it once at six or seven o'clock in the evening, and I can drink it again at twelve o'clock, and the chicken soup is almost stewed when I drink the medicine, and by the way, let my dad drink more chicken soup to warm up his body, he has a cold this time. ”

"Okay—" Gui Ying was inexplicably moved.

Carefully tasting Zhiyuan Fangcai's words, it means that he will not sleep at home tonight, and Gui Ying is a little dissatisfied.

"Honey, there's a question I've never asked—what's the point of you living outside?" Gui Ying asked calmly with wide eyes.

"Hmph, hey......" Zhiyuan laughed, and responded with a smile while tidying up the stove: "Meaning? I haven't risen to that height. Live outside...... Uh, how...... It's just to be quiet and think about yourself. Always ...... at home The child's business and the father's business are left and right, and I don't have time to think about myself. Did you know that I recently started practicing calligraphy, and the results are not bad! Zhiyuan was a little excited.

Hearing that there were some changes in the person she loved and knew the most, the woman felt a little sour in her heart, and replied for a long time: "Okay, you don't have to mop the floor, I'll come when I drink chicken soup later!" If you're going to live in a rental house, it's past eleven o'clock! ”

Zhiyuan was unhappy when he heard Gui Ying, and he didn't say anything. It just so happened that the son came, and he teased his mother with a bath towel: "I'm only coming back now!" When your old and sick father needs you - where are you going? ”

"I'm making money for my stupid son when my old father needs me! How am I—is it your turn? Gui Ying grinned and poked her son's head.

"How much does my grandfather weigh? My dad couldn't do it alone, and it was the two of us who fed my grandfather medicine and porridge together! The boy grinned.

"Isn't that what you should?" Gui Ying's eyes turned to the sluggish and shy Zhiyuan.

"Oh yes, you clean up tonight and go to sleep in my room, I'll sleep in your bed, and it's convenient to take care of your grandfather at night!" Gui Yingchong's son.

"That's pretty much it!"

As soon as Tsai finished acting with a teaching face, Gui Ying reached out and made a slap motion, the young man was so frightened that he dodged, and went back to the room to pack his things in a flash.

"You take the best care of you at night, and you may have to take your temperature, now I'll give you a few medicines."

Zhiyuan went out of the kitchen, and after explaining the medicine, he was about to leave. Gui Ying did not hold back, even if she was unhappy, she respected him, respected his sanity and calmness when he left, and was willing to give him space to think about himself. After the couple said goodbye reluctantly, Gui Ying went to the kitchen to adjust the stove, then set the alarm clock, and lay on her son's bed waiting for chicken soup. While waiting, the tired Ma Guiying turned off the headlamp and turned on the table lamp, and the woman curled up on the bed, just because of Zhiyuan's stubbornness, and now worried about her father's illness.

"Huh? Ying'er? The old horse suddenly sobered up a little and screamed in a daze.

"Hey! Are you awake? Gui Ying immediately sat up.

"Hmm...... What time is it? "The white-haired old man is weak.

"It's past twelve o'clock, what do you think?" Gui Ying put on her slippers and sat on the edge of the old man's bed.

"Oops...... It's hot! Sweat! The old horse lifted the thick quilt on his body.

Gui Ying asked while rolling up the quilt, "Does your head still hurt?" I'll take your temperature! ”

"Done."

Gui Ying took the thermometer from the table, pulled up the old man's heavy, fat, and wrinkled arm, clamped the thermometer under his armpit, and then placed the arm on his stomach.

"Are you hungry?"

"Sort of."

"Wait, the chicken soup will be good in ten minutes." Gui Ying took a towel from the side and wiped the old man's sweat.

"Oops...... I dreamed of your mother, and your mother-in-law, your father, your second (second uncle), your third (third uncle), and your aunt...... Oh, the dream didn't stop, and I dreamed that I fell asleep (in the past, the two-word dialect had the meaning of death)......" The old horse couldn't open his eyes, and took the towel to wipe the sweat on his neck and chest.

When Gui Ying heard the last sentence, her heart chuckled, her eyes were sour, she turned sideways and lifted Erlang's legs, and sighed silently.

"He (i.e. Zhiyuan) will send the baby tomorrow morning, you don't have to worry about it." Gui Yingcha's sadness in happiness.

"School," the old man pursed his lips.

"Are you thirsty? Drink more when the chicken soup is ready, and drink the medicine after drinking the chicken soup. ”

"Oops...... I also dreamed that I was sleeping in that coffin of mine, oops...... There are so many dreams that I am tired and confused! I can't tell where...... I obviously remember to pick up the baby from school, but I can't remember which baby to pick up...... I also dreamed that your father whipped me, and I dreamed that you complained about me ......"

"Well, it's time, I'll look at the thermometer."

Gui Ying interrupted the sad old man in her heart. Lao Ma closed his eyes and took the thermometer and handed it to her, Gui Ying went to look under the lamp several times, and when she saw it, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Oops, the fever has subsided!" Thirty-seven degrees two! Thirty-seven degrees three! Gui Ying smiled and shook the thermometer.

"Oh...... I haven't had a fever in seven or eight years, and the temperature in the south has dropped so much...... Hey......" The old horse waved his hand, snorted a few times, and lifted the quilt again.

Gui Ying didn't come out of what she thought, she regretted that she knew that it had cooled down in the morning, but she only remembered her young daughter and didn't remember her old father, and this guilt tossed her all night.

"I'll let you know in advance when it cools down in the future!" Gui Ying whispered.

"You also wear thicker, you are so busy at work, you can catch a cold!" The old horse told her.

With this warm and slow admonition, Gui Ying instantly burst into tears with a sour nose and eyes. She was silent, sighed silently, and then pretended to be naughty: "Oh, you don't care about me, let's take care of ourselves." He smiled and licked the tears from the corners of his mouth. For the first time in her lifetime, Ma Guiying felt that her father was so close to her—so close.

"You're bleeding from your stomach again, and you're scared of your wife...... I dreamed that you had stomach bleeding, and in my dream you vomited blood! I was so frightened that I panicked......" The old man described it in a whining voice, and those who listened were already in tears. Only at this time will the half-awake old man truthfully cover his worries.

"Hahaha...... Good guy, how many dreams have you had? The woman cried and chuckled.

"Oh, I've been dreaming all the time, and I can't get out!" The old horse gasped softly, as if in a dream.

"That's the effect of cold medicine, and there's a sleeping ingredient in it."

The alarm clock went off, and Gui Ying got up to serve chicken soup. When she came back, she helped the old man to sit up, then put the folding table on the old horse's quilt on the bed, put a piece of her dirty clothes on the quilt, and then she went to serve chicken soup. There are two bowls and two spoons on the half-meter-wide table, and the father and daughter face each other and one bowl.

"He stewed a big pot, a whole chicken, and seven or eight kinds of ginger and Chinese medicine in it, enough for the two of us to drink to our heart's content." Gui Ying pushed her father's bowl to the old man.

"Hmm......" A few mouthfuls of hot chicken soup went down, and the old horse instantly sobered up a little.

"Do you feel dizzy when you sit up now?" Gui Ying took a sip and asked.

"Dizzy, still dizzy! Heavy head and light body. The old horse shook his head and tested, then replied with his eyes closed.

"Wait for the next bathroom." The old horse drank as he spoke.

"Okay, I'll help you go."

"Why did the baby come back today?" Lao Ma remembered that he didn't answer the waves in the afternoon, and suddenly asked loudly with a high spirit.

"Her teacher called you and your phone was out of battery, and then called me, I called his dad, and Zhiyuan answered it."

"Oops...... I remember that I didn't pick up, and in my dream it seems that the baby was missing when I picked it up! Oh, my lord is in a hurry for me! I thought how could I explain it to you......" The old horse hung his head and hummed and recalled the dream, like a child whining and crying.

The woman was poked again, laughing and licking tears. At this moment, she was deeply jealous of her daughter who was happier than her.

"I came back to see Yang'er at night, and the baby fell asleep with her right hand tightly clasped on her right foot! I can't break it even after I break it...... Haha...... "Gui Ying tried her best to tease the old man.

Both father and daughter laughed. After drinking a bowl, Gui Ying served another bowl to the old man.

"Where's her brother?" The old horse looked at the empty bed and asked.

"He slept in my room, I was afraid that your fever would not go away at night, and his father told me to take your temperature at night."

"Oh...... Yuan'er - he hasn't come back yet? The old horse looked up and squinted.

"Not yet. Let him be clean and clean, the house is very chaotic, and he can't be quiet. ”

"Oh! You have to look for a job right away, and you don't have to look for a job again...... I'm old, and I've been in my fifties for two years - it's even harder to find! By that time, he was stuck at home, and his mental state was even worse in all aspects! The old horse slowed down one by one.

This time, Ma Guiying listened, and what she heard was an old father's concern for his son-in-law, not exclusion or contempt.

"You know, he's got a sense of urgency now. When you didn't come, you might be able to buffer the baby and he couldn't feel anything, but now it's different, I obviously feel that he is in a hurry. ”

"Hmmm! Your ...... show When will it end? ”

"And three!"

"Actually...... Actually, I ...... First, I went to see it with your Uncle Xingxia, and it was very lively! There are heads everywhere! We also won prizes, received gifts, and sat to listen...... I walked around most of it. The old horse smiled drowsily, looking at his daughter.

Gui Ying was surprised, opened her mouth to listen, and hurriedly asked, "Why don't you follow me?" ”

"Eh! You're busy! You are busy at work, and your uncle won't let me follow you! "The lying old horse is a little shy.

"Oh......" Gui Ying lowered her head and drank the chicken soup, and her heart blossomed with joy.

"Oh, your uncle Yingying now has great skills, I'm afraid there are few people in our village who can catch up with you!" The old horse smiled and showed a mouthful of black teeth.

"Uncle Xingxia, he doesn't understand, that's the company!" Gui Ying bowed her head and retorted.

"Huh! I think it will be very good! Dad's life has never seen such a grand meeting! The red carpet has left a few miles to finish the main road in our town! ”

Lao Ma praised gently, and then drank chicken soup while drinking: "Ying'er, you have the ability now, what will happen to your second brother and your eldest brother in the future, you have to help with it!" Da Gang dreamed that your eldest brother was down, and your second brother was panicked, and I was so uncomfortable in the dream! Big is a farmer, no ability, skills are not as good as you, your eldest brother's affairs I can't help in this life, in the future, you brothers and sisters have to support each other. ”

"Yes, yes! Chatting and chatting about how you got here! ”

There is no one who can calmly listen to his once high-minded parents admit in front of them that he is incompetent. Ma Guiying couldn't listen to such words, and turned the bowl to the old man, not wanting her father to see her two lines of tears shining under the orange lamp.

In this way, the father and daughter chatted with each other, drank three bowls of chicken soup during the conversation, and then Gui Ying helped the old man to the bathroom, and then brought water and drank medicine. After taking care of the old man and falling asleep, Gui Ying lay on her son's bed, moved and happy, happily holding her breath in the quilt and grinning with tears.

Now his father has changed a long time ago, and in just a few months, Ma Guiying is obviously aware of his father's drastic changes. He began to spoil the next generation unconditionally like other grandparents and grandparents, and even the old man's invincible doting on Yangyang sometimes made Gui Ying a little jealous; He began to reach out to help his children like other parents, willingly taking care of the children, taking care of the house, and protecting the rear for the children; Like other old men, he gradually let go of the absolute authority and arrogance of his father and mother, and surrendered to the point of relying on his children in his old age......

Ma Guiying was moved and proud of the changes in the old man, proud that such changes did not happen to the eldest brother and second brother, but to her, the old man (dialect is). Thinking about it, a wave of tears welled up in Nurao's eyes, and she only hoped that the old man would get better soon, and hurry up to take care of her children as usual, and quickly let Zhiyuan have the opportunity to spare time at this age to avoid the family and make preparations for his career......

As for the past, all kinds of resentment, let it go with the wind. Ma Guiying, who is about to be forty years old, should also let go, and then hold on to the past, torturing only herself and the old man, the two closest people in the world. It is a nonsensical life that makes relatives complain, and the only way to resolve grievances is a long life. decided to let go of the past, and Ma Guiying, who was alone, suddenly felt a lot lighter.

Early in the morning of the second day, He Zhiyuan appeared at home as promised. Tidying up last night's kitchen, helping my son pack his school bag, and sending my daughter to kindergarten...... A middle-aged man always plays his best role when the family needs him. When he came back from kindergarten and went to buy his father-in-law a few of his favorite breakfasts, the man inadvertently passed by Gao Zheng, where his son was, and the former teacher He eavesdropped on the sound of the classroom outside the school wall for about ten minutes, and he was touched for a while, his mood was indescribable, and his thoughts were out of control.

After sleeping in one breath, the woman opened her eyes and smelled a special breath - fresh, simple, cool, smooth, and familiar...... This is the air of my hometown! Bao Xiaoxing opened his eyes steadily and happily, and got up from the hot kang of his eldest cousin Guo Chaoyang's house, as if he had traveled into a world without the constraints of time. Yesterday I was affected by the cold, and this night I slept very solidly on the hot kang and woke up refreshed.

Unbelievable, I went home!

Yesterday, Brother Chaoyang's eldest son, Kiryu, took her back to their home in Nanguo Village from the high-speed rail station in Da Li County, and when she arrived at her cousin's house at night, she cried first according to the rules. The woman who hadn't howled and cried for a long time let go of her throat and whined and wailed on the mourning hall, knelt on the mat and slapped her palms on the ground, and cried for half an hour with a handful of snot and tears. At first, only my cousin and Kiryu cried, but then the crying resounded sadly throughout the village, and a room full of dozen people cried together. When Bao Xiaoxing got up again, people were not like people, ghosts were not like ghosts, as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant.

The two cousins carried her into the room, and a group of men gathered in a few circles and comforted Hyosung for a long time before returning to normal. Guo Chaoyang, who was in his fifties, saw his cousin crying in fear, guessing that she must not have had an easy time outside, and took pity for a while, and told the daughters-in-law at home to serve this relative who came from afar to mourn. Last night, I chatted for a long time with my two cousins-in-law and the daughters-in-law of the younger generation, and I didn't reluctantly fall asleep until midnight. He hadn't slept on the kang for more than 20 years, and Bao Xiaoxing was reluctant to get off the kang immediately after waking up in the morning, and pondered in a daze on the warm kang.

A large room of 60 or 70 square meters, a large earthen kang of about 20 square meters, a charcoal stove that warms and bakes flames, a large wooden cabinet with orange and yellow carvings, a large blue floor-to-ceiling curtain embroidered with peonies, and a large red wooden box installed on the wall...... My cousin's house is traditional and modern and fresh, making Hyosung feel very intimate and natural.

The stainless steel kettle on the charcoal stove was buzzing and burning, the white wall on the cabinet was pasted with a dozen yellow awards from my cousin and grandson, the white wall due north of the kang was pasted with a map of the Great Wall, and the quilts on the bed were all cotton quilts weighing more than ten kilograms...... Hyosung pinched the quilt and felt so sure. Last night, I squeezed on a big kang with my two cousins and two children, and slept very comfortably.

"Xing'er, are you awake?" My cousin opened the thick curtain and came in with a basket of hot things.

"Hmm!" Hyosung put on his coat and lifted the quilt as he was about to get off the kang.

"If you don't come down, you can't come down! There is a kang table, and you eat on the kang. It's only five or six degrees today, you just came from the south to get used to it, don't catch a cold! My cousin set up the kang table and put a hearty breakfast on the table.

"Tofu soft buns, two pieces of vermicelli, a bowl of rice cakes!" The chubby peasant woman introduced with a smile.

"I can't eat so much!" Hyosung resigned.

"If you can't eat, you have to eat! Look at you are so thin that you don't have any meat at all, you must have eaten badly in the south all these years! You don't have as much flesh as you did when you were a girl! My cousin sat across from Hyosung and watched her eat.

The curtain was lifted again, and Kiryu's daughter-in-law came in with two bowls.

"A bowl of tofu brain, a bowl of corn hazelnuts!" The cousin pointed out.

"Where did the tofu brain come from in the village?" Bao Xiaoxing's face was distorted with surprise.

"Fanwa in my village, whose ancestors have been making tofu for generations, went to work outside many years ago, and is now more than 60 years old, and after returning to the village, he continued his family's old craft. In addition to making tough tofu and tender tofu, we also make tofu brain and bean curd, and the latter two things are only made for people in the village. The wrinkled sister-in-law smiled, and her tone was extremely gentle and kind.

"Wow! You are so happy! ”

Unceremoniously, Hyosung took the tofu brain to him, scooped it up and ate it in a big gulp, puffing out his cheeks and praising his cheeks, provoking the two people on the other side to watch the relative who had returned from the metropolis as if they were watching the excitement. I couldn't finish eating, I couldn't hold back in the end, Bao Xiaoxing, who had eaten all the food, went out this time, and collapsed against the wall after eating.

After dinner, she put on her cousin's thick coat and cotton shoes and went to the backyard to find a toilet. The backyard of my cousin's house was neatly tied, and on the east side was a few slips of the Tibetan flower field, and the wilted freeze-dried roasted soup flowers left the branches, leaves, seeds and petals of the ground; The hidden green onion is still stubbornly fighting the winter moon, the moon flower in the corner of the wall has grown to two meters tall and arm thick, and the back wall is crawling with a large green cactus......

The latrine is no longer as simple as it was in the early years, the brick core is covered with white porcelain tiles and the outside is painted with thick cement, and the utensils in the toilet are no different from those in the city, and the dry toilet in the early years has also been changed to water flushing. Waist-thick paulownia is planted on the edge of the urinal, and in the exposed soil of the paulownia is a rich and still green wild chrysanthemum flower......

After comfortably taking the toilet, Hyosung observed the west side of the backyard on the way back. On the west side, there are three-meter-high one-grid bungalows, each of which is about two or three square meters, one for farm tools, one for vegetables, and one for sundries...... White porcelain tiles are plastered on the outside of each room, and on the walls of the porcelain tiles under the eaves hang stripes of dried garlic, peeled corn cobs, dried pumpkins for seeding, bright red peppers, and bundles of sorghum ears......