Today is the day of the safe "washing three", the family finished breakfast, Zhang's mother prepared a new comb, a new soap, a new towel, a navel hairpin, a soup woman, a new wooden plate, a thick cloth, pastries, tea, copper tea trays, green onions, ginger slices, mugwort leaves, locust sticks, baking cages, raw and cooked eggs, mallets, etc.

He also used red paper to dye red laurel, lychee, raw peanuts, and chestnuts for later use. There are some things here that she prepares nine days before her grandson is born, so she is not a stranger to them, and she can handle them very skillfully.

Early this morning, after Grandma Zhou came to Zhang's house alone with two old hens and small clothes and shoes, she exchanged a few words with her old in-law, Mr. Lin, and went to see Zhou Jiao in the West Wing house.

Lin Lishan's two mothers and daughters were teary-eyed when they saw the old lady, the old lady worked hard to raise Jiaojiao, and Lin Lishan was very respectful and ashamed of her mother-in-law.

Mrs. Zhou smiled and looked at the two of them, and touched Xiao Ping'an: "You can't cry during confinement, today is a good day for our baby, you have to smile." Now that I see your mother and daughter together, the stone in my heart has really fallen. Shanshan, I've wronged you all these years, and I've been tossed by my family. The Zhou family is sorry for you. You are good and delicate, this child is a filial person, if he is not forced to do nothing, he will not tear his face with them. This child hides something in her heart like her father, and never tells outsiders. I have suffered a lot of grievances over the years, but the old man is confused. In the future, you don't care about the affairs of the Zhou family, don't worry about anyone looking for you, live your own life. ”

Zhou Jiao pulled Mrs. Zhou to sit down and said, "Milk, I just feel sorry for you." You raised me all the time, and I haven't been filial to you, so I poke you in the heart. Milk, if you always have any ideas to tell me, I'll do it. And the box you sent, I also told my mom that I always want my mom to know that I have a good grandmother. ”

Sitting on the kang, Grandma Zhou was silent for a while, sighed and looked at the mother and daughter, hesitated for a moment and thought about it and said, "Nothing sorry for me, grandma, as long as Jiaojiao is doing well." Tell your mom that this box isn't grandma's. Grandma met your grandfather who was exhausted, where are these good things, you see the title deed, and grandma can't afford to go so far to buy a house for you. This box, it was originally yours, you were small before, I didn't take it out for fear of accidents, this is someone else secretly sent to me to name and give it to you.

Over the years, no one dares to say what has fallen in my heart. While your mother and daughter are here, I will tell you, I am afraid that no one will know about this in a few days, and who do you say will give you a house and valuable jewelry.

I'm worried, no one dares to say it. You mother and daughter should leave the box alone. I don't know what happened to me, and I didn't look for your grandfather. Don't say anything about this, you can't say it. I thought of the pain in my heart, Jiaojiao, your father will never do anything bad, he is my son, I know he is a person, I don't believe you ask your mother, your father is not good, will your mother guard it for so many years? ”

With tears in her eyes, Lin Lishan hugged the old lady and whispered, "Mom, don't worry, it's all right." Her dad is not a bad person, he is a hero of the country. He went on a mission. I'm coming back soon, and even my dad doesn't know that he and my eldest brother are on a mission. Now it's coming back. Mom, he's really coming back. ”

Mrs. Zhou kept covering her eyes with trembling hands, and after a long time, she slowly moved away, and a series of tears flowed silently from her sad and joyful face, without a little crying, just let the tears keep flowing down.

"Okay, okay, okay, my son is back, I've been looking forward to it for so many years, I've been thinking about it for so many years, I've been worried about it for so many years, it's good to come back, it's good to come back."

Lin Lishan got up and took a towel to help the old lady dry the tears on her face, she knew this mood, when she knew the news, she hid in the room and cried and laughed for a whole day, which made the old man worry about accompanying her for a day.

"Mom, don't get excited. Not many people know about this yet, and you have to keep it a secret. He should have been able to come back years ago, and when he comes back, I will go with him to see you, and we will all have to be happy and wait for him to come back. ”

"Well, Mom knows to keep it secret and not tell others. Telling someone would put him in danger. Shanshan, good boy, you finally got through it to the end, a good girl, only 18 years old, and the family broke up before marrying in and living a good life for a few years. You're still stupidly guarding him. Now it's okay, Mom is relieved, even now that she is gone, she is relieved. Mrs. Zhou hugged Lin Lishan and patted her on the back.

Lin Lishan happily said to Mrs. Zhou: "Mom, don't say anything sad, you have to live well, and watch our family grow up peacefully and marry a wife and have children." You don't know, the day the news of Jiaojiao's pregnancy reached the capital, our family received the news that her father and her uncle were alive in the afternoon. The whole family said that this child was a lucky star. ”

Friends and relatives came over one after another. Close relatives gave Zhou Jiao some oil cakes, eggs, brown sugar and other foods, as well as gifts such as clothes, shoes, and socks.

By noon, the weather had warmed up, and the baptism had begun, and all the family and friends had gathered in the hall. Zhang's mother also deliberately put a stove.

The tool for washing three is a big basin, and the host is the midwife, and the midwife is a big harvest today, and all the things on the plate are hers.

The basin was poured with hot water boiled by acacia branches and mugwort leaves, and after the old man Lin took the lead in adding a small spoonful of water to the basin, and the banknotes and bills were placed in the tea tray, Lin Lishan also put in silver dollars, copper coins and banknotes, relatives and friends who were present, and then added some banknotes, bills, copper coins, peanuts, eggs, dates, guiyuan, chestnuts, etc. to the basin

You add water, and she says, "Long flowing water, clever and clever; ”

You add some jujubes, guiyuan, chestnuts and other happy fruits, and she will say: "Establish a son early, and give birth to a noble son; Gui Yuan, Gui Yuan, Lian Zhong Sanyuan. ”

Relatives and friends who were watching laughed heartily.

After "adding a pot", the midwife picked up the prepared mallet and stirred it into the basin, saying, "Stir one, stir two stirs, stir three times, and the elder brother leads the younger brother to run." Seventy, eighty, crooked, naughty, sighing and snoring! ”

Only then did he begin to take a bath for Ping'an, and Ping'an cried loudly when he was cold, but Zhang Guoqing, who was standing aside, was worried, and everyone felt that not only did not commit taboos, but thought it was auspicious, which was a "ringing basin"

While washing, the midwife silently recited the congratulations, and the others did not hear what was said, and they were afraid that it was difficult to say.

After washing, he tied Ping'an with a red quilt, and gently hit Ping'an three times with a green onion, saying: "One dozen smart ("Cong" and "green onion" homonym), two dozen smart. ”

Then he asked the child's father, Zhang Guoqing, to throw the green onions on the roof. Before Zhang Guoqing left, he hurriedly asked people to carry the child into the house, it was cold.

The three washing ceremonies are also over, and then the three sides are washed, and the old Zhang family's big house, the three-room aunt and the cousin-in-law came to help wake up the dough at dawn, and waited for the ceremony to be finished to entertain everyone.

By noon, the noodles had been cooked, and bowls of soup base were made with bone broth, with a few slices of pork belly on top and some chopped green onions, which was fragrant. began to go to the hall end, but fortunately, Zhang Guoqing brought back a lot of meat yesterday, and everyone ate a mouth full of oil, and they all felt that this old Zhang was really sincere, and this bowl of fabric was really real.

Watching the child eat a bowl of it, the adults stopped it. Zhang's mother was not stingy, and asked people to boil all the noodles that woke up today and ate them all.

While the women in the hall were eating, they were all discussing loudly about the affairs of their respective villages, about their distant relatives, and about their own days. The children counted the candy in their pockets and happily ate the noodles fed by the adults, and the older children ran out with the candy after eating the noodles.