There was the sound of footsteps and a cheerful whistling in the stairwell, I lay on the bed and pricked up my ears to listen, and after a while, the sound moved to the center of the living room, and then went to the bathroom, and then the faucet was unscrewed, followed by the sound of running water, and it was undoubtedly the second brother. I kicked off the covers, jumped out of bed, clicked the brass doorknob, and opened the door, a familiar scent wading through my nose. I followed the incense to the sofa and saw two plastic fast food bowls and a fritter on the coffee table.

I tore a pillow from the couch and threw it on the floor, and before my butt could fully touch the pillow, I couldn't wait to open the lid of the bowl. My nose didn't lie to me, and in the bowl was one of Taozhen's specialties: rice noodles with oil residue.

Every time I see rice noodles, I always think of the picture of me almost being beaten by my big brother. It didn't actually happen, it just almost, the distance from my big brother's hand raised in mid-air to my ass.

That year, a new Taozhen distillery was built on the outskirts of the town, and the second brother took advantage of the summer vacation to go to the construction site to ask for a small job, moving bricks, transporting sand, mixing materials and cleaning, and giving five pieces a day. The second brother is small and strong, does not pick work, is not lazy, and is much stronger than many adults who are clever and can do less, and the master of the construction site sees it in his eyes and likes the second brother in his heart. Before the end of work one day, the master called the second brother aside, saying that the distillery wants to order a thousand sets of wine glasses, the director of the distillery hopes that the quality of the wine glass can represent the quality standards of the distillery, and the pattern style should also reflect the characteristics of the distillery. The second brother excitedly replied three times in a row, "It's in time", and said three times in a row, "Thank you, master!" ”

It's too late.

Everyone in Taozhen knows my father Liu Dawan, but my father is gone. If the shop of "Big Bowl of Porcelain" was still there, maybe there would be an old customer coming to the door like when my mother was not gone, but now the shop has also been replaced with the sign of two bowls of porcelain. The eldest brother inherited his father's good skills, but he could only go to the market to set up a stall on the street, and when he was lucky, he could sell a few pairs of bowls and make some money; When I was unlucky, I didn't earn a penny, and I encountered hooligans and ruffians who smashed things without giving money. If you can win the bid this time, even if you don't make money, at least let everyone know that the eldest brother has the true inheritance of his father Liu Dawan, and maybe someone will go to the cave to order in the future.

Ten days, even if it is something that has been made for a long time, the time is squeezed, not to mention that you have to think of a new style. Since hearing the news, the eldest brother has not come out of the kiln, and his mind has been on the wine glass. The second brother had to work on the construction site during the day, and in order not to make the family hungry, he got up before dawn every day, cooked a meal for the day, and when he got home after dark, he had to take care of me and the third brother to sleep. In those days, the eldest brother racked his brains for the wine glass, couldn't take care of eating, couldn't sleep, and the second brother was busy like a spinning top at both ends of the construction site at home, and he didn't have time to eat and sleep. It's just that the eldest brother is still not satisfied, and the second brother knows very well that the eldest brother's temper is exactly the same as his father: if he is not satisfied, he will not leave the kiln. He can only wait except to wait, and such a rare opportunity, he really has to be more cautious. Burned, smashed, burned; Burn and smash and burn, the fourth furnace is finally there. However, there was only one hour left before the deadline when the kiln was released.

That day, the rain was heavy and fierce, like splashing water, but not to mention that it was raining, even if it was a knife, the second brother had to send the cup to the winery. He held eight wine glasses that were still hot, wore a transparent nylon paper, and wore a green bamboo hat, one foot deep, one foot shallow, and ran to the temporary office of the distillery in a hurry. He was careful all the way, although he ran fast, he watched every step closely, for fear of falling. He kept the wine glass under the nylon paper, and even if he soaked half of the tattered white vest, he didn't let the wine glass get a drop of rain. The door to the winery's makeshift office was painted grass green, and the smell of the new paint was still there. The second brother thought that hope was in front of him, who would have thought that when he kicked the door, an iron rod suddenly stretched out from the door and pointed directly at his chest, and then, a big black mushroom opened in front of his eyes, unexpectedly, he subconsciously took a step back, his feet were not stable, and the whole person fell back with a big buttocks, and the wine glass clattered on the concrete floor, the sound was crisp and neat, and the echo could be faintly heard. The second brother sat in the rain, staring at the fragments of that place, and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

"I said, you kid, why don't you walk without looking at people!" The man stretched out a black cloth umbrella and preempted the attack.

The second brother raised his head slowly, and the big mushroom that caused him to break the wine glass was undoubtedly the black umbrella, and the person holding the umbrella he knew, it was Zhao Jiancheng's father. It was the Zhao Jiancheng who was beaten by him to the point that he almost became a "big cripple Zhao", and later took the woodworker's soap box and stuffed it into the clothes of him and his eldest brother, framed them as thieves, and finally killed his mother.

"Yo! The second tiger is you! Zhao Jiancheng glanced at the broken porcelain pieces all over the ground, raised his eyebrows, his eyes were full of mockery and contempt, he showed off two silver-inlaid false front teeth and sneered, "Why are you here to join in the fun?" Do you still think this is a child's house, playing? ”

If Zhao Jiancheng's father's words had angered the second brother on weekdays, he would definitely reply fiercely: "What's the matter with you?" Are you allowed to come or not to others? But there was not a word in his ears at all, and his hope was scattered to the ground with the broken glass.

Zhao Jiancheng and his father were surprised, how could the current Erhu be so quiet, but maybe thinking that my father Liu Dawan was gone, and no matter what kind of stuff we could toss, the broken porcelain pieces all over the ground were iron--we have lost the qualification to bid. Even if we get it, the small kiln of less than 30 meters rebuilt by the eldest brother and the second brother after my father left, it will not be possible to make so many cups in a short time. Zhao Jiancheng and his father are bound to get the thousand sets of wine glasses, in addition to the fact that he has the largest and longest kiln in Quantao Town, each class can enter sixteen kiln cars, and one kiln can burn hundreds of copies, his eldest son is the established treasurer of the winery, what is the inside story, their Zhao family must be the first to know. Although he has always been not interested in the second brother, the winner is always extra tolerant and merciful to the loser, and even the party that does not even qualify for the competition, he kindly took an umbrella to block the rain for the second brother, and said earnestly: "Listen to my advice, this is not a joke, go back quickly!" ”

The second brother's body has always been as strong as a little tiger, but that time it rained a little, and he suddenly had a high fever, which lasted for three consecutive days, and his lips burned like old pine bark. The eldest brother tried everything, but he still couldn't let the second brother eat a grain of rice and drink a drop of water. The two main laborers in the family, one has become a patient, the other has to take care of the patient, and the one in the corner of the wall looks incompatible with the furnishings in the thatched hut, painted with rich and rich red peonies, and the blue and white "Changman" The word "Changman" is almost at the bottom. In fact, since the death of his mother, the rice jar has never been full. The second brother's medicine expenses have already used up to half a month's expenses of our family, and if the eldest brother doesn't think about a way, the family will have to drink the northwest wind.

The eldest brother bent down and walked out of the hut. At the door of the thatched hut there is an old folding log dining table, the table is one and a half meters wide, there is no place for it in the house, so it can only be allowed to stay outside, under the wind and sun, the vermilion paint has been mottled and peeled off beyond recognition, I also use the paint as a game, the faintly visible big goldfish on the table to tear clean, if the mother knows that her beloved round table was destroyed into that, I don't know how distressed I should be.

The eldest brother glanced at the third brother who was lying on the dinner table doing his summer vacation homework, and called: "The third brother!" ”

No response.

The third brother is definitely the only one in the family who likes to read, and he is also the one who reads the most seriously, sometimes he is too serious, as long as he gets into the book, let alone talk, he may not notice that the house is on fire. The eldest brother sighed, walked to the table and sat down, and patted him lightly on the back before he looked up.

"Third brother, the eldest brother wants to go out for a while, you take care of fifteen and your second brother at home, can you do it?"

"Yes!" The third brother nodded obediently.

The eldest brother touched the third brother's head with satisfaction, and swept around again, but when he didn't see me, he asked the third brother, "What about fifteen?" Where did Fifteen go? ”

The third brother shook his head honestly and said, "I don't know, I've been doing my homework." ”

"Fifteen! Fifteen! The eldest brother stood up and shouted while tearing his throat out, looking around, but unfortunately, his throat was hoarse, and there was no response, and the second brother heard the call and struggled to get up.

I'm the third brother's follower, as long as the third brother is here, I must be nearby, unless...... Unless something happens. On that day, they almost traveled all over the Nine Mountains, and the second brother jumped into the Nine Rivers to find it, despite his fever, until he was exhausted and could no longer swim before going ashore, but he still didn't even see my shadow.

After noon, the eldest brother grabbed his hair in front of the door and kept going back and forth; The second brother leaned weakly on the doorpost, staring at the sparkling Jiuhe from afar, with a sluggish expression; The third brother sat nervously at the round table, looking at the eldest brother and then at the second brother, his little fists clenched tightly, and he didn't dare to say a word.

Suddenly, my little figure appeared at the foot of the mountain, and my brothers held their breath, as if I would disappear from sight in the blink of an eye. They watched me run all the way, and watched my figure grow taller and bigger.

"Big brother, second brother, third brother! See! I've got powder! I've got powder! "As I got closer, I lifted an enamel cup above my head, as if an Olympic champion was holding a trophy of supreme glory, with a proud face.

"You run...... Where to run...... Go? "The eldest brother was so angry that he stammered, and with one palm, he knocked the enamel cup in my hand out of the air at least a foot away. Since I was born, my eldest brother has never even spoken to me in a loud voice, and that was the first time he was angry with me.

I was in a hurry and rushed to save it, but unfortunately, the cup didn't catch up, and I only gnawed a mouthful of plaster. The weeds beside the cup were watered with soup, and a layer of soft rice flour was spread on top, and three or four golden lard residues were sandwiched in between, glowing like gold in the sun. Fortunately, there was a mesh bag on the cup, and there was still a little powder left to pour out. I didn't care about being dusty, so I hurriedly straightened the cup that was sleeping on the ground, lifted it, and hugged it tightly in my arms like a baby.

"I ...... I went to the set. "I don't understand why my eldest brother is so angry, I thought I had done something amazing, and my eldest brother would praise me for doing a good job.

"Who...... Who told you to go to the set? How did you...... Can you go by yourself...... Go to the set? You ......" saw the noodle soup in that place, of course he knew where I went, he was angry that I actually walked three or four miles alone to run to the market, he was worried about what if I was bitten by a snake, what if I fell into the nine rivers, what if I was abducted by human traffickers...... If something happens to me, how will he explain it to his deceased parents? The more I thought about it, the more scared I became, and the more I thought about it, the more angry I became, and he raised his hand to slap my ass.

"The second brother is sick, eat...... I can't eat, I ...... I'm afraid that my second brother ......will die," I sobbed, tears rolling in my eyes, but I gritted my teeth and endured it not to fall out. The people in the town said that I was a bad spirit, I killed my father, I killed my mother, I killed my aunt, although I don't know how I killed them, but I don't want to kill my second brother, I can't let him die.

When the eldest brother heard this, he couldn't say a word, and his hand, which had been held high in the air for a long time, finally let it go.

The second brother slowly walked to my side and squatted down, gently wiped the mud off my face, and said pityingly: "The second brother will not die, you see, isn't the second brother good?" ”

I smiled, handed him the enamel cup, and said happily, "Give!" ”

The second brother took the cup, patted the ash on my body again, and asked, "Where did this powder come from?" ”

"Aunt Xu gave it! I helped her wash the dishes, and there were a lot of people eating noodles today, I washed a lot of bowls, and I also helped wipe the table! I originally told Aunt Xu that I only needed a bowl of noodles, but she said that I did a good job and gave me five yuan. As I spoke, I took out an earthy yellow five-yuan ticket from my trouser pocket with an uncle and an uncle printed on it, and my eyes were full of pride. I was too young at the time and didn't know that Aunt Xu sold forty bowls of oil residue powder that day, two cents and five thousand bowls, regardless of the cost, with a total income of ten yuan, and she gave me half of it. Later, the second brother took the money to return it to Aunt Xu, but Aunt Xu didn't accept it, she said that she had to squeeze rice noodles every other month, and she needed to ask someone to do some heavy work, such as picking rice, carrying water and pouring pulp or something, she was really too busy alone, if the second brother was willing, he wanted to ask him to do it, of course, if the second brother was not available, the eldest brother would be fine, the salary was two yuan and five a day, if it was not a salary, he would give five catties of rice, and the second brother could choose by himself. The second brother knew that Aunt Xu was kind enough to help our brother and sister, so she worked very hard every time.

"We're fifteen! You can make money! The second brother rubbed my little hand, and then said with a straight face, "However, how dangerous is it for a person like you to run so far?" We're fifteen so good-looking, what if the traffickers kidnap you? You are not allowed to go out alone in the future, do you know? ”

"Got it!" I obediently bowed my head and confessed my mistake.

"Also, no matter where you go in the future, you must tell your brothers first, today will scare us." The second brother looked into my eyes with a serious expression.

When I heard this, my eyes immediately widened, I twisted my head, looked at the third brother, and shouted: "Third brother, didn't I tell you that I was going to the market to buy oil residue powder for the second brother?" Didn't you tell the eldest brother and the second brother? ”

The third brother looked wronged, "When did you tell me?" ”

"When you write!" I turned to the second brother and said aggrievedly, "Second brother, I really told the third brother!" ”

The second brother and the eldest brother who was standing not far away glanced at each other wordlessly, what was the situation at that time, they could probably imagine.

The second brother pulled me to the table, picked up a chopstick of rice noodles with oil residue, and brought it to my mouth. "Come on! Fifteen eat! ”

I swallowed, but shook my head and said, "Fifteen is not hungry, second brother eats!" ”

The second brother insisted: "If you don't eat it on fifteen, you won't eat it either!" ”

I stared at the delicious oil residue powder, licked my lips, raised my index finger to the sky, and said in a negotiated tone, "Okay then! Just one bite, one bite. ”

"Okay, just one bite."

In fact, there were only two mouthfuls of powder left in the enamel cup, and I took a big bite, and the second brother ate another small bite.