In Tumshuk in late February, the sky was clear, the sun was shining from the cloudless sky to everywhere outside the window, a stream of heat was constantly swirling, the beginning of spring had long passed, in fact, not even a single snow had fallen this winter. The ice frozen in the Xiaohaizi Reservoir is less than five centimeters, and the ice has melted in a few days as soon as the temperature rises in March. The contrast between the low temperatures of night and early morning and the temperature of noon is marked, and the sunlight outside the window is a little dazzling, and it is extremely hot from the outside of the glass. Outside, under the warm breeze, the willow buds wrapped in the treetops have slowly protruded, the grass on the grass outside the window has slowly turned green, and the whole community is empty, all looking forward to the air and sunshine outside in the cage of captivity.

Trapped for nearly 20 days, everything outside the window attracted Wang Chu, flocks of birds flew back and forth on the trees very freely, they flew from one tree to another, flying up and down in the morning sunlight, their mouths kept making "chirping" small cries, as if they were noisy, like fighting, like talking, more like a lively and free life. Occasionally, there will be stray cats passing through the lawn of the community, first the sound woke up Wang Chu, she got up from the bed, opened the window to call the stray cat, it turned its head back in the direction where the sound came, arched its body, its tail trembled back and forth several times, and quickly got into the grass after making sure that there was no enemy.

There was no one walking back and forth in the community, and in the first few days of the lockdown, Wang Chu could still walk around the community, and Wang Chu would also go out, twisting the tibia that had been sealed in the dust for a long time, and the sound of children chasing and playing in the courtyard echoed in the community. There are a lot of adults in twos and threes, and their talk is nothing more than this epidemic, they talk about Wuhan like a story, and talk about how many infections have been infected in various places? How many died?

During the lockdown, Li Haoran also made a lot of news, from the first Sunday of the lockdown, he couldn't bear it, and he complained on the phone with his classmates that he couldn't even get out of the community door, and occasionally, he would also wander around the community and play basketball in the community. Sometimes when I'm bored, I shoot basketball and punch in the room. The basketball slammed on the floor tiles, his mother's heart attack was about to turn, Wang Chu's writing paused, "Haohao, can you stop making noise, your grandmother has a heart attack, and I'm still writing, you have disrupted all my thoughts." ”

"Mom, I'm about to suffocate to death, when will the seal be lifted." Li Haoran stopped the basketball in his hand and cried bitterly.

"It's only been a week since the lockdown was made, and the epidemic data is growing every day, so we have to wait for the lockdown to be lifted, wait, when the epidemic will end, and when will the lockdown be lifted."

"I'll go, won't that suffocate people crazy."

"You have to hold back your madness." Wang Chu glared and said, "If you are in a hurry, you can go around the community, think about those people in the epidemic area, how many people are infected every day?" Where do they dare to leave the house? Even in the elevator, there is a virus on the doorknob, we live in such a clean and pure land, you are content. ”

Li Haoran pouted, he shook the basketball back and forth between his hands, magically circled from behind his back, and then the basketball went back and forth between his legs, and the piercing slapping sound came again.

"Don't shoot basketball at home." The mother shouted, her mood was a little impatient, and she glared at Li Haoran, "Go to the community to fight." And Li Haoran frowned, wrapped the basketball in his hand, raised it in the air, and lightly clasped it in his hands, went out, and was dissuaded by the community staff from coming back after going out for less than an hour.

"Let your children stay at home and don't wander around the community." Community Worker Tips.

"What's going on?" Wang Chu asked curiously.

"This is the most critical and serious period of the epidemic." The staff said, "The supervision team has come down to check, don't make trouble for our community staff, I hope you understand." With that, he left.

"It seems that the epidemic is getting worse and worse." After the staff left, the mother muttered.

The next day after this sentence was said, a case was confirmed in the nearest city to Tumshuk, which is nearly 200 kilometers away from Tumshuk, and on February 13, a series of alarming and panickling numbers were constantly pushed on Douyin, with 15,152 new confirmed cases on the same day, and a total of 59 confirmed cases in Xinjiang including (XPCC), all distributed in Urumqi, Yili, Changji, Bazhou, Aksu and other places.

The epidemic seems to have arrived at the doorstep, except for Douyin and the news, I don't know anything about the situation outside, Wang Chu called his best friend Yang Zhizhi and asked her about her current situation, "Are you okay?" You've got one there, so be safe. ”

"As long as you don't go out, you'll be fine." Yang Zhizhi said on the phone.

"Don't go out, try not to go out if you can."

"We now even have community workers deliver groceries to our doorsteps, and we don't even let them go downstairs."

"It's really home."

"Who's to say it isn't! I want to volunteer in the community and walk around. ”

"With two children at home with you, you're not bored."

"They?" Yang Zhizhi laughed for a while, "The two of them can't see each other when they watch TV, one wants to watch idol dramas, the other wants to watch cartoons, and I can't end the lawsuit in a day." ”

Isn't that a kind of happiness! My family, Li Haoran, is about to worry me to death. ”

"Your Li Haoran is indeed a little skinny, he is now in the rebellious period, you have to pay attention to the ways and means."

"I'm exhausted with him (Li Haoran)." Wang Chu frowned, speechless.

"Be patient, just wait until he's older."

"I hope so."

Hanging up the phone, Wang Chu buried herself in writing again, the whole community was empty, and she couldn't even get out of the unit door, but it didn't affect her pleasure in writing. She likes nothing more than to put herself in bed, with a small round table in front of her, and her heart is as calm as water, fully enjoying the view outside the window and the beauty of the seasons. Although there can be a lot of noise outside the room, such as the mother and father arguing, Li Haoran jumping restlessly, Wang Anwen making a certain TV series, they are game after game, they are never idle in the living room from morning to night, do whatever they like, and talk about what they like. My father became a housewife when he didn't go to work, cooking, tidying up the house, and occasionally cooking a few small dishes to improve his life. But Wang Chuzhen didn't dare to comment on the cooking skills, the same seasoning, the same dishes, the same ingredients, the taste was completely different after she stir-fried, so in the meal, she would try her best to go into the kitchen to cook herself, Wang Anwen would always praise, "Auntie's cooking is delicious." ”

Wang Chu squinted at Wang Anwen, "You can also learn to cook as soon as possible, women who can cook are very blessed." ”

Wang Anwen pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes into a line with a smile, "Hehe, I'll just eat." ”

"Your aunt and I learned to roll noodles when I was a teenager, and now this good dish is a good dish that has been practiced for many years, and you will suffer a lot less grievances after you can cook and start a family." Wang Chu said.

"That's true." "Your aunt learned to cook when she was eight years old, I remember. He struggled to recall, "Back in the old days, when she was too young to even reach the panel, she had a small bench under her feet and stood on it to roll out dough." ”

"Are you embarrassed?" The mother was unhappy and said, "I'll go back to my mother's house, you leave such a young child at home to cook, and you're not afraid that she will set the house on fire." ”

"Aren't I going to do business and make money?" Father quibbled.

"How much money did you make?" The mother didn't give up, "I don't even bother to talk about you, I went to collect the eggs with a flat pole, and the eggs were confiscated, but you can pour it, roll from the hillside to the bottom of the hillside, and the eggs are all broken." ”

"Didn't I pick up all the ones that weren't rotten and scrambled them for you to eat, at that time, eating a plate of scrambled eggs was so luxurious."

"Are you embarrassed?" The mother picked up her fist and hit her father on the shoulder, "You said that you have been idle all your life, you have not been idle all day long, you have not earned money, and you have done things that have no income." ”

Wang Chu couldn't help but smile, she still remembered this story, that year was the season of autumn harvest and digging artichokes, her mother went to her grandmother's house to help with farm work, and took her younger brother away by the way. First, take out two bowls of flour, put a little alkali, mix the dough with warm water, and use both hands to turn the dough softly, until the surface of the dough is smooth and knead it into a dough, roll the dough into thin slices with a rolling pin, sprinkle dry flour, cut it into thin strips with a kitchen knife, and the whole process of rolling noodles is completed. Next, light a fire with wheat straw, add some water to the pot, put the artichoke and tomatoes prepared in advance, and when the water boils, boil the potatoes and tomatoes in the pot, and put in the noodles to eat.

Wang Chu learned quickly, and after the church, her father left her at home, picked up a flat burden, and went door-to-door in the village to collect eggs, and then took them to the market to sell. That year, she only remembered that her father went home with half a frame of eggs, and after tripping on the hillside, the eggs rolled to the ground, and the eggs broke a lot, and her father picked up all the eggs he could pick up into the box, and went home and scrambled a large plate, and sent a large plate of scrambled eggs to her mother.

Wang Chu only remembered that it was the best scrambled eggs she had ever eaten, and she didn't know how much her father had lost, how many times her mother had blamed him, and how many times she had quarreled. From childhood to adulthood, the family is basically slurry water all year round, and occasionally eat a meal of noodles with meat and eggs, which can only find a little meat in a bowl of noodles, and put a broken egg in a pot of noodles, such noodles can be regarded as the most luxurious meal on weekdays.

As the saying goes, Wang Chu's father has been busy all year round and has basically never let himself be idle, and he has indeed done a lot of loss-making transactions like this, and he has not improved his family's life, so he can only maintain food and clothing. For example, the father and the mother rushed to the market, the father wanted to save money and had to ride an electric car, and the mother was afraid of the cold and wanted to take the bus, and finally the mother could not resist the father's determination to save money, so she armed herself and rode an electric car to follow the father to the market. For example, his father went out to work, and his mother put 20 yuan in his pocket as lunch money, but he ate the rest of the day's food in the canteen, and it took nearly 300 yuan to be cured after vomiting and diarrhea and being admitted to the hospital, such incidents abound, however, in the face of his mother's accusation, Wang Chu could only shake his head and smile.

Li Haoran also did something that made people cry and laugh, one night after more than ten days of lockdown, Wang Chu slept until more than six o'clock in the morning, and an unfamiliar phone number called. She suddenly woke up from a dream, her heart beat faster, and every time she suddenly woke up, she was in this state, and her heart beat back to its original state after dozens of seconds, and this state seemed to be getting more and more frequent.

Wang Chu answered the phone after trying to calm himself, and Li Haoran's voice came from the phone, "Mom, I was detained by the police in the community police office, and the police asked you to pick me up." ”

Wang Chu got up from the bed in an instant, and his heart beat faster again, "Aren't you sleeping in your room?" How can it be detained by the police? ”

"Mom, you'd better come to the police office." Li Haoran hung up the phone after speaking.

Turning on the room light, Wang Chu entered Li Haoran's room, and sure enough, his room was empty, she immediately put on her clothes and went out, and when she left, she almost even pulled her mobile phone at home.

The gate of the community is closed, and the community staff is asleep on the table in the duty room, and Wang Chu knows that she can't get out of this door. She found that the sharp iron guardrail at the top of the gate could easily climb up, but she couldn't use this stupid method, so she had to take out her mobile phone and call the police.

The policeman woke up the sleeping community worker with a flashlight in his hand, and he knew the policeman and opened the door.

"You're the child's guardian?" The policeman looked at Wang Chu and asked.

"I am." Wang Chu replied.

"Your child climbed over the fence and was caught by the assistant police of our police station, I know that the communities are strictly controlled, and you can't get out, so I sent it to you."

"Over the wall?" Wang Chu's eyes widened and looked at Li Haoran, he deliberately moved his eyes to a certain place immediately, as if this matter had nothing to do with him. "You see that my child is causing you so much trouble, and I bother you to send it in person, I'm really sorry, you're so sorry." She said.

"The duty is, yes, I have to give you some more words." The police said, "Although there is no epidemic in Tumshuk now, there is already a case in Aksu, take care of your child, don't let him run around, don't try to climb over the fence again, there are patrols everywhere outside, he can't escape." ”

"I'm sorry." Wang Chu tried his best to explain, "I've caused you trouble, I will definitely take good care of him." ”

"Did you hear that?" The police faced Li Haoran, "I've told you all the way, the current epidemic is very serious, don't run over the fence, and don't make trouble for us." ”

"Okay." Li Haoran readily agreed, "Uncle policeman, don't worry, I will definitely not cause you any more trouble." ”

"It's very sincere." The policeman said, "Okay, follow your mom home." With that, he left.

"Thank you for your hard work, you go slowly." Wang Chu instructed, the police made a gesture, and when she was already far away, she turned around with a sad face, pointed her finger at Li Haoran, and gritted her teeth angrily, "You can really do it." Then he left alone.

Although Wang Chu was so angry that she was furious, she clearly knew that children of this age could do anything, such as talking back, skipping school, climbing over the wall, fighting, running away from home, etc., so she recalled a sentence reminded her by Yang Zhizhi, "Your Li Haoran is indeed a little skinny, he is now in the rebellious period, you have to pay attention to ways and means." ”

Back at home, Li Haoran put on slippers, didn't even put the shoes neatly, and entered his room, Wang Chu put it in the shoe cabinet with his shoes, she sat on the sofa, watching Li Haoran close the door with a "bang", she stuffed her fingers between her lips, thinking about how to talk to Li Haoran about his behavior of climbing over the wall, and she couldn't just say nothing and just hastily. Judging from the current rebellious age, it is impossible to beat and scold, and he will feel even more annoyed when he talks about some big truths.

After thinking about it for a long time, Wang Chu decided to knock on Li Haoran's door.

"What for?" Voices came from inside the house

"Li Haoran, open the door, I'll say a few words to you."

"I'm sleeping." Li Haoran shouted, "I haven't slept all night, don't bother me." ”

"I ......" Wang Chu still wanted to knock on the door, but he still pulled his hand down, "Then you can sleep, and I will look for you when you wake up." ”

There was no sound in the room, Wang Chu had to respect Li Haoran's wishes and returned to the sofa, he had slept long enough this night, and he had already eaten dinner when he woke up.

The first thing Li Haoran did when he went out was to go to the toilet, and it took half an hour to squat, Wang Chu had already made dumplings for him and made the sauce, and when he came out, the dumplings were half cold.

"Come and eat." Wang Chu called, "Look at you, you've slept all day, and your head is flattened." ”

Li Haoran pulled out a chair and sat down, his huge man leaned on the chair, the light carved his sallow face like a sculpture, his hair exploded on the light of the floor, his dark eyes first looked at Wang Chu, and then picked up chopsticks and put a dumpling in his mouth.

Wang Chu didn't remember how long it had been since he had seen Li Haoran like this, although under the same roof, the two of them met only at the dining table, the living room, and in front of her, and the rest of the time he was basically in his room, while Wang Chu was basically writing.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Li Haoran asked very unfriendly, "Do I have an answer on my face?" ”

Wang Chu squinted at Li Haoran, "What ulterior secrets do you have?" ”

"Do you want to hang out and play a secret?"

"In the middle of the night, the third watch went out over the wall, just to play?"

"Or else?"

Wang Chu didn't want to delve into it anymore, she was carefully thinking about how to speak, so she looked at Li Haoran quietly, he twisted his body very uncomfortably, she knew that if this state continued, he should rush again.

"Li Haoran." Wang Chu still spoke after thinking deeply and hesitating, "There's nothing wrong with boys being playful, mom doesn't blame you, but you have to plan for your future." ”

"I'm still young, what am I doing part-time?"

Wang Chu blinked and sighed lightly, "Son, you are fifteen years old, and it will only be three years before you become an adult, and your mother has already gone out to work to earn money when she is eighteen years old." ”

"So you mean I can go out and work at the age of eighteen to earn money?"

"That's not what I meant."

"So what do you mean? You still don't let people eat this meal? Li Haoran's attitude stiffened.

"I ......" Wang Chu choked up, trying to ease his stiff attitude, "Haohao." She breathed a sigh of relief, "You have to study hard, and if you study hard with your brain, there will be no problem at all." ”

"Do you think I can still learn?"

"But the only way out is to go to school." Wang Chu almost burst into tears, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her side face, and calmed herself down for half a minute. She continued, "This is my second serious statement to you about studying hard and going to college, the difference between studying and not studying is the whole life, yes, you may not be able to find a job when you go to college, but even if you are a college student who comes out to sell pork, you can make a lot of money, you must know that behind the desire to make money is the knowledge that cannot be seen." You see your mother and me, only high Chinese, from the salary of 700 yuan a month to more than 5,000 yuan a year, and only less than 20,000 yuan a year, it took more than ten years to buy that façade house with your father's bonus, and now. There was more sourness in her eyes, "I'm divorced from your father, and we still have to live in a house with your grandmother, I'm almost forty years old this year, and I don't even have a house of my own." Mom is under a lot of pressure, we always have to buy a house of our own, we can't always be crowded with your grandmother all your life, in the future you grow up to the age of marriage, but also to consider buying a house for you, mom doesn't have many friends, and there is not much money-making thinking and ability, and in more than ten years, my mother is also old, and I can't work hard for you anymore, so I have to think about your future when you are still in a hurry. ”

In the whole process of speaking, Wang Chu found that Li Haoran listened carefully to what she said for the first time, although the chopsticks and dumplings never left between the plate and the mouth, he did listen carefully and think seriously. She had long thought about saying it appropriately and accurately. She felt that she had already said it, and that it would be nonsense to continue, and it would have no effect, and before he could be disgusted, she ended the conversation. But she was exhausted with excitement, after all, there were also sad and sensitive topics, the corners of her eyes were almost full of tears, and the heart-wrenching pain in her heart was indescribable.

Li Haoran looked at Wang Chu silently for half a minute, and took the initiative to draw a piece of paper and handed it to her, "Mom." He said, "Don't cry, I'll think about what you said, it's ...... time," his voice trembled a little, "I won't run out again, I'll think about what will happen after school starts." ”

"Okay." Wang Chu nodded, she wiped all the tears from the corners of her eyes, "It's time to think about it." There were not many dumplings left on the plate, and Li Haoran had already finished eating, "Are there enough dumplings?" She asked, "Not enough for me to cook for you." ”

"That's enough." Li Haoran replied, "I'll finish these dumplings." ”

Wang Chu pursed his lips and smiled, this is the end of the conversation between the mother and son for more than half a year, and Li Haoran has not turned his face for the first time, although there is also a violent mood in the middle, but the expected effect is pleasant.