Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 575

"Children, the little loudspeaker has started broadcasting!" Along with the childish opening, the sound of suona, "Tick-tick, tick-tick... tick-tick... tick..." rang out.

"Little Trumpet" is a children's program that started in 1956. Kindergartens and primary schools with the conditions would organize students to listen to it, but the Tang family did not have the conditions.

After a day of tutoring, Fengzhi listened with great interest.

After get off work, Xiao Wang went to Chunshu Hutong. He was worried that his sister-in-law was too young and would not be used to living there, so he planned to see if he needed to take her home with him. Unexpectedly, Fengzhi had a good ability to adapt and she almost wanted to hold the radio tightly.

Gu Kezhan has left. His "working hours" are from 9 am to 2 pm, with an hour break in between.

There is only one hour of homework guidance time in the afternoon. In fact, Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang decided to add this class in the afternoon after discussion. Having such a name makes it convenient to provide a lunch. Those who understand will understand.

Classmate Xiao Wang touched his sister-in-law's head and asked, "Fengzhi, are you going to sleep here with your two sisters tonight, or come home with me?"

Fengzhi looked up at her sister-in-law, then at the radio, then at her sister. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Sister-in-law, I'm not going home."

"Okay, then just stay here and relax." Xiao Wang agreed with a smile, and told his two sisters, "Keep an eye on Fengzhi at night, let her sleep in the middle, and don't kick off the quilt."

The bed in the second bedroom is a 1.8-meter double bed. When Wang's father was still alive, he bought it for his two daughters to sleep together.

Later, Jingmin moved to sleep on the sofa. Xiao Wang had grown up, so Ye Zhijuan considered giving her an independent space and asked Jingying to move over to accompany her.

Ever since classmate Xiao Wang got married, this place has become Wang Jingying's boudoir.

"Jingmin, don't cause trouble and don't quarrel with your sister." Before leaving, Xiao Wang worriedly warned his naughty brother.

"Don't worry, sister, we are good friends!" Wang Jingmin assured, patting his chest.

"Fengzhi, you can't hit Jingmin. If there is any conflict, come back and tell me and I will deal with him." Although the sister-in-law is a few years younger than his brother, Xiao Wang is a little worried about his brother because of his fighting ability.

"Yes! We are good friends. We won't fight, sister-in-law." Feng Zhi also made the promise.

"Jingying, heat up the leftovers from lunch and make a new dish without adding chili peppers. Okay, I'm going back." Xiao Wang didn't plan to eat here. It got dark early and he didn't tell his family in advance, so if he went back late, his family would worry about him.

Dinner was prepared by the two half sisters.

During the meal, Fengzhi was reluctant to put down the radio and was hesitant. Fengzhen didn't waste any time. She went up to her and twisted her ears and pulled her towards him. Of course, she controlled the strength very well.

Jingmin was stunned watching from the side. Looking at the quiet and gentle little sister, was she so violent when dealing with her younger sister?
"Does your sister treat you like this at home? Does she beat you?" After dinner, Jingmin and Fengzhi sat in front of the radio and chatted.

"No, not really. I rarely hit you. Does your sister hit you?" Fengzhi asked back.

"If I hit you, I'd have a miserable life. You don't even know how hard my sister hits me." Jingmin envied Fengzhi for having a sister who wasn't very violent.

"Which sister did you hit? Could it be my sister-in-law?" Fengzhi was very curious. Her sister-in-law was such a nice person, it definitely couldn't be her.

"They all beat me, but your sister-in-law beat me the hardest. It's a good thing I married your brother, otherwise I don't know how much suffering I would have to endure. By the way, have you seen my sister beat your brother?" Jingmin was still frightened when he thought of the slaps from his eldest sister, but he was also curious whether his sister beat his brother-in-law, because his brother-in-law once said that he was afraid of his sister.

"No, a light hit doesn't count as a beating, right? My sister-in-law can hit the sandbag swing with one punch. When she hit my brother, my brother was smiling." Fengzhi's mind flashed with the scene of the young couple flirting.

"My sister's slap was not light, so my brother-in-law must have been holding it in. My brother-in-law smiled after being hit, so would my sister still hit him?" In Jingmin's eyes, his sister was like a tigress, how could she be light?
"No more hitting, just one time. I don't think it's serious anyway." Fengzhi shook her head, not believing what Jingmin said.

"Just once? That must be because my brother-in-law laughed. Next time when my sister hits me, I will laugh too, and she will definitely not hit me again." Jingmin said confidently, as if a blind student had discovered the bright spot.

Fengzhi glanced at Jingmin and thought he was overthinking, but his "chatterbox" attracted her, so she just responded with a "hmm" and concentrated on listening to the radio.

Children’s happiness is simple: eating, drinking and playing.

Tong Nan from the Tong family was also very happy because she had prawns to eat again today. One prawn was as long as her arm.

Although Tong Wang complained to Tang Zhitong about all the difficulties, he often asked his son to go out and do some business, and saved some wine and noodles.

In addition, the fish and shrimps sent by Tang Zhitong recently were of sufficient weight, so the family's food has improved a lot. Tong Xiangsong has been disliking the cold weather recently and has been going out less often. The young couple is writing, painting, playing some tunes at home, and feeling very comfortable.

More and more news about the situation outside was spread to Sijiu City, and Tong Wang heard a lot. Although few of his friends were willing to lend a hand, this free news was still delivered in a timely manner.

As for friends, it is often like this. As long as interests are not involved, everyone is fine. But if interests are involved, there are many who will turn against each other.

No one was willing to help Tong Wang a while ago, so after Tong Wang got in touch with Tang Zhitong, he didn't share it with them and lived his own life behind closed doors.

Life is bearable now, but what about the future?
Tong Wang glanced at his son who was playing with Nan Nan with a katydid in his arms. The child was filial but too heartless and not in a hurry at all.

Tong Wang sighed, put on his coat, took a cigarette and went to the yard to get some fresh air.

Today is the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month. There is no moonlight in the first half of the night and the yard is pitch black.

Tong Wang lit a cigarette and stared at the dead branches of lilac in the yard in a daze in the residual light of the electric lamp in the house.

Tong Wang also reads books and newspapers in his spare time, and he has read a lot.

Lu Xun said: "In my backyard, I can see two trees outside the wall, one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree."

At that time, some people said that his words were grammatically incorrect, while others said that they were nonsense.

As a native Manchu who is proud of his ancestry, Tong Wang just wants to complain: they are talking nonsense and have no idea of ​​the etiquette involved.

According to the rules passed down by our ancestors, there must be trees in a courtyard house, because a square courtyard is like the Chinese character “口” (mouth). If people only live in it but no trees are planted in it, it would be like the Chinese character “囚” (prisoner), which is unlucky.

You can't just plant one tree, as that would easily remind people of the Chinese character for "困". So while you should plant trees, you can't just plant one. Two trees are better.

There are also some rules for planting trees. Mulberry, pear, cypress and locust trees are not allowed because their homophones mean death, separation, defeat and bad, which are unpleasant and unlucky.

Pine trees are not acceptable either, because they are trees for cemeteries, and most people like to plant them next to ancestral graves to bless future generations.

Although locust trees cannot be planted at home, they can be planted at the door, because as the saying goes, "A locust tree in front of the door means wealth and fortune", and everyone loves money.

If you see a row of Sophora japonica planted at the gate of a courtyard, and the couplets on the gate read "The Sophora japonica flowers bring prosperity, and the trees bring virtue and prosperity" or "The brush flowers fly in the general's mansion, and the Sophora japonica trees are lush and prosperous in the prime minister's home", the owner's surname is most likely Wang.

Some people plant elm trees at the gate, because elm trees are known as "money trees" and the trees are full of "elm money", which means good fortune and prosperity, and the family business is still closely related to money. Pomegranate trees, jujube trees, persimmon trees, apple trees, walnut trees, clove trees, etc. are suitable for planting in the yard, and they all have very good meanings.

Pomegranate means many descendants, dates mean early birth of a son, persimmon means prosperity, apple means peace and safety, walnut means harmony and beauty, and clove means a large family.

The lilac tree in front of Tong Wang was planted later. Originally, there was a persimmon tree planted in this location.

The persimmon tree was selected by Tong Wang himself when he built his house. Although the persimmon tree is not well-known outside China, it is very famous in Beijing. Someone even summarized the "Seven Quatrains" for it: one, longevity; two, shade; three, no bird nests; four, no insects; five, frost leaves to play with; six, delicious fruits to eat; seven, fallen leaves to practice calligraphy.

Many people like to plant persimmon trees in their yards. For example, Lao She planted two trees in his yard.

The reason for changing to a lilac tree was because Nan Nan liked it. When we went to her house, the lilac trees were in full bloom and Nan Nan held on to it and wouldn't let go.

Tong Wang loved his granddaughter, and as the lilac tree symbolized a large and prosperous family, Tong Wang hoped to have more children in his family, so he dug up the persimmon tree and planted lilac trees.

When planting lilacs, Tong Xiangsong was against it, muttering "a girl who is like a lilac, full of sorrow and resentment".

Tong Wang was so angry that his liver hurt. He beat his son. What was he talking about? He didn't remember the rules of his ancestors at all! Isn't it good to plant lilac? In spring, pick one and put it on my granddaughter's head. It will smell good all day long!
Now it seems that my son's opposition seems to indicate something. The family no longer has "everything going well" and "a large family", which is really disappointing...

The flickering cigarette butt is particularly conspicuous in the night.

Tong Wang was in the yard thinking about what Tang Zhitong said today.

Before leaving, the young man said that he would try not to meet her in the future, and even if they did, he would only meet him alone.

Tong Wang wanted to ask the young man for his contact information on the grounds that it would be convenient to contact him in the future, but he was rejected and said that he could open the gate when he had difficulties, and he would naturally come in when he saw the gate open.

It’s not a failure, at least I knew that the young man would pass by the Bell and Drum Tower.

Tong Wang heard that people had died in other places, and there were more than one case.

To be honest, Tong Wang was not unfamiliar with this kind of thing. In the early years, especially in winter, when he woke up, there would be poor men lying on the street with smiles on their faces.

Whenever he encountered such a thing, Tong Wang felt unlucky and always covered his nose and tried to get past it quickly.

But this time was different. For the first time, Tong Wang felt that food was difficult to obtain and was afraid that this day would happen to him.

Faced with Tang Zhitong's insistence, Tong Wang did not dare to delve into his identity. Who cares? As long as he could buy food from him, it was fine.

As for the lack of contact information, Tong Wang felt that it didn't matter. At most he could just live there for a while when needed and he would always be able to wait for him.

But the price may not be easy to negotiate at that time...

Tong Wang couldn't sleep tonight, but Tang Zhitong slept very comfortably and went to bed very early, mainly to get up early the next day.

Because it was their first time to attend a commendation meeting, they were not clear about the procedures and it was unknown whether the meeting could end on time. In order to allow their tutors and younger brothers and sisters to have lunch, Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang got up very early.

Last night, Zhang Guifang steamed another pot of steamed buns.

The pot of chestnut steamed bread the day before yesterday was made at noon that day. After all, there were only more than ten steamed breads in a pot, but there were eight people eating them, and most of them were growing up.

Early in the morning, Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang packed up, carried their steamed buns, and rushed to Chunshu Hutong in the dark.

When we arrived, we were just about to get up.

Tang Zhitong went into the kitchen to work. Xiao Wang went into the bedroom and glanced at Fengzhi: "Fengzhi, how did you sleep last night?"

"Okay, it's warmer than home." Fengzhi rubbed her eyes. She was wearing Jingmin's autumn clothes. There was heating here, and the temperature in the room was about 20 degrees. Not only did she not need to use two quilts, but she would also be too hot to wear cotton clothes.

"That's good. Come here and let me comb your hair. Our mother has steamed buns. Your brother brought some pickles and is cooking porridge. It's just in time for you to wash your face and eat." Student Xiao Wang picked up the comb and combed his sister-in-law's hair, tying it into two small buns.

"Okay, go wash your face." After a while, the hair was tied up. Xiao Wang fiddled with it for a while and asked Fengzhi to go wash up.

This is just for making up for the pain at home. If you go out, you can't tie your hair like this. Not only can you not wear a hat, even a scarf will be difficult to hold down.

Tang Zhitong not only cooked porridge, but also made two dishes. He stewed a pot of pumpkin and also stewed the Spanish mackerel from yesterday.

The Spanish mackerel that had been left outside overnight was frozen hard. Fortunately, Tang Zhitong was smart and not only cut it into neat pieces, but also took out the internal organs and threw them into the pool.

Spanish mackerel is delicious no matter how it is cooked, and it will not become dry even if it is stewed for a long time.

Due to time constraints, Tang Zhitong did not marinate the food and put it directly into the pot.

Add animal oil, pepper, onion, ginger, salt and first-grade soy sauce, cover the pot and start cooking.

Logically speaking, if the fish is not marinated in advance, it will be difficult for it to absorb the flavor. However, if you cook it in the morning and eat it at noon, you can ignore this step. Marinate it for a while and the flavor will definitely absorb into the meat.

After cleaning up breakfast, Tang Zhitong put down the dishes and chopsticks, then took the pressure cooker directly to the dining table to serve porridge.

Looking at the family members eating happily at the table, Tang Zhitong thought, what a lively place! No wonder many older people have so many children, no matter if they can afford to raise them or not. They are so popular.

Tang Zhitong looked at Xiao Wang and wondered how many children he should have. It seemed like it would be nice to have many children around him.

"What are you thinking about? Eat quickly." Classmate Xiao Wang reminded Tang Zhitong when he saw that he was slow.

"Oh, okay." Tang Zhitong smiled. She still had to respect Xiao Wang's opinion on this issue. After all, she was just contributing a little and she was the one who suffered the most.

After dinner, Tang Zhitong washed the bowls and pressure cooker.

This is really a torment, tap water is convenient but it’s so damn cold!

It would be nice to have an instant hot water faucet, but I don’t know if today’s waterproof technology can stand up to it.

Before leaving, Tang Zhitong soaked the rice in a pressure cooker and told Fengzhen and Jingying: "Don't delay after class, go home quickly, and cook the rice in a pressure cooker when you get home. It will be ready in half an hour. Then heat up the vegetables in the pot, and don't neglect the tutor."

"Okay, brother-in-law." Jingying agreed crisply, and Fengzhen nodded on the side.

(End of this chapter)