1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 308 Fried Snow
As a child, no matter how successful you are outside, you still cannot escape the fate of working in the fields when you return home.
Just like the Cadillac that returned to the village in later generations was disliked for not being able to pull the plow, and the Mercedes-Benz was disliked for not being able to carry as much vegetables as the tricycle, Yang Mo, the section chief who was also quite famous in the company, was disliked and sent out to pull wheat straw after the one-hour maternal love expired, because he could not carry pig food, corn, or drink wine, and at the same time prepare materials for tomorrow's photo studio.

………………

A "secret base" in a corner by the river.

Tugou took out handfuls of wheat straw of relatively good quality from the big sack without any psychological burden, twisted them into a twist and threw them into the fire in front of him, then stared at the dirty little tin pot on the shelf with anticipation.

Yang Mo was somewhat speechless as he watched the fruits of his "labor" for half an hour quickly turn into handfuls of ashes: "Hey, hey, hey, girl, there is a haystack next to you, it's just a fire, why don't you bring a bundle over yourself, and have to burn the straw that I worked so hard to pick... It's really tiring to pick these things, okay!"

"Zhaoting" is a custom in some areas of Linyi County. Actually, it means that on the night of New Year's Eve, wheat straw or corn stalks are bundled together and pulled to the road near one's house, lit, and then stepped over.

“Warm your hands and buttocks, and you won’t get sick for three years.”

This is roughly the meaning of Zhaoting, which is actually similar to the practice of jumping over a fire basin in the south... Of course, the situation in each village is different, and in some places there is no jumping over the fire basin.

But since you are praying for good luck and to ward off disasters, you certainly can’t be too perfunctory with the materials you use to light the hall, right?
Whether it is wheat straw or corn stalks, you should always choose some that are not black and rotten, are in good condition, and are dry all over, right?

Although this is not a difficult task, it still requires a little effort...especially this year.

In this era, no matter whether it was wheat stalks or corn stalks, every household basically piled them up in the fields after harvesting;

Therefore, as long as there are a few rains and snows, some of the wheat straw and corn stalks in the haystacks will turn black and moldy. It happened that there was more rain and snow this year than in previous years, so there were even more black and moldy stalks... Although it would not affect anything if they were taken home for burning, it would take some effort to select enough materials for the living room.

Although this is called a secret base, it is actually just a small wooden shed. In previous years, it was mainly used to guard the fields when the watermelons were about to ripen. Therefore, there were some simple furniture inside. It was also not far from the haystack, just a few steps away. Therefore, Yang Mo was quite dissatisfied with this girl for wasting the fruits of his labor.

When Tugou heard Yang Mo's complaint, he looked at the dirty "special clothes for farm work" on him and his hands with black dirt under his fingernails with dissatisfaction: "Hey, hey, hey, Yangshitan, you should understand that I am wearing new clothes that my mother bought for me! If I go to the haystack and get my clothes dirty, won't my mother beat me up when I get back?"

Yang Mo glanced at the guy's festive cotton-padded jacket with big red flowers, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He managed to hold back his laughter with great difficulty.

Although this girl is a real beauty and will not look bad in any clothes, but such a colorful dress...

It's really a bit too funny, isn't it?

Not to mention how she instantly transformed from a workplace witch into a country girl from Qi and Lu, what the hell are those two little bun-like buns?

Does your mother still treat you as a child who chases after others to ask for candy?
After coughing hard for several times, Yang Mo glanced at Tugou's "country version of Nezha" look and nodded vigorously: "That's right, if such a beautiful dress gets dirty, not only will your mother beat you, even I can't help but shake my head when I see it."

Tugou naturally heard the teasing in the guy's tone and punched him viciously: "You just want to laugh at me. Humph, big brother doesn't talk about second brother, your current clothes are not much better than mine!"

Yang Mo glanced at the blue cotton jacket on his body that had almost hardened into armor, and immediately laughed...

………………

"Hey, hey, hey~ Yang Shidan, you bastard, how can you snatch food from other people's chopsticks... If you want to eat pork belly, cook it yourself!"

Classmate Tugou looked at the empty branch in his hand with gritted teeth, wishing he could rush up and tear off Yang Mo's mouth full of light.

Yang Mo swallowed the large piece of boiled pork belly contentedly, looked at Tugou's bulging cheeks, and said innocently: "But I'm almost starving... The first piece of boiled pork belly was for you to eat, so it should be my turn for the second piece, right?"

Tugou pointed angrily at a plastic bag on the ground and said, "Isn't there braised pigeon here? You're hungry, but you don't know how to eat this... You actually stole my pork belly... You, you, you, you're making me so angry!"

Fatty meat boiled in greasy water has always been this girl's favorite. Seeing that the pork belly she had worked so hard to cook was snatched away by Yang Mo, it was more painful than killing her.

Yang Mo glanced at the bags on the ground, rolled his eyes speechlessly, and then raised his black palms: "My hands are all covered with mud, how can I hold the pigeon and chew it?"

As he said this, he blinked his eyes and stared at the other piece of pork belly that had just been put into the tin pot with a flattering look on his face: "Please blanch more, I'll eat two more slices, and the rest will be all yours!"

I don't know if it's a bad habit she developed in the past, but this girl not only likes to blanch fatty meat, but also likes to blanch only one piece at a time, as if this could minimize the loss of oil and water.

To be honest, this kind of hot pot is a torture for people who are hungry.

Unfortunately, his hands were dirty, and the girl only broke off two twigs to use as chopsticks. So unless he was willing to make another trip to break off a new pair of chopsticks from the tree, he would have to snatch them directly from the girl.

Obviously, Yang Mo was a lazy man. He was too lazy to run out in the cold wind to break off branches.

Tugou looked at him in disbelief: "Hey, hey, hey, I heard your noises from far away... and you, a bastard, actually tried to steal my meat? Don't tell me you haven't eaten yet!"

Yang Mo took a breath as if he had a toothache: "Although this sounds very unscientific, the fact is... I am still hungry now."

Yang Mo said, with a look of despair on his face: "That's right, I just got home less than half an hour ago, and those uncles came to my door one by one, and shouted that they wanted to have a drink with me, a junior;"

"But you know, I can't drink much, and those uncles were so enthusiastic that they asked for a cup of wine as soon as they sat down at the table. I drank a round without eating a single bite of food, and I couldn't stand it anymore... My mother was afraid that I would make a fool of myself, so she quickly sent me out to work, and left my father there to help."

At this point, Yang Mo shrugged his shoulders: "Didn't you see that I didn't even dare to enter the house before, and just sneaked out some food from the kitchen... The uncles in the house are just waiting for me to go back for the second round!"

Upon hearing this, classmate Tugou was overjoyed.

When drinking in Qi and Lu, we are not afraid of you drinking two or two cups, but we are afraid of you holding a one-cent cup.

Drinking New Year wine here is not just a meal, but a whole day of drinking. Some people even get drunk and sleep on the host's kang for a night, and continue drinking after waking up, and sometimes drink for two or three days in a row.

If you drink like this, a person will have to drink at least two or three bottles a day. If you are in a good mood, even four or five bottles is not uncommon. If you don't have a basic alcohol tolerance of more than one and a half kilograms, you will not be able to resist it.

Therefore, with Yang Mo's alcohol tolerance, if he drank two or two cups at a time, he might be able to barely make it through the meal without making a fool of himself. But if he drank one cup after another from a one-cent cup, he would definitely make a fool of himself in half an hour.

In other words, those uncles and aunts came for him, otherwise in the past, with such a high drinking capacity, he would not even be qualified to sit at the table.

After thinking about it, Tugou classmate first took the small bag of pork belly behind him, then wiped his hands on his clothes, picked up the pigeon that was obviously braised yesterday, tore it hard, and immediately handed a long piece of pigeon breast meat to Yang Mo's mouth.

"Here, have some pigeon meat to fill your stomach. Let me make a deal first... there are other foods here. I'll feed you whatever you want to eat, but you are not allowed to have any thoughts on my pork belly!" Classmate Tugou looked like he was on guard against thieves.

Seeing this, Yang Mo rolled his eyes and thought to himself, do you think everyone is like you, who are so craving for fat?

He immediately gave it a disdainful look, then stretched his neck and casually picked up the piece of pigeon meat into his mouth.

hmm~
My mother’s cooking skills are pretty good. At least she didn’t turn the braised pigeon into sauced pigeon...it’s just a little bit salty.

After quickly swallowing the pigeon meat, Yang Mo shamelessly pursed his lips, signaling classmate Tugou to have another piece.

When Tugou saw this, he glanced at the pork belly that was already tumbling in the tin pot, angrily tore off a whole pigeon leg, and then stuffed it into the guy's mouth viciously.

cough~
Caught off guard, a breath of cold wind blew in, and Yang Mo almost coughed up a pigeon leg.

Seeing this girl impatiently scooping up the piece of pork belly from the pot, not even adding salt, and just slurping it up with her mouth open, Yang Mo, who was holding the pigeon leg in his mouth, suddenly laughed.

Ok……

He actually lied. He was not that hungry, or rather, he was not so hungry that he needed to fight with the girl for meat. After all, when he first sat down at the table, he actually ate something to fill his stomach.

But he just liked the feeling of snatching food from this girl, and he always felt that the food he snatched away seemed to taste better.

In fact, during the time when Tugou moved away, whether he was eating alone or eating with Miss Mu, he always felt that something was missing.

To put it in a more literary way, eating alone is called filling your stomach; eating with other people is called sharing a meal; and eating with fellow countrymen is called having a meal.

He didn't quite understand why he had this feeling, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was probably because he was actually a very defensive person. After his rebirth, apart from his parents, it was probably only the tiger girl Tugou who could make him completely let down all his defenses.

Well, although it might be difficult for outsiders to understand and feel it was unfair, he actually knew very well that even though he and Miss Mu were already in a quasi-couple relationship and Miss Mu had also clearly expressed her attitude, he was not yet open-hearted to Miss Mu... A reborn person whose actual age in two lifetimes combined was over seventy years old would not easily open his heart completely to other people.

Seeing Yang Mo staring at him with a smile, Tugou subconsciously wiped his red, greasy lips, and adjusted the two extremely childish little buns on his head. A trace of slightly panicked anger surged in his heart, and he immediately picked up two pig ears and stuffed them into Yang Mo's mouth.

"Hehe, I'll make you laugh! When Sister Mu comes today and sees the pig ears in your mouth, I'll make you laugh to your heart's content!" Classmate Tugou looked at him viciously.

In Qi and Lu, customs vary every ten miles, so the New Year customs in Linyi are quite different from those in other areas.

For example, although people in Qi and Lu do not go out on the first day of the Lunar New Year, on the second day, some villages will go to their grandmother's house to kowtow, but in other villages, the whole village will go to the graves. If you go to pay New Year's greetings, you will be driven out.
In addition, there are rules for which relatives to visit on the third day of the New Year and what kind of guests to welcome on the fourth day.

Of course, these are not the main points.

The point is, according to the custom in Yang Mo's village, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year is the time for prospective daughters-in-law to come and pay New Year's greetings... Unmarried women who come to visit on that day are uniformly identified as their future daughters-in-law, which is almost like an official announcement.

But the problem is that the drilling company will end its holiday on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and officially go back to work on the sixth day. Moreover, as it is the first day of work after the New Year, powerful cadres like Yang Mo and Miss Mu will definitely be busy with many large and small meetings. It is almost impossible for Miss Mu to come to the house to wish a happy new year.

Therefore, today, which is the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, becomes the most suitable time for Miss Mu to visit and wish a happy new year.

After all, although this day is not the time for prospective daughters-in-law to visit Yang Mo, it is very suitable for "prospective partners" like Miss Mu. If she can stay to celebrate New Year's Eve together, it will be even more perfect... New Year's Eve is the day for daughters-in-law to stay at home. If Miss Mu stays at Yang Mo's house to make dumplings together, it is equivalent to becoming Yang Mo's real daughter-in-law in folk customs. This folk custom has a greater restraining force in Qilu than the marriage ceremony. Although it is almost impossible for Miss Mu to stay at Yang Mo's house for New Year's Eve, it is reasonable for her to come here today as Yang Mo's partner to get to know him... In fact, there is only one day suitable for Miss Mu to visit.

That's why Tugou said those words so confidently and showed a mischievous expression as if he was waiting to see Yang Mo's performance.

As a Hui, Miss Mu is unlikely to get angry with Yang Mo for eating pork today, but she will definitely settle the score with him afterwards.

Hearing this, Yang Mo chuckled and said, "Give up, your sister Mu won't come today... Even if you stuff all the pig ears in the village into my mouth, it won't matter... So, are you disappointed?"

Tugou was stunned: "Sister Mu won't come? How... how is this possible?"

Yang Mo didn't hear the complex emotions in Tugou's tone, and just shrugged: "What's impossible about this?"

"In fact, she wanted to come over to get to know us at first. After all, although we haven't officially confirmed our relationship, it's almost there;"

"But the problem is her father. I don't know if it's because he can't let go of his pride or he has always had a problem with me... Anyway, under her father's strong opposition, your sister Mu obediently went back to Dongying last night. I guess even if she wants to come and get to know her family, that's a matter for the future."

Although Yang Mo spoke very vaguely, Tugou still heard the problem.

Indeed, before officially announcing their relationship, a girl would appear less reserved if she visited her boyfriend to wish him a happy new year before the guy did.

But Mu Siyuan was so opposed to it. I'm afraid that besides the fact that it would not sound good if this matter were spread, he was more likely to feel repulsed by Yang Mo.

No, that's not right.

Strictly speaking, it's not that they feel repulsed by Yang Mo as a person, but rather that he didn't take the initiative to go to Dongying to pay New Year's greetings.

After all, there is a huge gap in status between the two sides. This gap is invisible and objective, and it cannot be bridged simply by Yang Mo's amazing skills.
From the four words "strongly oppose", we can tell that if Yang Mo did not show an attitude that was "befitting of his status" and "appropriate", the relationship between him and Miss Mu would not be as smooth as he imagined.

Thinking of this, Tugou suppressed the random thoughts that popped up in his mind, and looked at Yang Mo with some doubts: "Since Uncle Mu objects to Sister Mu coming over to meet the family first, why don't you go to Dongying to visit first?"

"Yang Shidan, I know you're a face-conscious person, but Sister Mu is so pretty and a nice person, it wouldn't be unfair for you to bow your head a little for her, right? She just asked you to express your opinion, not to force you to be a live-in son-in-law, do you have to be so stubborn?"

This was indeed Tugou's real thought. Miss Mu's looks and temperament were recognized by everyone. If an ordinary man could get her favor, he would be happy to be her son-in-law. Now Mu Siyuan's intention was just to let Yang Mo take the initiative. It was not a shameful thing for a man to go to the woman's house to pay New Year's greetings first. Therefore, she really couldn't understand why Yang Mo, after knowing that Mu Siyuan strongly opposed his daughter's visit, did not think of taking the initiative to go to Dongying first, but drove a three-wheeled labor insurance back to the village as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Tugou's puzzled face, Yang Mo laughed, then stretched out his dirty hands and ruffled the two small buns as if playing a prank: "Girl, you don't understand the things in the rich and powerful families. Some things are not a big deal in the homes of ordinary people like us, but they may not be so simple in those wealthy families... In short, you just need to know that unless I really want to be this son-in-law, I will never be the first to bow my head in many things."

As he spoke, Yang Mo pointed to the plastic bag of cold-mixed pig ears, motioning the girl to help feed her another mouthful, but his tone was a little nonchalant: "To be honest, although your sister Mu is indeed very beautiful, so beautiful that even this old man can't help but be moved; but one thing is for another, this old man is already past the age where everything is dominated by hormones. No matter how beautiful your sister Mu is, she is not enough to make this old man desperate;"

"So, just like what is said in the novel, if fate comes, cherish it; if fate leaves, let it go. If your sister Mu and I can be together smoothly, it is certainly a blessing, but if we are not destined to be together because of some messy things, then we can only let it go."

The classmate, whose little bun was messed up, was about to angrily find the bastard to settle the score, but he was completely dumbfounded when he heard what Yang Mo said.

Is there really a man in this world who is not willing to risk his life for his sister Mu?

And Yang Mo, a guy who is considered lucky by countless people, actually has a casual attitude towards Sister Mu?

How is this possible?
Seeing the girl's unbelievable expression, Yang Mo smiled slightly: "Don't think I'm pretending. Whether you believe it or not, this is the truth."

Due to his experiences in his previous life, he always had an indelible fear of women. As he saw more and more messy things in later life, he formed a solidified cognition that was almost prejudiced in this regard.

In short, as he said, Miss Mu was beautiful enough to make his young body go against his brain; and his pleasant experiences with this young lady also made him willing to try to form a partnership.

But he knew very well that marriage and love were two different things. When dating someone with Miss Mu's family background, he could not lose too much initiative before marriage, otherwise his future marriage life would definitely be like being in prison... This had little to do with whether Miss Mu really liked him, but was due to the objective family environment of the other party.

But the problem is, influenced by his previous life, he doesn't think there is any woman who is worth him putting himself in a desperate situation and making him humble like a speck of dust.

In fact, there was a brief period of time when he felt that he could tolerate a little hardship on himself, but the experience on the pier made him realize that it is better not to take some things for granted.

Therefore, now he holds the attitude of "try hard but not give in" towards the relationship between himself and Miss Mu. Even if the two of them fail to achieve a happy ending in the end, he has no intention of lowering his bottom line in certain aspects... The experience of his previous life tells him that the bottom line will be lowered again and again. As long as you break through it once, there will be countless follow-ups waiting for you in the future.

………………

Hearing Yang Mo selectively express his thoughts, Tugou stared blankly at the man in front of him.

Although she could always feel the various pessimistic emotions of this childhood friend in every little bit in the past year, she really didn't expect that this man was so pessimistic that he was so rational about marriage and love.

For some reason, although the words this man said should have made her, as a woman, angry, she felt a kind of cynical sadness from Yang Mo.

"Yang Mo... Is there really no woman in this world that you can do anything for?"

Classmate Tugou looked at him with complicated eyes and murmured softly.

Yang Mo looked at her and smiled: "Yes... Although this relationship has nothing to do with the wind and the moon, seriously speaking, it actually exists!"

Tugou's eyes became more compassionate: "This love has nothing to do with the wind and the moon? Yang Mo, are you trying to say that besides your mother, there is no other woman in the world that you can do anything for?"

Yang Mo shrugged: "No, besides my mother, there is actually one."

Tugou tilted his head and looked at him with a puzzled look: "Who?"

Yang Mo looked at her and laughed, but did not answer directly. Instead, he pondered for a moment and suddenly sang softly:

………………

When the green carp came, I could hear the sound of spring streams breaking in the distance;
Smell the light yellow stamens of the pear tree I planted;
When the Lesser Heat passes quietly, the new pears begin to droop;

Come and invite the girl from the east to pick some fruit and return home slowly...

Last year, I gathered the fine snow from the branches;

Today the rouge pear leaves are falling;

Two or three strokes of grass are lightly plucked into the scroll;

The light spring wine tastes sweet when you sip it slowly;

I still prefer to fall asleep with the words "Jinghong" in my mind;
Even though I am sleepy by candlelight, I can chat with her all night long;

Early spring and late spring
Wine warms the flowers
It's like there's only one person who can solve all the problems in my life;
Every year we fry the pears under the flowery eaves;

From childhood to the day when you and I have been to the horizon;
The sky is light and blue~
The rain soaked my clothes
Once a year, I write to you, but only a few words are written;

……

The lanterns in the rain make the city sleepy ~ it has been so quiet for several years;

It seems like an old friend is knocking on my door;

Then fry the pears until they are snowy;

Can it dispel the half-life of wind and snow you have brought along?

………………

Although Yang Mo's voice was not very good and the rhythm was quite different from the original song, his slightly hoarse voice brought out an inexplicable sense of desolation and nostalgia. He sang "Tangli Jianxue", a song that originally expressed the innocence of a young girl, and he actually made it sound like a lonely lamp in the world.

Can I chat with her all night long by candlelight?

After several years, an old friend knocks on my door?

Can it dispel the wind and snow of half a lifetime?

As these hoarse lyrics continued to echo in her mind, Lu Yingying lowered her head and stared blankly at the bonfire in front of her.
His eyes were actually crazy...

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(End of this chapter)