Back to my 1980s

The morning sunlight cast a golden glow.

A few rays of light pierced through the treetops in the corner of the yard, slanting into the yard and casting dappled shadows on the ground through the low kitchen window. A gentle breeze rustled the green leaves outside the yard, and the air was filled with the smell of cooking fires and the dampness of the morning dew.

Zhao Hua straightened up and looked up at the scenery in the courtyard, feeling as if he were in a painting.

"mother!"

Hearing the commotion in the yard, Song Xueping came out of the kitchen.

"What's wrong? Is dinner ready?" Hearing Song Xueping's voice, Song's mother turned around and asked, "Why did you let Xiao Zhao help with the chores? If you're too busy, you could have called your brother."

Song Xueping couldn't very well say that Zhao Hua had insisted on doing it himself; he meant well, and saying it out loud would sound like she was complaining about him. So she could only listen to her mother's nagging for a while, and secretly rolled her eyes at Zhao Hua when her mother wasn't looking.

Only during a pause did Song's mother hurriedly interject, "Not yet. I heard you enter the courtyard, but you didn't come over, so I came out to check. But dinner is almost ready; you can call Dad back for dinner now."

Mother Song nodded and smiled, "Alright! I'll come back and get some sacks. Your father picked some wheat grains this morning and chewed them, saying that since there was a breeze this morning, we can harvest them today. We'll just shake them out and put them away."

She turned to look for the sack, no longer nagging Song Xueping. After all, she herself hadn't stopped her just now. But this made her impression of Zhao Hua even better.

He's good at making money, hardworking, and good-looking. Song Zhiqiang had brought friends back to stay before, but they would only hang out with Song Zhiqiang, eat and drink, sleep after eating, eat again after waking up, and then take Song Zhiqiang out to run around. They were nowhere to be seen all day. This was the first time he had ever seen someone bring a young man like Zhao Hua to his home.

After finding the sack, Song's mother tucked it under her arm and told Song Xueping, "I'll take the sack over there. You can bring the food over after you've cooked it. I won't be coming back; I'll be busy later."

Upon hearing that the wheat needed to be bagged, Song Xueping nodded and said, "Oh, I understand. I'll go help you once the water boils. I'll ask my brother to get up and kill the chicken later." After saying that, she quickly went into the kitchen to get busy.

After seeing that she had agreed, Song's mother said a few polite words to Zhao Hua, then quickly left with the sack.

Seeing that the family had already started working while Song Zhiqiang was still fast asleep, Zhao Hua thought for a moment and decided that he should go and help out first before taking the afternoon bus back. Otherwise, Song Xueping would have to work with them, which would leave them with a better impression. It's really true that she doesn't do any work at home but still goes to help others.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hua took a washbasin into the kitchen, used a ladle to scoop water to wash his face, and then smiled at Song Xueping, who was mixing cucumbers, and said, "I'll go help you guys out later, and then I'll go back this afternoon."

When Song Xueping saw Zhao Hua walk in, her hand, which was stirring the cucumber, paused slightly. Then she pretended to be nonchalant and stood in front of the stove, waiting for Zhao Hua to finish washing his face before listening to him explain his purpose.

After he finished speaking, Song Xueping rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and said reproachfully, "Don't talk back! My mother just scolded me, telling you to just sit down and rest!"

After saying that, she asked softly, "Are you going back this afternoon?"

Zhao Hua raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, "Yes, I need to go back and make money. The more money I make, the better I can get married in the future."

When Song Xueping heard him mention "getting married," she felt a strange unease, her breathing became slightly erratic, and she nodded, saying, "Alright then."

"What's wrong?" Zhao Hua leaned against the door frame, his gaze falling on Song Xueping, and asked softly with just the right amount of doubt in his tone.

"It's nothing, just asking casually." Song Xueping turned her back to Zhao Hua, went to get the salt jar in the corner of the stove, and used a small spoon to scoop out a little salt and sprinkle it into the rough porcelain basin in her hand.

After setting out the seasonings, Song Xueping turned around and saw Zhao Hua still staring at her. Feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed, she said, "Hey! Why are you staring at me like that? What's there to see? Don't get in my way! I'm busy, I don't have time to talk to you. Go wake my brother up! It'll be time to eat soon!"

Zhao Hua shrugged at her, curled his lip, and laughed, "Tch! I know! How funny, being pretty doesn't mean I can't look at you. When you were secretly looking at me, I didn't say a word!"

After saying that, he turned around and slowly walked towards the main room. When Song Xueping saw that he had finally left, she raised her head and looked at his back with complicated emotions.

Zhao Hua took a few steps, then suddenly turned around, and their eyes met. Song Xueping hurriedly looked away, lowered her head and stared at the basin in her hand, as if she could see a flower in it. Zhao Hua smiled and looked at her a few more times before looking away and laughing as he walked into the house.

Upon hearing Zhao Hua's laughter, Song Zhiqiang stirred slightly, smacked his lips, turned over, and continued to snore.

Zhao Hua walked closer and took a look, and found that Song Zhiqiang was sleeping like a log, with the blanket between his legs, his buttocks sticking out, and he was snoring loudly.

Zhao Hua couldn't resist. He took two steps forward and slapped Song Zhiqiang's fat buttocks, yelling, "Get up! Get up! The sun's already high in the sky, and you're still sleeping!"

Song Zhiqiang was fast asleep when Zhao Hua's sudden slap jolted him awake. Hearing that he was being told to get up, he looked up and glanced outside.

The sunlight hadn't even entered the room yet, and it wasn't his usual wake-up time. After lying back down, he muttered, "What time is it? It's still early. I'll sleep a little longer." He paused, then said weakly, "Why did you wake up so early?"

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "I'm used to getting up early at home, so hurry up and get up. Today your wheat needs to be bagged, and there's no one to deal with the pheasant we caught last night. Your sister will boil water later, so if we want to eat it, we'll have to do it ourselves."

It seems food is still more appealing to him. Upon hearing this, Song Zhiqiang scratched his head, sat up, rubbed his face a couple of times, and sighed, "Alright, get up!"

After sitting on the bed for a while, I picked up my clothes and started putting them on one by one.

Seeing that he had already gotten up and dressed, Zhao Hua turned around and ran to the kitchen. He had no interest in watching grown men get dressed; he'd rather use that time to see Song Xueping... well, he just wanted to see Song Xueping.

A moment later, Song Zhiqiang slowly emerged from the house, yawning and groggily reaching for the washbasin to wash his face. As he wiped his face, he glanced at the pheasant tied up at the alley entrance and said to Zhao Hua, "Brother, how do you want to eat it? I'm not bragging, but when it comes to food, I'm second to none for miles around!"

Seeing that this guy was spouting nonsense as soon as he woke up, Zhao Hua's lips twitched. Just as he was about to reply, a middle-aged woman he didn't know rushed over.

Just as he reached the door, the middle-aged woman started yelling at the top of her lungs, "Qiangzi! Qiangzi! Oh, Qiangzi!"

The three people inside the house were drawn by the anxious shouts and looked over.