Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1358 How could Mom do that?

"It feels so good, I've finally made it through. It's been such a tough time for me."

After taking a refreshing bath, Xiao Hong collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) without a care for her image, and teased Lele, who was being punched, with her finger.

"Is it as serious as you say? Get up, your hair is all wet." Xiaowei reached out and pulled Xiaohong up with a look of disgust.

Xiao Hong is now a month old. In her words, she has finally gained freedom and can do whatever she wants.

She shoved the towel in her hand into Xiaowei's hand: "You wipe me down, I'm too tired to do anything."

Xiao Wei took the towel and stood behind Xiao Hong to dry her hair: "Isn't there a hairdryer? I'll dry it for you."

Xiao Hong shook her head: "Mom said no, we have to wait a few more days, I just finished my postpartum confinement. Oh my god, I'm so fat, I need to move around and lose some weight, I don't think I've eaten much."

Xiao Wei dried his hair: "It's okay, I'm not fat, but I can do some exercise. Being a bit muscular is a good thing."

Xiao Hong pouted, "I'm used to the smell inside, so I can't tell. But after taking a shower, I found the room really smelly, a sour smell. It's all your fault, you little rascal." She pinched Lele's face.

"Open the windows and doors, and take everything that needs washing apart. It must have been tough for you to endure this stench for a whole month. I didn't believe you when you first told me."

Xiao Wei chuckled and said, "It's nothing. It's just the smell of my wife and kids. I'm happy to smell it."

Beibei ran in with her hair all disheveled: "Mom and Dad, I'm done washing up!"

Xiaowei let go of Xiaohong and put a towel on Beibei's head: "Don't move, you're all wet, you ran out without even wiping yourself off."

Xiao Hong turned to look at Bei Bei: "This girl's hair is too thick, she should get it cut."

Beibei stepped back slightly: "No, Mommy, I don't want to cut it. It won't be pretty if I cut it. I want to wear a long braid. A really long one." She stretched out her little hand and gestured.

Xiao Hong said, "Yanzi's hair is sparse, and even when it grows long, it becomes thin. Yours is too thick; isn't it uncomfortable?"

Beibei shook her head, which resulted in splashing water all over Xiaowei, and then she laughed.

"Your clothes are all wet. Go up to the kang (heated brick bed) and let your mom change you." Xiaowei patted Beibei's bottom.

"No, I want Daddy to change it."

"Aren't you ashamed? You're a big girl now, you can't change clothes in front of your father anymore."

Why?

"Dad is a man. You're all grown up now. You can't change your clothes in front of men."

"Oh. Then how can Mom change or take off her clothes in front of Dad?"

Xiao Hong was stunned, then turned to look at Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei smirked and ran out of the house: "Serves you right for not paying attention all day. Go explain yourself." You know, once Bei Bei, the Great Madman, activates his "Million Whys" mode, he's practically invincible, unmatched by any force.

Now, the children in the yard have all reached the point where their thirst for knowledge is soaring, especially when a few of them get together and unleash their full potential. It's all tears. Only Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen, those two monstrous devils, can handle it all with ease.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have even considered sending my child to kindergarten. Now, let the teachers worry about it.

The autumn wind is chilling, leaves are falling in profusion, and vegetation is withered and decaying.

The back garden, once bustling with insects, birds, and butterflies in the summer, is now a scene of desolation. Unlike the old trees that still stand tall and strong despite having lost all their leaves, the flowers and plants in the back garden have lost all their vibrant greenness and are now tangled, withered, and trembling in the wind.

Xiao Liu and his team were tidying up the garden. They cut the grass to the roots and burned it along with the leaves swept up from the yard. Then they buried the ashes in the soil. They turned over the soil in the entire back garden and the small yard on the side, revealing fresh, flat soil that looked much better than the tangled weeds.

Chen Xiaohui and Wang Yan had also taken a bath, their faces flushed. Holding hands, they stood under the archway, leaning against the stone wall and peering into the garden.

"Are they going to cook? Why are they starting a fire?"

"It wasn't cooking rice. There wasn't even a pot. We just burned the grass and buried it."

"Why bury it?"

"The grass dies, but people get buried too."

"The little grass is so pitiful."

Xiao Wei came out of the house and walked a few steps on the blue bricks scattered in the yard. He looked around the yard and found that several clumps of weeds had grown on the upturned eaves of the pavilion. Now that the leaves had fallen and the plants had withered, they were exposed.

The old tree, now bare of its lush foliage, immediately made the yard feel fresh and clean. Looking up, you could see the clear blue sky, and the usually hidden bird nests were now clearly visible. A few birds fluttered past, chirping softly. I wondered how they survived the winter.

In late autumn and throughout the long winter, trees, rocks, houses, and painted beams all appear gray and faded, as if they have lost their luster. But with the arrival of spring, flowers, and summer, they are restored to their former glory, vibrant and dazzling. It is a strange cycle.

A series of clanging sounds came from inside the tweezers.

This is a barber who travels through the streets and alleys. In ancient times, he was also called a comber or tweezers barber. It was a profession that originated in the Song Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, the term "shaving head" was changed. The emperor bestowed a couplet: "Doing the best business in the world, using the most outstanding skills in the world." The barber's career reached its peak, and he was called "Little Imperial Carriage," being in charge by imperial decree.

Originally, the tool used for shaving baby hair was a tweezer, but it was later replaced by iron tweezers that had no practical use. The sound of the tweezers being struck announced from afar that the barber had arrived, saving people the trouble of shouting.

Xiaowei's mother came over with a towel: "Is it time to shave your head?" Xiaohong turned one month old, and Xiaowei's mother rushed over again to see her granddaughter.

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "It sounds like it. I didn't expect there were still these things around. There are hair salons everywhere outside, all doing perms and dyeing, who still needs them to shave heads?" When he was a child, there were many barbers in the countryside, but there are none now.

Back then, barbers, pedicurists, photographers, and knife sharpeners all carried their tools around and were quite popular.

Xiaowei's mom said, "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. How can they be the same? Xiaohui, come here."

Chen Xiaohui pulled Wang Yan along and ran over: "Grandma Zhang, what's up?"

Wang Yan shook the hand that Chen Xiaohui was holding: "We can't say 'what are you going to say' anymore. What's the point of saying it? Don't you remember what the teacher said?"

Xiaowei's mother tossed the towel into Xiaowei's arms and pulled Chen Xiaohui outside, saying, "A haircut brings good fortune. Oh dear, these four haircuts have exhausted me; my arms are aching."

Xiao Wei, holding the towel, smiled wryly: "What era are we living in? People still believe in this stuff."

Xiaowei's mother said, "Old people always have some truth to what they say. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. Lele is a girl. If it were a boy, we would have to take him out and shave his head. Shaving a boy's head is a good thing, it brings good fortune."

Xiao Wei said, "Wasn't that just propaganda from the Qing Dynasty to get people to shave their heads? How can you believe that?"

Chen Hui stretched and yawned as he came out of the house: "What's going on here?" He watched as Xiao Wei's mother led the two children to the front.

(End of this chapter)