On Sunday, the old Li family dressed up and went out early in the morning. Mrs. Li has small feet, and the way to and from the hydrolysis plant is too long, so Li Muwu asked Mingnan to ride a bicycle with Mrs. Li to Lao Meng’s house first, and by the way, he took the things that he brought to Lao Meng’s house. carried.

Ming Nan rode his bicycle and disappeared in a flash. Li Muwu and Wang Sufen walked forward with their heads sullen, for fear that they would be late and delay the time to speak. On the other hand, Zhen Zhen just walked around and played, and didn't have much time to pick a bunch of flowers, Wang Sufen looked back at her and saw that although she was walking and playing, she was always very close to her, so she didn't say anything about her.

Zhen Zhen held the flower in her left hand, and quickly picked off the extra leaves in her right hand. While the three people in front were walking with their heads lowered, they would do something on the flower from time to time. By the time they reached the door of Meng Xiaoxi's house, the flowers in Zhen Zhen's hand had already changed. into a beautiful bouquet.

Buildings in the 1960s had no soundproofing function. As soon as Zhen Zhen and her group climbed up from the first floor, Aunt Meng heard the movement in the room, and hurriedly opened the door and went out with Meng Xiaoxi: "I was with my aunt just now. Say your time is up, hurry up, come in!"

Aunt Meng greeted Li Muwu, let him in, and held Wang Sufen's hand enthusiastically: "I'm tired of walking this way." She looked at Mingbei with a smile on her face: "This is The youngest in your family, I didn't see you last time."

Wang Sufen nodded: "This is not a high school in the Hydrolysis Factory No. 1 Middle School, and I will graduate next year."

Aunt Meng immediately became envious when she heard it: "These children in your family are really promising. I heard Xiaoxi say that Zhen Zhen is good at studying, and she is the first in the exam every year."

"It used to be, but now I don't have exams, who knows how." Wang Sufen smiled: "But every time I see her teacher, she says she is good at studying."

Aunt Meng reached out and touched Zhen Zhen's head: "Zhen Zhen, this child is not bad, it seems that he has grown taller after not seeing him this month."

Wang Sufen looked at Zhen Zhen's face full of pride, but she couldn't help but say a few words of humility: "If you go up the mountain or down the river, go wild everywhere, this child will jump faster than the honest child."

"It's good to be naughty, it's smart when you look at it, I don't like this kind of thing, it's aura when you look at it." Aunt Meng said looking at Zhen Zhen with a smile on her face. Zhen Zhen stepped forward to say hello, and handed the bouquet to Meng Xiaoxi: "I picked it up on the road and gave it to Sister Meng."

A girl as big as Meng Xiaoxi likes flowers and grasses, what's more, the bouquet of flowers in Zhen Zhen's hand not only has big heads, watery but also bright colors, it's even more comfortable to look at in the autumn when the leaves are starting to fall.

Meng Xiaoxi waited for Wang Sufen to enter the house, and hurriedly dragged Zhen Zhen into the house, found a can and filled it with water, and inserted the wild flowers in it. Zhen Zhen looked left and right, and shook her head in dissatisfaction: "The flower pole is too long, it looks like it's going to fall down, Sister Xiaoxi, you can get me a pair of scissors and I'll trim it for you."

Xiaoxi went into the house and took a pair of big scissors and handed it to Zhen Zhen, Zhen Zhen cut most of the flower stems in three strokes and put them in the cans in a random pattern, which was pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at them. Zhen Zhen put the scissors in her hand on the table, took a step back and admired the flowers on the table, she was a little complacent: "This is my first time arranging flowers."

"What's the point of this?" Meng Xiaoxi looked at her in surprise: "I said how did you make it look so good, I used to just grab a handful and put them in the bottle, looking at the mess, it's not as good-looking as this."

Zhen Zhen smiled embarrassedly: "What's more important than that, it's just how to look good and put in it. By the way, Sister Xiaoxi, will you let me put flowers at home? Don't let people talk about capitalism. lifestyle?"

"It's okay, I'm afraid of wild flowers. I used to go to my house to set flowers. Come and see my flowers." Meng Xiaoxi said and took her to his house, and there was a pot of Clivia on the window sill: "This is the water source station. It was given to my house by someone from my family, and it was still blooming during the Chinese New Year last year, but this year it's summer and it's a little wilted."

Zhen Zhen was reluctant to use her powers in front of outsiders, so she only touched the leaves of Clivia to sense its condition, only then did she realize that the roots of Clivia had begun to rot. Under Meng Xiaoxi's curious gaze, Zhen Zhen shook the plant: "Although I don't grow flowers or grass, but I see the sky running up the mountain and mixing with flowers and plants all day, I can know a little bit. Sister Xiaoxi, You see, your gentleman orchid is shaking a little, I guess it must be a rotten root."

"Could it be that you watered too much?" Meng Xiaoxi also shook the Clivia, and found that it was as Zhen Zhen said, and she was very regretful: "It must have been watered twice a day in summer, this flower is white blind, and the roots are rotten. I can't live anymore, I'll throw it out later, or else the house will stink when it's too rotten."

"Don't, it's a pity to throw away such a good Clivia." Zhen Zhen quickly stopped her: "Let's wash the roots, cut off the rotten parts, and maybe replace with some new soil." Meng Xiaoxi was also interested when she heard it, and she and Zhen Zhen moved the flowers to the kitchen to clean up their roots.

The Meng family was a small three-bedroom house, and Meng Xiaoxi lived in the innermost hut, with a single bed and a writing desk. The slightly bigger one next door is a Datong shop, where Meng Xiaoxi's three younger brothers live; and directly opposite the door is a kitchen. Originally, there was a two-square-meter toilet inside, but Aunt Meng thought it took up space and demolished it. There was a cage of chickens there.

Aunt Meng's family is also a cauldron for burning wood, and a big rooster is stewing in it at this time. This stewed chicken can't be ready in a while, so Aunt Meng looked at it and went to the house to talk to Mrs. Li and Wang Sufen.

Ming Nan sat with him in the East Room for a while, but he didn't see Meng Xiaoxi coming out for a long time, so he couldn't help but go over to look at her: "What are you two doing?"

Zhen Zhen and Meng Xiaoxi were carrying the flowers to the kitchen, they couldn't help but laugh when they saw Ming Nan coming over: "Come here and move the flowers."

"Where is this going?" Ming Nan took the flower and asked in confusion.

"Put it in the kitchen sink." Meng Xiaoxi instructed Ming Nan. In this era, the building's sink was made of concrete, about 30 centimeters high, and it was long and rectangular enough to squat to wash clothes or something.

Aunt Meng stretched her neck and looked at the three flowers, and couldn't help but say: "Xiaoxi came over to talk to your aunt and your milk, you child, what are you doing there and making flowers."

Xiaoxi was a little embarrassed and ran over and smiled at Mrs. Li: "The Clivia in my house is a little rotten, and I am going to see with sister Zhen Zhen how it can be cured."

Mrs. Li smiled kindly: "It's okay, you go and get the flowers first, Zhen Zhen likes to play with these things, but she doesn't grow in pots at my house, so she planted a row of colorful flowers at the base of the wall and under the fence. It will be beautiful in summer.”

Aunt Meng watched the Mingnan brothers and sisters move the flower pot to the kitchen, and was afraid of soiling Zhen Zhen's clothes, so she quickly called Xiaoxi to rush over: "Go and see your sister Zhen Zhen, don't let the children do it , hurry up and do your own work."

Meng Xiaoxi quickly stood up again and said hello to Mrs. Li and Wang Sufen: "Nanny, auntie, you sit and eat melon seeds, I'll go get flowers with my sister."

"Let's go." Wang Sufen laughed, turned her head and said to Aunt Meng, "It's not bad for Xiaoxi, our family Zhen Zhen can't walk wherever she sees flowers."

In the kitchen, Zhen Zhen wrapped the rhizome of Clivia with her consciousness, loosened the soil, gently lifted it up, and the whole Clivia came out. Putting the flowers in the pool, Zhen Zhen wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose with her arm, and instructed Ming Nan who didn't know what to do on the side: "Brother, pour the soil under the tree at the back and dig some new soil up. "Ming Nan responded, and winked at Meng Xiaoxi with both eyes, hoping that she could go out with him, but unfortunately Meng Xiaoxi focused on watching Zhen Zhen cleaning the flower roots and using scissors to trim the rotten part without even a single glance. Allocated to Mingnan.

Zhen Zhen put the cut flower roots in the trash can on the side, when she looked up and saw Ming Nan was still squeezing her eyes, she couldn't help but ask him, "Why don't you leave?"

Ming Nan looked at Meng Xiaoxi pitifully, Meng Xiaoxi pursed his lips and smiled, and helped to put the flower in a direction, Ming Nan sighed helplessly, took the shovel, and walked back three steps.

Zhen Zhen has never dealt with the rotten roots. All she can do is to trim off the rotten parts. When Mingnan came back with new soil and planted the orchids back, she used a little supernatural power to stimulate the Clivia again. 's vitality.

The two planted the Clivia, and then let Ming Nan move back to the house. Meng Xiaoxi washed his hands, lifted the lid of the cauldron, and poked it with chopsticks. Seeing that the chicken pieces were half cooked, he washed one side of the cauldron. Put the good mushrooms in, stir fry a few times, put some firewood under the stove, and take Ming Nan and Zhen Zhen to the east room to talk.

Lao Meng's house is not big. Although the east room is more spacious, the crowd of people who are crowded in is instantly full, and there is no place to stay. Mingbei took the opportunity to stand up and said cautiously, "Auntie, I'll go look for it. Let's play for a while, classmates."

"Go." Aunt Meng stood up and grabbed a handful of melon seeds in his pocket: "Go, remember to come back when you eat at noon." Then she turned around and threw her three boys out: "Let's go out to play, Don't delay our conversation."

The four big boys ran out, the room became quiet for a while, Zhen Zhen felt that the air was fresh and her breathing was smooth.

Mrs. Li also felt clean, she sat on the bed with her legs crossed, changed her posture, and talked about the house: "The land has been approved, the boss has a piece of land, and while the weather is still cold, the foundation has just been dug. .We came out today, Mingnan's third uncle is busy there, and it is estimated that it will be finished before it freezes."

Aunt Meng's face was full of joy when she heard it: "Oh, Auntie, your housekeeping is too quick, I thought it would take the spring of next year to build it."

"Early build the kang and bake it in winter." Mrs. Li said with a smile: "Just don't think it's a one-story house. Except for the hydrolysis plant, there are no three-story buildings in Beicha."

"What's so good about this building." Aunt Meng also moved cross-legged to the bed: "We have changed several times to get this size. At the beginning, we lived on the first floor opposite, and we only had one room and one kitchen. Now this house is the biggest one. You will feel frustrated when you see too many people. You have to be in the kitchen to raise chickens. How can you have a big yard at the bottom of the mountain, and there are trees and vegetable gardens. I can Got it."

"After the children get married, you can live there for a few days when the spring flowers bloom. Anyway, the couple can live in the same house." Mrs. Li said cheerfully: "It just so happens that we are also looking forward to someone who can talk."

"Okay, I'll have to stop by at that time." Aunt Meng quickly replied politely.

Meng Xiaoxi glanced at the alarm clock on the table, guessing that the chicken stew with mushrooms was almost ready, she stood up and smiled: "Nanny, auntie, you sit and talk, I'll go cook."

Aunt Meng glanced at her daughter with some self-satisfaction, and couldn't help complimenting Mrs. Li: "Auntie, it's not that I praise Xiaoxi, she is much better at cooking than me, and you can try her craftsmanship later. Daughter, you are good at cleaning up the house and cooking, and it’s not bad to live your life.”

Wang Sufen nodded in agreement: "At first glance, the big girl is a neat person, and Xiaoxi will follow you when you see it."

Zhen Zhen sat on the stool and listened to their compliments. It was a bit boring, so she quickly stood up and said, "I'm going to the kitchen to help Sister Xiaoxi cook."

Mrs. Li was so frightened that she immediately stopped her. Usually, she didn't even dare to let Zhen Zhen do it with hot water at home, for fear of scalding her. But if she bluntly said that she would not be allowed to go to the kitchen, because she was afraid that the old Meng family would think too much, Mrs. Li was in a hurry and saw Ming Nan, and suddenly said in a hurry: "Let Ming Nan go to help, it is also better to enhance the relationship, you What the hell is a little girl involved in?"

Meng Xiaoxi was very quick in her hands and feet. She put the chicken stewed mushrooms out, and fried five dishes in a blink of an eye. Master Meng poured the white wine. Marriage thing.

Aunt Meng was a little apprehensive about falling in love before marriage, for fear that her daughter's reputation would not be jeopardized, she nodded hurriedly when she heard this: "It's just your arrangement, we don't have much to say."

****

The house for Ming Nan's marriage was finally finished before the cold winter came. When Mrs. Li was sitting on the kang and planning to invite someone to propose marriage to Lao Meng's house, the news on the radio suddenly said: "...I have given an important order: the educated youth arrives. It is very necessary to go to the countryside and receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants..."

Zhen Zhen scattered the hazelnuts on the kang in her hand, she stared blankly at the radio and was a little dazed: She didn't have a deep impression of this history, she always thought that she would go to the mountains and the countryside next year, but she didn't expect it to be at this time.

"Zhen Zhen, what's wrong with you?" Mrs. Li was startled and quickly touched her head.

Zhen Zhen grabbed Mrs. Li's hand and was about to cry angrily: "My fourth brother is miserable this time."

Madam Li was startled when she heard it, and just wanted to ask why, she heard the radio and continued: "... Junior high school students and high school students at school have to go to the vast countryside..."

"Mingbei is going to go to the mountains and the countryside as an educated youth?" Mrs. Li asked blankly.

This is not the first time that the phrase "going to the mountains and going to the countryside" has been mentioned. This concept has already been mentioned in the early 1950s. At that time, many educated youths came to Hei Province from all over the country, and many farms were reclaimed, which was solved to a large extent. The problem of food shortages in the Black Province.

remembered that the educated youth who came to Hei Province to open up wasteland came from all over the world, and there were many urban educated youth who had been in the wasteland for a few years.

I remembered that Mingdong taught in Anbei all the year round, and Mingxi had been in the army for two years without a word, only Mingnan and Mingbei were his two grandsons. , why did you cut the queue before the new year passed? For a while, Mrs. Li couldn't hold back and sat on the kang wiping her tears.

Zhen Zhen was also helpless about this situation. Not only did the queue cut this time take a long time, but there were also many uncontrollable problems in the subsequent return to the city. That night, the old Li family sat on the kang to discuss what to do about this matter. It is impossible to resist the country's policies hard. Now it seems that only by letting Mingbei take over quickly can this matter be avoided. Ming Bei was silent for a rare night without saying a word, and got up early the next morning to go to school.

This kind of policy with obvious instructions was implemented very quickly across the country. Every half month, Mingbei, who had only graduated in half a year, got his graduates ahead of schedule. The school notified him to wait at home and wait for the news of cutting the queue, and he could not go out casually.

Wang Sufen thought about her four sons, two of them were not with her, and she was going to leave another one. She couldn't help crying while sitting on the kang, and Mrs. Li also sighed while sitting on the kang. The two of them waited eagerly for Li Muwu. information.

Perhaps it was the period when Li Muwu proposed to let his son take over too obvious, and the grain depot did not reply for a while. Li Muwu took the cigarette and took pictures several times, and finally got the right words: No!

The road to take over was also blocked. It seemed that Mingbei had only one way to go to the countryside. The whole family felt so uncomfortable that they couldn't help but love Mingbei. Mrs. Li once again told Li Muwu to kill the pig early, twice a day. gave Mingbei stewed meat, thinking of giving him a supplement in advance, and when cut the queue later, might not see the meaty smell when saw it.

Zhen Zhen thought that Ming Bei had said many times over the past few years that the roasted venison was delicious, and hurriedly used her consciousness to control the male deer to go down the mountain, let it run to the gate of Lao Li's house by itself, and almost drove the deer who was about to go out. Li Muwu bumped his head.

These people in the family also know that Zhen Zhen can control animals, she touched Zhen Zhen's head, half happy and half sad: "He doesn't have to eat pork, you are still used to him."

"Eat, let's eat, don't go out and cut the queue." Zhen Zhen sighed: "He wants to eat whatever he wants, maybe he will have to cook by himself in the future, and I don't know if my fourth brother is hungry. What is it like."

After hearing this, Wang Sufen cried again.

The brazier was lit again, and the iron plate was placed on it again, and the venison was roasted in the same way, but there were fewer people who ate the roasted venison together. Ming Bei stared straight at the venison, and when the first plate was cooked, it was sent to Mrs. Li's table, and he couldn't wait to put new venison.

Mrs. Li picked up a piece of venison, but she couldn't get her mouth down. She raised her head and called Ming Bei over: "It's better for you to eat it, the milk can't be eaten."

Mingbei sat on the kang, used chopsticks to wrap a cabbage heart roll for Mrs. Li and handed it to her: "Milk, it's actually nothing, I think it's pretty good. When I cut the queue, I guess I can get along with Yu. When we get together in the late autumnal equinox, maybe if we spend two years together, she will be willing to marry me."

Mrs. Li was almost never choked to death by the meat in her mouth. Most of the previous sadness was gone, and she looked at Ming Bei inexplicably: "Who is Yu Wanqiu?"

"It's the girl I like, from our class." Mingbei was a little embarrassed when he mentioned Yu Wanqiu: "It's the girl I met when I took Zhen Zhen to the hydrolysis factory for the first time to watch a movie, she's old and good-looking. "

Mrs. Li put down the venison in her hand, pinched her waist and stared at Mingbei: "So the reason you worked so hard to take the Hydrolysis Factory High School is to be in the same class as her?"

"Not so good." Mingbei nodded vigorously: "And in order to have a table with her, I even gave it to my classmate."

Mrs. Li angrily reached out to touch the cigarette bag and pot, and when she held it up high, she remembered that her grandson was going to a distant place soon, and couldn't bear to beat him: "How good is the pen your brother bought for you, you can say it to others. You gave it to someone, you prodigal child. Then you gave someone a pen, what do you usually use?"

"He also gave me one. Although it looks old, the water is very smooth." Ming Bei sneered: "Well, isn't going to school to marry a good wife and find a good job? It's not all about getting a wife."

Mrs. Li was choked up and down in one breath. She didn't want to look at Ming Bei, so she turned around and called Zhen Zhen to her: "Then what happened to Yu Wanqiu? Who are you?"

Zhen Zhen sat next to Mrs. Li and said to her in detail, "It's a child of the hydrolysis plant. I see good people and good looks, otherwise my fourth brother wouldn't be able to fall in love with others at a glance."

Seeing that Mrs. Li was in a bad mood, Zhen Zhen deliberately made her laugh: "Nurse, one of your three granddaughters is more beautiful than the other, why do you think there is such a good thing."

Mrs. Li snorted coldly: "The first two are no problem. As for the late autumn, who knows if she will become my granddaughter-in-law. If you haven't seen it, people don't hesitate to pay attention to him."

"It's not that I don't agree." Mingbei scratched his face in confusion: "She just didn't speak, so I guess she has to think about it."

Mrs. Li sighed: "Are you sure you can go together? Do you know where to cut the line?"

"The school said it will be notified the day after tomorrow." Mingbei replied immediately: "I will fight for it and go with her. When I go back to the city in the future, I might hold my daughter-in-law in one hand and hold my son in the other."

For a moment, Mrs. Li and Wang Sufen didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

All parts of the country responded very quickly to the clear instructions issued by the chairman. Mingbei went to school according to the day, and when he came back in the afternoon, he was very happy: "Mom, I have chosen a place, and I will go to an educated youth spot with Yu late autumn."

After hearing this, Mrs. Li hurriedly asked, "Which province are you in? Not far from home? Isn't it the Great Northwest?"

"It's about the same direction." Mingbei nodded, and Mrs. Li's legs softened, so she didn't fall down, she heard Mingbei add: "Me and Yu Wanqiu go to the twelve educated youth spots."

While supporting Old Lady Li, Zhen Zhen anxiously asked Ming Bei: "Don't talk halfway, where are the twelve educated youths?"

"It's on the northwest side of our Beicha." Mingbei explained in an unclear manner: "The hydrolysis plant is building a special line for a small railway, but it is said that it is not that fast. Recently, I can only take a big car or something, which is a long way from our Beicha. It’s 12 kilometers away, so it’s called the Twelve Educated Youth Point. After I get there, I can’t go home every day, and I heard from the factory that I can only come back once every two weeks.”

Immediately, Mrs. Li's legs stood up straight. She picked up the cigarette bag and pot on the kang and knocked on Mingbei's head. You heartless thing, give me a good pen in exchange for a broken pen, do you think you have a weak head?"

Mingbei was beaten and ran away: "Nurs, I'm going to cut in the queue, why are you still beating me? Don't you feel bad for me?"

"I feel bad for you." Mrs. Li felt bad when she thought of her big fat pig who had eaten half of it: "Your brother and sister-in-law haven't come back yet, but you killed the pig first, and you ended up 20 kilometers away from home. , I wasted a few tears in vain."

Wang Sufen stood beside him, crying and laughing, and kept encouraging Mrs. Li: "Mother, knock him hard, this damn child scares me to death."

"I didn't know it would be so close to home?" Mingbei squatted on the ground with his head in his arms and was aggrieved: "Why don't I talk to the school and let me change place? There are forty-two educated youth spots."

"You can pull it down." Mrs. Li sat on the kang panting heavily and glanced at Ming Bei, and Mrs. Li suddenly stabbed Ming Bei's chest: "Don't come back every two weeks, it's not enough for you. Cooking is troublesome, just come back once a month or two."

Mingbei:  …

Wang Sufen: Mother is right. What, mother, let me freeze the pork and venison. It's still two months before the Chinese New Year. "

"No." Mingbei looked at his mother, who was still reluctant to part with him, in disbelief: "Didn't you say braised pork at noon?"

Mrs. Li sneered and glanced at him for the first time: "What are you going to eat with braised pork? You can't eat it with stewed cabbage. Mingdong motherfucker, don't stew meat this week, we'll go to the vegetables when Mingbei leaves. Put some pork slices or something, look at what he has eaten this week, full of fat intestines."

Ming Bei squeezed his smooth belly, and he was about to cry without tears: ...my grandmother!