Chapter 77
- Shi Xiaoai agreed, turned around, and went to the cupboard to take a plate of shrimp cakes and put it on the table. He told Cheng Lin: "You eat some to pad your stomach. After that, let's start dinner."
The shrimp cakes were homemade by her. She chopped the white shrimp she bought before and made them into a puree. Then she added steamed mashed potatoes and carrots, added the seasonings, stirred well, and evened it out. Spread onto seaweed and place on a griddle to bake.
These shrimp cakes are fragrant and crispy when freshly baked, and they are so delicious that they cannot stop eating, let alone children. Even adults will find them so delicious that they cannot stop eating them.
Even if it is cooled, it will not taste bad. The moisture in the shrimp paste will gradually soak into the seaweed, allowing the various flavors to blend. The shrimp, meat, vegetable paste, and seaweed will also fit better, making the shrimp cake tough and delicious. Very chewy.
It was noon, and the two children were waiting at the house door at an unknown time. It took much work to tell whether they had breakfast.
Cheng Yang was the elder brother and had to maintain authority, but Shi Xiaoai didn't want to watch the child suffer.
After putting down the shrimp cakes, Shi Xiaoai made another bowl of sugar water, gave it to Cheng Lin, and said, "While you are eating, tell your brother that Yuncheng is very humid, so don't freeze yourself."
Cheng Lin was extremely nervous when his brother called him out alone. Countless thoughts ran through his mind during the few steps from the hut to the living room, and his body tensed up.
But he suddenly relaxed when his sister-in-law interrupted him from eating and drinking.
Only then did Cheng Lin finally realize that he was now at his brother's house, facing his closest and dearest relatives, so what did he have to fear?
He suddenly became confident.
Without saying a word, Cheng Lin picked up a piece of shrimp cake and put it into his mouth. After chewing it a few times, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Delicious!" He nodded vigorously, then quickly swallowed and picked up the second piece.
In the meantime, I remembered to drink several sips of sugar water.
Cheng Yang sat aside, speechlessly watching his brother eating and drinking so freely that he couldn't help but rub his temples.
He waited patiently until Cheng Lin had finished eating and drinking, wiped his mouth clean, and finally asked again: "Tell me, what happened? How did you find this place?" "
I lost my food book. ." Cheng Lin suddenly said.
Cheng Yang raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect his brother to say this.
"Well, what happens next?" He continued to ask calmly.
Cheng Lin lowered his head, rubbed his nose gently, and explained: "I didn't mean it; I lost the food book by accident. I was going to buy food that day, but Kaikai suddenly had a stomachache. He asked me to take him to the hospital. I stuffed the food book and the supply book into my bag together. But when I went to the hospital, I was in such a hurry that I forgot to take it from the bag trailer. When I returned, I had the food and supply books in my bag. Everything is gone."
Cheng Lin raised his head as he spoke, with a bit of grievance in his tone: "There is no rice at home, no gas, and I haven't had time to get the food stamps yet. Brother, if I don't bring Kaikai to come to join you, both of us will probably starve to death in a few days."
The young boy sniffed as he spoke, stretched out a finger, and lightly touched the back of Cheng Yang's hand on the table, just like when he was a child. He usually talks coquettishly to his brother in a waxy voice: "Brother, don't want us. If you don't want us, no one will want me and Kaikai."
Cheng Yang reached out and touched the top of his brother's head.
However, he didn't fully believe what Cheng Lin said.
Although they haven't seen each other for many years, Cheng Yang has not forgotten that his younger brother has been a ghost since childhood.
Cheng Lin was ten years younger than him, only five years old, when he and his mother moved out.
But with such a big little thing, at that time, he could travel across half of the city without making a sound and reach the small house where they lived.
Cheng Yang still remembers that his mother almost fell ill when that kid suddenly appeared before them!
Although the little guy cried and fussed, Cheng Yang sent him back cruelly. It's not that he and his mother are hard-hearted; it's just that his brother is too young, and their situation is too bad.
But after that trip, Cheng Lin unlocked a new skill. No matter how tightly his father, Cheng Fan, camped, he couldn't stop him.
Locking the door prompted him to learn to jump out of the window. He would walk if he didn't have money to take the bus. When he was sent back, he would run out again...
He learned to lie, act pitifully, and evade fares to avoid being sent back.
The mother was extremely worried, but no matter how anxious she was about the general environment at that time, she could not bear to let her little son suffer with her.
Not only her youngest son but Cheng Yang, and she also forced him to go back several times, even at the risk of death.
Cheng Yang was only fifteen years old at that time, and he was at his most rebellious. After Cheng Lin sneaked over again and was hit by a bicycle on the road, his long-suppressed anger finally broke out!
He took his younger brother to Cheng Fanying's unit and publicly broke up with him. He publicly accused him of being ruthless and selfish. He also said that if anything happened to his brother again, he would make Cheng Fanying look good!
At that time, he only wanted to vent his anger but did not consider the consequences.
The day after he left, Cheng Lin was sent to the home of a former comrade in Cheng Fan Camp in the countryside. The euphemistic name is to remember the hardships and the sweetness, but it is just to send the child far away so that he will not stay home and cause trouble.
After Cheng Yang found out, he ran over to find Cheng Fanying again but still needed to enter the unit gate.
The person who came out to deliver the message spoke very coldly: "Minister Cheng said that since you have broken away from the relationship between father and son, his decision has nothing to do with you. He is disciplining his son, what qualifications do you have to interfere?" No matter how much he makes Noisy and noise, Cheng Yang waits at the door of the unit but can never see Cheng Fanying again.
Only then did he realize that when that person truly becomes ruthless, his threats and anger will become worthless.
Cheng Fanying married three months after this incident and finally took Cheng Lin back after the marriage.
The few months he left, they made the little guy feel like a different person. Since then, except for New Year greetings, Cheng Lin has never been to this house privately again.
Even if it were to pay New Year's greetings, Cheng Fanying would have the car waiting outside, and the mother, son, and brother could not say a few words.
Later, Cheng Yang went to the countryside.
In the first few years, Cheng Yangyou and his younger brother kept communicating, especially after his mother passed away when his younger brother was his only relative.
But this time did not last long, and he went to the battlefield within two years.
Regarding whom Cheng Yang feels most guilty about over the years, one is his wife, Shi Xiaoai, and the other is his younger brother, Cheng Lin.
Whatever the reason, he did abandon his brother several times in succession.
"Since you're here, let's play for two more days. I'll accompany you to send him a telegram tomorrow and tell him that I'll take you back after a while." Cheng Yang said to his younger brother.
What he didn't expect was that this sentence was like poking a hornet's nest, and Cheng Lin jumped up!
"I'm not going back! I have no intention of leaving this time! It's useless for you to complain! And you can't find him. He has gone to the countryside to squat for several months. Even if he comes back, I won't Go back!"
"I have no intention of driving you away." Cheng Yang rubbed his brows.
"But what about Cheng Kai? Doesn't he need to go to school? School should have started now, right?"
Cheng Lin was momentarily silent and then said firmly: "Kaikai won't return either. No one is at home, and he is hungry even if I am not. He's dead."
After saying that, he raised his head: "Brother, Kaikai is also your brother. You can't do without me, and you can't do without him."
Cheng Yang: "..."
"Where is his mother?" After a while, he asked the road.
"Aunt Yun and Dad have been divorced for several years. She has now moved to Ningcheng to live with her eldest son's family. There are only three of us left at home. When Dad goes on a business trip, it will be just the two of us. He can only wander alone if I don't take him with me."
Cheng Yang rubbed his temples vigorously.
Seeing his brother's serious face and not saying a word, Cheng Lin felt uneasy again.
But he and his younger brother have been dependent on each other. e said that he brought up Cheng Kaig Lin, who wanted to be with his brother but couldn't leave his younger brother, so he had to take him with him.
But he also knew there was no affection between his brother and his younger brother, and it was too selfish for him to do so. But he couldn't think of any other way...
Cheng Lin stood up, walked to Cheng Yang, knelt, put his hands on his brother's knees, looked up at him like a child, and said softly: "Brother, don't push me away." Let's go; I don't want to return to that home. I don't know what to do. You can take us in. I can go out to work and won't eat your and my sister-in-law's food in vain. Don't let us go." Shi Xiaoai was honest in the kitchen. I can't listen anymore. No matter how this matter was resolved in the future, on the first day when the children arrived, when Brother rushed over to join her older brother after taking the train full of hope for so long, she could not let Cheng Yang say no.
Moreover, she knew that Cheng Yang would be reluctant to say it.
"The meal is ready. If you have anything to say, we can talk later. Cheng Yang, come here and help me serve the food. Xiao Lin, go and ask them to come over for dinner." She walked to the kitchen door and said with a smile.
The atmosphere outside clearly relaxed a lot with her interruption.
Cheng Yang and Cheng Lin both breathed a sigh of relief.
Cheng Lin quickly stood up, agreed, and walked to the door as if this way, he would no longer face his brother's rejection.
Cheng Yang walked into the kitchen.
"Stop talking; there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain. Why are you pushing Cheng Lin so hard?" Shi Xiaoai said in a low voice.
"It's okay if Xiao Lin comes by himself, and there's that Cheng Kai." To his wife, Cheng Yang didn't hide anything and expressed his concerns.
"Don't say that. Since you are here, there is no reason to drive people away immediately. Stay here first and wait a few days to see the situation." Shi Xiaoai made the final decision.
The children were all hungry. Although they had eaten some sweet potatoes just now, it was useless. Shi Xiaoai made a large pot of stew and heated ten large steamed buns, all of which were eaten. Ultimately, she had to bake more egg pancakes to keep the little guys full.
After dinner, after sending a few extremely sleepy children to bed, Cheng Yang went to the post and telecommunications office. Regardless of what Cheng Lin said, he still sent a telegram to Cheng Fanying, explaining that both children were with him.
This was the first time he took the initiative to contact that person in five years.
The next day, Shi Xiaoai's original intention was to give Cheng Lin and Cheng Kai a day's rest. After all, taking a train from Beijing to Yuncheng took twelve hours.
The two children arrived hurriedly and didn't even buy a ticket. It is said that they stood on the road for eight hours. Finally, they got a seat when someone got off the bus near the terminal.
But she didn't expect that, and as soon as she got up at five o'clock in the morning, Cheng Lin followed Cheng Yang and walked out of the house.
"Xiao Lin, go back to sleep, I don't need your help here." Shi Xiaoai said quickly.
"Sister-in-law is fine, I woke up." Cheng Lin rubbed his eyes vigorously and said with a smile.
Looking at the child's swollen eyes from crying, Shi Xiaoai was helpless: "No need, a sister will come over later, and the two of us can finish the work. You go back to sleep quickly."
But. Cheng Lin did not agree: "Sister-in-law, I can do housework, and I can do all the kitchen work. Really, I cook all the food at home. If you don't believe me, I'll show you." He
He strode forward, grabbed the basket of potatoes on the ground, poured them into the pool, and started washing them.
Xiao Ai was a little embarrassed when she saw him like this. She turned to look at Cheng Yang.
Cheng Yang made his younger brother lose his temper. He rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Let him do it if you want!"
After that, he turned around and walked out.
It can be seen that he is in a very bad mood.
The two brothers left Shi Xiaoai speechless, but she couldn't drive them out.
The most important thing is that Cheng Lin does what he says and knows how to do it.
He can do these things in the kitchen much more efficiently than his brother!
Cheng Yang was willing to help, but he couldn't do the work in the kitchen. After working there for so many days, the most he could do was to choose vegetables, wash them, and turn the buns. He couldn't do any delicate work at all.
Cheng Lin, on the other hand, can wash, peel, and chop vegetables with ease.
Each of the potato shreds he cut was of average thickness, and even Xiao Ai couldn't compare to his knife skills.
"It seems that you have done a lot of work in the kitchen?" Seeing him like this, Shi Xiaoai sighed.
Cheng Lin skillfully shredded carrots, then explained: "Neither my father nor aunt can cook. In the early days, we ate in the canteen every day. Later, people from two factions in the unit fought and destroyed the canteen. , the canteen later closed.
It was too expensive to go out and buy food every day. Aunt Yun was still pregnant with Kaikai then, and she always had to take medicine to the hospital, which all cost money. Then Aunt Yun tried to cook by herself. But she was too stupid, and her food was too unpalatable, so I started cooking."
"How older are you than Kaikai?" Shi Xiaoai asked.
"Ten years old." Cheng Lin said with a smile: "My brother is ten years older than me, and I am ten years older than Kaikai. My brother took care of me when I was young, and I took care of Kaikai when he was young."
Shi Xiao Ai looked up at Cheng Lin and smiled at him.
But I felt a little unspeakably distressed in my heart.
Across time and space, she seemed to see a thin, frail little boy standing in the kitchen, clumsily cooking a family meal.
She didn't ask what their father was doing at that time.
It's simply not necessary.
It can be said that the existence of such a man in a family is meaningless if he can force an elderly mother who is unwell and a minor child to learn how to cook.
Shi Xiaoai is a person who is very adaptable to the environment. Besides, Cheng Lin is Cheng Yang's biological brother, so he would be more reserved if he was too polite.
Since Cheng Lin was rushing to do the work, Shi Xiaoai did not refuse and immediately handed him all the vegetables to be collected.
Cheng Lin was happy to see his sister-in-law letting him help, and he became more interested in working.
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