The Burden of the 00s (8)

The chaos in the city has not yet reached the countryside.

This can be seen when Duan Qingen's grandma calls and asks them as usual whether they are short of money, if anyone bullies them again, and whether Qingen is looked down upon by anyone in school.

Wang Xiuhong patiently told the old lady that Duan Qingen had published a book and that her family was now rich and famous.

"Published a book?!!"

The old lady had never thought that her grandson could be so capable. She was so happy that her voice was so loud that she kept asking what was going on with Wang Xiuhong, how many books he had published, how much money he made, and what Qing En wrote. Tired or not.

Although Wang Xiuhong's recent answers to these questions asked by the old lady are a bit reflexive, it is still different when asked by outsiders and asked by her own mother. At least when she talks about it, she feels sweet in her heart.

On the one hand, I want to reassure the elderly that they are living a good life as children. On the other hand, I am happy that Qing En can achieve such great achievements at such a young age and share the burden for the family.

After she finished talking about Duan Qingen's achievements, she added sweetly and bitterly: "We went to their school when he wanted to skip a grade. Their principal had studied abroad and had seen people like Qingen. Genius, tell me, Qing En suddenly became prominent because his father left and Mrs. Jin bullied me again and wanted to protect me. Otherwise, this child would be as quiet as before. "

The old lady felt happy while wiping away tears: "That's not true. It's normal for a child to feel sorry for her mother."

"I said before that our Qing'en is a good and well-behaved person. From now on, Xiuhong, you have hope."

Today happened to be Friday. When Duan Qingen came back with his schoolbag, he saw Wang Xiuhong at the canteen talking on the phone with a smile on his face.

Immediately, he obediently stepped forward and shouted: "Mom, who are you calling?"

"Qing En, are you out of school?"

These days, parents rarely pick up or drop off primary school students. After all, there are few cars, and most of the children live together and go home together.

As soon as Duan Qingen appeared, Wang Xiuhong became even happier and quickly handed him the phone in her hand: "It's your grandma, please call me."

"Hello, grandma. Have you eaten, grandma?"

Duan Qingen is now used to the daily life of a child.

Playing hide-and-seek with rubber bands while doing homework, greeting people first before being patted on the head and complimenting them on their good looks, and always asking relatives to say a few words when their mother calls them. These are all things a child should accept.

He said some sweet words first, then the old lady flattered him a few more, and he said some sweet words again.

After talking for almost five minutes, the old lady said with satisfaction: "Qing'en, give me the phone to your mother, and I'll say a few words to her."

The mother and daughter talked happily again.

The microphones these days are not very soundproof, so Duan Qingen can hear what they are saying even if he is standing aside. Fortunately, he doesn't mind, so he simply takes out the history book he borrowed from the principal from his school bag, and reads the book while concentrating on it. Used to listen to what the two were talking about.

I waited until a dissatisfied female voice suddenly appeared on the other end of the phone: "Mom, that's enough. The phone bill is expensive."

The old lady's cheerful voice stopped suddenly, and Wang Xiuhong stopped talking. She was embarrassed and didn't know what to do while holding the phone.

The mother and daughter finally talked about something happy, and of course they were unhappy when they were interrupted.

But the sister-in-law on the other end is right, the phone bill is expensive.

Wang Xiuhong used to be reluctant to make phone calls like this. After all, the canteen calculated money by the minute, and the same was true in her natal village.

Recently, because her son was making money and talking to her mother on the phone, she didn't care about it, but her parents' family was poor, so it was right for her sister-in-law to care about these things.

Seeing this, the fair little boy stood up and said in a childish voice, "Mom, I'm hungry."

After getting off the steps, Wang Xiuhong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said to the other end of the phone: "Mom, Qing En is hungry. Let's go back to cook first. Let's talk next time."

The voice of the old lady on the other end seemed to have aged a lot in an instant. With a hint of decadence, she said with a dry smile: "Okay, it's time for us to eat."

Wang Xiuhong felt distressed when she heard that. She knew that the old lady felt bad. She had worked hard to raise her children, but it was good to have her son by her side. Her daughter lived here. The old lady missed her daughter. She couldn't even make a phone call and talk to her. .

Her originally good mood suddenly dropped, and she still looked depressed after hanging up the phone.

Seeing her like this, Duan Qingen pulled his mother's sleeve with his little hand: "Mom, are you unhappy that your aunt won't let you make phone calls?"

Wang Xiuhong could barely force a smile towards her son and shook her head: "I don't blame your aunt. Your grandma's family was already poor, and she always brought things to see me. It's normal for your aunt not to be happy."

At this time, the concept of most people is that if a daughter gets married, she will be thrown out of the water. When she goes home, she will be a guest. If she stays in her parents' house for a long time, she will be criticized, let alone someone like Wang Xiuhong, who has already gotten married. I have to ask my parents-in-law to subsidize the things.

And because of her husband's relationship, she had not even been back to her parents' home a few times before.

Whoever's sister-in-law would be displeased with such a sister-in-law.

The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became. Wang Xiuhong herself was fine, but when she thought of the old lady's good mood being interrupted, she felt extremely distressed.

"It's also because I'm incompetent. Your grandma wants to protect me, but she can't hold her waist straight."

Duan Qingen remembered the original plot.

The original owner didn't know anything after his death. He only knew that he was a burden to his family while he was alive, but he didn't know what a big blow it would be to the people who loved him after he left.

In her previous life, the old lady was also running around because of her daughter's family affairs. Later, because the original owner committed suicide, the old lady was stimulated and died immediately.

Wang Xiuhong lost two of her closest relatives at once. From then on, she was living in a state of confusion. She died of painful suicide in less than half a year.

The original owner's wish was to prevent his family from being shamed because of him.

It doesn't conflict with anything else.

After he finished reasoning with himself, Duan Qingen raised his head and looked at his mother with his fair face: "Mom, go see grandma."

Wang Xiuhong was stunned.

"Can I go see your grandma?"

"Okay, you are grandma's daughter. My daughter comes home to see if there is anything wrong with her mother."

Duan Qingen stopped pretending to be tender this time, and spoke in a firm tone that made people believe him: "Before, dad didn't let you go back, but now dad is not at home. I eat at school again at noon. Mom, you go there in the morning." I’ll go back in the evening, so I won’t delay anything. If the factory doesn’t work, just take a day off.”

Ever since the principal told Wang Xiuhong that Duan Qingen was a genius, she no longer felt weird about anything she said to her son.

Now when I hear it, my heart gradually relaxes.

Yes, now that her men are dead, no one will stop her from going back to her parents' home, and she doesn't have to worry about being beaten to death if she comes back.

Moreover, Qing En is in sixth grade, so she can eat in the cafeteria with her classmates at noon. If not, tomorrow is Saturday, so she can take her son back with her.

The more she thought about it, the more she thought it was possible. Wang Xiuhong's eyes lit up. She quickly reached out her hand and carefully wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

He sniffed and said, "Yes, Qing'en, you can go to grandma's house with me tomorrow. You have never been to grandma's house despite your age."

"OK."

Duan Qingen also wanted to see the old lady. He reminded: "But Mom, grandma's house is not far from grandma's house. If we want to see grandma, we have to go and see grandma."

"Yes, yes, you should take a look."

Wang Xiuhong was also grateful to her mother-in-law, whom she had hardly gotten along with, because she "speak up for justice" last time.

Of course, although she was grateful, she was still happy because she could return to her parents' home.

Since marrying her husband, she has hardly been back. She didn't even see her nephew when he was born. She wanted to ask someone to send him a gift, and her husband held tightly to the family's money.

Otherwise, Wang Xiuhong would not be willing to say bad things about her sister-in-law.

If it were her, she would have given birth to a child, and her sister-in-law wouldn't come and wouldn't even give her a gift. She would definitely not be able to get close to her.

Seeing that even though she was still a young mother, her whole body relaxed and she looked a few years younger with a smile on her face. Duan Qingen continued to ask: "Then let's go buy some gifts and send them over when the time comes. Grandma and Grandma is happy too."

"We'll just have to wait until tomorrow when we go to the station to buy two boxes of milk and pay for it. There's no need to buy it now."

Wang Xiuhong was talking about the importance of moving among relatives, but Duan Qingen deliberately wanted to create this momentum for her.

The little boy with a delicate face frowned and said seriously: "I don't think this will work."

"Huh? No?"

Since the principal said those words, Wang Xiuhong has truly treated her son as an adult. Now when she heard Duan Qingen said no, she immediately became nervous.

She was a coward, and she didn't dare to resist when the man was around. Now that her son was a genius and was kind to her, she became more and more willing to listen to whatever her son said.

Duan Qingen nodded: "Yes, Mom, you haven't been back for so long. It's rare to go back for a visit. Of course, you have to buy something good. And grandma's place is fine. Grandpa and grandma live in a house by themselves, but grandma lives with her uncle and aunt." of."

"Auntie is not easy to get along with, and grandma doesn't want to break up with her, so let's bring some more gifts to let her know that our family is getting along, and maybe auntie will be nice to us."

In fact, it is more straightforward.

Aunt Duan had been watching the old lady at home using family money to subsidize the married woman, and she felt uncomfortable.

If this married daughter comes back with something, she will feel more comfortable.

Moreover, at Duan Qingen's current level, in the eyes of many people, he is already promising, and his aunt still has children.

In order for Duan Qingen, her cousin, to take care of her children, her attitude will definitely change.

Of course, if Duan Qingen said this as a child, he would seem a bit too smart.

Although what he said to Wang Xiuhong was already impossible for a child to say.

But fortunately, he still has a reputation as a genius.

A genius who jumped from first grade to sixth grade.

A genius who published a book at a young age.

No matter what he says, Wang Xiuhong, who is not highly educated and therefore particularly admires highly educated and knowledgeable people, will treat it as if it is an imperial edict and will never have any doubts.

Even if other people knew about it, they would at most say something like, "He is indeed a genius, he is amazing."

Wang Xiuhong: "Okay, then I'll do what you said. I'll go shopping now. Qing'en, why don't you go home first."

Shopping for gifts would still be a bit tiring, and she didn't want her son to suffer.

Duan Qingen shook his head and said that he would follow.

Anyway, if he chooses the gift, it can’t be said that the recipient will be very happy, but at least he will definitely not make mistakes.

The mother and son recently received an unexpected fortune (share of the royalties), and with Duan Qingen watching over them, they didn’t spend the money carefully.

The money that should be spent was spent happily, and the money that shouldn’t be spent was not spent a penny more.

Duan Qingen also helped Wang Xiuhong choose a new piece of clothing, and he also chose a little gentleman’s black and white suit.

Wang Xiuhong was quite generous when choosing gifts before, and she only looked at the fabric and style when buying clothes for her son, but when it was her turn, her frugal nature emerged.

She touched the beautiful dress hesitantly, with a look of pain on her face: "Qingen, forget it, Mom, don't I have clothes? And your dad just left, I'm wearing such nice clothes, it's not suitable."

The salesperson who had been watching them choose and was happy in her heart was anxious when she saw that she didn't want to buy it. Just as she was about to persuade her, she saw the little boy who was neatly dressed and cute next to Wang Xiuhong said:

"Mom, the better you dress, the more relieved my grandma will be. Otherwise, you still wear the same gray clothes as before, and carry so many gifts in your hands. My grandma will think you are pretending to be rich, and I don't know how worried she is."

The salesperson listened to him and laughed all of a sudden.

Such a big man actually speaks like a little adult, which makes sense.

She followed Duan Qingen and advised, "Yes, girl, what the child said is so right. You bought this dress because you want to wear it to meet the elderly, right? The elderly, when they are old, always worry about their children. If you wear it well, she will feel at ease because she thinks you are living a good life."

"And look how beautiful you look in this dress. When I tried it on just now, you looked like a 16 or 17-year-old student. It matches your son's clothes very well. To be honest, if I hadn't heard the child call you mom, I would have thought you were siblings."

The salesperson's mouth is a lie.

With Duan Qingen, Wang Xiuhong, who was originally soft-hearted, was quickly persuaded. She gritted her teeth and spent money to buy the dress.

She felt a little distressed at first, but when she put on the dress, stood in front of the mirror, looked at the beautiful woman inside who made her unbelievable that this was her own, and heard the flattery of her son and the salesperson, her distress faded a little.

What's more, Duan Qingen was still frantically saying sweet words behind him:

"Mom, you look so beautiful in your clothes. You look just like my sister. I must write more books and make more money in the future to buy you lots of beautiful clothes and make you the happiest mother in the world."

"Wait until Monday, Mom, you can send me there. I want my classmates to see that I have such a beautiful mother. They must be very envious of me."

"Grandma must be very happy to see you like this. Mom, no wonder I look so beautiful. It turns out that I inherited it from you."

When Duan Qingen wants to brag about someone, no one can resist his flattery.

Especially since he is still a little boy now.

How can a child lie?

What a child says is all true and sincere.

So, when Wang Xiuhong came out of the store, she was extremely confident. When she just changed her clothes, she felt that it was difficult to walk anywhere, for fear of accidentally pulling her clothes.

But now, she walked with so much confidence.

It's not to mention that she looks good, but she used to be busy with work and didn't know how to dress herself up when she wore gray clothes. Today, she suddenly wore such bright clothes. On the way back, people who met familiar people came to greet her in surprise.

There are still very few people like Mrs. Jin. At least Wang Xiuhong has a good relationship with people. People who saw her wearing a new dress on the street praised her.

Although they would not tell the truth even if the clothes were not good-looking, this dress is really good-looking, especially when it was worn by Wang Xiuhong, it made her figure look particularly good.

After being praised all the way, Wang Xiuhong was in a good mood and hummed a song when she took out her keys on the way home.

She had never experienced so many compliments in her life before. Even if they were praised, they were all compliments for her good character.

But in fact, if you convert it, it means that she is stupid and has a good temper.

And now, everyone is saying that she looks really beautiful in this dress. They didn't realize that she actually looks really good before, and they also praised her son, saying that her son is like her and looks as good as her.

Wang Xiuhong's good mood lasted until the next morning.

This morning, she always got up in a hurry, cooked, cleaned up, washed clothes, washed dishes, and rushed to work in the factory. She stood in front of the mirror and combed her hair carefully, tying her long hair into a ponytail.

In the past, she always tied her hair casually, scattered on her shoulders, and looked messy. Now that she tied her hair up, she found that she looked so energetic after tying it up.

After changing into new clothes, she found a pair of shoes that she had not worn for many times, and carefully wiped off the dust on them before putting them on.

Wang Xiuhong had no jewelry, but she was very satisfied looking at the radiant and energetic self in the mirror.

She changed her shoes and continued to cook.

When Duan Qingen yawned, he found that she was busy in the kitchen. He leaned over to take a look and praised her sincerely;

"Mom, you are really different today, you look especially beautiful."

"Is there any?"

Wang Xiuhong's eyes showed joy, and her face became more confident.

When eating breakfast, because she was still wearing new clothes, she did not hold the bowl and eat directly like before. Instead, she imitated Duan Qingen, lowered her head slightly and slowly ate with chopsticks.

She had never done this before, but now, wearing new clothes and a new hairstyle, she suddenly felt like she was completely different.

Because I feel like I am better than before, when I go out carrying gifts and children, I always feel embarrassed to say hello to others. I wait until others say hello to me before smiling. Wang Xiuhong met an acquaintance this time. They all took the initiative to say hello.

People asked her where she went when she was dressed so beautifully. She still remembered the mother and son chatting on the way home yesterday. The son mentioned that she looked good when she smiled and looked particularly gentle and generous. So she smiled slightly and replied: "I'll go back and see Qing." Well, grandpa, grandma, grandpa.”

All acquaintances who met Wang Xiuhong today felt that Wang Xiuhong seemed a little different.

They couldn't sum up the specific differences.

But what is certain is that she has indeed changed for the better.

In fact, Wang Xiuhong was not as generous as she appeared on the surface. She was a little nervous, afraid that she would do something wrong and make people laugh at her.

But it turns out that everyone is bragging about her and saying that she is beautiful today.

She gradually calmed down, and when there were not many people in the place, she discussed with her son what to do to make the old man's status in the family better when he returned to his parents' home.

It was unrealistic for the old lady to live with them. Although Wang Xiuhong wanted to do this, it was true that her sister-in-law had never done anything wrong to the Wang family except her words.

She looked down upon Wang Xiuhong, her sister-in-law, and although she could not be called unfilial to the old lady, she was not very affectionate.

But facing her brother, the old lady's son, she really cared deeply.

And Uncle Duan is truly filial.

The reason why the family is in such trouble is just because of one word: poverty.

Duan Qingen told Wang Xiuhong what she wanted to say after waiting all the way to her grandma and grandpa. Wang Xiuhong was convinced that her genius son would make no mistakes, and she listened carefully to her heart.

The old lady's house is closer than Grandma Duan's house, so I go to the old lady's house first.

When the car arrived, Duan Qingen also carried some light things and walked forward with her mother carrying large and small bags.

This village is very close to the road, and you can meet many familiar people along the way.

"Xiuhong, is this Xiuhong?"

"Is this Xiuhong?"

Every time at this time, Wang Xiuhong would smile and call out gently, "Yes, uncle, I am Xiuhong. I'll come back to see my parents."

The old man with the hoe looked at her walking away and thought, isn't this Xiuhong missing a man?

Looks like you're doing pretty well.

Aunt Duan was washing clothes at home. While she was washing, her son, who was a few years old, ran in and shouted to his mother: "Mom, I heard from the bearded mother that my aunt is back!"

The old lady who was lighting the fire in the kitchen was overjoyed and immediately stuck her head out: "Is Xiuhong back?"

Aunt Duan's face immediately dropped.

She didn't say anything, but in her heart she believed that her sister-in-law was having a hard time without a man, and she came back to beat the autumn wind.

The family was already poor, and the father-in-law was still taking medicine. Why didn't this sister-in-law have any eyesight?

Just as he was thinking about it, a mother and son came outside the gate.

She saw Wang Xiuhong, who had a rosy complexion and was wearing brand new and beautiful clothes that showed off her good-looking figure. She was accompanied by a child who was also clean and carrying something in his hand.

As soon as she came in, Wang Xiuhong greeted her enthusiastically: "Sister-in-law, I'm back!"

"Hey, this is Dongdong. Go to my brother's place quickly. He has a toy he bought for you."

"Mom, no need to pick it up, no need to pick it up, it won't sink."

The old lady looked at her big and small bags and felt very distressed: "You're just here, why are you buying things?"

Wang Xiuhong practiced with her son several times on the road, and this time she said it very smoothly: "Mom, you, my dad, my brother and my sister-in-law have been subsidizing me for a long time. I remember it in my heart. Now we Qing'en have made a fortune. Of course I have to buy more things for you."

"Hey, sister-in-law, I thought I'd buy you some clothes. Go and try them on. If they don't fit you, you can change them."

Aunt Duan realized that the Xiuhong family was getting up!

She immediately put a smile on her face and followed up to pick up the things: "Oh, it's true, Xiuhong, you said you, what else do you bring? I'm so old, and you still buy me clothes."

While picking it up, he turned to his mother-in-law and said, "Mom, please stop working. I'll come. I'll come. It's rare for Xiuhong to come home. You talk to her while I put the things down and cook."

The old lady had never experienced such good treatment from her daughter-in-law. She was stunned for a moment, and then hesitantly was helped by Duan Qingen to sit down.

Sitting there, looking at his daughter and grandson who were smiling at him, he realized that they were here to support him on purpose, and his nose suddenly felt a little sore.

She knew it.

Her family is Xiuhong, and as soon as she gets money, she comes to be filial to her.

And Qing En, he will definitely be a promising person in the future!