PDLP Chapter 146 Let's Live Here
Chapter 146 Let's Live Here
Chapter 146 Let's Live Here
After paying the taxi fare, Qiu Huoming looked at the sky and sighed, "I have to buy a watch." This method of relying on looking at the sky to tell time is really a bit torturous.
The streets were bustling with people. It was indeed a big city. The way the pedestrians were dressed was several levels higher than those in small towns.
He was carrying a bag and a guitar, and looked like someone from out of town.
Gu Xiaoran said with a smile: "Then buy one. Our Shenhai brand is very good. Let my uncle get you a list."
Mou Jinshan snorted coldly from behind: "You said it on purpose for me to hear, okay, leave it to me."
He walked quickly past the two of them, "Arrange accommodation for Xiao Qiu first, you guys follow."
Gu Xiaoran pulled Qiu Huoming's arm, reminding him to follow.
After walking for a few minutes, she looked at the familiar street suspiciously and said, "Why are we here?"
After a moment, she suddenly realized something and said, "My uncle will probably let you live in his house."
"No way. I heard that you Shenhai people don't like to entertain outsiders in your home, and..."
Qiu Huoming thought of an old man he had visited a long time ago. He lived in a small room in a small alley. His family of three lived in an area of more than ten square meters, and their sleeping area was separated only by a simple curtain.
The sounds from the neighbors on the left and right can be heard clearly.
"You don't know this. This house is my grandfather's old house. It was given to my uncle. After he got married, he moved to my aunt's house. Usually, this place is empty."
"That's so embarrassing. Actually, I'm doing fine living in the guesthouse!" Qiu Huoming felt a little scared. Mou Jinshan was suddenly nice to him, and he felt that he had ulterior motives.
"We're almost there, let's take a look first. I've been to this house before when I was a kid..."
"Speaking of which, your grandfather has a house here, so why does your grandmother live alone in our Wucheng County?"
"My grandfather had two wives..." Gu Xiaoran said calmly, "Many older generations before liberation were like this. My grandmother was his first wife."
Qiu Huoming was shocked.
He looked at Mou Jinshan who was walking fast in front of him, "So, your uncle was born by your grandmother, what about the others?"
"My step-grandmother had no children, so my second uncle was adopted by her."
Mou Jinshan turned and entered an alley. Gu Xiaoran reminded him, "Stop talking, hurry up and catch up..."
There are three big black characters written above the alley. The first character is blurred, but the last two characters can be vaguely distinguished as "Delhi".
As soon as he entered the alley, he saw many long and short clothes drying racks on both sides. There were many clothes hanging on the racks, even underwear and panties. Qiu Huoming took advantage of the gaps and dodged left and right to avoid those panties.
"You are practicing martial arts!" Gu Xiaoran rolled his eyes at him.
"You don't understand. If you wear it under your pants, you will grow taller." Qiu Huoming said, and suddenly laughed to himself, "I'm already this tall, so I won't hide anymore."
"Puchi" Gu Xiaoran covered his mouth and laughed uncontrollably.
In the alley, a few dozen meters away, an old man who was squatting on the ground lighting a stove saw a few unfamiliar faces coming and took a few more glances.
He stared at Mou Jinshan and thought that he looked familiar. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him and he stood up. "Asan? Are you Ah San?"
Mou Jinshan stopped and nodded to him with a smile, "Hello, uncle. It's me, Ye Hongying. Is this the room?"
"Come on, just go and knock on the door. Have you come back since Chen Guang..."
The two men stood together and exchanged a few words. Qiu Huoming and Gu Xiaoran stood not far away waiting for him to finish talking.
After a while, Mou Jinshan waved to them and continued walking forward.
Then he turned left and entered a very narrow alley. There were seven or eight households in this alley. He stopped at the door of the outermost household and knocked on the door.
"What?"
It was a woman's voice. Before Mou Jinshan could reply, the door opened with a click.
A plump middle-aged woman was standing inside. She smiled as soon as she saw Mou Jinshan. "Third brother, how could you be back? Come in and sit down."
"Hongying, I would like to trouble you to clean up an empty house. I have a junior who wants to live in it."
"Your room has been empty for a long time. I'll make the bed and you can live here..."
Mou Jinshan nodded and walked straight in.
Gu Xiaoran, who was following behind him, looked at Gu Yinghong in surprise.
Gu Yinghong then saw her, "Second Miss, you're here..."
When Qiu Huoming walked in, he found that although the place looked small from the outside, the space inside was actually very large. The living room was right at the entrance, and not far away there was a wooden staircase leading to the second floor.
After Mou Jinshan went in, he pulled Gu Yinghong and whispered something to her.
After a while, he came over and said, "Okay, I've already said it. You'll live here for the next few days. You can just call her Aunt Ye."
Ye Yinghong responded with a smile from behind: "Xiao Qiu, you can live here with peace of mind and treat this place as your own home." Her Mandarin was mixed with a lot of local dialect, and her tone was very warm.
"Thank you, Aunt Ye. I'm welcome." Having come this far, Qiu Huoming had to appreciate it even if he didn't want to.
"Come on, I'll take you to your room. Put your things down and we'll go out for dinner later." For the first time, Mou Jinshan showed a look of relief on his face.
The room is on the second floor, on the east side. It is not big, but very clean. There is a desk and a chair with a few books neatly placed on the desk, a wooden single bed, and a wardrobe in the corner.
Qiu Huoming put down his backpack and guitar.
"Uncle Mou, is this room yours?"
"Well, it's mine, feel free to stay here, you're welcome." He stretched and threw the briefcase in his hand on the desk.
"Let's go and have a meal. There's a delicious tangyuan restaurant here. Xiaoran loved it when he was a kid."
Gu Xiaoran thought for a moment and said, "Why don't I remember it?"
Ye Yinghong walked in quickly, holding a clean sheet in her hand, "I've cooked dinner, can you come in?"
"Gaxidoning, you'd better go out and eat. After you finish your meal, Allah will be back."
Mou Jinshan avoided her and went straight downstairs.
Qiu Huoming smiled at Ye Yinghong and said, "Sorry to bother you, Aunt Ye."
"You're welcome. Please wait a moment. I'll give you a key." She put down the sheets and pillow, took out a key from her coat pocket and handed it to Qiu Huoming.
When I went out, the sun was about to set.
More and more people were coming in and out of the alley.
Along the way, Mou Jinshan was stopped by some people. Qiu Huoming whispered to Gu Xiaoran, "Has your uncle always lived here?"
"It seems that he came here to live here when he was quite old." Gu Xiaoran was not sure either.
The Tangyuan restaurant that Mou Jinshan mentioned is not far from here. It has a black sign, a red door frame, and glass windows on both sides. There is a rainproof curtain under the sign that is half open, revealing the window frame inside.
Business has picked up at this time. Near the door, several young men and women in short-sleeved shirts and shorts are sitting there waiting for their meals.
"After seeing this, I have an impression." Gu Xiaoran said with a smile: "I want to eat the black glutinous rice balls..."
Mou Jinshan turned his head and smiled: "I knew you wanted to eat this."
A few people walked in and placed their orders.
Qiu Huoming glanced at the menu hanging on the wall and said, "I'll do the same as Gu Xiaoran."
Black sesame is the most authentic flavor in glutinous rice balls.
"Let's have one sweet and one salty. On the way back, we can buy a big mountain red sausage. We can have it as a midnight snack when we are hungry at night." Mou Jinshan said with a smile.
Just as Qiu Huoming was about to pay, Mou Jinshan pulled him back and said, "I borrowed a few dollars from Yinghong. I'll treat you to dinner."
Gu Xiaoran smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle." She reached out and pulled Qiu Huoming over, "Let's go find an empty seat."
The Tangtuan shop is not big, but there are a lot of tables and chairs. It didn’t take long to find an empty table in the corner.
Not long after I sat down, Mou Jinshan came over.
"Two bowls per person, one sweet and one salty. I haven't eaten them for a long time and I really miss them." Mou Jinshan sighed.
Gu Xiaoran held his chin, looked at him and asked, "Uncle, can you tell me now, why did Aunt Ye live here?"
"She came back to the city last year and had nowhere to live, so she found me. My house is empty, so I let her stay there first..."
"I see. I was shocked when I saw her. I remember her family has a house."
"Her family gave her brother the only house, and her sister-in-law disagreed with her moving her household registration back and kept her in the collective household. We had a few arguments, and there was really nothing we could do... She and I grew up together, so I took her in for a while out of some kinship."
"I remember Aunt Ye has a child, right? What about the child?"
"Now that I'm 18, it's difficult. Let's take it step by step."
Gu Xiaoran turned around and explained to Qiu Huoming: "Auntie Ye's mother worked as a maid in my house for many years. She is a very nice person."
After a while, the waiter came with a tray, stacked it in two layers, and placed all the dumplings on it at once.
After approaching the table, he put down the bowl and said, "It's all ready."
Qiu Huoming looked at the glutinous rice balls in the bowl, which were as big as ping-pong balls. "So big!"
"Only Ningbo tangyuan can be made this big. It tastes delicious. Eat it slowly. It's very hot when it's just cooked."
Mou Jinshan glanced at his niece and felt for the first time that she talked too much. The key point was that she was not talking to him. He suppressed the slight bitterness in his heart and lowered his head to take a sip of the soup first.
Qiu Huoming nodded when he heard this, then took the spoon and started eating in small bites.
There are also glutinous rice balls in Wucheng County, but few of them are delicious. The black sesame filling in the glutinous rice balls of this restaurant is made with lard, which is fragrant and smooth and really whets people's appetite.
The salty part is the meat filling, this is the first time I eat it.
The meat filling wrapped in glutinous rice tastes salty and fragrant, and extremely fresh.
After eating, Qiu Huoming also followed Mou Jinshan's example and drank up the soup.
"I'll take you back later. Xiaoran and I will go home first. Let Xiaoran take you out for a walk tomorrow..." Mou Jinshan wiped his mouth and arranged the next itinerary.
"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Mou." Qiu Huoming said politely.
After finishing the meal and walking out of the store, it was already dark. The street lights were on, and there were many more lounge chairs and cots on the sidewalks. There were also some local residents who were eating and chatting with their bowls in hand. The children in the alleys were running and playing in groups in the alleys...
Mou Jinshan showed a hint of warmth on his face, "It's only when I come back here that I feel like I'm home."
This time he took Qiu Huoming and Gu Xiaoran through another road. He walked left and right like a familiar figure and soon saw a food store with the lights on at the door. The salesperson in white clothes in the store seemed to be getting off work and was packing up the goods.
Mou Jinshan quickly took a few steps and said, "You guys wait here for me. I'll come over when I'm done shopping."
Qiu Huoming and Gu Xiaoran stopped and waited for him.
After a while, Mou Jinshan came running over excitedly with two paper bags in his hands.
"I bought it. I'll give one to Xiaoqiu and take the other back to eat as a snack. I missed it so much when I was in Wucheng County."
Qiu Huoming reached out to take it and said thank you.
"You're welcome. There are still many delicious foods. I'll ask Xiaoran to take you there later. Our Nanshi District, let alone other things, is definitely one of the best in Shenhai just for its food."
Gu Xiaoran said with a straight face: "Uncle, you all have it, but you didn't think of me."
"You have such a small cat appetite that you definitely can't eat any more. Didn't Xiao Qiu eat all your bowl of meat dumplings?"
Qiu Huoming handed the paper bag forward and said, "I'll give you mine."
Gu Xiaoran raised the corner of her mouth and waved her hand, "That's just what I said. I really can't eat anymore."
Mou Jinshan said with a smile: "Let's go, everyone is tired today, go back and rest early."
"Gu Xiaoran, is your place far from here?" Qiu Huoming followed and asked.
"It's not far. It will take about 20 minutes to walk. My uncle and I will take a taxi back. I will ride a bicycle to pick you up tomorrow..."
Just across the street, he would be staying nearby.
"What's that called Delhi?" Qiu Huoming asked, pointing at the three words above the alley in the dim street light.
"Wendeli, many of the alleys here are called Deli, and some are called Fang, such as Tianzifang, where there is a vegetable market..."
Gu Xiaoran explained.
Aunt Ye was at home and had boiled hot water for him early in the morning. He took a bath in the patio, where there was a bathroom. There was a toilet in the small house next to it. He could use it for small bowel movements, but he had to go to the public toilet in the alley for large bowel movements.
Gu Xiaoran took his backpack and walked out of the door one after another with Mou Jinshan.
After Qiu Huoming took a bath, he washed his dirty clothes and hung them on a rope in the patio.
Aunt Ye lives on the first floor. She doesn’t talk much. She packed up her things and went back to her room.
It was the first time that Qiu Huoming lived alone in a foreign country. He lay in the strange bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He simply stood up, walked to the window and looked at the sky.
The sky is dotted with stars. It turns out that you can see the stars in the downtown area of Shenhai.
Turning on the light, he lay over the table and began to record what happened today. There were several books on the desk, all of which were collections of great men's works. After writing, he opened the collection and began to read.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but he finally felt a little sleepy. He looked at the alarm clock on the table. This alarm clock should have been put in by Aunt Ye after they left in the afternoon.
It was already 11 o'clock at night, and unlike the countryside, there were no insects chirping here.
But you can hear the calls of cats in the alley. They are walking around in the alley, and the sounds of their playfulness can occasionally be heard.
He took out the paper package that Mou Jinshan had given him, opened it and took a look at the big red sausage inside. There was only one red sausage inside, which was much thicker than a ham sausage.
He took it out and took a bite. The meat of the big red sausage was delicious and chewy. It was much more delicious than expected. While he was eating, a cat leisurely jumped to the window sill on the second floor and combed its hair gracefully.
Qiu Huoming took a look at the large red sausage with a small bite left, opened the screen window, and the cat jumped up and disappeared into the darkness.
Qiu Huoming placed the sausage on the window and waited for a while. The cat that had disappeared returned as expected. It looked around, fiddled with the food with its hands, then opened its mouth and bit it. It jumped up again and disappeared...
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(have a good weekend)
In order not to take up too much text space, I will explain the local dialect used in the text here.
The morning light is a long time.
The room inside is home.
Nong, that's you.
Gasidoning, there are just so many people.
Allah, that is us.