The sound of children reading aloud came from the courtyard.
Qiao Huaping washed a plate of cherries that was placed in the space. He lay down on the lounge chair in the corridor under the eaves as if he was boneless. He looked at the light drizzle in the courtyard and heard the crisp sound of children reading in his ears. He felt comfortable and at ease.
.
"mother!"
Bai Feiye, who had woken up from his nap, rubbed his eyes and leaned against the window of the house, calling to Qiao Huaping who was lying on the porch with a sweet voice.
Qiao Huaping couldn't help but smile a little: "Are you awake?"
The white and tender dumpling, which looked like a New Year picture, responded with a "hmm" and then lay on the window sill again, coquettishly saying: "Mom, Aye is hungry. Aye wants to eat cookies!"
He looked like a greedy cat drooling.
Qiao Huaping laughed, said "wait", got up and went to the back room.
Not long after, she took out a pack of small finger biscuits in her hand.
This is naturally taken from space.
Little Aye sweetly called out "Mom is so nice", skillfully opened the biscuits, and gave the first piece to Qiao Huaping.
Qiao Huaping reached over, took the biscuits over, and said with a smile: "Our Aye gave them to us, they are very delicious."
The two women looked at each other and smiled.
The finger biscuits that Qiao Huaping gave to little A-ye were a small pack, only a few pieces in total.
Little Aye only ate two or three pieces and then stopped.
He said matter-of-factly: "It's reserved for my brothers and sisters. My brothers and sisters have worked hard in studying. When they get out of class, Aye will send the cookies to them!"
The old mother’s heart is about to melt!
At the courtyard gate, there was the sound of a knocker knocking on the wooden door.
The voice is not loud, and the rhythm of knocking on the door is gentle.
Qiao Huaping took an oil-paper umbrella and opened the door. Sure enough, it was Zhou Xiaoqing.
When Zhou Xiaoqing saw Qiao Huaping, he smiled and frowned: "Aunt Qiao!"
In the past three years, Zhou Xiaoqing and Song Yuelan have worked hard and their lives are getting better day by day.
Qiao Huaping "timely" helped Zhou Xiaoqing find an excellent Yunyou doctor, who cured Zhou Xiaoqing's arm, and Zhou Xiaoqing picked up the bow and arrow again.
Now Zhou Xiaoqing is well fed, well clothed and well slept. He has grown a lot taller and has begun to look like a tall girl.
When he smiles, his eyes turn into crescent moons.
Qiao Huaping pulled her into the corridor: "First come in and take shelter from the rain before we talk."
"I counted the time. Qingyao and the others should be studying, so they didn't dare to make too much noise... Aunt Qiao, look at this," Zhou Xiaoqing took out a deerskin from the bag, "the one I hunted earlier.
It was a deer, and the leather felt very good, so I kept it. It was just tanned in the past two days, Aunt Qiao, do you like it?"
"This leather is really good. It would be nice if you kept it to make a pair of deerskin boots for your mother." Qiao Huaping said with a smile, "I know you are thinking about me, but I have everything here."
"That's different." Zhou Xiaoqing insisted, "I didn't hunt it. Don't worry, Aunt Qiao, my mother has it too."
She teased Bai Feiye, who was lying on the window sill in the house and looking out: "It would be great to make a deerskin bow pouch for our little Aye, and put some arrows in it and hang it on your waist."
Little Aye's eyes lit up, and she replied with a loud and milky voice: "Thank you, Sister Xiaoqing!"
Qiao Huaping laughed, and she also had an idea in her mind.
"Okay, then just give me the leather."
She simply took the leather from Zhou Xiaoqing's hand.
This piece of deerskin is not too small. She thought about it. It would be good if she asked someone to make a pair of deerskin boots for Zhou Xiaoqing and Song Yuelan. For the rest, she would have someone make bow bags.
Seeing Qiao Huaping collecting the deerskin, Zhou Xiaoqing was obviously very happy: "I'm going to play with little Aye for a while."
Qiao Huaping put away the deerskin, and when he entered the house, he saw Zhou Xiaoqing and Bai Feiye playing with the rope on the kang.
Bai Feiye's little chubby hands were exceptionally dexterous, turning up the flower rope, which dazzled Zhou Xiaoqing.
Qiao Huaping sat aside with a smile. After the two of them got over their excitement, Qiao Huaping started chatting with Zhou Xiaoqing:
"A Ling gave birth to a daughter, did you know? I heard from Aunt Gu that she is white, tender and beautiful."
Zhou Xiaoqing was a little happy when he heard this: "Sister Aling has given birth?"
Gu Ling, the eldest granddaughter of the Gu family, got married on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month last year. She married into a well-to-do family in Fangjiabao next door and soon got pregnant. At the beginning of this spring, she gave birth to a fat girl.
As soon as the baby was born, Mrs. Gu couldn't wait to go see it. When she came back, she happily told Qiao Huaping that she was so beautiful. Even though she was a girl, her in-laws were very rare!
The Fang family plans to hold a rice feast when the child turns eight, and Qiao Huaping plans to take little Aye to deliver rice to Gu Ling's daughter.
"I will go with my mother then." Zhou Xiaoqing said happily.
The two of them settled down like this.
As she was talking happily, Zhou Xu's voice rang out from the half-open courtyard door: "Damn girl, everyone else has told me that you have entered Qiao's house! I know you are inside, get out of here!"
"
Zhou Xiaoqing's expression changed slightly.
Qiao Huaping frowned.
She told little Aye: "Just play here and don't run around, okay?"
Little A'ye nodded, with a mature look, but spoke in a babyish voice: "Mom, A'ye knows, you can go and deal with it without worry!"
Even though Qiao Huaping was a little annoyed at the moment, she couldn't help but laugh.
Zhou Xiaoqing also burst into laughter.
Qiao Huaping rubbed little Aye's furry little head and whispered to Zhou Xiaoqing: "Don't worry."
Qiao Huaping's calmness gave Zhou Xiaoqing endless confidence.
She responded in a low voice.
Zhou Xiaoqing held an umbrella for Qiao Huaping, and the two of them went to the entrance of the courtyard together.
Despite Zhou Xu's fierce shouting, she did not dare to enter Qiao Huaping's yard.
As soon as Qiao Huaping came out with Zhou Xiaoqing, Zhou Xu's arrogance became less impressive.
In the past three years, the Zhou family's life has been going from bad to worse. The wife Zhou Xu decided to marry to Zhou Heishi, just three months after entering the house, really couldn't stand Zhou Xu's treatment. One morning, she stole the family's money and ran away.
Didn't come back either.
The money lost was not much, but Mrs. Zhou Xu was so angry that she fell seriously ill and spent all the little money the Zhou family had, almost to the point of selling land for money.
Not to mention anything else, Zhou Xu could eat a meal of white noodles every day before, but now, she can only eat a meal of white noodles during festivals or when guests come over.
What is tragic is that Zhou Xiaoqing and Song Yuelan are getting better and better.
How can Zhou Xu bear it?!
Especially this time, Mrs. Zhou Xu heard that Zhou Xiaoqing had hunted a deer, and she came to ask Song Yuelan, mother and daughter Zhou Xiaoqing to share the meat with her as an elder. As a result, Song Yuelan and Zhou Xiaoqing took the deer meat to the county seat.
, saying that he was going to sell meat and embroidery - anyway, Zhou Xu couldn't catch anyone!
This time, Mrs. Zhou Xu finally heard about Zhou Xiaoqing's return and came to Qiao's house without stopping.