The sky was getting dark, and Xiaonian's stomach growled. She was hungry. The three of them left the bookstore and walked into the bustling market. Xiaonian happily carried a brand new small schoolbag and held a picture book she had just bought in her arms.
, while walking, I couldn’t wait to continue watching.
"Don't read picture books while walking. Have you forgotten what grandpa said before? Pay attention to traffic safety." Yang Lan warned.
"Then I'll put the picture book in my schoolbag."
The three of them turned into Huangjia Village from West Chang'an Street. As they passed the Little Red Horse, they heard the laughter of children coming from inside.
"It's Xi'er~" Xiaonian knew who it was after hearing this sentence.
"Let's go home for dinner first, and then we'll take you to Little Red Horse after dinner," Yang Lan said.
After walking through the deep alley, the three of them returned home. After dinner, Lao Chen sent Xiao Nian to the Little Red Horse and then returned.
Under the eaves of the door, Yang Lan was washing clothes. Lao Chen went into the house and brought a stool out and placed it behind her.
"Sit on a stool, don't squat, you may get dizzy easily."
"Just squatted for a while." Yang Lan said as he sat down, "You go read a book."
Lao Chen returned to the house, took out the brand new "Plumber's Operation Guide" he had just bought, sat under the lamp, squinted his eyes and read, putting the book far away.
As he looked at it, he couldn't help but frown. It was very difficult to read and he couldn't understand many parts. He knew how to repair water and electricity and was a good hand, but it was very difficult to connect practice and theory.
He expected such difficulties. Although it was very difficult, he did not give up easily and continued to study hard.
Yang Lan finished washing the clothes and hung them to dry in the yard. The evening breeze blew and blew Xiaonian's vest. Looking over the vest, she could see a full moon hanging quietly in the air. There was a sense of tranquility in the years.
Beautiful. The surroundings are extremely quiet, with only the sound of crickets chirping.
She looked back at the room. Lao Chen was like a weathered sculpture, sitting motionless under the yellowed light bulb, as if he was asleep, but the occasional flipping of books told her that Lao Chen was immersed in reading.
She originally wanted to go back to the house, but in order not to disturb Lao Chen, she continued to sit in the yard, watching the evening breeze blowing the drying clothes, listening to the chirping of small insects, and smelling the natural fragrance of the fruits and vegetables in the garden.
Until, footsteps sounded behind her, and before she could turn around, a piece of clothing fell on her shoulders.
"The wind is so strong, wear more clothes so you don't catch a cold."
"Have you finished reading the book?"
"Come and sit in the room."
The two returned to the room. Yang Lan looked at the book on the table. The book was not closed and one page was open.
"Are you okay?"
"What?"
"Is it okay to watch? Isn't it difficult?"
"It's not difficult."
"That's good, you can continue reading, I'll go to the kitchen."
Lao Chen continued to pick up the book and read hard, but it was difficult to concentrate.
As people get older, their energy is less than before, and their attention span cannot last long.
He pondered over a few things he didn't understand. After thinking about it for a while, he couldn't figure it out. He decided to ask Lao Li later when he went to pick up Xiaonian.
He knew that Lao Li knew about water and electricity. He had seen Lao Li energize the sign at the door of Little Red Horse, and the two had a conversation about it. What surprised him was that Lao Li, a retired university professor, actually knew a lot about water and electricity maintenance, and he spoke in a clear and logical manner.
, Little Red Horse’s water and electricity are maintained by Lao Li.
The soft sound of pipa sounded in the room. It was Yang Lan who turned on the tape recorder. She was singing Pingtan, an opera that people in Pujiang, Suzhou and Hangzhou loved to listen to. A man was singing in Wu dialect, and Yang Lan liked to listen to it very much.
If they don't have to go to work in the evening, they basically stay at home, do housework, chat, or listen to opera. However, these songs are too old. They have listened to them countless times and have never bought new tapes.
Lao Chen planned to find time to buy it several times, but he always forgot that as people get older, their memory deteriorates.
Seeing Lao Chen turning his head to look over, Yang Lan quickly turned off the tape recorder.
"Did I disturb you?"
"No, just listen."
"I won't listen anymore."
"A bit louder is better, it's too quiet."
"Isn't the book difficult?"
"I'm too old."
"Where can I find it?"
"Would it be inappropriate for me to take the exam at a very young age?"
"That's strange. What's so outrageous about this?"
"It just... feels like we are competing with young people for jobs. We should have abdicated long ago."
"No, no, no, for them, this should be a greater incentive. Although we are older, we are still working hard. Isn't this something to be proud of?"
"Still not feeling good."
"It's not bad to live a better life through your own efforts, isn't it? Does your hard work depend on your age?"
"..."
"Then let's think of it as setting a good example for Xiaonian. We can say to her, look, your grandfather is still studying hard at such an old age. You should also work hard in kindergarten. This is different from just verbally encouraging her.
It is much more useful to urge her, this is a role model and example around her."
"Don't say that. I'm afraid I didn't pass the exam and became a negative example."
"Effort is a process, and the results are of course important, but the gains in the process are also great, because this is our attitude towards things."
"You are still so eloquent, but you have suffered too much following me."
"I think you want to be lazy. Let me read a book with you."
"You don't understand."
"I understand physical chemistry."
…
Young people only need to put in half of their energy, while Lao Chen has to put in 100% of his efforts, or even more. He feels more and more that not only is he getting older physically, but also internally, such as memory and understanding.
It has deteriorated. The principles that I was confident I could easily grasp before now take me a while to ponder.
He didn't have time to sigh about this. It was already late at night and he went out to go to Xiaohongma to pick up Xiaonian and take him home.
It was very quiet and dark outside the house. If you craned your neck and looked farther away, you could see bright lights, which made the place look more and more like the eye of a dark storm.
"I'll go with you." Yang Lan picked up the flashlight and went out with Lao Chen.
"Lock the door."
"Just lock the courtyard door outside. There is nothing to steal in our house."
"The chickens and ducklings are gradually growing up."
The two of them walked in a deep alley, like walking on a mountain road in the countryside, until there were more shops on both sides, but most of them were empty. There was only one owner sitting in the small shop, watching TV or playing with his mobile phone.
When they were about to leave Huangjiacun, a motorcycle jumped out from behind them quickly, startling the two of them. Both riders were wearing helmets, and they didn't seem to notice them. They looked back in surprise.
They glanced at each other and walked away without stopping.
Yang Lan muttered and complained about this. The alley was so narrow and the bike was riding so fast, it would be easy to get into trouble.
As soon as she finished reciting, she heard a muffled groan coming from a dozen meters in front of her. At this time, the motorcycle turned crookedly and turned into West Chang'an Street.
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