Chapter three hundred and seventy-two [household affairs]
Chapter 372 [Family Matters]
Naturally, this kind of car cannot have air conditioning, but there is a small electric fan set up in front of the passenger seat.
The weather in September is still a bit hot, but the wind blowing from the fan is facing Ou Xiuhua. But this wind makes Ou Xiuhua more and more anxious.
"After a while, I will pick up the child. I will take care of the child myself. I really don't need to trouble you..."
Ou Xiuhua said, turning her head and glancing at the car...
The seats in the van were all removed, and the free compartment was used for hauling goods. At this moment, Ou Xiuhua's bicycle was also placed in the compartment.
"It's no trouble, Xiao Ou." The driver waved and smiled.
"No." Ou Xiuhua shook her head: "You'd better go back quickly. If the manager finds out that you used the company's car to help me pick up the children, your wages will definitely be deducted."
"It's okay, the manager is not here today. And... he usually turns a blind eye to this kind of thing.
Last time the manager's sister moved, I drove over to help pull her things.
The manager is very good. As long as it doesn't delay the company's work of hauling goods, the manager won't ask us anything when we use the car to do our own things."
Ou Xiuhua pursed her lips hard, thought for a moment, and then said: "This is really not good, I feel uneasy..."
"It's really okay." The driver smiled hard and waved his hand: "By the way, school won't be out for a while, right? You sit down and I'll buy a pack of cigarettes from the shop opposite."
With that said, the driver opened the door and walked away quickly.
·
Hou Changwei is forty-four years old this year.
He has an ordinary appearance, ordinary abilities, ordinary abilities, and an ordinary mind.
He is the kind of person who can never be found among the crowd on the street, the most ordinary person.
I have never done anything spectacular in my life, nor have I ever planned to do anything spectacular.
Hou Changwei did not study much. The generation of his age were all delayed by that special ten years when they were young.
I haven’t studied since I graduated from elementary school. With today’s level of education, it’s okay for me to read newspapers and books by myself, but no matter how much ink I have, I won’t be able to use it. Just sometimes, when I’m reading books or newspapers, I encounter some unfamiliar things.
The words are still guessing.
But it doesn’t matter, just understand it.
My father passed away early, but my mother is still alive.
He himself has no children.
To be precise, Hou Changwei is a middle-aged widower.
My wife passed away seven years ago from leukemia.
Before his death, the couple lived a relatively loving life, and they occasionally quarreled, but overall they were fine.
I just never had children.
I went to the hospital for a checkup and they said the problem was Hou Changwei.
He was confused at first.
When I was with my wife before, ever since they got married, things between the two of us have always been quite normal and harmonious.
I have never felt that I am useless.
However, the doctor explained that this problem is not the same as the man's ability.
Later, the doctor used a vivid metaphor: blank bullets.
Only then did Hou Changwei understand.
After understanding this, the couple had nothing to do, as this disease was incurable.
Later, Hou Changwei was very kind to his wife and felt a little guilty in his heart.
If I have this problem, I am afraid that I will have no children in my life, and if my wife follows me, I will end up having no children for the rest of my life, which is quite unlucky.
Then, a few years later, my wife fell ill.
Hou Changwei waited on him without any regrets, going from hospital to hospital.
After procrastinating for a year and a half, I still couldn't keep my wife.
After the person left, all that was left was an urn, which was buried in a cemetery in the suburbs.
When his wife left, Hou Changwei was only in his thirties. He was still in the prime of life, and he didn't lack arms and legs. He was a bit ordinary, but there were always people around him who wanted to help him.
Introduce one.
Hou Changwei refused them all.
First of all, in the first few years, his wife had just passed away, and the uncomfortable energy in Hou Changwei's heart had not been released, and he didn't want to find her.
In the next few years, the sadness subsided, but Hou Changwei refused all the relatives and elders at home who wanted to introduce him.
The reason is simple: I don’t want to drag others down.
Only his family knows that he is infertile, and he deserves to be childless in this life. Why should he marry another woman and take away the happiness of having children and grandchildren?
Just don't hurt anyone.
Living alone like this, he turned forty before he knew it. After turning forty, the number of people supporting him also decreased.
Old men of Hou Changwei's age are no longer popular because he only has age, but no money, no talent, and an ordinary appearance.
That’s okay too.
What a life, why can’t we just live it?
Hou Changwei originally thought that he would be like this for the rest of his life.
Until I met Ou Xiuhua at work.
·
From the looks of Chen Nuo and Chen Xiaoye, we can see that Ou Xiuhua is very good-looking.
Although the first half of his life was rough, he encountered unkind people, and was imprisoned. His appearance became much haggard, and he had gray hair when he was in his early forties. However, after he was released from prison and his life became stable, his complexion gradually improved.
Hou Changwei really looked at Ou Xiuhua with tears in his eyes.
It's not noble, and it's definitely not vulgar.
That day at work, I saw this woman wearing work clothes while she was resting, but her clothes were washed clean, her sleeves were neatly put on, and her hair was tied up with a headband.
That afternoon, that oval-faced silhouette shot an arrow through Hou Changwei's heart.
Later, I became more concerned and secretly inquired about Ou Xiuhua's situation.
A woman who met unkind people in the first half of her life married twice, and the men she married in both marriages were scum.
In the end, he was killed and sent to jail.
Now I live alone with my two children from my two ex-husbands.
I think it must be very difficult.
When Hou Changwei was young, he heard books saying that beauty has been like a disaster since ancient times.
He just thought, if Ou Xiuhua looks so good now, she must have been even better when she was young. She could definitely be considered a "disaster".
But how could this disaster make his life miserable?
I usually pay attention to Ou Xiuhua's situation.
This woman has a good character. She works carefully and conscientiously, and is never lazy. Every time she divides the work, she does not pick and choose, and does everything she is told to do conscientiously. Every time she divides the areas she assigns to work, she is the cleanest in the evaluation.
Complaints are also minimal.
The only special thing about not competing for work in the workplace is that I have two children at home who need to be taken care of. When I change my shifts, I always have to ask my colleagues to change to a more convenient time.
But she never changes for nothing. She agrees to work with colleagues who change shifts with her, and she will help them with some tasks at work.
Food and clothing are very simple, and I ride a bicycle back and forth every day, even in hot and cold weather.
I have never seen her wearing any jewelry.
The relationship with colleagues is also good.
Yes, she is the kind of person who gets along well or not, and everyone agrees with her that she is a nice person. But she never mingles with others, and she never gossips in private about the shortcomings of the Zhang family and the Li family.
It can be seen that she is a responsible woman and she lives a good life.
Hou Changwei's heart felt hot and hot.
The most important thing...
Ou Xiuhua has two children.
Hou Changwei suddenly felt that this had directly removed the biggest knot in his heart.
He couldn't give a woman children, so he didn't want to harm others. But when it came to Ou Xiuhua, it didn't seem to be a problem.
Hou Changwei's feeling for Ou Xiuhua is very simple, two words: like.
It’s not the condescending and giving-away mentality: you’ve been in jail, you’ve been married twice, and you’ve got two losers.
Not this.
Just like it.
It's the kind of thing that makes me feel happier inexplicably when I see her occasionally when I'm at work.
Occasionally, I met him and nodded to say hello. I heard Ou Xiuhua call me "Master Hou" politely.
Why does this sound so pleasant to the ear?
Then, Hou Changwei started to take action.
Lao Hou doesn't know how to chase women, but at least he is young. He doesn't know anything else, but he knows two things:
Hands and feet are diligent, and mouth is diligent.
On weekdays, I would find opportunities to meet with Ou Xiuhua in the workplace every day. After getting to know each other, I could occasionally chat politely with him.
You can also politely say a few more words of concern for your colleagues, and ask about the family life of the other person who is not too sensitive.
In terms of action, that is, if you encounter someone, help lift something or pick up a heavy object.
Then, we met each other on purpose when we were getting off work, so we drove each other along and gave each other a lift for a while.
Later, I heard that something happened at Ou Xiuhua's family.
It is said that something happened to her eldest son.
I don’t know what the specific matter is. No one in the unit knows it either. They just heard about it.
Ou Xiuhua was in very bad shape during that period and had to take leave many times. Later, when she came to work, she was much more haggard. Her eyes were red every day, she talked less, and just kept busy at work.
When Lao Hou meets someone, he will sometimes lend a hand, run errands, etc.
In winter, when transporting labor protection items, secretly stuff her with two extra pairs of gloves.
In the summer, when I saw her working, I dropped a bottle of water and left.
When we were taking a break to eat, we also came over with a lunch box, pretending to chat and sit together to eat, then said that we had a stomachache, and put half of the bowl of soy sauce beef that we brought specially from home into Ou Xiuhua's lunch box.
And so on.
Hou Changwei felt that he was doing it carefully.
But Ou Xiuhua is not stupid.
When she was young, she was as beautiful as a flower, and she was really a flower far and near.
How many men have chased me and tried to show my favor?
Later, after Chen Nuo's father ran away, there was a woman living with a child in the family. It was not like there were no men who had bad ideas.
Ou Xiuhua has resisted countless flies.
I have also seen numerous overt and covert displays of kindness.
Hou Changwei himself thought that he was careful and well-disguised, but in Ou Xiuhua's eyes, it was actually the simple clumsiness of an honest person.
It has always been pretending to be stupid and deliberately trying to evade.
But until one night, after working the evening shift, she "ran into" Hou Changwei at the door of the unit, and Hou Changwei offered to "drop in" to give her a ride home...
Ou Xiuhua felt that she could no longer pretend to be stupid.
I was working the night shift that day. Hou Changwei, a driver for the same unit who pulls goods, was working the night shift?
Actually I am very grateful.
Hou Changwei is a good and honest person. He approaches me sincerely and helps me sincerely. He is cautious, nervous, simple, and sincere...
Very rare.
But Ou Xiuhua didn't want to.
It's not that I don't like Hou Changwei, it's that I don't have the heart for it.
I just think that if something happens to my son, I will raise my remaining daughter for the rest of my life, which is my biggest wish in this life.
I don’t think about anything else.
I don’t dare anymore.
·
Hou Changwei bought a pack of Hongtashan in a small store. Before he turned around and came out, he saw some oranges on the shelf, so he took a bottle and paid for it together.
He walked back and pulled the car door up, then directly stuffed the orange into Ou Xiuhua's hand.
"Here, you women all like to drink these sweet things."
Ou Xiuhua was stunned for a moment and hurriedly pushed out: "No, no, no..."
"I bought everything. If you don't like to drink it, I'll give it to your little Ye Zi to drink later."
With that said, Hou Changwei unscrewed the bottle cap and said, "Once the bottle is opened, it cannot be returned."
Ou Xiuhua pursed her lips, but she made up her mind. After picking up the children today, she would stop Hou Changwei and have a good talk with him when she got home.
·
The first-grade pupils lined up at the school gate after school.
Then the children dispersed in a hurry and ran towards the school gate.
Chen Xiaoye didn't run away. She was walking slowly and slowly with a schoolbag on her back. You could tell who she learned it from at a glance.
I have a car after school today, so I don't have to sit on the back of my mother's bicycle.
Then there was actually a bottle of orange juice to drink.
Chen Xiaoye looked at Hou Changwei a little happily.
"Thank you, Uncle Hou."
Because this was not the first time we met, Xiao Zizi was very enthusiastic and didn't recognize him.
Along the way, Hou Changwei drove the car very steadily, more carefully than when he was hauling goods at work.
I heard Xiao Zizi chattering and laughing all the way in the car. He couldn't wait to take out his lunch box as if he was showing off his merits, showing off to Ou Xiuhua that he had eaten all the meat today and had washed the lunch box very clean.
He also talked about interesting things among his classmates.
These things that children say are actually boring and uninteresting to adults.
But Hou Changwei listened with great interest.
I’m happy to listen! I’m very happy to hear it.
The woman in the car asked the child seriously about school affairs, and the child laughed and laughed as if he was showing off.
The car drove through intersections...
Hou Changwei suddenly had a thought in his mind:
From now on, if this happens every day, it will be great.
Suddenly hearing Chen Xiaoye talking about his classmates going to the zoo, Hou Changwei held the steering wheel with both hands and immediately smiled and said: "Little Yezi, Uncle Hou will take you to the zoo to see the giraffes later, okay?"
The child didn't have any thoughts, and immediately said with joy: "Okay!!"
Ou Xiuhua immediately lowered her face: "Don't talk nonsense, Little Ye Zi, Uncle Hou has to go to work, how can he have time..."
"It's okay, Xiao Yezi, let's go on Sunday. Uncle doesn't work on Sunday." Hou Changwei cut off Ou Xiuhua's words with a smile.
Just like that, we drove all the way to the gate of the community where Chen's family lived.
To Hou Changwei's surprise, this time he followed his usual practice and arrived at the gate of the community. When he was waiting for his wife and son to get off the car and was about to drive away, Ou Xiuhua stopped him.
"Master Hou, if there's nothing urgent, go upstairs and have a glass of water."
"Ah?" Hou Changwei's heart trembled, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by surprise: "Drink, drink water?"
"Actually, I want to treat you to a meal. You have driven me to pick up the children three times. I want to treat you to a meal to thank you. You also take good care of me at work..."
When Ou Xiuhua said this, she took a deep breath: "I don't know if it's convenient for you. If you still have something to do when you go home tonight, I can do it another day..."
"Convenient!" Lao Hou immediately turned off the car!
Can that be inconvenient?
How could that be inconvenient?
Go home? What can happen when you go home?
Oh, by the way, Lao He and the others have made an appointment to play cards with me in the evening. They have already agreed...
Not going!
What’s so good about playing cards!
Probably because of his overly excited reaction, Ou Xiuhua's face turned a little red. Lao Hou quickly slapped his head: "Wait a moment, I'll find a place to park the car. Wait a minute, soon, soon!"
After parking the car, the three of them walked into the community. As they went upstairs, Ou Xiuhua and Lao Hou were still having their own thoughts.
Comrade Lao Hou was about to feel happy.
But when he reached the fifth floor, Ou Xiuhua was suddenly stunned.
The door to the house is open.
Seeing Ou Xiuhua stop, Hou Changwei reacted and looked at the open door: "Is there anyone at home... in your house?"
"No one is at home..." Ou Xiuhua suddenly became a little incoherent.
Hou Changwei reacted immediately. He pulled Ou Xiuhua behind him and blocked him in front with his unimpressive body. He easily pulled out the wooden handle of the dustpan placed at the door of his house and held it in his hand.
inside.
"Don't go in! Wait a minute, don't let a thief break in... Xiao Ou, take Ye Zi and retreat downstairs first. If you can't, call someone!"
With that said, Hou Changwei poked his head toward the door of the house with a stick in hand.
Ou Xiuhua finally reacted at this time.
She let out a low cry, and suddenly her expression became extremely excited. She slipped away and rushed in from Hou Changwei.
·
In the Chen family's house, Chen Nuo was sitting at the dining table at the door of the kitchen.
He had taken off his thick cold-proof clothes and threw them directly on the ground. His hair was messy and his face was a little dirty.
I didn't take off my shoes either, and my big snow boots left several footprints on the ground.
At this moment, Little Dog Chen was holding a torn pack of instant noodles and gnawing hard!
Moreover, looking at the garbage bag on the ground next to him, it was not the first bag he had chewed.
Ou Xiuhua rushed in and saw this scene, and suddenly her body froze as if she had been hit by a immobilization spell.
After reacting, Lao Hou had already rushed to Ou Xiuhua's side with a stick in hand. He stared at the young man who was chewing instant noodles at the dinner table and was also stunned.
At this moment, there was a scream from behind.
"elder brother!!!"
Little Ye Zi rushed forward with a gust of wind and plunged into Chen Nuo's arms.