I saw Zhou Shi'an, the little black boy, with his head raised and wiping his pockets fondly.
Lu Miao couldn't help but smiled quietly with joy.
I shook my head amidst the chirping of summer cicadas, curled my lips and lowered my head to continue my business.
Across the main room, Zhou Shian looked through the pockets with round eyes, and looked at Tang Mei with his thin lips pursed.
Tang Mei smiled and silently raised her chin towards the other side of the room.
Zhou Shian immediately understood who sewed the pockets on his coat.
Past life experiences are among the few memories that still have impressions.
Zhou Shian remembered that he was being sent back and forth all the time.
Zhou Shian is now over four years old and can barely understand anything.
Going a little further, when you are still ignorant, you will inevitably cry and make trouble.
However, after being beaten, looked down upon and scolded, the young Zhou Shi'an gradually figured out a set of rules for survival that no longer meant being sent around.
Until grandma died, he was brought to the capital from the northeast.
Dad sent him to the Fu family courtyard. He thought this time would be like the past.
The family will also beat him and scold him, but it doesn't matter. As long as he is sensible, doesn't fight, doesn't fight, and stays quietly, he can avoid being beaten and scolded.
However, this family is nothing like what he imagined.
There were no curse words, and no one looked fierce.
He will eat whatever his younger brothers and sisters eat.
When my uncle comes back from outside, after hugging his younger siblings, he will also hug him.
Auntie is also so gentle.
Always touch his face with a smile and teach him to wash his hands before eating.
Now I'm sewing a pocket for him...
Zhou Shi'an touched the little cat's head on the pocket, his little chest feeling swollen.
In the evening Zhou Hong came to pick up his son and take him home.
Zhou Shian followed his father to the entrance of the yard. Hesitantly, he broke away from his father and ran back.
The little guy raised his head and hugged his aunt's leg, "Thank you, aunt."
Lu Miao has always known that Zhou Shi'an has a naughty and sensitive personality.
Lu Miao naturally noticed his subtle transformation.
Slowly squatting down, Lu Miao kissed the little guy's face as he usually did with his two children, stroked his soft hair and said:
"Come early tomorrow, Your brothers and sisters are all waiting for you at home."
Zhou Shi'an scratched the side of his head with his hand, feeling at a loss.
Nodding shyly, he waved to the Dabao and the second treasure in a rare gesture:
"Brother and sister, I'll come back tomorrow!"
"Goodbye, brother!"
"Shi An Goodbye, brother, come early tomorrow!"
Zhou Shi'an turned around one step at a time, held his father's hand and walked out of the alley and got into the passenger seat of the pickup truck.
In the dim light, Zhou Shi'an poked his head and looked at the mirror in the car. Finally, with a straight face, he lowered his head and looked at his dark hands suspiciously.
My younger brothers and sisters are so white and clean.
Looking at him, he is dark and dirty at first glance.
From today on, he will also be a hygienic child, washing his hands and face frequently, and taking a bath!
As soon as he thought of it, Zhou Shian put his legs together, Banpan was sitting on the passenger seat, and said:
"Dad, go back and get me water, I want to take a bath!"
The rough man Zhou Hong didn't think much, just thought it was a hot day and his son was sweating, sticky and uncomfortable, and grinned. He agreed instantly:
“Okay!”
That night, in a simple residential courtyard in the suburbs.
Zhou Hong was shirtless and wearing big pants, standing by the well in the courtyard with his naked son in his hands.
A bucket of water was brought up and poured directly over his son's head. "No, Dad, no, I'm cold!"
"Why is it cold? In this summer, the cold is only for a moment, and it won't be cold after washing."
The Zhou family is different from the Fu family. They rent a single room in a large courtyard. The house is small and only has a sleeping area.
Every day I have to buy steamed buns from outside for my daily meals. I don’t even have a stove at home.
This is the only way to take a bath.
It’s just hot in summer, so it’s okay to wash like this.
Zhou Hong's tone was determined. Zhou Shi'an thought about it and felt that his father was right.
I stood under the large pillar of water that my father tilted down and scrubbed carefully.
While washing, the father and son poured water on each other and had a water fight, laughing and joking.
It wasn't until someone in the courtyard shouted, "Keep your voice down" that one senior and one young boy suppressed their laughter.
After hastily taking a bath, Zhou Hong carried a bucket and held his naked son in his arms.
There were traces of water dripping along the road back home.
The child's physical condition is not as good as that of adults. The well water poured on him the night before made his heart feel cold. The next day Zhou Shi'an had a runny nose.
Zhou Hong was so used to being alone that he didn't even notice.
When he went to work in the morning and sent his children to Fu's courtyard, Zhou Hong left in a hurry.
It was Tang Mei who discovered it.
The season change has long passed. The weather has been steadily hot recently, and a sudden runny nose seems unusual.
Tang Mei asked several times before she knew the whole story, and inevitably had to nag for a while:
"Can children be like adults? They are really ignorant!"
After finishing reciting Zhou Hong, Tang Mei started to recite Fu Jingyou again.
It is said that Fu Jingyou always comes back covered in sweat, and washes his hair with cold water when he goes to the well, which is not good for his health.
The elders and juniors compete on this point.
She talked about hers, but he went his own way and continued to do his.
I cooked some ginger soup for Zhou Shi'an in the morning. When Fu Jingyou came back at noon, Lu Miao asked him to take Zhou Shi'an to the health center by bicycle.
Fu Jingyou took Zhou Shi'an there as promised, and the doctor at the health center said it didn't matter, just go back and sweat.
Fu Jingyou was worried, so he gave me two pills and took them back as a precaution.
A child is not as pitiful as a mother, and the father is not a careful person.
Having roughly figured out the situation of the Zhou family, I was afraid that Zhou Hong would give the child a cold bath when he went back.
From that afternoon, Tang Mei always watched the time. When the sun was right, she would weigh a bucket of water and put it outside to bask in the sun.
When the sun sets in the evening, the bucket of water happens to be slightly hot, sometimes a little hot to the touch.
It’s perfect for taking a bath and saves firewood.
Tang Mei took the children in the courtyard to bathe one by one, and asked Zhou Shian to finish washing here before going back.
Zhou Shi'an couldn't let go at first. He covered the little bird naked and hid, trying not to let Tang Mei get involved.
If someone is small, how can he really hide?
In the end, Tang Mei was forced to sit in the basin, and she carefully rubbed the back of her ears and her feet.
Zhou Shian couldn't wash himself clean after taking a shower, so Tang Mei pressed and rubbed him several times.
My body became clean and refreshed, and my dark little face looked much more handsome than Zhou Zheng before.
Er Bao looked at Zhou Shi'an with a pair of eyes like underwater black pearls every day, and he fell in love with this brother even more.
At night after the incident, Zhou Shian went back with cold medicine, and Zhou Hong realized this later.
The next day I sent Zhou Shi'an over, and Zhou Hong also brought a box of canned fruits to the door.
After apologizing and thanking, Zhou Hong scratched his head and had no choice. He could only ask Tang Mei to take care of the places he couldn't see.
What can Tang Mei say about him?
I asked him to bring something over, but he took it too.
Let him take it back, but I’m afraid he’ll feel bad about it.
Finally, he collected the things and reassured him about the child. (End of this chapter)