When it was daylight, the master drove out of Hangzhou City. Yang Liufang saw the road sign and had reached the border of Zhuji, Shaoxing. The driver might be trying to relieve his fatigue, or he was already very talkative. The sun was rising on the first day of the Spring Festival and the car was warm. He continued to talk to Yang Liufang and the others about taxis in Hangzhou.
"This car is fuel-efficient and durable. You can see that the temperature inside the car is very high now when the heater is turned on, but in fact the air-conditioning effect is very poor. In summer, the air-conditioner cannot be turned on, and the boiler is turned on when the water tank is turned on, so we can only travel in three seasons: spring, autumn and freezing. To put it bluntly, I rested for half of the year."
"Then what do you do during your downtime?"
"Driving, driving for others, doing odd jobs or something." The master replied helplessly.
"Also, this car has a low chassis and it is difficult to drive on uneven roads. If it hadn't been for New Year's Eve, I wouldn't have gone to Wenzhou because some roads are not good and the chassis is bumpy. So I will tell you when you get on the bus. I have to get down, lest the weight of the car is too heavy and the chassis is damaged, and I lose my worth."
When talking about cars, the master seemed to have endless topics to talk about. Yang Liufang felt a little sleepy and fell asleep while listening.
"Brother, wake up, get off the car." Li Tongfu beside him gently shook Yang Liufang to wake up.
"Hey, we're here, brother?"
"No, what are you thinking about? The road is not easy to walk at the junction ahead. Master is afraid of bumping the chassis, so we have to get down and walk for a while."
"Oh, where are you?"
"It seems like we are about to enter Dongyang."
"Oh. Got it." Yang Liufang said and followed Li Tongfu out of the car, feeling a little hungry. After they closed the door, the master driver started the taxi and drove cautiously towards the bumpy road at the junction, lest he accidentally damage the ground. Yang Liufang and his three men followed behind and walked forward, but were soon thrown far behind by the car.
"Brother, he won't run away." Yang Liufang whispered to Li Tongfu. He was worried about the money in his bag.
"No, I'm celebrating the New Year. It looks like the master is loyal." As he said that, he also quickened his pace, and then turned into a trot. It turned out that he was also worried that the master had driven away. Those words just now were just to comfort Yang Liufang. . Yang Liufang and his elder brother also chased after him. After working hard for a year, he returned home. I believe he brought a lot of money with him.
When the two of them caught up with Li Tongfu out of breath, they felt relieved when they saw the taxi still driving swaying not far away. Yang Liufang was indeed hungry after running all this time.
"Brother, are you hungry?"
"If you're not hungry, that's a lie. Let's go and chase him for a while. When we get to the car, we can eat meat in peace."
"Well, I have wine in my bag. Let's catch up and have a drink." The strange brother also said.
The three of them endured hunger and gave chase, and finally caught up with the driver.
"Master, master, stop, stop. Let's eat something, we're starving."
The driver heard the shouting and opened the window. A stream of hot air came out and turned into white mist. He pulled over and Yang Liufang stood aside, holding his knees and catching his breath. Li Tongfu and the strange brother went to the trunk to get their travel bags. Li Tongfu took out a cut-up piece of beef and mutton, and the strange brother took out a bottle of white wine.
"Come on, brothers, help me, let's divide the meat." He said and took off the folding knife from the keychain he carried. The driver and the stranger took a piece of mutton, and Li Tongfu separated it for them.
"You guys eat this, my brother and I will eat this piece. Brother, take it, I'll divide the meat." After hearing this, Yang Liufang stood up and pinched one side of the beef with his hands. Li Tongfu used a knife to cut the meat. After they separated, Yang Liufang couldn't wait to take a big bite of the meat.
"Brothers, this meat is so delicious. Where did it come from?"
"This is authentic Ningxia Tan mutton." Yang Liufang remembered that he said that they were half of the same industry. He had never seen what he made and didn't understand it, which meant that it was blank in Xizhou. So I kept an eye on it and deliberately didn't mention Xizhou.
"Oh, let me tell you, it's so delicious. Let's drink. We don't have glasses, so we drink from the bottle. I took a sip, but my mouth didn't get hit by the bottle."
"My brother doesn't drink. Brother driver, don't drink either. Our safety comes first during the Chinese New Year. Brother, I'll drink with you." Li Tongfu went over and took the bottle, without touching the bottle, and poured the wine into his mouth. He took two big sips and grinned.
"Well, good wine, strong enough." He said and took another bite of beef.
The driver took out a thermos bottle from the back and said to Yang Liufang: "Come on, little brother, let's drink boiled water."
"Thank you, brother!" Yang Liufang stepped forward.
"Thank you, just use my cup, I'm stupid." This sentence made the three of them laugh.
The three of them finished eating and drank and continued on the road. Yang Liufang and the others came down three times along the way, but the last time they stopped chasing the driver because they had already entered Wenzhou, which is their hometown. Yang Liufang originally wanted to see the master first, but Li Tongfu said it was the Chinese New Year, and the two of them had been running around for three or four days. At this moment, they looked slovenly and looked like a beggar, and their image was not good. Yang Liufang looked at the car window. Indeed, his hair was messy and he smelled bad. Besides, we're not far from home, so we don't care about this moment.
The driver first took them to Yangshi, and then took them to the entrance of Liunan Village. After Yang Liufang paid the money, he and Li Tongfu thanked the driver, said goodbye to the strange brother, and walked to his village. Yang Liufang's family is in the west of the village, and Master Liu Gen's family is in the east of the village. They passed by Master's house first and saw couplets on the door. Smoke was coming from the kitchen chimney. The smell of meat mixed with the smoke of firecrackers entered Yang Liufang's nose. Inside.
"Brother, are Master and his family back for the New Year?"
"It seems that the couplets on the door are new." Yang Liufang unconsciously walked over and knocked on the door.
"Master, Master."
"Who is it?" As a strange voice came out, the door opened. An old man appeared before him.
"Uncle, happy New Year, I am Yang Liufang, this is my master's house. Who are you?"
"Oh, happy New Year, young man. My surname is Nan, and this house was bought by my son."
"Ah, when did it happen?"
"At the end of October last year, it was November, yes, November and December were freed up, so my wife and I moved here." Yang Liufang understood instantly, and the travel bag he was holding fell on the ground. On the ground, standing stupidly at the door. The old man closed the door and invited them in. It didn't feel right to see two dirty strangers again, so I was a little overwhelmed.
Li Tongfu hurriedly stepped forward, patted Yang Liufang and said, "Brother, if you have something to do, we'll talk about it when you go home." He lowered his head to pick up the bag Yang Liufang dropped on the ground.
Yangliu Fangmu followed his brother home blankly, and then the old man closed the door. Yang Liufang turned back three times at a time and looked towards the door.
When we walked along the street to the door of his courtyard, Li Tongfu asked his parents to open the door. When the two old people heard that the children were back, they trotted to open the door. The old couple hugged each other and patted each other all over.
"You two silly boys are finally back. You miss me so much."
"Alas! Your grandma didn't cook anything to wait for you on New Year's Eve, so the two of us just ate a few dumplings." Yang's father spoke to Li Tongfu. Yang Liufang still stood blankly. When Yang's mother saw her son's expression, she felt something was wrong. Son, tears burst out of my eyes instantly.
"Afang, Afang, son, what's wrong with you?"
"Mom--" Yang Liufang called out "Mom" and burst into tears, which attracted the neighbors to come out to watch the fun.
"My child, what's wrong with you? Tell me, don't cry." Mother Yang also cried.
"Ama, my master...my master, in order to save me...save me, he sold the house. Ah..."
"Well, son, let's go into the room and say, originally your father wanted to tell you right away, but your master wouldn't let you. You were at your master's house at that time, and we couldn't contact you. Later, you went back directly from you and your master. If we go to Xizhou, we won’t have a chance.”
Neighbors also came to comfort them, saying that they should be happy during the Chinese New Year and that Liu Gen was a good person... When they entered the courtyard and closed the door, the neighbors who were watching the excitement dispersed.
"Alas! I was on the phone a while ago, and I wanted to tell you, but your master interrupted me as soon as I started speaking." Yang Liufang thought of his master's actions on the other end of the phone to stop him and force him to hang up the phone, and he felt that he owed him something. , even more sad. His parents, Tongfu and his family, comforted him for a while, and only then did Yang Liu stop crying.
It turned out that the master heard that Yang Liufang's career was in trouble and he was short of money, so he scraped together and borrowed money. However, he was a carpenter and moved to Wenzhou. No one believed him, so he sold the house in a hurry. . He told Yang's father that he only had a daughter, Liu Xia, who was still studying. No matter whether she went to college or got married, she would never stay in this village, and the house would be sold. Yang Liufang is different. His roots are here and he cannot sell his ancestral home to be laughed at. Besides, when they get old in the future, can Liu Fang and Liu Xia take care of them? Yang's father couldn't resist, and he had nothing to do, so he had no choice but to cry with gratitude for his agreement.
"Son, your master taught you a craft and sold his house to help you tide over the difficulties. You must honor your master well."
"Yes, I will, dad."
"His father, you go get the hot water for the child, and I'll cook the vegetables and make the rice. Look at how dirty these two are, so hurry up and wash up. Do you have a change of clothes?"
"Mom, yes, we have brought them all. Can I help you cook first?" Ah Fu rushed to answer.
"No, son, the kitchen is small and you can't turn around even if you go in. Let your father fetch water for you to take a bath first, and then he will help me." Mother Yang said as she walked towards the kitchen. Father Yang has already brought them two thermos bottles.
"The bathing basin is at the door of the bathroom. You can fetch water for washing yourself." Yang's father handed them the thermos bottle, and each of them took one to the bathroom to get a large basin to get cold water.
After they finished washing and changed their clothes, when they arrived in the main room, they saw four dishes: duck in sauce, jellyfish skin, bacon with green pepper, and braised fish cubes. The dishes were full on the dining table. The two walked to the kitchen and saw the old couple still busy, cooking large yellow croaker in one pot and stewing beef in the other.
