Chapter 2 01

Old Master Qi is not afraid of anything, except that he won't be able to celebrate his 80th birthday.In his prime, he saw with his own eyes how the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing.Later, he saw how the emperor of the Qing Dynasty abdicated and the continuous civil war; for a while the gates of the Nine Cities were closed tightly, and the sound of gunfire and cannons continued day and night; High cars and big horses.War did not frighten him, peace made him happy.Every festival he wants to celebrate, and every year he wants to worship his ancestors. He is a law-abiding citizen who just wants to live a peaceful life without worrying about food and clothing.Even in times of chaos, he has his own way: the most worth mentioning is that his family always has enough grain and pickles for the whole family to last for three months.In this way, even if shells are flying in the air and soldiers are running around in the street, he will close the gate and put a broken jar filled with stones on top, which is enough to ward off disasters and take refuge.

Why does Mrs. Qi only prepare food and pickles for three months?This is because psychologically, he always thinks that Beiping is the most reliable big city in the world, no matter what kind of disaster there is, it will be over within three months, and then everything will be fine.The disaster in Peiping is just like a person who can't avoid some headaches and brain fever, and it will naturally get better in a few days.If you don't believe me, just look at it, Mr. Qi will calculate with his fingers: How long will the Zhiwan War last?How long will the Zhifeng war last?what!Listen to me, our Beiping disaster will not last for three months!

In the year of the July 7 Anti-Japanese War, Mrs. Qi was already seventy-five years old.He has long since stopped worrying about housework.His important work now is to water the potted flowers in the yard, tell stories about his old age, feed and change the little yellow bird in the cage, and take his great-grandchildren to stroll around the streets and Huguo Temple very slowly.However, as soon as the cannons on the Marco Polo Bridge fired, the old man couldn't help but worry a little bit. Who told him that he was an old man of four generations. The son is over fifty years old, and the daughter-in-law is old and sickly, so Mrs. Qi called the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law over.The old man likes the eldest granddaughter-in-law the most, because first, she has given birth to children for the Qi family, so that the old man has great-grandchildren; second, she can manage the house and know the rules, and she doesn't perm her hair like the second granddaughter-in-law. It looks like a chicken coop, and I panic when I look at it; third, the son doesn’t live at home often, and the daughter-in-law is sick, so in fact it is the eldest grandson and the eldest grandson’s wife who are in charge of the house, and the eldest grandson teaches abroad all day long, and prepares homework and corrections at night. Exams, then the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law is almost in charge of the food, clothing and tea for a family of ten, and the celebrations with relatives, friends and neighbors; this is not an easy task, so the old man justly favors her.In addition, the old man grew up in Beiping since he was a child, and he has learned a lot of etiquette and etiquette from people from the banner: when a daughter-in-law sees her father-in-law, of course she should stand with her hands down.However, since the daughter-in-law is in her fifties, she often suffers from some illnesses; if the old man does not teach her to stand upright, he will break the family rules; The eldest granddaughter-in-law discusses and discusses important matters in the family.Although Old Man Qi's back is a bit bent, he is still the tallest in the whole family.When he was in his prime, he was called "Big Qi" everywhere. With his tall stature and long face, he should have been very dignified, but his eyes were too small, and when he smiled, they became cracks, so people only saw him His tall stature does not seem to be particularly awe-inspiring. In old age, he has become more attractive: a dark yellow face, snow-white beard and eyebrows, wrinkles around the corners of the eyes and cheeks that are always smiling; His small eyes are deeply hidden in the smile lines and white eyebrows, and he always looks kind with a smile; when he really laughs, his small eyes shine a little bit, as if he has infinite wisdom and refuses to let go of it all at once. It's like letting it all out.

Calling the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law, the old man combed his white beard gently with a small beard comb, and remained silent for a long time.The old man only read three small books and six-character miscellaneous characters when he was a child; the young and the middle-aged suffered all the hardships, bought a house on their own, and became a family.His son only studied in a private school for three years before he became an apprentice; it was not until his grandchildren that he was influenced by the trend and went to university to study.Now, he is an old man, but he always feels that his knowledge is not as good as that of his son - the son can recite up to now, and he can write a good handwriting that is praised by the fortune teller - let alone his grandson, and he is very afraid that they will look down on him.Therefore, when he talks to the younger generation, he always froze for a while, expressing that he is very good at thinking.He didn't need to do this to the eldest grandson's wife, because she didn't know much, and she was always talking about children, or talking about oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.However, as time went by, he had developed this habit, so he had no choice but to teach his granddaughter-in-law to stand for a while longer.

The eldest grandson's daughter-in-law has never been to school, so she has no scientific name.After she got married, her husband gave her a name -- Yunmei, like a doctorate degree.The word Yunmei seems to be unlucky, and it has never been able to get through in the Qi family.Naturally, the parents-in-law and the old man didn't have the habit or need to call her by her name, and others thought she was just a housewife, who didn't seem to have much to do with "Yun" and "Mei".Besides, the old lady thought that since "Yunmei" and "transporting coal" sound the same, they should have the same meaning, "Well, she is busy all day long, do you still have the heart to teach her to transport coal?" Her husband was too embarrassed to call her, so she became "Xiao Shun'er's mother" in addition to the proper titles such as "sister-in-law" and "mother"; Xiao Shun'er was her little boy.

Xiao Shun'er's mother is not ugly, with a medium build, a round face, and two big and watery eyes.She walks, talks, eats, and does things quickly, but she is so fast that she doesn't panic.She combs her hair, washes her face, and puts on powder very quickly, so sometimes she looks better if she applies the powder evenly by chance;When she was ridiculed for not putting the powder on properly, she was still not in a hurry, and laughed at herself along with others.She is naturally good-natured. Old man Qi combed his white beard enough, then wiped it with his palm twice, and then said to Xiao Shun'er's mother:

"How much food do we have?" Xiao Shun'er's mother's big and watery eyes rolled quickly twice, and she had already guessed the old man's intentions.Very crispy and fast, she replied: "It's enough to last for three months!" In fact, there is not so much food at home.She didn't want to cause the old man's wordiness by telling the truth.She is good at deceiving the elderly and children. "Where are the pickles?" The old man raised the second important item. She replied quickly: "It's enough to eat! Dried pimples, old salty radish, and all of them!" She knew that even if the old man really wanted to check it out for himself, she could go and buy some right away.

"Good!" The old man was satisfied.With three months of food and pickles, even if the sky falls, the Qi family will resist.But the old man didn't want to end his concerns just like that. He had to explain the reason to his eldest grandson-in-law: "The Japanese devils are making trouble again! Hmph! Let's go! I ran away, but I didn’t take my head off! Eight countries are not enough, what else can a few Japanese brats do? This is a treasure land, and no matter how much trouble there is, it won’t last three months! Let’s not be too aggressive If you are careless and bold, you must at least have corn bread and pickles to eat!"

When the old man said something, Xiao Shun'er's mother nodded or said "yes".She had heard the old man's words at least fifty times, but she still listened to them as new ones.When the old man saw that someone appreciated his words, he couldn't help raising his voice a little, in order to increase the power of moving: "Your father-in-law, don't look at him in his fifties, he is far worse in terms of housework! Your mother-in-law is simply a sick person. You can discuss things with her, and she can only hum! This family, let me tell you , it’s up to you and me! If the two of us don’t worry about it, the whole family won’t even be able to wear pants! Do you believe it or not?”

Xiao Shun'er's mother was too embarrassed to say "believe" or "no", so she lowered her eyelids and smiled. "Why hasn't Ruixuan come back yet?" the old man asked.Ruixuan is his eldest grandson. "He has four or five lessons today," she replied. "Hmph! Let's fire the cannon, come back quickly! Where's Ruifeng and his crazy woman?" The old man asked about his second grandson and his daughter-in-law—the woman whose hair was permed like a chicken coop. "They both—" She didn't know how to answer. "The young father and mother are always in love with each other, and they can't be separated for a moment. They are really not afraid of being laughed at!"

Xiao Shun'er's mother smiled: "Sooner or later, young couples are like that!" "I just can't stand it!" the old man said firmly. "It's your mother-in-law who dotes on her! I haven't seen a young woman who grows up in Beihai all day, Dong'an Market and some movie park?" "I can't tell!" She really couldn't, because she almost never got the chance to go to the movies. "Where is Xiaosan?" Xiaosan'er is Ruiquan. Because he is not married yet, the old man still calls him Xiaosan'er; in fact, he is about to graduate from college. "The third child took Niuzi out." Niuzi is Xiao Shun'er's younger sister. "Why doesn't he go to school?" "The third child just told me for a long time, saying that if we don't fight Japan, we will lose even Peiping!" Xiao Shun'er's mother spoke very quickly, but also very clearly. "When he said that, his face was red with anger, and he was rubbing his fists and palms! I just advised him, anyway, our surname Qi didn't offend the Orientals, and they must not bully us! I said this to him with good intentions, so as to teach him to calm down; hey, who would have thought that he stared at me, as if I was in collusion with the Japanese! I dared not speak anymore, and he picked up Niuzi angrily Just out! Look, who have I recruited?" The old man was stunned for a while, and then said with emotion: "I am very worried about Xiao San'er, I am afraid that he will cause trouble sooner or later!" Just as I was talking about this, Xiao Shun'er in the yard shouted coquettishly: "Grandpa! Grandpa! Are you back? Did you buy me peaches? Why, no? Not even one? Grandpa, you are really worthless!" Xiao Shun'er's mother replied in the room: "Shun'er! Don't flirt with grandpa! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you!" Xiao Shun'er stopped talking, and grandpa walked in.Xiao Shun'er's mother hurried to pour tea.Grandpa (Qi Tianyou) is a little old man with a black beard in his fifties.He is of medium build, rather rich, with a round face, heavy eyebrows, big eyes, heavy and dark hair and beard, and is very suitable for the proprietor of a respectable shop--in fact, he is now the shopkeeper of a family of three. The shopkeeper of the cloth shop.His steps were heavy, and the flesh on his face trembled with each step.He is used to doing business, his face is always kind, and his nose is almost always wrinkled with smile lines.Today, his demeanor is a bit wrong.He tried to force a smile, but his eyes were not as bright as when he was smiling, and the twisted smile lines on his nose seemed to be unable to be tightened; when he was smiling, he hardly dared to raise his head generously. "How? Boss!" Mrs. Qi gently grabbed the white beard with his fingers, then looked at his son's black beard, feeling a little uneasy for some reason. The little old man with the black beard sat down unnaturally, as if the old man with the white beard had given him some mental oppression.Glancing at his father, he lowered his head and said in a low voice: "The times are not good!" "Can you fight?" Xiao Shun'er's mother boldly asked as the eldest daughter-in-law. "People are very disturbed!" Old man Qi stood up slowly: "Xiao Shun'er's mother, get ready the broken vat to top the gate!"