Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 25

The children's voices were in unison, with a clear rhythm. The adults laughed heartily, clapping and laughing.

"Brother Changsheng, if you don't get up soon, the sun will be shining on your backside!"

Li Changsheng buried his head in the quilt and sighed heavily.

A bunch of brats, wait till he gets out there and teaches them a lesson.

Just as he was putting on his shoes, Qiu Shanglin's threatening voice came from outside: "Li Changsheng, if you don't get up, I'm breaking down the door!"

He yelled impatiently, "Get in here!"

There was a rustling sound of the door opening, footsteps, and the curtain being lifted. Changsheng silently counted in his mind, and when he reached the tenth number, Qiu Shanglin, wearing a blue floral jacket, jumped in: "Changsheng, you forgot to light the stove again!"

He said irritably, "I just added it this morning!"

Qiu Shanglin shrank back: "It's still so cold! Your room is freezing!"

He was used to ignoring Qiu Shanglin's ability to call a deer a horse, but seeing her little face red from the cold, he still silently lifted the stove lid and added more coal briquettes.

She was sweating profusely from the heat, but she complained of being cold. Girls are so delicate!

Shang Lin chuckled, approached the stove, and casually pulled a sweet potato from his pocket to roast: "Hurry up and wash your face, then have breakfast."

Changsheng muttered, "I won't eat!"

She exclaimed, "You want to slack off?"

How surprising! The tone was exaggerated.

"I don't!"

"How can you have energy if you don't eat breakfast? How can you grow tall if you don't have energy? How can you help me with chores if you don't grow tall?" Qiu Shanglin acted as if he was just being lazy and that not eating breakfast would be letting him down.

Chang Sheng was speechless for a long time before finally managing to utter, "You're not setting up a stall for the New Year!"

Shang Lin chuckled: "I'm not setting up a stall, but the popsicle factory can open from the second day of the Lunar New Year. All the workers have left for the holiday. If you're not going to help, do you expect me to go?"

He was speechless.

Help? More like eating popsicles!

She made it sound nice, asking him to work for her, but when they actually went to Xinglong, not only Qiu Shanglin, but even Aunt Zhang wouldn't give him any work. She'd just toss them a cardboard box and dismiss them like dogs: "Go away, don't cause trouble, go play somewhere else!"

She was crunching on an ice pop; she certainly wasn't going to help with chores.

I sat cross-legged on the chair watching him scoop water to wash his face, and sure enough, he only poured out cold water again. I exclaimed, "Hot water! You'll freeze to death!"

Li Changsheng reluctantly picked up the kettle, poured in some hot water, tested the temperature, and then added a spoonful of cold water.

Shang Lin looked at the back of his head, which was shaved a little bluish, smiled, and felt somewhat helpless.

This child will never learn to treat himself well.

She herself didn't understand why she felt heartache when she saw Li Changsheng. Seeing him make such a mess of his life tore at her heartstrings, as if it were the days when her parents were getting a divorce in her later life. Every day she opened her eyes and watched the two sides argue and toss her around, and her heart was torn apart, bleeding profusely.

Perhaps it was because they didn't want to see Li Changsheng go astray and become another Qiu Xialin.

Perhaps it was his experience of having parents but not having them that touched his sorrowful state of mind.

Maybe she's just used to being a busybody; managing one is the same as managing two, so they're easier to take care of...

In short, she viewed Li Changsheng as if she were looking at Qiu Xialin.

She habitually took them under her wing, protecting and caring for them. Sometimes she felt as if she hadn't been reborn into childhood, but rather had traveled to her twenties, married, had children, and raised them.

Fortunately, although Li Changsheng was unruly, he also knew how to repay kindness. She used a small favor to blackmail him into obeying. Once a person forms a habit, they are tamed.

Look at him, he's fierce to others, but when it comes to himself, as soon as Xu Lishui is mentioned, he immediately loses his temper!

With him around, Qiu Xialin became easier to discipline.

Yin Yeyao is getting busier and busier. Since the last time I saw her, she hasn't come back. I heard that the courses are getting heavier and heavier, and she is not getting enough sleep every day. I don't know what kind of effort such a young child is putting in!

Without Yin Yeyao's arrival, she knew she couldn't control Qiu Xialin. After all, coercion and bribery alone could only work temporarily, not permanently. Qiu Xialin had been opposing her for years and was extremely familiar with her methods, so her countermeasures had become increasingly diverse. With Zhang Hongwei protecting him, she was truly in a difficult position.

Fortunately, another Li Changsheng arrived, who was accustomed to suppressing others with force.

You think you're so great? Come on, beat up your Brother Li first!

There's an old saying: "If one duck flies aimlessly, a flock of ducks will fall into the water." Indeed, sheep should be herded in groups; anything can succeed once it reaches a certain scale.

She smiled and looked Li Changsheng up and down, making his heart pound. What mischief was this little girl up to now?

Flying vinegar

Zhang Hongwei prepared a very elaborate lunch for New Year's Eve. Not to mention that Shang Lin had gotten Changsheng to help him early in the morning, Yin Yeyao and Hua Ge also arrived with some things shortly afterward, clearly intending to eat there.

Two grown men, far from home, without a woman to take care of the household chores, it's really tough on them. Zhang Hongwei thought that if they could share meals, they shouldn't have to cook alone anymore, and he always advised them to do so. However, Yin Yeyao was busy with her studies, and Hua Ge had been harboring ulterior motives ever since he received the call from there. He was even busier than usual and couldn't find the time to see Qiu Shanglin.

Whenever he had to harden his heart, Hua Ge would intentionally or unintentionally bring up the old man's expectations and Xu Mi's hopes. He could only grit his teeth and tell himself that things would be better after the New Year and after this period.

Hua Ge originally planned to spend the Spring Festival at home, or at most go to a restaurant. However, due to the local custom in this small town, all restaurants closed the day before the festival and did not reopen until after the Lantern Festival. Helpless, he had no choice but to accept Zhang Hongwei's invitation to spend the festival at Qiu's house.

This was the second time Li Changsheng had met Yin Yeyao.

The last time he stood behind Qiu Shanglin, he only gave him a cold, arrogant look, looking down at him as if no one else was there. He had seen people like them before, in Sichuan, in Suining, riding in black cars, looking down on the children who were envious of them on the roadside, and speeding away.

Although he didn't know how Qiu Shanglin had gotten in touch with him, Li Changsheng had a gut feeling that he didn't like Yin Yeyao.

Clearly, Yin Yeyao didn't like him either.

Shang Lin explained that the two of them merely glanced at each other, nodded coldly, and then turned their heads away simultaneously.

Shanglin shrugged and turned to attend to his own business.

When petty people and wicked people meet, can you really expect them to shake hands, smile, and exchange pleasantries? She'd be grateful if they didn't end up fighting.

On New Year's Eve, it's customary to stew meat at noon. Rural people don't like to talk about such fancy things; they buy pork hocks early in the morning and stew a big pot of fragrant meat, enough for the whole family to eat for several days.

Qiu Jianguo made some miscalculations this year.

With the New Year approaching, it's time to give gifts. Besides expensive cigarettes and alcohol, various New Year's goods are also indispensable. He and Zhang Hongwei calculated and bought more than twenty pork knuckles as gifts. They gave them all away, but forgot that things are different now. They can also receive gifts now!

The two men looked at the five large pork knuckles and were both amused and exasperated.

The employees received their year-end bonuses early and were given holidays. The brother-in-law and sister-in-law also received double red envelopes, along with New Year's gifts for the parents-in-law, so they could go home early to prepare for the New Year.

Zhang Hongwei started sending things to Grandpa and Grandma Shanglin as soon as December arrived, and continued until a few days ago.

She used to be looked down upon, but now that things have improved, she's determined not to let her mother-in-law look down on her, and even less willing to be accused of being unfilial. Busy as she is, I've delivered the things; I'll shut you up first. You can't say anything bad about me, can you?

Ever since they made money opening the popsicle factory, their sisters-in-law have been acting like jealous rivals, just waiting to find fault with them!

Qiu Jianguo asked his wife, "What should we do? Should we send some more to Mom?"

Zhang Hongwei was unhappy: "If we give too little incense, it will be too much; if we give too much, her aunt will say that we gave all the things we didn't want to the old lady!"

He said nonchalantly, "Then give it to her uncle and older brother's family."

Zhang Hongwei sneered: "Ask your daughter if she agrees!"

Zhang Chunhua has been gossiping behind Shanglin's back quite a bit, saying that Shanglin is cunning and malicious at such a young age, disrespectful to the elders in the family, and only interested in money.

Qiu Jianguo shrugged: "What do you suggest we do? How about we put it in the factory? The freezer is big enough!"

She thought for a moment and said, "Take three, cook them when we get back, and give some to each family in the yard. We'll use the remaining two to improve the employees' meals after the New Year."

"That's a lot! I even bought two for home!"

Zhang Hongwei's eyes widened: "You're buying it?"

He scratched his head, a little embarrassed: "I was worried that we wouldn't have enough meat to eat since I'd already given it all away."

Zhang Hongwei was both amused and exasperated, shaking his head: "Alright, stew them all, stew them all and deliver them door to door. Many of your colleagues in the factory are single, so deliver more; they've always taken good care of you."

Sure enough, early in the morning, Zhang Hongwei set up a pot to stew meat, and the aroma filled the whole yard. The children who were running around all gathered around, which made the women in the yard keep calling out, "Come back, come back! We'll stew meat for lunch too, what's the rush!"

Shanglin smiled as she watched the heat: "Don't rush, don't rush. Let's eat first, and after we've eaten and drunk our fill, we'll go out and play. We won't get involved with those adults!"

Aunt Bai laughed: "Little Shanglin, you're not a child anymore, how can you play with them?"

She retorted, "I can jump rope and play with a yo-yo too!"