I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 1074 1069. Going to the mountain

Xu Daqiang went to buy vegetables himself.

It was early in the morning of Qingming Festival.

He left the two brothers behind.

It was just like when they were little.

At that time, Xu Daqiang's business had just started to pick up, and basically there was no distinction between Saturdays and Sundays. When people just made money, they really wished that there were 48 hours in a day. It was for the balance of the passbook that was growing every moment.

And usually when the two brothers caught up with the weekend holiday, Xu Daqiang also knew that the two children were on holiday and resting at home... Although he was busy on weekdays, he didn't want people to say behind his back that he couldn't even teach his own children well, so when the children were on holiday, he would always make time for a meal.

In the morning, the two brothers said what they wanted to eat.

Then... no matter whether it was noon or evening, there would definitely be a delicious meal waiting for them.

If there is any difference between now and then... then maybe Xu Daqiang will no longer say that sentence: "Sanshui, throw your and your brother's clothes into the washing machine"...

Looking at the Lexus going away, Xu Xin just sat on the stool under the window eaves.

The sun just hit his face.

People say that it rains a lot during the Qingming Festival...but for northern Shaanxi, there is less rain, and it is replaced by wind.

The wind in northern Shaanxi is always strong in spring.

Sometimes it can even blow for several days in a row.

But...the sky is kind today, the sun is warm on the body, and it is a cloudless day.

But the good weather at this time is "not so good" for the two brothers.

Looking at Xu Xin's absent-minded appearance, although he probably guessed the answer, he still couldn't help but say in a very naive tone:

"What do you think our dad wants to talk to us about...?"

He even used Mandarin.

The general manager of a real estate company... faced his own brother, and asked a question about the pronunciation of Mandarin in the most innocent tone...

The smell of trying to cover up is so strong.

Xu Xin, who was originally basking in the sun, heard this, and under the glaring sunlight, he opened his eyes a little and looked at his brother.

"No matter what we talk about, you are the elder brother, the eldest son and grandson, you make the decision, don't get involved!"

"..."

Xu Miao's mouth twitched.

I thought I knew you, a dog with thick eyebrows and big eyes, are not a good thing!

Usually you open your big mouth and brag a lot.

Why are you so cowardly now?

Pull me into the loophole?

For no reason, his calves were a little weak.

Xu Xin sneered.

I thought you are really our father's good son.

Obedient, afraid, filial, stupid!

Oh yes, cowardly!

And perhaps because he noticed the contempt in his brother's eyes, Xu Miao squatted down beside him.

Leaning against the wall, he muttered:

"Some things are hard to say. I don't understand... you... you know more..."

Unfortunately, Xu Xin didn't respond at all.

Want to trick me?

No way.

But...

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"I'm a little scared now..."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that my dad will come back soon and bring my aunt with him."

"..."

Xu Miao's face suddenly became interesting.

That's... that's...

Liang Bingning... ah no... Aunt Liang hasn't heard from her for a long time since the box office of "Black Coal, Thin Ice" broke 300 million.

So much so that I don't know where she is.

What if...

"Then do you want to change your words?"

"..."

With Xu Miao's words, Xu Xin's cheeks twitched.

Change your words?

How to change?

Are you really going to call her Aunt Liang?

"Will you change?"

"...She's younger than me, isn't she..."

"Yeah, that's right. Then it seems that you will be the most embarrassed then."

"..."

At this moment, in Xu Miao's eyes, his younger brother has completely nothing to do with "human beings".

No...Who did you learn this unhuman behavior from?

Why is he so annoying!

But looking at his younger brother's mean smile, he was stunned for a moment...and suddenly laughed.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket, one for each brother.

After burning out in the slowly fading smile, Xu Xin threw away the cigarette butt and stood up from the chair:

"I'm lying down in the house now."

"...Tell Mimi?"

"No, why tell her? Let's see what our dad says first."

Waving his hand, he walked directly into the house.

After returning to the house, he locked himself in the bedroom.

In fact...this bedroom is not the bedroom he has lived in since he was a child.

When he was poor as a child, his family had that kind of earthen kang.

He remembered it very clearly. There were two mud houses, and the doors were located where the windows of his house were now. After entering the house, there were two water tanks, and next to the water tanks was the stove. Then he turned right and lifted a curtain, and it was the bedroom of the house.

That was his earliest memory.

And in this earliest memory, his favorite was not the bedroom, but a small house next to it.

The door of the small house was always locked.

Only Xu Daqiang had the key.

And the lock was that kind of... black and heavy iron lock.

Every time before his father went out to work, he would check the door lock and give his two sons a warning look.

As for the reason... it's very simple. The room contains the spirit tablet of my mother, and below the spirit tablet is an offering table covered with yellow silk. On the offering table are instant noodles, ham sausages... oh yes, the eggs laid by the chickens at home are also there.

These are all offerings.

However, the spirit tablets that Xu Xin has seen in other people's homes usually only have some fruits or millet buns in front of them... but the offering table in his home is so big.

It's full of instant noodles...

That was a huge temptation for me when I was a child.

Xu Xin had fantasized more than once... One day I made a mistake and my father would lock me in that room.

And then...

Hehe.

It's needless to say what would happen if you locked a pig with feed together?

But now that I think about it, I wasn't really sensible at the time.

Those... were all offerings for my mother.

Of course, the update speed of these offerings is also quite fast. Basically, as long as there is a traffic jam on the road, these offerings will have to be slowed down.

In fact, if you really want to look into it, what the father did was not very authentic.

You gave boiled water and instant noodles to the truck driver... How can you give offerings? It's so unlucky.

But now Xu Xin understands.

When the family was the poorest... the most delicious meal for the children was a pack of instant noodles... Maybe the father just hoped... that the mother could eat more, or let her see that he raised two children well by himself, right?

After all, instant noodles were really expensive at that time.

Except for those truck drivers who were running on the road and went out with cash, others couldn't afford it.

Not to mention adding a sausage.

And when the mother saw that there were so many offerings at home, so expensive, and so good... she must be happy in her heart, right?

Later, the family suddenly became rich.

After Xu Daqiang became rich, the first thing he did was to renovate the house.

He built a two-section small building, and the facade was also covered with white tiles.

The sun was bright in my hometown, and the white tiles sometimes reflected light that was dazzling...

The second thing was to send my mother's spirit tablet to the ancestral hall.

It was clear that only after the couple "left" could they write their names on a plaque and enter the ancestral hall... But because he had made great contributions to the village's mixing station, the village chief personally nodded and let his mother's spirit tablet enter the ancestral hall first to enjoy the long-lasting incense.

And since then... Xu Xin could no longer see his mother's spirit tablet at home.

The offering table covered with yellow silk was also removed.

As for the "offerings" that once haunted him... they also became "junk food full of hormones and preservatives" in the words of experts on TV.

Xu Xin didn't care about instant noodles anymore.

He even grew up so much that he finally didn't have to fight with Xu Miao every day because of who took up more space on the bed...

So, as soon as he got his own room, he separated all his things from Xu Miao.

It seemed that he would never have any contact with each other until he died.

That's how children are.

But... now thinking about it, this step was right.

What his mother left for him and what Xu Miao left were all different.

As far as he knew, Xu Miao actually left several small clothes.

They were made by his mother.

He had worn them himself.

It was not uncommon for the younger brother to wear what the older brother could not wear.

However, Xu Miao firmly believed that these clothes were his.

They were made by his mother.

He could give them to his younger brother, but he must own them.

So, when the two brothers "separated the family", they exchanged all these things.

Xu Xin suffered a loss.

It hurts to think about it now.

Because he was young and ignorant, the pair of shoes, gloves and hats left behind were admitted by his father that his mother made them for him. Apart from that... those small cotton jackets and trousers became Xu Miao's treasures.

Until now, he didn't know where Xu Miao hid them.

But no matter what, this move gave the two brothers their own memories.

Memories of their mother.

Separate memories.

And everything in that locked drawer is what he cherishes most in his life.

Even though the house has been renovated several times, it has not changed.

At this moment, after locking the door, he put his hand on the table.

Stroking the surface of the desk that he bought from Shanghai at that time... I think it seems that he bought it from Shanghai, Xu Xin suddenly chuckled.

He remembered very clearly that his father said that this desk was very expensive, and that college students in Shanghai used it, and that using it could help them get into college...

He was so naive at that time.

He was like this.

His father was also like this.

I think the person who sold this table should have made a fortune.

While thinking, he opened the drawer.

Then...

The whole person was like being cast a spell, motionless.

These things...

He was too familiar with them.

Even the thread of the gloves was accidentally torn off by him.

And after tearing it off, he cried.

While crying, he slapped himself hard a few times.

But... crying is not shameful.

Because from childhood to adulthood, whenever he was wronged, he always liked to talk to the things in the drawer.

They didn't know how many tears he had shed.

But now Xu Xin didn't cry.

He just stared at the things in the drawer that belonged to his mother.

Whether it was the tiger-toe shoes, the letter wrapped in kraft paper, or the painting... he had read it countless times.

I even remembered it all.

No need to look at it at all.

As for the mother's voice and smile in the treasured photos, let alone her.

He fears.

Because every time he sees his mother holding him, he cries.

He was really afraid that his tears would accidentally drip onto the photos... causing damage to these old photos.

not to mention……

Today is not the time to cry.

We had just finished visiting the grave, and my mother was very happy. What if she cried... What if she became restless again?

So, he just stared blankly, staring straight at it.

No one knew what was going on in his mind.

Until...he heard the movement outside.

Get up and look out the window...

Xu Daqiang is back.

I didn’t take Li Hao with me, nor did I take anyone with me.

He walked back with two large bags of things in his hands.

First, he put everything at the door, and then he took out a pot-style earthen stove from the shed next to the door that seemed incompatible with the temperament of a billionaire.

The kind that also carries a chimney.

It seems... today is a big dish, so we need to use a big pot.

"..."

Xu Miao didn't come out to greet him, and Xu Xin didn't go down to help.

Xu Daqiang didn't call his two sons either.

Just keep busy by yourself...

Lao Xu's house was quiet and peaceful, with no chickens flying or dogs jumping.

The father and son each share a small world.

Do not disturb each other.

Just wait... for this meal to arrive.

…

A chicken was fried on the earthen stove.

A quarter of the lamb was stewed in the kitchen cauldron.

With the addition of fried leeks, a plate of peanuts, pork head seasoned with onions, cucumbers, etc., today's lunch meal was simply put together.

"Three water, three gold, it's time to eat."

Following his father's shout, the two brothers, who had hardly seen anyone all morning, reunited.

"Eat first."

Xu Daqiang served the fragrant mutton on a stainless steel plate and announced the start of the meal.

At some point, Xu Xin already had a bottle of Moutai in his hand.

While unscrewing it and pouring it into the cup, he also confirmed:

"Dad, what's going on today? You're not going to drive out this afternoon, are you?"

"stay home."

Xu Daqiang waved his hand:

"Today is the Qingming Festival. Everyone has a day off. What's the matter? Everyone has a rest."

Xu Xin naturally believed in the old man.

After all, my father also stays at home every Qingming Festival. But after all, he was drinking at noon, so he still had to get vaccinated:

"Ang, if you want to go out in the afternoon, you have to ask someone to drive."

"I got it."

Xu Daqiang waved his hand indifferently.

Afterwards, the three masters sat down, each took wine glasses, and started eating and drinking.

No one encouraged them to drink, and the two brothers had a tacit understanding.

Follow your father's lead.

Whenever Xu Daqiang served drinks, the two of them would accompany him.

When the father eats vegetables, the brothers eat vegetables.

This is not socializing outside, no one is forcing you to drink at home. Just treat this thing as a drink, just for fun.

As for the staple food…it’s not that time yet.

According to the custom of Lao Xu's family, when the wine is finished and the food is almost done, his father puts down a bowl of noodles made from lamb soup and eats it with a slurp. After eating and drinking, the simple meal is over. .

But...different from the past, this meal was quite quiet.

The three of them seemed to be eating and drinking, which was far different from the usual atmosphere of chatting while eating.

As for why this is so...

Xu Miao was the first to be unable to hide her worries.

"dad."

"Um?"

"Don't you have something to say? Say wow?"

He asked cautiously and tentatively.

Hearing this, Xu Xin glanced at his brother.

Xin said, don’t look at the filial son-in-law appearance in front of a third-level ordinary person... In fact, sometimes he is quite stubborn.

When it was time to start the group, he directly opened it with his physical body, and his decisiveness was a mess.

However, after pondering over it, he still cast a vague glance at his father.

father.

It’s a mule or a horse, it’s time to come out for a run, right?

When Xu Daqiang heard Sanshui's words, he happened to pick up a peanut.

Just leaving it in his mouth and chewing it, he picked up the wine glass with his other hand.

But he didn't drink.

But after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly shook his head:

"What's the matter?"

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

"ah?"

Xu Miao was stunned:

"What's the matter? Don't you want to say something?"

"What's the matter?"

Xu Daqiang shook his head again.

Now, even Xu Miao could tell that his father didn't want to talk anymore.

Can……

Dad, the atmosphere is here.

Not to mention...how inappropriate does it seem?

Then Xu Miao immediately turned her attention to her younger brother.

As if to say: "I'm done asking, no, it's your turn."

"..."

Xu Xin was speechless for a while.

However, at this time, he also knew that regardless of the overt or covert situation, he must "united front" with Xu Miao.

But...

The two brothers' different ways of treating their father suddenly became apparent.

In his eyes, although his father is not a particularly strong person, after so many years of fighting in the world, fighting in all directions, he has long since developed a steady and stable attitude.

To force an elder, especially a father... to do something he is unwilling to do, is a fantasy in itself.

Xu Miao's direct questioning method is correct, but if his father doesn't want to say it, it will be useless even if he forces him.

So, the method he adopted is very simple.

Indirect.

"Dad, toast to you."

"Okay."

The father and son clinked glasses.

Then... they started chatting about family matters.

It was the kind of family matters in the true sense.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere at the dinner table returned to normal.

"Dad, I saw Lili's circle of friends last week. Did she give birth to a baby?"

"Yes, she did. Oh, the baby is so pink and tender..."

"Time flies so fast. At that time, I was following behind me, calling him Brother Sanjin..."

"Hahaha, that was so many years ago..."

"Well, Dad, today's mutton is delicious and fragrant!"

"Hahaha, really?"

Originally, Xu Miao was a little puzzled, wondering why Sanjin started to slack off again. When he saw his smiling father unconsciously holding up the glass and took a sip of wine, he suddenly understood his way.

So, he changed his mind and joined the battlefield with a glass of wine.

As for Xu Daqiang...

He just drank and ate with a smile.

He looked quite happy.

...

So, the meal naturally came to the end.

Xu Daqiang patted the flour on his hand and took the cigarette handed to him by his son.

The induction cooker in the kitchen was humming.

The warm smell of mutton soup gradually spread in the house.

The three of them actually drank only one bottle in total.

I really didn't drink too much.

It's not like I'm going out for a social gathering. If I drink at home in that way, it would be inappropriate.

And the cigarettes are lit, which means that I won't drink this time.

Next, wait for the noodles to be cooked, and gulp down a bowl of noodles, and that's it.

Xu Miao, with a slightly red face, glanced at Xu Xin again.

To be honest...

He seemed to be more impatient than Xu Xin today.

Logically speaking, from childhood to adulthood, he has always been the eldest son who stood firmly by his father, and Xu Xin played the role of the unruly second son. But today, the positions of the two seemed to be reversed.

After noticing his brother's eyes again and again, Xu Xin glanced at his father obscurely.

After thinking about it, he decided to make it clear.

So he spoke directly:

"Dad, aren't we going to talk about something today? What's the matter?"

"What's the matter."

Xu Daqiang still answered this way.

But Xu Xin shook his head directly:

"There must be something. Otherwise, why would you stay with Sanshui today... Let's talk, there's no outsider."

"Ah!"

Xu Daqiang showed a trace of impatience on his face:

"I've already told you, there's nothing. You can leave after dinner in the afternoon."

"Didn't you ask me to stay for a day?"

"No, I asked you two to stay for a meal. It's been a long time since we've eaten together..."

"..."

Xu Xin thought to himself, you old man, you're a stickler, right?

So he threw out his trump card directly.

He held the cigarette in his mouth first.

Took a deep breath.

Then...

"You know it even if I don't say it."

After saying that, he lowered his head and blew the smoke under the table.

Then he flicked the ash.

Oops, the ash accidentally fell on his pants.

So he quickly started to pat it with his hands.

But this also gave him an excuse not to look up.

So...

The three people's table suddenly became quiet.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Xu Miao felt that his heart was in his throat.

He glanced at his father, whose face suddenly turned red for some reason, and had a bad feeling in his heart.

He was about to speak...

But he didn't know where Xu Xin got the courage from, as he kept his head down and patted the ashes, while muttering:

"I've seen the photo. I recognized it at a glance..."

"..."

Instantly, Xu Daqiang's eyes fell on Xu Miao.

Xu Miao felt a layer of white sweat on his back, and a fear from the bottom of his heart made him unconsciously avoid his father's gaze, while he was complaining in his heart...

Naughty child... I asked you to talk about something, but you just used your ultimate move?

Our father must be angry.

You... don't continue talking!

And the fact proves that the older brother also understands his younger brother.

Xu Xin did not say anything.

Because the matter has been discussed to the point, how to discuss it next depends on the old man.

Xu Miao started a group fight, the BOSS resisted, and it took a meal for everyone to get out of the battle.

Now it's his turn.

The group fight must have started, but no one has ever fought this BOSS before. No one knew what he would be like in the first stage, when he would go berserk, etc.

Now it felt like a déjà vu of exchanging team annihilation for strategy experience.

But he was confident that everyone could reach the second stage of this BOSS.

The reason was simple.

Judging from the smell in the air and the time on the watch, the noodles that were cooked in water were almost done.

The old man always had to fish out the noodles.

It was like a buffer, giving everyone a breather.

Sure enough.

Just as he predicted.

After flicking the ash for about ten seconds, Xu Daqiang stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

When he saw his father entering the kitchen from the corner of his eye, Xu Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

When he looked up, he also saw the unpromising character of Xu Miao, who was relieved.

So he rolled his eyes:

"Unpromising, what's the big deal?"

The voice was not loud.

The two brothers could hear it.

But Xu Miao was too lazy to refute this time, just shook his head:

"Can't you be more tactful?"

"Our father who is always nagging will not say it. Although you have been a son for a few more years than me, you have no experience in dealing with our father... I do. Don't worry..."

"..."

Looking at his brother who exuded a sense of "honey confidence", Xu Miao nodded;

"Ah, right, right."

You are stubborn.

You will be my big brother in the future.

And this time... Xu Daqiang took a little longer to prepare the noodles.

So long that when Xu Xin pulled Xu Miao to the kitchen door, he didn't notice the arrival of the two brothers when he saw him leaning on the kitchen counter with both hands and staring at the pot in a daze.

Until Xu Xin leaned on the door frame and took the initiative to speak again:

"Dad."

Xu Daqiang turned his head subconsciously.

He met his son's calm eyes.

The younger son was in front.

The older son was behind.

There was nothing else in the eyes of the two children...

No anger, no dissatisfaction, no sadness or sorrow...

And this kind of peace even made him feel a little absurd.

Once upon a time... He watched how Sanjin's eyes changed little by little.

At first it was pure anger, then grievance, and then dissatisfaction... Including the pleasure of smashing the TV, fish tank, pots and pans at home, or the resentment when running away from home...

Then... In the first year of going to Yanjing, his son suddenly changed inexplicably.

He grew up, matured, and knew how to care for others.

Later he married a good wife and gave birth to two good grandchildren.

After becoming a father all of a sudden, Sanjin was sometimes more mature than Sanshui in his eyes.

But... Fathers always favor their older sons.

What's more, he was an old son who lost his mother when he was young.

The more mature and sensible his son was, the more he felt indebted.

So much so that... he had already made plans today, and even told his late wife about it in front of her tombstone just now.

But looking at his son's smiling face, he found that he still couldn't open his mouth.

And after all the calculations, he didn't expect... that in the end it was his son who figured out the matter.

But... it would have been better if he didn't figure it out.

After he figured it out, he didn't know how to face it.

At this moment, he had a hundred thoughts and a thousand thoughts.

Looking at his two sons standing at the kitchen door, he had many complicated thoughts in his heart, but he didn't know how to open his mouth.

But his complicated emotions were met by a director whose eyes could see through people's hearts.

He understood too well.

Just one look and you'll understand.

He understood the "discomfort" in his father's heart.

Okay.

In that case...

"Dad."

He said again:

"If you don't admit it yourself, I'll just call her Sister Bingbing. Sister Bingbing...it's about you. In fact, Yang Mi and I knew it a long time ago. Ever since you two wore those couple's Balenciaga shoes..."

Looking at his father's suddenly surprised look, Xu Xin shrugged:

"It's still the same attitude as before. Mom said in the letter she left for me that what she least wanted was for you to suffer because of her...death. Although what she said...after you have a new mother, she will still be your mother...I don't agree with this, but you I can see what happened with Sister Bingbing... at least, I can see the change in Sister Bingbing."

"..."

In Xu Daqiang's silence, Xu Xin continued:

"As for Sanshui, I have only one opinion. As long as you two are happy, don't consider us for anything else. Even if you two want another baby, who will you call... Xu Yan, Xu Yao or Xu Sen... Dad, Sister Bingbing is still young. Although I don't know what you think, what she thinks, but... Sanshui and I will have no objection. Right?"

He turned his head, and Sanshui was stunned for a moment...

He thought, didn't we talk about letting things take their own course last time?

Why are you making a decision for me again?

But he nodded subconsciously.

"Yeah."

That's right, he didn't have any objection.

After he nodded, Xu Xin finally said:

"Dad, if you want to bring her here, we will call her aunt. As long as she treats you well, we will not be any obstacles."

He shook his head emphatically:

"Never."

"I won't."

"Sanshui won't."

Then he paused suddenly.

But he immediately became firm:

"I believe that Mom won't either!"

The mountain doesn't come to me.

Okay.

I'll go to the mountain.