National Tide 1980

My cousin was so embarrassed that she was so angry that she left without looking back.

Yin Yue's two half-year-old brothers admired their sister's hand so much that they secretly covered their mouths and laughed in the room.

Talking, laughing, and playing around, the two little brothers started to fall.

Rolling around in the house casually, with no rules at all, fully revealing the freedom and joy that can only be found during the New Year.

Only grandma in the whole family was very unhappy about this incident.

But the old lady knew that her granddaughter had an idea, and knew that she did not like the person introduced by her cousin.

And I feel sorry for her that it is not easy for her to support this family.

So it was not easy to interfere just now, and I could only sigh and complain a few words afterwards.

"You, you, how can I say hello to you? You are so ignorant and don't know the importance of you! Three people make a tiger! How can you create your own rumors? Sooner or later you will get married, right? With such a reputation It's time to go out in public. Which man will dare to want you then? It's too late for you to regret it."

"Besides, after all, my cousin is a relative and your elder, so don't let anyone get too embarrassed. You must always leave room for meeting in the future. As an outsider, I know you think she is nosy, but she also has good intentions. That man He seems to be a bit ordinary, but he is an only child, and his biological mother has passed away long ago. Now he and Xu Xian's father live separately, and he has a one-bedroom apartment. If you want to marry, there will be no discord between your sister-in-law and your sister-in-law. , and I won’t be angry with my mother-in-law. This is a benefit after all.”

"Grandma is already a living person. I take off my shoes at night and don't know if I can put them on in the morning. In these limited days, my only concern is that I hope you can marry into a good family. , I have something to rely on for life..."

As she talked, the old lady cried, silently shedding tears.

Yin Yue is still afraid of this. Knowing this situation, I must comfort my grandma and make her feel at ease.

So I quickly laughed, sat next to my grandma on the bed, hugged the old man, and comforted her.

"Grandma, it's New Year's Day, you have to laugh, why are you wiping tears on your eyes? Come on, let me wipe them for you."

"I know you do it for my own good. But I can't bear to do anything wrong with my marriage. Do you think my current income is comparable to that of many men? If I want to marry anyone at random, then who is it? Who can I rely on? I can't find someone who is a softie. If I want to marry, I have to marry someone better than myself, right? "

"Besides, marrying someone can make you a lifelong supporter? Your view is outdated. It is better to rely on yourself than to rely on anyone. What's more, I have two younger brothers. I earn money to support them in college. When they finish their studies, If they grow up and become adults, they will be my support in the future."

"Grandma, I decided not to consider personal issues for the time being after careful consideration. How old am I? Are you afraid that I won't be able to get married? Are you willing to let me go? Let me stay with you for another two years. Don't worry, I don’t rely on anyone but myself, and I will definitely make your and your brothers’ lives better and better. Let the neighbors envy our family more and more.”

"But if you keep urging me, then I will be sad. If you want to drive me away, I will go abroad by myself. Then I will simply marry a foreigner and wait until I have a blue-eyed son-in-law. , I'll come back again. Huh, I see you see your great-grandson who has changed the seedlings and seeds like this. Are you heartbroken? Do you regret it? "

Yin Yue's sincere words did have an effect.

Especially at the end of the conversation, her intentionally exaggerated nonsense made grandma laugh.

Grandma poked her on the head with her finger and followed her words and teased her.

"If this is the case, then if I go out for a walk tomorrow with this blue-eyed child in my arms, the neighbors in our alley will come around and say, why did you come back with a poodle?"

Just playing cymbals with each other, the old and the young hugged each other and had fun for a long time.

But after laughing enough, grandma felt much better, but she still didn't give up.

The old man was a little worried, so he inevitably gave his granddaughter a few extra words of advice.

"Xiao Yue, grandma knows that you are a very strong child and you are more capable than many grown men. But after all, you are young and have experienced very little. Your life has been too smooth. Grandma is afraid that when you really encounter ups and downs, I can’t stand the bump.”

"Grandma? What did you say? I'm fine! It's not easy for me to endure all the hardships!"

Yin Yue opened her eyes wide and smiled bitterly.

Thinking about her life since childhood, she couldn't understand what her grandma meant at all.

"Silly boy, what does the hardship you have endured mean nothing? No matter how miserable your generation is, they haven't caught up with the war since they were born, right? No matter how poor our family is, the government has always taken care of us all these years, so why can't we Let our family not go hungry. If grandma was as lucky as you when she was born, she would have recited Amitabha..."

"Oh, my grandma. My granddaughter feels sorry for you. I know it's not easy for you. Okay, okay, let's forget about the bitterness and sweetness, and don't think about the past..."

At this time, Yin Yue just thought that her grandma was complaining to her, and she was coaxing her like a child.

But grandma shook her head.

"Hey, grandma said that people have good times and bad times. Even though you are so proud now, people have their luck, and luck turns around. Maybe in the blink of an eye, your luck will be gone. Then when the time comes What should I do when the time comes?"

Then, grandma told the story that almost everyone in Beijing knows - if you have money, you will not see big sesame cakes, but if you don't have money, you will see big sesame cakes.

The gist of the story is that there is such a young man, how he behaves badly when he has money, and how pitiful he is when he has no money.

Of course Yin Yue has heard it, and has been listening to it since she was a child. She has long been tired of hearing it.

No matter how patiently she was, she couldn't hold on until grandma finished speaking, so she could only interrupt.

"Grandma, I understand. Be prepared for danger in times of peace. This is what you want to say, right? Don't worry, your granddaughter, I am not a person who spends money randomly. In fact, I save money. I still count on money to make money, why? Maybe he is lavish..."

Unexpectedly, she took the initiative to express her position and still failed to meet grandma's thoughts. It was still a little bit wrong.

"You kid, you are good at everything. But when you are proud, you will still be self-righteous. Grandma is afraid of you. You are right. Grandma wants to tell you that if you have money, you need to remember the days when you have no money. Don't forget when you are proud and frustrated. But that's not all. You obviously understood the story grandma told too simply."

Grandma patted Yin Yue's hand, then looked into her eyes seriously and said.

"Grandma is not afraid that you will make mistakes. What grandma wants you to understand today is that sometimes difficulties come unexpectedly and cannot be reversed by human power. It is indeed not easy for you to live such a good life now. So grandma is very worried, If you lose everything again, can you bear it? Will you have enough courage to face it one day? "

"Grandma, how is this possible? I'm afraid you don't know how much money I have. There is really no need for you to worry. Anyway, my granddaughter will guarantee you today that our family will never be poor again in this life."

Yin Yue subconsciously retorted, thinking that the old man was a bit unfounded. It's totally unnecessary.

But what Grandma said below completely refreshed her mind.

"Don't believe it, nothing is impossible in this world. From good to bad, from prosperity to decline, I have seen too many things. Not to mention anything else, my brother, your uncle Grandpa. I think he was the best hawker in the fruit market back then. From picking up fruits to opening his own fruit shop, I walked through it step by step. But what happened in the end? All my life savings, a thousand oceans. It turned into gold yuan coupons like waste paper. So he took advantage of it, abandoned the whole family, and jumped into the moat."

"It turns out that there once lived a goldsmith in our alley. When the city was besieged on the eve of liberation, he used a gold bar and some gold jewelry to buy a small goldsmith next to Yongding Gate from a high-ranking official who was about to escape. Courtyard. The official left, and he took advantage. But Gao Xingxing didn't live there for two years before he caught up with the demolition and road construction, and the house was still gone. He lived in the large courtyard here, but this He couldn't think about things and couldn't smile every day. As a result, he got liver disease within two years and died in depression."

"It turns out that there was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Shou in Chashi Hutong, who ran a ginseng and antler shop at home. His medical skills and reputation were no worse than those of the 'Four Famous Doctors' in the capital. He specialized in treating difficult and complicated diseases that others could not cure. Before liberation, he visited a patient once. He had to be picked up and dropped off by car, and the consultation fee was at least two gold bars. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has the ability to bring the dead back to life. But because the family background was too high, he was aloof and unsociable. After liberation, private clinics were banned, and no hospital in the capital was willing to admit him. . He drank wine every day at home and abroad to relieve his sorrows, but he was hit by a car in the middle of the night. But just a week after his death, the letter of appointment from the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital was also sent to his home. "

"My child. What grandma tells you is that there are inevitable disasters in life, and a good day that is 100% safe never exists. God will always have a way to torment ordinary people. But no matter how big the difficulties are, don't lose confidence. At any time, you have to think about it. Even if one day your money is really gone and we are back to the way we were before, it doesn't matter, we can just start over. The most important thing is that people are fine. As long as people are around, there will still be people. Hopefully, it’s still possible…”

There is evidence, cause and effect. Grandma's words are so profound and philosophical that Yin Yue can't help but think deeply.

Money is money! Can my money... be lost out of thin air?

No, no, definitely not, I have fifty thousand yuan! What could happen?

But...what if...if grandma really talks about it...

no no! terrible! I can't stand it, I can't let this happen...

………………

People who are not married are worried, struggling to find their life goals, and trying to figure out what kind of life they want to live.

People who have married have families, but they are also struggling in the world of mortals, and the troubles in this regard are not necessarily less.

For example, Mi Xiaoran, who is far away from abroad, received Zhao Hanyu’s strong support during the Spring Festival last year.

She moved out of the Zhao family's villa as she wished, rented an apartment in Manhattan with Zhao Hanyu, and started a world of two.

But along with gaining freedom, came the troubles of living independently.

The first is the economic issue. Zhao Hanyu’s salary is not much, and his monthly salary during the internship is about US$1,300.

This money is not enough to pay rent, support two people, and pay Mi Xiaoran's language school tuition.

So the two of them can only rely on family support.

With a thousand dollars to support them every month, it is not easy for the two of them to spend money too casually.

After all, the handler has short hands, and Zhao Hanyu’s mother never knows when she will come over to take a look.

Mi Xiaoran doesn't make any money, so she has to act like a daughter-in-law who knows how to live.

Only then did she realize that the freedom gained from co-authoring was also limited.

Although I no longer have to apologize to Zhao Hanyu's parents every day, even if they are not here.

You will also feel the pressure they put on you.

I couldn't be lazy every day and had to keep my home spotless.

I also have to work hard to learn how to cook and write down household expenses in order.

In case my mother-in-law comes to check at any time, she can explain it.

Secondly, there is also great inconvenience in life, although the house Zhao Hanyu rents is not far from Chinatown.

Mi Xiaoran just walked to buy things and came back. There was no need for her husband to drive to deliver them.

But language has become the biggest obstacle.

Because the ancestors of the Taishan people in Guangdong were the first to land on this land, almost all the bosses in Chinatown are Cantonese.

A popular saying here is "If you don't understand Taishan dialect, it will be difficult to find a job."

The adults and children here speak Taishan dialect that Mi Xiaoran cannot understand, and the curse word "crossing the sea on horseback" can be heard everywhere.

Even the Chinese teacher who taught her English at the bilingual school spoke Taishan dialect.

Mi Xiaoran found that it was impossible to find people who spoke Mandarin in this place.

Even in a family like Zhao Hanyu's, they know how to speak Mandarin, but they still have a Taishan dialect accent.

Sometimes, when she communicates with these shop owners, she speaks English instead, which makes it easier to understand each other's meaning.

God knows how strange and awkward this thing is.

She always had the illusion that New York's Chinatown was not a gathering place for Chinese at all.

Because of the language barrier, in her eyes, it looked like Korean Street or Vietnamese Street.

Finally, Mi Xiaoran was extremely unaccustomed to eating.

Unfortunately, America in this era is like a Chinese food desert.

The quality of the Chinese restaurants here can be described as ridiculous. They are all sweet and sour dishes fried in large pots.

Foreigners like it very much, but Mi Xiaoran feels tired and sick as soon as she eats it.

To put it bluntly, there are not many serious Chinese chefs here.

Even Zhao Hanyu's family's chef, who is not an authentic Cantonese cook, is already considered a master.

So in most cases, Mi Xiaoran and Zhao Zhenyu use foreign fast food and cook their own meals to solve their stomach problems.

But Mi Xiaoran has an out-and-out domestic appetite.

If she eats too much foreign fast food, she will easily suffer from indigestion and stomach discomfort.

And choosing to cook by yourself is cost-effective from an economic point of view.

But the problem is that she is just a beginner in cooking, and the simple meals are just okay, just barely swallowable.

No problem, a bowl of tomato and egg noodles has become her most common meal.

But what's worse is that there are no pickles that Mi Xiaoran can buy here.

Mi Xiaoran is from the capital city. Northerners in this era are characterized by a heavy diet.

There is a habit of eating pickles with every meal, just like Sichuan people eat chili peppers.

But how could it be possible in the United States?

Forget about the eight-treasure cabbage and shredded spicy cabbage, as well as the big pickled radish and mustard knots.

It made Mi Xiaoran's mouth feel extremely dull. Thank God for being able to buy some fermented bean curd and salted duck eggs.

The most commonly purchased pickles here are Cantonese pickles and southern-style pickles.

Generally speaking, it is unfortunate that in the second year after arriving in the United States, Mi Xiaoran successfully moved out of her husband's house with the help of her husband and started a new life of her own.

But in addition to the anxiety of studying, I was physically and mentally exhausted from doing housework. In addition, I couldn’t eat well or sleep well.

So much so that her weight approached the 90-pound mark without her realizing it, and she was so thin that she looked a little out of shape.

But the saddest thing is that we can't receive much domestic news here, and our spiritual emptiness and thoughts and emotions are incomprehensible.

So every time I get a letter from home. Mi Xiaoran would always take the letter with him and read it over and over when he had time.