The leisurely life of rebirth

Autumn entered in the blink of an eye. At the end of August, in the autumn evening, the cool breeze swept away the heat of the day. After dinner, they moved small chairs and sat around the wooden table under the jujube tree in the yard to study. On the table were

With a book, pen and paper.

The red clouds in the sky reflected the strong study atmosphere in the small courtyard. Grandma also moved a small stool and sat on the side, picking up the soles of her shoes, looking at them from time to time, smiling happily. Fang Monan was beside the north wall.

I have planted some Qilixiang to prevent mosquitoes, and I am not afraid of mosquito bites.

My aunt lost her books for four or five years. Due to her solid foundation in Chinese and mathematics, it was easy to pick them up. She has mastered them all in these days. She learned English but forgot all about it after she left school. It was also at this time that she became practical.

There are very few, especially in this small county.

"I still need to learn English! I have returned it to the teacher a long time ago." The aunt looked at the twisted tadpole essays and read them stumblingly, and her pronunciation was not accurate. The more she looked at it, the more angry she became, and she closed the book.

She went up and put it gently on the square table. No matter how angry she was, she would not dare to put the book away. She was so casual. Last time at the old man's house, she accidentally broke the book and made the old man read it for half an hour.

Mr. Lin picked up the book, opened it, and began to read. He blurted out fluent English in a tonal and dramatic manner.[

Fang Monan lowered his head, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. His pure British accent, without a trace of local accent, was like listening to the BB radio. She learned her lesson and remembered to be careful in her words and deeds in front of the old man, so she suppressed it

She didn't shout in a fuss. She had found a good teacher for her aunt, and she probably couldn't find a real English teacher like him in the entire county. She pretended to still write, but listened carefully with her ears.

, the old man was reading a Sherlock Holmes novel, she lowered her head and listened with relish.

"Hey, why don't you read it anymore?" Fang Monan muttered silently, without daring to raise his head. She was very excited when she heard it!

"How's it going?" Mr. Lin looked at his aunt in a showy manner and asked.

"It sounds very good, even better than what the announcer said on the radio. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a word." The aunt said honestly. "But I still can't see the use of learning English in reality. I can't understand it."

I can’t leave the country.” She asked what she wanted to ask the most.

Mr. Lin hit her head with a book, looking like he hated iron. "It's useless. I've made you read all the newspapers in vain these days. During the reform and opening up, foreigners came in, and we couldn't understand them."

What are you talking about? How can it be done? It will be of great use in the future! Not to mention the future, let’s just take this subject when entering college. If you study well, you will have a greater chance of passing the exam. Hmph..."

"The college entrance examination is about to start. Will I be able to enter high school? This is still a problem?" my aunt complained.

"Don't worry about it now. We'll talk about it later. If you want to learn something that is good for you, just learn it." Grandma didn't care about so many things. She just felt that what the old man said was right, so she just supported it fully.

Fang Monan raised his head, looked at them and said, "What's the problem? Listen." The immature child's voice spoke fluent English, and only read a few sentences, exactly the same as Mr. Lin's.

The aunt opened her mouth wide, "You...you..." with a look of disbelief on her face, and the rest was only depression.

Studying with my niece makes my aunt feel extremely hurtful to her self-esteem. Other people's three-year-old children probably only think about eating and playing with mud every day. But this one holds a book every day and calls her aunt sweetly,

When she was studying, she wanted to call her grandma. How could she learn so quickly, react so sensitively, and have such an abnormal memory that she could remember most of the things she heard?! Not only could she understand everything with just one click, but she could also draw inferences from one instance. Sometimes she couldn't memorize it.

, I have to ask her to remind me.

The aunt gritted her teeth and gnawed hard, and worked hard to keep herself from falling behind too embarrassingly. Many times she wanted to throw away these annoying books and leave, but when she saw her little niece's big watery eyes and gaze full of trust, she

She couldn't do such a thing. This was the first time in her life that she was an aunt, and her sense of honor as an aunt made her insist on it no matter what. She was reviewing elementary school content a few days ago, and she quickly learned it.

Now it was her turn to learn junior high school knowledge. She couldn't catch up with her and even stopped learning. At least she could regain some face, otherwise she would really hit a wall. If she knew that this was still Fang Mo

Nan deliberately stopped learning. I wonder if she will go crazy.

Grandma doesn’t think her granddaughter is a monster, and it’s too late to be happy! She just thinks she’s very smart, while my aunt is pretty stupid.

Mr. Lin nodded, "Yes! That's a good imitation." He was very pleased now that he had received a very talented young apprentice, which gave him a sense of accomplishment in teaching him.

"Hey, why don't you read it anymore?" my aunt asked with a smile.

"Oh! Just remember these few sentences." Fang Monan spread her hands and said. She wanted to read on, but for fear of scaring them, she had already restrained her learning progress.

The sky gradually darkened, and they stopped studying. Reading was not good for the eyes. Fang Monan clamored for Mr. Lin to tell a story. Mr. Lin was so pestered by her that he had no choice but to tell "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Grandma and aunt also

They listened with gusto, which was a little reward after studying. It was dark every day, so they left with unfinished business. In this age without entertainment, it was good to have stories to listen to.

After all, my aunt is not a child anymore. The problems that gave her headaches back then can be solved quickly with Mr. Lin's guidance. Whenever she sees the old man nodding with joy, she also has the pleasure and satisfaction of learning. These days

After learning, my aunt's attitude towards the old man changed from suspicion at the beginning to admiration and unabashed admiration in her eyes.

Fang Monan gradually discovered that her and her aunt's studies had different focuses. Her aunt only focused on preparing for exams and acquiring knowledge from books.

Most of Fang Monan's works are ancient Chinese literature, Chinese studies, and traditional ink painting and calligraphy. Starting from "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Surnames", and "Thousand Character Essay", she also systematically studied traditional cultural knowledge. Mr. Lin

Seeing that she had good language talent, she also started teaching English and French.[

Fang Monan's life is full and busy. He gets up at three o'clock every morning, enters the space, meditates and practices, learns medical skills, etc. He stays there for two days. He gets up at five o'clock, goes to the backyard to water vegetables and fertilize, and then runs and exercises.

Health, another benefit of Mr. Lin moving in is that she can finally go out for morning exercises openly. Because Mr. Lin also does morning exercises every day. The two of them have traveled to every corner of the county, and Fang Monan has become familiar with everyone again.

road.

After returning from running, Fang Monan still used to do aerobic exercise in the backyard of the track. After breakfast, he would write big words in the morning, take an hour's nap at noon, and draw in the afternoon. In the evening, after Mr. Lin's inspection and guidance, he would learn new content and assign the next chapter.

Two days of homework.

My aunt's life has also become busy. Not only does she have to go to work, but she also forgets to study. Sometimes she also forgets to memorize English words when working. Life is very tiring, but it is very meaningful. The most important thing is that she feels that her life is heading forward.

She is willing to be tired and happy like this.

*********************

My grandma was looking at her daughter and granddaughter, who were working very hard these days, so she just wanted to have the luxury of steaming some white flour steamed buns to reward them. When she was looking for starter, she actually found a bag of unopened milk powder and looked at the date.

, fortunately it was not expired. She then remembered that this was brought by her eldest daughter when she came back before returning to the countryside. Because there was no milk when Fang Monan was born, her granddaughter was raised with millet soup, so she managed to save money.

I used it and bought a bag of milk powder and sent it back to give my child extra food.

Grandma took the milk powder and walked down the corridor. At this time, Fang Monan was tracing red characters in the corridor. "Come on, Nannan, look at what this is? This is milk powder. Grandma will make it for you in a while. It's very sweet and fragrant."

."

Fang Monan looked up and saw that she was holding a bag of milk powder in her hand. It was an ordinary bag with a cow painted on it. We often saw the packaging in that era.

"Grandma drinks too." Fang Monan stopped the pen in his hand and said with a smile.

"If you don't want to drink it, grandma will drink it for you now." Grandma happily entered the house.

Seeing that she had almost finished writing, Fang Monan rubbed her sore wrists. Now she was most happy that she had finally conquered the high threshold. She rode up first and then slowly slid down. She walked in and saw that after her grandma had finished brewing, Fang was sitting on the table.

Wait to cool down.

Grandma told her not to move now, iron it carefully, and wait here, and then she went to bake the dough and steam the buns with confidence.

Fang Monan watched her grandma take out the basin, flour, and old starter. She took a towel, carefully wrapped the bowl of milk powder, then took it down, walked to her grandma, and poured it into the basin without her noticing.

Now, the dry flour has turned into batter.

When my grandma saw it, she got angry and said, "You kid, look, this is for steaming buns. What do you do now?"

"This way grandma can eat milk powder." Fang Monan blinked her bright eyes and said playfully. She knew that grandma didn't know how to drink milk powder, so she could only use this method.

Grandma's scowl disappeared immediately, and she looked at her funny, feeling a little sour in her heart. "You kid, teach me what you are good at! There is too much water now, and I have to add noodles."

The next morning, while the steamed buns were still in the pot, Fang Monan could smell the aroma of milk and steamed buns. It was so fragrant. Due to yesterday's reasons, too many steamed buns were steamed today. Qiuhuhu was also very good. There was no refrigerator. Time

It will go bad if it grows, it will waste food, and it will be struck by lightning.

Grandma pretended to scare her and said, "Nan Nan, look at what a good thing you have done. You have to finish all this."

"There's so much, I can't finish it, why don't I give some to Grandpa Lin." Fang Monan didn't expect that she would steam so much, and she didn't want to be stuffed to death.

"It's a lot to give to the neighbors! It's too hot, so we can't keep it for a long time. What should I do?" Grandma looked at the table full of steamed buns for the rare occasion.

"This is not easy to handle! The sales are huge." The more Fang Monan thought about it, the more feasible it became. This may be an opportunity. She walked through the county town and there was no individual seller of steamed buns. Their steamed buns were made from spring water in the space.

The steamed version with milk powder is definitely more delicious than the public version.

"Is that possible?" Grandma looked at her hesitantly. "Every household usually steams and eats their own steamed buns. Who will buy them?"

"It's almost noon now. Our home is very close to the county high school. School just started two days ago. There is only one high school within a hundred miles. Most of the students there are dormitories. We can definitely sell the steamed bun stall there."

Fang Monan urged her, "You will know after you try it. Hurry up! If you can't finish it, it will spoil." [

"Okay, let's treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor!" Grandma stamped her feet and made up her mind. She took a big dustpan from home, stacked the steamed buns neatly, and then went to borrow a simple four-wheeled cart welded with iron rods from someone else's house to put the steamed buns in a row.

The big dustpan was placed horizontally. Grandma saw that this was not going to work. She had to cover the buns! She went to get the unused white gauze from the bed, folded it a few times, covered it, and put the car in. Locked the door, and followed

Let’s start together with a little tail and head towards the high school in the south.

After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the gate of the high school. We happened to meet school after school at noon. The day students came out first. Fang Monan and the others were standing on one side of the gate while driving the car.

The students looked at this pair strangely. The grandfather and grandson were standing at the door, holding a car with a big dustpan on top. They didn't look like they were looking for someone! Three or four looked at it curiously for a while, and then left.

Go over and stop.

Grandma stood there stupidly, watching them walk in, so nervous that she didn't know what to do.

"Are you looking for someone?" One of them, with a crew cut and a medium height of fifteen or six years old, asked tentatively with questions in his eyes.

"We..." Grandma was too nervous to speak clearly.

"We are here to sell steamed buns." Fang Monan said in a sweet childish voice. He stood up on tiptoes and lifted up a corner of the white gauze on the dustpan. The strong smell of steamed buns hit his face.

Grandma also calmed down at this time and spoke eloquently, "He's here to sell steamed buns to us."

Three or four students had been in class all morning, and they were all a little hungry. Looking at the steamed buns, a man said: "It's really white, much whiter than the steamed buns in the school cafeteria." Although he was a day student, he had eaten them in school.

It was such an unforgettable experience that I never want to go there again.

Another said: "Just a little smaller."

Another said: "But they look quite soft. The steamed buns in the cafeteria are so hard they can be used as bricks."

The other took a deep breath and said, "Smell carefully, there is still the smell of milk."

Before grandma said hello, they started discussing among themselves. Grandma listened to them and saw some students gathered around. Don't worry about whether to sell it or not. Just seeing so many people seemed strangely happy, and she made a calculation in her heart.

How much is the appropriate starting selling price?

Fang Monan looked at the crowd gathered around him. Chinese people have a herd mentality, so he shouted loudly: "Delicious white flour steamed buns, fragrant, sweet, and milky." The crowd started to chirp, saying something.

There are all.

The first boy who started talking asked, "How do you sell this?"

Grandma smiled and said: "If you add food stamps, it costs five cents a piece, and if you don't add food stamps, it costs three cents. The buns sold in the public cafeteria cost two cents a piece with food stamps, but their noodles are dark, and ours are fine."

Their price is naturally higher than theirs."

‘Coax’ is more expensive than the public ones. Some students said that before they could reply, others said, it’s so white and fragrant, so it’s not too expensive.

For new things, they had the mentality of trying new things, and some people bought them on the spot. They broke open the steamed buns and distributed them to the classmates around them. When they started eating, the people next to them looked at them, waiting for their reactions, "Yeah! It tastes better! It's better than me."

Mom’s steamed ones are delicious.”

Someone advertised, and other students also paid for it. Seeing a large group of people gathered at the door, the dormitory students came over curiously. They saw that the steamed buns were sold, and they were better than those in the school cafeteria, but they thought they were a bit expensive.

Fang Monan looked at their hesitation and said, "Today is the first day of opening. It's 10 cents. No food stamps for four."

Now they no longer hesitated and bought steamed buns to eat with the pickles brought from home, which was better than eating from the canteen.

When the day students saw them paying for it, they also thought about buying such delicious steamed buns for their families to try. Grandma had a piece of clean white gauze wrapped around her hand and held the steamed buns. Fang Monan raised his hand to them.

Put the money in the small cardboard box here.

Fang Monan looked at the money that came in, and silently counted the money that was still coming in. There were coins, banknotes, and food stamps mixed in. Someone looked curiously at Fang Monan collecting the money quickly, and asked: "Little sister

, don’t count wrongly.”

"I won't make any mistakes." Fang Monan counted out loudly. From being in a hurry just now, to Fang Monan counting now, grandma was quickly calculating a few steamed buns. It was the first time for the two of them to cooperate, and they had a tacit understanding.

Complete.

Although women of my grandma's age cannot read a single Chinese character, they can do simple mental arithmetic very quickly. Because they have been shopping for groceries and daily necessities for many years, these arithmetic does not need to be taught. They can be learned in life.