I failed the college entrance examination twice, and then got admitted to a technical school. There was no future in the technical school, and I had no interest in my major. I was just idle all day long. When I was in school, my brother took Meihua out to hang out. They were classmates when they were young, and they fell in love early. At that time, the Meihua family did not object, and her father did not care about the objection, because her father was still in the entrepreneurial stage. They rented a bungalow next to the technical school. My brother worked at the freight station during the day and drove his own motorcycle at night.
It was my brother's idea to live next to the school. My brother knew that I was spoiled and had a noodle tummy since I was a child. If I left a bowl of noodles, I would wilt all day long. Meihua's tea and rice are good, she can roll dough, pancakes, and pull out dough pieces. She has three meals a day, and she doesn't have the same meal every week. When the get out of class bell rang, I ran over and turned on the small stove. Actually, Meihua is half a year younger than me. At that time, I called her sister-in-law, but she was not annoyed and she disciplined me very strictly.
Something happened later. My brother died in a car accident while driving a motorcycle. After took care of my brother's funeral, rumors started to spread in Zhuangzi, saying that the fate of plum blossoms was too hard, and most people couldn't control it. Actually, my brother and Mei Hua haven’t received their marriage certificate yet, so they are living together unmarried at most. Mei Hua couldn't stand people's spit, so she ran out to find me because she didn't want to live anyway. During that time, I was doing my graduation internship, and I arranged for Meihua to live in the girls' dormitory. After a while, I graduated and couldn't find a job.
At that time, her father had already grown up and had a sharp nose. He found me and Meihua and kidnapped her. He heard that his daughter was going to be married to a cadre. The cadre was widowed in middle age and had twins. Mei Hua has a fierce temper and pretends to give in, but runs away a few days before the wedding and even steals a sum of money from her father.
Meihua came to me and we took the train to another place. Meihua made the decision and we opened a noodle shop. The business of the noodle shop is very good, but once the life settles down, people become numb. Meihua starts to miss her mother, and she often pulls out her hair. One time, Mei Hua couldn't help it anymore and secretly called home, thus exposing her whereabouts. That day, Meihua went to the hospital for dental treatment, and I stayed alone in the restaurant.
Suddenly, a few people came in, clamoring for noodles. When I went out with the hot noodles, I found them with gloomy faces and cigarettes hanging from their mouths. Before I could react, they became violent, claiming to be sent by Mei Hua's father and asking me to hand over Mei Hua. After all, I am also a man, and I cannot be sorry for Meihua. I resisted and threw several bowls of scalding noodles on their heads.
I found Meihua and ran to another city overnight. During that period, Meihua and I were in constant fear, not daring to go out. We stayed in the small hotel all day and sighed. Whenever we met people with accents from our hometown, we felt that we were doomed and were coming to arrest us. Meihua said, just die. If you die, my father will feel regretful for the rest of his life. I also hesitated, knowing that I would never be able to hold my head high again in this life.
At that time, the relationship between me and Meihua was not yet clear, and there was my brother between us. My brother was an invisible existence. When we were fleeing, it was as if we were three people traveling together, with no distinction between each other and no awareness of gender. We finally arrived at Yangzhou . We were going to die anyway, so we started to splurge. We visited Slender West Lake several times, ate all kinds of Yangzhou snacks, listened to Yangzhou tunes , and took a bath. The beauty of Yangzhou doesn't seem real, it's as beautiful as a dream, and I don't want to wake up.
Meihua arrived in Yangzhou, and her thoughts began to move. One morning, Meihua bought flowers and fruits, lit incense, kowtowed, and said solemnly, I sent your brother away, and now we are the only two left. Let’s not die at all, live well, and have fun. A noodle shop, let me serve you noodles every day... To make a long story short, that night, Mei Hua and I became husband and wife. We had a drink and cried all the tears in our stomachs.
It was difficult at first because I chose the wrong location and the business of the noodle shop was very poor. Mei Hua used her brain, rode around the city, and finally rented a store.The advantage here is that there are many students. Like me, the students are in the stage of growing, have a big appetite, are rough-tongued, and are not picky. You won’t believe it if I tell you, but my noodles cost 12 yuan a bowl, plus a portion of meat, which only costs 6 yuan. But the portion is huge, and you can burp your stomach after just one bowl. It’s not like Yangzhou’s local cuisine, which is about quality. After eating seven plates and eight bowls, I felt only sixty-seven percent full, so the students had a high rate of returning. I turned a blind eye and never cared about the dishonest customers. I came here as a student, and I know everyone has difficulties.
In addition to this store, I also rented a bedroom and a living room upstairs, and my family settled on it. In Yangzhou City , this is my small territory. Mei Hua and I are not lazy, we get up to work before dawn, open the business early with the guys, mix the noodles, mix the soup, shout and shout, we work until the afternoon. In fact, there was no rest in the afternoon, and the meat had to be cooked over high heat to prepare the soup for the next day. It's even busier in the evening, so busy that I don't even have time to cough. I have to follow the students' schedule. When I went to bed in the middle of the night, my bones were almost falling apart, but looking at the wad of money in my hand, I didn't feel tired and had endless strength in my body.
is too advanced now. Although I can't fulfill my filial piety to my parents, I added my sister's and my sister's WeChat accounts. They often take pictures of their parents and send them to them. Sometimes they also have voice messages, but that's not enough. It's not as good as mine. Nagging in person. Mei Hua's father is still trying to get her to do something wrong, but my parents thought about it. No matter how you say it, Mei Hua is their daughter-in-law.
Now Meihua is pregnant. When I take the baby home, her father will definitely regret it.
■ Text/Excerpt from "The God of the Earth" (written by Ye Zhou and published by Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House)
■Editor/Jia Lifang
■ All rights reserved. No reproduction is allowed without permission
