Chapter 72 the witty and intelligent Li Haitang
On the other side of the room, Li Haitang packed his luggage, then lay down in a warm bed and continued to organize the outline of the novel until the dead of night when the eyelids began to heavy before he lay down to rest.
That night, as expected, there was a heavy snowstorm.
Li Haitang was completely wrapped up. When he opened the door of the shop, he saw a plain sheet of snow outside, two centimeters thick. At this time, Li Tao came out after washing up and started cleaning up the snow with a shovel and a broom.
One after another, the shops next door were all open, and no one knew who had joined in and shouted, "Everyone clean the snow in front of the door!"
"Haha, okay, let's work together. It will be a good year next year. We will make a lot of money together." The owner of the shop selling electrical appliances in the distance said boldly. His family's business was one of the best on this street. These years, electrical appliances were especially easy to sell. Each year was better than the next. He was also the boss on this street who made more money and spoke with confidence.
The rest of the shops echoed a few words of good luck. They worked together and the whole street was quickly cleaned up. When the aunt of the neighborhood committee came over, she saw that they had all taken the initiative to clean up and praised them with a smile on her face.
After cleaning the shop inside and outside, Li Haitang closed the door and went to the noodle restaurant next door to eat hot noodle soup with the li family and their son.
While Li Jianguo was "Chugging" the noodles, Li Haitang suddenly asked, "Dad, it's already snowed twice this year. It's almost 20 days away from the new year. There's probably going to be more snow. The house in my hometown won't be able to hold up. Will it have collapsed?"
Li Jianguo swallowed the noodles in his mouth, frowning and choking a fly to death. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "The front main house, which I took the time to fix in the first half of the year, should be fine for the time being. If there is more rain next spring, it won't be able to withstand it. The back shed was not sturdy, especially the pigsty and firewood shed, which would most likely fall down. Hey, when I get back, I'll call Yuanhua and ask him to take a look."
"Yeah, sure. Second and third uncle Li Tao should not have any work to do in this winter. If they don't help to fix up the house first, they can handle the new year and build a red brick house after the spring festival." Li Haitang knew that Li Jianguo had always wanted to build a house at home, so he decided to take advantage of it.
Li Jianguo thought for a moment and agreed to her proposal. "Okay. The old house has been around for more than ten years. It's as old as you, and it's not strong enough. We're not staying at home. If we fix it this time, we'll probably have to fix it again next year. We'll just demolish it and rebuild the new house." After a pause, he smiled and said, "Thanks to you, dad made a lot of money this year. It's not enough to build two floors. It's enough to build one floor. Let's just build one floor first and add another when we make enough money next year."
"Dad, you might as well build it all at once, so you don't have to go back and forth. I'll keep the money I need, and you can return it to me later." Li Haitang wanted to give him money, but he also knew his temper, so he changed to borrowing.
Li Jianguo thought about it and agreed, "Okay. Then I'll go back to my second brother and third brother and ask them to buy red bricks in advance at their brick kiln. I'll ask my second brother to find their small construction team to do the work. After the new year, I'll pick a good day and start the construction."
"Yeah, sure. The business in the shop will be much quieter after the new year. Uncle liu can handle it alone. You can build the house at home before coming over."
"Okay." Li Jianguo answered.
Li Tao, who finished the big bowl of noodles in a few mouthfuls, looked at Li Haitang's half bowl of noodles in the opposite direction and muttered in his heart: a woman's eating is just dawdling. She eats a few of them, and by the time she finishes eating the noodles in his stomach, she will be running out.
Li Haitang looked up at him and raised his eyebrows, "You finished it so soon? Are you full?"
"I'm not full. I can have another bowl." Li Tao, who was growing up, was a good boy and insisted on not lying.
Li Haitang was speechless, "You're stupid. You want another bowl if you're not full." She looked up at the landlady, who was so busy that her feet were not touching the ground, and shouted, "Landlady, here's another noodle and a tiger egg."
"Ah, okay." The proprietress took the time to reply.
Li Jianguo glanced sideways at Li Tao, who was standing on his shoulder. He had grown a lot in the past six months, "Taoer, it's time for you to grow up. You should eat more. If you're not full, you should continue eating. No one will laugh at you."
Li Tao touched the back of his head awkwardly. He ate at home at noon and at night. He ate three bowls of rice each time and was naturally full. Breakfast was eaten outside, and everyone had a bowl, while he ate two bowls, as if he had eaten a little too much. He was really afraid that everyone would laugh at him.
How could Li Haitang not know what he was thinking? He smiled and said, "If you are embarrassed to order two bowls of noodles, you can order one bowl and buy some other food. There are soy milk, fried dough sticks, oil sesame balls, steamed buns, pancakes and so on at the entrance of the farmer's market next door. You can buy them as you like."
"Okay." When Li Tao was at school, he always bought three big meat buns and a bowl of soy milk in the morning. The noodles in the shop outside tasted delicious, but he was not full at all, and the price was expensive. He couldn't bear to eat them.
After the second bowl of noodles came up, Li Haitang had just finished eating, so she got up first to pay the bill, and then told the li family father and son to go back first. She went to the farmer's market to buy some food.
Her train ticket to Yangcheng today was at five o' clock in the afternoon, so there was still plenty of time, and she could still help with a day's work in the shop today.
Around four in the afternoon, Lin Peipei came to the shop with his luggage. Today, she was wearing a sky-blue floral jacket, a aqua-red scarf around her neck, a woolen hat of the same color on her head, a pair of denim flared pants on her lower body, and a pair of black leather shoes on her feet. This outfit looked particularly youthful and beautiful, and the cotton jacket did not look bloated on her.
"Wow, sister pei pei, you look so pretty today." Duan Jinqiao, who came to play in the shop, looked at her enviously.
Lin Peipei put his bag on the empty table in the corner and said with a smile, "This is the new model that came back from our shop. Last time, I was wearing this set of advertising photos. Now it's hanging at the door of our shop for publicity."
Sister liu saw that his daughter's eyes were shining and said, "Pepe, these clothes are really beautiful. When are you going to the provincial capital again? Can you bring two similar outfits back for jin qiao?"
"Sure. I'll go there before the new year, but I haven't agreed on the exact time yet. I'll bring it back to her then." Lin Peipei agreed immediately.
Duan Jinqiao smiled shyly, "Thank you, sister pei pei."
Li Haitang's clothes were also taken from the shop. She was wearing a long, goose-yellow cotton dress with a slightly tucked waist, followed by a thick hat with a lotus flower pattern embroidered on the hem and hat. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail, making her look extremely slender and slender.
Today, the business in the shop was not busy, and everyone was sitting around the fire to keep warm. Li Jianguo, who was drinking with Uncle liu, saw Li Haitang dressed like this, and he was in a daze. When he came back to his senses, he covered his eyes and hid the complicated emotions inside.
After a short rest, the two of them said goodbye and walked to the train station with their luggage.
Xia Lin called yesterday. Her brother Xia Jin accompanied her to Yangcheng. The two of them left the provincial capital directly, so Li Haitang and Lin Peipei were the only ones on this trip.
It was lin peipei's first time away from home. Her parents were very worried about the Lin family, so they let her go after a lot of instructions. Fortunately, Li Haitang was with her. Otherwise, they would not have agreed to her going to Yangcheng.
After the two men lined up, Lin Peipei followed Li Haitang to get on the train, then found the car and the location he bought. The two of them put their luggage on the shelf and sat down at will.
"This is my first time taking a train. I actually feel like a country bumpkin coming into the city." Lin peipei whispered to Li Haitang in a hushed voice.
Li Haitang chuckled and said jokingly, "Pepe, look at the way we dress on this train. We're definitely the most fashionable. They'll never think we're country bumpkins. They'll think we're from the city."
Lin Peipei smiled playfully and said seriously, "My account is a town account. I am a city person."
"That's true. You're a decent city dweller. I'm the real country bumpkin." Li Haitang's account was still in Ping shan town, a genuine rural account.
While the two of them were whispering, two young men, with black toad glasses and a cigarette in their mouths, came up from the opposite seat of the two of them, looking up and down at both of them with unbridled eyes.
Although Lin Peipei was usually a shrewd and fierce person, he still couldn't help but get angry when he saw this kind of person and quietly pulled Li Haitang's arm.
Li Haitang patted the back of her hand and comforted her silently. If they didn't take the initiative to provoke such people, they could do whatever they wanted. She took out the book she had prepared and handed it to Lin Peipei. She said in a low voice, "Pepe, this book is pretty good. Instructor jiang highly recommended it. When he comes over, he will definitely ask us about it. Hurry up and finish it."
"Ah, oh, okay." Lin peipei wanted to ask why she hadn't heard jiang Instructor coming before. Suddenly, her mind flashed and she understood what she meant. She nervously agreed, "Is Instructor jiang on this train too? Which carriage is he in?"
"It's this train. In the back car, he bought the tickets a little later than we did. He came with a few of his comrades, as if on a mission to Yangcheng. We'll go over and say hello to them later." Li Haitang's face was not red and her heart was not beating. She was calmer than lin peipei. After all, she had lived a lifetime longer and had seen more of the world than she did.
"Okay, then I'll finish reading this book and go find him later." After Lin Peipei finished speaking, she immediately lowered her head and pretended to turn over the book. She was not calm at all. She was nervous and at the same time admired Li Haitang very much. She was really smart.
Naturally, the two people across the street heard what they said. They had been thinking about getting out of the car and hitting on the two young girls, but they didn't expect their Instructor to be in the car. The other party was a soldier. They didn't dare to provoke him, but they didn't want to be caught in jail.
Li Haitang looked at the people in the car with an extremely natural expression. The six men in thick cotton-padded jackets beside the aisle all had the same thermos in their hands. She guessed that they were colleagues, a middle-aged couple with their backs against each other, and two glasses sitting in a seat not far away. It was obvious that they were educated people. She knew what was going on. Even if the two hooligans did anything, they could immediately call for help from someone else without worrying about safety.
She glanced at the two obscene people across the street, opened the bookmark calmly, and continued reading. These books were indeed introduced to her by Jiang Chuheng in the letter. He had bought and sent several of them for her in Xinhua bookstore, the provincial capital. She had never read them in her previous life, so she read them carefully.
Lin peipei suppressed the uneasiness in her heart and finished the first page as fast as she could. Just as she opened the second page, the train started, and she looked nervously through the window at the distant platform, then lowered her head and continued to read her book in a pretentious manner.
When the smell of food came from the car, Li Haitang calmly put away his book and said to Lin Peipei beside him, "Pepe, it's time for dinner. Let's go find jiang Instructor and have dinner in the restaurant."
"Oh, okay." Lin Peipei, who was addicted to the book, woke up with a jolt and immediately got up to put the book back in his bag. He carried the bag and was ready to go with her.
Li Haitang carried her schoolbag and was about to go to the dining room when she saw the man sitting in the opposite aisle with his legs outstretched in the way. She had to say, "Big brother, can I trouble you to make way?"
This was what the other party did on purpose. Facing the two beautiful girls, they could not take advantage of their hands, but their mouths could. Just as they were about to tease, they saw the tall girl looking happily at the back of the carriage and shouting, "Pepe, Instructor jiang is here."
At this critical moment, there were several soldiers in military uniforms over there. This was really going to sleep. Someone sent pillows, and Li Haitang immediately seized this opportunity.
Lin Peipei's hands trembled as she grabbed the backpack straps. She really admired Li Haitang's acting and wit. The little rabbit in her heart jumped wildly and her voice was a little shaky, "Haitang, let's go. Don't let Instructor jiang wait for us too long."
The man in the opposite direction turned his head and saw the tall and straight soldiers striding towards them, and resolutely withdrew his legs.
Without him blocking the way, Li Haitang immediately pulled Lin Peipei away and hurried towards the soldiers.
"Who are you?" The leading soldier in an olive green military coat was puzzled when he saw the two beautiful female students blocking their way.
Naturally, this kind of thing could only be done by Li Haitang. She said in a low voice, "Comrade of the people's liberation army, please do me a favor. There are two social youths sitting opposite us, looking at us with unfriendly eyes. I would like you to pretend to be the Instructor we know and scare them."
Lin Peipei's mouth twitched when he heard the last sentence, and then his little head jerked like garlic.
A few of the grim-faced soldiers in the back couldn't help but smile. This girl is really smart and witty. The leading comrade of the people's liberation army also smiled and said bluntly, "No problem. We're going to the restaurant now. Why don't you join us?"
Li Haitang smiled and said gratefully, "Okay, thank you."
Lin Peipei also immediately grinned and thanked, "Thank you all handsome pla brothers." Although these pla brothers were not as handsome as Instructor jiang, they were also tall, long and manly.
Li Haitang and Lin Peipei had their backs straight when they found a backer, especially when they passed their seats. The smile on their faces was brilliant. After all, when they met "Instructor," they had to be happy.
Several military brothers glanced at the two young men without any trace as they walked past them. These two were not good people at first sight, but these two girls were quite alert.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Li Haitang and Lin Peipei also bought a box of lunch and a cup of warm milk for each of the soldiers to express their gratitude. The people of this era had a special admiration for soldiers. They were both talkative and chatted with them during a meal.
The soldiers were training in the army all the time. The only people they saw were rough Man. How could they talk to such a beautiful and smart student? It was not just a chat that brought interest. After learning that both of them were students from the Tam city 1 middle school key class, their enthusiasm was even higher.
These soldiers were indeed on a mission to Yangcheng this time, and they coincided with Li Haitang's lie. The other party had a good chat with them, and took the initiative to help them change their seats. After dinner, they helped them carry their luggage to their car.
It was boring to ride in the car at night. These soldiers bought two sets of poker cards from the steward's office and played poker with Li Haitang and Lin Peipei to pass the time. It didn't stop until midnight, and everyone sat back and closed their eyes to rest.