Chapter 116: Flower Theory

My aunt called and invited our family to have New Year's dinner. My mother first expressed that she wouldn't go, saying that there were a lot of things at home, and it wouldn't work without her. She also said that according to the rules, paying New Year's greetings is a matter for young people, and the elderly should stay at home waiting for guests to come to the door, for fear that if a relative comes, they will hit a closed door, which will make people feel unlucky.

My mother didn't go, and my father naturally didn't go either. I and Xue Bing were left, carrying the New Year's gifts prepared by my mother, and went to my aunt's house.

My aunt was busy in the kitchen, sweating profusely. My uncle actually returned home, sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, and stood up to express a warm welcome to our arrival. Meizhu had already arrived, helping my aunt pick vegetables. Seeing this, Xue Bing also rolled up her sleeves and wanted to help.

My aunt stopped Xue Bing's behavior, saying that she was a guest for the first time, and just needed to sit. Xue Bing firmly refused, saying that she was not so pampered, and cited that she had been arranging three meals a day for the past few days at my house, and didn't see the elderly unhappy.

The three women were busy in the kitchen, so we two men had to drink tea and chat in the living room.

My uncle returned last night, not for home leave.

I asked curiously, "Business trip?"

Uncle smiled and said, "Not a business trip, came back to see, preparing to find a unit."

I was very surprised. A person like my uncle should be a professional soldier. Why did he still think about transferring to civilian work? Compared with the army and the local area, I still feel the army is good.

Uncle is a person from the army, sitting on the sofa with a straight back. This made me very envious! I once set a rule for myself, sit like a bell, stand like a pine. In fact, my sitting like a bell posture generally won't last for three minutes, that posture is too hard, and my feet will cramp after sitting for a long time. And the standing like a pine posture makes people feel like being tortured. I received military training in college, but I didn't participate in the drill in the end, I found an excuse to belong to the audience on the stands and cheered for my classmates like school leaders.

Actually, I have always admired soldiers! Just like when I heard my aunt had married an officer, while my mother was noncommittal, I was strongly in favor of it. Logically speaking, our family could be considered a military family; my father was a soldier his whole life, fought in many battles both large and small, from driving the Kuomintang to Taiwan to suppressing bandits in the deep mountains. Every battle saw many comrades fall by his side, but even now, my father never makes any judgments about those fights; he only harbors deep regret that he never faced Japanese soldiers head-on. He says he was a muddled soldier who fought a lifetime of civil wars, not worth remembering or boasting about.

Uncle Zhang, as a battalion-level cadre, although he is in the boat bridge troops, he also manages hundreds of people. From being a soldier to now, he hasn't held a gun a few times, all dealing with mechanical engineering. Over the years, he has accumulated a lot of rich experience. Repairing a road and building a bridge is a piece of cake. In the army, battalion-level cadres are not a small official, but returning to the local area, at most they are equal to the township level, and the actual level arrangement can only be a deputy township head-level cadre. If they want to go to the county bureau-level unit, at most they are a section chief, and they won't be a positive level.

I said, "Which unit is Uncle preparing to go to?"

Uncle said, "Just came back, haven't thought about it yet."

After chatting for a while, the food was on the table, and the three women also washed their hands and took their seats.

My aunt couldn't hide the moistness of her husband's return, leaning against my uncle and shouting to drink. Saying that it's the New Year, the whole family is reunited, if you don't drink a few glasses, it won't be a banquet.

My aunt's suggestion was responded to by Meizhu. She took the lead in expressing that she wanted to welcome my uncle, saying that tomorrow she would be the host and go to Linyin Restaurant to eat together.

I indicated that I might not be able to participate tomorrow. Before the words fell, they all looked at me, asking inquiringly, "Something to do?"

I said that I would go to my cousin-in-law's house tomorrow, but I concealed the fact that Huang Weiwei would go together.

My aunt heard this and immediately said that they would go together tomorrow, just to let my uncle know my cousin. My uncle's transfer to civilian work must have been told to my aunt. For this sudden good news, my aunt must grasp it tightly. A man wants to transfer to civilian work, which is a great joy for her, and from then on, she can end the record of empty rooms every night.

A woman of my aunt's age is naturally like a wolf and a tiger, how could she let a sheep that wants to enter the wolf circle turn around and leave!

My uncle's expression was very lonely. I know he still can't bear the national defense green. Men in the army all want to be professional soldiers for a lifetime, especially people like my uncle who have no roots in the local area, the army is his best destination.

My uncle suddenly wanted to transfer to civilian work, which was definitely not his intention, nor was it my aunt's arrangement. I concluded this after drinking a few glasses of wine.

My aunt looked at me with a smile and said, "Little Feng, your uncle's transfer to civilian work, still have to thank you."

I was confused. If my uncle's transfer to civilian work had something to do with me, I don't know how much resentment he would have in his heart. So I hurriedly dodged and said, "Aunt, you can't harm me."

Uncle laughed generously, "It's my own business. Xiaoyue, don't scare Little Feng."

My aunt laughed and said, "If Little Feng didn't repair some ghost road, you wouldn't take the troops to help him in the name of an exercise, and you wouldn't leave explosives to blow a person to death."

I finally understood. My uncle's transfer to civilian work was a forced act. Although Zhao Deliang's death was finally recognized as a martyr, the army would not be ambiguous. They would not be transferred by the will of the local area. Besides, my uncle's boat bridge troops were not on the territory of Hengyue City and had nothing to do with our Hengyue City.

I apologized to my uncle, "Speaking of which, it's still my problem here, sorry, Zhang Yingzhang."

I consciously called his official rank. I know that there won't be many opportunities for him to hear this address in the future. People who return to the local area from the army are generally mediocre. I think my uncle won't have extraordinary skills. As long as he returns to the local area, he will become a person from nine to five, and when the traces of years climb up his temples, he will sigh that his life will end here!

Accompanying my uncle to drink three glasses in a row, both of us felt that the wine had gone to our heads, and we didn't care about anything when we spoke. When a man is dissolute, he talks a lot.

Uncle said, "I have been engaged in engineering for half my life, except for dealing with mud and building materials, I really don't know many people."

I said, "Dealing with them is worry-free. Dealing with people is laborious." Pointing to the three women of my aunt, "What is a woman? It is a flower, what is a man? A person who raises flowers."

My few words made the three of them smile. My aunt knocked on the table and said, "Little Feng, there are many kinds of flowers, it is impossible for every woman to be the same flower."

I said with a stuttering tongue, "Of course it's different. For example, you, Aunt, are an oleander."

She looked at me in surprise, smiling and saying, "Why can't I be a peony or other flowers?"

I said, "Oleander, fragrant, good-looking. But poisonous. It's like Aunt, you, my uncle is in the army, if you don't bring some poison, can my uncle still work for the country with peace of mind?"

Once the words were out, I felt it was too much. Fortunately, my uncle was also drunk and didn't care too much about what I said. He kept pulling me to continue drinking.

Meizhu asked in a low voice, "What flower am I?"

I looked at her and said, "You are actually not a flower, you are a bamboo. If you must compare you to a flower, it is a narcissus."

"Why?"

She waited for my answer with a full face of seriousness.

I said, "Look, you, this person, seems not to eat human fireworks, fighting with the world, clean and elegant. If it's not a narcissus, what is it?"

Meizhu pursed her lips and smiled, and pointed to Xue Bing and asked me, "My sister? What flower?"

I pretended to look at Xue Bing very seriously and said, "She, a rose, red every month."

My aunt laughed and pointed to Xue Bing and the others, "Nonsense, what flowers or not. They are flowers, I am at most a broken flower and a willow."

Xue Bing smiled and said, "Aunt, you are the real flower, we, at most, are a small grass."

I waved my hand and said, "Women don't do grass, women must be flowers. Grass is what we men do, among men, half are grass, half are trees. Just like Uncle, he is a towering tree."

Uncle was beaming at my metaphor, "Little Feng, can't see that you have a lot of flowery intestines. We men have all gone to be grass and trees, who is the person who raises flowers?"

I said, "Where there are flowers, there must be grass. Even if there is no grass, don't flowers bloom on the branches? What is the branch? It is a tree. Therefore, the branch provides nutrition to the flowers, and the flowers can bloom more beautifully. Therefore, men are all people who raise flowers."

My flower theory made them very interested. It is hard for them to see me being so poor-mouthed.

Xue Bing suddenly asked me, "What flower is Sister Jinling? What flower is Pan Xiaoqin?"

My heart skipped a beat. Women are most unable to see their men being so oily and slippery. Xue Bing was clearly angry, and a trace of sarcasm floated in her eyes.

I stopped talking. My aunt was very interested and insisted that I talk about what flowers the two people Xue Bing said were.

I pondered for a while and said, "Sister-in-law Jinling, is a peach blossom. Pan Xiaoqin is a plum blossom."

"Why?"

I looked at Xue Bing and said, "Peach blossoms are brilliant, plum blossoms are elegant."

My aunt was clearly dissatisfied with my evaluation and said, "Said so many flowers, why is there no rose, peony. It seems that in your eyes, we are all small flowers in the countryside." Pointing to Meizhu again, "Just you are good, narcissus, not eating human fireworks."

Meizhu blushed shyly, lowered her head and sent a chicken leg to my aunt's bowl, "Aunt, plug your mouth."

Uncle laughed loudly, pointing to me, "Little Feng, you have arranged everyone around you into flowers and grass, quite romantic."

I smiled, thinking in my heart: "Actually, to say roses and peonies, besides Chen Meng and Huang Weiwei, who else can play this role?" Suddenly remembered Yue Bai, isn't she a camellia?

Seeing that the atmosphere at the dinner table became a bit strenuous, I reached out and touched my face and said, "Uncle, we men, let's talk about men's words."

Uncle smiled and said, "Your flowers are finished?"

I nodded affirmatively, glancing at Xue Bing, she seemed to turn a deaf ear to our words, focusing on dealing with a chicken wing.

"Hengyue City is going to build an expressway, do you know?" I said, scooping a ladle of chicken soup and pouring it down my throat.

"The whole country is building it. Nothing strange." Uncle said, "Our troops once contracted a bid section and won an award. Now the troops are not allowed to participate in local construction, so I don't know much about it."

"Uncle seems to have experience." I said, "Others can build, you can build, right?"

"Of course, there is no problem with engineering technology."

"Technology is no problem, what other problems are there?"

"Doing such a big project, you must have qualifications, otherwise the contracting right will not be given to you."

"Can't you affiliate?"

"I don't know very well. Local things, complicated." Uncle sighed, "After transferring to civilian work, I don't know what else I can do."

I didn't speak. Deputy Director Chen Yazhi's hint floated into my mind. My aunt seemed to hear the meaning of our dialogue and gave me a thumbs up, "Little Feng, you have really grown up."