Dad would never have hired a nanny if his mother's diabetes complications in the past six months had not exhausted him to the point of collapse.

That night, dad called and said that he would take one home the next day anyway. Before that, he ran to several domestic companies, either he didn't like the nanny or his salary was too high. Once, I finally settled with a Shandong nanny. As a result, the manager of the housekeeping company came forward and suddenly "popped up" to give the nanny 200 yuan more on the basis of the original salary every month. It ended in discord. Since dad made up his mind this time, he must get his wish, so he entrusted his husband and sister to accompany him to catch up early and catch up late, and walk a few more times, so he must get this done. It was not until after work that I finally got the phone call I expected. I didn't participate in this matter, mainly because I know my father's personality too well. I was a diplomat before I retired and worked abroad for many years. A typical Shandong person can do everything in life, and often intervenes before others have done half. A few years ago, he was hospitalized with stomach bleeding, and his mother was old and weak, so the hospital could not accompany him. He had to use his relatives at home to work shifts during the day and night, and his father agreed to let him accompany him until the aunt's son in the reception room of the dormitory had a college holiday. The reason is that the young man is good-natured, simple and educated, and they have a common language. Even if he pays more, he is subsidizing poor college students. You see, the old man's requirements are not low, right?

Xiao Xie is the nanny who my sister and I agreed to go to the housekeeping company after working for my father for half a year. I went back to my mother's house on a rest day and suspected that I had gone to the wrong door. In the living room, the coffee table in front of the sofa turned into a beige dining table for eight people, and the dining chairs of the same color were quietly hidden under the table. The desktop is covered with decorative cloth decorated with red cherries on a white background and covered with transparent placemats. Through the screen window, the sun shines warmly and softly on the green plants in the sunshine basin and the small cherry dripping with water on the tablecloth. With a curious heart, I turned and walked through the white Duobaoge partition. The small restaurant in front of us turned into a quiet leisure area, with a fabric sofa against the wall. The light yellow sofa cover is decorated with pink, yellow, rose and grass green flowers. In the autumn wind, the flowers and leaves wither, but this small pattern is full of spring flowers and vitality. Suddenly, why didn't you notice the congestion in the center of the living room table just now? The original repeated sofa and coffee table have opened up another landscape here. I leaned over and sat on the soft sofa, and the Chinese painting Song of the Moon on the front wall was greeted by a painter friend. How do different people feel and imagine sitting in this comfortable space away from sunshine and noise? In the past six months, my mother has been weak, confused and hospitalized. My sister and I both have our own careers and small families. Every time we go back to our parents' house, we don't have the idea of beautifying the room, and we haven't experienced the warmth of the past for a long time. "Dream rain is coming? Come to my house. " My mother's voice pulled me back from my thoughts and got up and walked into her room. Mother is in a wheelchair, her face is pink and her eyes are bright than a week ago. The room with only 12 square meters seems to be much brighter and more spacious than before. A closer look reveals that half of the clothes on the bed are missing, covered with a set of bedding with small brown stripes on a white background. The daily sundries on the bedside table are gone, only a thermos cup and an old-age digest. On the windowsill opposite the door, the dark green orchids in two blue and white porcelain pots set each other off. The sun shines on the naughty gray fur cat in the picture frame on the wall. It is hanging its head and playing hide-and-seek with the snail walking in the cracks. After greeting my mother, I visited two other rooms. Dad's room is still the same, but the books and newspapers on the bed are much tidier than before. The empty room changed from a messy "warehouse" to Xiao Xie's bedroom, clean and tidy, with cups, pens and notebooks on the white desk. I am surprised at these changes, but I can't help feeling deep remorse. On weekdays, I always take work as the reason, but I ignore the beautification and emotional care for my parents' room.

When I turned back to the living room, our "beautician" Xiao Xie also came out of the kitchen. Dad introduced us. I know a little before: I am about 40 years old, from Shaanxi. I have been in Beijing for less than two weeks. I have opened a small restaurant at home and worked as a fruit merchant. I used to drive karaoke. My two sons work in the south. Looking at her slightly rough but healthy and simple face with a smile, I express my heartfelt thanks. "Let's make this our home in the future!" She nodded slightly: "You sit down and talk. There is only stewed chicken soup in the pot. I gave it to Sister Qu. " "Oh, no, I've come to take you out to eat roast duck." She turned and went into the kitchen. By this time, my mother had left the wheelchair and slowly walked out to put on her coat. Obviously, she has some power. Dad went to the kitchen and called Xiao Xie. During the dinner, I couldn't help praising Xiao Xie sitting next to me again. Dad also smiled and said to her, "You will be the third child in our family in the future." In this way, eating and laughing, I have long been unaware of the cool autumn outside.

Two weeks later, at noon, my father called to say that beginning of winter had come and invited my husband and me to eat hot pot in Donglaishun. Is there anything delicious this season that can compare with the steaming hot pot of mutton? Xiao Xie came to the nearest branch in high spirits. She wore a red sweater and welcomed us into the private room reserved in front of the classical old Beijing building. My parents were seated, but my heart suddenly tightened: my father was still sitting in the front seat facing the door, but my mother didn't follow the old rules and sat down through an empty seat on my father's left. As long as I can remember, they have been sitting next to each other in the restaurant. My sister and I are on both sides, but today. . . ? My mother asked me to sit in the empty seat on my father's left, but I was used to being next to my husband and always transferring food I didn't like or couldn't eat to his plate. "Mom," I just opened my mouth and wanted her to sit next to my father, but I saw Xiao Xie sitting unceremoniously between them. Suddenly I felt in my heart: Why are you so rude? Are you stupid or do you want to take mom's place? The 40-year rule was actually broken by an "outsider" who entered the house without a full moon. I couldn't help but look at my husband, and the joy on his face suddenly disappeared. Look at my dad attending numerous diplomatic banquets, but nothing seems to have happened. I had to swallow my saliva and sit down, pretending to turn a blind eye. Dad put me in charge of ordering food. Looking at the tempting menu, I gradually put out the fire. When we were discussing with the waiters around us, we suddenly heard the voices of mom and Xiao Xie from the opposite side. We turned our heads and saw that mother had lost her normal state. That rare anger made me guess that she must have had enough of kindness and tolerance. "What's the matter?" My face falls and I ask. Mother seems to forget that this is a public place, but she raised her voice. "I asked her to do something, but she said she only listened to your father." Before retiring, a doctor with status, the wife of an international diplomat, humiliated a decent family in front of the waiter. I was noncommittal, forced myself to look at that poor, old and angry face and ordered, "Mom, don't say anything yet." Then I made a downward gesture. In this world, only my mother listens to me the most, no matter what I say, right or wrong. A quarrel subsided, but when I watched the perfect fresh mutton slices served, I lost my appetite and didn't want to look at the "healthy" and "simple" face that made me doubt. Although my father is sometimes impatient with his premature aging mother of the same age, this tone of voice is now handed down by the nanny at home. I really dare not care about the dignity of the hostess in front of outsiders. After dinner, Xiao Xie helped her mother out of the room, and I followed. At the stairs, my mother went to the men's room without reading the sign clearly. Xiao Xie let go, stopped and said to the short bow back, "No, it's not there, it's here." Mother slowly turned around, took two steps and pushed open the door of the ladies' room. I crossed Xiao Xie and followed. "Now I feel my legs are soft when I get together, and sometimes I feel dizzy." I really couldn't listen to it anymore, so I turned around and asked for a nanny. The nanny was too satisfied to move a step.

In the next few days, when I thought that my father went to the park every morning and didn't come back until lunch, I was uneasy and finally asked for leave. Xiao Xie opened the door, and mother was sitting in a hard chair at the dining table, leaning against the TV. I bought hot Guilin rice noodles that my mother likes to eat and brought them to her. I asked her what she ate in the morning, when her father went out, and what her sister was doing recently. Xiao Xie always sat in the middle of the soft sofa and stared at the romantic drama. I was really dizzy. Probably Xiao Xie felt my indifference to her and finally got up: "You talk, I'll buy food." I replied and began to notice the warm sunshine on my mother. "Why, can't you change one? Did she deliberately create opportunities and don't want to do it? " "It's okay, she is willing to in our home, make do. With her around, your father can go to the park and don't worry about coming back to make lunch for me. Besides, it's not easy for your father to teach everything from scratch. If you change it, I'm afraid you have to do it again. As long as your father is happy and healthy, it is my blessing. " Mother didn't want to talk about Xiao Xie any more, so she turned to other topics. Calm tone, calm expression, let me feel that the weak body contains deep love and infinite strength.

Come to think of it, Xiao Xie is far from her hometown. There may be other secrets to save money for her two sons to get married. Even 1 1 month and Mid-Autumn Festival never took a day off. Although she mentioned it first, she was alone in the dead of night. What woman has never been homesick under the stars? What woman doesn't care about the flesh and blood of Hakka in her hometown? How does that bitterness and expectation find a balance between tenderness and persistence?

During the holiday, my sister drove her parents and Xiao Xie to Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Bird's Nest, and also tasted old Beijing and Zhajiang noodles. On the eve of winter, I sent Xiao Xie some winter clothes and hand cream. Gradually, my parents' health and cheerfulness came through the phone.

Now, the sunshine in the bedroom dispels the chill in winter and ushers in another cycle of spring.