Chapter 54 From now on, I'll listen to my wife.

I hate him; he's an irresponsible man!

I hate his indifference and neglect over the years, I hate everything about him.

Before she knew he was her man, she was at least polite to him on the surface, and would come up to help him carry things when he came back.

Now, when I see him, I don't even want to give him a second glance.

A cool summer breeze swept through the vegetable garden in front of the yard, carrying the fresh scent of various vegetables. Xie Zhongming took several deep breaths, but still felt a tightness in his chest.

An'an was peaceful. Upon seeing Xie Zhongming return, the two children put down the purslane they had pulled from the mud and ran to Xie Zhongming one after the other.

Those little legs run as fast as the wind.

"Uncle Zhongming, you're back!"

The two children adored Xie Zhongming and rushed to him. Xie Zhongming squatted down, picked up the two children with mud on their faces, and put them on his left and right arms respectively.

"An'an and Ningning, guess what your uncle bought for you."

The word "uncle" made his chest tremble. Thinking about the past three or four months, his own daughter was right in front of him, yet he had never known. He truly did not deserve to be a father.

He wanted An An and Ning Ning to call him Dad.

However, the timing was not right.

He will wait patiently.

As he spoke, he held An An and Ning Ning in his arms, and with his hands still free, he picked up the bundles of candy wrapped in kraft paper and tied with straw rope from the bicycle.

"Uncle bought you lots of candy. Come on, let's go inside and eat some candy."

He carried the two children into the main room, got a washcloth and washed their muddy faces, then had them wash their hands. Seeing that they had just been sunbathing, he first poured them two glasses of water, and finally unwrapped the candy from the brown paper.

An'an and Ningning were already thirsty, and now they were gulping down warm water from their enamel cups. When they saw the unwrapped candies, including White Rabbit milk candies, colorful fruit candies, peanut candies, red shrimp crisps, peach crisps, and whistle candies, the two children immediately put down their enamel cups and stared at the whistle candies with shining eyes.

An'an asked, "Uncle Zhongming, can I have a whistle candy?"

"Of course!" Xie Zhongming took a handful of whistle candies and handed them to An'an and Ningning. "These are for An'an and Ningning. You can eat them slowly. When you're done, Uncle will buy you more."

Now that he knows the two children are his biological daughters, and that he still calls himself their uncle, Xie Zhongming feels a mix of emotions, his feelings are extremely complicated.

He felt bitter, choked up, and incredibly guilty that he couldn't acknowledge his own daughter right away.

An'an took the whistle candy and tried to blow it.

A whistling sound rang out in the main room, making An'an's eyes light up again. "Ningning, this whistle candy can actually make a whistle!"

Ningning also blew on it, "Uncle Zhongming, this is the first time I've ever blew on a candy whistling, it's so much fun!"

Xie Zhongming felt a tightness and soreness in his chest. His two children would be almost five years old in the fall, but they had never even whistled a candy.

They probably couldn't even get enough to eat before, let alone eat candy. An'an and Ningning don't look as thin as when they first arrived. When I first saw the two kids, they were pitifully thin.

Xie Zhongming's heart was clenched tightly.

My throat tightened.

He suppressed his sadness and said, "This candy can not only be used to whistle, but also eaten. An'an Ningning, have a taste, it's very sweet."

An'an responded, "I can't bear to eat it. If I eat it, I won't be able to whistle."

Ningning chimed in, "I can't bear to part with it either."

The two children didn't lick a single drop, but kept swallowing their saliva. To Xie Zhongming, this sight felt like countless sharp needles were piercing his chest.

He quickly took the whistle candies wrapped in brown paper, handed them to An An and Ning Ning, and said, "These are all An An and Ning Ning's. It's okay, don't worry. Uncle will buy you more after you finish them."

Just then, Qiao Xingyue walked in from outside and saw a table full of candies wrapped in kraft paper. Without even a smile, she said, "Comrade Xie, are you trying to ruin An An and Ning Ning's teeth by buying so many candies at once?"

She squatted down in front of An An and Ning Ning, and seeing the two children's longing for candy, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Long ago, when An'an and Ningning were village doctors in Shantang Village, they saw other children eating whistle candy countless times, their eyes filled with envy. There was also a boy named Gou Dan, a few years older than An'an and Ningning, who would deliberately try to tempt them with whistle candy. He would deliberately say, "You want some, right? I won't give you any."

At that time, An'an and Ningning were envious, but they were very sensible and told her: "Mom, it's okay, those candies may not taste good, we don't care."

Xie Zhongming thought that buying piles and piles of candy for An An and Ning Ning at once would make up for the hardship An An and Ning Ning had endured over the years.

After squatting down, she fed the whistle candy to An An and Ning Ning, saying, "Uncle Zhongming bought it, eat it. But don't eat too much at once, and brush your teeth properly after you finish."

Hearing her tone soften towards the child, Xie Zhongming's back remained tense.

He knew that Comrade Qiao was still angry with him. Seeing that she had just been busy in the vegetable garden and her face was red from the sun, he quickly wrung out a hot towel and poured a cup of hot water in an enamel mug, handing it to her. "Comrade Qiao, you've just been in the sun. Wipe your face and have some water. Don't worry, I used your enamel basin and your washcloth, they're clean."

Qiao Xingyue didn't accept the steaming washcloth and enamel cup. "No need. Don't buy so much candy for An'an and Ningning next time. It's a waste of money, and it'll give the kids cavities."

Xie Zhongming listened to these words as if they were a wife instructing her husband.

A slight smile finally appeared on his lips, and he quickly nodded, "Okay, Comrade Qiao, I'll do whatever you say. Buy less next time, and buy more after we finish eating."

Qiao Xingyue didn't smile, she just hummed in response, looking rather serious.

At the entrance to the main room, Huang Guilan was helping the old lady step across the threshold when she saw the conversation between the two and realized something was off.

One is the tone of an angry wife.

One is the tone of a husband who tries to please his wife and obeys her every word.

The way these two interact makes them seem like a couple having a falling out.

Huang Guilan was also puzzled. Ever since the fourth brother called Xingyue out for a walk yesterday and they came back, the way the two of them interacted had completely changed. What was going on?

Xie Zhongming handed over the towel again, saying, "Comrade Qiao, it's hot outside. Why don't you wash your face with hot water and cool off?"

Qiao Xingyue accepted the hot towel without even smiling. "Thank you, but you don't need to be so attentive next time. I'm not used to being taken care of like this."

Xie Zhongming stood ramrod straight, his earnest gaze fixed on Qiao Xingyue. "It's only right that I take care of you and An'an Ningning."

Seeing Huang Guilan and the old lady enter the main room, Xie Zhongming looked away and said, "Mom, Comrade Qiao won't be cooking dinner tonight. I'll be taking her, An'an, and Ningning to the state-run restaurant. Please cook dinner for us."

Huang Guilan thought Xie Zhongming was going to confess his feelings to Qiao Xingyue, or that he had already confessed last night, and that the two of them were developing something further.

After helping the old lady sit down in the armchair, she said without hesitation, "Okay, you can go out to eat."

As she spoke, Huang Guilan took out a handkerchief from her bag, counted the money inside, which was about twenty yuan, and gave it all to Xie Zhongming. "Zhongming, An'an and Ningning like to eat meat, so order more meat. Don't be stingy with the money."

Xie Zhongming took the money and said, "Mom, come inside for a moment, I have something to tell you."

After saying that, his tall and straight figure entered Huang Guilan's house one step ahead of Huang Guilan.

Huang Guilan quickly followed, and upon entering the room, she saw that Xie Zhongming had closed the door tightly. She asked curiously, "Zhongming, what's wrong? You're not going to tell Mom that you confessed to Xingyue and that Xingyue agreed to date you, and that Mom should hurry up and prepare for the wedding, are you?"

Before Xie Zhongming could speak, Huang Guilan started chattering on and on, "Then Mom has to hurry up and make preparations. We definitely have to buy the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three watches, one watch, and one watch), and we also have to give Xingyue a dowry. Your Uncle Zhang gave the bride's family two hundred yuan as a dowry, but I don't think that's enough. We have to give Xingyue six hundred yuan. We also have to give An'an and Ningning red envelopes."

Huang Guilan added, "Oh, right, Zhongming, you also need to hurry up and apply for your own family compound. After you get married, you and Xingyue, along with An'an and Ningning, can no longer live at your parents' house. Your older brothers have been living on their own since they got married, so you two need your own space."

"Mom," Xie Zhongming interrupted, "we should indeed prepare the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three-piece watches, a watch, and a radio), as well as the bride price, but not now. My relationship with Comrade Qiao is not as simple as you think. Anyway, don't worry, you like Comrade Qiao as your daughter-in-law, and no matter what, I will keep her here and let her enjoy a good life in our family. She has had a hard life before, and I don't want her and the two children to suffer even a little bit more."

Once Comrade Qiao calmed down and stopped insisting on a divorce, he told his parents and grandmother that Xingyue was Pangya, and An'an and Ningning were their grandson and great-grandson.

When that time comes, Mom and Dad will definitely be laughing in their sleep.

“Tell me honestly, has Xingyue agreed to let you date? No, Xingyue sounds angry, she hasn’t agreed yet, right? What did you say last night that you wouldn’t divorce Pangya, and now you’re saying you want to keep Xingyue here? What’s going on with Zhongming? You’ve confused me completely.”

"Mom, anyway, Comrade Qiao is your only fourth daughter-in-law. I'll explain this to you slowly later. First, give me all the money I've saved with you over the years; I need it."

Before Xie Zhongming was promoted to regimental commander, his monthly salary plus allowance was 48 yuan.

He was promoted to regimental commander, and his rank gradually rose to 168.

In the early stages, he sent 38 yuan to Chadian Village every month, and later he sent 100 yuan every month. He didn't spend the rest of the money himself and saved it with Huang Guilan. However, he didn't save much because Fatty's mother had lied to him many times, saying that Fatty had caused trouble in the village and had to pay compensation. In addition to sending living expenses every month, he also spent a lot of money.

Without saying a word, Huang Guilan quickly took out the money wrapped in a handkerchief from the cabinet.

Unfolding the handkerchief, there were three stacks of money bound with rubber bands inside. The thinnest stack belonged to Xie Zhongming. "Zhongming, over the years you've sent money to Pangya, and Pangya's mother has cheated you out of money. You've saved the least. Lao San and Lao Wu don't spend much money, and they've both saved seven or eight thousand. Only you have a little over eighteen hundred. I'll give it all to you. You can give it all to Xingyue."

Xie Zhongming took the money and said, "Mom, I won't give you my money to keep from now on."

"That's what Mom thinks too. When you and Xingyue have your own little family in the future, you have to let Xingyue manage the household and listen to her in everything. You can't go wrong by listening to your wife. Look at your dad, he listens to me in everything, and that's why our family is so harmonious."

"good."

"1,800 isn't enough, Mom will add some more for you." Huang Guilan took out her savings and counted for a while before she had enough for 120 ten-yuan bills.

One large unity note costs ten yuan, so one hundred and twenty notes would be one thousand two hundred. If we give them to Xie Zhongming, it would be just over three thousand yuan.

“If you want to live a good life with Xingyue, you need to show some sincerity. Xingyue deserves it! It’s already very good that she doesn’t mind that you’re divorced. Although she has two children, with her conditions, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to find someone who is getting married for the first time.”

Xie Zhongming clutched the money, opened his mouth, and said, "Mom, actually Comrade Qiao, she..."

Forget it, I'll wait until Comrade Qiao stops mentioning divorce before telling them.

Xie Zhongming put the three thousand yuan into his canvas bag, went outside, and saw Qiao Xingyue talking to the old lady. He called out, "Grandma, I've taken Comrade Qiao and An'an and Ningning to the state-run restaurant. I'll chat with you when I get back."

"Okay, go ahead and do it."

To this day, the old lady still doesn't know that Xie Zhongming married a chubby girl weighing over 200 pounds five years ago. She only thought that her fourth son's wife was tall, thin, and beautiful, but unfortunately, she drowned in the river.

According to Huang Guilan, the fourth son wants to date Xingyue, and the old lady supports it.

Qiao Xingyue also had something to say to Xie Zhongming alone, so she and Xie Zhongming got on his old bicycle and left the family compound.

The state-run restaurant is about a kilometer or two away from the military compound; it takes about a few minutes to get there by bike.

An An sat peacefully on the front bar, with Xie Zhongming's clothes cushioning her little bottom, while Qiao Xingyue sat behind her.

As Xie Zhongming rode his old bicycle out of the military compound, a military green jeep passed by. However, Xie Zhongming did not notice that the people in the jeep were Jiang Beiyang, Jiang Beisong, and Xiao Songhua.

The driver was Yang from Jiangbei.

When Jiang Beiyang saw Xie Zhongming's bicycle lurch, Qiao, who was behind him, instinctively grabbed his sleeve. Xie Zhongming not only didn't mind, but a smile even appeared on his lips.

Thinking back to when he was in Xie Zhongming's car, he accidentally hugged Xie Zhongming's waist, and Xie Zhongming was so disgusted that he wanted to kick him out of the car.

"This man is indeed a womanizer who values ​​women more than friends."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiao Songhua sighed, "I have to admit, Comrade Qiao is indeed excellent in every way, but after all, she has two children. Zhongming must be bewitched, ignoring the wonderful Jia Hui and insisting on liking Comrade Qiao. But I must say, Comrade Qiao is indeed outstanding."

Jiang Beiyang, driving the car, laughed and said, "Songhua, just wait to eat Zhongming and Comrade Qiao's wedding candy. Zhongming has also prepared a big surprise for everyone, one you'll never dream of."

If everyone knew that Comrade Qiao was actually Fatty, I bet everyone would be shocked.