Family affairs

The three men were happy all the way, but Xu Nian's world was sad.

Xu Fengcheng looked at his sister's wrinkled face. He was so heartless that he patted Xu Nian in a mature manner and said, "Study hard from your brother Hongqi. I will supervise you."

After saying that, he smiled at Xu Hongqi as if they were good friends, but the other guy was just smiling faintly, while he was the only one who looked like a fool.

Xu Nian missed her mother. When she arrived at the door without seeing the three men, she jumped off the donkey cart and shouted without restraint, "Mom, I'm back, Mom!"

Seeing that his daughter had become lively again, Xu Qinghua let the child be and carefully helped Xu Hongxia get out of the car.

She smiled apologetically and said, "You're still a child, not very sensible." There was no trace of disgust in her doting tone, which made Xu Hongqi even a little jealous.

Xu's mother was afraid that something might happen to the child's father, so she didn't go to work today. When she heard her daughter's voice, she hurried out of the house, followed by three followers.

Xu Nian first hugged her mother, then pinched the tender faces of her nephews and nieces, and instantly felt very at ease.

At this time, Xu's father came in supporting Xu Hongqi and Xu Fengcheng with a cloth bag and medicine, and Xu's mother hurried to greet them.

He smiled and said, "Oh, this is the red flag, what a spirited young man! Everything is alright now."

Xu Hongqi guessed from her age that the person asking the question was probably Xu's mother, because her smile, like Xu Nian's, made people feel happy. She also answered all the questions, saying, "Hello, Auntie. I'm Xu Hongqi. I'm sorry to bother you."

Xu's mother waved her hand and said, "You are still a child, how can you cause any trouble? Have you eaten yet? Auntie will make some food for you. You can go wash up and rest first."

Xu Nian and Xu Fengcheng looked at each other in surprise. They had just praised the young man, and now he was talking about the child. They really had a lot to learn about the art of language.

Originally, Xu's mother had saved some noodles and other dishes, as well as the meat she had bought yesterday to entertain Xu Hongqi. Thinking that it was already late and they needed to eat first, she rolled out some noodles and fried some egg and tomato stew, which she served with pickled peppers and garlic. They all ate comfortably.

After the meal, Xu's mother also knew that Xu Hongqi would be staying at home for a while. If it were someone else, she would probably have some opinions. After all, one more person in the family means one more portion of food, and whoever is in charge of the family knows how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are.

But if it was Xu Hongqi, that would be another story. The child's leg was bitten by a dog, and he did it to save his daughter, so the boss was also injured.

Let’s not talk about this. I also owe them a favor.

So when he heard that Xu Hongqi was living at home, he cleaned up the room next to Xu Nian without saying a word. Fortunately, the weather was hot and only a simple mat and thin quilt were needed.

This house originally belonged to Xu Nian's eldest sister Xu Le, but it was put aside after her eldest sister got married. At that time, they thought of building an additional house at home and giving each child, regardless of gender, a room. This is the tradition of the Xu family. Her sister-in-law was happy to do this and was willing to contribute money to help.

After dinner, Xu's father went to return the donkey cart.

Xu Fengcheng took his own clothes and gave them to Xu Hongqi to change. He originally wanted to wipe Xu Hongqi's body, but Xu Hongqi said he could do it himself. Xu's mother was amazed. This kid was the youngest and his temperament was inevitably domineering, but she didn't expect him to be able to do such a thing.

When Xu's mother said this to her daughter with a smile, Xu Nian said without thinking: "If someone is being too attentive to you, he must be a traitor or a thief!" Xu's mother smiled and patted Xu Nian.

Xu Nian didn't care about these things. However, when she heard her mother say that the house next door was her eldest sister's, she didn't want Xu Hongqi to live there. So she asked her mother, "Mom, is it okay for someone else to live in my eldest sister's house? Will my eldest sister be angry if she knows?"

Xu's mother was surprised that her daughter would say this, but she still shook her head, "At that time, your sister had already started a family, why would she care about this?"

Xu Nian disagreed with this statement, "Why don't you care? I care. Once she gets married, she is no longer your daughter." After saying that, she bit her lip.

Mother Xu thought about how every time she went back to her parents' home, she wanted to stay at home with her parents but there was no place to live. Now she is not sure, "It must still be my daughter. Isn't it always like this here? I didn't think too much about it!"

Xu Nian said, "Look, Third Brother is so attentive, why don't they just stay here?"

Xu's mother definitely disagreed and said, "They've already moved in. Besides, what will they think if we let someone live with your brother in the vacant house?"

Xu Nian also knew that this was unrealistic, and that was the general environment she was in. She just felt a little uncomfortable. She knew from her family members that her eldest sister's current marriage place was neither far nor close to her parents' home, and she probably felt the same way.

Seeing that her mother was still thinking, she hugged Xu's mother's arm and said, "Mom, from now on, I will live in this room, and my sister and I will live in this room. Keep these two rooms for us. When the time comes, I can come and live here whenever I want."

"I don't want to leave home and come back without a place to live."

Mother Xu looked at Xu Nian, thought for a while, touched her daughter's face and said, "Okay, Mom will keep it for you two sisters, so that no matter where you go, you can go home whenever you want."

Xu Nian's nose suddenly felt sore after hearing this. Her adoptive parents were quite good to her. Compared with her peers, she didn't know how much higher her starting point was.

But the awakening at night and the emptiness after a nap do not seem to be filled by material comfort. Although I often feel uncomfortable when I come here, a sense of happiness always emerges.

Xu Nian blinked and said coquettishly, "Mom, let's go see Big Sister when we have time. I haven't seen her for a long time."

It wasn't a big deal right now, and normally a mother wouldn't visit her married daughter's home. But she loved her youngest daughter and was worried about her eldest daughter, and since she hadn't seen her eldest daughter for a long time, she said, "Okay, let's go see your eldest sister after a while."

***

Xu Hongqi stayed in the Xu family like this. Even Xu's two sisters-in-law were reminded by Xu's mother to say what they should say and not say what they shouldn't say.

The two sisters-in-law were working in the fields and grumbling, "Mom is so contemptuous of us. Are we so ignorant that she even said that?"

Xu Ersao also agreed somewhat this time. After all, they were a family, and it was impossible for them to let outsiders in like this. But a married girl had to make a living in her husband's family, so there was nothing she could do even if she had any opinions.

After the two of them finished talking, Xu Ersao said, "Xu Hongqi had such a good life to begin with. If she hadn't met such relatives, her life would have been better. In my opinion, our village is better than Xujia Village."

Mrs. Xu nodded in agreement. "Who says it's not? I told you that the matchmaker initially introduced me to a man from Xujia Village, but my mother said he told her it wasn't good for me to marry in the west, so she brought up your eldest brother."

Xu Ersao had never heard of this before and was surprised. "Is this true? Isn't it forbidden to believe in ghosts and monsters? How can your family still go to see it?"

"Keep your voice down." Mrs. Xu looked around and then leaned in to say, "Of course I was watching secretly, and it's still open and aboveboard!"

In the end, the topic gradually went off the track and when the two looked up and saw that the others had already gotten ahead, they didn't delay any longer and started to catch up.

When I caught up with him, before I could catch my breath, some young wives of the same age next to me said, "There's a stranger living in your house. I heard he's from Xujia Village, why is he living in your house?"

There are no secrets that can be hidden in this rural area. When someone asks a question, everyone else will prick up their ears and stare with their eyes wide open.

Mrs. Xu and her second sister-in-law looked at each other and thought that their mother-in-law was amazing. She knew that someone would definitely ask questions, so she gave the explanation to them in advance.

So when Wang Tiantian heard the news, everyone was saying, "Xu Qinghua's family is so kind! This was a favor from over ten years ago, and they still remember it. Now that the father is gone, they're repaying him through his son."

When the older generation learned about this, they all said, "People still need to cultivate virtue. If you cultivate virtue well, you will be rewarded no matter where you are."

When Wang Tiantian returned home at noon, she was embarrassed and angry when she told her daughter about it. "Your second uncle is so smart. He gets all the benefits and good reputation every day. He just makes people think how stupid I was a few days ago."

Xu Mai is a bit arrogant, but she's a good person. A few days ago, she was worried about affecting her brother, so she followed her mother's lead. Now that she has nothing to worry about, she said, "Well, my second uncle was just thinking about repaying his kindness, so there's nothing wrong with that."

Xu's mother said unhappily: "I think you are just like your father, you are related to your old Xu family, and I, your mother, will not be wronged!"

Xu Mai really didn’t feel that her mother had suffered any injustice. After all, it was she who gave others a hard time a few days ago, and they had to bear it.

But in this era, not getting married at this age is a mistake in itself. If she opens her mouth again, her mother will say something, so she is smart enough to keep quiet.

Wang Tiantian was upset to see her daughter like this, but she knew it was unreasonable, so she started cooking while mumbling.

As for Xu Nian, she was in dire straits. She just got home yesterday and had a good sleep. She was a little excited when she woke up this morning. No matter what, Xu Hongqi was under her nose.

But she thought too simply. The current situation was that Xu Hongqi was under her nose, and it was obvious that she was being held in his hands.

Xu Nian was holding a pencil and was lying in Xu Hongqi's room writing the test paper that someone had given her last night. So everyone took the excuses she had made seriously, except her who thought they were just talk.

When Xu Hongqi gave Xu Nian the questions that morning, Xu's parents were all beaming. They kept telling Xu Nian, "Study hard with your brother Hongqi. I heard Hongqi is a very good student."

Before leaving, he even said, "You don't need to watch over the children. They are playing in the fields with us. Please pay attention to Hongqi's injury."

Xu Nian felt that her family members were much more capable of "conquering" than she was.

After dinner, Xu Nian washed the dishes so slowly that it was almost like a super slow motion camera. When he could no longer delay, he reluctantly took the test paper and pen and went to the next room.

Standing at the door, Xu Fengcheng was about to offer his last courtesy before going to work. He filled the teacup with water and placed it next to the other person. Xu Nian felt his mouth twitch when he saw it.

Xu Hongqi saw that Xu Nian was still indifferent. She didn't know how it turned out like this. They were obviously very friendly at the beginning. Could it be that she saw his true face and he gave up on himself?

Xu Nian was still thinking when Xu Hongqi sat on the bed, looking at her at the door and said, "Just finish the questions in your room and give them to me when you're done."

After listening to this, Xu Nian also nodded with a sullen expression, then took the test paper back into his room, feeling much more at ease instantly.