Judgment

Xu Hongqi's voice was neither loud nor soft. There were other people from the village in the car. They rarely saw Xu Hongqi, and he looked like a cold and taciturn young man. So they just talked about him behind his back, and no one said a word to his face.

In the past two years, Xu's mother has become accustomed to his behavior of going out to play with friends from time to time, and only reminds him to be careful and go home early.

The people in the car were doing what they were supposed to do, and didn't notice the ripples in Duan Jiang's eyes. Xu Qingli was too familiar with her husband, and she was a little confused but didn't say anything.

It was not boring for the whole family to go out and chat and laugh. It didn't feel like they arrived soon. The younger generation was the first to get off the car. The grandchildren were too sensible. Seeing that their grandfather was sitting on the side, they were afraid that it would be inconvenient for him. Xu Fengkai didn't know what he was thinking, but he directly carried their grandfather out of the donkey cart.

This action shocked everyone. Their first reaction was not that he was strong, but that they would definitely be scolded by the old man who valued his reputation.

What everyone thought was right. Xu Xiuman himself was shocked. Damn it, this is the county town, it's not like he can't move. What is his grandson doing? It's so embarrassing.

He pushed his grandson away and yelled, "Hurry up and get up! What are you doing, you idiot?"

Xu Fengkai's fat, white face turned red in an instant, and Grandma Xu, who had been holding back her laughter, could no longer hold back her laughter. Following her lead, everyone, although not laughing so wildly, were all holding back their laughter until their faces flushed and their mouths twitched.

Seeing that his wife was about to get angry, he hurriedly called out to his grandson, "Feng Kai, come quickly and take the milk down."

Xu Fengkai had been looked down upon several times by his father, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his grandmother rescue him. As if he had been unsealed, he ran to his grandmother and carried her down to seek shelter.

Among them, only her grandmother and her aunt laughed out loud with her. Her grandfather's eyes were as sharp as embroidery needles, but her aunt had a backer, and her husband directly carried her down to save face for the old man.

Now only Xu Nian was left in the car. She wanted to jump out quickly, but ended up being a step too late for everyone.

In the blink of an eye, a sentence kept repeating in my mind: I won’t pretend anymore, I’m going to reveal my cards now, whatever happens.

This episode ended with the old man taking the first step. Xu Nian felt that he should make amends and diligently led the way to the photo studio.

After entering the photo studio, Xu Nian saw the master from last time talking to someone. She looked around but didn't see Qi Meiyue. She was confused, but before she could take a closer look, the master saw them come in, stopped talking, and came forward to greet them.

He recognized Xu Nian and Xu Hongqi. Some time ago, this boy came to pick up photos. Since they had seen each other more often, he asked him, "Is this a family photo?"

Xu Hongqi hummed, then added, "I brought them here, I won't follow them."

The photographer thought he had just taken the photo and didn't want to spend any more money, so he nodded.

After Xu Hongqi finished speaking, he glanced at Xu Nian, said hello to the Xu family, and left.

Xu Nian frowned as she looked at his back, then noticed that her uncle was looking at her, so she quickly adjusted her attitude and smiled like a lady.

This photo shoot took a long time. We originally thought of just taking a family portrait, but then the young couples said they had never taken a photo before their wedding, so they took the opportunity to take a group photo. We took photos in groups of three or four, and it took a long time. There were a lot more photos than originally planned. Fortunately, my brother-in-law was generous and paid for the tickets directly.

Xu Fengcheng came for an hour during the photo shoot. Xu Hongqi went to find him specifically and told him about the photo shoot at home today. After listening, he went back and asked for an hour and a half off.

The family was naturally surprised to see him coming. What is a family photo? Of course, it can only be called that when the whole family is together. It's just that people now regard being a worker as a sacred profession and dare not delay him from work. Now that Xu Fengcheng can come, everyone feels happy and thinks that Xu Hongqi is capable and likable.

After the photos were taken, we agreed with the photo studio to pick them up three days later, and then we left the studio.

Xu Xiuman thought a lot. His son-in-law spent a lot of money on tickets and photos, so he didn't let everyone go home for dinner. Instead, he went to a state-owned restaurant and ordered three meat dishes and five vegetable dishes, and had a lively meal.

——

Everyone in the village was completely idle now that they didn't have to work. The Xu family had a lot of labor, so Xu Nian no longer needed to help with anything, and she even had less time to take care of the children. According to her personality, she would have been so happy that she didn't know what to do, but for some reason, she felt a tightness in her chest these past two days.

Three days later was the day to pick up the photos. Since it was Duan Jiang who paid for the ticket, he said he would go. Naturally, his family disagreed at first, thinking that the son-in-law was a guest and they couldn't let him run errands. As a result, Duan Jiang was too determined, and his family had no choice but to let him make the hard trip.

Xu Nian originally wanted to go with them to see Xu Hongqi, but he felt very uncomfortable and tight in his chest today and had no strength, so he didn't go in the end.

When Xu Qingli heard from her second sister-in-law that Xu Nian was not feeling well and had not left after dinner, she took her pulse. Xu Nian was also afraid that she was sick, so she was very cooperative and answered everything she asked. She just sighed that having a doctor at home had many benefits. She heard that her sister-in-law also took her grandparents to the county hospital for a simple physical examination, and also paid for a bunch of nutritional supplements.

Xu Qingli withdrew her hand and asked, "Have you had your period?"

Xu Nian always felt that something was missing, but now she suddenly realized that it seemed that she had never come. After the New Year, she would be fifteen years old. It would be a bit strange if she didn't come at this age.

She shook her head.

"That's it. I took your pulse and it was flowing smoothly, like beads rolling on a plate, but there was some dampness, coldness, and qi deficiency, so it took so long. This is common."

He joked again, "Is it because you've eaten well this year? It seems you've gotten enough nutrition. Although your Qi is weak, you have Qi to support it. I'll add some brown sugar and egg water tonight, and it will only take two days."

When Xu Nian heard what her aunt said, she thought of Xu Hongqi. This year was really a blessing for her. She never missed a bite to eat the whole year. When she came back this time, her childhood friend Yanzi said that she had grown taller and was now almost 1.6 meters tall.

Seeing her daughter suddenly become quiet, Xu's mother thought she didn't understand. She thought the girl was older now, and she would have to talk to her later. Then she looked at her sister-in-law and said, "Qingli, it's a good thing you're here, otherwise I'd be so scared that I'd have to take her to the hospital." At this point, she thought of her sister-in-law's ticket to leave tomorrow afternoon, and she felt a little empty in her heart. She murmured, "If only I could stay here forever."

Xu Qingli touched her niece's face, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. People say there are eight kinds of suffering in life, one of which is separation from loved ones. Every time she leaves, she feels pain for a long time...

By the evening, Duan Jiang still hadn't returned. Xu Qingli came to tell him and wanted to go look for him. Xu Nian was having egg and brown sugar water as a snack at the time. After hearing what she said, he felt not only chest tightness but also uneasiness.

She thought, this can't be menstrual syndrome, right?

The men of the Xu family persuaded Xu Qingli to stay at home, and they all put on their thickest clothes and went out to look for someone. Xu Nian felt a sudden pain in his chest. He listened to their footsteps gradually moving away, and sat in the quilt and rubbed his chest.

She was also very tired, and she didn't know when she fell asleep while she was lost in thought. She woke up to the noise.

The room was pitch black and she couldn't see anything. It took her a while to adjust to the darkness. She seemed to hear Xu Hongqi's voice, and without caring about the cold clothes, she quickly got dressed and went out.

There was no one in the yard, but there was light coming through the windows of the main hall, casting a faint afterglow directly in front of it.

Xu Nian walked into the lobby without hesitation. There was no outsider here except Xu's parents and two brothers. Xu Qingli was standing next to Duan Jiang, and there was only one person standing alone between them.

Xu Nian's sudden entry made everyone's attention focused on her, but Xu Hongqi did not move, and even her head seemed to be even heavier, hanging low.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" Xu Nian felt his throat was hoarse again after he spoke.

No one spoke, their expressions looked ugly, and the cold air was sucked into everyone's chest.

Xu Nian looked around at them, then slowly walked over and stood next to Xu Hongqi, and spoke again, "Why are you guys acting like you're interrogating a criminal?"

Her words carried weight, causing Xu Hongqi beside her to breathe rapidly. Father Xu sighed heavily under the pressure. He looked again and again at his brother-in-law with a stern face, and then looked anxiously at his sister several times. Seeing that the two did not respond, he pleaded, "Xiao Duan, please don't send him in. He is still young."

"If there's any fault, it's mine. I'd never done anything like this before Hongqi came home. He's a poor kid, but a self-reliant one. He only went to school a few days throughout junior high school, yet he still managed to get first place in the high school entrance exam. How much effort and dedication went into that..." She glanced at Xu Qingli, "Our Qingli's been through it all, so she understands it best."

"All the wrong things he did now are because he came to my house. I didn't manage him well. I feel guilty towards his parents. They have given me a great favor, but I didn't do anything right.

After the New Year, Hongqi will take the college entrance examination during the summer vacation. He is a promising student. If he goes in now, his life will be ruined."

As Mr. Xu spoke, his eyes turned red and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened. Xu Nian suddenly understood that Xu Hongqi had been caught.

She didn't know how long she was stunned, maybe five minutes or maybe five seconds. Tears fell uncontrollably and her stomach began to ache.

There was only one thought in her mind: Xu Hongqi must not be imprisoned, nor be shot. She woke up when she felt Xu Hongqi pulling her, and saw that one of her hands was clenched tightly and against her stomach.

Xu Nian moved towards Duan Jiang and burst into tears, but she kept making excuses for him, "Uncle-in-law, please don't report him. This is all my fault. He has enough money to spend. It's all my fault that I always ask him for things. I'm greedy, so he's going astray and trying to make money. Brother Hongqi did that because he was soft-hearted and wanted to repay my family. And he has stopped. He said he would never do it again. Today is the last day. Woo woo woo. When he was a child, he had a friend who was kind to him, so he took the risk and did it one last time."

Xu Nian was crying and hiccuping, his thoughts were unclear and his words were incoherent, but his true feelings were revealed.

Xu Hongqi's eyes were red, but his hands were very gentle as he wiped Xu Nian's tears. "Don't cry, don't cry!"

"Uncle-in-law, please."

"Aunt, please help me persuade my uncle."

Xu Fengjian and Xu Fengkang felt sorry for their little sister when they saw her like this. They felt even worse when they thought about how Xu Hongqi often gave snacks to their children and never came home empty-handed. Everyone knew what the consequences would be if he was caught. He would be shot. A living person could be gone in an instant.

The two of them also pleaded, "Uncle, please let him go this time." After saying that, they turned to their aunt and said it again.

Xu's mother felt the most uncomfortable. She thought of Xu Hongqi's parents. If they hadn't helped her get pregnant, she and Feng Cheng might have died long ago. Now their only child was in trouble, and the one who arrested Hongqi was not someone else, but her own family member. How ridiculous!

Duan Jiang naturally felt bad facing the Xu family's old and young begging and crying. His wife didn't ask for help because she loved him, and that made things difficult for him...

What about him? Can principles really not be changed once?