Chapter 3 Chapter 3

After calling her uncle, grandma's mood was obviously much lower, and Qiao Jiaxin could see it.

But in front of her, grandma still forced a smile and said, "Your uncle has something else to do. We can talk about our business tonight."

Qiao Jiaxin said "hmm".

She didn't hear what her uncle said on the phone, but judging from her grandmother's expression, it was probably more than just being busy with work.

After paying 60 cents for the phone bill, Liu Shuqin took Qiao Jiaxin to the nearest vegetable market.

She said that several uncles would come to dinner tonight, so she wanted to buy some meat and vegetables to make dumplings for them.

Chive and egg filling and pork, vermicelli and green onion filling.

Liu Shuqin has been making these two fillings for more than 40 years and never gets tired of them because her four sons love them the most. Every time she makes them, they can eat a big bowl.

Stuffing, kneading dough, rolling out dough, wrapping stuffing...

Liu Shuqin and Qiao Jiaxin started working at two o'clock in the afternoon. The plump dumplings soon filled up two bamboo grates, and the others that could not fit were squeezed into rows on the newspaper on the table.

The children haven’t come to our house for dinner together for a long time. I wonder if my daughter-in-law and grandchildren will come.

One hundred and eighty? Two hundred?

That should be enough for them to eat.

It took a whole afternoon to make so many dumplings.

While making dumplings, Liu Shuqin did not imagine her life after moving to her uncle's house like she did at noon. Instead, she talked to her granddaughter about how she should study hard, learn to be independent, and take care of herself.

Qiao Jiaxin felt vaguely uneasy, but since her grandma didn't say it explicitly, she pretended not to know and just responded by rolling out the dumpling wrappers.

In the evening, just as the first plate of dumplings was put into the pot, there was a knock on the door.

Boom boom boom…

"Here I come."

Qiao Jiaxin took the initiative to run to open the door.

The first to arrive was my third uncle Qiao Wangnan, carrying a bag of apples, a bag of egg cakes and several bottles of milk.

"You just got out of the hospital. You need to rest well and eat more good food to replenish your body."

Qiao Jiaxin nodded and said, "Thank you, Third Uncle."

Qiao Wangnan said that he cared about Qiao Jiaxin, but when he handed the things to her, he also handed over the briefcase under his arm.

After scanning the room, he casually pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "Is there any water? Pour me a glass."

This is the truest side of Qiao Wangnan.

Treat Qiao Jiaxin as "politely" as you would instruct a waiter in a restaurant.

"good."

After putting her things away, Qiao Jiaxin took out the thermos and poured him a glass of water.

Qiao Wangnan had no intention of drinking. Instead, he stood up and walked towards the kitchen, where Liu Shuqin was cooking dumplings. "My brother said he had something to discuss tonight? What is it?"

Liu Shuqin used a strainer to push the dumplings in the pot and didn't tell him directly: "It's a matter for the future. You'll know when your brother comes."

Qiao Wangnan didn't ask any further questions, and the corners of his eyebrows unconsciously raised, as if he had guessed something good.

As soon as the first pot of dumplings was taken out, Qiao Wangnan couldn't wait to pinch one and put it in his mouth.

"Chive stuffing again?"

The dumpling filling that he loved most in the past now made him frown.

"We also have meat vermicelli noodles," Liu Shuqin picked up another one with her chopsticks and handed it to him, "You can have this one."

Qiao Wangnan didn't reach out to take it, and even put the chive dumpling that he had only taken a bite of back into the bowl. "Forget it, it's hot today, I'm not that hungry."

"Fabricated. (Picky eater)"

Liu Shuqin rolled her eyes at him, picked up the dumplings he had left over and put them in her mouth.

"Why don't you bring your wife and Xiaolai?" Liu Shuqin asked.

Qiao Wangnan walked out of the kitchen and looked at the furnishings in the house as if it was his first time inspecting. "They didn't let them in. We have family matters, why would we ask them to come?"

It seems that the eldest and second eldest sons will not bring their children with them.

Looking at the many dumplings on the bamboo grate, Liu Shuqin said calmly, "Then I'll put fewer dumplings in. You can take the rest home and put them in the refrigerator tonight."

Qiao Wangnan didn't respond and just flipped through the old calendar.

Qiao Jiaxin was sitting at the table peeling garlic. Qiao Wangnan glanced at her and didn't want to talk to her.

The atmosphere in the room was a little awkward, but fortunately, after about twenty minutes, Qiao Wangdong and Qiao Wangxi also arrived home together.

Only the youngest, Qiao Wangbei, didn’t come.

Looking at the time on his watch, Qiao Wangdong had no intention of waiting for him, so he took a sip of water in the cup and prepared to start today's family meeting.

“Mom, you…”

"You brothers, have a chat."

This time, it was Liu Shuqin's turn to interrupt him, "I still have so many dumplings to cook."

Liu Shuqin still holds the feudal ideas of the older generation: obey your husband after marriage and obey your son after your husband's death.

She is just a woman, what can she understand?

When your husband is around, you listen to him. When he is gone, his sons will be in charge and you just have to follow their arrangements.

Not only herself, she also called Qiao Jiaxin into the kitchen to give them a place to talk.

Qiao Wangdong did not refuse. Faced with this sudden responsibility, he straightened his back a lot.

Placing his hands on his knees, Qiao Wangdong adjusted his glasses and said earnestly, "This is it. Our father just passed away, and our mother is old. It wasn't easy for us to be raised by our parents. They went through many ups and downs for decades and suffered a lot."

"I called you here today to discuss our mother's future care. After all, she's not just my mother, so we still have to discuss it together..."

As expected of a school teacher, Qiao Wangdong spoke in a very literary manner, as if he was giving a meeting to students in school.

After laying the groundwork for a long time, we finally got to the point.

"I must raise it."

Qiao Wangxi responded straightforwardly, but within seconds his tone changed. "But brother, you know my situation. We don't earn much, and I'm not well off. This..."

"So let's discuss it together." Qiao Wangdong replied.

After listening to him preach for a long time, Qiao Wangnan became a little impatient. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "Brother, don't beat around the bush. Just tell me directly. What are you going to do?"

Qiao Wangdong: "Our father is gone, and our mother doesn't make money. My idea is that we brothers should pool our money and give our mother some money every month so that she and Jiaxin can continue to live."

Give me money? Isn't that to take me back home?

When Liu Shuqin heard Qiao Wangdong's suggestion, her hand, which was about to add water to the pot, suddenly trembled.

"I think so."

"Yes, no problem."

"Then how much is appropriate to give each month?"

"My dad used to earn 90 a month, so 120 a month should be enough for us."

"Are we just the three of us pooling our money? No one four will give it to us?"

"Don't you understand his situation? He's lucky enough to be able to support himself, so how could he have any spare money?"

"That's it, then? 40 each, delivered to Mom on the first of every month."

"middle."

120? How is that enough?

The old man's salary of 90 yuan is not bad, but in order to support Qiao Jiaxin's schooling, he also has to do some odd jobs, which is barely enough to take care of the food and drink for the three of them.

Qiao Jiaxin is only in high school now, and by the time she gets into college, it will be a drop in the bucket...

The brothers talked for less than ten minutes and decided on Liu Shuqin's arrangements for her later years.

Qiao Wangdong came to the kitchen on behalf of his brothers. Before he could say anything, Liu Shuqin blocked his mouth: "Jiaxin is grown up now. I'm not in good health and have to take blood pressure medication occasionally. 120 yuan a month is definitely not enough."

Qiao Wangdong was silent for a few seconds and said, "What about 140 yuan?"

Liu Shuqin originally hoped that they would take her home and take her in to be supported.

But after listening to them talk for so long just now, it was as if they had lost their memory and no one mentioned this matter.

She had no choice but to muster up the courage to speak, "I don't want money. I'm almost seventy now, and Jiaxin is still young. To put it bluntly, if there is no one around to take care of her, what will happen if something happens?"

Qiao Wensheng’s death made Liu Shuqin even more afraid of death.

She was afraid that she would die suddenly one day, and she was also afraid that her granddaughter would become an orphan again after her death.

So she wanted to live with her sons so that she could enjoy her old age and also provide a home for her granddaughter.

"You want to live with me?"

Qiao Wangxi was the first to understand what she meant.

Liu Shuqin: "When you're older, don't you usually live with your children? Didn't you say a long time ago that you wanted to bring me and your dad over to live with you?"

As soon as Liu Shuqin said this, the room fell into deathly silence. Only the boiling pot was still bubbling.

The thing she feared most happened.

None of her sons, who had once competed to take care of her in her old age, spoke a word at this moment.

You look at me, I look at him, and everyone subconsciously avoids each other's gaze.

None of them had expected that the words they had said to make their parents happy would actually come true.

Liu Shuqin also wanted to follow her sons' arrangements, but she could not accept such an arrangement that relied on money to get her things done.

Even if one has to "follow the son after the husband's death", one should live under the son's roof.

Seeing that they were still silent, Liu Shuqin had to take the initiative to start a conversation: "Jiaxin and I don't want money. Just enough to give us mother and daughter a meal and a bed."

The four brothers of the Qiao family knew that providing for the elderly was not that simple.

Suddenly, there are two more people in the family, which means not only two more pairs of chopsticks, but also food, clothing, housing and transportation, everything costs money, and the total cost is definitely more than 100 yuan. If one of them has a headache or a fever, it will be even more troublesome.

It's not just money. Taking care of the elderly also requires more energy. It's usually a hassle for them to come back for a meal, let alone having to stay with them day and night in the future?

"Aren't you living well here?" Qiao Wangnan said.

Liu Shuqin: "This house was originally given to your father by the factory as a temporary residence. After all, it's not our house. Now that your father is gone, how long can Jiaxin and I live here?"

As soon as Liu Shuqin finished speaking, Qiao Wangxi said hurriedly, "Mom, you asked me to give you some living expenses every month. I can still come up with some, but if you want to move to my house... there really is no extra room."

"My house is so small, there's only room for two adults and two children. If you and Jiaxin move in together, there's really no place to live."

Liu Shuqin knew about Qiao Wangxi's situation. The couple worked as craftsmen and had to raise two children, so their life was very tight.

When she looked at Qiao Wangnan, he shuddered and said, "Mom, our house is big, but there's no one at home. Yingzi and I are busy with business and are rarely at home. There's no difference between you living in my house and here."

"Besides, there are stairs in my house. You are old and it is inconvenient for you to go up and down the stairs. What if you fall?"

Liu Shuqin didn't say anything, but looked at Qiao Wangdong beside her again.

Liu Shuqin's gaze was not scorching, nor did it contain the slightest hint of aggression, but when they looked at each other, Qiao Wangdong subconsciously took half a step back.

"As you know, Dongmei's parents are living in our house now. Dongmei is an only child, and her parents are counting on her to support them in their old age. We are both in our forties, and we really don't have the energy to take care of too many people."

Gulp gulp...

The dumplings in the pot were cooked for too long and several of them leaked their fillings.

Liu Shuqin used a colander to scoop the dumplings out of the pot and sighed in disappointment.

When the old man was around, they were all very attentive, always clamoring to take them back home to live. Now that the old man is gone, they are as evasive as the devil, finding all kinds of excuses to put them off.

People say raising children is a way to prepare for old age, but are you preparing for your own old age?

In the days after Qiao Wensheng's death, Liu Shuqin thought she had cried all the tears she would ever cry.

Unexpectedly, after seeing the dumplings with the filling leaking out of the pot, she was still moved to tears by the scorching heat.

Seeing that her grandma's eyes were red, Qiao Jiaxin, who was accompanying her, took the initiative to reach out and wipe away her tears.

She didn't know how to comfort her grandma, so she could only stay by her side firmly and accompany her every step of the way.

Qiao Wangdong: "Mom, no, that's not what we meant."

Seeing Liu Shuqin crying, her sons hurriedly tried to explain.

Qiao Wangnan: "It's not that we don't want to provide for your retirement."

Qiao Wangxi: "Yeah, but, but..."

Just as Qiao Wangxi was thinking about what kind of excuse to make, Qiao Wangdong picked up on him and said, "It's just that we don't have enough ability. It's okay to support one of you, but if we have to support two, we will have a hard time handling it."

Liu Shuqin turned her head and looked at him in surprise: "So what you mean is that you don't want to support Jiaxin anymore?"