Chapter 165 Joy and Sorrow How many people have dreamed of this day but have yet to experience it...

The resumption of setting off firecrackers brought back the festive atmosphere and made things lively. However, when the sky was just getting light, Wang Ying was woken up by the sound of firecrackers. She turned around to look at her daughter, Yueyue, who was sleeping soundly.

Zhao Yunsheng also woke up and saw Wang Ying tucking his daughter in. He whispered, "Are you awake?"

"No, children are weak."

Zhao Yunsheng pulled Wang Ying's arm under the quilt, folded her arms, and hugged her from behind. He held her hand and whispered in her ear, "Happy New Year, Yingzi."

Wang Ying chuckled softly, "You too."

There was a noise downstairs, and Zhao Yunsheng said, "Dad should be setting off firecrackers. Cover Yueyue's ears."

Soon the sound of firecrackers was heard downstairs. Although Wang Ying blocked the child's ears, she was still startled and shrank back, frowned, and continued to sleep.

Wang Ying and Zhao Yunsheng cuddled in bed for a while until they heard the noise outside getting louder and louder, so they got up. They had just finished getting dressed when the sound of firecrackers from the neighbor's house finally woke Yueyue up.

Wang Ying dressed her daughter in new clothes, and the three of them went downstairs together. Zhao Yunsheng taught Yueyue how to say New Year's greetings.

When she got downstairs, Yueyue immediately went to her grandparents to wish them a happy new year and happily received two red envelopes. She then went to her aunt and sister to wish them a happy new year and received red envelopes and candies as well.

After breakfast, people came to pay New Year's greetings one after another, mostly children. Chen Xiuqin asked Dongbao and Yueyue to join the children's New Year's greetings team and visit each house in the alley to pay New Year's greetings, just for fun and excitement.

Wang Ying has been married for several years, but she is not very familiar with the neighbors. Today, many people came to her house to wish her a happy new year, and this was the first time Wang Ying had seen them.

Seeing the small fish biscuits in Wang Ying's fruit bowl, many adults couldn't help but grab two to eat.

"Third sister-in-law, when will your factory resume work?" A distant cousin of Zhao Yunsheng asked while eating biscuits.

"We will go back to work after the holiday," said Wang Ying.

"Produce more of these cookies. We can't buy them even if we want to."

Wang Ying smiled and said, "Then grab more to eat."

In the morning, everyone who came to Wang Ying's house to pay New Year's greetings would grab two cookies to eat. Some adults would want more after eating two, but were too embarrassed to take more. When they left, Wang Ying would pack some for each of them.

By noon, there were still some other things left in the fruit plate, but not a single fish biscuit was left.

In the afternoon, Chen Xiuqin and Zhao Chengjun took their two children out to pay New Year's greetings. Zhao Yunfei also went out, leaving Zhao Yunsheng and Wang Ying at home.

The weather was fine, so Zhao Yunsheng moved a small table to the terrace, put some melon seeds, candies and tea on it, and he and Wang Ying enjoyed their rare leisure time.

The sun was warm, and Wang Ying sat on his back, feeling so comfortable that he didn't want to move at all, and even his speech became slow. Zhao Yunsheng peeled a handful of sunflower seeds and peanuts, placed them on a small plate, and let Wang Ying pinch them to eat.

"How is it? Are you comfortable?" Zhao Yunsheng asked.

"Well, I want to lie like this every day and wait for you to feed me." Wang Ying said slowly.

"I asked you to lie down for three days, but you couldn't stand it and wanted to find something to do." Zhao Yunsheng said with a smile.

Wang Ying also laughed. She had always felt that she was a boring person, and that she could only find some fun at work. With Zhao Yunsheng's ability, she could certainly lie at home and do nothing, but that wouldn't be her style.

The two stayed on the terrace until the sun was setting. Someone came to pay New Year's greetings, but Wang Ying didn't go downstairs. She asked Zhao Yunsheng to greet them. She closed her eyes and almost fell asleep.

When Zhao Yunfei came back with her boyfriend, Wang Yingcai became energetic and ran downstairs immediately.

"Yingzi, this is my boyfriend Huang Chen." Zhao Yunfei introduced to Wang Ying.

"Hello, Comrade Huang." Wang Ying greeted him politely, looked him up and down, and felt that this man was most likely a doctor.

Sure enough, Zhao Yunfei then said, "This is the doctor from our hospital."

"Doctor Huang." Wang Ying called again.

Dr. Huang is gentle and elegant, slightly shorter than Zhao Yunsheng. He speaks slowly and softly and is very friendly.

Zhao Yunsheng treated Dr. Huang to tea and snacks. Wang Ying gave Zhao Yunfei a look, and the two of them went to the kitchen to talk in private.

"Why did you come here suddenly? Do my parents know? Does Dongbao know?" Wang Ying asked in a low voice.

"Dongbao knows, but his parents don't know yet," said Zhao Yunfei.

"It's enough as long as Dongbao knows it." Wang Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's very sensible," Zhao Yunfei said. "Besides, she's very sensitive, even though she's little. She was the one who took the initiative to tell me that she would be happy if she had a new father. I took her to see Huang Chen twice, and she was quite satisfied."

"Dongbao has been sensible since he was young. What's the situation at Doctor Huang's family? He doesn't look young anymore," said Wang Ying.

"Well, he is five years older than me. Both his parents are gone. He had a wife who passed away many years ago. He also has a daughter at home. The girl is very well-behaved and is in junior high school." Zhao Yunfei said.

"That's fine, as long as the two children don't object." The biggest fear in a reconstituted family is the issue of children.

Chen Xiuqin and her husband returned with their children after visiting the New Year. When they entered the yard, they saw a stranger sitting on the sofa in the main hall.

When Zhao Yunfei saw her parents and children coming back, she hurriedly took Huang Chen out to greet them.

Chen Xiuqin immediately understood that this was her daughter's boyfriend. Dongbao was quite happy to see Huang Chen and called out, "Uncle Huang."

Chen Xiuqin looked down at Dongbao and thought, "Oh, it turns out the children know everything, but the old couple don't know yet."

Zhao Yunfei introduced Huang Chen to Chen Xiuqin and the others with a smile. Chen Xiuqin looked Huang Chen up and down and felt pretty good about him.

After some understanding, Chen Xiuqin and Zhao Chengjun were quite satisfied with Huang Chen. In the evening, Huang Chen said goodbye, and the Zhao family asked Huang Chen to stay for dinner, but he said that his child was alone at home, so he did not stay.

Chen Xiuqin immediately asked him to bring his child with him next time, which showed that she was very satisfied with him. Huang Chen also said that he would bring his daughter to pay New Year's greetings in two days.

As soon as Huang Chen left, Chen Xiuqin began to interrogate her daughter. Zhao Yunfei also confessed honestly that they had been dating for more than a year and they were planning to get married this year.

Chen Xiuqin looked at Dongbao, and Zhao Yunfei said, "Don't worry, Mom. Dongbao agrees. I've told her. His daughter agrees too. We're thinking of getting the marriage certificate this spring so we can have a meal together as a family."

"Anyway, you should think about it yourself. We are doctors in the same hospital, so it's good that we know each other well. But you two must be busy and have no time to take care of the child. Dongbao can still live with me." Chen Xiuqin was reluctant to part with her granddaughter.

"Let's talk about this later. Dongbao will be old enough to go to school by himself," said Zhao Yunfei.

Chen Xiuqin did not insist any further, as her daughter would definitely take the child with her when she remarried.

After dinner, Chen Xiuqin quietly called Dongbao to her room and asked her, "Dongbao, do you really agree to Mom marrying Uncle Huang?"

Dongbao nodded: "I agree. I hope Mom and Uncle Huang can be like my aunt and uncle."

Chen Xiuqin smiled and touched Dongbao's head: "As long as you agree."

Before going to bed at night, Chen Xiuqin went to Zhao Yunfei's room again and asked her to invite Huang Chen and his daughter to her home before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and set the date for the wedding.

Early in the morning on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Ying and his wife took Yueyue back to her parents' home.

Li Fengju would go to the gate of the yard early in the morning and look into the alley from time to time, hoping that her daughter would come back.

"Why so early?" Wang Yongren muttered when he saw her go to look again.

"It's not early anymore." Li Fengju said.

"Happy New Year, Fengju. What are you doing standing at the door?" The neighbor greeted Li Fengju.

"Hello to you too. Hi, what can you do? Wait for the baby." Li Fengju sighed with a smile.

"Both of your daughters have married well. Yingzi is very promising and has become a factory director. Their factory can't even buy new biscuits this year. My little Sanzi has been arguing with me for a few days, asking me to buy some for him." The neighbor stopped and talked to Li Fengju.

"Your Dajun is not bad either. The Water Conservancy Bureau is a good unit." Li Fengju also flattered the other party.

Sure enough, the other party was happy when he heard it, and the two of them praised each other's children. Li Fengju saw Wang Ying's family of three turn into the alley.

Yueyue sat in a children's chair and looked at Li Fengju from a distance and started shouting, "Grandma!"

Li Fengju hurriedly walked forward with a smile, and the neighbor followed her.

Zhao Yunsheng rode his carriage to Li Fengju, got off to greet her, and carried Yueyue out of the carriage.

"Yingzi, when will your factory resume work? When will the biscuits be available?" the neighbor asked as soon as he caught Wang Ying.

"It's almost there. In a week at most, grocery stores and department stores will have them." Wang Ying said with a smile.

"That's good." The man gave Wang Ying a thumbs-up. "In our alley, you're the best! The most capable!"

"No, no, you're too kind." Wang Ying said politely.

"I won't keep you any longer. See you later. Come to my house when you have time."

"Okay."

"Grandma, is my sister here?" Yueyue asked Li Fengju.

"She hasn't come back yet," Li Fengju said. She had taken Huanhuan home for two days the previous time, and since she sent her back, Wang Hui hadn't come once, and Li Fengju hadn't been to the Du family either.

"Will my sister come? Does grandpa need to pick her up?" Yueyue asked.

"I will definitely come." said Li Fengju.

Wang Hui and her family were almost there. She didn't like going back to her parents' home and didn't want to see them. But she disliked her two sisters-in-law even more. The sisters-in-law were coming back to her parents' home today, but Wang Hui didn't care about them. She was too lazy to serve them. Instead of serving the sisters-in-law, she would rather go home and let her mother serve her.

As Yueyue was waiting, Wang Hui and her family arrived in less than a quarter of an hour.

Wang Hui looked very healthy and in good spirits. She was wearing a new woolen coat and short leather boots, looking stylish and beautiful. One could tell at a glance that she was living a good life.

The adults were all pretending to be polite when they met, but the two children were truly happy.

After greeting each other and having tea, the two families no longer maintained even the false politeness. Wang Ying and Zhao Yunsheng went to the east room, while Wang Hui and Du Jianguo went to the west room, without saying a word.

Li Fengju was too lazy to care about them and she and Lao Wang were busy preparing lunch in the kitchen.

Around noon, there was a knock on the gate of Old Wang's house. Wang Yongren opened the door and saw that it was Du Weimin.

"Relatives?" Wang Yongren was a little surprised, but hurriedly invited him into the house.

"No, I'm here to pick up Jianguo and the others. His grandmother has passed away," said Du Weimin.

"Ouch!" Wang Yongren exclaimed, and hurried back to his room. Du Weimin, holding his bicycle, did not enter the yard, but waited outside the door.

Wang Yongren ran to the west and said hurriedly, "Jianguo, Huihui, go back quickly, your grandma is gone."

"Ah?" The two didn't react for a moment.

"Hurry up, your dad is here to pick you up." Wang Yongren urged again.

Wang Hui and Du Jianguo came to their senses and hurriedly stood up to walk out. Du Jianguo didn't have time to say anything else, just picked up Huanhuan and left.

Huanhuan was carried away before she could even cry. Yueyue, who stayed behind, started crying when she saw her sister being carried away.

"What's going on?" Wang Ying came out of the room and asked.

"My uncle took my sister away!" Yueyue said crying.

"Huanhuan's old lady is gone." Wang Yongren said.

Wang Ying held Yueyue in her arms and comforted her, thinking back to the old lady of the Du family. It seemed that this old lady had also passed away earlier than in her previous life...

"Then do my parents have to go to pay their respects?" Wang Ying asked.

"Well, we have to go. Let's prepare the food first and then go check it out in the afternoon. The mourning hall hasn't been set up yet, so there's no rush." Wang Yongren said.

Wang Ying hummed, "There are not enough people for dinner. Ask Mom to make two fewer dishes."

Li Fengju still cooked a table full of dishes. After Wang Ying and the others had their meal, they went straight home.

When Wang Ying and his friends got home, Lao Zhao's family hadn't finished their lunch yet!

"Why did you come back so early? Didn't your parents leave any food for you? Sit down and eat something." Zhao Yunfang joked.

"We've eaten. My younger sister's grandmother passed away, and my parents went to pay their respects, so we came back," said Wang Ying.

-

Du family.

As soon as Du Jianguo got home, he asked his father, "What happened to grandma?"

"That's just how it is when you're old. Don't ask any more questions. I'll just tell you something to do," said Du Weimin.

"What's the matter?" Du Jianguo asked blankly.

"Funeral! What's going on?" Du Weimin said coldly, with a hint of impatience. "You don't understand anything."

Du Jianguo didn't dare to say anything at this moment, and just did what his father said.

Du Jianguo went out to buy funeral supplies, and Du Weimin took his two sons-in-law to clean up the main room to use as a mourning hall.

The family had not yet eaten, and Wang Hui and the two sisters of the Du family were preparing food in the kitchen.

"Wang Hui, you didn't even go to grandma's room after you came back," said Du Wenxiu.

"If you want to see it, go and see it yourself. You can also go with her to show that you are a filial granddaughter." Wang Hui said unhappily.

"You didn't go to see grandma this morning, and you just wanted to run back to your mother's house!" Du Wenli's eyes were red, and she spoke with a nasal tone.

Wang Hui did not go to see it in the morning. She was thinking about going back to her parents' home and forgot about it.

"Will you leave after I see her?" Wang Hui retorted to Du Wenli, "You're so filial! I've never seen you come back to serve her for a day. Stop talking nonsense to me!"

Du Wenli didn't say anything even though Wang Hui contradicted her. She was a married woman now and she wasn't living well in her husband's family. It would be no good if she quarreled with her sister-in-law from her natal family.

The old man passed away at home, probably in his sleep in the middle of the night. In the eyes of most people, this is not a bad thing. He was not young anymore, so it was considered a happy funeral. Wang Hui did not feel any psychological burden at all, and did not think that her poor care for the old man caused his death.

When Wang Yongren and Li Fengju arrived, the Du family's mourning hall had already been set up.

Li Fengju stayed in the mourning hall for a while, then went to Sun Qiaoling's room. Sun Qiaoling's eyes were red. When she saw Li Fengju coming, she opened her mouth to speak, but only two "ah, ah" sounds came out.

Seeing Sun Qiaoling like this, Li Fengju felt very uncomfortable and comforted her, "It's okay, don't think too much. Take good care of yourself. You are still young and you will be fine."

Sun Qiaoling started crying again. Li Fengju sighed and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. Sun Qiaoling tried to grab Li Fengju's hand, but her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't move them.

People from the Du family came to pay their respects one after another, and Li Fengju stayed by Wang Hui's side to help.

With Du Weimin around, the Du family's funeral went smoothly. The old lady was cremated and buried in the cemetery.

After the Du family's funeral, the New Year atmosphere was completely gone.

Wang Hui secretly felt a little relieved, as she now had one less person to serve. However, she didn't dare to say this out loud, only thinking about it secretly.

The day after the old lady was buried, Du Weimin went to talk to Wang Hui and his wife, mainly to Wang Hui.

"Huihui, look, now that grandma's gone, your mom's the only one left at home for you to take care of. Dad wants to talk to you about not rushing back to work?" Du Weimin's tone was like he was coaxing a child. He added, "Anyway, I earn money for you to spend, and my salary is high. It's definitely not worthwhile for me to retire early."

Wang Hui was actually willing in her heart, but she looked a little embarrassed and said, "But I don't have my own job, and I still feel like I'm not good enough. Look at my eldest sister, she's become a factory manager. When I go back to my parents' home, I feel like I'm a nobody."

"What do you mean by promising or not? You are the head of our Du family. Haven't we treated you well? You don't have to go to work. Just stay at home. Jianguo and I will give you both our salaries. How many people want to live this kind of life but can't?" Du Weimin said.

"Then, Dad, you should find another way to help Jianguo." Wang Hui said.

"Don't worry about that. After two years, when he has gained enough experience, I will definitely help him. I only have this one son and you as my daughter-in-law, and I will definitely support you," said Du Weimin.

Wang Hui hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, then, okay."

Du Weimin smiled and said, "Our Huihui is well-behaved, sensible and filial."

Du Jianguo also rushed to flatter Wang Hui. Wang Hui, overwhelmed by the flattery, was willing to stay home and care for the elderly and children, not even mentioning going back to work. She completely forgot what Li Fengju had said to her, convinced she could establish herself in the Du family through her own abilities and keep them in good stead.

Du Weimin stayed until the seventh day after the old lady's death before returning to work. Before leaving, he had another talk with Du Jianguo, mainly asking them to find a way to have a son. He also left a message saying that if no one was born this year, he would find another way.

Du Jianguo wanted to have a son, but he was unable to do so. Du Jianguo had no idea what his father meant by other methods, and he didn't know what his father could do to help him have a son.