Xu Xiangjuan: "Niuniu, you can't just think about candy and cookies."

We walked to grandpa's house today. As we spent more time on the road, Niu Niu had more ideas to talk about.

Guagua was quiet for most of the journey, only Niu Niu kept talking beside him.

Niu Niu found out that he was caught by his mother, and called his sister for help: "Sister."

Guagua: "It's no use yelling at me. I'm no longer a kid who only likes candy and cookies."

Zhou Chengning was carrying more things than Ping'an. Originally, he was the one carrying most of the things, and Ping'an had nothing in his hands. But Ping'an insisted on carrying them, so Xu Xiangjuan gave him the things she had and shared some of the burden for Zhou Chengning.

Except Niu Niu and Gua Gua, everyone carried something.

If Zhou Chengning didn't have anything in his hands, he would slap Niu Niu's butt twice. He has discovered that his patience with Niu Niu is not as strong as that with Gua Gua before. Obviously, Niu Niu is much more obedient now than Gua Gua was back then.

It seems that when good children become dangerous, they can easily make adults angry.

"Mom, I don't want candy and cookies anymore." Niu Niu chose the desire to survive at the right time.

Xu Xiangjuan: "Since you don't want to, Mom will save the cookies and candies for Niu Niu next week and won't give them to Niu Niu... Ping An, you don't need to say anything, just say hello, and when Grandpa talks to you later, just respond to him."

Grandpa is not a talkative person, so there is no need to be too nervous. Besides, Ping An is only meeting grandpa, not the leader.

Song Ping'an felt a little relieved when he heard what his cousin's wife said.

Niu Niu is still worrying about his candy and cookies, but since his mother has spoken, he doesn't dare to mention it, for fear that he will run out of candy and cookies the week after next.

He and his sister only have candy and cookies for two weeks. Next week there will be none. There can't be no next time.

...

Grandpa Zhou is at home today. When he has nothing to do, he usually goes out with old friends, plays chess with other old men, or goes fishing. In short, his life in his old age is quite fulfilling.

After Dezao Town had a grain base, they would walk over to take a look when they had nothing to do.

Because his grandson said that his grandson would come over in the next few days, he did not go out these days and waited at home. He prepared sugar and biscuits for the child, as well as dried meat, which would not spoil easily in the winter.

After waiting for two days, Grandpa Zhou was doing handicrafts at home as usual while waiting for someone. Now there was a light in his room, but since he could still see, he didn't turn on the light to avoid wasting electricity.

"Great grandfather!"

Hearing the child's voice outside, Grandpa Zhou put down the work in his hands and hurried out to answer the call.

"Hello, Grandpa. I'm Ping An." Two children started talking. Song Ping An was not so nervous when he saw the old man and greeted his grandfather.

The Zhou family didn't seem to be talkative. Grandpa Zhou felt a little awkward when he saw Ping An, but he quickly smiled and let Ping An and everyone else into the house.

As soon as he entered the house, Grandpa Zhou took out candy and biscuits.

The candies and biscuits Grandpa Zhou bought were not like the ones Huadu bought, which were packaged in small packages. The ones Grandpa Zhou bought were weighed by kilogram and wrapped in paper.

After opening the paper package, Grandpa Zhou called the children over to eat.

Gua Gua took a biscuit and thanked his great-grandfather before eating it.

Although the cookies and candies at my great-grandfather’s house weren’t as tasty as those in Huadu, they were still very tempting to children.

Niu Niu wanted to eat very much, really wanted to eat very much, but when he thought about what he said on the way, he could only look at his mother.

"If Niu Niu wants to eat, just take it. Do you have to wait for great grandfather to urge you to eat?" Xu Xiangjuan understood Niu Niu's little eyes.

With his mother's consent, Niu Niu grabbed a candy and a biscuit and said thank you to his great-grandfather.

Ping An took a piece of biscuit and ate it. It was inconvenient for him to talk with candy in his mouth.

At first, they were still very unfamiliar with each other, but slowly, Ping'an started chatting with his grandfather whom he met for the first time today.

Talk about parents, talk about my studies, and talk about how grandpa is doing recently.

Niu Niu and Gua Gua stayed nearby, and in between conversations between Great Grandfather and Uncle, they would interrupt to talk about what they had seen and heard in Huadu. What children saw and heard was definitely different from that of adults.

Guagua was fine, but Niu Niu's eyes began to wander as he spoke, and he kept looking at the open paper bags on the small table in front of him. The two bags contained biscuits and candies respectively.

Putting it so obviously in front of a child really tests his or her concentration.

Mom and Dad didn't look over here. They were packing up and organizing the things they brought for Great Grandpa, and didn't look over here.

Niu Niu was torn between his conscience and his desires for a long time, but finally he slowly stretched out his chubby little hand and grabbed a biscuit.

In order to avoid being caught by his mother, Niu Niu immediately stuffed the food into his mouth.

I ate too suddenly and choked, and coughed twice.

Grandpa Zhou paid attention to Niu Niu: "Niu Niu, you don't have to eat the biscuits so quickly. There are still a lot of them here. It's enough for you to eat."

There was hot water in grandpa's room, so Xu Xiangjuan poured a bowl of hot water for Niu Niu. Although Niu Niu was no longer coughing, his little face was flushed. She poured him a bowl of water to help him calm down.

Niu Niu felt much better after drinking the hot water his mother gave him. He slowly finished the biscuits that had made him cough. Fortunately, his mother didn't notice.

How could Xu Xiangjuan not notice that Niu Niu ate another biscuit? It was just that today at her grandfather's house, she turned a blind eye.

Lunch was cooked at my grandfather's house. There was a stove in his room, but when he was cooking, there would be a lot of smoke in the room.

Let grandpa and the children move the benches and chairs outside to sit and chat, while Xu Xiangjuan and Zhou Chengning stay inside to cook.

Seeing that no one took the biscuits and candies out, Niu Niu looked at his indifferent sister and his cousin who was so engrossed in chatting with his great-grandfather that he didn't even remember about the biscuits and candies, and finally went back into the house by himself.

Xu Xiangjuan didn't even need to guess Niu Niu's intentions. She could see with her eyes: "Niu Niu can't eat any more cookies. Don't you want to have lunch?"

If Niu Niu wanted to reach for the cookies on the small table, she would definitely stop him.

Niu Niu: "Mom, one piece."

"Half a piece." Xu Xiangjuan said in a tone that did not allow for negotiation. She took a biscuit, broke it in two, and only gave half to Niu Niu.

Niu Niu, who took half a biscuit, at least had some material comfort, and went out to reunite with his great-grandfather and his cousin and sister.

Now that Niu Niu is outside, he is no longer tempted by cookies and candies, so he can talk properly and his attention is not distracted.

"The cookies are quite fragrant. Aning, you should have one too."

The children were there just now, so it was inconvenient for her to get it. Now she had eaten half a piece and it tasted good, so she gave one piece to Aning.

Zhou Chengning ate it in two or three bites: "It's quite fragrant. Although it's not sweet, there is still a lingering taste when chewing it."

For lunch, they cooked stewed vermicelli and stir-fried pork. Grandpa’s small stove could hold an iron pot. Xu Xiangjuan soaked the vermicelli in water, steamed the rice first, then stir-fried the meat and finally stewed the vermicelli.

It took more than an hour for lunch to be cooked. The stir-fried pork and rice were kept warm on the steamer, and the vermicelli was still stewing underneath. Estimates showed how long it would take, and when lunch was ready, Xu Xiangjuan asked Zhou Chengning to move the small dining table out.

The smoke in the house was hard to disperse even with the windows open, so we just ate outside.

It was during lunch time that Zhou Chengning spoke a few words to his grandfather.

There was no one else here today. Ping'an was his cousin and lived in their house, so he wasn't an outsider. He could communicate with grandpa without any obstacles.

Niu Niu couldn't use chopsticks properly yet, and the vermicelli was too long for him, but he really wanted to eat it. Ping An couldn't bear to see it, so he picked up the vermicelli for Niu Niu and put it in his bowl.

When the vermicelli came into the bowl, Niu Niu used a spoon to scoop it into his mouth.

"Sister, I will learn to use chopsticks soon." Seeing his sister staring at him a few times, Niu Niu said after eating the vermicelli. He thought his sister was looking at him like that because she thought he didn't know how to use chopsticks.

Guagua: "Niuniu, there's green onion on your face."

There was a green onion on the fat boy's face, and it was quite obvious.

Xu Xiangjuan also noticed it and wiped Niu Niu's face.

It turned out that it was just the green onion that got on his face. Fortunately, his sister didn't look down on him for not being able to use chopsticks. Niu Niu didn't think it was shameful to have the green onion on his face. Since his sister didn't look down on him, he continued to eat.

Even if his sister looks down on him, he will eat well.

Zhou Chengning glanced at the next yard and said, "Grandpa, they didn't bother you or ask you to take things, did they?"

Grandpa Zhou: "No, my younger brother's wife gave birth to a child, and my younger brother has a job. My younger sister started dating someone last month and is getting married... Your aunt, Ping An's mother, said that if they were still like before, she would just break off the relationship. Now the packages are in my hands... The family shouldn't have been in such a mess, but if they are disappointed, we should break off the relationship to save everyone from suffering."

His daughter is already in Huadu, and he feels really sorry for her for still thinking about home all these years.

Song Pingan: "Grandpa, my mother will not break off relations with you. She still remembers your kindness and says that it is not easy for you to raise a child."

After his mother returned to Huadu from her hometown the year before last, she didn’t send things in large or small packages as before, and not as frequently. He didn’t know what was going on, and since his mother didn’t mention it, he didn’t ask.

His memory from childhood was that his family was not short of money, especially since his father was a businessman, so his father had no objection when his mother sent things to his grandfather, and he would have even less objection.

Song Ping'an still remembers that his mother asked his father to borrow 1,000 yuan. His mother did not hide the fact from him about the money and said she would send it home.

Ping'an didn't know why he had to send so much money at the time. He thought his grandfather was sick or something. Now he understands.

It turns out that the things haven’t arrived at grandpa’s place yet.

My mother doesn’t have little money, but it’s definitely not much. If she really needs to spend a lot of money, she has to ask my father to borrow. My father didn’t ask what the money was for and just lent it to my mother.

My mother is a very straightforward person. She always says that if she borrows money, she means borrowing it and she will never fail to pay it back. She gives my father 20 yuan every month after she gets her salary.

Song Ping'an saw his father sighing with 20 yuan in his hand several times.

Grandpa Zhou: "It wasn't easy for Cunxin either. He had to make his way out there alone when he was young."

Song Pingan: "Mom never says that she has a hard time."

Grandpa Zhou: "Yes, that's her personality."

Zhou Chengning felt relieved only after he was sure that nothing serious happened next door and focused on eating.

...

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when we got back. Niu Niu stared at the paper bag in his father's hand and couldn't take his eyes off it.

Great grandfather gave biscuits and candies to their family, and he wanted to eat them.

"What is Niu Niu looking at?" Zhou Chengning asked deliberately.

"Look at Dad." Niu Niu moved his gaze from the paper bag to his father's face.

Zhou Chengning: "Dad, is he good looking?"

"nice."

"It looks good. Then Niu Niu, continue looking at dad." Zhou Chengning put the paper bag in his other hand so that Niu Niu could not see the paper bag.

The remaining three people did not participate in the childish conversation between father and son.

Xu Xiangjuan: "Guagua, tomorrow mom will take you to Aunt Ding Li's house. Do you still remember Sister Xiao Jiang?"

"I remember, Mom, I want to play with Sister Jiang."

Xiao Jiang Miaomiao and Xixi are her little sisters, and she will definitely look for them when she comes back.

I just came back yesterday and I was too tired. I went to my great-grandfather’s house today, so I didn’t have time to find the nearest Miaomiao. I will definitely go when I have time.

There will be time tomorrow. Now that the primary schools are on holiday, they will definitely have a chance to meet.