Liuyi jokingly asked, "What if Grandpa agrees but Dad objects?"

"Of course not. Without the unanimous vote of the whole family, will Mom forgive me?"

"You're quite sensible."

"I've always been this good, okay? You're just jealous, pure envy."

"Do you feel uncomfortable if you don't brag?"

“Facts speak louder than words.”

“…”

Ping An saw that his two younger brothers started bickering again while he was taking a sip, and he laughed secretly: They are almost 20 years old and still so childish. It's a pity that there are no audiences.

The military dogs stationed outside began to bark a few times. Liuyi and Wuyi stopped barking tacitly, looked at each other, and stood up.

"It must be a guest." Ping An put down the cup and went out first, "Let's go over and help."

"That's strange. Why didn't Mom come to see us? Didn't she like our gifts? That's impossible. She even mentioned riding Teweifeng before."

"What's so strange about this? Dad will definitely stop her. If Mom has time to go into the backyard, what if she ends up in their yard? He won't be able to hide his surprise."

Liuyi patted his brother and asked, "Did you sneak a peek?"

Wuyi hooked his neck and muttered, "Yeah, you can't imagine what our father plays, but he really knows how to play. But keep it a secret."

"It's just a bunch of broken flowers."

"Hahaha...you don't understand this, do you?" Wuyi winked at him and smiled, "Learn more from our dad. I think mom will be very happy."

"How about we send flowers to Mom on her birthday next year?"

"I think so too. But I'd rather plant flowers in my parents' yard as soon as spring arrives next year, filling it up completely. It's a pity I might not be able to come back."

"I'll do it. You can send more flower seeds from abroad."

"Okay! It's settled. Let's see what Dad will do next year."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense and walk faster." Ping An was amused by the muttering of his two younger brothers and laughed. They were so childish and were even vying for favor.

Summer is long.

The last rays of sunset glow in the west had already set, and the sky was half dark and half bright. The evening breeze gently brought bursts of fragrance mixed with flowers and trees.

Cheng Ruzhu was walking slowly towards them, arm in arm with Miao Lishan. "I heard the fish in the pond are getting really big?"

"Yes, the carp tonight was caught from here. Not only carp, but also a lot of lotus roots planted in the past two years. I'll go back later."

"Then I will be left with nothing to eat."

"Haha, if we can't finish it, we'll just give it away. Why are you being so polite to me? We have snails, too, but Jiaojiao said the earthy smell is too strong."

"Sister-in-law, after hearing what you said, I want to dig a pond at home."

"That won't do. I have a hidden river here with running water."

"I know, I'm just saying that." Cheng Ruzhu glanced at her with a smile, "That's just me. If others hear it, they will say you're showing off."

"That's why I like chatting with you." Miao Lishan said, her eyes lit up, and she waved across, "These three brats, they didn't know to go to the front yard earlier."

"What are you going to do? There are many people helping out."

As soon as the three Ping'an brothers saw them, they hurried forward to greet them.

"The guests are here, go and keep your grandpa company."

"Grandma, where are you going?"

"The pavilion. The men are going to drink here. I asked your aunt to come over and take a look. Aunt Chen and the others will bring the dishes over later."

"There's nothing wrong over there. The light bulbs are all good and they've been cleaned."

"Okay, you guys go help out front and we'll turn on the lights."

After receiving instructions from Miao Lishan, the three brothers waved their hands and went to the front yard.

Sure enough, all of their grandfather's sworn brothers who were still in the capital came together.

However, it's a pity that they didn't bring their spouses with them. No wonder only their grandmother and great aunt went to the backyard just now.

During the holidays, the three Ping'an brothers would go with their parents to visit their godparents' homes. Because they had close contacts with the younger generations who spoke only a few languages ​​with them, they had a very close relationship with each other.

For example, Wang Dawei likes to tease the three brothers.

They chatted and laughed as the food and wine were served to the pavilion in the back garden. The family also took the guards away, leaving space for Zhou Xiaozheng and his brothers to reunite.

Feeling that his private space to spend time with his father-in-law and old friends was getting smaller and smaller, Zhang Guoqing winked at his three sons: From now on, it will be your job to serve the food and wine.

When people reach a certain age, their old friends become fewer and fewer. Fortunately, these are all close friends of his father-in-law, otherwise who would have tolerated being inspected every time they came to his house?

This is also the reason why he specially arranged everyone to stay in the old house. At least they don’t have to go through one gate after another.

Maybe in the future, he will have fewer and fewer friends...

For example, my good brother Li Qinglin always uses the excuse that his wife is afraid to see her father-in-law. In fact, he knows very well that this is just an excuse.

Didn’t you see that when he was spending the New Year in his hometown in Northeast China, this kid and Zhang Yuntao stayed at his house all the time?

Zhou Jiao pulled the dazed Zhang Guoqing and looked at him with concern.

"Ha, it's okay." Zhang Guoqing came to his senses and laughed at himself for being so hypocritical. "Is my uncle really working overtime tonight?"

"Even if it's not true, it has to be true." Zhou Jiao smiled, took his arm, and sighed as they walked, "He's a man who likes to pay attention to every aspect."

"fine."

"That's great. Come pick up my aunt later. First, it gives Dad some space, and second, it's not rude. Why don't Xiaoyu and his two brothers learn this skill?"

"As you get older and gain more experience, you'll naturally understand. Don't worry about them. My uncle-in-law is very smart. With him around, those three can handle it."

"I'm not worried about them. As long as my aunt is doing well, that's all I need."

"Come on, I'll go with you to open the presents your parents gave you."

"Haha, I've already opened it secretly." Zhou Jiao was happy when she thought of the birthday gift her parents gave her. "It's a set of purple clay teapots with a congratulatory message from my dad on it."

Zhang Guoqing was not surprised at all. His father-in-law had been practicing calligraphy with great enthusiasm in recent years. Last year, he gave his father-in-law a set of inscribed tea sets on his birthday.

Only his wife was laughing non-stop.

One set of tea sets, then another set of tea sets – can I use them all? It's so unoriginal! Why not give them a set over several years? That way they can have the surprise of collecting.

"In the future, I'm going to open a tea collection room and collect various famous teas. As soon as you enter, the room will be filled with the fragrance of tea... How about that? Wonderful, right?"

"Wonderful, indescribable!"

After hearing her say this, Zhang Guoqing finally understood his wife's plan. Otherwise, he would start contacting comrades from all over the country and try his best to collect various kinds of tea.

"Wife, we need to build a large study next door, and it would be best if the two rooms were connected. Just imagine, a courtyard, a pot of tea, and a volume of beautiful literature..."