Several old men declined the invitation to drink together and left with their grandchildren and nephews.

In the Zhou family's living room, Zhou Xiaozheng signaled Aunt Chen to serve the dishes first. Xiao Wang and others moved a lot of stools from the houses on both sides, and finally everyone could sit down.

Soon, the dishes were placed on the two tables. Old Mrs. Cheng at the women's table smiled and pulled Zhang's mother to sit next to her, constantly asking her to eat more.

At the men's table, Elder Cheng and Elder Lin introduced the sons and sons-in-law who were meeting Father Zhang for the first time. For a moment, toasts were exchanged, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Xizi and Ziwen had been looking around since they drove into the courtyard gate. If they weren't in the car, they really wanted to get out and take a look.

At this time, Ping An showed his sense of being a master.

He came over to Zhou Jiao from the neighboring table. After she carried him to the table, he smiled and said to Xizi and Ziwen, "Big brother, why didn't your brothers and sisters come home?"

Zhang Ziwen asked in surprise: "Do you still remember them?"

"Brother Shitou, Sister Mai Miao... I remember them all." Ping An saw them put down their chopsticks and immediately imitated his father, waving his hand. "Don't be polite, just treat it like your own family. Let's eat and chat."

The people at the table noticed this and looked at him in amusement.

Ping An then greeted them, "This dish tastes good, you should try it. Would you like a glass of wine?"

Zhou Jiao patted her son gently and said, "Okay, stop doing weird things."

Ping An was not annoyed by being exposed. He rolled his eyes and said to his two brothers, "After we finish eating, I will take you out to play. I have saved a lot of good things for you."

Seeing this, Xizi and the other boy covered their mouths and laughed. Such a young child talking like an adult. How funny! Who can play with whom?

Lin Lishan quickly said, "You can play with anything else, but don't even think about playing with firecrackers. Your mother will be angry if she sees you."

Ping An sighed, "Grandma, you are so unlovable."

Everyone laughed at his pretense.

Lin Liying looked at him and sighed, "Children grow up so fast! They can talk in the blink of an eye. I still remember how tiny he was when I held him in my arms."

For a moment, everyone was silent. As the Zhou and Lin families grew apart, they had less to talk about. Many things could no longer be the same.

"...Originally they wanted to take Ping An back to their hometown, but I was worried about the safety of the journey, so I asked them to wait until they were older and return."

After hearing what Old Man Cheng said, Father Zhang nodded and raised his glass to toast the old man, "You are really thoughtful. The situation outside is really bad all the way here."

"Is everything okay at home?"

Father Zhang smiled and said, "It's pretty good. Besides the monthly supply, we also have some harvests from our own yard. We live much better than most people."

"That's good. Come, let's drink."

Old Master Lin glanced at his son-in-law who had been silent, then glanced at Zhang Guoqing who was busy pouring wine, and smiled at Zhang's father: "I can't drink too much, you can do whatever you want."

Father Zhang glanced at the tea in the old man's hand, his eyes flashed, and he smiled and nodded.

"The weather was too hot recently, so we're staying in a nursing home. We'll be moving back in a couple of days, and then we can come over and get together with the kids."

After hearing his invitation, Father Zhang finally realized that there was one person missing. He was about to reply when Old Master Cheng beside him interrupted him.

"It's so troublesome to move you around like this. What did the doctor say recently?"

"As long as I'm careful, I'm fine. But the mother hasn't gotten any better. The Russian doctors left a while ago, so we have to find new ones."

Zhou Xiaozheng raised his glass and clinked it with his in-laws' cups, "Second brother, please stay with your second sister-in-law for a while this time so that the children can show their filial piety."

Father Zhang and Zhou Xiaozheng were not in a mood for politeness. They finished their glass of wine and said with a smile, "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have stayed a few more days. It's more comfortable here than at home."

Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and said, "Why? Are you willing to abandon your family? In my opinion, you'd better not go back. I'll find a way to transfer your household registration here later."

Father Zhang quickly shook his head and said seriously: "Don't owe favors to others, it's not worth it." He knew better than anyone that it was extremely difficult to transfer household registration in the county town, not to mention where this place was.

"I feel more at ease knowing you're with me, Xiaowu. I still have to go back and keep an eye on the others at home. There's a saying that goes, 'It's hard to leave your hometown.' I have to go back to the village often. If I'm too far away, I won't feel at ease."

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head. Due to their different perspectives, he didn't try to persuade them any further.

Even when Mr. Lin was chatting with Mr. Cheng, he always listened to their conversation with his ear tilted to the side.

At this moment, his heart was moved when he heard this. If he could get Xiaowu's parents to move here and take care of his second son's affairs at the same time, it would be a good opportunity.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he thought about it, it was useless. If Zhou Xiaozheng really wanted to help, he would have taken action long ago. Why would the old man be so busy until now and still not resolve Lin Aidang's transfer?

Speaking of Lin Aidang, he's truly unlucky. With the current unrest everywhere, especially in major cities where household registration is so tightly controlled, no one dares to make exceptions. He's remained where he is, awaiting news from home.

After three rounds of drinks, the women left early and went to the sofa to chat. It was not until late at night that everyone left with Zhang's mother's gift.

In a room in the main house, Father Zhang lay on the bed with his eyes closed, deep in thought. He didn't open his eyes until his wife came in, and then he looked at her.

Zhang's mother quickened her pace and whispered in his ear, "Xiaowu said that the two families haven't interacted much since the first month of the lunar year. Even for New Year's greetings, only his mother-in-law went back to her parents' home alone."

Father Zhang smiled and shook his head, motioning for her to turn off the lights and go to bed.

After a while, the old couple lay on the bed and lost their sleepiness for a while.

Zhang's mother nudged her husband and asked, "Do you think anything happened later?"

"That's for sure. You didn't notice the atmosphere at the table tonight. Brother Zhou has been ignoring his father-in-law, and even our Xiaowu didn't serve ginseng wine on behalf of Mr. Lin."

Zhang's mother complained, "You only know how to make wine."

Father Zhang chuckled. "Silly woman. I'm not short of wine. I just found it strange that Uncle Lin kept drinking tea. This tonic wine should be suitable for him, but Xiaowu didn't mention it at all. That's not like his character."

"Forget it, if they don't tell us, we'll just pretend we don't know. Dad, how high of an official is my in-law? Why do people salute him when they see him?"

Father Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "There are servants in the house, so they should be quite a few."

"My son is so lucky. I can't even imagine that my children can live like this."

"Hehe... go to bed early, they'll take us out for a walk tomorrow."

After saying this, Father Zhang closed his eyes, but he couldn't fall asleep. His eldest son always said that everything was fine, but he felt heartbroken from the moment he stepped into this compound.

He wasn't his wife, so he didn't know the ins and outs of this. His son had to put in a lot of effort to get all those big shots to praise him tonight.

Everyone is a bit snobbish, especially these bigwigs. It's impossible for them to look at a peasant boy differently from the beginning. In addition to the background of his in-laws, his son must have had a difficult life.