513
However, this is only a small fraction.
In the afternoon, there were even more children at the door.
When He Tiantian first saw dozens of little kids standing at the door, she was so scared that she dared not go out.
"Mom, why are there so many children in the village?" He Tiantian said with a bitter face. When she got into the house, she took out all the White Rabbit candies in the room.
Wang Shuping smiled and said, "Now, dozens or even hundreds of children are born in the village every year. Of course, the number has increased in the last two or three years."
“Those kids wouldn’t leave, so I took out all the candy in the house and gave it to them, telling them there was none left and not to come back.” He Tiantian was scared, afraid that all the kids would come.
"Hehe, go ahead," Wang Shuping said. "Speak nicely to the children, don't be harsh!"
He Tiantian nodded and said, "Okay, Mom!"
He Tiantian took out the two remaining packs of White Rabbit milk candy from the house and said, "These are the last ones. Once they're gone, they're all gone. Got it?"
Even as He Tiantian was speaking, children kept coming over.
He Tiantian originally wanted to give each child two yuan, but seeing that there were so many children, she gave each child one yuan.
Children are content with candy and are not greedy.
They grabbed the candy and ran off. Some clever ones complimented He Tiantian on her looks, and if they were lucky, they might get two pieces of candy.
After finally getting rid of all the children, He Tiantian still had two pieces of milk candy left in her hand. She turned to look at Huo Yingjie, who was not far away with a half-smile, peeled one and put it in his mouth.
"Lord Huo, have you had enough of this farce?" He Tiantian said, wrinkling her nose. This man wasn't coming out to help; he was just watching the show from the sidelines.
"Hehe!" Huo Yingjie chuckled, eating the sweet and fragrant White Rabbit milk candy.
He Tiantian ate one piece herself; Jiang Lifang bought her this candy, and she only ate this one piece.
Seeing that He Tiantian had finished distributing the candy, Wang Shuping covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "It's good that you've finished. You two are engaged now, and since Yingjie didn't come, we didn't give out any candy. Now that Yingjie is here, let's distribute some candy and have some fun."
"Isn't that a bit too little?" Huo Yingjie asked. "Should we go to the county town and buy some more?"
"No need," He Tiantian said. "We'll buy more when we get married."
Upon hearing her daughter's words, Wang Shuping felt a little embarrassed. She patted her daughter and said, "A young lady like you shouldn't be saying such things!"
He Tiantian was somewhat speechless. Men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age. What's wrong with that?
"Go get to work." Wang Shuping shooed He Tiantian away, "Yingjie, you stay."
"Okay." He Tiantian gave Huo Yingjie a puzzled look and then went to do her housework.
Huo Yingjie stepped forward and helped Wang Shuping, saying, "Aunt Wang, let me help you to sit over there."
"That's troublesome," Wang Shuping said. "Tian Tian is a straightforward girl. You two grew up together, so you know her better than we do. Since Tian Tian has been so bold as to ask, I'd like to know what your plans are?"
My mother-in-law gave us time; we must go abroad after the child turns one year old.
If He Tiantian hadn't gotten married at that time, she would have followed him.
Huo Yingjie smiled and said softly, "My parents also talked to me about the marriage this time. The marriage that had been arranged before was postponed because of my work. Some time ago, I was injured again. My parents didn't say much, but they had a plan in mind. If I don't recover, they will adopt Tian Tian as their goddaughter; if I recover, they will start to work on the marriage."
Hearing Huo Yingjie say this, Wang Shuping couldn't help but feel sad. If Huo Yingjie couldn't get better, they, as parents, couldn't let their daughter live a life of widowhood.
It's rare to see the Huo family think this way!
"How are you now?" Wang Shuping asked with concern. "I was too happy yesterday and didn't have time to ask you carefully."
“I’m all better now,” Huo Yingjie said. “And my marriage application has been approved. I’m here today to discuss the wedding arrangements on behalf of my parents. Please feel free to make any requests.”
As long as Huo Yingjie is alright, that's better than anything else.
“We don’t have any special requirements. Your family is well-off, and ours is alright too. We won’t let you two children suffer,” Wang Shuping said. “But what about your job in the future? Will you still work at the weapons research institute?”
Huo Yingjie smiled and said, "I'm taking a year or two off to recuperate, citing poor health. I also heard from Yanjing that education shouldn't be neglected. Primary and secondary schools have already started classes, and I estimate that university admissions won't be far off. I also want to take advantage of this time to study hard, get into university, and read more books."
Hearing this, Wang Shuping was pleased. She liked children who loved to study and said, "Tian Tian graduated from junior high school, while you graduated from high school. You really need to study more. If universities have unified admissions, then you should go. Anyway, you're contributing to the country's development, and after you graduate, you can do better scientific research!"
“Aunt Wang is right,” Huo Yingjie said. He was willing to contribute to the country’s development, but he couldn’t accept it without fair treatment. He was unwilling to put up with that kind of humiliation.
Huo Yingjie was polite and well-mannered, which won Wang Shuping's favor.
Wang Shuping now has the mindset of a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, and the more she looks at him, the more satisfied she becomes.
When He Jingyu returned, he saw his daughter busy in the kitchen, while his wife and future son-in-law chatted and laughed.
When Huo Yingjie saw He Jingyu arrive, he quickly got up and diligently fetched a basin of water for He Jingyu, saying, "Uncle He, please wash your face."
"Okay, okay!" He Jingyu had just thought that Huo Yingjie didn't care about his daughter, but seeing Huo Yingjie diligently fetching water, he realized that it was actually possible for a father to care about his daughter.
After washing up and changing into clean clothes, He Jingyu chatted with his wife.
Huo Yingjie went to help He Tiantian cook, leaving his future parents-in-law alone.
“Yingjie is so good. He just told me about the marriage. Do you have any opinions?” Wang Shuping asked. Her daughter was already twenty years old, which was not young anymore.
He Jingyu felt quite heartbroken when he heard that his daughter was getting married.
"Should we wait a little longer?" He Jingyu was reluctant and wanted to wait another year or two.
Wang Shuping naturally understood her husband's little scheme and said, "Old He, you just came back from Yanjing, and you said that our Tian Tian has been taking care of Huo Yingjie day and night. Aren't you worried about the two of them being alone together?"
Besides, now that Huo Yingjie is better, we have nothing to worry about, and it's time to arrange a wedding for our daughter. If this drags on, our daughter will suffer."
"I hope he won't cross the line?" He Jingyu hesitated a bit, but he often saw Huo Yingjie staring at his daughter, and he guessed that Huo Yingjie had stolen kisses from him quite a few times when he couldn't see.
He Jingyu, who just a moment ago found Huo Yingjie quite agreeable, now finds him an eyesore, as Huo Yingjie is about to be transferred away—his beloved child whom he has cherished since childhood.
“When their feelings are at their peak, and they’re young and impetuous, who knows what might happen!” Wang Shuping murmured softly. “Don’t be reluctant. Men should marry when they’re of age, and women should marry when they’re of age. When Tian Tian and I were this age, we already had Tian Tian.” Wang Shuping said.
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