Xia Hecai's face was dark and ugly; the second brother had no regard for brotherhood whatsoever.
I should have known. If he could separate from his parents for that woman, how much affection could he possibly have for them?
Xia Hecai turned around and went back into the house, where he embellished the story and told it to Old Mrs. Xia and Old Mr. Xia.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Old Mrs. Xia slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Did the second son really say that? Fine, I knew he was a good-for-nothing who forgot his mother after getting married. If I had known he was so unfilial, I should have strangled him when he was born."
She knew her second son must be secretly resenting her for being biased as his mother, but even ten fingers can be different lengths.
The eldest son was her first child and the head of the household. She and her husband would have to rely on him for their old age, so they had to take him seriously.
I won't mention that my eldest and second daughters are girls.
The younger son has always been sweet-talking and knows how to make her happy, but the second son, who's so stubborn, is incomparable.
She was almost 40 when her youngest daughter was born. Her older brothers and sisters had all grown up, so she naturally had to spoil her youngest daughter even more.
If she had known her second son would turn out like this, she would never have let him marry Zhang Hongyan.
Old Man Xia silently smoked his pipe to the side. Hearing his wife's words, he suddenly spoke up: "Shut up. What's the use of saying all this now? You should think about how to ease the tension between Second Brother and us."
"What do you mean by 'make peace'? Are we, as his parents, supposed to kneel down and beg him?" Old Mrs. Xia said angrily, her tone full of dissatisfaction with her disobedient son, Xia Heping.
Xia Hecai patiently comforted her, "Mother, don't worry. Second brother still cares about you and Father. Otherwise, why would he have sent over such a big bowl of meatballs?"
"It must be that Zhang Hongyan doesn't want our second brother to be close to us. If you and Dad run into our second brother outside, don't always give him a hard time. Wouldn't that just be playing into that woman's hands?"
Old Man Xia nodded: "The eldest son is right. The second son is a filial son. You should treat Qingqing and Gou Dan better in the future. After all, they are our own granddaughter and grandson."
When Xia Heping returned home, Zhang Hongyan was already clearing the dishes and preparing dinner.
New Year's Eve dinner is usually eaten quite early. You also have to eat dumplings while staying up late to welcome the new year. How can you eat dumplings if you don't empty your stomach early?
Gou Dan stared at the table full of meat and dishes, his mouth watering. His mother had really made all the dishes he had ordered before: braised pork, braised spare ribs, meatballs, pork bone and radish soup, stir-fried cabbage, and a fish.
Fish is an essential dish on the New Year's Eve dinner table, symbolizing abundance year after year. So no matter how bad their family's life was before, Xia Heping would always try his best to get a fish for the New Year.
"Dad, you're finally back! Go wash your hands and eat!" Gou Dan excitedly urged Xia Heping. He couldn't wait any longer; his dad was so slow.
There's something wrong with your mindset if you're not enthusiastic about eating meat!
"Right away, right away," Xia Heping said, seeing his family waiting for him. He quickly ran to the kitchen, fetched a ladle of water, and washed his hands.
Seeing her son's greedy look, Zhang Hongyan couldn't help but laugh and say, "What's the rush? The food on the table isn't going to run away. I'll let you eat your fill of meat today."
"The vegetables won't run away, but I'm starving," Gou Dan complained softly, pouting.
Zhang Hongyan immediately glared at him: "Spit it out right now! What are you talking about dying for during the New Year? If I hear you say the word 'die' again on New Year's Day, I'll definitely teach you a lesson."
"Hehe, Mom, I just blurted it out. I definitely won't say it tomorrow," Gou Dan said with a smile, covering his mouth.
Chinese New Year is so great! Not only is there delicious food, but even when his mother is angry, she won't hit him. He really wants it to be Chinese New Year every day.
The family enjoyed a happy New Year's Eve dinner, and all four of them ate until their bellies were round and full.
Dog Egg leaned back in his chair, looked at the remaining braised pork in his bowl, and smacked his lips. His mouth told him that he wanted to keep eating, but his stomach told him that he couldn't eat anymore.
Even Xia Qingqing was stuffed. Her mother was extra generous with the oil she used when cooking today, and even the cabbage tasted much better than usual. She couldn't resist and ate more than she should have.
At that time, there was no Spring Festival Gala yet, so there weren't many entertainment activities in the evening. After Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan finished dinner and cleaned up the dishes, they went out to visit neighbors and chat with people.
Dog Egg also went to Da Niu's house to play with his friends.
In the blink of an eye, Xia Qingqing was left alone at home. She didn't have any friends in the village to chat with, and Liang Shuang, the only one she got along with, had already gone home for the New Year.
Fortunately, she still had Gu Yunshu. After Xia Qingqing returned to her room and closed the door, she sent Gu Yunshu a video call invitation, but after waiting for a while, the call did not go through.
Xia Qingqing found it a bit strange. Gu Yunshu shouldn't be outside killing zombies at this time, right?
——
Meanwhile, in the other apocalyptic dimension...
Gu Yunshu is at Xie Jing's house, having New Year's Eve dinner with Xie Jing and his sister.
This afternoon, she felt a bit bored staying at home alone, so she went out for a walk and happened to run into Xie Jing, who was with her younger sister.
When Xie Jing saw Gu Yunshu, he took the initiative to greet her: "Captain Gu, what a coincidence."
"What a coincidence, this must be your little sister, she's so cute," Gu Yunshu said, looking at the little girl standing obediently next to Xie Jing.
The little girl was well taken care of by Xie Jing. She was fair-skinned and had bright, sparkling eyes. She didn't look like a child who had lived in the apocalypse for several years.
Xie Yue gave Gu Yunshu a cute smile: "Hello, sister, my name is Xie Yue."
"Hello," Gu Yunshu smiled and took out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and handed them over: "It's Chinese New Year today, have some candy to sweeten your mouth."
Xie Yue subconsciously looked at her brother, Xie Jing, who waved his hand in refusal: "Captain Gu, you don't need to be so polite."
"It's okay, this is for my little sister," Gu Yunshu said, stuffing the candy into Xie Yue's hand and patting her head.
Seeing her offer the candy, Xie Jing couldn't refuse any longer: "Yueyue, quickly thank your sister."
"Thank you, sister. Did you give my brother the candy last time too?" Xie Yue asked Gu Yunshu curiously.
Gu Yunshu nodded: "Yeah, is the candy delicious?"
"It's super delicious! I haven't had candy in ages!" Xie Yue really liked this pretty older sister and looked at Xie Jing, saying, "Brother, can I invite you to my house for dumplings?"
The pretty lady gave her candy, and in return, she wanted to treat the pretty lady to dumplings.
Xie Jingzheng felt embarrassed for accepting Gu Yunshu's candy, but when he heard his sister's suggestion, his eyes lit up and he invited her with a smile, "Captain Gu, let's go to my house for dumplings?"
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