"Mom, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. The house isn't all tidied up yet," Xia Heping said, getting up as if to leave.
Grandma Xia grabbed his arm anxiously: "You've just come back, so there's probably nothing at home. Come to the old house for dinner tonight, and invite your wife and children over to eat together."
Upon hearing this, Xia Heping paused for a moment, then smiled and politely declined.
How could he not know his own wife well? She would never want to come to the old house for a meal.
Some things are hard to understand. As people get older, they tend to forget the various conflicts they had in the past. Just like his mother, it seems that all the conflicts from back then no longer exist.
But while she could forget, Xia Heping could not pretend that nothing had happened. The hurt he had suffered could not be erased by a few kind words now.
Xia Heping is very grateful to his parents for raising him, but he also knows very well that he and his older brother are different in their hearts.
Now in his forties, he no longer worries about his standing in his parents' eyes. He is already content with having such a good wife and such sensible and filial children.
Old Mrs. Xia's face showed a trace of sadness: "Second son, you are still blaming your mother, aren't you? Your mother did a lot of foolish things back then, but how can anyone not make mistakes? You are a piece of my flesh and blood, how could I not love you? Are you going to hold a grudge against your mother for what happened in the past?"
She always thought that she and her husband would live with their eldest son's family in their old age. In addition, her eldest son was indeed more charming. Later, the eldest grandson of the Xia family was born to her eldest daughter-in-law. For various reasons, she couldn't help but show favoritism to her eldest son's family time and time again.
Unexpectedly, this caused her to drift apart from her other two sons. Her eldest son and daughter-in-law were not reliable either. Now that the elderly couple were getting old and unable to work, her eldest daughter-in-law always gave her a hard time, and her eldest son didn't care much about them.
Fortunately, their eldest grandson married a good wife who not only raised him to be more and more sensible, but also always treated the two elders with great respect.
The reason why Grandma Xia's attitude towards Xia Heping's family has changed so much is largely due to her granddaughter-in-law Zhu Xiaoli, who often speaks highly of her second son's family in front of her.
After hearing this many times, Grandma Xia finally realized that her second son and his wife had indeed done nothing wrong to her. They were filial in every way they were supposed to, and their monthly pension was never small. They were far better off than other people's children. What more could she ask for?
Unfortunately, seeing her second son's attitude now, Old Mrs. Xia knew that she had realized it too late; this son had ultimately lost her heart.
"Mother, you are my biological mother who gave me life and raised me, that will never change, and I could never hate you," Xia Heping said, downplaying the seriousness of the matter.
Zhang Hongyan, on the other side, was also busy, carrying a large basket to deliver things.
The families she visited were all with whom she and her husband had a good relationship. When they went to Beijing, they asked them to look after their houses.
The families were delighted to learn of their return, especially when they saw that she had come to visit with gifts, which made them feel valued.
Xia Heping's family didn't come back for the Spring Festival, and the villagers gossiped about them a lot, saying that they had become arrogant after going to Beijing, that they didn't even care about their roots, and that they didn't even want to come back for the Spring Festival.
See? This time, they've really slapped those people in the face.
When Zhang Hongyan returned from visiting these homes, her basket was still full of return gifts.
This family gives you a few green vegetables, that family gives you a few eggs, and they also give you rice, flour, and other grains.
Everyone knows that her family hasn't been back for so long, so they definitely haven't prepared these things at home. They also told her that if she wants vegetables, she can pick them from their garden anytime.
Zhang Hongyan thanked them one by one and told them to come to her house to visit when they had time before heading back. After all, although she didn't need to work now, the other person still needed to earn work points, so she couldn't take up their time.
After returning home, there was naturally another round of washing and cleaning. The house hadn't been lived in for a year, so there were quite a few places to clean.
Zhang Hongyan was sweeping the cobwebs off the beams of the main room when Xia Heping returned, his expression suggesting he was in a bad mood.
"What's wrong? Did the old house say something to you? You seem a little unhappy."
Xia Heping shook his head: "It's nothing, it's just that I feel a little uneasy about it."
He lowered his head and said softly, "Honey, you know what? My parents treated me exceptionally well when I went to the old house this time. They were so nice to me that I could hardly believe it. This is something I've always hoped for, but for some reason, I don't feel as happy as I thought."
"Look at you, still being so dramatic," Zhang Hongyan rolled her eyes. She thought the old house had made some unreasonable demands again, and Xia Heping was in a difficult position.
He nudged Xia Heping, who was looking down and pretending to be deep in thought: "Stop thinking about these things. If you're really bored, go and fetch a few buckets of water. We've been working on this for so long and the water in the sanitation tank is almost gone."
"Okay, I'll go right away," Xia Heping rubbed his face and cheered himself up.
His wife is right. He must be too idle to have so many things on his mind. He should just keep himself busy.
Just as Xia Heping carried the empty buckets out, Zhang Hongyan heard a woman's voice coming from the courtyard.
"Second Uncle, is Second Aunt home?"
As Zhang Hongyan walked out of the main room, she saw Zhu Xiaoli carrying a basket. A look of surprise flashed across her face: "It's Xiaoli! Oh, are you pregnant? Come in and sit down with your second aunt."
Zhang Hongyan greeted the woman with a warm smile and invited her into the house. Although she didn't like the eldest son's family, she had no problem with her niece-in-law who had been married into the family for less than two years. As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so she wouldn't deliberately give her a hard time when she came to visit.
"Yes, I'm already five months along," Zhu Xiaoli said, affectionately touching her belly.
Then she handed over the basket in her hand: "Second Aunt, these vegetables are grown in our own garden. Grandma asked me to bring some over for you. Come and pick some more whenever you're done eating them."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongyan's expression became somewhat subtle, but thinking of Xia Heping's words just now, she subconsciously felt that this might really be something the old lady was capable of doing.
What a rare thing! In all these years, when has she ever eaten vegetables grown in the old house?
"Thank you for making this trip," Zhang Hongyan said with a smile as she accepted the gift.
Why shouldn't we accept it? We've been giving the elderly couple their monthly pension every penny. What's wrong with eating some of the vegetables they grow?
Seeing that Zhang Hongyan had accepted the vegetables, Zhu Xiaoli's smile widened. She had been worried that Zhang Hongyan might not accept them.
"Second Aunt, is there anything else you need at home? Just tell me and I'll bring it over for you later."
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