"Sister, brother-in-law."
Li Wenxiu lived on the second floor. When he heard the noise downstairs in the living room, he immediately opened the door and came out. Seeing that it was really them who came back, he excitedly lay on the second-floor balcony and shouted.
"Wen Xiu (uncle)!"
The family reunited after eight years. The women cried inconsolably, especially Li's mother and Li Shutong. The mother and daughter were so excited that they couldn't stand up. Fortunately, the men helped them up.
Father Li was also very happy and quickly assigned his grandson an errand: "Xiaoyi, go and call your uncle and his family back. Go there on your bicycles."
"Okay." Li Xiaoyi spread his legs and ran away.
Li Shutong finally recovered and asked hurriedly, "Dad, Mom, and Big Brother aren't home?"
"They just went out shopping. Wen Ji and Xiao Zong are leaving the day after tomorrow. They said they were going to buy some things to take back to Qinggang."
Mother Li wiped her tears and held her tightly, her voice hoarse and choked with sobs: "If I had known you were coming back, I would have asked them not to go out. The whole family would be waiting for you at home."
"Mom, we decided to come back at the last minute. We didn't call you in advance because we wanted to give you a surprise."
"It's a surprise, a big surprise. My parents have been looking forward to this day all these years." Father Li choked up.
After the family had calmed down after reminiscing about the past, Meng Fan and his companions came forward to greet them: "Uncle Li, Aunt Li, Wenxiu, and sister-in-law, it's been many years. Happy New Year."
"Meng Fan, Xiangyi, Happy New Year."
Li Wenxiu had met them many times before. He gave them a hug and asked them with concern, "How have you been these years?"
"It wasn't very good before, but now Huaying has given us good medicine, and it's much better than before." Xiao Xiangyi replied with a smile.
"That's good."
Li Wenxiu also saw Yun Huaying and Jiang Yuan and greeted them with a smile: "Huaying, is this your friend?"
"Uncle, this is my friend Jiang Yuan. I invited her to come and play with us."
"Welcome, Xiao Jiang." Li Wenxiu greeted with a smile.
"Grandpa Li, Grandma Li, Uncle, Aunt, Happy New Year." Jiang Yuan greeted politely.
"Happy New Year."
Father Li came over to greet the guests, holding his precious grandson's hand, and warmly invited: "Meng Fan, Xiangyi, Huaying, Xiao Jiang, please come in and have a cup of hot tea. Let's sit down and chat slowly."
As soon as the whole family entered the house, Li's daughter-in-law Xue Liyuan immediately took out the best tea leaves and made tea for everyone.
Li Shutong helped move the luggage into the house, brought out a bag of candy, greeted the neighbors on both sides whom she hadn't seen for many years, and gave everyone a handful of candy.
"Shu Tong, Shao Fan."
Li Wenjie first came back on his bicycle with his nephew, then stopped the bike and rushed home.
"Big brother (uncle)."
Li Wenji was very excited to see that they were safe and sound and in good spirits. Although he was not good at speaking, he hugged them and talked non-stop.
Wang Juan and her family walked slowly and came back five minutes later. Brothers Li Xiaozong and Li Xiaobo were very happy to see their aunt's family and gave them all a warm hug. Wang Juan and Li Fangting, mother and daughter, were obviously more unfamiliar with them, but they also greeted them with a smile and went back to their room to get some food to treat them.
After the reunion, Li Wenji finally remembered the important matter: "Dad, Mom, is there any food left at home?"
"Oh, you see, we were so busy having fun that we forgot to prepare the meal." Mother Li hurriedly stood up and took money out of her pocket to give them. "Wenji, take Xiaozong to buy some groceries. Buy more so we can cook the meal first."
"Brother, just buy some vegetables. We brought some back."
Li Shutong hurriedly stood up and found the basket of meat dishes. "We're staying here for several days. The meat dishes we bought for the New Year will spoil easily if left at home, so we might as well bring them here."
"You really are such a fool! Why would you bring back any food from your parents' home?" Mother Li glared at her.
"Mom, you're just worried that the good food will go bad and be wasted."
Li Shutong handed the basket to Wang Juan, pretending to be completely unaware of her selling the jewelry. She smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, we came back in a hurry and didn't send a message home. There are quite a lot of people coming, so I'll trouble you and your sister-in-law to cook lunch today."
"Why are our family members so polite?"
Wang Juan felt somewhat guilty. She really didn't expect that her sister-in-law's family could turn things around. Thinking that the jewelry entrusted to her husband for safekeeping had been stolen, she was nervous and afraid that her brother-in-law would mention this matter.
Li Fangting was also very scared and didn't dare to sit with her aunt and uncle. When she saw her mother going to cook, she hurriedly followed her.
Yun Huaying had just spoken briefly to the mother and daughter, and had also paid some attention to Li Fangting. She noticed that she had lost some weight recently, and her cotton coat looked a little loose. The arrogance on her face had also faded a lot. She quietly pulled Li Xiaoqing beside her to talk, "Xiaoqing, has Li Fangting changed recently?"
Yun Chaoyan also came over and asked with a soft smile, "Xiaoqing, did Huaying's last attempt to scare her work?"
Li Xiaoqing pursed her lips and smiled, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, she changed her personality after being scared by Sister Huaying last time. She hid in her room for half a month and didn't go out. When she came out, she had lost a lot of weight. Later, she took the initiative to ask grandpa and grandma for help, saying that she wanted to go to work and earn money. Later, grandpa used his connections to find her a job as an apprentice in the spinning mill workshop. Now her main job is doing physical labor and moving goods. It must be quite hard. She has lost a lot of weight."
"I used to be always chasing gay men outside, which caused people to gossip about me. Lately, I've been working honestly, leaving early and returning late every day. Although I often complain about being tired, I still insist on going every day."
"Also, I heard from grandma that she received an 18-yuan salary last month. For the first time ever, she gave 8 yuan to grandma and grandpa, 5 yuan to my aunt for living expenses, and kept 5 yuan for herself. It's like the sun is rising from the west."
"Any change is a good thing." Yun Chaoyan smiled.
Seeing the three girls gathered together to talk, Li Wenxiu asked with a smile, "Huaying, why didn't you invite your partner to come over and play with you this time?"
"My uncle was very busy with work and went back to Kyoto yesterday morning. He and his team had originally planned to come back later, but his comrades helped arrange some things, so we decided to come to Haicheng on the spur of the moment."
The Li family had not had time to ask about the main business, thinking that Yun Shaofan and his friends had simply come back to visit relatives and wish them a happy New Year. Now the Li family's parents hurriedly started asking.
The elders talked about their own things, and the younger generations also gathered together to chat. Yun Huaying took the initiative to ask: "Brother Xiaozong, during the time you and your uncle went to Qinggang, how was the work there?"
"It's not bad. I'm an apprentice under my father. The seniors in the office are all easy to get along with, and the working environment is relaxed and comfortable. As long as I study hard, they will actively provide help. My professional skills have improved a lot in this month."
Li Xiaozong hasn't been there long, but he has changed a lot recently. He is in much better spirits than when he was working in the state-owned factory in Haicheng.
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