"Third Sister, it seems like Xiao Bao hasn't slept in our room before. He's all alone outside in the living room, looking quite lonely. Fifth Sister, you'll definitely be happy to let him in now," Chen Xiuhua said after thinking for a moment, having already lain down.
When Xiao Bao was in first grade, Xiao Wu made him sleep on the sofa bed in the living room instead of sleeping with his parents.
At that time, Chen Xiuhua thought that it might be better to let Xiaobao sleep in their room as well. Actually, it would be nice for the siblings to sleep in one room.
However, Xiao Wu said that boys should be encouraged to be independent and not always cling to their older sisters, lest they develop a girlish personality.
Xiao Wu also mentioned that he had read a newspaper article about a boy who had several older sisters and had always been attached to them since childhood. Later, when the boy grew up, he developed a liking for wearing women's clothing and dressing up as a woman. He also seemed to have some psychological issues, and his behavior was very strange.
Chen Xiuhua stopped mentioning it when she thought of that scene.
"Third sister, um...pfft, fourth sister, you're talking bad about me." At this moment, Chen Baohua pushed the door open and came in, carrying a large quilt that almost covered his entire head. When he spoke, his mouth was covered.
Seeing this, Chen Xihua quickly took the blanket and helped him put it on his second sister's upper bed.
Chen Xiaoliu was now smug. "Hmph, now that I'm in, let's see if you still dare to whisper any bad things or share any secrets. Tell me everything."
"Haha..." Chen Xihua was laughing so hard. She knew that Chen Xiaoliu had always wanted to go into their room because he wanted to hear gossip and what they usually whispered about.
Several times before, after Chen Baohua was kicked out of the living room, Chen Xihua would hear noises at the bedroom door after a while. Listening closely to the breathing, she knew it was Chen Xiaoliu, that worrying little adult. She would signal to her sisters with her eyes to stop talking about girls' topics, and then turn off the lights and go to sleep.
In less than ten seconds, Chen Xiaoliu took off his shoes, climbed up, and lay down. After a while, he noticed the room was quiet. Why weren't his sisters whispering anymore? He gently asked, "Fifth Sister, Eldest Sister, are you all asleep?"
"Yes, I'm sleepy and about to fall asleep. What do you want to say, Xiao Liu?" Chen Xihua asked him, feigning ignorance.
"No, I'm sleepy too, I'm going to sleep." Chen Baohua immediately closed her eyes and hid under the covers.
The other three older sisters covered their mouths, secretly trying not to laugh. Little Wu was so naughty.
The next day, New Year's Eve, around six o'clock in the morning, all five siblings of the Chen family got up to help.
For the past two years, Chen Xihua hasn't had to write the couplets for the family anymore; Chen Xiaoliu has taken over that job. He's also been writing couplets for his uncle's and cousin's families. Some families in the residential area who don't want to buy couplets also ask Chen Xiaoliu to write them.
Actually, it was Grandma Chen who mentioned it to others, saying that her little one practiced calligraphy and wrote very well, even couplets.
Grandma Chen has been visiting Chen Xihua's home much more frequently these past few months.
Old Qin also said that Chen Xiaoliu's regular script was more suitable for writing couplets than Chen Xihua's.
Old Qin, that stubborn old man.
Yesterday morning, Chen Xihua and Chen Xiaoliu brought New Year's gifts to Old Man Qin's house to pay their respects. She once again invited Old Man Qin to have New Year's Eve dinner at her house this year, but Old Man Qin still refused, just as he had refused the previous two years, saying that he was comfortable living alone.
Around 10:30, the Chen family members were all busy with their own things, with the older sisters mainly helping in the kitchen to prepare the dishes for dinner.
Just then, Aunt Chen arrived.
"Second brother, second brother, I need to talk to you about something." Aunt Chen's eyes were filled with urgency and a bit of anger.
As soon as she entered, she pulled Chen Lao Er, who was preparing to put up the couplets, and the two went to a corner to talk in hushed tones.
Li Yumei, who was busy in the kitchen, ran out of the kitchen doorway as soon as she heard the noise. Looking at the two siblings talking, she thought to herself, "They're probably asking to borrow money again."
It's infuriating! My uncle's family still hasn't paid back the 7,000 yuan they borrowed, and now my sister-in-law wants to borrow money again. Does she think her family owns a bank?
"Little sister, I also want to ask my older brother to pay me back. Why did you lend him so much money, 13,000?" Chen Lao Er asked knowingly. Three thousand of that money was borrowed from his younger sister by his older brother to pay him back.
"I'm so angry! My older brother and sister-in-law are deadbeats. They agreed to borrow for two years, and today marks exactly two years. I went to my brother's house this morning to ask him to pay me back, but he said he had no money and told me to wait a little longer."
"Our parents chimed in, and Mom even said how difficult things are for my older brother's family right now. Am I not having a hard time? That damned Sun Ping..." Aunt Chen couldn't stop talking once she started, pouring out her grievances and complaints.
Chen Xihua watched Chen Xiaoliu write couplets at the round table and roughly understood what was going on.
After Chen Xiaogu got divorced, her former uncle married his mistress within two days. Then, in their county, opposite the clothing store where Xiaogu sold clothes, he also opened a clothing store.
Moreover, both stores sourced the same clothes, but what's infuriating is that the rival store sold each item for a few dollars less than my aunt.
This year, Chen Xiaogu's shop business was greatly affected. She came today to go to Chen Dabo's house to get back the money she had borrowed before, and to buy some different clothes after the New Year.
Uncle Chen's family tried to renege on their debt, saying they had no money to pay back, and Grandma Chen also changed the subject by saying she was doing something else.
After Li Xiaoling finished her postpartum confinement, she would take her daughter to Uncle Chen's house every morning to eat for free. Chen Penghua, who worked at a textile factory, did the same.
That family of three ate in the residential area every day and returned to the northern new district of the county in the evening. They didn't give Grandma Chen a single penny for household expenses.
Li Xiaoling did nothing but hold her daughter and watch TV, waiting for Grandma Chen to finish cooking so she could start eating.
When Grandma Chen is too busy to manage on her own, Grandpa Chen will help out, but Li Xiaoling won't lift a finger.
But Grandma Chen couldn't do anything about Li Xiaoling. She didn't want to cook, but Uncle Chen and Wang Fen would want to eat when they came home from get off work.
When Uncle Chen's family wanted to kick his eldest daughter-in-law out of the house, Li Xiaoling would hug her daughter and cry, saying she was going to go and reason with her uncle, Factory Director Li.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xihua's lips curled up slightly. She thought to herself, "Grandma Chen has met her match. Does she still think every daughter-in-law is like Li Yumei?"
Then, Chen Xihua glanced at Li Yumei, who was standing at the kitchen door. Why couldn't she have been as assertive as Grandma Chen back then?
Lacking confidence? Probably, Li Yumei actually cares a lot about her rural background.
Li Yumei seemed to sense something as well. She glanced at Chen Xihua, then turned her head away, her expression somewhat unnatural. Knowing that her sister-in-law wasn't borrowing money, she looked at Chen Lao Er and his sister for a moment before turning back to the kitchen.
"Second brother, do you know the owner of Fanghua Garment Factory in Gaoyang County? I'd like to ask if he can wholesale clothes to me so I can sell them in my shop." After finishing her unpleasant experience at Uncle Chen's house, Aunt Chen suddenly changed the subject and asked about Fanghua.
"I don't know him, but I know where the factory manager is from. But Fanghua Clothing sells its clothes in its own stores, not wholesale, right?" Chen Lao Er mentioned what he knew.
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