Chapter 255 The Look of Home
Zhou Xiye stopped Fang Hua, who was about to leave, saying, "Mom, don't be impulsive. Just stay here. I'll have my dad come pick you up later, and then you can go home."
Fang Hua looked at her son suspiciously and said, "Are you sure he can come pick me up? He's having a great time right now, nobody cares about him, nobody nags him. When I get back in a few days, the house will be a garbage dump. Just wait, if I go back and the house is a pigsty, I'll definitely divorce him."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and put her arm around Fang Hua's shoulder: "Mom, you can't go back now. You have to make Dad suffer a bit, let him know that the house doesn't automatically get clean, the food doesn't just come to the table by itself, and his clothes don't suddenly become clean."
"Once he can't get used to it, he'll start missing you, and once he misses you, he'll definitely come looking for you."
Fang Hua squinted, thinking that the chances of Zhou Chengzhi coming to see her were slim; the old man would probably start arguing with her now.
Forget it, I won't go back, lest I get even angrier.
Two little boys who were rolling iron hoops ran over and hugged Zhou Xiye's legs: "Uncle, Uncle..."
Fang Hua quickly introduced them to Jiang Zhizhi: "These are your uncle's two twin grandsons, Mingming and Liangliang. Xiao Nan and her husband went on a business trip to northern Jiangsu and left the two children at home for your aunt to look after. Your aunt went to buy groceries and should be back soon."
Jiang Zhizhi looked at the two chubby little guys with round faces that were red from the cold. They looked very robust and healthy, the kind of old-fashioned cute kids that people would talk about later.
She took out the orange candy that Zhou Xiye had given her at noon and distributed it to the two children: "Which one of you is Mingming and which one is Liangliang? Do you want some candy? Auntie has some here."
The little guy's eyes lit up immediately, and he let go of Zhou Xiye and rushed to Jiang Zhizhi: "I am Mingming, I am the older brother."
"I am Liangliang, I am the younger brother."
The two children chattered excitedly as they introduced themselves, then sweetly called her "Auntie." Mingming even hugged Jiang Zhizhi, saying, "Auntie, you're so pretty and smell so good!"
Jiang Zhizhi was amused, and Fang Hua was also amused and exasperated: "Look at this little mouth of yours, it's as sweet as honey. Alright, let's go inside, it's awfully cold outside."
Just as they were about to go inside, Aunt Cong Meilan entered the courtyard and was pleasantly surprised to see Zhou Xiye and Jiang Zhizhi: "Oh, Xiye and Zhizhi are here! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I bought some meat."
He held a bowl of steaming tofu: "Just one piece of tofu, how can I possibly serve you this? Wait, I remember we also had a piece of cured meat, we'll stew it tonight."
When Jiang Zhizhi first returned to Beijing, she met Cong Meilan, a slightly chubby but neat and clean-looking person who spoke loudly and straightforwardly.
After calling for help with Zhou Xiye, she quickly stopped him, saying, "Auntie, it's alright, tofu is fine for dinner."
Cong Meilan invited them inside, poured them tea, and then asked directly, "Are your father's whole bunch of godparents here?"
Before Zhou Xiye could speak, Fang Hua started to complain: "Yes, that's why Xiye was so angry that he didn't want to go home, so he brought Zhizhi with him."
Cong Meilan slapped her thigh: "No, we're not going back. We'll stay here tonight. Your second uncle's room is empty. I'll go start a fire in a bit, and you can stay there tonight."
Then he looked at Fang Hua and said, "This time, you can't forgive Zhou Chengzhi easily. You have to make him realize his mistake. If he dares to yell at you, your three brothers aren't pushovers either."
Fang Hua laughed: "No, he can't win an argument with me."
Cong Meilan glared at her: "That means you spoil him every day. How old are you? Can't you tell right from wrong? Li Hualin's family has been coming here for eight or nine years now, right? I remember when his eldest son wasn't married, he brought him to find you. Back then, whenever someone was doing well, you would withhold Xiye's and his men's rations to help them."
"Now look what's happened! We've stirred up a hornet's nest. One baby brings another, one baby brings another, and now there are seven or eight people here. Is this visiting neighbors? This is shameless!"
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Fang Hua with a stern face and said, "You'd better be careful. Now that Xiye and Zhizhi are married, they might try to take your family's assets later."
Fang Hua frowned: "What assets could my family possibly have? The house was allocated, and the grain we get each month is just so-so."
Cong Meilan disagreed: "Doesn't Li Hualin have two other bachelor sons? Looking back at the wives you married to Xiye, so glamorous and beautiful, how can he not be jealous? If he asks Zhou Chengzhi for money, do you think he'll refuse?"
"You know Zhou Chengzhi, he's a kind-hearted person without principles. He'll even lend you money when the time comes, what can you do then?"
Fang Hua gritted her teeth in anger: "If he dares to lend me money, I will definitely divorce him! Xi Ye, Zhi Zhi, and I have gone out together."
Cong Meilan immediately nodded: "Yes, get a divorce, let him go there on his own! Then you can move in, and you can stay in your second brother's house for the time being. His family is in the south, and we don't know when they will be back."
“Even if you come back, I can make room for you two here, for Nishino and Zhizhi to stay in. You can sleep with me, and your older brother can stay at his workplace. Why can't we make it work?”
Fang Hua nodded: "Definitely, I will never forgive him forever. That bastard is a real bully."
Jiang Zhizhi sat to the side, holding a teacup, watching Cong Meilan give Fang Hua advice. She finally understood why Fang Hua was so confident; he had his family backing him up.
Zhou Xiye remained silent, feeling helpless. The impact of his aunt and his biological mother being together was even greater.
Cong Meilan hadn't had enough of chatting and was busy cooking, so she asked Zhou Xiye and Jiang Zhizhi to watch the two children. She called Fang Hua to go to the kitchen with her, and while cooking, she scolded Zhou Chengzhi, listing all the things he had done over the years.
Jiang Zhizhi found the two of them quite adorable. Sitting in the living room, she could faintly hear their voices coming from the kitchen. She smiled and whispered to Zhou Xiye, "My aunt is quite a sentimental person."
Zhou Xiye nodded: "In the past, Mom and my eldest aunt didn't get along well. They couldn't meet, and they would quarrel whenever they did. Later, it was because of the housing allocation. At that time, my eldest uncle's position was not high, and he had just returned from military service, so he was bullied."
"They assigned us a room next to the toilet, which was dark and smelly. My aunt got so angry that she argued with her boss at work, and my mom went there with a kitchen knife."
"Mom chopped a huge hole in the office desk with a kitchen knife and threatened to slit her throat at the boss's house if they didn't move to a new house. The boss had no choice but to move my uncle and his family to a new house."
Jiang Zhizhi listened in astonishment, then gave a thumbs up: "Mom is pretty brave."
Kindness often leads to being taken advantage of.
Zhou Xiye was still young at that time, following behind his mother and watching her fiery demeanor. He had a deep memory of it: "It was from that time that my mother and my aunt got along well. Whenever my aunt had something good to eat, she would send it to my mother first."
"However, Mom can be a bit stubborn sometimes. Once she's made up her mind about something, nothing can change it."
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