A day later, Huo Jianguo's black-and-white photo and personal file were in the hands of the retired senior leader.
The old commander recognized Huo Jianguo at a glance; he looked so much like him when he was young.
The old man's gaze lingered on Huo Jianguo's features for a long time, his aged hands trembling uncontrollably.
His wife noticed something was wrong with him and came over. When she saw the young man in the photo, she became agitated, "This...this is...?"
"This is a photo of the young soldier who died in the line of duty last year."
The old lady exclaimed, "He looks just like you when you were young!"
The old leader nodded. "I heard that he only has his wife, daughter, and his mentally ill mother left at home."
"Where is his father?"
"His father was an adopted son who passed away when he was young."
When the old lady heard the words "adopted son," she seemed to have a premonition of something, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Could his father be... one of ours...?"
The old leader patted his wife's hand reassuringly, "I've already sent people to investigate. Don't let anyone know about this for now, and don't tell Da Yong's parents either."
...
On the other hand, Li Wenxiu proposed to Song Qiuxue that she wanted her eldest son to stay in the provincial capital to study and then live with her.
"Qiu Xue, back when you went back to your hometown for my wedding with your second brother, you told me yourself that when I had a child and went to study in the provincial capital, I would let my child live at your house."
"I don't remember." Song Qiuxue's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Li Wenxiu's head.
"Qiuxue, how could you not remember?"
"I really don't remember. Did I say that?" Song Qiuxue said innocently. "Second sister-in-law, if you want your eldest son to stay at my house, I'd be happy to. You don't need to make up so many excuses."
"Qiuxue, you agreed?" Li Wenxiu asked in surprise.
Song Qiuxue looked troubled. "I would welcome it, but my husband doesn't agree. Besides, your eldest child is still so young, and he won't be able to adapt to being away from his parents."
Li Wenxiu was disappointed and complained to Song Baogen in private.
"Your sister has gone too far. Back then, when she came back to our hometown for our wedding, she asked me to take her around the town, which cost me a month's salary. She said that after I had my baby and went to school in the provincial capital, I would stay at her house. Now she's going back on her word!"
Li Wenxiu became increasingly angry as she spoke.
"She told me her husband didn't agree! All that effort for giving her the wonton recipe, thinking she'd let our baby stay at her place..."
"Did you give the Chaos recipe to Qiu Xue?" Song Baogen asked.
"Qiuxue said she wanted to see the recipe, so I gave it to her. I wanted to leave Dabao here first, and then I would hire a store manager in the county town to help me manage the wonton shop there. Then our family would move to the provincial capital, and we would open a wonton shop in the provincial capital with Qiuxue."
Li Wenxiu had thought everything through, but it turned out that Song Qiuxue had no intention of letting her son live there at all.
The couple were talking in the room when they suddenly heard Zhou Qiaoyun shout angrily from outside, followed by their eldest son crying.
The two quickly came out.
Zhou Qiaoyun said that their son was dishonest, rummaging through drawers and then taking a few cents from Song Dabao's pocket.
The eldest son, who was only a few years old, couldn't express himself and just kept crying, which frightened him.
Song Baogen apologized to Zhou Qiaoyun and pulled his wife and son into the room.
"Wenxiu, let's go home."
"I'm not going back. I haven't had enough of living in the provincial capital yet!"
Li Wenxiu refused to leave and was bullied by Zhou Qiaoyun every day. So she went to Song Qiuxue to complain, unaware that Zhou Qiaoyun dared to bully her because Song Qiuxue had secretly instructed her to do so.
The recipe for Chaos has already been obtained, but she's still lingering and refusing to leave, which is already annoying.
Li Wenxiu was unaware of all this. Every day, she and Zhou Qiaoyun helped Song Qiuxue take care of her child, clean the house, and take care of Song Qiuxue during her postpartum period. However, she was also constantly criticized by Zhou Qiaoyun, who said that she did this or that poorly, accused her of being a country bumpkin who didn't care about cleanliness and that the house was never tidy. She also complained that her two sons were too noisy and messy.
Song Baogen repeatedly tried to persuade Li Wenxiu to go home with him, but Li Wenxiu refused, feeling that she was quite comfortable living there.
One day, Song Qiuxue said that the child's great-grandfather wanted to see the child, so she, her husband, and her mother took the child and went out together.
Li Wenxiu then pulled Song Baogen along and took the two of them out to stroll around the provincial capital.
They've been here for over half a month and haven't even visited the provincial capital.
Song Dabao pointed to a restaurant and exclaimed, "Auntie!"
Song Baogen and Li Wenxiu subconsciously looked in the direction their son was pointing and saw Song Qiuxue and her husband having a meal inside, with Zhou Qiaoyun sitting next to them holding their child.
The family members were chatting and laughing.
"Huh? Didn't Qiuxue say she was taking the baby to see the baby's great-grandfather?"
"Can't you see?" Song Baogen asked irritably. "They're just annoyed by us."
In the restaurant, Tao Dayong finished his meal first, then took the child from Zhou Qiaoyun, who then ate her meal with ease.
"I've been so bored for the past two weeks. Qiu Xue always leaves all the food uneaten. I can only eat with Song Baogen and the others, and it's always the same awful vegetarian food. Today I can finally go out and have a good meal." Zhou Qiaoyun complained happily while eating meat.
Looking at her mother's eating habits, Song Qiuxue's expression flashed with a hint of disdain. "Mom, eat slowly. Don't eat like a country bumpkin. Your table manners are too unsightly."
Zhou Qiaoyun was criticized by her own daughter in front of her son-in-law, and she awkwardly smiled a couple of times before eating a couple more bites, which aroused Song Qiuxue's disgust.
"Mom, eat slowly. No one's going to take it from you. Don't eat like a poor person and spill all the soup."
Zhou Qiaoyun put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and said, "I'm done eating. Give me the child."
She reluctantly took the child and tried to play with him. Just as she was about to kiss the child, Song Qiuxue scolded her again.
"Mom, you just ate, your mouth is full of bacteria, it's not hygienic, don't kiss the baby."
Zhou Qiaoyun felt aggrieved and sat there holding her child without saying a word.
Song Qiuxue acted coquettishly towards Tao Dayong, oblivious to everyone else. The two sweetly fed each other, and soup dripped onto the table. Zhou Qiaoyun couldn't stand it, and even more so, she couldn't stand her daughter and son-in-law showing affection in public. It was so embarrassing! She turned around with her child in her arms, and by sheer coincidence, her eyes met Li Wenxiu's.
Li Wenxiu wanted to go up and say hello, but Song Baogen pulled her away.
"Why are you going to say hello? Won't that embarrass Qiu Xue and the others? Let's take the children and go back."
"Qiuxue might have some unspeakable reason. I'll go ask her..."
"Come back with me!" Song Baogen said angrily, pulling Li Wenxiu away.
The family of four returned to Song Qiuxue's home. Song Baogen urged Li Wenxiu to pack her luggage so that Qiuxue and the others could return in the evening, and she could say hello to them and take the train back to her hometown early the next morning.
Da Bao kept saying he was hungry, so Li Wenxiu went to the kitchen and cooked some noodles.
"Mom, I want to eat an egg." Da Bao handed an egg to Li Wenxiu.
Li Wenxiu was taken aback. "Where did these eggs come from?"
Da Bao pointed to the storage room.
Li Wenxiu curiously pushed open the door of the storage room and saw a refrigerator inside. Next to the refrigerator was a small cabinet with a wooden bucket on top, containing a dozen or so eggs.
The drawers of the cabinet contain dried mushrooms, red dates, wood ear fungus, tea, and other food and drinks.
The refrigerator was also packed full of food.
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