Qiao An was obviously excited and curious, while Qiao Lu was just nervous.
Xu Haizhou led the mother and son into the corridor. The tube building was older and more crowded than the one Qiao Yan was assigned.
A narrow road is lined with various groceries such as honeycomb coal, cabbage, frozen pears, etc. Southerners don't have the habit of hoarding vegetables, while northerners often buy a lot at a time, leaving no room to step in the corridors and aisles.
Because the space is small, every inch of land is utilized without waste.
It was the rush hour after get off work, and people were coming and going in the corridor. It was inevitable that they would bump into the family of three. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
"Oh, this is Haizhou?"
"Haizhou?"
The speaker was a big lady wearing a Northeastern blue cotton padded jacket, shoulder-length hair, and a thick cotton scarf wrapped from neck to nose. When she saw the family of three, she hurriedly pulled the scarf down from her mouth.
"Haizhou? The one from the Xu family?"
Xu Haizhou recognized her at a glance, exhaled white air from his mouth, and smiled brightly: "Aunt Yan, Uncle Kuan."
It’s still the handsome young man in my memory!
Seeing that she had not recognized the wrong person, Aunt Yan smiled like a chrysanthemum petal and patted his arm vigorously: "Good boy! It's really you who are back!"
As soon as he finished speaking, neighbors came in droves.
"Haizhou, you haven't been back for how many years? A while ago, I was still asking your mom when you would come back. What a coincidence that you are back now."
Suddenly he noticed the mother and daughter beside Xu Haizhou, "Hey, this..."
Yan Ni was the only one who had heard Yu Zhilan mention that her son had married a wife in the south, but he had never seen her in person, let alone come back to hold a wedding banquet or meet her. Could this person be... ?
His eyes, like searchlights, fell on Qiao Lu and the little one that the couple was holding on either side of their arms.
Xu Haizhou smiled and introduced generously: "This is my daughter-in-law, and this is my son."
The uncles and aunts looked at each other in surprise: "Ah, you..."
"You've been away for so many years, and you already have a wife and children?" Many neighbors didn't even know that Xu Haizhou was married.
Touching his son's little head, Xu Haizhou smiled tenderly: "Yes, we are married."
There were a lot of people around, so the kid huddled a little closer into his father's arms, clutching the corner of his clothes tightly.
Then everyone's eyes turned to Qiao Lu and her son.
It would be fine if you didn't watch it, but once you do, it's unbelievable.
The child is so handsome! Look at his big eyes and small nose, his thick eyelashes fluttering and his face is as soft as tofu. Because of the cold weather, his cheeks are a little red, and you really want to suck his cheeks.
Yan Ni squatted down and looked at him carefully: "Wow, this kid is so good-looking, he looks like you! You look exactly like you!"
"Look at those big eyes and that little mouth. They're exactly like Haizhou's!"
"Really? He looks just like Haizhou when he was a kid!"
They have indeed been neighbors for more than 20 years, and they are the elders who watched Xu Haizhou grow up. But to be honest, Haizhou’s biological parents probably have forgotten what their son looked like when he was a child. How could these uncles and aunts remember him so clearly?
It was an exaggeration after all. The statement sounded so convincing and the tone... If Qiao Lu didn't have the original owner's memory, she would have really thought that Qiao An was Xu Haizhou's biological child.
Is it true that if you spend too much time with someone, you will slowly become like him?
"An An, say hello to grandpa and grandma quickly." Qiao Lu reminded.
After that, Qiao An stood up straight, speaking each word in a baby voice, without any stage fright: "Hello, Grandpa~ Hello, Grandma~"
Under Qiao Lu's careful guidance, Qiao An is now particularly good at greeting elders, and can still behave appropriately and generously even in unfamiliar environments.
You can no longer see the timid little kid who used to hide behind his mother.
"The child has a nice voice, unlike our northern children, who are very rough." Suddenly remembering something, Yan Yan shouted: "Zhilan! Are you two in the house? Your husband Haizhou is back, open the door!"
I checked all the neighbors, but my parents weren't there yet. It was pretty funny.
Soon, as the words fell, the door of the second room not far from the couple suddenly opened from the inside.
An old man with half silver hair came out of the room in a somewhat anxious manner. He looked to be less than 60 years old, with a kind face, and his black and white hair was combed very carefully, without a single mess. He was wearing a half-worn blue cotton jacket and trousers, and a thick velvet hat on his head.
She is of medium build, about 1.62 meters tall, with large facial features and a small face. She looks 50% like Xu Haizhou, and you can tell at first glance that she is his mother.
When the door was opened, the two sides met face to face. Xu Haizhou was about to open his mouth, but paused.
"Mom."
"Haizhou?" Yu Zhilan blinked twice, as if she couldn't believe what she saw.
It was not until Xu Haizhou brought his wife and children to her that she was awakened by the cold air blowing on her face - this was not a dream, her son was really back!
My heart was beating like a drum, and I was so excited that I didn't know what to do.
Until a draught suddenly blew through my neck and I shivered.
"Hurry, hurry, come in first."
The building has unified heating pipes, and the inside and outside of the house are completely two different worlds. My cold body was finally warmed up.
The room is not small, only one room, about 20 square meters.
Besides Yu Zhilan, the only person left in the room was Xu Haizhou's father Xu Yonghe.
The man was also confused at this time, holding the half-rolled cigarette in his hand, not knowing whether it should go in or out.
"What a coincidence! I just got home and had no time to change my clothes when I heard Yan Ni shouting outside." Once the heater is turned on in the house, I can't wear a cotton jacket, so I have to take off my coat when I get home.
Yu Zhilan took off her cotton shirt while looking at her son.
He seemed to have lost weight, but was very energetic, carrying a lot of bags on his shoulders, and a little kid followed him, tugging at his clothes. The two of them, one big and one small, looked very much like a father.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were coming so your dad could pick you up? Did you walk or take a tricycle?"
Yu Zhilan knew her son would come back after sending a letter half a month in advance. She just didn't know he would arrive at this time today.
"Tricycle." He replied while unloading the luggage.
"Oh, that will cost a lot of money." Yu Zhilan didn't know that her son and daughter-in-law came back on two tricycles. If she knew, she would be very upset about the money.
After putting away the luggage, Xu Haizhou brought his wife and son to Yu Zhilan: "Mom, Dad, this is Qiao Lu, my wife, and this is Qiao An, my son."
The two old people had noticed the two, one big and one small, a long time ago, but it was just their first meeting and her "status" was so low that no one greeted her for a while.
I looked at it carefully at this moment, and my breathing stopped for a moment.
Didn't you say that your son married a rural woman?
Look at her dress, her clothes, her facial features, her elegant demeanor... Not only does she not look like a country girl, she looks more like the daughter of a wealthy family!
And this baby is also beautiful, with fair and tender skin, and eyes as beautiful as glass beads, crystal clear amber. When looking at you, his eyes seem to be filled with gentle moisture. If he was born a hundred or eighty years earlier, he would have been a young nobleman from a prominent family!
After the observation, my heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, what's it called?"
It's funny to say that Yu Zhilan has been a teacher for more than 30 years and has seen all kinds of people over the years, but now she is shocked by her own daughter-in-law.
"Grandma, my name is Qiao An." The little guy answered softly.
After saying that, the old couple shifted their attention from Qiao Lu to the little one.
"Oh, okay, Qiao An, Qiao An, Qiao..." Yes, take mother's last name!
Before she could think further, Qiao Lu smiled and stroked her son's head, and whispered softly: "Mom, I am Qiao Lu."
He had a proper smile on his face as he spoke, his expression calm and composed, but in fact his heart was surging with emotions, and his voice was slightly unnatural, but you wouldn't notice it if you didn't listen carefully.
Xu Haizhou paid attention to the details and put his long arms around her shoulders. Just such a simple action gave her infinite courage.
Phew——I’m really panicking.
"Okay, sit down first. Come here, it's warm here." Yu Zhilan moved the bench next to the heating pipe, where the temperature was the highest.
"Thank you, Mom." Calling her "Mom" in a friendly and sweet way brings people closer together.
"You don't have this thing in the south, right? It's a little hot, be careful not to let the children touch it." Pointing at the heating pipe, Yu Zhilan warned.
Before Qiao Lu could say anything, Qiao An spoke first, waving his hands: "Grandma, I won't touch you."
These words made Yu Zhilan laugh, and she subconsciously wanted to touch his head. As soon as her hand reached out, she turned around and touched her hair.
The old man sitting on the edge of the bed said nothing, his deep eyes fell quietly on the mother and son, his hands casually rolling cigarettes.
The old man had a short, stiff mustache, and his eyes were almost a one-to-one replica of Xu Haizhou's, and they looked particularly deep when he looked at you. But he was old, so his eyes seemed to be sunken in his eye sockets, and he didn't look very energetic, probably because of the illness he had a few years ago, which made him look older than his peers.
"Dad." Xu Haizhou called out.
"Dad." Qiao Lu shouted.
Qiao An didn't fall behind and said softly: "Grandpa..."
When the old man doesn't smile, he looks a little fierce, and he doesn't talk, which makes people feel uneasy.
"Hmm." He replied in a neutral tone, and then nothing else happened.
Looking at him, Xu Haizhou wanted to say something, but the neighbors suddenly rushed into the house one by one.
When these people heard that Xu Haizhou had returned with his wife and son, they stopped cooking and ran over to eat melons.
"How old is she? This kid looks really cute."
"Four years old." Xu Haizhou replied.
"Four years old? Haizhou, you are too unkind. You have been married for four years and you didn't give any information to your family."
"That's not right. Didn't you come back the year before last? I didn't hear you talk about getting married then. Oh, by the way, you said you were single then, and I wanted to introduce you to someone."
"Yes, I remember that too. I also said I would introduce my niece to you, but before I could do that, you ran off to the South again."
The mother and son looked at Xu Haizhou at the same time. The man laughed softly and was about to say something when Yu Zhilan interrupted him:
"At that time, I didn't agree with them getting together, so Haizhou kept it a secret from me. So, he didn't come back last year out of spite, and only brought his wife and kids back this year. I didn't know about it much earlier than you did."
Obviously, Yu Zhilan was unwilling to mention the fact that Qiao Lu was remarried in front of her neighbors.
The couple looked at each other and tacitly chose to remain silent.
"Is there such a thing? Oh, Zhilan, you are really something. This girl is pretty good, why don't you let her be?"
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