Hearing the children's shouts, Moxi looked up and saw her brother's car had returned. She dropped the basket of mud and ran over to open the large iron gate, jumping for joy as she stood to the side. "Sister-in-law, you're amazing! You managed to bring my stubborn old mother here. I was worried she wouldn't come to the provincial capital."
Su Xiaonuan gave her an OK sign, meaning that with her sister-in-law involved, anything could be accomplished.
As the car came to a stop, Su Ming ran over, rubbing his hands covered in mud, and nodded to Zhang Yulan. "Hello, mother-in-law, I'm Dou Dou and Guo Guo's maternal grandfather. Welcome home."
Su Ming deeply respected Zhang Yulan. Such a petite woman had managed to raise her children all by herself, especially in the countryside. It was truly remarkable.
"You're my father-in-law?" Zhang Yulan's eyes crinkled with laughter as she looked at the kind and amiable Su Ming, sizing him up from head to toe. "What are you busy with?"
"We're digging holes to plant trees," Su Ming said with a smile.
“Mom, Uncle is making room for you to grow vegetables.” Xiao Moxi pointed to the large pits. “Uncle is clearing out the backyard for you to grow vegetables, and all those trees in the backyard are going to be transplanted to the front yard.”
"You're so thoughtful!" Zhang Yulan felt a warmth in her heart. Before coming, she was worried that her in-laws in the city might be difficult to get along with, but she didn't expect them to be so understanding. It's really great.
"Grandma." The two children ran over and hugged Zhang Yulan's legs on either side, rubbing against her affectionately.
"Dou Dou, Guo Guo, Grandma missed you so much." Zhang Yulan squatted down. She didn't have enough strength to pick up the children one in each arm, so she just squatted on the ground and kissed them several times.
"Grandma, we miss you so much too." DouDou and GuoGuo also kissed her on the cheek a few times.
Su Xiaonuan looked around. "Where are Xiaotian and Xiaoli?"
“They were just picked up by Xie Zhi and taken home,” Moxi said. “If you had come back half an hour earlier, you would have seen them.”
"Is Aunt Chen's hand better?" Su Xiaonuan asked with concern.
"It's not fully healed yet. The doctor said one more dressing change and it should be almost healed," Mo Xi snorted. "We don't want them to leave, but that pig-headed man surnamed Xie is up to no good. If we stop him, he might cause trouble. You're not home, so we can't afford to mess with someone like that. He even brought several bodyguards in black. We can't afford to offend him."
As they were talking, Zhang Yulan saw a dignified and elegant woman walk out. Although she was wearing an apron, it couldn't hide the noble air that set her apart from other women.
"Mother-in-law, we've finally been waiting for you." Ye Mei stepped forward, took Zhang Yulan's hand, and acted as if they were old friends who had known each other for many years. "From now on, Mo Ran and Xiao Nuan can be by your side every day to take care of you."
"Mother-in-law, thank you!" Zhang Yulan's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you for giving birth to such a wonderful daughter as Xiaonuan. You have raised her so well. Our Xiao family has let Xiaonuan down. From now on, our whole family will treat Xiaonuan even better."
“Mom, it’s a good thing that we’re reunited, why are you crying?” Xiao Moran said. “Hurry up, let Moxi show you around our big house.”
“Yes, go check on your vegetable garden,” Su Ming said. “The flowers in the backyard have all been moved. Once I’ve dug this hole and moved the tree, the vegetable garden can be planted. Vegetables need sunlight, and the backyard gets plenty of sunshine.”
Big Yellow had a leash around its neck, one end of which was tied to the car. It had been silent for a while, but when it saw its little owner, it was so happy that it ran around wildly in the car. However, the people were so busy talking that they ignored its presence.
Big Yellow put its front legs on the carriage and barked at everyone a few times. Hearing Big Yellow's barking, the chickens, ducks and geese in the carriage also started to bark and quack.
"Ah, it's Big Yellow!" Dou Dou and Guo Guo clapped their hands excitedly. "Big Yellow is here too, that's wonderful!"
"Big Yellow, you're here too?" Moxi stepped forward and reached out to pat Big Yellow's head.
Su Ming and Ye Mei then realized that the truck was loaded with everything. They gasped in surprise and exclaimed at the same time, "How much stuff did you bring?"
“Father-in-law, these are all local specialties from our village that you can’t buy in the city,” Zhang Yulan said. “Some of them are from our family, and some were given to us by the villagers. Live animals like chickens and ducks can be kept in the yard for a while and we can eat them slowly. Dried local specialties can also be stored, but fresh ones should be eaten as soon as possible.”
"That's too much," Ye Mei said. "How long are we going to have to eat?"
"Moxi, hurry up and take the fresh vegetables and fruits out of the car. They don't keep well, so we need to eat them as soon as possible," Zhang Yulan instructed her daughter.
"Okay." Moxi immediately got to work.
Su Ming ran to the backyard, fenced off a plot of land in a corner, and let all the chickens, ducks, and geese they had brought roam freely in it.
After unloading everything from the car, Xiao Moxi immediately took the liberty of taking some fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as some local specialties, and even caught a chicken to deliver to Aunt Zhang in the neighborhood.
"Who are you carrying all these things to?" Zhang Yulan noticed and grabbed her, not letting her leave.
"Mom, come with me." Xiao Moxi gestured with her chin. "It'll be a good opportunity to introduce you to Aunt Zhang."
"Who is Aunt Zhang?" Zhang Yulan searched her memory for this person. Among the people her son had told her, there was no Aunt Zhang. She remembered Xiaotian, Xiaoli, and Aunt Chen.
"Aunt Zhang is an authoritative figure in our community. Although she is just a retired aunt, her prestige is as high as that of our village chief. The first two times Li Chunxiang came to cause trouble, it was Aunt Zhang who helped us suppress Li Chunxiang."
"Okay, I'll go with you." Upon hearing this, Zhang Yulan took the chicken from her daughter and carried it in her own hands.
"Uh, where are you guys going?" Su Xiaonuan came out and saw them carrying things and about to leave.
"Sister-in-law, I'll take Mom to meet Aunt Zhang."
Su Xiaonuan understood Moxi's intention, so she let them go out and continued to pack up the things she had brought back. Some things needed to be put in new bags, as the burlap sacks in the countryside could only be used temporarily.
She searched the front and back yards, and even the storage sheds, but couldn't find anything suitable to replace the burlap sacks, so she had to drive out to buy some.
The children took on the task of feeding the live animals.
Ye Mei returned to the kitchen and busied herself.
Su Ming continued digging a bigger pit.
After Xiao Moran finished his work, he came to help. "Dad, let me help you dig."
"No need, the hole will be dug soon." Su Ming waved his hand. "Tomorrow, you can ask two able-bodied workers to help move the trees from the backyard and plant them. As for the backyard, let your mother do whatever she wants there. She can decide what she likes to plant."
"Dad, thank you for your generosity and tolerance." Xiao Moran bowed to Su Ming in the pit from the ground. "I remember everything you have done for my mother."
...
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