Chapter 117
The mother and her two children returned to where Chen Shengqing and the others were. Little Tianxing chattered to them, "Dad, grandma, grandma, we saw Grandpa Mao."
"Uncle Mao, Chairman?" Chen Shengqing asked.
Yang Qiujin nodded: "Xiao Tianxing's balloon flew away, and she and Tianyou went to pick up the balloons together. The Chairman helped them pick up the balloons. They both saw him, but I didn't."
"Where is it?" Wu Shulian looked around.
She came to the capital just to see its prosperity and to see the Chairman.
"You left so early that I didn't even see you." Yang Qiujin rolled the donkey wrapped in oil paper in her hand and handed it to Li Xiu'e.
"What a pity! I didn't get to meet Chairman Mao. It's such a shame." Li Xiu'e said as she picked up a piece of donkey roll that was cut into square pieces and coated with soybean powder and put it into her mouth. She tasted the soft, sticky, sweet and delicious taste with the unique sandy texture of soybean powder. She nodded and said, "This donkey roll tastes really good. It tastes like the glutinous rice cake in our hometown. You all should try it."
Each family member took a piece to eat, and it tasted exactly like the glutinous rice cake from Sichuan Province. They all nodded and said, "It tastes good."
"Mom, I want more." Xiao Tianxing, who loves sweets, finished one piece and wanted to eat two more.
"This is a dessert made of glutinous rice. You have a weak stomach and you won't be able to digest it if you eat too much. Can we eat something else?" Yang Qiujin stuffed a popsicle into her hand and coaxed her to walk towards the jeep.
Guard Kobayashi drove them to visit the Forbidden City and the Old Summer Palace. After they had finished their visit, he took them to Quanjude to eat roast duck.
The roast ducks at Quanjude are all freshly roasted and cost only eight yuan each, without coupons, which is quite expensive. They also ordered donkey roast, shabu-shabu mutton, braised liver tips, fried dumplings, and the old capital's specialty, soy milk.
When the roast duck was served, the skin was shiny, sizzling with oil, and exuding an alluring aroma.
There is a professional duck slicing chef who uses a slicing knife to slice the duck into slices and places them on a pure white plate with pancakes, green cucumber shreds, green onion shreds, and a dish of sweet noodle sauce on the side.
Knowing that they were from outside the area, the roast duck chef even taught them how to eat roast duck.
When everyone imitated the duck chef, they picked up a thin piece of pancake, sandwiched a piece of crispy duck skin and a piece of plump duck meat, dipped it in sweet bean sauce, put some shredded scallions and cucumber on it, put them together and took a big bite. The roast duck skin was crispy, the duck meat was tender and juicy, and the combination with the greasy shredded scallions and cucumber and the slightly sweet taste of sweet bean sauce was so delicious that the whole family could not stop praising it.
The family quickly finished a roast duck and then tried other dishes, which all tasted good, except for the soy milk, which made them vomit after just one sip.
Chen Tianyou frowned and said, "Why is this soybean milk sour?"
Chen Shengqing, who has been to the capital several times and is used to the taste of soy milk, drank it slowly and said, "It's not sour, it's fermented. People who like it think it tastes good, but people who don't like it and are not used to it think it's sour."
Wu Shulian was not a picky eater. She had experienced famine, famine, and bad years. She had gnawed on tree bark and vegetable roots and eaten Guanyin soil. She could eat anything, no matter how unpalatable it was, even if it was rotten or spoiled.
Maybe it was because she was spoiled by her two daughters' good food and drink in recent years, but she forced herself to drink a few sips of soy milk, but it was really hard to swallow.
She put the soy milk aside with disdain and said, "Not only are the dishes here expensive, but they also sell stale soy milk. I don't know what the people in this capital like to drink such a thing."
"Mom, you can't say that. People are shaped by the land and water they live in. Every place has its own specialty food. Just like the fermented black beans made by people in my hometown, it smells stinky but tastes both fragrant and stinky. Even locals like us may not be able to accept it, let alone outsiders." Yang Qiujin said as she stuffed a piece of shabu-shabu mutton dipped in sesame sauce into Xiao Tianxing's mouth.
Wu Shulian thought about it and realized that this was the truth, so she said nothing more.
In the afternoon, they went to climb the Great Wall again. Wu Shulian and Li Xiu'e, two middle-aged women, climbed the Great Wall very skillfully. Their legs and feet were very nimble and they would not stop until they reached the top.
It was tiring for Yang Qiujin to crawl with two children. At the beginning, within less than half an hour, little Tianxing started to complain of being tired and wanted to be carried.
So the whole journey was carried and embraced by Chen Shengqing and Chen Tianyou. Chen Shengqing even turned around and recited a passage by Yang Qiujin. The family finally reached the summit.
When the family stood at the highest point of the 12th floor of the Great Wall and saw the mountains and trees below the Great Wall and the city houses faintly visible in the distance, Yang Qiujin couldn't help but sigh: "If only we had a camera, it would be great for our family to take a photo here to commemorate the occasion."
Chen Shengqing stood beside her, held her hand and said, "Don't feel sorry. Even if you don't have a camera now, you will have one in the future. There is a long way to go. In a few years, we will buy a camera and bring our family to visit the capital. Who knows, by then, the capital will be in a different light."
Yang Qiujin smiled slightly, "That's true. Anyway, we are still young. We can do the same thing again in a few years."
In the next few days, the whole family went out to eat and have fun. They also went to Wangfujing, the largest department store in the capital, and bought some rare items to take back to the border.
For example, Li Xiu'e thought the wool in the capital was good, so she bought a bunch of it and planned to go back and knit sweaters for her family.
Wu Shulian thought that the capital's old Beijing cloth shoes were well made. When she heard that she could buy two pairs without a shoe ticket, she bought two pairs without hesitation.
When Chen Tianyou came to the capital earlier, his classmates and friends asked him to buy learning supplies and toys. He bought a bunch of picture books, comic books, marbles, tin frogs, etc. He also bought two books for Wang Songyue that were not available in border areas and two identical Hero brand silver-gold pens.
This kind of pen costs RMB 1.62 each, which is not expensive and he can afford it with his own pocket money.
Yang Qiujin took a fancy to a khaki wool coat hanging in a ready-made clothing store. When she asked the price, she was told it cost eighty yuan. With a clothing ticket, she was shocked by the high price and turned around to leave.
Chen Shengqing held her back and said, "Do you like it? If you like it, buy it."
Yang Qiujin glanced at the salesman and whispered in his ear, "This dress is too expensive. It's almost two months' salary for me. I can't bear to spend the money. Aren't you going to buy a house in the capital? We've spent a lot of money on this trip. If I buy another expensive dress like this, what will I do if I can't buy the house you want?"
"If you can't buy a house, don't buy it. It's more important to buy something you like." Chen Shengqing signaled the clerk to pack up the dress, turned around and smiled at Yang Qiujin, "Money can't buy what you like. Over the years, you have raised children with me, worked hard and never complained, and never showed any special liking or interest in anything. It's rare that you want to buy that dress, no matter how much it costs, you can buy it if you want. If the money for buying a house is not enough, we will think of other ways."
Yang Qiujin's heart was pounding when she heard his words, and the corners of her mouth rose, "Don't you think I'm a spendthrift woman for buying such expensive clothes?"
Chen Shengqing said, "Only men who are incompetent and treat their women badly will think that women spend money and ruin the family. You are my lover, my wife. I earn money to support the family, so it is only natural for me to spend money on you. Otherwise, why do I work so hard to earn money? Come and see me earning money."
Yang Qiujin chuckled. After he said that, the guilt in her heart for spending too much money on a coat disappeared.
After settling the bill, Yang Qiujin held the paper bag of clothes in one hand and held Chen Shengqing's hand with the other hand and said sweetly: "We still have to buy some gifts. When we go to Commander Zhou's house, we can't go empty-handed."
This was the first time that Yang Qiujin took the initiative to hold Chen Shengqing's hand in public in the more than ten years since the couple got married.
Chen Shengqing was in a very good mood, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. His usually cold and handsome features softened at this moment, with a smile in his eyes. He whispered, "You can buy whatever you want."
Yang Qiujin said with a smile: "Commander Zhou's family should have everything they need. I have to think carefully about what to buy."
Early the next morning, Li Xiu'e and Wu Shulian stayed at home, while Chen Shengqing's family of four dressed neatly and got on the jeep driven by Xiaolin and arrived at a courtyard house in the north of the city that was built in a very quaint and exquisite style.
There were two guards standing at the gate of the yard. After Chen Shengqing and his family got out of the car, Xiao Lin said to one of the guards, "This is Commander Chen from the border area and his family. They are Commander Zhou's guests and have made an appointment before. You see..."
The two guards nodded, said nothing, and opened the gate to let Chen Shengqing and his family in.
Walking inside, the layout is different from what everyone imagines. There are many rooms inside, divided into east and west side rooms and the main house. At first glance, all the doors are closed.
The yard is large, spacious and bright. There are a few lush pine trees planted near the corner of the wall, and some flower plants planted on the other side, all of which are growing well. You can smell the faint scent of orchids as soon as you enter.
Xiao Lin led the group through the wide courtyard and came to a room on the left. He shouted, "Commander, your guest has arrived!"
"Let them in." A powerful voice sounded.
Chen Shengqing led his family into the room. It turned out that the room was a study. There were bookshelves on both walls filled with books.
A gray-haired, dignified-looking officer wearing a commander's uniform was writing with a brush at a desk.
Seeing Chen Shengqing and his family coming in, he raised his head, looked at Chen Shengqing with a sharp gaze and said, "Xiao Chen, you're here."
"Commander." Chen Shengqing saluted him, stood straight in front of him and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. I hope you are in good health."
"I'm old and my old ailments can't be cured, that's it." Commander Zhou put down the brush in his hand, smiled and looked at Yang Qiujin and her son behind him and said, "Are these your family members?"
"yes."
"Hello, Commander Zhou. My name is Yang Qiujin. You can just call me Little Yang." After Yang Qiujin introduced herself, she pushed the two children and said, "Tianyou, Tianxing, call me Grandpa Zhou."
The two children called him Grandpa politely. Commander Zhou smiled and said, "Good, you are all good children. Xiao Yang, I have heard about your deeds from others. You have been waiting for the missing Xiao Chen in your hometown for seven years. During this time, you gave birth to children for him and took care of his parents for him. Your perseverance and love for Xiao Chen are really touching. Even my wife is talking about wanting to see you."
Yang Qiujin said politely, "I just did my part. Commander Zhou, thank you for your compliment. I wonder where Mrs. Zhou is. I also want to chat with her."
Commander Zhou pointed to the main house and said, "She should be talking to her two daughters-in-law in the living room right now. You should go with the nanny."
Seeing that Commander Zhou might have something to say to Chen Shengqing, Yang Qiujin took her two children and followed the nanny outside to the Zhou family's living room.
Mrs. Zhou was a very kind and gentle woman. When she saw Yang Qiujin and her two children, she praised them for being beautiful and sensible.
Her two daughters-in-law were also highly educated women. No matter what they thought of Yang Qiujin and her son, at least they did their best to show their respect for them and always enthusiastically served them tea and snacks.
After talking for a while, Mrs. Zhou felt tired, so she asked the two nannies at home to cook and asked the two children to play with the other children at home.
Yang Qiujin originally wanted to refuse, because although Mrs. Zhou was very kind, her two daughters-in-law always gave her the feeling that they were looking down on her from a high position.
Especially her second daughter-in-law, whose words and actions always exude a sense of superiority that is difficult to describe.
Even though Yang Qiujin was a thick-skinned person, she could still sense that Mrs. Zhou's daughter-in-law looked down on her as a country woman.
However, before she could say no, Xiao Tianxing clapped her hands and said, "Yes, yes, Grandma Zhou, I also want to play with my brothers and sisters in the capital."
Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "Go to the backyard. There are lots of toys there."
The brothers and sisters that Mrs. Zhou was talking about were the youngest grandson born to his eldest son. The fourth and fifth grandsons and granddaughters born to the second son were about the same age as Chen Tianyou, all in their teens. Only the youngest grandson born to her youngest daughter was only seven years old. He came to the Zhou family to play during the summer vacation and had been spoiled by the family before.
The children wanted to go out and play, but Yang Qiujin couldn't go with them, so she just drank tea in the living room and chatted with Mrs. Zhou's two daughters-in-law.
Chen Tianyou took his sister and went to the backyard under the guidance of the nanny.
There, near the wall, a play area was created using sand.
Several half-grown children of the Zhou family heard from their nanny that Chen Tianyou and his sister came from the borderland and that their father was the hero, as their grandfather said, who went alone to the Soviet Union as a spy, brought back several important intelligence pieces of information, and improved the technology of Dongfeng City's firearms research and development for several decades. All of them were very curious about Chen Tianyou and his sister, and surrounded them with questions.
What? Was your father really that powerful? Did he really go to the Soviet Union as a spy? How did he manage to bring back important intelligence without being discovered by the Soviets? Is the border area full of yellow sand and desert beaches? Do people there not take baths?
Chen Tianyou patiently answered their questions one by one.
Little Tianxing was too young to join in the conversation, and children naturally have a strong interest in playing with sand. When her brother was talking to others, she would run aside and play with sand.
As a result, just as she built a sand castle, a boy about seven years old, who was fatter than the average child, rushed over and stepped on Xiao Tianxing's sand castle, and said in a very sharp voice: "Where did you come from, you country bumpkin? Get out of here, this is my place to play."
Xiao Tianxing was stunned for a moment, then he got so angry that he grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at the fat man's face, angrily saying, "You are bad."
The fat man started crying as the sand got into his eyes.
Chen Tianyou heard the noise and turned to look at Tianxing, "Sister, what's wrong?"
Xiao Tianxing pointed at the fat man who was crying and wailing and said, "He is bad. He trampled my house to pieces."
Chen Tianyou looked at the fat man with a gloomy face, "Who are you and why did you trample on the sand house made by my sister?"
Several half-grown children nearby surrounded the fat man and helped him wipe the river sand off his face.
The fat man said angrily: "Who do you care who I am? This is my grandpa's house. I can destroy anything I don't like. Where did you come from, you country bumpkins? Don't you know that this is my territory and you are not allowed to touch the sand! And you, little country bumpkin, dare to throw sand in my face? I will beat you to death!"
The rude and aggressive look on his face showed that he was a spoiled, uneducated dandy.
When he swung his fist at Xiao Tianxing, several half-grown children cried out in surprise and tried to stop him: "Wei Hanfei, stop it! Don't hit the guests!"
However, he acted too quickly and the three half-grown children were unable to stop him.
At the critical moment, Chen Tianyou caught his fist steadily, and twisted it to the side without changing his expression. The fat boy's wrist bone made a cracking sound, and he said in a cold voice: "Is this how you treat guests? You say we are country bumpkins, but we country bumpkins at least know etiquette and won't bully a one and a half year old girl and beat her to death. I don't know who taught such rubbish."
Chen Tianyou has always loved his sister very much. If anyone dares to touch his sister, he will beat her to death.
The twist directly dislocated the fat boy's wrist, and he cried out in pain.
Just like that, the little fat boy cursed angrily: "You country bumpkin, how dare you touch me? Do you know who my father, mother, grandpa, grandma, and grandpa are? If you dare to touch me, I will let them kill you! Feed your rotten bones to the dogs!"
When these words came out, the three half-grown children were all stunned. The 14-year-old girl named Zhou Qinqin hurriedly covered his mouth and said, "Xiao Fei, what nonsense are you talking about? Do you want to bring trouble to our two families?"
The situation in the capital is very strange now. The Zhou family has only settled in the capital for a few years and has not yet taken root. Although the Wei family is considered a powerful family in the capital, all of their children have been given explicit prohibitions to keep a low profile, abide by the law, and not bring any trouble to the family.
Wei Hanfei is the only boy in their family. He has been spoiled by his family since he was a child and speaks without knowing his place. If someone with ulterior motives heard what he just said, it would be a disaster.
"Xiao Fei!" A woman's voice harshly ordered the little fat boy, "Apologize to your sister!"
This person is Wei Hanfei's mother, Zhou Zirong, Commander Zhou's youngest daughter. She is a woman wearing a military officer's uniform and with short hair. She looks particularly stern and serious. She is also the only person in the Wei family who is not used to Wei Hanfei.
Early this morning, Chen Shengqing called Commander Zhou and told him that his family would come to visit him. Commander Zhou then happily called his three children and asked them to go home at noon to have lunch with the guests.
Zhou Zirong was busy with work, so he sent his child to live with his father during the summer vacation. He also wanted his strict father to help him discipline the child so that the child would not become lawless in his husband's family.
After she received a call from her father, she also wanted to see the children, so she drove for a whole morning to the Zhou family's home in the capital. As soon as she entered the door and chatted with her two sisters-in-law and the guests' family members, she heard the children arguing in the backyard.
She immediately felt something was wrong and went to the backyard, where she heard her son say such ignorant words.
Wei Hanfei was very afraid of her. From childhood to adulthood, she had trained him like a dog using the same methods used in the military. The Wei family members did not dare to say anything.
Because he knew that she was a person of firm principles, and he also knew that the Zhou family was not easy to mess with. If she had not saved Wei Hanfei's father's life, the Wei family would never agree to their marriage no matter what.
Seeing her gloomy face, Wei Hanfei raised his wrist aggrievedly and said, "Mom, that country bumpkin broke my hand. It hurts so much, wuwuwu."
"I'll say it again, I apologize." Zhou Zirong ignored his left hand that was hanging abnormally, and gritted his teeth and said, "How many times have I told you that all of our ancestors originated from the countryside. We all started out as farmers. There is no distinction between the city and the countryside. When you call others country bumpkins, you are also calling yourself a country bumpkin. I warn you again today. If I hear you call others country bumpkins again, I will beat you to death!"
Wei Hanfei felt extremely wronged, but also extremely stubborn, "I won't apologize. You are my mother, not their mother. Why do you always side with outsiders and not with me?"
Zhou Zirong walked over, raised his hand and slapped him on the face, then grabbed his hand, stood in front of Yang Qiujin who had walked to the side of Chen Tianyou and his sister and said, "Comrade Yang, I am a poor parent and your two children have suffered. I am here to apologize to you on his behalf."
As she spoke, she bowed solemnly to Chen Tianyou and his sister and said, "My two little comrades, please forgive my child's rudeness. I will discipline him strictly when I return. I'm sorry that you have been wronged the first time you came to our house."
The Zhou family's children nearby were stunned. They knew how fierce and powerful their aunt was, but they never thought that she would beat a child without hesitation in front of the guests, and even humble herself and bow to the child to apologize.
Yang Qiujin's face was originally very ugly. After all, it was the first time for anyone to visit someone else's home, and she could tolerate her own child being bullied by the host's children.
However, after Zhou Zirong's compensation and apology, she didn't know what to say. She just looked at the two children and motioned for them to take over.
Xiao Tianxing pointed at Wei Hanfei and said, "You are not a good kid. I don't like you and I won't come here again."
Chen Tianyou said coldly, "Aunt Zhou, this time we will not bother with your child for your sake, but if it happens again, it won't be as simple as breaking a bone. No one can bully my sister."
Zhou Zirong nodded, said sorry again, and flew away with the crying Wei Han.
Commander Zhou found out about this later, so he called his daughter, son-in-law, and Wei Hanfei to the Zhou family, scolded them severely, and said bluntly that if the Wei family continued to get used to Wei Hanfei, they would sooner or later spoil Wei Hanfei.
Wei Hanfei's father was meek and didn't dare to say anything, but he knew in his heart that no matter how reasonable his father-in-law was, after the couple returned home, they secretly conspired to take the child to Shanghai and did not allow the Wei family to see the child. This caused an uproar in the Wei family again.
On the other hand, Commander Zhou also apologized to Chen Shengqing, saying that he had not taken good care of his grandson, and asked Chen Shengqing to forgive him.
As a commander, he apologized because of his age. What could Chen Shengqing say? After lunch, he took his wife and children home.
On the way back, he first praised Chen Tianyou for his good work and for protecting his sister, and then apologized to him: "Tianyou, I was a little too hasty when you modified the gun and the bombs. Daddy is here to say sorry to you. You are a good child, and I believe you know your own limits in doing things. You may not know that you modified my old gun and made a contribution some time ago. If you want to do anything in the future, remember to let me know in advance. I will fully support you within the scope of what I can bear."
After hearing his father's belated apology, Chen Tianyou was stunned for a long time, his eyes were red, and he said with pursed lips: "Dad, I was also wrong about that matter, you don't have to apologize to me."
The father was really not used to apologizing to his son. He always felt extremely guilty for having to bow down to his elders.
Chen Shengqing smiled and said, "It's a mistake, it's a mistake. Apologizing is no big deal, as long as you don't hold a grudge against it."
Yang Qiujin joked: "There is no overnight hatred between father and son. Why talk so much? It's corny."
Chen Shengqing looked at Xiao Tianxing. She was counting her little fingers in his arms. He asked, "Xiao Tianxing, are you afraid today?"
Xiao Tianxing shook her head: "Don't be afraid, my brother will protect me."
Chen Shengqing nodded with relief, and then asked: "What if your brother is not by your side in the future and you encounter this kind of thing again, what will you do if you meet someone who bullies you?"
Xiao Tianxing thought about it seriously and said, "Run."
"You're so smart." Chen Shengqing kissed her cheek and asked, "What if you can't run faster?"
"Call me mom and dad."
"Mom and Dad are not here."
Xiao Tianxing was stuck and stared at Chen Shengqing blankly, not knowing what to do.
Chen Shengqing pinched her chubby face and said, "Do you want to be as powerful as your brother, be able to beat others, and be able to protect yourself and others?"
Xiao Tianxing's eyes lit up and he nodded without hesitation: "I want to."
"Then from today on, you will follow your brother to train your body and learn fighting skills. Only when you have a strong body and the ability to fight back, others will not bully you."
"good."
Yang Qiujin felt helpless when she heard the conversation between father and daughter. Tianxing was going to be trained by Chen Shengqing, and she would become like a tomboy. The cute, obedient, sensible and well-behaved daughter in her dreams would be gone forever. It was heartbreaking to think about it.
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