At 5:30 p.m., Su Xiao led Tian Rongyao and the others to a newly opened restaurant in Nanshi. Not long after they sat down, Su Qiang and Huang Feiyan also arrived.
"Brother, let's order first." Su Xiao handed the menu to Su Qiang, letting him make the decision.
"Okay." Su Qiang didn't refuse. Whoever orders pays, and it's his treat today. "Waiter, let's order."
While Su Qiang was ordering, Su Xiao poured tea for everyone. "Uncle, Fourth Uncle, have some tea first, we'll have to wait a while."
"Oh dear, we can do it ourselves." Tian Rongyao stood up and took the tea that Su Xiao had poured.
“Yes, Xiaoxiao, you sit down, I’ll do it over here.” Tian Shuang forcefully took the teapot from Su Xiao’s hand and continued her work.
Su Xiao didn't refuse and let her take over. Indeed, the location was far away, and she couldn't reach it.
Just then, she saw Grandpa Su, Grandma Su, Uncle Su and Aunt Su, Su Ming's family, Su Wei, and two unfamiliar men and women—a large group of people—walk in together in a grand procession.
"Grandpa and Grandma, this way." Su Qiang stood up and gestured.
Su Dayong grinned, his face crinkling with wrinkles, revealing his bright white teeth. "Oh my, nephew, I heard you got promoted again, battalion commander? That really brings honor to the Su family! You've got some potential..."
Su Qiang quickly corrected him, "Deputy, just deputy."
How did he know? Su Qiang looked at Uncle Tian. He had talked to Uncle Tian and the others about this. Sure enough, he saw that Uncle Tian looked proud and his eyes met those of Grandpa Su.
So, it was Uncle Tian who told Grandpa Su? And Grandpa Su told Su Dayong?
That's probably the only possibility.
"Hey, you're being modest. A deputy is still a battalion commander, and besides, you're already a deputy, so how far away can you be a commander? Qiangzi, your uncle has high hopes for you." Uncle Su reached out and patted Su Qiang's shoulder, his smile genuine.
"Thank you, Uncle." Su Qiang gave a perfunctory smile, offering no response. "Uncle, please sit down. And these two, please have a seat too..."
The uncle looked at where Su Qiang was pointing, and the smile on his face faded a little. "These are the children your aunt brought, Liu Bo and Liu Jia."
"Third Brother." Liu Bo greeted Su Qiang, and there was something subtle about this "Third Brother."
Su Qiang is indeed the third in the Su family.
Su Qiang smiled but didn't respond. Liu Bo was a little disappointed, but then he smiled again.
Like her aunt, Liu Jia was a quiet person. She arrived without making a sound and sat silently next to her aunt, her head down and not saying a word.
"Xiaoxiao." Su Wei came over and went to Su Xiao's side, plopped down next to her, and smiled broadly.
"Second Brother." Su Xiao felt a pang of emotion seeing that he was still the same as before.
Su Wei looked at her and exclaimed, "You've taken good care of yourself these past few years; you're getting more and more beautiful."
Someone said she was good-looking, and Su Xiao couldn't help but laugh, "You look good too. Are you still working in the factory?"
"Hey, what else can I do if I don't go to work? I don't want to go to work. I do the same work every day. It's so annoying." Su Wei complained in a low voice. "But if I don't go to work, I won't have money to eat. Besides, I paid for this job. If I quit, my grandparents will beat me to death."
Su Wei has been active since he was a child. Su Xiao can imagine that it would be really difficult to get him to do the same thing properly from nine to five.
"I see that people can do business openly and honestly now, so I'd like to set up a stall too, but, sigh..." A sigh made Su Wei's spirits wane considerably.
Su Xiao's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Su Wei and tentatively smiled, "I do have some connections."
"What?" Su Wei's eyes lit up suddenly, and he moved closer to Su Xiao, asking eagerly, "What connections do you have? Tell your brother quickly."
Su Xiao remained calm and composed, saying, "We'll discuss this in more detail next time. The food is here, let's eat."
Su Wei looked up and saw that Grandpa Su, Su Qiang, and Grandma Su were all looking at them. Knowing that it was inconvenient to talk now, he readily agreed and greeted everyone, "The food is here, everyone, start eating! Hot food won't taste good if it gets cold."
Once the food was served, everyone relaxed and chatted happily, laughing and talking amongst themselves.
"Grandpa, chicken leg, I want to eat chicken leg." Su Mo is already eight years old. As soon as he saw the chicken leg in the bowl, he couldn't take his eyes off it. He pulled on Su Dayong's sleeve and shook it vigorously, acting spoiled.
"Okay, Grandpa will serve you some." Su Dayong doted on this eldest grandson, after all, he was the only one among the younger generation of the Su family.
"Two, there are two."
Okay, kid, one wasn't enough, you wanted to have them all.
Li Qin, still concerned about her reputation, quickly apologized to everyone, saying, "I'm sorry, my child is ignorant and has made a fool of himself."
Then, she pulled Su Mo over, pretended to pat him on the shoulder, and lectured him, "Don't be rude, one is enough."
"No, I want two, I want two!" Su Mo got angry and slammed her fist on the table, making a loud banging noise as the dishes clattered.
Su Dayong quickly coaxed, "Alright, two is fine. Since the child wants to eat, just give it to him. Why make him unhappy?"
Then, without any hesitation, he put another chicken leg on Su Mo's plate and said, "Good boy, Grandpa got chicken legs for our Mo Mo. Eat up, they're all yours."
Upon seeing this, Li Qin frowned and said, "Dad, you'll spoil the child if you do this."
Li Qin really regrets it; she spoiled her child rotten before.
When she realized something was wrong and tried to intervene to correct him, she found it very difficult.
Not to mention that the elderly spoil her, she just couldn't bring herself to be harsh. She was extremely anxious but helpless, and could only sigh repeatedly.
"What's wrong with him? Don't talk nonsense, my grandson is perfectly fine." Su Dayong retorted to his daughter-in-law, then turned to his son Su Ming, "Su Ming, what do you say?"
Su Ming looked at his wife and then at his father, and nodded silently, "You're both right."
Well, he's a peacemaker who tries to avoid offending either side, but in doing so, he ends up offending both.
Su Dayong cursed disdainfully, "Coward."
Li Qin glanced at him, and Su Ming knew from that look that he was in for a fight when he got home that night.
Everyone remained silent, just watching the show. As a group of adults, they naturally wouldn't make trouble for a child. It was just two chicken legs; they were eating at a restaurant today, and there were plenty of good dishes.
Su Wei actually had some reservations; he wouldn't spoil the child, as long as he didn't snatch things.
I didn't lose my temper because there were outsiders present today.
Aside from this little incident, the meal was still very harmonious.
During their meal and conversation, the group had already decided that they would go to the countryside early the next morning to pay respects at the graves of Su's parents.
The turbulent decade is long gone, and now some old customs are being brought up again by everyone. Following the rules passed down from our ancestors is always the right thing to do.
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