Chapter 273 (First and Second Updates) She was doing it for her husband...
One day, during a casual conversation, Tang Mingli mentioned to her family her experience of going to Hong Kong before giving birth. Madam Fu went back to her room and took out a letter from a box.
"This is a letter that your grandfather's old friend sent to him thirty years ago, but it's the only one. At that time, it was inconvenient for your grandfather to reply, and he probably didn't receive a response, so they never sent another letter."
Tang Mingli took it and saw that the date on the cover was February 18, 1966.
However, communication efficiency back then was not as good as it is now. Although it was written in February, it might have taken a month or two, or even longer, for it to reach Grandpa. So even though Grandma didn't say it explicitly, Tang Mingli roughly understood why it was inconvenient to reply.
Under those circumstances, having connections with Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan could easily lead to trouble.
Madam Fu continued, "Although your grandfather didn't say it, I know he must be very regretful, regretful that he didn't reply back then. He didn't tell his good friend who had always been concerned about him that he was doing well."
Tang Mingli was heartbroken, never expecting that her grandfather would pass away with such regret.
She didn't understand. Thirty years ago, it was due to circumstances, but why was Fu Ci able to travel to and from Hong Kong later, especially when the two of them went to Hong Kong together that year? Why didn't Grandpa tell them about it?
If they had known sooner, they would have definitely helped find my grandfather's old friend.
Madam Fu explained, "Your grandfather felt that so many years had passed, and there was no point in bringing it up again. Moreover, your grandfather always believed that he himself didn't have the courage to reply back then, so he was even less willing to bring it up."
“I actually thought the matter was over, but after he left, while packing his clothes, I found that exquisite box among a pile of things, and inside the box I found this letter that was protected by many layers. Only then did I realize that this matter had been weighing on his mind all along.”
Tang Mingli understood: "So this is the real reason why Grandma wanted to go to Hong Kong."
No wonder, whenever the topic of traveling to other places comes up, Grandma always says that she is too old to travel, but when it comes to going to Hong Kong, she cares more about it than anyone else.
Madam Fu smiled bitterly, "This is the only thing that still bothers Grandma."
Tang Mingli assured her firmly, "Next year we will definitely take Grandma to find the address on this envelope ourselves."
Despite saying that, she still silently memorized the address on the envelope and the sender's name, planning to tell Fu Ci when he got off work and see if she could ask a friend to look for it first.
Although thirty years have passed, perhaps my grandfather, this old friend, is still around.
It's not uncommon for people to live to be a hundred years old.
Tang Mingli secretly hoped that her deceased grandfather would live to be a hundred years old, so that her grandmother could see him one more time.
-
That evening, when Fu Ci returned home and learned the truth from his wife, he was just as shocked as she was.
He felt that his wife's consideration was correct; it was indeed more prudent to have someone check beforehand.
"If, and I mean if, that old friend is not doing well, I can still find a way to keep Grandma from finding out."
Tang Mingli was taken aback.
This was something her husband had considered, something she hadn't thought of.
She nodded: "Your concern is valid. If things really don't go well, Grandma might not feel good."
Fu Ci was a man of action. The next day, after returning to the company, he contacted his friends in Hong Kong and asked them to inquire on his behalf.
My friends in Hong Kong are very efficient; they found out about it in just a few days and excitedly called Fu Ci to tell them.
"I found out about Mr. Shen, whom you asked me to inquire about. He lives in a nursing home near that address."
"Really? Are you sure it's him?" Fu Ci was somewhat incredulous.
"Confirmed, the name, age, and other information all match."
"That's great." Fu Ci inquired about the old man's condition.
"Although he is a bit old, he is in very good health."
This is undoubtedly great news for Fu Ci.
To be alive. Nothing is better than that.
He was also quite excited and thanked his friend on the other end of the phone.
The other party smiled and said, "You're too kind. You've helped me a lot on the mainland, so I'm happy to help you in return."
"No, you really helped me a lot this time."
"Oh dear, I was just asking about someone, how did it become such a big help?"
Fu Ci couldn't explain it clearly, so he could only thank him repeatedly.
He probably didn't expect that his gratitude would embolden the other party. What started as a simple request for him to inquire about the matter escalated to the point where the person in question was directly contacted.
When Grandpa Shen heard that it was the Fu family inquiring about him, he was so excited that he wanted to go back to the mainland to meet them.
So, a few days later, Fu Ci received another call from his friend, and this was the news he learned.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't expect Mr. Shen to be so excited at his age. He was so excited to hear that a family surnamed Fu was looking for him that he wanted to go back to the mainland to meet you. I told him that he is already so old and shouldn't travel so much. He said he could meet you next year when Hong Kong returns to China. He said that it is precisely because he is already this old that he can't wait."
In fact, both the other party and Fu Ci agreed with what Grandpa Shen said.
It is precisely because I am so old that I cannot afford to wait any longer.
After thinking about it, Fu Ci felt that he would probably have to trouble the other party with this matter.
He shamelessly asked the other party if they could accompany Mr. Shen, or if someone could accompany Mr. Shen back to the mainland.
The other party readily agreed: "Of course, no problem. Shenzhen isn't that far, and I go there often anyway."
This is the agreement between the two parties.
Fu Ci also has to figure out how to tell his grandmother the news.
He didn't dare tell his family directly, but discussed it with his wife before going to bed.
Tang Mingli almost laughed in exasperation after hearing this, "What's there to worry about? Just tell Grandma directly, she'll definitely be happy to know."
She wanted to get out of bed immediately to tell her grandmother the news, but she held back because she thought her grandmother might be overjoyed.
"I'll tell Grandma the good news as soon as she gets up tomorrow."
Fu Ci laughed and said, "Grandma gets up early; you probably can't get up at that time."
"I might not be able to get up normally, but I can definitely get up if there's something to do."
Tang Mingli was very confident, but Fu Ci's prediction came true the next day.
She couldn't get up; even after Old Madam Fu had finished breakfast, she was still sleeping soundly.
In the end, it was Fu Ci who told Madam Fu the news.
But Madam Fu's reaction was exactly what Tang Mingli had predicted. She was indeed very happy and held Fu Ci's hand, urging him to make sure the matter was handled well and to find a reliable person to accompany Mr. Shen.
Fu Ci nodded: "I will."
After finishing speaking, she was about to leave for work and take her daughter to school when she was stopped again by Old Madam Fu.
"Wait, tell your friends in Hong Kong that if Mr. Shen's health condition does not allow him to travel far, someone else should come to him."
"I understand, Grandma. Don't worry, I've considered all the things you're concerned about."
Madam Fu couldn't think of anything else to say before letting her grandson and great-granddaughter leave.
She was left alone in the living room with her son and daughter-in-law. Madam Fu then started chatting with her daughter-in-law.
In the end, it all boils down to finding Old Master Shen.
"I never imagined that something I thought would be as difficult as climbing to heaven would be solved so easily by Fu Ci."
"What's so difficult? What did resigning solve?"
Tang Mingli came out of the room and heard those words. She looked at her mother-in-law and grandmother with some nervousness.
I was worried that something big would happen at home if I slept in late in the morning.
Seeing how nervous she was, Old Madam Fu couldn't even utter a half-joking remark and quickly explained the whole story to her.
"So that's what it was." Tang Mingli was relieved and told her grandmother, "That silly Fu Ci actually said he didn't know how to tell you this news. He was so nervous last night that he pulled me aside to discuss it. I thought something was wrong, so I scolded him right away."
"So there was this little incident," Madam Fu said with a smile. "Indeed, I should have been told about this immediately."
Mother Fu also said, "If I had told you yesterday when I got back, I would have been happy for another night."
"Exactly. Look how simple this becomes in his hands."
Joking aside, the two elderly people still reminded Tang Mingli to eat breakfast and dinner.
Tang Mingli simply brought over the plate containing the steamed buns.
While munching on a steamed bun, he explained to Madam Fu, "It's not that this matter is particularly simple for Fu Ci. I think it all comes down to the right timing, the right place, and the right people. It's just that the current era makes communication much smoother."
"That's true." Madam Fu nodded.
This is a good era. If things had been like this before, the old man might have met Brother Shen long ago and wouldn't have left with regrets.
However, she will soon be able to meet this old friend on behalf of the old man, which will make up for some of the regret.
So many years have passed, and both she and Brother Shen have aged a lot. They probably wouldn't recognize each other anymore.
Fu Ci said he now lives in a nursing home. Does that mean he is not married?
The thought that the other person might have been living alone in a foreign land for decades made Madam Fu feel a little sad.
After the initial joy came endless speculation and unease.
Madam Fu had no idea how she got through the day; she felt uneasy about everything she did and just wanted her grandson to come home soon.
Pian Fu is busy; he hasn't returned even after 9 p.m.
Fu Yu had already fallen asleep after returning home, but Old Madam Fu showed no sign of going back to her room.
Fu's mother rarely urged, "Mom, shouldn't you be going to sleep?"
Madam Fu chuckled and said, "I don't know what's wrong with you, you're unusually energetic today and not sleepy at all."
After mentioning the biological clock, he rudely contradicted her by yawning as if by reflex.
She laughed awkwardly and had no choice but to admit, "I want to wait for Fu Ci to come back and ask him what's going on."
Maybe that friend from Hong Kong contacted him again today, to confirm when his older brother is coming back.
Fu Ci's return time is uncertain, and everyone is worried that her health will suffer from staying up so long, so they all urge her to rest early.
Fu's mother: "If there's definite news, we can ask when we wake up tomorrow."
Tang Mingli: "Yes, I reckon we'll be able to see each other soon. Grandma should take care of her health and not get sick. It would be a shame to see her old friend while she's sick."
That hit the nail on the head. Old Madam Fu was genuinely afraid of being sickly when she went to see her old friends.
Anyway, whatever the news, I'll just play along if I already know; it's not like I'm going to disappear.
After figuring it out, she stood up.
"Then I won't wait any longer, I'll go back to my room and sleep first."
As it turned out, her decision was correct. Fu Ci returned home very late tonight, almost midnight.
He assumed his family was asleep, so he walked around like a thief.
Especially when pushing open the door to enter the room, I really didn't dare to breathe.
But as soon as the door was pushed open a crack, the room light snapped on.
Tang Mingli sat up in bed and smiled, "You're back."
The voice showed no sign of sleepiness, clearly indicating that the person had not been woken up.
Fu Ci breathed a sigh of relief, went into the room and quickly closed the door, asking his wife, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I probably slept too much during the day, so I'm not very sleepy." After explaining, he asked, "Why are you back so late today?"
"There was a problem with a batch of goods, so I had a meeting with several managers to discuss solutions."
Is it troublesome?
When asked about his wife's situation, Fu Ci smiled and said, "It's no trouble, I can handle it."
Tang Mingli hummed in agreement, then stopped asking any more questions and told him to go take a shower.
"good."
Fu Ci was also tired after a long day and wanted to take a shower to relax.
Before taking the clothes into the bathroom, he said to Tang Mingli, "If you're sleepy, go to sleep first. Don't wait for me."
Tang Mingli nodded, "I'm not that sleepy."
She had only said that when she lay down for a few minutes before falling asleep.
When Fu Ci came out of the shower, he saw his wife sleeping soundly. Thinking of what she had just said, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
-
The next day, Madam Fu got up early to wait for her grandson.
Normally, the first thing I would do when I see him is remind him to eat breakfast, but today, Madam Fu immediately asked if his friend in Hong Kong had called him to confirm the specific date.
Did you hear that? Disappointment is inevitable, but it's also normal.
This isn't like buying vegetables; you can't just sell them if the price is right.
She quickly explained to her grandson, "Grandma didn't mean to urge you, it's just that I've been thinking about it ever since I found out about it."
Fu Ci smiled and said, "Grandma, I understand."
His original plan was that if his friend in Hong Kong didn't contact him in a couple of days, he would take the initiative to call and ask what was going on.
This definitely needs to be prepared in advance; we can't wait until everyone is about to arrive before scrambling to make arrangements.
And that friend who resigned did not disappoint him, giving him a definite return time this afternoon.
Two days later.
The reason for the delay of two or three days was that the nursing home was not quite in agreement with letting Mr. Shen leave.
After all, he's quite old; if anything happens to him, they can't afford the responsibility.
Therefore, after contacting Mr. Shen's immediate family and obtaining their consent, Mr. An agreed to let Mr. Shen leave.
"Immediate family members?" Fu Ci was somewhat surprised. He thought that Mr. Shen lived in a nursing home because he had no children.
"Yes, in this situation, the consent of Mr. Shen's children is indeed required."
"I understand, I just thought he was staying in a nursing home because..."
Fu Ci didn't finish his sentence, but the other person understood what he meant and laughed.
"You think Mr. Shen is unmarried and has no children, right?"
Fu Ci nodded.
The other person laughed and said, "It's not surprising. We Chinese are influenced by Confucian culture, which values filial piety, so very few children would send their parents to nursing homes. But actually, it's quite normal here. It's perfectly normal for parents to live in public housing or nursing homes as they get older. Firstly, our lifestyles are different. Secondly, the houses that ordinary people can afford here are tiny, with very limited space. Thirdly, everyone is busy making a living and doesn't have the time or energy to take care of the elderly."
Perhaps because the topic was so emotional, the other person talked a lot about their family situation.
Their house is big enough that their parents live with them.
This would certainly make it easier to take care of the elderly, but it would inevitably lead to a lot of friction, and the wife would suffer a lot of grievances as a result.
"So I understand why many young people don't want to live with their parents-in-law after getting married. Living with your parents-in-law is not as comfortable as living with just the couple."
These words silenced Fu Ci completely.
His wife had been living with her family since they got married.
Does she also feel uncomfortable and long for living alone?
When Fu Ci got home from get off work in the evening, he first told his grandmother the good news that his grandfather would be coming over in a couple of days, and then he was absent-minded all night.
At first, Tang Mingli thought something had happened, so she used an excuse to pull him into the room during the TV series' advertising period.
As soon as the door closed, she asked impatiently, "Did something happen? Why did you look so preoccupied after we talked about Grandpa Chen? Is Grandpa Chen not doing well?"
"no."
"The factory is having problems with its products again?"
"No."
Tang Mingli had no choice but to say directly, "Then I really can't guess, just tell me quickly."
Fu Ci looked at her slowly and said, "I heard a friend say today that wives are actually not very willing to live with their in-laws."
Some of the ideas from her past life are actually ingrained in her bones. Without thinking, Tang Mingli nodded and said, "Yes, marriage should be about two young people forming their own new family, not about one woman being required to integrate into a family."
Fu Ci fell silent again.
Tang Mingli then came to her senses and laughed heartily.
"Is this why you've been so absent-minded tonight?"
Fu Ci did not deny it.
Tang Mingli laughed even more heartily, stepping forward to take her husband's hand: "You can't generalize about everything. Take us for example, back then, it was already good enough for a family to be allocated a decent house, let alone expect to live in it ourselves. We lived in a two-story villa, and my parents didn't usually go upstairs, so the second floor was basically our space. Compared to many people who squeezed into a few dozen square meters of space with their parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law, I was much happier."
"But later we were able to buy a house and live alone."
Hearing this, Tang Mingli frowned and asked somewhat unhappily, "What? Don't you want Mom, Dad, and Grandma to come and live with us at the new villa?"
Before Fu Ci could even speak, Tang Mingli began to earnestly persuade him: "The villa is so big, it's too lonely for just the three of us to live there, especially during the day when you go to work and Xiao Yu goes to school, leaving me all alone at home, it will be very boring. And have you thought about it? Xiao Yu grew up with her grandma and parents since she was little, she won't be used to it without them. Besides, we're an old married couple, let's not talk about having some time alone together anymore."
As he listened, Fu Ci smiled and felt relieved.
Nothing is absolute. My wife may have had some initial discomfort, but after living together for over ten years, it seems that neither of us can live without the other now.
He waited patiently for his wife to finish speaking, and only after she stopped did he say with a doting expression, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you."
Tang Mingli nodded in satisfaction.
The TV series must have already started; she has to go out.
Before leaving, however, she reminded her husband, "Don't let Grandma and the others know about this."
Fu Ci nodded with a smile: "Okay."
The two went outside, where a captivating TV drama was playing, but apart from Fu Yu, hardly anyone was watching.
The three adults were talking about meeting Grandpa Shen in two days.
Fu Cheng'an was very curious about this Uncle Shen whom he had never heard of before, and asked his mother, "Mom, was Uncle Shen and Dad good friends before?"
Unexpectedly, Madam Fu said, "They're both enemies and friends."
This surprised Fu Cheng'an.
Not only him, but also Fu's mother, Fu Ci, and Tang Mingli were the same.
Tang Mingli had the most vivid imagination, speculating in her mind whether her grandfather and that Mr. Shen were once friends, but became enemies because they both fell in love with her grandmother. As time passed and they both grew old, they finally let go of the past.
However, the answer given by Madam Fu was far more unexpected than Tang Mingli had guessed.
Grandpa and that Grandpa Shen were indeed friends who had known each other since they were very young.
Later, when the country faced a crisis, they went their separate ways.
Although their paths differed, their goals were the same: to drive out the invaders.
After the war, Grandpa Shen went to Hong Kong, and the two lost contact until that year when Grandpa Fu received a letter from Hong Kong.
At this point, Madam Fu could finally tell the children: "Actually, the old man always regretted not replying to Brother Shen back then."
After listening to Madam Fu's story, no one spoke for a long time.
The only sound in the huge living room was the television, which made Fu Yu feel very uncomfortable.
She whispered to her mother, "Mom, why aren't you saying anything?"
Tang Mingli smiled, unsure how to answer her daughter, and could only say, "We're thinking about something."
Fu Yu said "oh," feeling that it wasn't true, but she obediently stopped bothering them and returned her gaze to the television.
The reason everyone was silent was because they were thinking of the late Mr. Fu.
His regret must have stemmed from the speculation that Old Master Shen might no longer be alive.
Yes, he's already an old man in his fifties or sixties; it would be normal if he were no longer alive.
Thinking that my friend might have been waiting for my reply all along, but never received it, how could I not feel regret?
Fortunately, Grandpa Shen is still alive, which can be considered as fulfilling my grandfather's regret.
Finally, it was Old Madam Fu who broke the silence first, sighing and saying, "Alright, you've said it all. Now you should understand why I wanted to see Brother Shen so much."
She was doing this for her husband.
Tang Mingli held her grandmother's hand and said softly, "Grandma, we understand. Fortunately, we will be able to see Grandpa Shen soon. After we see him, we will go back to Guangcheng and tell him the good news."
"Okay, good." Old Madam Fu nodded repeatedly, touched by her granddaughter-in-law's thoughtful consideration.
However, just as the Fu family was eagerly awaiting their meeting with Old Master Shen, another incident occurred.
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Author's Note: [Laughing and crying while covering face] I'm late.
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