Chapter 30 She reached out and poked his flushed cheek…
Tang Mingmei usually had a cold face, so when she remained expressionless and silent, no one else noticed anything unusual.
Li Dazhu, in particular, saw it but ignored it and continued chatting with Fu Ci.
He used to think that the reason why children of high-ranking officials like Fu Ci seemed more outstanding than ordinary people was simply because they were born into a good family.
But after today's conversation, Li Dazhu had to admit that he really did have some genuine skills. Putting aside everything else, few people could match his knowledge and experience.
Tang Mingli's attention returned to eating sunflower seeds.
The melon seeds from my uncle's family this year are much tastier than in previous years.
He must have been thinking about his daughter and son-in-law coming back, so he carefully selected the best melon seeds.
Tang Mingli didn't feel resentful at all; on the contrary, she was very optimistic and joked about herself, saying that she had benefited from her cousin's fame.
There's nothing to be upset about, is there?
One is his own daughter whom he carried for ten months, and the other is his niece whom he had to take in and raise halfway through life. Isn't it only natural to know who is closer and who is less so?
However, she wasn't one to let herself go hungry; since it was delicious and she liked it, she ate as much as she wanted.
Just as she was happily munching on sunflower seeds, someone knocked on the door, and several children's voices called out, "Sister Mingli!"
Tang Mingli smiled unconsciously.
It was a genuine, subconscious smile.
She brushed the dust off her hands and got up to open the door.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw seven or eight children standing outside, ranging in age from five or six to about ten.
The children were very excited to see Tang Mingli and wished her a Happy New Year.
Tang Mingli looked at them with a smile and replied with a Happy New Year.
Tang Mingmei was once again dumbfounded.
She naturally recognized several children, all of whom lived in the same tenement building, and it seemed they had come specifically to wish Tang Mingli a Happy New Year.
How come Tang Mingli is so close to them? When did they become so close?
She had only been in the countryside for two years and three months, so why did everything seem so unfamiliar to her?
While Tang Mingmei was still in shock, Tang Mingli briefly returned to the living room and took out a stack of red envelopes from her bag.
The children cheered with joy when they saw this.
Tang Mingli gave each child a red envelope. Every time she handed one out, a child would say a lucky phrase in their childish voice, and she would reply with a phrase in return.
"Grow tall and strong quickly."
May you have no worries year after year.
May happiness always be with you.
...
They even told their children everything they wanted to say, but didn't utter a single word of the advice that adults often give to their children.
For example, studying hard and being obedient and sensible.
The children who received their New Year's red envelopes left satisfied.
Tang Mingli also suppressed her smile and returned to her seat.
"You..." Tang Mingmei uttered a single word but then choked on it, unsure of how to ask.
Why are you so close to those kids?
This realization made her feel uncomfortable, and she couldn't bring herself to ask the question.
Tang Mingli waited for her to continue, blinking as she looked at her.
Tang Mingmei was caught in a dilemma, so she could only continue, "Why do you seem to know them so well?"
"We're not familiar with each other," Tang Mingli answered honestly. She didn't even know the names of most of the children, so how could she call them familiar?
This was another answer that surprised Tang Mingmei.
They were chatting so happily at the door just now, and the children clearly liked her a lot, yet they said they weren't familiar with her?
How familiar does she need to be to be considered?
Tang Mingmei unconsciously shook her head and said, "Giving them red envelopes when we're not even close."
"Don't we give red envelopes to the kids after we get married?" Tang Mingli's question was incredibly sincere.
Besides, it's not a lot of money; a penny or two can make them happy, so why not?
Tang Mingmei opened her mouth, unable to say no.
According to custom and tradition, that is indeed the case.
A few seconds later, she asked Tang Mingli again, "Did they give you red envelopes in the first year of your marriage?"
Tang Mingli thought for a moment and said, "I guess so."
However, it was she who took the initiative.
During her first year back at her parents' home after marriage, she really didn't want to stay in the house, so she dragged Fu Ci downstairs for a walk.
There happened to be a few children playing there, having a great time. Tang Mingli was also infected by their joy and went over to play with them.
Kids are naturally free-spirited, and after playing for a while, I mustered up the courage to ask her for a New Year's red envelope.
Tang Mingli was prepared and generously gave two to each person.
This is a tradition from her hometown in her previous life: in the first year after marriage, the couple must receive double the gifts.
Tang Mingmei thought that it was also her first year of marriage, and she had lived at home for several months before getting married. Those children should know her well, but when she arrived at the door, none of them came to ask her for red envelopes.
Why?
Why do even children prefer Tang Mingli?
Is she a fierce or evil person?
Tang Mingmei couldn't accept it, nor could she stay here and face Tang Mingli any longer. She would make an excuse to go to the kitchen to help her mother and then leave as if she were escaping.
Li Hong was busy and sweating profusely. When she saw her daughter come to help, she was both relieved and worried. She said, "You don't need to help. The kitchen is dirty and stuffy. Don't get your new clothes dirty."
My daughter's clothes look brand new.
The fact that she could still wear new clothes during the Lunar New Year after getting married reduced her dissatisfaction with her son-in-law.
Tang Mingmei also felt stuffy here, but she still preferred to stay here for a while.
Anyway, it's just assisting, I don't need to do any work myself.
Her daughter refused to leave, and Li Hong felt sorry for her but could only let her go.
However, with her daughter's help, even though she wasn't particularly helpful, Li Hong felt that the work was done much faster.
She chatted with her daughter while chopping vegetables, or more accurately, asked her daughter questions.
What was it like spending the first Chinese New Year at the Li family's house? Was the New Year's Eve dinner lavish? What are the Li family's traditions for celebrating the New Year?
Each question only intensified Tang Mingmei's frustration, until finally she couldn't hold back any longer and told her mother to stop asking.
"I rarely come back, can you please stop interrogating me like a criminal?"
Li Hong immediately shut up when her daughter became unhappy.
The large kitchen fell into a brief silence, with only the sound of a knife chopping vegetables.
After a while, Tang Mingmei took the initiative to break the silence.
"I only found out today that Tang Mingli has a good relationship with the children in the tenement building."
"How could she not be good? Every time she came back, she would bring some candy and cookies for the kids. After a few times, the kids in the tenement building would call her 'Sister Mingli' all the time. She's already married, yet she still makes the kids call her 'sister.' They really have a thick skin."
Tang Mingmei suffered another blow.
Tang Mingli brings snacks to the children in the tenement building every time she comes back?
What's the point?
They're just the neighbor's kids, and they're quite mischievous at that. Why should I try to please them?
Tang Mingmei automatically categorized Tang Mingli's act of bringing snacks to the children as an act of ingratiation.
Those children are so young, they can't help her at all.
Even if it's for the sake of the child's parents, it still seems a bit unbelievable.
Who lives in this tenement building? They're nothing compared to the Fu family.
With the Fu family as their backer, why would they need to curry favor with these people?
After thinking it over, Tang Mingmei could only come up with one possibility: Tang Mingli simply wanted to bring food for the children.
But she still didn't understand.
Why?
Seeing her daughter's confusion, Li Hong said to her, "Don't think about it. Mingli is probably like your grandparents, all too kind."
Like grandparents?
Tang Mingmei doesn't have a deep impression of her grandparents, as she has never lived with them for a single day since she was a child.
So, were grandparents just pushovers?
It's not impossible; he's not a pushover. How could he have saved Grandpa Fu Ci back then?
But this explanation did not make her feel any better.
-
Li Hong spent the whole morning in the kitchen and finally prepared this sumptuous lunch.
Looking at the table full of delicious food, Tang Mingli could hardly believe that it was made by her aunt.
In previous years, only she and Fu Ci came, and it was just a simple, polite meal that lived up to the phrase "home-cooked".
Sure enough, it's different when your own daughter and son-in-law come back.
Great, she and Fu Ci benefited from it too.
Tang Mingli enjoyed her meal immensely, but Li Hong watched with a heavy heart.
She never knew before that her niece had such a big appetite and didn't know how much to eat when picking up food. She kept picking up meat to eat, but barely touched the plate of vegetables in front of her.
Even her ignorant daughter knows to occasionally tell her husband to eat more meat, but this niece only cares about eating by herself.
But since it was Chinese New Year and her daughter and son-in-law were present, Li Hong could only suppress her discomfort and curse in her heart to vent her anger.
"Eat up, eat up, like you've never had anything good before. Be careful not to choke."
It was as if he had been blessed before he cursed her in his heart, and Tang Mingli was really speechless.
Fu Ci reacted quickly, immediately taking the teacup she had just been drinking from and feeding her most of the water, which helped her recover.
After calming down, Tang Mingli explained somewhat embarrassedly, "I swallowed that piece of meat too quickly."
How embarrassing! I doubt many people her age would choke on meat like that.
But so what if it's embarrassing? Anyway, I only see Fu Ci a few times a year, and Fu Ci won't laugh at me.
In just a few seconds, she calmed down from her sudden inner turmoil and happily continued eating her meat.
She had just drunk water too quickly, which filled up a lot of her stomach, and she felt full after a while.
She no longer forces herself to eat; when she feels full, she immediately stops and eats other easily digestible foods in small bites.
After all, she was determined to live a long and healthy life, so a healthy diet was crucial.
Seeing Tang Mingli slow down her eating pace, Li Hong was the happiest. She finally had another chance to politely ask Tang Mingli to eat more.
Tang Mingli smiled and said, "I've almost finished eating."
Li Hong was just being polite, but then she genuinely put a piece of meat on her daughter's plate, saying, "You should eat more too."
This child is not even as good as Tang Mingli's toe in this respect.
Tang Mingli was just choking; after she recovered, she had already eaten several pieces of meat, while Tang Mingli was still staring blankly at the other person.
Little did Li Hong know that Tang Mingmei was shocked by Fu Ci's attitude towards Tang Mingli just now.
I realized it almost as soon as she choked; it must have taken constant attention to do that.
He immediately scooped up some water and carefully fed her, his movements incredibly gentle, completely unlike the man he was in his previous life.
This time, even the way I say goodbye seems different.
Just as I was thinking this, I heard my father politely tell me to eat more.
When Fu Chi met Tang Jianguo, his expression immediately changed. He smiled politely but distantly and said, "Okay, I ate quite a lot."
His expression, his attitude, his tone—they were clearly the same as in his previous life.
So, he was just different towards Tang Mingli?
This realization made Tang Mingmei's breathing heavy, and her gaze towards Tang Mingli was incredibly complex.
She probably never really knew this cousin.
How did Tang Mingli manage to get someone as heartless as Fu Ci to treat her this way?
-
As is customary in previous years, after lunch and sitting for a while, Tang Mingli was about to leave.
Whenever she mentioned leaving, her aunt and uncle would invariably try to persuade her to stay, but Tang Mingli would insist on leaving, citing her concern for her grandparents being alone at home. Her aunt would then pretend she hadn't prepared a return gift yet, and could only hastily stuff two large tangerines into her hand for good luck.
In fact, Tang Mingli preferred it this way.
Since the return gift will most likely be something she doesn't like, it's better to give her two well-intentioned tangerines.
Once outside the tenement building, Tang Mingli could finally openly examine her husband.
He drank a couple too much at the dinner table, and his cheeks turned red, which was unusual for him.
"Look at you, why did you drink so much today?"
As she spoke, she reached out and poked his flushed cheek, but unexpectedly he grabbed her hand instead.
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