Chapter 72 Although she opened her eyes, her soul was still...
As it turns out, Fu Ci's guess was correct.
That evening, Madam Fu received a call from Fu Caiping.
On the other end of the phone, Fu Caiping first wished her sister-in-law, Madam Fu, a Happy New Year, saying many festive words, and finally hesitantly expressed her intention to come over the next day.
In fact, Madam Fu and her daughter-in-law had discussed this issue this evening.
Because Zhang Guihua went back to her hometown for the Spring Festival, they had to take care of everything at home and outside during this time. If Fu Caiping really wanted to come, they would definitely have to make some preparations in advance.
Hearing her sister-in-law say over the phone that she was coming to the centennial celebration, Madam Fu was very happy and deliberately raised her voice to ask, "What time will you be coming tomorrow?"
The reason for raising the volume was, of course, to speak to Old Master Fu.
Although Grandpa Fu was pretending to pour water at the dining table, he was actually listening intently after learning that the call was from his sister.
When his wife asked what time he would arrive, he had a general idea of what time it would be.
This year, his younger sister finally agreed to go back to her parents' home, which made Grandpa Fu very happy. He couldn't help but smile, but he was afraid that his family would see, so he quickly restrained himself and continued to eavesdrop.
Madam Fu: "Yes, I'm here."
Madam Fu: "Okay, that's fine."
Madam Fu: "Alright, then that's settled."
With those words, Madam Fu ended the call.
Grandpa Fu had no idea what they were talking about in this brief conversation, and he couldn't help but frown.
As for Madam Fu, she had a bright smile on her face after hanging up the phone.
She stopped being mysterious and told the others directly, "Caiping specifically asked on the phone whether Fu Ci would be there tomorrow."
He then looked in Fu Ci's direction and joked, "Looks like I mainly want to see you tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Old Master Fu snorted.
I didn't mean to be unhappy; I was just expressing my disagreement.
Fu Cheng'an joked, "Aci has now grown into the backbone of our family."
Fu Cixiao disagreed with her father's statement, saying, "Grandpa will always be the backbone of our family."
Grandpa Fu returned to his seat with his cup in hand, and said with deep feeling, "Grandpa is getting old. This world now belongs to you young people."
"The experience and wisdom of the older generation are always a valuable asset for us, the younger generation, to learn from."
Fu Ci's high EQ response not only pleased Grandpa Fu, but also impressed Tang Mingli.
Is it true that one is influenced by one's surroundings?
Why did she feel that Fu Ci was gradually becoming a reflection of herself?
Isn't she the only one in this family who possesses this skill of speaking sweet words so readily?
If things continue like this, our position will be in jeopardy.
Fu Ci noticed his wife's teasing gaze and looked over with a smile.
Tang Mingli's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
What happened? From that angle just now, Fu Ci's handsomeness seemed to have reached a new level.
Fortunately, Madam Fu was still talking about her phone conversation with Fu Caiping.
"Caiping said they would arrive around ten o'clock."
Grandpa Fu subconsciously responded with an "Mmm".
She returned to her parents' home later than in previous years, when she would arrive before nine o'clock without fail for decades.
However, she is not young anymore, and her health is definitely becoming more and more inconvenient. She can't always compare herself to when she was young.
At that moment, no one paid much attention to what was wrong with the "they" that Fu Caiping had specifically emphasized on the phone.
After all, she's never been alone when she comes over for Chinese New Year. Now that she's older, she needs someone to keep her company even more.
-
The third day of the Lunar New Year, in the morning.
Because Gu Caiping, who hadn't visited for several Spring Festivals, was coming, the entire Fu family naturally took it very seriously.
Fu's mother woke up early, thinking she had already prepared herself, but to her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of her room, she saw her mother-in-law pacing back and forth in the living room, which meant she had been there for some time.
Mother Fu lowered her voice and asked, "Mom, what time did you get up?"
Hearing the voice, Madam Fu turned around and smiled, "I'm getting old, can't sleep, huh?"
Actually, she was preoccupied with her sister-in-law's visit today, and woke up before dawn. Unable to fall back asleep, and finding lying down uncomfortable, she simply got up.
It's not even six o'clock yet, I didn't expect my daughter-in-law to get up so early.
Madam Fu said with concern, "Why are you up so early too?"
During the few days Zhang Guihua returned to her hometown, her daughter-in-law was the one who took care of the household chores, and she must have been exhausted.
Mrs. Fu smiled and said honestly, "I thought about my aunt coming to visit today, so I wanted to get up early to prepare."
Actually, when it comes to preparations, she doesn't know what to prepare.
We had just prepared enough New Year's goods with Tang Mingli before the New Year, so even if guests came every day for the next ten days or half a month, we wouldn't be short of things to entertain them.
As for vegetables, the various kinds of meat frozen in the refrigerator are enough to last a long time.
But when I have something on my mind, I just can't sleep soundly.
Madam Fu looked at her with an expression that said, "As expected, you are just like me."
Fu's mother understood as well, and the two women looked at each other.
A few seconds later, Madam Fu smiled and said, "We really should learn from Mingli in this respect."
No matter what happens the next day, it won't affect her eating and sleeping as usual the day before.
Fu's mother smiled, completely agreeing with her mother-in-law's words.
Now that I'm awake, I can't just let it go to waste.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discussed it and went to the kitchen together, deciding to start by figuring out what to cook for the day.
Fu's mother: "Mom, how many people do you think will come?"
Madam Fu: "It's hard to say, but I think there should only be two or three."
She knew her sister-in-law quite well; in some ways, her personality was very similar to her husband's—both were proud and stubborn. Even when visiting her parents' home, she didn't want to bother them. When her husband was still alive, they would go back together every year. After he passed away, she had her son accompany her, not bringing anyone else, for fear of causing them trouble.
The only time in his life he ever humbled himself to ask his older brother, the old man, for help was when Gu Lin was sent to the countryside. Who knew it would all be for nothing?
Thinking about this, Madam Fu couldn't help but sigh.
Because they were convinced that only two or three people might come, Madam Fu and Old Madam Fu naturally only prepared for that many people.
Before I knew it, it was eight o'clock.
Tang Mingli struggled to open her eyes in her room on the second floor.
Fu Ci had actually been awake for a while, but his wife was simply holding him to keep him warm, and even though he was awake, he was willing to be her heater.
Noticing his wife move, he asked softly, "Are you awake?"
"No," Tang Mingli denied instinctively.
Although she had opened her eyes, her soul was still asleep.
Fu Ci smiled and didn't say anything, just patted her back gently to comfort her.
After lying quietly for a few minutes, Tang Mingli finally calmed down, gritted her teeth, and sat up, lifting the blanket.
Yay, I got up successfully.
Getting up at this time is considered early for Tang Mingli even on ordinary days, let alone during the Chinese New Year, a holiday that allows people to sleep in without any excuse.
But Aunt Caiping is coming today, so naturally she has to get up early to help.
She arrived around 10 a.m., having gotten up at 8 a.m., allowing herself nearly two hours to prepare, which she felt was very sincere.
However, when I went downstairs, I found that my mother-in-law and grandmother had already prepared all the dishes for lunch.
Not the kind that's already prepared, but the kind that's washed, chopped, and ready to be stir-fried after just being heated over a fire.
Judging from the dishes, it's clear that they've put a lot of thought into it.
These two must have gotten up in the middle of the night to prepare.
Before going downstairs, Tang Mingli was quite self-righteous, but now she seemed a little guilty.
After addressing the two elders, she asked hesitantly, "Is there anything else I can help with?"
Looking at the fruits of her labor all morning, Mrs. Fu smiled and said, "Could you help us check if we've prepared enough vegetables?"
That's plenty, of course.
Tang Mingli nodded: "Even ten people can't finish it."
Mrs. Fu smiled and said, "We also prepared enough for about ten people."
Tang Mingli thought to herself, "No wonder."
Mrs. Fu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Now I can finally wait for my aunt and the others in peace."
Tang Mingli glanced at the time subconsciously.
It's not even 8:30 yet, we'll have to wait for more than an hour.
I've even prepared what to eat for lunch, and it seems like there's nothing else to do for the rest of the time. Am I just going to wait around?
Tang Mingli shamefully had the idea of going back to sleep for an hour.
Fortunately, she also knew that this was unnecessary.
Although I got up early, it was only a little painful at the moment of getting out of bed. Once I was up, I felt quite energetic and not sleepy at all. Besides, what if Aunt Caiping arrived early? That would be very awkward.
So let's just wait, have something hot to drink, and enjoy the cold morning – that's a nice thing to do.
To make this early morning more meaningful, Tang Mingli decided to give her two elders something new to try.
Upon hearing that they would be given something new to try, Madam Fu and her mother immediately became excited.
Just then, Fu Ci, who had finished washing up later than Tang Mingli, also came downstairs. Seeing his mother and grandmother sitting on the sofa but turning their heads to stare at his wife who was doing something in the dining room, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Hearing her son's voice, Fu's mother looked at him and smiled, "Mingli said she wanted to give us something new to try."
"Oh?" Fu Ci was also curious and walked towards the restaurant, wanting to see what his wife wanted to do.
Before long, he understood.
Tang Mingli found him in the way and told him to sit on the sofa and wait.
The implication is that he also had a share.
Since that's the case, Fu Ci naturally has to obey.
He sat down on the sofa in the living room, looked around and couldn't see his grandfather and father, so he asked, "Where are Grandpa and Dad?"
Madam Fu told him, "When your grandfather woke up and saw us busy in the kitchen, he said he was bored and took your father out for a walk."
They've been gone for quite a while now, why haven't they come back yet?
Madam Fu instinctively glanced out the window, then suddenly remembered something and chuckled, "Who knows if he's going out for a walk or just looking out the gate to see when his sister will arrive?"
After saying that, she couldn't help but shake her head.
My husband actually cares a lot about his sister. During the years when his sister-in-law was angry and wouldn't associate with him, he said it was okay, but he was actually very upset inside.
The brother and sister were just too stubborn. If either of them had been willing to humble themselves, they wouldn't have had to endure such a stalemate for so many years.
Life is but a short few decades; how many years can we afford to waste?
As Madam Fu was reminiscing, she smelled a scent that was both strange and familiar, and her thoughts were immediately pulled back to reality.
All three of them looked toward the source of the smell.
As if sensing her presence, Tang Mingli turned around and smiled, "Coming right away."
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