Brother Yunxiu sighed, squatted on the ground, and hugged his knees with his hands: "My mother is like this, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. In fact, when grandma passed away, she secretly cried several times, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it."
He looked up at Zhao Yong, "Uncle Zhao, is my sister...really okay?"
Zhao Yong put down the bowl and said slowly, "She has just stabilized in the hospital, but she still needs to rest. She keeps talking about you and can't sleep at night."
"I originally wanted to rush back regardless of everything, but then I remembered that I was pregnant and couldn't bump into anything. I almost had a miscarriage and had to be hospitalized."
Hearing this, his eyes turned red again. He scratched his hair and said with a choked voice: "Grandma loved me the most. When I was a child, she always hid the candy she saved for me, saying that when I grew up, she would make me a red cotton-padded jacket as a dowry..."
He sniffed, "If I had known that grandma would leave so quickly, I should have taken her away earlier and let her see that my sister is living well now..."
The flames in the stove crackled, casting a flickering light on his face.
Zhao Yong looked at him, remembering the resentful and painful look in Yunxiu's eyes every time she mentioned her brother, and sighed in his heart: "It's all in the past. Your sister is now looking forward to the safe birth of the child. When the child is born, bring the child to visit grandma's grave. Grandma will be happy to see her in heaven."
Huangmao finished the last bite of the Wowo and wiped his mouth: "That's right, I wish my mother could think like you. I heard about it. When the baby is born, send some milk powder to our village so that you can also share in the good fortune."
Brother Yunxiu was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand: "No, no, I'm very grateful that you can come to see grandma off for the last time." He stood up and added some firewood to the stove. "I'll go see if there's anything I can help with outside. You guys eat slowly. If it's not enough, I'll serve you more."
As soon as he walked out of the kitchen, he ran into Yun Xiuniang standing at the door, holding a cloth handkerchief in her hand, as if she had been standing there for a long time.
"Mom, why are you here?" Yunxiu's younger brother was startled.
Yun Xiuniang didn't look at him. She glanced towards the kitchen and said in a muffled voice, "Is there any left of the sweet potato porridge in the pot?"
"Yes, shall I serve you another bowl?"
"No need." She paused, took out an oil-paper bag from her bosom, and stuffed it into Yunxiu's brother's hand, "Take this, and give it to... to those two comrades as a cushion."
Inside the oil-paper package were a few fragrant fried pumpkin seeds, which had obviously been prepared long ago. Brother Yunxiu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Mom, what are you doing..."
"Stop talking nonsense and send it there quickly." Yun Xiuniang turned around and left, but her steps were lighter than before.
Brother Yunxiu walked into the kitchen with pumpkin seeds and put the paper bag on the table: "This is what my mother gave you. She...she is just not good at talking. Don't take it to heart!"
Zhao Yong looked at the bag of pumpkin seeds. The shell was shiny, obviously they had been carefully fried. The resentment in his heart gradually faded. He picked up one and cracked it open. The kernel was plump and sweet.
"Your mother's cooking skills are good." He smiled.
Huangmao also grabbed a handful and ate it with gusto: "It's even more delicious than the ones sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives in the city!"
Brother Yunxiu looked at them and finally a smile appeared on his face, as if a stone had been pressing on his heart and fell to the ground.
During the night vigil, Yun Xiuniang no longer hid from Zhao Yong and the others. She sat in the corner of the mourning hall, silently folding paper money, occasionally looking up at her grandmother's portrait, and her eyes would turn red.
Zhao Yong saw her secretly put a coarse porcelain bowl on grandma's altar. The bowl contained half a bowl of sweet potato porridge, which was still steaming, just like what grandma loved to eat when she was alive.
When it was almost dawn, Yun Xiuniang suddenly came over and handed Zhao Yong a neatly folded cotton-padded jacket with fine stitching and a crooked "Fu" character embroidered on it.
"This is... made for the child." She turned her face away, her voice a little hard, "I'm clumsy, so I didn't do it well, please don't despise me."
Zhao Yong took the cotton coat. The fabric was new and felt very thick. It was obvious that a lot of effort had been put into its production.
His heart warmed, and he said seriously: "Don't mind, Yunxiu will definitely like it."
"But..." Upon hearing this reversal, her mother's body couldn't help but shake. After all, she was a little old and her brain could hardly keep up with the rhythm.
Zhao Yong sighed: "The things you have here are of course made very well, but it's a pity that you are pregnant with twins, so naturally, ahem... there are not enough to share..."
Yun Xiuniang said nothing, turned around and left, but stopped at the door of the mourning hall and murmured softly, "She is so smart. Who can tell them?"
Zhao Yong looked at her back, then at the small cotton-padded jacket in his hand, and suddenly realized that money really can make the world go round. Alas... otherwise, with the current situation of the two of them, they wouldn't even be able to enter the Yun family's gate.
The Yun family's team kept beating the gong, while Huangmao followed the coffin-carrying team and walked behind.
Yun Xiuniang walked in front, holding the old man's portrait tightly in her hand. Although her steps were unsteady, they were steady.
Zhao Yong looked at this scene and felt completely relieved.
He knew that this trip to Ku Shui Village not only saw off Grandma Yunxiu for the last time, but also built a bridge between Yunxiu and her mother.
On the way back, Huangmao was driving the car. Zhao Yong carefully put the little cotton coat into his bag, then took out the bag of pumpkin seeds and threw one into his mouth.
The sunlight shines through the car window and falls on my body, making me feel warm. This car doesn't even have air conditioning. It's really low-end.
The stuffy and hot life is really hard to bear!
When we returned to the county hospital, it was already dark.
Zhao Wei was pacing in the corridor outside the ward. When he saw them coming back, he hurried over to them and asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"It's all settled."
Zhao Yong patted his shoulder and handed him the small cotton coat and pumpkin seeds from the bag.
"Yunxiu, this is what your mother made for the child. And this is the pumpkin seeds she fried. You should put it away quickly!"
Yunxiu took the cotton-padded jacket and stroked the crooked “福” character on it with her fingers. Her eyes became hot. “She…she really said that?”
"How could I lie to you?" Zhao Yong recounted the important events of Ku Shui Village, describing in detail from Yun Xiuniang's cold reception to her subsequent transformation.
Zhao Wei listened attentively, and finally sighed: "As long as the work is done, I can't care about so many other things. Sigh..."
"Also," Zhao Yong lowered his voice, "I told her that Yunxiu was pregnant with twins. She was stunned at the time. I guess she was thinking about it in her mind."
Zhao Wei couldn't help but laugh: "Thinking about making another one?"
"Yes, she was joking with me at that time." Zhao Yong was still a little happy, tsk tsk...
"Ahem..." Zhao Wei coughed and then said, "Dad, there is something you may not know. I need to make another trip back to the Yun family to ask for another piece of clothing with the word rich on it!"
"What? We've already done so much, could it be..."
"Yes, Yunxiu is very likely pregnant with triplets. Am I awesome? Hehe..."
Zhao Yong...
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