Around 11:10 a.m., the invited guests began to arrive at the private restaurant one after another.
A couple walked through the gate hand in hand with their child. The man was wearing an iron-gray suit, and the woman was wearing a gray Chanel-style suit. The little boy's suit was the same style as his father's.
"Dad, these must be your uncle, aunt, and little sister! Son, quickly call her aunt." The woman patted the child's shoulder.
The child looked about the same age as Xia Minmin, and mumbled, "Uncle, Aunt, Auntie."
Wang Aimin introduced, "This is my eldest son, eldest daughter-in-law Wang Bohao and Wu Hui, and eldest grandson Wang Qixing."
"Hello, Bohao and Xiaohui! Qixing, this is a gift for you." Li Chunmei took out a red envelope from her purse and handed it to Wang Qixing.
Wang Qixing looked at Wu Hui, who nodded and accepted the red envelope. "Thank you, Uncle. Thank you, Aunt."
Wu Hui took out a red embroidered cloth bag from her purse. "Little sister, this mutton fat jade safety buckle is for you. Your older brother and I specially sent it to a temple to be worshipped, to bless you to grow up healthy."
Xia Minmin accepted it, saying, "Thank you, elder brother and sister-in-law."
Wang Bohao watched as Xia Minmin's eyes went unfocused. He remembered that his mother had styled his younger sister's hair in a similar bun before. He reached out to touch Xia Minmin's bun, but then pulled back as if he had been electrocuted.
Xia Minmin just looked at him without saying anything.
Wu Hui quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "My son Bohao has always preferred daughters, but unfortunately I gave birth to a son. It took him a week after the baby was born for him to slowly accept this reality. Every time he sees a pretty and cute little girl, he wants to tease her, which makes other parents think he is a child trafficker."
Li Chunmei also talked about the silly things her husband had done in the past, "Xiaomin's father also loves his daughter. A week after the birth, I often saw him get up in the middle of the night to check on the baby's breathing. The first thing he did when he got home was to go see the baby."
Li Chunmei said with a smile, "You are still young, you can have another child, maybe it will be a daughter."
Wu Hui waved her hand, "Pregnancy and childbirth are too painful, I don't want to experience it a second time."
“I don’t want to suffer, and having a child would waste at least a year. I prefer my current life. When my child grows up, I don’t have to worry about him. He has a career and friends, and I can go shopping with my friends in my spare time.”
When Wu Hui heard Li Chunmei's words, she realized that her thoughts were exactly the same as Li Chunmei's. Her mother-in-law had passed away and her father-in-law didn't care. Whenever relatives and friends gathered, they would always urge her to have more children, saying things like "many children bring many blessings and a house full of children and grandchildren." But having many children doesn't necessarily mean that all of them will have a good ending.
Wu Hui grasped Li Chunmei's hand and said, "Auntie, let's go shopping together often from now on! It's so nice to chat with you. I haven't chatted with people my own age in a long time. I haven't kept in touch with my childhood friends for a long time, and we can't even have a proper conversation anymore."
“Great! I’ll introduce you to my friends in the neighborhood. We all have similar ideas, so we’re sure we’ll get along well.”
Xia Jianguo and Wang Bohao were surprised that the friendship between the women had been established so quickly, and they were already calling each other "good sisters." Wasn't this messing up the generational hierarchy?
Especially Wang Bohao, whose relatives and friends used to tell everyone that Wu Hui was difficult to get along with, dull, and arrogant. The clash between old and new ideas was intense. In the past, he would argue back, but to no avail. The couple couldn't afford to offend her and could only avoid her.
"Amin!" An elderly man with white hair, wearing a black Tang suit with a dark pattern, walked in leaning on a cane. Although he was leaning on a cane, his back was not hunched, his legs did not tremble, and his steps were steady.
Wang Aimin and Wang Bohao quickly got up to help the old man, and Xia Jianguo and the others also stood up.
"Uncle, why did this bother you? Why didn't Aqi come?" Wang Aimin asked, supporting the old man.
"You brat, you didn't tell me about something so important. If Archie hadn't told me when he got home, would you have kept it from me all this time? Archie even parked the car behind us." The old man said, hitting Wang Aimin twice with his cane.
"Is this the child?" The old man looked Xia Minmin up and down; she did look quite like her.
The old man took out a jade pendant with auspicious cloud patterns that looked like glass from his pocket and handed it to Xia Minmin.
The jade pendant looked very valuable, and Xia Minmin dared not accept it from Wang Aimin.
"Good child, you are destined to be part of our family. Do you understand the principle that one should not refuse the blessings bestowed upon one's elders?" The old man smiled and patted Xia Minmin's bun.
Xia Minmin didn't refuse, "Thank you, Uncle!"
"Good boy! You must take good care of your godfather from now on."
Just then, a middle-aged man wearing glasses walked into the store in a hurry. His eyes lit up when he saw the old man in the crowd. "Dad, why didn't you wait for me? You're not young anymore. Can't you listen to me?"
Grandpa Wang said in a strong voice, "I'm not a child who needs you to watch over me. Besides, I know this place very well, there's no way Xiao Biaozi would get lost."
The middle-aged man took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Dad, you're ninety-eight years old this year, not an eighteen-year-old young man anymore."
Grandpa Wang ignored him and sat down to eat the tea and snacks on the table.
Wang Bohao handed him a cup of tea from the octagonal table, saying, "Uncle Qi, have some water."
"This water is too little to quench our thirst."
The middle-aged man turned to Xia Jianguo and said, "Hello, I am Wang Aiqi, Wang Aimin's cousin."
Wang Aimin said to Xia Jianguo and the others, "You can just call him Brother Qi."
"Brother Qi".
“Chiber”.
Wang Aiqi took a 100g gold bar out of his pocket and handed it to Xia Minmin, saying, "Kid, this is a little gift!"
This was the first time Xia Minmin had ever seen someone casually put 100g of gold into their pants pocket.
"Thank you, Uncle Qi!" Xia Minmin handed the gold to Li Chunmei.
Wang Aimin looked at the relatives and friends chatting in the lobby and said, "Bohao and Xiaohui, you go upstairs with your sixth uncle and Uncle Qi to rest."
"Dad, I understand."
Wang Bohao and Wu Hui helped Grandpa Wang upstairs. Grandpa Wang was unwilling, but he had no choice but to accept this treatment.
"Old Wang, congratulations!"
"We apologize for the poor hospitality, please come upstairs!"
Li Zhonghua, Sun Erni, and Li Qing walked in.
"Uncle, Aunt, Sister Qing, you're here." Xia Minmin ran over and took Li Qing's hand.
Li Zhonghua said with a smile, "Old Wang, now we're really family."
Wang Aimin patted Li Zhonghua on the shoulder, "Who says otherwise? Let's get together often for drinks and chats in the future."
Li Zhonghua and Wang Aimin have known each other for a long time. They both love alcohol and often get together for drinks.
"The dried river fish you sent last time tasted really good. I must go to your hometown to eat fish when I have the chance." Wang Aimin couldn't forget the fish that Li Zhonghua sent.
Li Zhonghua is always warm and hospitable. “Sure, how about this summer vacation? This type of fish has become increasingly rare in recent years, and it will probably become extinct in the future.”
Xia Jianguo said, "Shall we go back together and play for a few days?"
"Sure! Don't forget to invite me then."
Several groups of Wang Aimin's guests arrived during the chat, and they were all invited upstairs to rest.
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