Li Chunmei looked at Grandpa and Grandma Xia, who hadn't left the mahjong table for a long time, and said, "Mom and Dad, dinner's ready!"
"Mom and Dad, how about we play cards with you after we eat?" Li Zhonghua was also hungry at this point.
"Not good, it's almost my turn to win, just wait a little longer." Grandpa Xia's tone was very impatient.
Xia Minmin stood behind Li Zhonghua and watched him discard one mahjong tile after another that could win. Seeing that Li Zhonghua was about to discard again, Xia Minmin couldn't help but poke Li Zhonghua, but he still threw it away.
Xia Minmin guessed that they probably wanted her maternal grandfather to win.
"Sigh..." Xia Minmin watched the game on the card table with a bored expression. This was just a game of playing along, even more unbearable than the afternoon. It was uncomfortable just sitting there without being able to win.
"Old man, I won!" Grandma Xia beamed as she held up a mahjong tile.
Li Zhonghua and Sun Erni laughed too. They couldn't wait to get up from their chairs, ready to wash their hands and go eat.
Grandpa Xia scoffed, "You old woman! Winning is no big deal. If I hadn't let you win, I would have won long ago. Besides, it might be a false win."
Grandma Xia was displeased upon hearing this. She put one hand on her hip and pointed at Grandpa Xia with the other, saying, "If you can't accept defeat, just say so! Why did you say 'let me win'? Do I need you to let me win? You even accused me of bluffing! Open your dog eyes and see if I'm bluffing or not! Do you think I'm like you? Someone who likes to bluff!"
Grandpa Xia, unconvinced, pushed his hand over to show everyone. "I was the one who let you win. Let me show you my hand. I haven't changed the mahjong tiles since I started. This is the hand I started with. How can it not be me who let you win?"
To be honest, Grandpa Xia's hand was really good; he had many tiles that could have won, but he just didn't. Maybe it was just bad luck!
Grandma Xia said with a look of disgust, "Don't you know how smelly your hands are?"
"What did you say! My hands are bad! I'm incredibly lucky! I've beaten Xiaomin so many times this afternoon!" Grandpa Xia glared at Grandma Xia.
"That's because Xiaomin let you win. No wonder all your old buddies like to play cards with you. Even with your bad luck, I still like to play cards with you. Who wouldn't want to play cards with you if they could win money!"
Grandpa Xia paused for a moment, then said, "Hmph, women and petty people are the hardest to deal with. I won't stoop to your level!"
"If you can't accept defeat, just say so. Why bother with all this?" Grandma Xia continued her attack.
Grandpa Xia sat on the sofa, fuming.
The two elders were arguing, and Li Chunmei, Xia Jianguo, Li Zhonghua, and Sun Erni looked at each other in bewilderment.
Li Chunmei had no choice but to nudge Xia Minmin to ease the tension, since the affection between grandparents and grandchildren is not just a saying.
Xia Minmin clasped her hands tightly. "Grandpa and Grandma, shall we eat first?"
Grandpa Xia's voice was filled with anger, "I won't eat it!"
“If he doesn’t eat, we will, which is perfect for us. Come on, everyone, sit down and eat,” Grandma Xia said with a smile as she sat down and invited everyone else to sit down as well.
"Hmph, you won't let me eat, but I'll eat anyway." Grandpa Xia sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
As expected, the best ginger is the spiciest. An expert's skill is immediately apparent. When it comes to dealing with Grandpa Xia, it's still Grandma Xia who's the best choice.
The atmosphere at home finally eased.
"Sister-in-law, has Xiaoxiao still not come home?" Li Chunmei was very worried about her niece, Li Xiaoxiao, whom she hadn't seen since the Lunar New Year.
Sun Erni was full of bitterness when she talked about her daughter. "No, she's like she's bewitched. She's fixated on that boyfriend. Your older brother and I have talked to her a few times, but each time it ended badly. That guy doesn't work and just spends all his time in the arcade playing mahjong and slot machines. I heard he's lost a lot of money."
When Li Chunmei heard about slot machines, she remembered what someone had told her before: "Brother, you really need to be careful. There was a family in our neighborhood who got into debt because of gambling on slot machines, and they had to sell their house. Later, their wife left with their child."
In the past, the people around the small town were very honest. Although they played cards, they only played for fun and didn't spend too much. I haven't heard of anything like gambling, selling houses, or breaking up families for many years.
Grandma Xia put down her chopsticks and bowl with a serious expression. "Zhonghua and Erni, talk to Xiaoxiao again soon. If she still refuses to come back, you should pack up all the valuables in the house and the property certificate. It wasn't easy for you two to save up this money. You can't let her and her boyfriend ruin it."
Grandpa Xia said seriously, "If Xiaoxiao continues like this and doesn't repent, then we must sever all ties. We must never let what happened to my father happen to the next generation."
Back then, Xia's maternal grandfather's father also lost all his wealth and family due to gambling, and Xia's maternal grandfather's mother also passed away early because she couldn't afford medical treatment.
It is said that back then, most of the land in the town belonged to Xia's maternal grandfather.
Li Zhonghua said, "Mom and Dad, we understand! This time we will give her an ultimatum."
Sun Erni said with tears in her eyes, "How did Xiaoxiao become like this? She used to be so well-behaved. Ever since she met this man, she's become a completely different person. We've tried everything, but she's still unmoved. Last year, we locked her up at home, and she went on a hunger strike."
Li Chunmei handed the tissue to Sun Erni.
Grandma Xia hit the nail on the head, "It's all because you spoiled her. Back in our hometown, she complained that the factory was too tiring, so you went out of your way to find connections to get her a different factory and a different job. After she came to Shenzhen, she said she was helping you, but in reality, she was just taking money out to play every day."
Sun Erni said, "When our family was poor, we always felt we owed her something. Now that our family's situation has improved, we try to make it up to her."
Grandma Xia couldn't stand what Sun Erni said anymore. "What do you mean by good conditions and what do you mean by bad conditions? You can't compare life now with life back then. Why don't you compare it with our era?"
“Besides, our family wasn’t bad off back then! We were at least one of the best in the village. She dropped out of junior high school because she didn’t want to go. We paid her tuition, and she would skip class every day we took her to school. Fine, if she didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to go. So we used our connections to get her a job in a factory! She complained about being tired after working there for less than three years, so we had to treat her to meals and ask people to help her get a different job.”
After Grandma Xia finished speaking, Sun Erni remained silent for a long time.
Li Chunmei picked up a piece of chicken and gave it to Sun Erni. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's eat. Second sister-in-law, try this chicken! It's a free-range chicken that I specially asked someone to buy. It's been stewed all afternoon, and it's just the right size to eat now. It won't get stuck in your teeth at all."
The atmosphere finally improved a bit.
Li Zhonghua, holding a wine glass, said, "Xiaomin, how's your Sanda training going lately? How about we have a spar sometime?"
While Li Zhonghua was speaking, Xia Minmin was gnawing on a chicken leg; she and Li Qing each had one.
"Okay, when?" Ever since she gained some experience in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), Xia Minmin has been very keen on sparring with others.
However, Grandma Xia seemed a little unhappy. She slapped Li Zhonghua hard on the back of the head and glared at him fiercely.
Xia Minmin burst out laughing.
Li Zhonghua, harboring ill intentions, said, "Xia Xiaomin, how dare you laugh at your uncle! How were your recent exam results?"
Xia Minmin thought to herself that this was exactly what she wanted. Although she was very happy, she couldn't tell. "That's great, first in the grade."
“That’s good.” Upon hearing Xia Minmin’s reply, Li Zhonghua fell completely silent and started drinking with Xia Jianguo.
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