Chapter 77 Chapter 77 (Complete) Bring your boyfriend here too...
The father and son chatted casually in the car and soon arrived at the community where Xin Ai's grandparents lived.
Xin Ai reported her itinerary to Fu Xize on WeChat: "I'm home."
Fu Xize replied: "OK, spend time with your family, don't reply."
Xin Ai did not reply. He turned off the screen, took the elevator upstairs with his father, and went inside - a house of more than 100 square meters, decorated in a very... old cadre style, which was obviously the style preferred by middle-aged and elderly people.
Architect Shen had thought about doing interior design for the couple, but the elderly didn’t like to trouble their juniors, thinking that their juniors were busy and stressed at work, so it would be better for them to do it themselves, since they were retired anyway, so... they decorated the room in this very old-fashioned style.
Xin Ai was okay with this, as every generation has its own aesthetic. It was normal for the old people to spend their own money and decorate the house the way they wanted. After all, this was the house where the two old people had lived all year round, so it naturally had to be designed according to their aesthetic.
Although the decoration was very old-fashioned and the new house looked a bit old for some reason, his grandmother's house was unusually clean and tidy. His grandmother was a person who loved cleanliness very much. All the things in the house were organized into categories. If there was any dirtiness, she would get up and clean it immediately without any delay.
Neither Xin Ai nor Xin En inherited this trait from her.
Liu Ruo felt that this was good, unlike her, who had to work hard for most of her life.
Xin Ming is a very traditional northern man who doesn't do any housework. Liu Ruo feels that she can get along with Xin Ming mainly because Xin Ming has high emotional intelligence, hands over his salary card, thanks his wife for her contribution to the family in various public occasions, and is also secretly henpecked. He always listens to his wife at home and outside, never gives her orders, and mostly praises her. In addition, when he was young, he had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a handsome appearance, and quite literary talent, and could even write poems. So she was trapped in his arms for life.
When Xin Ai was a child, he also asked his grandparents about their love life, but his grandpa ignored him. However, his grandma was bright and generous, with a strong and tough personality. She studied at Harbin Institute of Technology and never studied abroad, but she could speak many languages and had a very decent job. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after graduation.
There must be a lot of people chasing after his grandma.
And his grandfather was clearly the winner.
Xin Ai also saw the note his grandfather left on WeChat for his grandmother: "My beloved wife Ruoruo."
This kind of cultural person is really...
The (meat) is (heavy) until old age.
However, both of them were busy with work and lived apart for most of the year. Otherwise, in their era, they would not have had only one child, Xin En. It was not until his grandfather was transferred to Beijing that they ended their separation. After retirement, they moved to their hometown in Tianjin to retire.
When Xin Ai got into an accident in his previous life, the two old people came to visit him. His grandmother tried her best to comfort him, "Nowadays, medical treatment is well developed, and plastic surgery technology is also advanced. New technology comes out every year. Don't worry, Xin Ai, you will be cured. Our family is not short of money. Grandma has a lot of pension. It's okay for grandma to stay at home after retirement. Grandma will accompany you to see a doctor. Your grandma speaks six foreign languages and can go anywhere." She turned her back and wiped her tears.
His grandmother was a very strong woman. She raised Xin En almost single-handedly, and she never missed any opportunities for advancement in her work. She was the kind of woman who held up half the sky as advocated in the last century. His grandmother never cried easily, but she really broke down in tears at that moment.
I only have this one grandson, whom I raise like the apple of my eye. How could I not feel sad when something like this happened to me?
So, Xin Ai, you have to take care of yourself, even if it’s just for the people around you.
Thinking like this, Xin Ai changed her shoes and went into the house, shouting loudly: "Grandma..."
His grandmother said "Hey" in a clear voice, came out of the kitchen with a spatula, and said cheerfully, "Xin Ai is back."
Xin Ai changed into slippers and immediately went over, pulling her grandmother and speaking sweetly, "Grandma, I miss you so much."
Liu Ruo's heart almost melted. She had only this one grandchild, who had grown up right before her eyes. He was extremely outstanding in every aspect. Liu Ruo was so heartbroken that she said, "Grandma misses you, too."
Then, she scolded, "You too, you should be freer now that you are in college, but you are not even here as often as you were in your third year of high school. I know you have a boyfriend, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you bring your boyfriend here, will grandma eat him?"
Xin Ai weakly defended herself: "I feel like college is a little busier than my senior year of high school."
Liu Ruo thought about the academic pressure of the top 985 universities and began to understand: "That's right, you are studying in a prestigious university, the competition is fierce, the academic pressure is great, and you are still in a relationship."
Xin Ai chuckled.
Xin Ai greeted her grandma, then turned to look at the living room and called out to Xin Ming, who was sitting on the sofa wearing reading glasses and reading a newspaper: "Grandpa..."
His grandfather was much more reserved and just nodded coldly: "Yeah."
After a while, he couldn't resist the longing for his grandson and couldn't pretend to be cold any longer, so he put down the newspaper, went to the dining room, dragged a chair and sat down, watching the two of them chatting, occasionally saying a few words and laughing.
When the family is reunited, the atmosphere is naturally warm and harmonious.
Liu Ruo was worried about Xin Ai's early morning high-speed train to Tianjin, so she didn't have breakfast. She pulled him aside and asked with concern, "Let's not talk about this. Have you had breakfast? I went to buy fresh beef for stewing early in the morning, and kneaded some noodles. Grandma will cook beef noodles for you. I know you like it."
Xin Ai is very popular with his grandma. Every time he comes back, his grandma will specially pick out his favorite food to cook. His grandma is a very good cook and can make simple noodles chewy and tasty. When Xin Ai was a child, every time he came to his grandma's house, he wanted to lick the soup bowl clean. It was so delicious. How could there be such delicious noodles? They are even better than instant noodles.
Xin Ai recalled these childhood memories with a smile in his eyes. He said with a smile: "I haven't eaten yet. I'm waiting to come to my grandma's house to eat the beef noodles she made."
Liu Ruo laughed and ordered Chen Yu again: "Chen Yu, go wake up Xiao En. This child is really lazy since she was a child. Her father is also lazy, but not as lazy as her."
When Xin Ming heard this, he didn't say anything. He never disobeyed the person in charge of the family.
Chen Yu was assigned a task by his mother-in-law, and he looked embarrassed. How could Chen Yu dare to wake up Xin En so early in the morning? Wouldn't it be obvious that he would be beaten? He instructed Xin Ai: "Xin Ai, go wake up your mother and let her get up and eat."
Xin Ai was silent: "..."
The big pie is small, and the small pie is even smaller.
Xin Ai glanced at his father and obediently went to call his mother to get up. He came to the second bedroom, knocked on the door, and called out, "Mom, get up and eat. Grandma is going to make beef noodles."
After waiting for a while, Xin Ai heard his mother Xin En's vague reply: "I know, wait a minute."
After Xin Ai got the confirmation, he went back to the kitchen to chat with his family. He really enjoyed the atmosphere of family reunion and casual chat.
Xin En got up, changed her clothes, and went to the bathroom next to the kitchen with her thick black hair to brush her teeth and wash her face. Her hometown in Tianjin cannot compare with the luxury houses in Beijing. This house with three bedrooms and two living rooms and more than 100 square meters has no bathroom in the second bedroom. Xin En has to use the public bathroom outside. Xin En accepts this well. She did not have such conditions when she was a child. She used to live with her mother in a small two-bedroom apartment allocated by the unit.
Families within the dual system are definitely respectable and stable, but they are not extremely wealthy and they are not corrupt officials.
The old man had considered buying a house in Beijing for retirement, but after inquiring about the housing prices, he decided to return to Tianjin.
Both of them are low-key and down-to-earth people, and they also exude the simplicity and frugality unique to the older generation. They refused to let their daughter and son-in-law buy a house for them, and returned to Tianjin to buy one. It's not that they haven't thought about continuing to live in the house originally allocated by their unit, but that old and dilapidated house is on the fourth floor, and it is inevitably inconvenient for them to walk as they get older, so they simply bought an apartment with an elevator in their hometown in Tianjin.
Fortunately, Beijing and Tianjin are very close to each other, making travel convenient. No matter whether Xin En has something to do or not, I will take him to Tianjin for a short stay.
Xin Ai is very attached to her mother. When she saw Xin En get up, she stood aside and chatted with her mother.
Professor Xin is a lazy person. She only dresses up when she goes to work or goes out on a date. She never wears makeup at home. But as a beautiful woman, she is truly stunning. She is stunningly beautiful even in her home clothes without makeup.
Following the routine of brushing teeth, washing face and applying skin care products can make you look elegant and beautiful.
Xin Ai thought about how he had to wake up his mother every time he came to Tianjin. He felt amused and casually talked about it: "It feels like I have always been the one to wake up my mother since she was young, and I was able to wake her up every time. Mom, don't you have any bad temper when you wake up?"
Xin En glanced at him calmly: "Even if I am in a bad mood after waking up, I will understand your difficulties."
Xin Ai asked, "Ah?"
Xin En said faintly: “Every time I see you come to call me, I will think that Shen Yu is bullying the children again. This kind of dirty work is always left to my son.”
Xin Ai choked: "..."
Xin En was telling the truth. When she was in Beijing, no one cared about her. She had to go to work and could not sleep in. She usually went back to her parents' home in Tianjin during holidays, so it was natural that she slept until noon. Her mother couldn't stand her being so lazy, so she nagged her and told her to go to bed early and get up early to take care of herself. She would also prepare breakfast for her in the morning.
Her mother spoiled her child so much that she would never let Xin Ai call him. She always asked Chen Yu to call him, and Chen Yu would push the matter to Xin Ai.
Isn't this just bullying children?
Let Xin Ai handle this thankless task.
Heartbroken.
Xin En got angry when he thought of this: "Chen Yu is sure that I feel sorry for you, so he always pushes you out to do this kind of thing."
Chen Yu spread his hands helplessly. Isn't it because you are partial? When your son went to wake you up, you praised him in various ways, saying "Baby, you got up so early and came to wake me up. That's great." When your husband provided the wake-up service, you hit him to death with a pillow and refused to get up.
My son is my biological son, but my husband was adopted.
If you ever praise me by saying, "Baby, you get up so early and come to wake me up, that's so great," I will definitely wake you up every day.
This is not... I have never heard a word of this, I am always greeted by the pillow.
When Xin Ai heard this inside story, he looked at his mother quietly, then at his father twice. It was at this moment that Xin Ai realized that his mother actually also had difficulty getting up, but every time she would get up quickly because her son woke her up.
His mother really loves him.
As for Mr. Shen, he was just bullying him because he was young and ignorant of the world.
Liu Ruo didn't notice the atmosphere between the three of them. When the noodles were cooked and served, she shouted, "The noodles are cooked. It's time to eat, it's time to eat..."
Xin Ai washed his hands and ate. He had a big bowl of noodles with pickled leeks and chopped green onions, covered with a thick layer of beef, and a few seasonal green vegetables floating in it. It was steaming hot because it had just come out of the pot, but this kind of heat was healing just by looking at it on such a cold winter day, especially since Xin Ai got up early in the morning to catch the high-speed train with an empty stomach, and waited for his father in the cold wind for more than ten minutes.
Xin Ai picked up the noodles with chopsticks and tasted them. They were just as delicious as he remembered. He had recently tried a lot of delicious food and had a clearer sense of food. This was... simply delicious. People who cook all year round seem to have their own unique skills. The homely noodles were all cooked with good color, aroma and taste. During the Chinese New Year, his grandmother must have put a lot of thought into the food. She would buy fresh beef for stewing early in the morning, and the noodles were all freshly pulled, and she added her unique seasoning...
Xin Ai ate the rice vigorously and praised it in various ways: "It's delicious."
Grandma looked very happy: "If it tastes good, eat more."
Soon, she changed her mind, "No, our family has to have a reunion dinner at noon. Xin Ai, save some space for other food. Grandma will make you something delicious."
Xin Ai smiled and said, "Thank you, grandma."
This time, Chen Yu rarely had any doubts about Xin Ai's exaggerated performance. His mother-in-law was a very good cook. It was said that her skills were average in her early years. Later, she was probably mocked for her unpalatable food. She worked hard and studied hard to master her cooking skills. His mother-in-law was a very strong-willed person. She always wanted to do her best in everything she wanted to do. Xin Ai was probably raised here all year round, so she was very similar to her in this respect.
After breakfast, grandma took the dishes to wash. Since we had a dishwasher at home, it wasn’t a big deal.
Xin Ai opened his suitcase and took out the New Year gifts he had prepared for his family. He drew pictures of his grandparents, father and mother, both individually and in groups, all of which were based on the photos he took last year.
This is the Xin family’s signature project, and they paint it every year.
When Liu Ruo received the painting, she was all smiles. She thought this child was very attentive and, rare to see, very persistent. When she was only four years old and had just started learning to paint, she said to her, "I will paint for my grandma every year from now on." It was just childish talk and no one took it seriously, but Xin Ai persisted in doing so for so many years.
I paint every year and make progress every year.
This kind of kid is really... both excellent and heartwarming.
Liu Ruo loves him so much, my precious grandson...
Xin Ming smiled all the time when he got the painting. No matter how cold and reserved a person is, it would be hard for him to harden his heart when his own grandson cared about him so much and asked him to draw a picture for him every year.
Wearing reading glasses, he looked at each photo carefully, and commented on them together with his wife Ruoruo and baby Xiaoen.
Xin Ming, a cultured person who even knows a little about painting, nodded with satisfaction: "You have made great progress and become much more sophisticated. It seems that you really put in effort when you went to college."
Xin Ai felt quite guilty, for he was reborn and brought back with him the skills he had acquired ten years later. At that time, he had become so crazy that he felt that painting was all that was left for him in his life. This madness and concentration allowed his painting skills to reach the pinnacle.
Liu Ruoze said: "Your painting is really good. Grandma doesn't know how to paint, but I feel happy every time I see your paintings."
Xin En clapped his hands vigorously at the side: "Xin Ai, that's great."
Chen Yu was very indifferent. He had collected this thing for more than ten years, and it seemed that he would collect it for the rest of his life. Although his painting skills were improving, he could not see his son becoming a famous artist, so... that was it.
By the way, it was he who taught Xin Ai how to paint.
It's just that he is good at architectural drawings and engineering drawings, which emphasize rigor and meticulousness. He is not very good at artistic drawings like Xin Ai, but it can be seen that Xin Ai's painting skills are indeed very impressive.
Xin Ai then took out the handicrafts he had made himself and gave them away one by one. They were painted pottery figurines that he had made himself and sent for firing. They were in the Tang Dynasty tri-color glazed pottery style. The prototypes of the characters were his grandmother, grandfather, father, and mother. He made six of each person, with different expressions, looks, and clothing, and each one was lifelike.
Xin En saw a whole row of pottery figurines based on her. Each one was simple, naive and adorable. Xin En's heart softened indescribably and her smile was extremely bright: "This is too cute. The whole row is of me."
After Liu Ruo saw her grandson, the smile on her face never stopped. She was so happy that her precious grandson came, and she received so many gifts: "This is really cute, and it was made by Xin Ai herself. Later, grandma will make a transparent glass cabinet to display it."
Xin Ming added: "Let's put them together."
Liu Ruo glared at him but didn't say whether she agreed or not.
Seeing her like that, Xin Ming guessed that she agreed. Hehe, as an old couple, of course they wanted to keep the terracotta figurines together.
When this set was taken out, Shen Yu was silent. In terms of providing emotional value, Xin Ai was unmatched. Even he, seeing Xin En's pottery figurines, was quite reluctant to let go. These were pottery figurines in the imitation of Tang Sancai style, exclusively handmade by art students studying at a top art academy. And because they were relatives, they were made very attentively, and just looking at them was full of love...
Shen Yu reached out to take Xin En's terracotta figurine. He wanted it.
Xin En hit him directly on the back of his hand: "Mine."
Shen Yu was silent: “…”
Shen Yu had no choice but to transfer 500,000 yuan to Xin Ai on WeChat, and then made another request: "Give me a set of Xin En's pottery figurines, from the same series as the one in Xin En's hand, and six of them, with different expressions and clothes."
Xin Ai was caught off guard by the large order and was pleasantly surprised. He received the payment and replied in seconds: "I will show the drawings to the boss first. If the boss confirms that it is OK, I will make and assemble them as soon as I return to school and send them to you."
Shen Yu was very satisfied with this speed, and he replied coldly: "Yeah."
Xin Ai glanced at the sponsor out of the corner of her eye.
It turns out that ten years ago, someone had already started raising a figurine, and the boss was extremely generous. He directly ordered handmade pottery figurines and placed a large order with Xin Ai on the first day of the new year.
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