Chapter 87 Casual Chat
The day Gao Mingjia went to Huhe City, the weather was extremely hot. The sun baked the ground until it was scorching hot, and even the wind that hit their faces felt suffocating.
Chen Yun and her two children watched their father jump onto the truck.
The children waved their hands vigorously, and for a moment, it seemed to overlap with the scene of Gao Ming leaving home to make his way in the world that year.
Unfortunately, I no longer have any close friends who would see my husband off at the same time.
"Li Shuaishuai, come to my house to watch TV. Today... we rented some cartoon DVDs from the video store, let's watch that this morning!"
Gao Nianping put his arm around his friend's shoulder, glancing carefully at Chen Yun's expression, afraid that his mother would not let them watch TV.
No matter what happened between the adults, it didn't affect the children's friendship, and Chen Yun never mentioned it in front of them.
Even if Gao Ming's departure today was caused by Li Huguo...
"Mom! The teacher said this summer is especially hot and told us not to go swimming in the river."
After standing in the sun for just over ten minutes, Gao Nian'an's two braids became hot, and waves of heat emanated from her head. Soon, sweat rolled down her face from between her hair strands.
"Gao Nianping, Li Shuaishuai." Chen Yun felt that the teacher's warning was mainly aimed at two boys who were at an age that even cats and dogs disliked, so she immediately poked Gao Nianping's cheek: "Did you hear what your sister said?"
"Hehe." Li Shuaishuai chuckled and scratched his head: "It's hot outside, so we're just staying inside with the fan on."
"Mom, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Gao Nian'an winked at her two younger brothers.
The three of them had already agreed to go to the billiards hall in the afternoon to watch people play billiards, and then go to the convenience store to buy iced soda.
"Got somewhere to go this afternoon?" Chen Yun lowered her eyelids slightly, and with just one glance, she understood the unspoken tension between the children. She chuckled and shook her index finger: "Dad told me to check your summer homework before he left, so you're not going anywhere this afternoon!"
"It's only been half a month of vacation, who's doing summer homework so early!" Gao Nian'an said angrily, hands on her hips, her voice full of self-righteousness.
“Last year, your winter break homework was a mess, and your dad got criticized when you went to school.” Chen Yun smiled at her daughter. “This year, I’m taking you to school, and if you get criticized again…”
The three of them simultaneously covered their buttocks and jumped under the eaves in a row, their faces filled with terror.
Gao Ming reasoned with others, while Chen Yun used a steel ruler; the couple, one skilled in literature and the other in martial arts, never made a mistake.
"So I suggest you do your homework first, and then you can play without worry... How about that?"
Gao Nianping is alright, but Gao Nian'an and Li Shuaishuai, if no one supervises them, will have to stay up all night the day before school starts to finish their homework, and they'll be crying while writing, saying they can't finish.
"Let's do our homework!" Gao Nianping advised her sister.
Gao Nian'an sighed, looked down at the ground with a heavy expression, hesitated for a long time between being scolded by his mother or obediently doing his homework, and finally decided: "I'll just watch cartoons while doing my homework at home!"
The little girl even added an animated film to her compromise, and Chen Yun didn't call her out on it.
"Whether you do your homework first and then watch TV, or watch TV while doing your homework, everyone must complete ten pages!"
You have your brilliant strategies... but I have my own ways to overcome them!
One sigh after another drifted through the courtyard wall.
Chen Yun slowly stepped over the courtyard wall, thinking that she would also bring her reference books to the house to study later.
The children have summer homework, and she also has various professional qualification exams to take.
"Jin Hua, this isn't appropriate!"
“What’s wrong with it? It’s a waste for Mom to sleep in such a big room all by herself!” Qian Jinhua turned around and glared at Yan Jun, pulling away his hand that was gently holding the straw mat. “If we don’t find a way to make some money, we’ll starve! If you’re so capable, why don’t you learn from Erming…”
"You vixen, dressed so seductively, who are you trying to seduce!"
Grandma Jia, leaning on her cane, slowly moved from inside the house to the doorway. Like a crooked old locust tree, her body leaned slightly to the left, and her cloudy eyes seemed to be looking at someone, yet also seemed to be looking at no one.
Every day, you could hear her standing under the eaves, making veiled insults. Anyone passing by, regardless of gender, could potentially become the "vixen" she was referring to.
Chen Yun was having a bad day; she became the target of Granny Jia's insults as soon as she passed by.
"Shut up, you old hag!" Qian Jinhua came out of the kitchen, pointed at Yan Jun's nose and cursed, "All you do all day is spew nonsense, you're only happy when you've offended everyone in the yard!"
"Mom, come inside and rest." Yan Jun quickly went to help Grandma Jia.
"My son is useless... He wants to make his old mother sleep in the kitchen. I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son."
The cane was raised and struck down hard. Yan Jun was already unsteady on his feet, and even though he reacted and tried to dodge, he was still hit on the head, crying out in pain.
Qian Jinhua may be fierce, but after marrying Yan Jun, she genuinely wanted to live with him and naturally cared for her husband.
Hearing the noise, she immediately ran out of the kitchen, grabbed Granny Jia, and headed towards the kitchen: "You old hag, you're mentally unstable and still tormenting people!"
After quickly pushing the person into the kitchen, he neatly locked the door.
Inside the house, Granny Jia started wailing, which quickly turned into crying, and then she fell silent.
Ever since Qian Jinhua entered the family, Granny Jia's true colors as a wicked mother-in-law have been fully revealed. She has used her position as a mother-in-law to torment her daughter-in-law.
But the person she wanted to manipulate wasn't someone easy to deal with, and the two women argued endlessly every day.
Later, Granny Jia was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. When she was lucid, she would run to each house in the courtyard, crying and wailing, accusing Qian Jinhua of abusing her.
When I'm confused, I'll run into other people's rooms to urinate or defecate, even though I'm confused I know I shouldn't use the toilet in my own room.
Some people with Alzheimer's disease simply act like immature children, while others choose to transfer their suffering to others.
Seeing that Granny Jia had been locked inside, Chen Yun breathed a sigh of relief before quickly opening the door to let in some fresh air.
Last month, Grandma Jia rushed into the house and almost smashed the TV. At the time, she kept shouting nonsense such as, "If my family doesn't have a TV, then Gao Tiejun won't be able to watch TV either."
Not only was she incredibly strong, unlike a sick old woman, but she also clearly pronounced Gao Tiejun's name.
Chen Yun even suspected that the old lady deliberately came to do bad things while she was sober, and that every household in the courtyard suffered losses to varying degrees.
Even when the weather was unbearably hot, no one in the courtyard dared to open their door.
As soon as Chen Yun opened the door, Aunt Luo opened her own door and came out with a tattered palm-leaf fan.
The palm-leaf fan was also a gift from Granny Jia...
"If you have the air conditioning on, I'll let the two kids go outside to cool off for a while."
“It’s open now. Let the kids come and play. My three kids are all watching TV.”
"become!"
Before Gao Ming left home, Chen Yun had just received her monthly salary. After discussing it, the couple decided to install an air conditioner in their house.
The in-laws definitely won't be willing to spend money on electricity, so let the children stay in the living room. The two elders love the younger generation and will surely turn on the electricity for them.
Before Chen Yun even entered the house, the air conditioner was already on!
"Have some watermelon first, Grandma just took it out of the refrigerator." Dong Qiaoying put the cut watermelon on the table, and took out half of it: "Take this half to Liangliang."
"Mission accomplished!"
Gao Nianping raised his hand in salute, bent down and took a big bite of watermelon, his cheeks bulging, before running his errand.
"Where are Jiang Xue and Jiang Yong?"
After waiting for a while, Dong Qiaoying saw Aunt Luo walk in alone, and looked towards the door in confusion.
"Never mind them." Aunt Luo waved her palm-leaf fan and picked up a slice of watermelon: "They're just as lazy as their mothers. They'd rather lie in bed and die of heat than get up and walk around."
"Brother Dajiang has been back for so long, why haven't I seen him?"
I only saw Jiang Heyun twice on the first day of the Lunar New Year when we set off firecrackers, and I never saw him walk around in the yard again after that.
"I went to Jiangjin with a friend, supposedly to do some book wholesale. This morning, Jiang Yong's mother also went to help out!"
Society today is not like it was twenty years ago. Nowadays, as long as you are willing to work hard, there will always be a way to make money. Aunt Luo felt that her thinking was not keeping up with the times, so she never interfered with what her children did.
"Uncle Jiang went to play chess with my dad again, didn't he?"
Since retiring, Gao Tiejun spends his time either picking up and dropping off his grandchildren or exercising in the park across the street and playing chess with people.
He said that too much air conditioning gives him a headache, and it's not as cool as being in the woods.
Aunt Luo nodded, glanced at Chen Yun's face, and immediately smiled: "Why are you doing homework just like the kids?"
The music from the cartoon playing on the TV was playing as the three children sat around the screen eating watermelon, having completely forgotten about their homework.
Chen Yun, on the other hand, sat down and opened a reference book, chatting while constantly writing and drawing.
"My class is just like school! If you fail the exam, you get paid less than others," Chen Yun said with a smile.
"Oh dear..." Aunt Luo sighed, her gaze slowly turning to the courtyard: "Old Dong, did Qian Jinhua make Aunt Jia sleep in the kitchen?"
Qian Jinhua returned to the house and quickly went back into the kitchen with a few thin blankets.
“I heard Qian Jinhua say that she wants to rent out a room in the house, otherwise there won’t be any rice left to cook!” Dong Qiaoying replied.
Every family has its own troubles, but for the Yan family, with its orphaned children and widowed mother, the troubles are even more difficult...
Yan Jun has difficulty walking and can't find work at all. In the past, he relied entirely on Grandma Jia, who set up a sewing machine outside to sew and mend for people to make a living.
Now that he has Alzheimer's disease, he doesn't leave the house and can only make ends meet by doing odd jobs outside.
"Jinhua has it tough too. Her husband and mother-in-law both depend on her for support. It's right that she didn't bring the baby back to raise," Aunt Luo sighed.
If they had another child, the Yan family would probably have to go out begging to support them!
"Look, isn't it the people who want to rent the house here!"
Aunt Luo suddenly stood up, and Chen Yun pulled back the curtains to look into the courtyard. After a moment, she closed her book and went outside.
"It's Granny Ma and Zhang Guixiang!"
Zhang Guixiang helped Old Ma walk unsteadily towards the courtyard, stopping to catch her breath every few steps before continuing.
"Auntie, sister-in-law." Chen Yun quickly went to greet her and took Ma's other arm for support. "It's so hot! Why did you come?"
Old Mrs. Ma has aged remarkably fast these past two years; it's as if time has suddenly accelerated on her.
The once energetic old woman spoke weakly and listlessly, and even turning her head to look at Chen Yun seemed to be a great effort.
"Auntie...sigh! I'm desperate, that's why I'm asking you for help."
"What happened?" Chen Yun asked Zhang Guixiang.
“Cuifen and her husband were arrested by the police station. The police called us and said we had to pay a fine of 5,000 yuan.”
"Is Cuifen involved in gambling?"
"I don't know!" Zhang Guixiang frowned, clearly agitated. "Zhigang just left with Manager Gao, and the next thing he knew, he called the company. My mother and I..."
Old Mrs. Ma was getting on in years and her spirits were not up to par, while Zhang Guixiang was timid and panicked the moment she received the call, not knowing what to do.
Later, Yang Juhua sent the two of them to find Chen Yun. They had heard that Gao Ming's comrade-in-arms, Xiao Mu, was a policeman and wanted to ask him to help them find out some information.
Chen Yun nodded solemnly.
"I have to say this upfront... If Cuifen is really involved in gambling, even a god couldn't save her."
“I understand…” Old Ma patted Chen Yun’s hand, her expression solemn: “You reap what you sow. If you really did something immoral, you should be sent to a labor camp!”
"OK!"
As long as Old Lady Ma had said that, Chen Yun was willing to make the trip for her.
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