Chapter 93 Huo Tingzhou is back
Seeing Huo Tingzhou standing at the door with a stubble beard, bloodshot eyes, and carrying large bags, I was struck by his appearance.
The elderly couple were both happy and heartbroken.
"What's wrong with you?" the old man asked.
Those who didn't know better would think they had fled back from war.
Huo Tingzhou was used to reporting good news and not bad news. In fact, nothing much had happened, except that the border had been a bit unstable recently.
He had been flying night flights for more than half a month, and he stayed up all night yesterday, so he looked a little haggard.
"Grandpa and Grandma, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a couple more days after I get back."
The old man wanted to ask a few more questions, but Grandma Huo interrupted him.
"Alright, the child just got back, let him catch his breath."
As she spoke, she poured some hot water into the basin, saying, "Xiaozhou, wash your face with hot water first, and relax a bit."
"Grandma, I can do it myself."
Grandma Huo didn't argue with him. After he finished washing his face, she told him everything that had happened in the family over the past two weeks.
"By the way, this is a photo your older brother sent."
They only received the photos yesterday morning; the eldest son and his wife were very thoughtful.
Not only did they send photos, but they also sent them a lot of dried beef strips, milk curds, and dried fruits and candied fruits.
Huo Tingzhou took the photo and glanced at it. The date the photo was taken was in the lower right corner; it was June 1st of last year.
Although the photo is a bit blurry, it's not hard to see that the eldest brother's facial features are still very similar to those of the Huo family.
I noticed that my older brother was wearing a military uniform with two pockets on the top and bottom, and he was also wearing leather shoes that were uniformly issued by the army.
Huo Tingzhou then understood the situation.
This type of clothing is also known as the cadre uniform in the military, and the lowest rank is platoon leader.
Given his age, he is now at least a deputy battalion-level or higher officer.
He didn't ask his older brother how he had been all these years, because he could tell from the smiles on the faces of the four of them in the photos that his older brother had been living a relatively happy life.
"Grandma, did Big Brother say when he'll be back?"
Grandma Huo nodded, "Your eldest brother and his family are living in Xinjiang Province now. They won't be coming back this year because of the tight schedule."
"When they have time next year, their whole family will come to Beijing to visit relatives. Then our family will truly be complete."
Speaking of this, Grandma Huo's eyes reddened.
Huo Tingzhou wasn't very good at comforting people, so in the end, it was the old man who spoke up.
"Okay, don't be sad."
"You cried for half a day yesterday, if you cry again today, will your eyes even stay open?"
"I'm not upset at all, I'm happy!" Grandma Huo retorted stubbornly.
The eldest son and his family have now been found.
The third child has also started a family; who knows, she might become a great-grandmother next year.
The granddaughters-in-law in the family also get along very well, like sisters.
Grandma Huo was overjoyed.
She had originally planned to take this opportunity to have a good chat with her grandson.
But in less than a few minutes, he had been stealing glances upstairs several times.
Grandma Huo smiled and said, "Don't look anymore, Si Si isn't home."
Not home?
Huo Tingzhou's expression visibly paused.
It's only a little before 8:15. Usually, she would have just woken up by this time.
Even if I were going out shopping, I wouldn't set off this early.
Thinking this, he asked, "Grandma, where did she go?"
"She went to the Workers' Stadium to watch the game with your second sister-in-law."
"Watching the game?"
"Well, it's not all about watching the games. Your wife has recently been working on creating a facial features database template for the public security system."
Grandma Huo didn't understand these things either, but that didn't stop her from thinking her granddaughter-in-law was excellent.
When she brought the fruit to the study yesterday, she took a special look at it, and the eyes and mouths were drawn so well!
Even someone like her who doesn't know anything about painting could recognize someone from the family compound just by looking at their eyes.
Even so, the granddaughter-in-law said it was only a semi-finished product.
Grandma Huo couldn't even imagine how amazing the finished product would be.
No wonder the fourth brother has been so excited lately, always running to the old house.
After explaining the whole story, Grandma Huo continued.
“I heard from Sisi that we’ve made progress on the elderly, children, and women’s parts; the only thing left to finish is drawing the men’s facial features.”
"Today is the day we're holding the 10th National Youth Games."
"Your second sister-in-law is a table tennis referee, so she took your wife with her."
"Don't worry, your fourth uncle sent two people to follow you, nothing will happen."
Huo Tingzhou said he wasn't worried, but his actions betrayed his true feelings.
In the old man's words, his expression was not one of relief, but rather one of extreme unease, as if each day was an eternity!
Sure enough, Huo Tingzhou only lasted less than ten minutes before giving up.
"Grandpa and Grandma, I'm going to the stadium to see what's going on."
Grandma Huo didn't say she disagreed, but she looked him up and down, and finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Why don't you go upstairs and take a shower to freshen up?"
She was too embarrassed to say, "It's too unsightly for you to go out like that."
The old man wasn't embarrassed at all; his words were as cutting as ever.
"You're already several years older than Si Yatou. If you don't dress up properly, people might think you're her uncle when we get to the stadium!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Tingzhou immediately stood rooted to the spot.
Grandma Huo smiled and pushed the person upstairs.
"Go ahead, it won't take much time to tidy up."
"When Sisi went to the department store before, she bought you a set of clothes. It's on the far right shelf of the wardrobe."
"After you shower, just put it on and shave."
Huo Tingzhou hummed in agreement, "Understood, Grandma."
Once everyone had gone upstairs, Grandma Huo gave the old man a light punch in annoyance.
"Why did you scare him for no reason? The third son is just a bit old, but he can still be presentable if he tidies himself up."
Grandma Huo wasn't just bragging when she said that.
All the children in the family are good-looking. The third child is just a bit older, but in terms of appearance, he is absolutely perfect.
"I'm just worried about him."
In the heat of the moment, the old man blurted out what he had been keeping to himself.
"Hey, you have no idea how many people were trying to steal Lao San's girlfriend a while ago."
What?
Someone is trying to steal the third brother's wife.
"Who is it? Which shameless person is trying to steal the third brother's girlfriend? I'll make sure they pay!"
The old man, sensing he had said the wrong thing, frantically waved his hands.
"Those old guys didn't really say they were going to break in; it was just that they ran into her the day Si Yatou arrived..."
The old man spoke softer and softer as he went on, especially the last sentence.
"They didn't know she was the third son's wife, so they asked me about her, wanting to introduce her to their children."
As soon as the words "old man" were uttered, Grandma Huo instantly locked onto her target.
"Is it Old Li? If it's not Old Li, it's Old Wang."
The old man dared not say who it was, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Don't worry, I've already explained it to them. It's just that the young couple hasn't held a banquet yet, and quite a few people in the compound have been asking about it."
In those days, it was fashionable to get married and register in the city; in the countryside, people mostly just held a banquet.
The young couple had previously lived far away on Qiongzhou Island, and they said they wouldn't hold a banquet.
The old man meant that now that both of them are back, why don't we ask them?
If you agree, we'll have a simple banquet.
Firstly, it will prevent others from gossiping behind your back.
Secondly, they didn't want to make things difficult for the youngest couple.
Grandma Huo didn't object. "Okay, I'll ask them when they come back tonight."
The two were so engrossed in their conversation that neither noticed Huo Tingzhou on the second floor had already stopped walking.
He wasn't deliberately eavesdropping; it was just that when he heard the old man say something about "stealing someone's partner," he was deeply moved.
My feet stopped involuntarily.
He didn't say anything at the time, but he became particularly serious as he tidied himself up.
He even used soap once, which was unprecedented for him, when washing his face.
After taking a shower, I carefully shaved off my newly grown stubble and then tidied myself up in front of the full-length mirror for a while.
Huo Tingzhou then changed into the new clothes that Jiang Si had bought for him.
He usually wears his air force uniform, and this is the first time he has ever worn a neat and tidy Zhongshan suit.
When I went downstairs, I saw my grandparents staring at me with wide eyes.
Aside from feeling a little uncomfortable, Huo Tingzhou was mostly filled with apprehension.
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